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Mabey, Richard
Nature Cure Pimlico, 2005ISBN: 1844130967
cover In 1999 Richard Mabey developed a severe depression. He found it difficult to work, and had to leave the house he had lived in since his childhood. Nature Cure tells of how his friends helped him, giving him a room in a remote part of East Anglia, where he gradually regained his love of life and the natural world. Continued..
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The Perfumier and the Stinkhorn Profile Books, 2011ISBN: 9781846684704
cover The Perfumier and the Stinkhorn by Richard Mabey is a collection of short essays based on the BBC Radio 3 broadcasts The Scientist and the Romantic Continued..
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MacCormick, John
Nine algorithms that changed the future Princeton University Press, 2011ISBN: 0691147140
cover In 9 Algorithms That Changed the Future: The Ingenious Ideas That Drive Today's Computers John MacCormick sets out to give readers an inkling of the workings of the algorithms driving todays computers and the internet, without requiring prior knowledge of programming or computer science. Continued..
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Mackenzie, Dana
The Big Splat or how our moon came to be Wiley, 2003ISBN: 0471150576
cover Since the earliest times the moon has been considered an object of mystery. The Big Splat (or how our moon came to be) describes how one mystery about the moon was resolved - that of its formation. It is now largely agreed that early in the history of the solar system a Mars size planetoid collided with the proto-Earth to result in the Moon and a somewhat modified Earth. Although this was decided over 20 years ago, I have to say that it hadn't really entered my knowledge base - I found it a bit of a surprise. If you too feel that your knowledge of our closest astronomical neighbour needs updating then I would certainly recommend this highly readable book. Continued..
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Macnair, Trisha
Long Life Equation New Holland, 2007ISBN: 9781847734051
cover We're always hearing about things that are good or bad for us, but it's difficult to find out precisely how good or bad. Well, in The Long Life Equation: 100 Factors That Can Add or Subtract Years from Your Life Trisha Macnair gives you something mroe definite to go on. Continued..
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Macvey, John
Interstellar Travel: Past, Present, and Future Scarborough HouseISBN: 038041368X
Mentioned in
Interstellar travel
Macvey seems most interested in the more far out ideas - wormholes, tachyons etc, and the possibilities for aliens. However the book does seem have a strong scientific basis.
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Maddox, John
What Remains to be Discovered Free Press, 1998ISBN: 0333650093
cover The progress of science in the 20th was impressive, but there are still plenty of gaps which need to be resolved. In What Remains to Be Discovered: Mapping the Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life, and the Future of the Human Race John Maddox discusses what some of these gaps are. Continued..
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Maier, Georg
The Marriage of Sense and Thought Lindisfarne Press, 1992ISBN: 086315140X
cover
Co-authors
Edelglass,Stephen
Gebert,Hans
Reductionism is a powerful force in the development of science. In The Marriage of Sense and Thought: Imaginitive Participation in Science the authors claim that it is driving science in the wrong direction, and what is more that it is leading to a lack of meaning in our lives. For instance the claim in the first chapter is that smiles are being robbed of their meaning by scientists describing them in reductionist terms. So how do the authors justify this claim. Well, I have to say: not very well - they seem to take it as read in their discussions, whereas I would see it as something which requires a lot of supporting argument in order to be taken seriously. Continued..
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Majid, Shahn
On Space and Time Cambridge University Press, 2008ISBN: 9780521889261
cover Modern Cosmology is telling us ever more about the cosmos, but there is always a quest to go beyond what is known and pose new questions about the nature of the universe. In On Space and Time, edited by Shahn Majid a number of eminent scientists tell of their part in this quest Continued..
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Malik, Kenan
Strange Fruit Oneworld, 2008ISBN: 9781851685882
cover Race has always been a highly contentious issue. In Strange Fruit: Why Both Sides are Wrong in the Race Debate Kenan Malik argues that it is also a very muddled issue. Continued..
