30 Science


72274 THE STORY: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People by Max


Lucado and Randy Frazee Based on the events in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, The Story distils the key characters and adventures into just 31 engaging episodes. Quoting from the clear, accessible, anglicised text of the New International Version, short linking passages connect the reader to the wider story, and the whole is


arranged chronologically so that individual happenings can be interpreted in context. 494 pages with map, time- lines, questions, list of characters. £14.99 NOW £6


72626 PAUL AMONG THE PEOPLE: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time by Sarah Ruden


In a remarkable work of scholarship, synthesis and understanding, the author translates passages from ancient Greek and Roman writers such as Aristophanes and Seneca and sets them beside famous and controversial passages of Paul with their key modern interpretations. She discusses Saint Augustine, George Bernard Shaw’s misguided notion of Paul as ‘the eternal enemy of Women’ and the misuse of Paul’s writings in the English Puritan Richard Baxter’s strictures against ‘flesh-pleasing’. He was the first person to explain how Christ’s life and death fit into the larger scheme of salvation. Preaching spiritual equality, and God’s infinite love, he crusaded for the Jewish Messiah to be accepted as the friend and deliverer of all humankind. He adhered to his two main social principles: the need for people to love one another and - a revolutionary stance at that time - the idea of freedom. Here is a refreshingly new angle on the work. 214 rough cut pages. $25 NOW £6


72349 KANT: A Brief Insight by Roger Scruton


One of the most influential of the modern philosophers, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is also one of the most difficult to understand. He changed the whole course of philosophy with his The Critique of Pure Reason (1781), remains the most important work of philosophy written in modern times. To provide an elementary account of some of


the most complex thought, logic and reasoning processes ever committed to paper is a task that would test the ability of any writer, but Scruton manages this both neatly and elegantly. Illus. in colour and b/w and compellingly written. 164pp. $14.95 NOW £5.50


65536 ESSENTIAL PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS by David Hume


David Hume (1711-1776) was the most important philosopher ever to write in English, as well as a master stylist. This volume contains his major philosophical works. A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-1740), published while Hume was still in his 20s, consists of three books on the understanding, the passions, and morals. Hume later recast Book I as An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (1751), and Book III as An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, which he regarded as ‘incomparably the best’ of all his works. Essential to our understanding of the nature of morality, political and economic theory, philosophy of religion, and philosophical naturalism. This volume also includes Hume’s anonymous Abstract of Books I and II of the Treatise, and the short autobiographical essay, ‘My Own Life’. 860 page paperback. ONLY £4


71297 DISCOVERING CHURCHES AND


CHURCHYARDS by Mark Child A guide to the architecture of English parish churches from Anglo-Saxon times to 1900 illustrated with the author’s own many colour photos and drawings of what to spot. Enjoy the fabric, fixtures and fittings of many churches in our land like a ruined church of flint and stone standing in the middle of a prehistoric henge monument at Knowlton, Dorset, through the Norman period, perpendicular, Renaissance and classical, Victorian and beyond. Dozens of effigies, marble and stone statuary, windows decorated with tracery and stained glass are explained. 264pp in paperback. £12.99 NOW £5


71957 SACRED TRAVELS: 275 Places by Meera Lester


Subtitled ‘275 Places to Find Joy, Seek Solace, and Learn to Live More Fully’, this is a one-of-a-kind travel book with special prayers, meditations and devotions for each sacred site for those seeking a true journey of the soul. There is the Shrine of Rumi in Konya, Turkey, the Govind Devji Temple at Jaipur, the Bath of Ford Ogianus in Sardinia, St Gabriel Church in Ethiopia, the Temple of Isis in Nubia, Egypt and Apamea in Syria which now lies in rubble. 295pp in paperback. £10.99 NOW £3


72106 FORTY FAVOURITE HYMNS by Aled Jones


Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, Love Divine, Be Thou My Vision, There Is A Green Hill Far Away, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, Immortal Invisible God Only Wise, All Things Bright and Beautiful, Jerusalem and Abide with Me are among the great hymns chosen by this emotional singer. A catchy melody, these are pieces of music that stimulate everyone to sing with words that have global meaning. With Aled’s humorous and personal insight. 208pp in paperback. £6.99 NOW £2.75


71488 HINDU WRITINGS: A Short


Introduction to the Major Sources by Klaus Klostermaier


From the ancient Vedas, through the sweeping epic that is the Mahabharata to the words of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and contemporary teachers like


