"The Mushroom at the End of the World" is an eye-opening exploration of the unexpected connections between human destruction and the natural world's resilience. Author Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing follows the journey of matsutake mushrooms, a valuable commodity in Japan, and the varied characters involved in its commerce. Through their stories, Tsing examines the possibilities for collaborative survival in damaged landscapes and offers a unique perspective on the impact of capitalism on our planet's ecosystems. This book will appeal to those interested in environmental studies, anthropology, and economics.

This book is a comprehensive guide to quantum field theory and its applications to condensed matter physics. It covers both perturbative and non-perturbative techniques and provides clear explanations of complex concepts such as path integrals and Feynman diagrams. The book is highly recommended for graduate students and researchers in the field who are seeking a deeper understanding of quantum field theory.

The Little Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus is a great tool for anyone who needs quick help with language. It's perfect for students, crossword enthusiasts, or anyone who needs to find just the right word quickly. The integration of definitions and synonyms in each entry makes it easy to use and the center section with encyclopedic information helps broaden readers' knowledge. Overall, this is a compact and convenient reference book that can be used at home, school, or work.

This book would be a good read for philosophy students or anyone interested in delving into the complexities of Kantian philosophy. The extensive editorial apparatus provides helpful guidance for readers, and the translation accurately captures the nuances of the original text. The book's most unique feature is how it presents Kant's ideas in a clear and direct manner, making it accessible to both new readers and scholars.

"Why Trust Science?" is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why science is trustworthy despite its imperfections. With insights from the history and philosophy of science, Naomi Oreskes shows that scientific claims are rigorously vetted through a social process which includes consensus. The book also examines cases where scientists got it wrong and discusses the vital lessons we can learn from them. If you are interested in understanding the role of science in society and how to differentiate truth from falsehood, this book is a great place to start.

This book will appeal to those interested in the intersection of history, sociology, and the philosophy of science. Shapin's analysis of seventeenth-century England shows how scientific knowledge is influenced by societal beliefs and values. He argues that knowledge is not simply discovered but rather constructed in specific social contexts. A must-read for those who want to understand the complex relationship between science and society throughout history.

This book is recommended for those who want to understand how corporations prioritize profits over people and the environment, leading to denial and harmful consequences. The book delves into eight campaigns of denial, which are recounted in an epic tour showcasing group dynamics of delusion and deception. The author, an environmental attorney, combines deeply researched insight from her cross-examination of coal industry witnesses and psychological research to reveal how corporations create tribalism, power, conflict, anonymity, social norms, market ideology, and money.

"Maps of Time" is a must-read for anyone interested in an overview of the interconnectivity of the universe - from the origins of the Big Bang to present-day environmental concerns. David Christian's narrative style presents a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field of Big History while maintaining attention to detail. This book combines cosmology, geology, archeology, and population and environmental studies to present world history in a relatable and fascinating way.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how cultural myths and outdated thinking can contribute to the ecological crisis. Bowers makes a compelling case for the need for an ecologically sustainable ideology and offers insights from environmental writers like Aldo Leopold and Wendell Berry. This book will challenge your assumptions and inspire you to take action to save the environment.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the science behind sexual orientation. LeVay presents a compelling argument that sexual orientation is not a choice but rather a result of biological processes. His research on the interaction between genes, sex hormones, and the developing brain provides a new understanding of what makes a person gay, straight or bisexual. Readers will appreciate the clear and concise writing style, making it accessible to those without a scientific background.

This book is an insightful and engaging collection of essays that explores a wide range of scientific and personal topics. Perutz's writing style is warm, witty, and relatable, making it a great choice for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of the intersection between science and humanity. The book's most unique feature is perhaps how it seamlessly blends the personal and the scientific, making it a highly enjoyable and informative read for individuals of all backgrounds.

This book is highly recommended for physics students who want to excel in their studies. It's an excellent resource for learning and revising fundamental physics concepts. Moreover, its unique feature is that it provides worked solutions to problems culled from Princeton University's graduate program examination. This book enables students to improve their problem-solving techniques and gain a thorough understanding of the topics, including quantum mechanics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics.