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Mallett, Ronald
The Time Traveller Doubleday, 2006ISBN: 9780385612432
cover
Co-author
Henderson,Bruce
When Ronald Mallett was 11 his father died and he took in very badly. Over the next few years he began truanting from school, and looked to be going nowhere in life. But then he read some sci-fi stories about time travel, and realised that if he could build a time machine then he could go back and prevent his father's death. The time traveller is his story. We hear of how he started to study assiduously, and got a job in the air force, where he could continue his studies, and which also paid for his university tuition afterwards. Continued..
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Mallove, Eugene F
The starflight handbook : a pioneer's guide to interstellar trav WileyISBN: 0471619124
cover
Mentioned in
Interstellar travel
Co-author
Matloff,Gregory L
This is a well thought out work. It is not just a look at imaginary sci-fi scenarios. It gives in detail the possibilities and problems for interstellar travel, but it does not feel too technical - the mathematical details are separated out into boxes, and the rest of the text is readable.
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Marchant, Jo
Decoding the Heavens Heinemann, 2008ISBN: 9780434018352
cover In 1900 a wreck was discovered off the small island of Antikythera, and divers recovered many valuable artifacts from Greece in the 1st Century BC . But amid the statues was a small lump of corroded bronze which turned out to be the most important find of them all.In Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer Jo Marchant tells the story. Continued..
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Marcus, Gary
Kluge Faber & Faber, 2008ISBN: 9780571236510
cover The mind is the pinnacle of billions of years of evolution - well you could say that. However, in Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind Gary Marcus points out that it is still fae from perfect. Continued..
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Margolus, Norman
Cellular automata machines MIT Press, 1987ISBN: 0262200600
cover
Co-author
Toffoli,Tommaso
Cellular Automata (CA's) such as the Game of Life are well known, but if you want to look further into the subject then you should take a look at Cellular automata machines : a new environment for modeling by Tommaso Toffoli and Norman Margolus. The first part of the book gives a short overview of the field. The book then gets on to the different types of CA's and how they can be implemented, including a look at how to include randomness in your modelling. The third part of the book deals with different physical systems which can be modelled with CA's. These include diffusion, fluid dynamics and ballistic computers as well as collective phenomena such as Ising systems and spin glasses. Continued..
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Margulis, Lynn
The Symbiotic Planet Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998ISBN: 029781740X
cover Lynn Margulis is probably the person most associated with the development of the theory of symbiosis. In The Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution she discusses some of the aspects of symbiosis, and how it has shaped life on earth. She explains the development of Serial Endosymbiosis Theory, and goes on to look at the origin of life on earth, and the origin of sex. All the while Margulis emphasises the problems which occur when we insist on thinking of life as consisting of individual organisms, for instance in the way we give them names. The final chapter discusses the planetwide symbiosis known as Gaia. Continued..
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Margulis, Lynn
Mind, Life and Universe Sciencewriters, 2007ISBN: 9781933392431
cover
Co-author
Punset,Eduardo
Mind, Life and Universe: Conversations with Great Scientists of Our Time contains discussions between Eduardo Punset and a number of well known scientists , taken from interviews made for Punset's TV programme. Continued..
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Martin, Steve
Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion Profile Books, 2007ISBN: 9781846680168
cover
Co-authors
Goldstein,Noah
Cialdini,Robert
You might think that making ourselves more persuasive would require learning some complicated tactics and obscure details of human psychology. Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion shows that this is not the case, that sometimes the simplest of things will greatly improve our chances of getting what we want. Continued..
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Matloff, Gregory L
The starflight handbook : a pioneer's guide to interstellar trav WileyISBN: 0471619124
cover
Mentioned in
Interstellar travel
Co-author
Mallove,Eugene F
This is a well thought out work. It is not just a look at imaginary sci-fi scenarios. It gives in detail the possibilities and problems for interstellar travel, but it does not feel too technical - the mathematical details are separated out into boxes, and the rest of the text is readable.
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Matson, Katinka
How Things Are William Morrow, 1995ISBN: 0688133568
Co-author
Brockman,John
In How Things Are: A Science Tool Kit for the Mind John Brockman and Katinka Matson have asked a large number of eminent scientists to write about what they consider to be important in the way that they and other scientists think. Books of this kind can suffer from the articles being repetitive and unsatisfyingly short. This one largely manages to avoid that problem, and I feel that this is because the contributors have been given a sufficiently wide scope to answer the question. Hence the reader gets plenty of novel viewpoints on the nature and practise of science. Continued..