Sathya Sai Baba, the author treads a steady path through the complexity and volume of Hindu literature. He looks at the key areas including Indra, Siva and Vishnu - the major gods and their roles in the scripture and associated sects; Hinduism and femininity in the scriptures; classical Hindu philosophy and theology, nationalism and secularity. 198pp in softback. £9.99 NOW £4


71190 LITTLE BOOK OF DEVILS AND DEMONS by Mike Harding


Harding’s interest in the misericords, carvings and monuments of our sacred buildings led him to see the parish churches and cathedrals of Britain in new ways. Here he shares that interest in his magnificent photos of mischievous little imps and gargoyles peering down at us from cathedral tympanums, or the magnificent medieval Doom paintings of the Day of Judgement from Suffolk and from Coventry. Colour photos, 68pp. £6.99 NOW £3.50


71191 LITTLE BOOK OF MIRACLES AND MARVELS by Mike Harding


Harding travels around Britain’s churches and cathedrals and is mesmerised by the array of mythical creatures and miraculous events - dragons, mermaids, unicorns, wyverns and wodwos, as well as Noah’s Ark, Jonah and the Whale and David and Goliath. These strange, otherworldly creatures intrude into our churches on roof bosses, carved misericords, in stained glass windows, and often dramatise fables of good versus evil. Colour photos. 68pp.


£6.99 NOW £3.50


71192 LITTLE BOOK OF TOMBS AND MONUMENTS by Mike Harding


Harding has travelled throughout Britain and as far afield as New Mexico and Savannah, Georgia and visited and photographed the finest. Here, carved in alabaster or marble or blazoned in glowing stained glass are the medieval couples Sir John and Martha Suckling in a church in Norwich, the Countess of Cumberland in Appleby, numerous tombs and memorials to young children and even the stained glass Thomas the Tank Engine in a Gloucestershire church. Colour photos, 68pp. £6.99 NOW £3.50


72386 A LITTLE BOOK OF...: Set of Three by Mike Harding


Buy all three and save more. £20.97 NOW £9


SCIENCE


Never wonder. By means of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, settle everything somehow, and never wonder.


- Charles Dickens, Hard Times


73195 BIG QUESTIONS: Maths by Tony Crilly


Many people believe that maths is a difficult, boring subject but, as this book demonstrates, it is far more fascinating and useful than they could possibly imagine. Ranging from the first known numbers, through people’s perception of statistics as ‘damn lies’ to the puzzle of whether we can create an


unbreakable code, it tackles the 20 key questions that lie at the heart of maths and our understanding of the world. If you have ever wondered whether butterflies’ wings really cause hurricanes, if maths can predict the future, or why three dimensions are not enough, then you will be intrigued by the answers here although, be warned, they are not all cut and dried. Maths informs us about the real physical world we live in, and now is a particularly exciting time because computers are challenging our notions of mathematical proof and raising questions on the nature of mathematics. One curious, reassuring fact that we have discovered is that, contrary to what we were led to expect at school - where speed in mental arithmetic and tricky problems was at a premium - there is absolutely no advantage gained by being fast in the real business of mathematics. So come on, all you tortoises, you can beat that hare any day. 208 pages with elasticised bookmark, illustrated in b/w. £9.99 NOW £4


73094 BLIP, PING AND BUZZ: Making Sense of Radar


and Sonar by Mark Denny We suspect that the majority of our readers are as puzzled about radar and sonar as we are. But help is at hand. This book not only provides accessible and engaging explanations of the physics that make signal processing possible, it also opens the imagination to fascinating possibilities for the future. To most


of us, the mysteries of how stealth planes achieve ‘invisibility’, how sunken ships are found and how fishermen track schools of fish in vast expanses of ocean, may be impenetrable but, apparently, it is simply a matter of echolocation, or sending, receiving and processing signals. Weaving history with basic science, the author deftly reveals, to curious readers, technology buffs and experts alike, the world of radar and sonar. He begins with an early history of the Chain Home radar system used during World War II, then uses diagrams and formulae to show how electromagnetic and sound waves are transmitted, received and converted into images, allowing you literally to see in the dark. There is a fascinating section on bioacoustic echolocation, with a focus on the superior sonar systems of bats and whales, and we can confidently say that you will be entranced. 274 pages with diagrams, line drawings and photographs, technical notes and glossary. £21.50 NOW £7.50


