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The
Universe in a Nutshell
Stephen
Hawking
The sequel to the best-selling A Brief
History of Time, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
In this new, lavishly illustrated book, Professor Hawking
turns to the most important breakthroughs that have occurred
in the years since his acclaimed first book. He brings the
reader to the cutting edge of theoretical physics, where truth
is often stranger than fiction and explains, in layman’s
terms, the principals that control our universe. In The
Universe in A Nutshell, Professor Hawking guides the reader on
his search to uncover the secrets of the universe, ‘to combine
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and Richard Feynman’s
idea of multiple histories into one complete unified theory
that will describe everything that happens in the
universe.’
About the author: Professor
Stephen Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at
the University of Cambridge.
What the judges
said: “Authoritative, hugely ambitious and
beautifully illustrated.”
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from Amazon.co.uk or
Amazon.com.
Aeons
Martin Gorst
Aeons takes us
on the intriguing journey through the history of humankind’s
attempts to give the world a starting point. Recounting the
exploded paradigms of past scientific quests, Aeons is a story
as much about the politics of reconciliation between the
Biblical creation story and the empirical evidence that
violently contradicted the belief that the world could have
been made in seven days, as about the attempts to date the age
of the world. Gorst brings the book to a close full of hope
that we could be on the verge of discovering this elusive
date, but reminds us that we have been here before many
times.
About the author: Martin Gorst
is a writer and director of science documentaries for, among
others, Channel 4 and the Discovery
Channel.
What the judges said: “A
fascinating, well-written account of the quest to discover how
old the universe is, which combines a historical sweep with a
scientific pursuit."
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from Amazon.co.uk
The
Secret Life of Dust
Hannah Holmes
Humble
dust built the very planet we walk upon. It tinkers with the
weather and spices the air that we breathe. Billions of tons
of tiny particles rise into the air annually - the dust of
deserts and forgotten kings mixing with volcanic ash, seal
salt, leaf fragments, shreds of T-shirts and scales from
butterfly wings. In the hands of Hannah Holmes dust becomes a
dazzling and mysterious force. She tracks the story of
restless dust from its beginnings among exploding stars,
through the dinosaur beds of the Gobi Desert, digging into
Antarctic Glaciers and probing the dark underbelly of the
living-room couch. Holmes gathers together a fascinating cast
of characters - the scientists who study dust. Some
investigate its dark side - how it killed off dinosaurs and
how its industrial descendants are killing us today. Others
sample the shower of Saharan dust that nourishes Caribbean
jungles. All of them unveil the mayhem - and the magic -
wrought by little things.
About the author:
Hannah Holmes is a science and natural history writer
for the Discovery Channel Online. Her freelance work has been
widely published in journals including National Geographic
Traveller and The New York Times Magazine.
What the judges said: "Magnified
the microscopic into something magnificent. An unusual
perspective on the things we don't notice and a very clever
synthesis of a wide range of science."
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from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.
The Madness of Adam
& Eve
David Horrobin
In this
controversial new book, Schizophrenia expert David Horrobin
examines the link between schizophrenia and human evolution,
and argues that madness may have played a critical role in the
emergence of modern humans. He presents a new understanding of
our origins, a new respect for the ‘schizophrenic genome’ and
discusses a groundbreaking new approach to the treatment of
this devastating illness.
About the
author: David Horrobin has been Medical Advisor to
the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain for the 25
years he has spent researching the disease. He has founded two
biotech companies and currently runs Laxdale Ltd, which
specialises in developing new drugs for psychiatric and
neurological disorders. He also founded and still edits the
journal Medical Hypothesis, the leading forum for new ideas in
medicine. He lives in Scotland.
What the judges
said: "A well-argued piece of scientific and
medical advocacy, which although possibly contentious, brings
a richness and humanity to a very important area."
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A Primate's
Memoir
Robert M.
Sapolskyn
Book-smart and more than a little
naïve, Robert Sapolsky left the comforts of college in the US
for a research project studying a troop of baboons in Kenya.
Whether he is relating his adventures with his neighbours,
Masai tribesmen, or his experiences learning how to sneak up
and dart suspicious baboons, Sapolsky combines irreverence and
humour with the best credentials in his field. The culmination
of over two decades of experience and research - an
exhilarating, daring and ultimately very moving memoir on the
people and nature of Africa.
About the
author: Robert Sapolsky is Professor of Biology and
Neurology at Stanford University, and a research associate
with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of
Kenya. He lives in San Francisco.
What the
judges said: "An exciting, epic and honest
account of a scientist's life and work. Hugely
funny."
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Rivals
Michael White
Rivalry has
been a key feature of scientific endeavour and a powerful
impetus for the greatest advancements in Western science.
Michael White examines eight instances in the history of
science and technology that changed the world, in all of which
the stress of rivalry played a pivotal role. Rivals presents
the human aspect of science, where the protagonists in this
book find themselves caught in battles for supremacy, battles
born of jealousy, pettiness and simple personality clashes –
as well as more noble instincts. The stories of Newton and
Leibniz, Lavoisier and Priestley, Darwin and Wallace, Edison
and Tesla, the race for the Atom Bomb, Crick and Watson, the
Space Race and the feuds between Bill Gates and Larry Ellison
illustrate the varying forms of rivalry can take, and the
eternal impulse for scientists not only to be right, but also
to be first.
About the author: Michael
White was formally a professional musician before becoming a
lecturer at d’Overbroeck’s College and then Science Editor of
GQ. He became a full-time writer in 1988, since when he has
published twenty books including the bestsellers Stephen
Hawking: A Life in Science (with John Gribbin) and the
award-winning Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer. He has been a
columnist for the Sunday Times, the Mail on Sunday and the
Daily Telegraph and has become a regular consultant and
presenter for TV and radio.
What the judges
said: "A behind-the-scenes look at the role of
competition in driving forward scientific discovery. Filled
with human emotion, fury and passion."
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