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Matthews, Paul
Bard on the Brain University of Chicago press, 2003ISBN: 0972383026
cover
Mentioned in
Full Review
We can study the working of the human mind in two different ways. The first is to look at how people behave in different circumstances. This has been going on ever since the beginning of humanity, and is epitomised by the works of Shakespeare, clearly a keen observer of human behaviour. However, now there is a second way, made possible by advances in technology, which is to examine directly what is going on in the human brain. This book attempts to provide a link between the two ways of looking at the mind. Each section starts with a passage from the works of Shakespeare, and goes on to look at how it can be related to a recent research in neuroscience. Continued..
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Maudlin, Tim
Quantum non-locality and relativity Basil Blackwell, 1994ISBN: 0631186093
Mentioned in
Local Realism
A very clearly written account of the problems of Bell's inequalities and relativity. Gives a thorough examination of the subject, but is not too technical and has plenty of diagrams. The middle chapters are more philosophical, but still highly readable.
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The Metaphysics within Physics Oxford University Press, 2007ISBN: 0199218218
cover The Metaphysics within Physics is a collection of essays written by Tim Maudlin over a period of about a decade, arguing for what might be thought of as the 'common sense' philosophy on the nature of laws within science. Continued..
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May, Brian
Bang! The complete history of the Universe Carlton Books, 2006ISBN: 1844425525
Co-authors
Moore,Patrick
Lintott,Chris
In Bang! The complete history of the Universe the authors have put together an impressive overview of the history of the universe and our place in it. It goes in chronological order, so that it starts with the big bang, then goes on to the evolution of galaxies, the formation of the solar system, and the evolution of life on earth. The book then looks further, beyond the present to the collision of our galaxy with M31, to the destruction of the Earth and on to consider the ultimate fate of the universe. It finishes with useful chapters on astronomy for the amateur, and on the lives of some well known astronomers. Continued..
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Mazur, Barry
Imagining Numbers Penguin, 2003ISBN: 9780141008875
cover The square roots of negative numbers are called 'imaginary'. But do they really require any more imagination than other types of numbers, or other types of things. In Imagining Numbers Particularly √-15 Barry Mazur tries to find out. Continued..
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McGilchrist, Iain
The Master and his Emissary Yale University Press, 2009ISBN: 9780300148787
cover In The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World Iain McGilchrist puts forward the hypothesis that many of the problems of our society are due to 'left-hemisphere' thinking, which has supplanted the more balanced view of the right hemisphere. Continued..
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McGrath, Alister
The Dawkins Delusion SPCK Publishing, 2007ISBN: 0281059276
Co-author
McGrath,Joanna
In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins lauched a no-holds-barred attack on all types of religion. In The Dawkins Delusion Alister McGrath demonstrates some of the faults with Dawkins' book. In particular he shows how Dawkins clearly goes over the top with some of his claims, and that most religions are nothing like the stereotypes which Dawkins describes. The trouble is that that's about all there is to this book. McGrath criticises Dawkins for not being particularly scholarly in his attack, but this book is hardly a scholarly rebuttal - there's too much indignation for one thing, and what is worse there's no index Continued..
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McGrath, Joanna
The Dawkins Delusion SPCK Publishing, 2007ISBN: 0281059276
Co-author
McGrath,Alister
In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins lauched a no-holds-barred attack on all types of religion. In The Dawkins Delusion Alister McGrath demonstrates some of the faults with Dawkins' book. In particular he shows how Dawkins clearly goes over the top with some of his claims, and that most religions are nothing like the stereotypes which Dawkins describes. The trouble is that that's about all there is to this book. McGrath criticises Dawkins for not being particularly scholarly in his attack, but this book is hardly a scholarly rebuttal - there's too much indignation for one thing, and what is worse there's no index Continued..