73110 CYCLES OF TIME: An Extraordinary


New View of the Universe by Roger Penrose The author, Professor Sir Roger Penrose, has received numerous prizes and awards, one of them with Stephen Hawking for their joint contribution to our understanding of the universe. Here, the professor develops a completely new perspective on cosmology, providing a quite unexpected answer to the often-asked question ‘What came before the Big Bang?’ The two key ideas underlying this novel proposal are a penetrating analysis of the Second Law of thermodynamics, according to which the ‘randomness’ of our world is continually increasing, and a thorough examination of the light-cone geometry of space-time. Penrose is able to combine these two central themes to show how the expected ultimate fate of our accelerating, expanding universe can actually be reinterpreted as the Big Bang of a new one. On the way, many other basic ingredients are introduced and their roles discussed in detail. Various standard and non-standard cosmological models are presented, as is the fundamental and ubiquitous role of the cosmic microwave background. Also crucial to the discussion are the huge black holes lying in galactic centres, and their eventual disappearance via the mysterious process of Hawking evaporation. Yes, it is difficult, but the professor has a lovely chatty style that we are sure will win you over. 288 pages illustrated in b/w with 21 mathematical appendices. $28.95 NOW £8


73193 WAY WE WORK: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body


by David Macaulay with Richard Walker


What happens to broccoli once your teeth have done with it? How do your eyes manage to turn at the same time and in the same direction? How do your lungs know


that they have to take air in and out all the time, even when you are not thinking about them, or asleep, or unconscious? Each of us owns and inhabits an exceptional example of biological engineering, and one that deserves to be understood and celebrated. Using their unique perspective and often slightly irreverent humour, the authors lead readers on a highly visual journey through the basic workings of the human body. In seven comprehensive sections they take us from the cells of which we are formed to the individual systems they build. Each double-page spread explores a different aspect of this complex structure, while gradually constructing as straightforward an overview as possible of the links between the inner workings of the body and the world outside. Everyone’s journey begins as a single cell that contains everything we will need to get the ball rolling. If all goes well, that single cell will multiply into a population reaching tens of trillions. Once committed to the building of a multicultural organism, no cell exists in isolation. Each is in constant communication with its neighbours. We are able to accomplish the huge number of things we do only because our cells willingly collaborate with each other. They build and operate the systems needed to maintain the steady internal environment upon which they depend. These systems, such as the respiratory, circulatory and digestive are introduced and presented one at a time so as not to overwhelm the reader. How did we ever do without this book? 336 pages 28cm x 22cm lavishly illustrated in colour with glossary. $35 NOW £6


73118 PUSHING THE LIMITS: New


Adventures in Engineering by Henry Petroski Known as America’s poet laureate of technology, because of his passionate interest in the artistic side of design and building, the author stretches readers’ imaginations with his exploration of the complexity of what goes into design. His book describes two dozen adventures in engineering that provide a fresh look at the past, a unique view of the present and a telling glimpse into the future of the discipline and how it affects all our lives. Today, engineers are constantly facing new challenges that redefine our sense of aesthetics and functionality. Here are the stories of significant and daring enterprises, some familiar, some virtually unknown, and some that are still only dreams, all described in their historical and technological contexts. Among these achievements are Philadelphia’s landmark Benjamin Franklin Bridge, London’s incomparable Tower Bridge and China’s ambitious Three Gorges Dam Project. But pushing the limits of technology does not come without risk. Also chronicled are great technological disasters, such as the 1928 failure of California’s St Francis Dam, the 1999 tragedy of the Texas A&M Bonfire, and the September l l collapse of New York’s World Trade Center towers. Here too is the story of the embarrassingly wobbly millennium Bridge in London, which had to be shut down only three days after it opened! 288 rough cut pages with illus in b/w. $25 NOW £6


73114 HOUSE OF WISDOM: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave


Us the Renaissance by Jim al-Khalili


The Arabic legacy of science and philosophy has long been hidden from the West, but here the award- winning British-Iraqi physicist unveils that legacy by returning to its roots in the hubs of Arab and Persian innovation that would


advance science and jump-start the European Renaissance. He tells the story of how rulers of the Islamic empire funded armies of scholars who gathered Persian, Sanskrit and Greek texts and translated them into Arabic, the language of the Koran. Then, from the 9th to the 14th centuries, scholars throughout the empire built upon those foundations a scientific revolution that would, centuries later, give rise to a similar movement in Europe. Many of the innovations that we think of as hallmarks of Western science were actually the result of the ingenuity of these medieval scholars of the East. They solved the mysteries of the solar system, blood


circulation, mathematics, optics and gravity long before the Europeans did. The most significant legacy of Arabic science was its evidence-based approach, and the father of this scientific method was an Iraqi physicist. But why did the Islamic world enter its own Dark Age after such a dazzling Enlightenment? A book you will not want to put down. 302 pages with figures, colour plates, note on Names Pronunciations Spellings and Dates, note on the Term ‘Arabic Science’, maps, endnotes, glossary of scientists and timeline. $29.95 NOW £8