Galileo's Finger is a great read for those who want to deepen their knowledge of science. Peter Atkins takes the reader through the most important scientific concepts, from evolution to the laws of thermodynamics, explaining them in an engaging and accessible way. The book is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to become scientifically literate and understand the key ideas that have shaped modern science.

This book is perfect for engineering students and practitioners who wish to improve their problem-solving skills efficiently using MATLAB. It offers various numerical methods such as interpolation, optimization, and differential equations, among others. It follows a step-by-step approach and provides various examples and exercises for better comprehension and assessment. This book is highly recommended for people who want to enhance their engineering computation through MATLAB.

"This fine translation is a god-send. . . . Surely you want to read what Galileo wrote. If so buy this book. Van Helden's introduction is scholarly; no one knows more about Galileo's telescope; the translation is superb; Van Helden's review of the reception of the Sidereal Messenger is profound; the bibliography is extensive. What more can I say?"—David W. Hughes, The Observatory"[ Sidereus nunclus ] has never before been made available in its entirety in a continuous form, with full notes and comment. The introduction, translation and notes by Van Helden are a splendid example of the best scholarship and fullest accessibility. . . . we can now truly get to grips with the phenomenon of Galileo and what his life and work should mean to us today."—Robert Temple, Nature

The death of the book has been duly announced, and with it the end of brick-and-mortar libraries, traditional publishers, linear narrative, authorship, and disciplinarity, along with the emergence of a more equitable discursive order. These essays suggest that it won't be that simple. The digitization of discourse will not be effected without some wrenching social and cultural dislocations.The contributors to this volume are enthusiastic about the possibilities created by digital technologies, instruments that many of them have played a role in developing and deploying. But they also see the new media raising serious critical issues that force us to reexamine basic notions about rhetoric, reading, and the nature of discourse itself.

C. Wright Mills is best remembered for his highly acclaimed work The Sociological Imagination , in which he set forth his views on how social science should be pursued. Hailed upon publication as a cogent and hard-hitting critique, The Sociological Imagination took issue with the ascendant schools of sociology in the United States, calling for a humanist sociology connecting the social, personal, and historical dimensions of our lives. The sociological imagination Mills calls for is a sociological vision, a way of looking at the world that can see links between the apparently private problems of the individual and important social issues.

This book is a great way to gain a comprehensive understanding of the European Union, from its inception to current times. It covers the Union's history, functioning and institutions, as well as its role beyond Europe. The updated edition covers the Lisbon treaty, the EU fiscal crisis, and the future of the Union. If you are interested in politics and international affairs, this book is a must-read.

Written with undergraduate students in mind, the new edition of this classic textbook provides a compact introduction to the physiology of nerve and muscle. It gives a straightforward account of the fundamentals accompanied by some of the experimental evidence upon which this understanding is based. It first explores the nature of nerve impulses, clarifying their mechanisms in terms of ion flow through molecular channels in cell membranes. There then follows an account of the synaptic transmission processes by which one excitable cell influences activity in another. Finally, the emphasis turns to the consequences of excitable activity in the activation of contraction in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle, highlighting the relationships between cellular structure and function. This fourth edition includes new material on the molecular nature of ion channels, the activation of skeletal muscle and the function of cardiac and smooth muscle, reflecting exciting new developments in these rapidly growing fields.

Now in paperback, in the tradition of E. H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World , a lively journey through the story of languageWith a language disappearing every two weeks and neologisms springing up almost daily, an understanding of the origins and currency of language has never seemed more relevant. In this charming volume, a narrative history written explicitly for a young audience, expert linguist David Crystal proves why the story of language deserves retelling. From the first words of an infant to the peculiar modern dialect of text messaging, A Little Book of Language ranges widely, revealing language’s myriad intricacies and quirks. In animated fashion, Crystal sheds light on the development of unique linguistic styles, the origins of obscure accents, and the search for the first written word. He discusses the plight of endangered languages, as well as successful cases of linguistic revitalization. Much more than a history, Crystal’s work looks forward to the future of language, exploring the effect of technology on our day-to-day reading, writing, and speech. Through enlightening tables, diagrams, and quizzes, as well as Crystal’s avuncular and entertaining style, A Little Book of Language will reveal the story of language to be a captivating tale for all ages.