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McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch
The theory that would not die Yale University Press, 2011ISBN: 9780300169690
cover Bayes rule is well known in computing circles, but for a long time it was rejected by many as being unaccectably subjective. In The theory that would not die: how Bayes' rule cracked the enigma code, hunted down Russian submarines, and emerged triumphant from two centuries of controversy Sharon Bertsch McGrayne tells its story. Continued..
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Meadows, A J
Science and Controversy Macmillan, 2008ISBN: 9780230220201
cover Norman Lockyer played an important role in the scientific community of the second half of the nineteenth century. In Science and Controversy: A Biography of Sir Norman Lockyer, Founder Editor of Nature Jack Meadows tells his story. Continued..
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Medawar, Jean
Hitler's Gift Richard Cohen Books, 2000ISBN: 1860661726
Co-author
Pyke,David
Anyone who studies the history of science in the first half of the twentieth century will find a large part was played by German Jewish scientists, many of whom fled to other countries with the coming of the Nazi party. In Hitler's Gift, David Pyke takes the point of view that this was Germany's loss and other countries gain, and tells the stories of many of the scientists involved. The book shows that although the decision to leave may have been obvious with hindsight, at the time it was a difficult one to make. It also shows how being transferred to a different environment gave many of the scientists a fresh start, resulting in many important discoveries. This book will be of interest to any reader who wants a better understanding of the decisions which were made by individuals and governments during this confusing time. Continued..
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Meharg, Andrew
Venomous earth Palgrave, 2005ISBN: 1403944997
cover This book starts with a look at the scandal of arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh in which tubewells put in with the help of oveerseas aid delivered water with high levels of arsenic to the population. We then find out about the occurence and use of arsenic throughout the ages - well known as a poison, but also taken for supposed health benefits. In fact poisoners have got let off by claiming that the victim was taking arsenic voluntarily. There's also arsenic on wallpaper and even in food colouring! A depressing subject maybe, but an entertaining read for anyone, in particular those wanting to put the risks we face today into context. Continued..
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Mendelson, Elliot
Introduction to mathematical logic Chapman and Hall, 1997ISBN: 0412808307
cover
Mentioned in
Gdel's incompleteness theorem
My main reason for recommending Elliot Mendelson's Introduction to mathematical logic to someone wishing to study mathematical logic is the start of the third chapter (of 5). This chapter is on formal number theory, and starts off with a list of axioms and then some proofs. That's what mathematical logic is all about isn't it? Well maybe it's more about metaproofs - that is proofs about what you can prove, and certainly that is the main content of this book. However, I feel that having a few pages of the proofs you are dealing with is vital to give the student a foothold in this difficult subject, but, somewhat surprisingly, its difficult to find such proofs in books at this level. Continued..
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Mendelssohn, Kurt
The quest for absolute zero Taylor and Francis, 1977ISBN: 0850661196
Mentioned in
The absolute zero of temperature is (probably) an unattainable limit, but it's human nature to constantly strive to get ever close to such a limit. 'The quest for absolute zero' describes these battles to achieve ever lower temperatures. It starts with with the liquefaction of oxygen in 1877, with other gases following soon after, but helium remaining stubbornly gaseous until 1908 when it was liquified by Kamerlingh Onnes, leading on to his discovery of superconductivity. The book then examines how theoretical physics was affected by low temperature reseach, looking at the theories of Nernst and Einstein on the subject. However, the book does not require technical knowledge, rather it uses plenty of helpful diagrams, and would be accessible to readers without a scientific background, but interested in the history of low temperature research. Continued..
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The world of Walther Nernst Macmillan, 1973ISBN: 0333148959
Mentioned in
Absolute zero
The name of Walther Nernst is less well known than some of the other scientists who were part of the revolution in physics at the start of the 20th century, but the experimental and theoretical work he did was a vital part of that revolution. In this biography by Kurt Mendelssohn, who studied with Nernst for many years, we hear the story of Nernst's rise as a talented researcher in low temperature physics, followed by a prestigious (and profitable) career as a scientist in Berlin. Nernst is responsible for the 3rd law of thermodynamics, and worked with Einstein on the quantum nature of low temperature physics. The book doesn't go particularly deeply into the science, and is more suited for readers wanting a view of Nernst and the society in which he lived. Continued..
