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Nature and ScienceDecember 2014
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"Today's greatest innovations are tomorrow's baseline, and you have to keep moving forward." ~ from Mark McClusky's Faster, Higher, Stronger
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New and Recently Released!
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| Dr. Mütter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine by Cristin O'Keefe AptowiczWhen Philadelphia surgeon Thomas Dent Mütter died in 1858 at the age of 48, he left behind grieving patients and colleagues as well as a treasure trove of 1,700 medical instruments and specimens acquired during his career, a collection that would later form the core of the Mütter Museum. Yet his legacy encompasses more than preserved human remains. During his comparatively brief life, this brilliant and eccentric doctor revolutionized medical treatment in the United States by introducing sterilization of instruments and general anesthesia during operations at a time when physicians were not required to possess either a medical degree or a license to practice medicine. |
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Undeniable : evolution and the science of creation
by Bill Nye
Revealing the mechanics of evolutionary theory, the scientist, engineer and inventor presents a compelling argument for the scientific unviability of creationism and insists that creationism's place in the science classroom is harmful not only to our children, but to the future of the greater world as well.
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| The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital... by Walter Isaacson"Innovation is not a loner's endeavor," declares biographer Walter Isaacson in this engaging, richly detailed account of the invention of the computer, which follows its evolution from abstract theory to functional machine. Isaacson profiles the individuals whose contributions to a nascent scientific field heralded the dawn of the digital revolution, from Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage to the founders of Google. He also vividly evokes the cultures of the academic institutions, government research facilities, and corporate entities that provided both space and support for these pioneering endeavors. Emphasizing the role of collaboration in realizing the dream of a universal computing machine while chronicling the missteps, setbacks, and dead ends that occurred throughout the process, The Innovators presents an insightful history of computer science. |
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Ocean : A Photicular Book
by Dan Kainen
The authors who showcased and introduced their Photicular technology images in Safari offer this follow-up as a lenticular tour through the seas, featuring gorgeous integrated photography images of sea horses, sand tiger sharks, yellow-banded sweetlips and glow-in-the-dark deep-sea anglerfish.
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| How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World by Steven JohnsonCiting "the strange chains of influence, the 'hummingbird effect'" that results in the cross-pollination of ideas across scientific disciplines, Steven Johnson, author of The Invention of Air and Where Good Ideas Come From, examines six deceptively simple concepts: glass, refrigeration, sound recordings, sanitation, clocks, and artificial light. While these may strike modern-day readers as mundane topics, Johnson argues that each is revolutionary in its own right and delves into the circumstances that made them possible. Full of engaging anecdotes and presented in an accessible style, How We Got to Now may interest fans of James Burke's Connections and The Day the Universe Changed, as well as Henry Petroski's technology-focused microhistories. |
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Lives in ruins : archaeologists and the seductive lure of human rubble
by Marilyn Johnson
An entertaining look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they sweat under the sun for clues to the puzzle of our past looks at the actual, nonglamorous working conditions they actually face, as well as what drives them to do this very important, yet often tedious, work. 35,000 first printing.
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A history of life in 100 fossils
by Paul D Taylor
Examines one hundred fossils of animals and plants that helped shape the Earth, with stories of how they were discovered and why they are important
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Silent witnesses : the often gruesome but always fascinating history of forensic science
by Nigel McCrery
"Crime novelist and former police officer Nigel McCrery provides an account of all the major areas of forensic science from around the world over the past two centuries. The book weaves dramatic narrative and scientific principles together in a way that allows readers to figure out crimes along with the experts. Readers are introduced to such fascinating figures as Dr. Edmond Locard, the "French Sherlock Holmes;" Edward Heinrich, "Wizard of Berkeley," who is credited with having solved more than 2,000 crimes; and Alphonse Bertillon, the French scientist whose guiding principle, "no two individuals share the same characteristics," became the core of criminal identification. Landmark crime investigations examined in depth include a notorious murder involving blood evidence and defended by F. Lee Bailey, the seminal 1936 murder that demonstrated the usefulness of the microscope in examining trace evidence, the 1849 murder of a wealthy Boston businessman that demonstrated how difficult it is to successfully dispose of a corpse, and many others"
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Fragrant : the secret life of scent
by Mandy Aftel
"The "Alice Waters of American natural perfume" (indieperfume.com) celebrates our most potent sense, through five rock stars of the fragrant world. Mandy Aftel is widely acclaimed as a trailblazer in natural perfumery. Over two decades of sourcing the finest aromatic ingredients from all over the world and creating artisanal fragrances, she has been an evangelist for the transformative power of scent. In Fragrant, through five major players in the epic of aroma, she explores the profound connection between our sense of smell and the appetites that move us, give us pleasure, make us fully alive. Cinnamon, queen of the Spice Route, touches our hunger for the unknown, the exotic, the luxurious. Mint, homegrown the world over, speaks to our affinity for thefamiliar, the native, the authentic. Frankincense, an ancient incense ingredient, taps into our longing for transcendence, while ambergris embodies our unquenchable curiosity. And exquisite jasmine exemplifies our yearning for beauty, both evanescent andenduring. In addition to providing a riveting initiation into the history, natural history, and philosophy of scent, Fragrant imparts the essentials of scent literacy and includes recipes for easy-to-make fragrances and edible, drinkable, and useful concoctions that reveal the imaginative possibilities of creating with-and reveling in-aroma. Vintage line drawings make for a volume that will be a treasured gift as well as a great read. "
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The science book
by Adam Hart-Davis
In this new installment in the Big Ideas series, readers are visually introduced to the fascinating worlds of astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology and physics with bold artwork, step-by-step diagrams and illustrations that break down complicated ideas into manageable concepts.