The notion that our society, its education system and its intellectual life, is characterised by a split between two cultures—the arts or humanities on one hand, and the sciences on the other—has a long history. But it was C. P. Snow's Rede lecture of 1959 that brought it to prominence and began a public debate that is still raging in the media today. This 50th anniversary printing of The Two Cultures and its successor piece, A Second Look (in which Snow responded to the controversy four years later) features an introduction by Stefan Collini, charting the history and context of the debate, its implications and its afterlife. The importance of science and technology in policy run largely by non-scientists, the future for education and research, and the problem of fragmentation threatening hopes for a common culture are just some of the subjects discussed.

Oxford's Family Encyclopedia is an exceptional one-volume reference work that accommodates a wide range of subjects - science, biographies, art, architecture, sports, geography, technology, and more. With its 1,500 color illustrations and engaging write-ups, it's a great choice for families looking for a comprehensive reference book. It's affordable, convenient, and highly recommended for settling Jeopardy battles or helping out with homework.

This is the classic work upon which modern-day game theory is based. What began more than sixty years ago as a modest proposal that a mathematician and an economist write a short paper together blossomed, in 1944, when Princeton University Press published Theory of Games and Economic Behavior . In it, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern conceived a groundbreaking mathematical theory of economic and social organization, based on a theory of games of strategy. Not only would this revolutionize economics, but the entirely new field of scientific inquiry it yielded--game theory--has since been widely used to analyze a host of real-world phenomena from arms races to optimal policy choices of presidential candidates, from vaccination policy to major league baseball salary negotiations. And it is today established throughout both the social sciences and a wide range of other sciences.This sixtieth anniversary edition includes not only the original text but also an introduction by Harold Kuhn, an afterword by Ariel Rubinstein, and reviews and articles on the book that appeared at the time of its original publication in the New York Times , tthe American Economic Review , and a variety of other publications. Together, these writings provide readers a matchless opportunity to more fully appreciate a work whose influence will yet resound for generations to come.

This handbook would be an excellent resource for medical students and practitioners looking to sharpen their diagnostic skills. The book is systematically organized to present symptoms and signs for each specialty, with a detailed description of the basis of logical evidence-based differential diagnosis. It includes rare diagnoses alongside common conditions, and vital information about longer-term management, ensuring the excellence and confidence of the reader no matter what signs and symptoms the patient presents with. The book is a perfect companion for sharp and self-assured diagnoses throughout a medical career.

The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine would be an excellent resource for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians due to its clear and concise presentation of clinical information. Its unique inclusion of history, literature, art, and philosophy provides a holistic approach to patient care. The revamped History and Examination chapter with systematic flowcharts and new illustrations is particularly useful in facilitating the development of clinical skills. The handbook is updated to reflect relevant guidelines from key professional bodies to provide accurate and reliable advice.

Oxford Assess and Progress: Clinical Specialties is a great book for medical students in their fourth and fifth year or any junior doctor looking to improve their clinical knowledge. The book contains over 350 questions on a wide spectrum of conditions across various specialties, with each answer marked to track the reader's progress effectively. The feedback provided on each question includes directing the reader to relevant sections in the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties and key evidence-based guidelines for further reading. The book is written by practising clinicians and experts in medical assessment.