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Michie, Donald
Donald Michie on machine intelligence, biology and more Oxford University Press, 2009ISBN: 9780199573042
cover
Co-author
Srinivasan,Ashwin
In Donald Michie on machine intelligence, biology and more, Ashwin Srinivasan has compiled a collection of articles by Michie ranging from his work with Alan Turing at Bletchley Park to his comments on the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Continued..
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Midgley, David
The Essential Mary Midgley Routledge, 2005ISBN: 0415346428
cover
Co-author
Midgley,Mary
Our view of the world has changed a lot in the last half century, and Mary Midgley has played a significant part in commenting on, and indeed sometimes playing a part in, this change. The Essential Mary Midgley is a collection of chapters from her books. The book starts with a look at our attitude to animals - how we tend to project on to them the negative side of humanity, which has no relation to their actual behaviour. In the second part of the book Midgley argues that moral philosophy took the wrong direction in the first half of the 20th century, seemingly wanting to avoid morality altogether. I felt that the book shows Midgley's skill in dealing with many philosophical viewpoints which have passed their sell-by date. Continued..
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Midgley, Mary
The Essential Mary Midgley Routledge, 2005ISBN: 0415346428
cover
Co-author
Midgley,David
Our view of the world has changed a lot in the last half century, and Mary Midgley has played a significant part in commenting on, and indeed sometimes playing a part in, this change. The Essential Mary Midgley is a collection of chapters from her books. The book starts with a look at our attitude to animals - how we tend to project on to them the negative side of humanity, which has no relation to their actual behaviour. In the second part of the book Midgley argues that moral philosophy took the wrong direction in the first half of the 20th century, seemingly wanting to avoid morality altogether. I felt that the book shows Midgley's skill in dealing with many philosophical viewpoints which have passed their sell-by date. Continued..
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Miller, Arthur I
Empire of the Stars Little, Brown, 2005ISBN: 0316725552
cover
Mentioned in
Full Review
The first chapter of this book concerns the events of 11th January 1935, the day when Eddington severely attacked Chandrasekhar's ideas on white dwarfs and stellar collapse at a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society in London. The rest of the book revolves around this day, looking at what led up to it and what the effects were in the following decades. Its a fascinating story, and demonstrates Miller's skill in sorting out the interactions between the different players. He examines the importance of hard work against personal influence in the struggle to succeed, and indeed what is meant by success. Continued..
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Insights of genius MIT Press, 1996ISBN: 0387946713
cover Creativity in science and art isn't something that can be readily produced. In Insights of genius : Imagery and Creativity in science and art Arthur I Miller discusses various aspects of creativity and its link to visual images. One thing he looks at is the distinction between visualization and visualizability - for instance Feynman diagrams are a useful tool in quantum theory, but do they actually show what is happening at the micro-level? Miller also examines the outburst of creativity at the start of the 20th Century, considering the work of Poincaré, Einstein and Picasso amoung others, and looking at interactions between them. Continued..
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Milne, Edward A
Relativity, gravitation and world-structure Clarendon Press, 1935ISBN: B000HW6H6W
I can't help feeling that Edward A Milne has been treated rather harshly by history. The thing is that he was opposed to general relativity, which is at the heart of cosmology. If you read 'Relativity, gravitation and world-structure' you will see that many of his ideas were clearly wrong in the light of later discoveries. However, that can be said of virtually any cosmologist. Its certainly instructive to take a look at this book, although I wouldn't advise you to try to struggle through the maths. Firstly, it tells you what issues cosmologists were worrying about in the 1930's. Secondly, one can wonder what might have happened if Milne's ideas had been taken more seriously - maybe they could have been made to fit in with later observations. Continued..
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Misner, Charles
Gravitation Clarendon PressISBN: 0716703440
cover
Mentioned in
stretchy space
Co-authors
Thorne,Kip
Wheeler,John
The standard work from the 1970's on General relativity. Although now somewhat outdated, it still has lots of useful stuff
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Mitchell, Melanie
Complexity : a guided tour Oxford University Press, 2009ISBN: 9780195124415
cover Many scientists are trying to find underlying rules which govern the behaviour of the complex systems we find around us. In Complexity : a guided tour Melanie Mitchell gives an overview of the field. Continued..
