Science and Engineering
-
Nuts and Bolts
Eye-opening and engaging, Nuts and Bolts reveals the hidden building blocks of our modern world, and shows how engineering has fundamentally changed the way we live. Smartphones, skyscrapers, spacecraft. Modern technology seems mind-bogglingly complex. But beneath the surface, it can be beautifully simple. Tracing their journeys through the millennia, she shows us how handmade Roman…
-
The Future of Energy
In The Future of Energy, journalist and analyst Richard Black argues that there is, and that the transition to a clean energy world is already underway. Coal, oil and gas provide four-fifths of the energy that powers our modern world. But continuing to burn them will mean wrecking the only planet we have. Is there…
-
Chain Reactions: A Hopeful History of Uranium
Tracing uranium’s past, and how it intersects with our understanding of other radioactive elements, this book aims to disentangle our attitudes and to unpick the atomic mindset. Chain Reactions looks at the fascinating, often-forgotten, stories that can be found throughout the history of the element. Ranging from glassworks to penny stocks; medicines to weapons; something…
-
Artificial Intelligence: The Illustrated Edition
The benefits and potential nightmares of artificial intelligence have long inspired science-fiction writers, but in a world where most of us carry a portable device that knows infinitely more than we do, these are increasingly real concerns. Artificial Intelligence is the essential companion to this unsettling science. It surveys the history, philosophies, and current state…
-
Apollo 13 Manual: 50th Anniversary Edition
A special new edition of the Apollo 13 Manual, published to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Moon mission launched in April 1970, which very nearly turned into a catastrophe. New content includes an expanded look at what was learned from the analysis of the problems that precipitated the crisis, and how these lessons…
-
Sky at Night: The Art of Stargazing
The Art of Stargazing is the ultimate insider’s guide to the night sky in which award-winning space scientist and The Sky at Night presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock shares her expertise and unique insights into the marvellous world of stars. Take a tour of the 88 constellations and explore the science, history, culture and romanticism behind…
-
Everything is Predictable
Fusing biography, razor-sharp science communication and intellectual history, Everything Is Predictable is a captivating tour of Bayes’ theorem and its impact on modern life. From medical testing to artificial intelligence, Tom Chivers shows how a single compelling idea can have far-reaching consequences. Thomas Bayes was an eighteenth-century Presbyterian minister and amateur mathematician whose obscure life…
-
Think Like an Engineer
Full of case studies and practical insights spanning the brilliant history of engineering, Think Like an Engineer is in equal parts personal, practical, and profound. It reveals how key engineering concepts can help you make better decisions and create innovative solutions in a complex world. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – looks…