Case books are increasingly popular with students but most assume that the student is capable of gathering all the necessary information and making the correct diagnosis when faced with an unfamiliar clinical problem. However, even if you know how a typical 'myocardial infarction' presents, doyou know how to approach a patient presenting simply with 'chest pain'?Oxford Cases in Medicine and Surgery teaches students a hypothesis-driven, step-by-step, logical diagnostic approach to common patient presentations. This hands-on approach, which stimulates active learning, mirrors that used by successful clinicians on the wards, challenging students with questionsat each stage of a case (history-taking, examination, investigation, management). In tackling these questions, students learn to integrate their existing knowledge and apply it to a real-life scenario from start to finish.Each chapter focuses on a common presenting symptom (e.g. chest pain), rather than a physiological system (e.g. cardiology). By starting with a symptom, as doctors do in reality, students learn to draw on their knowledge of different physiological systems - for example, cardiology, respiratory,gastroenterology - at the same time.Within each chapter, a long case walks the student through a logical method for tackling patients presenting with a given symptom. Subsequent short cases test this learning, whilst reminding students to be wary of other conditions that may present in a similar way. All the major presenting symptomsin general medicine and surgery are covered, together with a broad range of pathologies.With references to landmark trials, relevant guidelines, and the inclusion of questions that are frequently asked in clinical settings, this book is an essential resource for all medicine students, and provides a modern, well-rounded introduction to life on the wards.Online Resource CentreThe Online Resource Centre to accompany Oxford Cases in Medicine and Surgery DT Figures from the book in electronic format, ready to download.DT 5 Single Best Answer questions for every chapter.DT Topical key updates on topics in the book, to keep you up-to-date with latest developments in the field.DT Hyperlinked online links to articles referenced in the book, providing ready access to the primary literature.

Freaks of Nature could be a fascinating read for those interested in both biology and history. Blumberg explores the connections between genetics, development, environment and evolution through the lens of bodily anomalies. Through this subject that was once considered taboo, the book sheds light on how individuals and entire species develop, survive, and evolve. Users would appreciate the unique perspective it provides on a topic that is not widely explored.

A profoundly original vision of an attainable future that ensures human prosperity by safeguarding our threatened planet “If you have time to read one book on this subject, I highly recommend the new Big World, Small Planet , by Johan Rockström , director of the Stockholm Resilience Center, and Mattias Klum, whose stunning photographs of ecosystem disruptions reinforce the urgency of the moment.”—Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times Big World, Small Planet probes the urgent predicament of our How is it possible to create a positive future for both humanity and Earth? We have entered the Anthropocene—the era of massive human impacts on the planet—and the actions of more than seven billion residents threaten to destabilize Earth’s natural systems, with cascading consequences for human societies. In this extraordinary book, the authors combine the latest science with compelling storytelling and amazing photography to create a new narrative for humanity’s future. Johan Rockström and Mattias Klum reject the notion that economic growth and human prosperity can only be achieved at the expense of the environment. They contend that we have unprecedented opportunities to navigate a “good Anthropocene.” By embracing a deep mind-shift, humanity can reconnect to Earth, discover universal values, and take on the essential role of planetary steward. With eloquence and profound optimism, Rockström and Klum envision a future of abundance within planetary boundaries—a revolutionary future that is at once necessary, possible, and sustainable for coming generations.

This book is ideal for anyone interested in understanding the intricacies of strategic thinking and conflict resolution. Schelling proposes a new way of looking at negotiations, war, and criminal deterrence, showing enlightening similarities between these seemingly disparate situations. This book offers insights into human psychology and helps readers understand why we behave the way we do in certain situations, making it a must-read for anyone looking to improve their negotiation skills or enhance their knowledge of game theory.

What ingredient in Coke can remove rust from chrome? What is the bitterest substance on earth? What is the worst smelling one? In this entertaining tour of chemistry, John Emsley answers these and many other questions as he illuminates the materials that make up our world. Dozens of lively articles explore such well-known molecules as water, oxygen, and glass; versatile plastics like polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyurethane; even "elements from hell" such as Sarin (a lethal nerve gas). With no formulas, equations, or molecular diagrams to baffle the non-expert, each piece blends history, science, and anecdote, with many intriguing facts added to the mix. "The world of chemistry has never been made as entertaining," writes Nobel Prize-winning chemist Roald Hoffmann. Indeed, this book will fascinate everyone curious about the chemicals in the foods we eat, the clothes we wear, and the air we breathe.