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Mitton, Simon
Fred Hoyle: A life in science Aurum press, 2005ISBN: 1854109618
Fred Hoyle was a prominent figure in British astronomy for many years, but in his later years was considered something of a maverick. This has meant that he is possibly less well known than his achievements merit. Hence Mitton's new book is an important step in bringing these achievements to the attention of a wider public. Central to the book are the upheavals which astronomy went through in the 1960s. No longer was it just looking through your nearest telescope, there was information from many wavelengths becoming available, theoretical astronomy was becoming a subject in its own right, and observational astronomy meant visiting a distant observatory. Mitton succeeds very well in describing Hoyle's participation in this turbulent time. Continued..
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Mlodinow, Leonard
Feynman's rainbow Penguin, 2003ISBN: 0713996439
(Note that the book I read had the alternative title Some time with Feynman)

How does a scientist decide which problem is worth working on? That was the question which faced Leonard Mlodinow when he became a researcher at Caltech. How could he live up to the expectations placed upon him? Fortunately he had Richard Feynman down the corridor to talk to, and this book is the result of their many discussions. The answer seems to be that if you need to ask the question then you shouldn't be doing physics - indeed Mlodinow eventually gave up his career in the subject. Rather you should be driven by your desire to sort out inconsistencies in the current state of things. Feynman's Rainbow is a highly readable book - I read most of it in one go, and I can recommend it to anyone who wants to find out how scientists decide to do what they do. Continued..

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Euclid's Window PenguinISBN: 0141009098
cover In this book Mloninlow describes the history of geometry and its relation to other branches of science. The book progresses via the stories of five main characters, starting with Euclid and his 'Elements', then showing how Descartes linked geometry and algebra. It then looks at how Gauss initiated work on noneuclidean geometries, and shows how Einstein used this in the development of general relativity. The last part of the book concerns string theory and its development by Ed Witten. Mlodinow maintains his sense of humour throughout giving a very readable book, which is understandable by the non-technical reader. Continued..
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The Drunkard's Walk Allen Lane, 2008ISBN: 9780713999228
cover People have great problems in understanding randomness - we tend to invent patterns when there aren't any. In The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives Leonard Mlodinow explains many of our misconceptions Continued..
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Monod, Jacques
Chance and Necessity Collins, 1972ISBN: 0002151189
The philosophy of biology is a fast moving subject, as new biological discoveries are coming thick and fast. Hence even a classic like Jacques Monod's 'Chance and Necessity' looks pretty dated after 35 years. But sometimes it's good to go back to see what the important issues were at an earlier time. The book requires a little knowledge of biology, but anyone who has read a few popular science books should have no problem with this one. It's a short book, but a wide range of topics are discussed - vitalism, the second law of thermodynamics and the philosophy of mind are just a few. The reader can also see the beginnings of the idea of the electronic computer as a metaphor for biological processes. Continued..
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Moore, Cristopher
New constructions in cellular automata Oxford University Press, 2003ISBN: 0195137183
cover
Co-author
Griffeath,David
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Moore, Patrick
Bang! The complete history of the Universe Carlton Books, 2006ISBN: 1844425525
Co-authors
May,Brian
Lintott,Chris
In Bang! The complete history of the Universe the authors have put together an impressive overview of the history of the universe and our place in it. It goes in chronological order, so that it starts with the big bang, then goes on to the evolution of galaxies, the formation of the solar system, and the evolution of life on earth. The book then looks further, beyond the present to the collision of our galaxy with M31, to the destruction of the Earth and on to consider the ultimate fate of the universe. It finishes with useful chapters on astronomy for the amateur, and on the lives of some well known astronomers. Continued..
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Moret, Bernard
The theory of computation Addison WesleyISBN: 0201258285
cover
Mentioned in
P vs NP
Aimed at a graduate audience. There is plenty of discussion, rather than going too deeply into the technicalities, so it might be understandable by less advanced readers.