73073 FATE OF THE SPECIES: Why the Human Race May Cause Its Own Extinction and How we can


Stop It by Fred Guterl As editor of Scientific American, and having covered technology, science and international affairs for ten years at Newsweek, the author hears more scary stories in a day than most of us do in a year. But are we really approaching a new


ice age, global warming, nuclear winter or worldwide drought? Do we know enough to speculate on what our future will look like? Will our immune systems be overwhelmed by so-called super-bugs or will the disappearance of numerous species cripple the biosphere? We have found ourselves in a trap. Technology helped to get us into a mess, but it is the only thing that can help us to survive it. This riveting book is a grand thought experiment - not just another scary story, but a fresh perspective on the world we are making every day. In it, the author explores the looming scenarios in vivid detail - from machines to synthetic biology, from reverse genetics that create a deadly flu virus to the possibility of human extinction, and from ecosystems to climate change - and arrives at a conclusion about what they really mean for all of us living now. Will you end up still feeling scared? A provocative 209 pages. £18.99 NOW £7


72291 A FORCE OF NATURE by Richard Reeves Ernest Rutherford was born in colonial New Zealand, a different world from Cambridge to which he won a scholarship at the age of 24. His work oversees revolutionised modern physics and among his discoveries were the orbital structure of the atom and the concept of the ‘half-life’ of radioactive materials. This led to a


massive re-evaluation of the age of the Earth, previously judged to be just 100 million years old. He and the young men working under him were the first to split the atom unlocking tremendous forces which as Rutherford himself predicted would bring us the atomic bomb. He was awarded a Nobel Prize and made Baron Rutherford by the Queen, was a great humanist and teacher, coming to the aid of colleagues caught in the Nazi and Soviet regimes. Under his boisterous direction, a new generation of remarkable physicists emerged from the famous Cavendish Laboratory. In his biographer’s hands Rutherford comes alive - a ruddy, genial man and a pivotal figure in scientific history. 207pp in paperback with illus. Remainder mark. $14.95 NOW £6


73196 BIG QUESTIONS: Physics by Michael Brooks


If you have ever said: ‘I never did understand physics, what is the point of it?’, then perhaps this book will change your perspective. The series of which it forms part is a unique, accessible and concise distillation of humanity’s best ideas. It confronts the fundamental problems of science and philosophy that have perplexed enquiring minds throughout history, and outlines the answers of our greatest thinkers, such as Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking. This intriguing volume is designed to show how simple questions - such as: ‘Why do raindrops fall to the ground?’ or ‘What is light?’ can lead to some of the most profound discoveries that humanity has ever made. You will soon be caught up in exploring whether string theory is really about strings, if chaos theory inevitably spells disaster and whether solids really are solid. And how can you possibly ignore a book that asks: ‘Why is there no such thing as a free lunch? 208 pages with elasticised bookmark, illustrated in b/w with glossary. £12.99 NOW £4


71471 101 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT EINSTEIN


by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer


Albert Einstein worked to develop hearing aids or that a student actually spotted a mistake in one of his papers? The book makes


comparisons with his contemporaries like the Wright Brothers, Edison, Bauhaus, Fermi, his letters to Freud, his law of gravitation, the history of E=MC2, the curvature of space-time, time travel and worm holes, the Nazi Party and how his anti-nuclear work continued. 244pp in paperback. £8.99 NOW £2.25


71503 POISONS: From Hemlock to Botox and


the Killer Bean Calabar by Peter Macinnis Poisons are in the environment, the workplace and home, they are in our food, our favourite whiskey, medicine and well water. They smooth wrinkles, block pain, stimulate and enhance athletic ability. Our fact filled book recounts the stories of celebrated poisoners in history and literature, from Nero to Thomas Wainewright. Have you ever wondered about the sources of cyanide, strychnine, Botox, ricin and sarin gas? Where do they come from and how could you detect something that can kill you in a matter of seconds? Here are their uses in medicine, cosmetics and war. 239pp in paperback with line art. £9.99 NOW £4.50


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