Over the course of human history, the sciences, and biology in particular, have often been manipulated to cause immense human suffering. For example, biology has been used to justify eugenic programs, forced sterilization, human experimentation, and death camps—all in an attempt to support notions of racial superiority. By investigating the past, the contributors to Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins hope to better prepare us to discern ideological abuse of science when it occurs in the future.   Denis R. Alexander and Ronald L. Numbers bring together fourteen experts to examine the varied ways science has been used and abused for nonscientific purposes from the fifteenth century to the present day. Featuring an essay on eugenics from Edward J. Larson and an examination of the progress of evolution by Michael J. Ruse, Biology and Ideology examines uses both benign and sinister, ultimately reminding us that ideological extrapolation continues today. An accessible survey, this collection will enlighten historians of science, their students, practicing scientists, and anyone interested in the relationship between science and culture.

What use is physical chemistry to the student of biochemistry and biology? This central question is answered in this book mainly through the use of worked examples and problems. The book starts by introducing the laws of thermodynamics, and then uses these laws to derive the equations relevant to the student in dealing with chemical equilibria (including the binding of small molecules to proteins), properties of solutions, acids and bases, and oxidation-reduction processes. The student is thus shown how a knowledge of thermodynamic qualities makes it possible to predict whether, and how, a reaction will proceed.Thermodynamics, however, gives no information about how fast a reaction will happen. The study of the rates at which processes occur (kinetics) forms the second main theme of the book. This section poses and answers questions such as `how is the rate of a reaction affected by temperature, pH, ionic strength, and the nature of the reactants? These same ideas are then shown to be useful in the study of enzyme-catalysed reactions.

Are we deranged? The acclaimed Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh argues that future generations may well think so. How else to explain our imaginative failure in the face of global warming? In his first major book of nonfiction since In an Antique Land, Ghosh examines our inability—at the level of literature, history, and politics—to grasp the scale and violence of climate change.The extreme nature of today’s climate events, Ghosh asserts, make them peculiarly resistant to contemporary modes of thinking and imagining. This is particularly true of serious literary fiction: hundred-year storms and freakish tornadoes simply feel too improbable for the novel; they are automatically consigned to other genres. In the writing of history, too, the climate crisis has sometimes led to gross simplifications; Ghosh shows that the history of the carbon economy is a tangled global story with many contradictory and counterintuitive elements.Ghosh ends by suggesting that politics, much like literature, has become a matter of personal moral reckoning rather than an arena of collective action. But to limit fiction and politics to individual moral adventure comes at a great cost. The climate crisis asks us to imagine other forms of human existence—a task to which fiction, Ghosh argues, is the best suited of all cultural forms. His book serves as a great writer’s summons to confront the most urgent task of our time.

If you're both intrigued and perhaps a bit concerned about how AI and technology will reshape the job landscape, "The Future of the Professions" is a crucial read. It's not just speculation; the Susskinds back their views with solid research across various fields, making it a thought-provoking analysis for anyone interested in the intersection of work, technology, and society. This book might change how you view your job's future, and it's a fascinating roadmap of what to expect as we tread into an increasingly automated world.

Bayes rule appears to be a straightforward, one-line theorem: by updating our initial beliefs with objective new information, we get a new and improved belief. To its adherents, it is an elegant statement about learning from experience. To its opponents, it is subjectivity run amok. In the first-ever account of Bayes' rule for general readers, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne explores this controversial theorem and the human obsessions surrounding it. She traces its discovery by an amateur mathematician in the 1740s through its development into roughly its modern form by French scientist Pierre Simon Laplace. She reveals why respected statisticians rendered it professionally taboo for 150 years at the same time that practitioners relied on it to solve crises involving great uncertainty and scanty information, even breaking Germany's Enigma code during World War II, and explains how the advent of off-the-shelf computer technology in the 1980s proved to be a game-changer. Today, Bayes' rule is used everywhere from DNA de-coding to Homeland Security.Drawing on primary source material and interviews with statisticians and other scientists, The Theory That Would Not Die is the riveting account of how a seemingly simple theorem ignited one of the greatest controversies of all time.

Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It (08) by Zittrain, Jonathan [Hardcover (2008)]

How does science work? Does it tell us what the world is "really" like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality , Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the reader on a grand tour of one hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science.Intended for undergraduates and general readers with no prior background in philosophy, Theory and Reality covers logical positivism; the problems of induction and confirmation; Karl Popper's theory of science; Thomas Kuhn and "scientific revolutions"; the views of Imre Lakatos, Larry Laudan, and Paul Feyerabend; and challenges to the field from sociology of science, feminism, and science studies. The book then looks in more detail at some specific problems and theories, including scientific realism, the theory-ladeness of observation, scientific explanation, and Bayesianism. Finally, Godfrey-Smith defends a form of philosophical naturalism as the best way to solve the main problems in the field.Throughout the text he points out connections between philosophical debates and wider discussions about science in recent decades, such as the infamous "science wars." Examples and asides engage the beginning student; a glossary of terms explains key concepts; and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. However, this is a textbook that doesn't feel like a textbook because it captures the historical drama of changes in how science has been conceived over the last one hundred years.Like no other text in this field, Theory and Reality combines a survey of recent history of the philosophy of science with current key debates in language that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow.

Covers all aspects of the Cambridge IGCSE Biology syllabus. Cambridge IGCSE Biology, Second edition matches the requirements of the revised Cambridge IGCSE Biology syllabus (0610). The series is written by an experienced IGCSE teacher, examiner and trainer, and is endorsed by CIE, ensuring that it is up to date and comprehensive in its coverage. The Coursebook content has been revised and rearranged, and new material is included on an accompanying CD-ROM in response to specific needs highlighted by practising teachers. A Workbook and a Teacher's resource are also available.

Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science Coursebook is designed to provide up to date and comprehensive material to cover recent developments in computer science. The content has been written by experienced IGCSE teachers and computer science trainers, offering readers support on the theoretical and practical aspects of the course. It contains detailed explanations of concepts, with examples and tasks to help students consolidate their skills.

This collection of essays by eminent philosopher Fred Dretske brings together work on the theory of knowledge and philosophy of mind spanning thirty years. The two areas combine to lay the groundwork for a naturalistic philosophy of mind. The essays focus on perception, knowledge, and consciousness. Together, they show the interconnectedness of Dretske's work in epistemology and his more contemporary ideas on philosophy of mind, shedding light on the links that can be made between the two. This collection will be a valuable resource for a wide range of philosophers and their students, and will also be of interest to cognitive scientists, psychologists, and philosophers of biology.

Worldwide, more people die by suicide than by murder, and many more are left behind to grieve. Despite distressing statistics that show suicide rates rising, the subject, long a taboo, is infrequently talked about. In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history, poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht channels her grief for two friends lost to suicide into a search for history’s most persuasive arguments against the irretrievable act, arguments she hopes to bring back into public consciousness. From the Stoics and the Bible to Dante, Shakespeare, Wittgenstein, and such twentieth-century writers as John Berryman, Hecht recasts the narrative of our “secular age” in new terms. She shows how religious prohibitions against self-killing were replaced by the Enlightenment’s insistence on the rights of the individual, even when those rights had troubling applications. This transition, she movingly argues, resulted in a profound cultural and moral loss: the loss of shared, secular, logical arguments against suicide. By examining how people in other times have found powerful reasons to stay alive when suicide seems a tempting choice, she makes a persuasive intellectual and moral case against suicide.

Gauss's law for electric fields, Gauss's law for magnetic fields, Faraday's law, and the Ampere Maxwell law are four of the most influential equations in science. In this guide for students, each equation is the subject of an entire chapter, with detailed, plain language explanations of the physical meaning of each symbol in the equation, for both the integral and differential forms. The final chapter shows how Maxwell's equations may be combined to produce the wave equation, the basis for the electromagnetic theory of light. This book is a wonderful resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in electromagnetism and electromagnetics. A website hosted by the author at www.cambridge.org/9780521701471 contains interactive solutions to every problem in the text as well as audio podcasts to walk students through each chapter.