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Morgan, Mary
Models as mediators Cambridge University Press, 1999ISBN: 0521655714
cover
Co-author
Morrison,Margaret
Science is based on the creation of theories to explain observatons. But often the theories are too abstract to relate directly to the world. The contributors to this book explore the idea that scientific models act as mediators between the two. I would say that the book is mostly aimed at philosophers and historians of science - I found it a bit wordy and philosophical at times, and intend to look out for a book on the topic more suited to the general scientific reader. On the other hand there are plenty of concrete examples given, and practising scientists who are facing the issues raised in constructing scientific models will find much of interest. It would also be useful someone entering this area of study, as it introduces many of the 'standard' examples of scientific models. Continued..
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Morris, Richard
Achilles in the quantum universe Souvenir press, 1997ISBN: 0285634429
cover The paradoxical nature of infinity has puzzled thinkers throughout the ages - an early example is Zeno's paradox. But Achilles in the Quantum Universe:The Definitive History of Infinity, by Richard Morris, doesn't try to bamboozle the reader. Rather it gives a clear explanation of how such puzzles have occurred, and of the proposed solutions. Infinity is a mathematical concept, which some might think is unrelated to the real world. Naturally this book mentions mathematical ideas of infinity, such as infinitesimals and the work of Cantor, but its emphasis is on the occurence of infinities in physics, and how to get rid of them. Continued..
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Morrison, Margaret
Models as mediators Cambridge University Press, 1999ISBN: 0521655714
cover
Co-author
Morgan,Mary
Science is based on the creation of theories to explain observatons. But often the theories are too abstract to relate directly to the world. The contributors to this book explore the idea that scientific models act as mediators between the two. I would say that the book is mostly aimed at philosophers and historians of science - I found it a bit wordy and philosophical at times, and intend to look out for a book on the topic more suited to the general scientific reader. On the other hand there are plenty of concrete examples given, and practising scientists who are facing the issues raised in constructing scientific models will find much of interest. It would also be useful someone entering this area of study, as it introduces many of the 'standard' examples of scientific models. Continued..
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Moss, Ian
Quantum Theory, Black Holes and Inflation WileyISBN: 0471957364
cover
Mentioned in
Black Holes
A well presented textbook on the subject, dealing with QFT and GR then going on to the more advanced topics. Accessible to advanced undergraduates in mathematics or physics.
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Moyal, Ann
Platypus Allen & Unwin, 2001ISBN: 1560989777
cover The discovery of the duck-billed platypus came as a shock to nineteenth century biologists - some people even claimed that it was a hoax, put together out of parts of other animals. In Platypus Ann Moyal tells the story of the problems it caused in the developing science of taxonomy, of the rivalry between the British and the French over classification of newly discovered animals, and how the question was eventually settled. Moyal looks at how the scientists of the day, such as Charles Darwin, Richard Owen and Thomas Huxley, reacted to the platypus, and conversely the effect that dealing with this challenge had upon their careers. Continued..
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Mozzochi, Charles
The Fermat Diary American Mathematical SocietyISBN: 0821826700
cover
Mentioned in
fermat undecidable
A description of the years Andrew Wiles spent working on and correcting the proof of Fermat's last theorem.
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The Fermat proof Trafford PublishingISBN: 1412022037
cover
Mentioned in
fermat undecidable
A very short overview of Wiles' proof of Fermat's last theorem
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Murphy, Michael P
What is Life The next fifty years Cambridge University Press, 1995ISBN: 052145509X
cover
Co-author
O'Neill,Luke A J
In 1943 Erwin Schrödinger wrote 'What is Life', a book which is considered to have had great influence on the future of biology, in particular inspiring physicists such as Francis Crick to take an interest in the subject. 'What is Life? The next fifty years', is based on lectures given to mark the 50th anniversary of Schrödinger's book. Scientists such as Stephen J Gould, Roger Penrose, and Jared Diamond look at which of Schrödinger's predictions have come to fruition and which may form the basis of future research. If you're interested in what eminent scientists think are the hot topics in biology then you should take a look at this book. Continued..
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