Book Reviews May 2009

Cosmic Imagery John Barrow Bodley Head, 2008 ISBN: 9780224075237 They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. In Cosmic Imagery: Key Images in the History of Science John Barrow describes some of the science behind 89 iconic pictures. Continued..

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He Knew He Was Right John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin Allen Lane, 2009 ISBN: 9781846140167 You probably know about the Gaia concept, thinking of the Earth of a living system. He Knew He Was Right: The Irrepressible Life of James Lovelock and Gaia John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin tells the fascinating story of the inventor of this idea. Continued..

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Sartre David Drake Haus, 2005 ISBN: 1904341853 I hawe always been puzzled about how people claiming to support freedom can give their support to violent and dictatorial leaders, in particular how some of the intellectuals of the mid-twentieth century supported Stalin. Jean-Paul Sartre was prominent amoung literary intellectuals of this time, and in Sartre (Life & Times) David Drake gives an account of his life which helps to explain this contradiction. Continued..

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The Time Paradox Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd Rider, 2008 ISBN: 9781846041549 There are plenty of hours in the day, but time is one thing we never seem to have enough of. In The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd argue that the way we think of time plays an important part in how we live our lives. Continued..

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Quantum Manjit Kumar Icon books, 2008 ISBN: 9781848310292 Quantum theory is often shrouded in a veil of mystery, and you may wonder what all the fuss is about. Is it a case of those in the know trying to make it seem more difficult, or is there really something weird about it. In Quantum : Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality Manjit Kumar explains how such a view of quantum theory came about. Continued..

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Lionhearts Geoffrey Regan Constable and Co, 1998 ISBN: 0094781508 Conflict nowadays is often between different ideologies, and one might expect that this would have been even more so during the crusades. However, in Lionhearts: Saladin and Richard I Geoffrey Regan shows how these two leaders were in fact very similar, in terms of belief in chivalry and the importance of faith. Continued..

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Consciousness Reconnected Derek Steinberg Radcliffe, 2006 ISBN: 1857757785 What is Consciousness? The idea that it is just a property of a collection of chemicals seems to leave so much out. In Consciousness Reconnected: Missing Links Between Self, Neuroscience, Psychology and the Arts Derek Steinberg explores how taking input from differing areas of knowledge might contribute to the answer. Continued..

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Planet Google Randall Stross Atlantic Books, 2008 ISBN: 9781843589802 Google's search engine is so well known that we now have a verb: to google. But Google's aim of organising the world's information means that it is active in plenty of other areas besides web search. In Planet Google: How One Company is Transforming Our Lives Randall Stross describes some of the projects the company is currently involved in. Continued..

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