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Chemistry of space
by David E. Newton
Describes the creation of the universe, the chemistry of interstellar space, the formation of heavy elements, the inner and outer planets, and other celestial entities such as comets and asteroids
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Zoologies : on animals and the human spirit
by Alison Hawthorne Deming
"Humans were surrounded by other animals from the beginning of time: they were food, clothes, adversaries, companions, jokes, and gods. And yet, our companions in evolution are leaving the world - both as physical beings and spiritual symbols - and not returning. In this collection of linked essays, Alison Hawthorne Deming asks, and seeks to answer: what does the disappearance of animals mean for human imagination and existence? Moving from mammoth hunts to dying house cats, she explores profound questions about what it means to be animal. What is inherent in animals that leads us to destroy, and what that leads us toward peace? As human animals, how does art both define us as a species and how does it emerge primarily from our relationship with other species? The reader emerges with a transformed sense of how the living world around us has defined and continues to define us in a powerful way"
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Leonardo's brain : understanding da Vinci's creative genius
by Leonard Shlain
"Explores the life, art, and mind of Leonardo da Vinci, seeking to explain his singularity by looking at his achievements in art, science, psychology, and military strategy and then employing state of the art left-right brain scientific research to explain his universal genius"
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The best American science and nature writing 2014
by Deborah Blum
Edited by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Poisoner's Handbook, a latest annual anthology collects top-selected science and nature pieces reflecting the latest discoveries in a range of disciplines. Original. 25,000 first printing.
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| The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science by Armand Marie LeroiDid you know that Aristotle's favorite animal was the cuttlefish? The ancient Greek philosopher may be best known for his contributions to Western philosophy, but his true passion -- according to biologist Armand Marie Leroi -- was the natural world and its inhabitants. In The Lagoon, Leroi considers Aristotle's contributions to science while following in his footsteps from Athens to Lesbos to Macedonia (and back again). Combining travelogue, ancient history, and science, this thought-provoking book provides a fresh perspective on the life, work, and legacy of Aristotle. |
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| Faster, Higher, Stronger: How Sports Science is Creating a New Generation of... by Mark McCluskyWhat makes athletes excel? In Faster, Higher, Stronger, journalist Mark McClusky -- who has written for both Sports Illustrated and WIRED -- combines his knowledge of professional sports and cutting-edge technology in a detailed examination of sports science. Chapters such as "Hacking the Athlete" address the role of research in overcoming the body's natural limitations, while sections like "Gold Medal Genetics" examine the influence of heredity on athletic performance. From nutrition ("Eating to Win") to statistics ("The Numbers Game"), this book explores the science of sports from multiple angles. |
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| Planet of the Bugs: Evolution and the Rise of Insects by Scott R. ShawEver since the debut of their common ancestor during the Cambrian period (541 million years ago), a striking specimen that sported the first-ever exoskeleton and jointed limbs, insects have been on an evolutionary roll. Currently, there are more than one million distinct named species of insect living on Earth, and an estimated tens of millions awaiting discovery out in the wild. Armchair entomologists will be delighted by this grand tour of the insect world, although bug-averse readers may be tempted to stock up on insecticide. |
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Arrival of the fittest : solviong evolution's greatest puzzle
by Andreas Wagner
An award-winning evolutionary biologist draws on research that suggests that life has a capacity for higher-speed natural adaptations that may be responsible for the initiation of evolutionary superiority. Includes 22 diagrams. 30,000 first printing.
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| The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World by Russell GoldAs controversial as it is profitable, hydraulic fracturing -- or "fracking" -- has evolved from an obscure mechanical process to a commonplace practice: 100 wells are drilled every day in the United States; each one of them is fracked. In The Boom, investigative journalist Russell Gold, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal as well as a Pulitzer Prize finalist, describes how North America's extensive shale deposits and technology that facilitates fuel extraction have contributed to the rise of natural gas as a serious competitor to coal and nuclear power. He also reflects on the consequences of prolonging the life of an energy economy based on fossil fuels at a time when the threat of climate change looms large. |
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| Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future by Michael Levi"Everything we once knew about American energy seems to be changing," declares Michael Levi, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan public policy think tank. Citing declining oil imports, a boom in domestic natural gas production, and the development of technologies that harness renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, Levi provides an accessible introduction to a complex topic. Readers with an interest in technology, environmental issues, and energy policy will want to check out this informative book. |
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| Under the Surface: Fracking, Fortunes and the Fate of the Marcellus Shale by Tom WilberHydraulic fracturing -- also known as "fracking" -- is the process by which pressurized chemicals are pumped into the earth to induce and sustain cracks in rock formations, thereby enabling the extraction of petroleum and natural gas from buried shale deposits. Lauded by advocates who envision a prosperous future of cheap, abundant energy and decried by opponents who fear ecological damage (especially water contamination), the process has proven both lucrative and controversial wherever it's practiced -- particularly in the Marcellus Shale, which runs from central New York State through West Virginia. In a book that Publishers Weekly calls "essential background reading," environmental journalist Tom Wilbur examines the history, science, politics, and human drama of an ongoing public debate. |
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| The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters by Gregory ZuckermanIn an examination of what he calls "one of the greatest energy revolutions in history," journalist Gregory Zuckerman discusses the rise of hydraulic fracturing and profiles the individuals who have embraced this technological innovation, making and losing fortunes in the process. Zuckerman's subjects include George P. Mitchell, who invented a novel method of extracting natural gas from shale deposits; Aubrey McLendon and Tom Ward, who control the mineral rights to more than 15 million acres (an area bigger than New Jersey); and Harold Hamm, who personally owns more oil in the ground than anyone on Earth. For a fascinating glimpse into the lives of a new breed of industrialist, don't miss The Frackers. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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