Worldwide, more people die by suicide than by murder, and many more are left behind to grieve. Despite distressing statistics that show suicide rates rising, the subject, long a taboo, is infrequently talked about. In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history, poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht channels her grief for two friends lost to suicide into a search for history’s most persuasive arguments against the irretrievable act, arguments she hopes to bring back into public consciousness. From the Stoics and the Bible to Dante, Shakespeare, Wittgenstein, and such twentieth-century writers as John Berryman, Hecht recasts the narrative of our “secular age” in new terms. She shows how religious prohibitions against self-killing were replaced by the Enlightenment’s insistence on the rights of the individual, even when those rights had troubling applications. This transition, she movingly argues, resulted in a profound cultural and moral loss: the loss of shared, secular, logical arguments against suicide. By examining how people in other times have found powerful reasons to stay alive when suicide seems a tempting choice, she makes a persuasive intellectual and moral case against suicide.

Building on the success of previous editions, Economics, Twelfth Edition, has been thoroughly updated and revised. Rigorous yet also accessible to beginners, it provides comprehensive coverage of both introductory macroeconomics and microeconomics. The authors balance in-depth explanations ofkey theoretical concepts with a wide range of real-world examples drawn from around the globe. They incorporate numerous pedagogical features including highlighted definitions of economic terms, short revision questions, and updated end-of-chapter questions.New to this * Incorporates full coverage of the 2008 banking crisis and recession, featuring revised sections on banking, the financial system, and fiscal policy* Integrates a broad range of international applied examples, including the cost of climate change, celebrity earnings, and global imbalances in the economy* Includes more end-of-chapter questionsAn updated and expanded Companion Website contains resources for students and For * Self-test questions* Interactive chapters* Web links* Flashcard glossary* Author's blogFor * Figures from the text* Instructor's Manual* Animated PowerPoint-based slides* Test bank

Happiness is an everyday term in our lives, and most of us strive to be happy. But defining happiness can be difficult. In this Very Short Introduction, Dan Haybron considers the true nature of happiness. By examining what it is, assessing its subjective values, its importance in our lives, and how we can (and should) pursue it, he considers the current thinking on happiness, from psychology to philosophy. Illustrating the diverse routes to happiness, Haybron reflects on the growing influence of secular Western ideas in the contemporary pursuit of a good life, and considers the influence of social context on our satisfaction and well-being. About the Series: Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

One of the paradoxes of the physical sciences is that as our knowledge has progressed, more and more diverse physical phenomena can be explained in terms of fewer underlying laws, or principles. In Hidden Unity, eminent physicist John Taylor puts many of these findings into historical perspective and documents how progress is made when unexpected, hidden unities are uncovered between apparently unrelated physical phenomena. Taylor cites examples from the ancient Greeks to the present day, such as the unity of celestial and terrestrial dynamics (17th century), the unity of heat within the rest of dynamics (18th century), the unity of electricity, magnetism, and light (19th century), the unity of space and time and the unification of nuclear forces with electromagnetism (20th century). Without relying on mathematical detail, Taylor's emphasis is on fundamental physics, like particle physics and cosmology. Balancing what is understood with the unestablished theories and still unanswered questions, Taylor takes readers on a fascinating ongoing journey. John C. Taylor is Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge. A student of Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, Taylor's research career has spanned the era of developments in elementary particle physics since the 1950s. He taught theoretical physics at Imperial College, London, and at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and he has lectured worldwide. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Over the past twenty years there has been a revolution in biology--for the first time scientists have been able to unravel the details of how organisms make themselves. The mechanisms by which a fertilized egg develops into an adult can now be grasped in a way that was unimaginable a few decadesago. The Art of Genes is the first account of these exciting new findings, and of their broader significance in how we view ourselves.Through a highly original synthesis of sciece and art, Enrico Coen vividly describes this revolution in our understanding of how plants and animals develop. Drawing on a wide range of material--from flowers growing petals instead of sex organs, and flies that develop an extra pair of wings, toworks of art by Leonardo and Magritte--he explains in lively accessible prose the meaning of genes. Coen draws parallels between the way genes respond to the developing pattern of an organism and the way an artist responds to a painting being created on canvas, a memorable analogy that shows howthe organism develops through an interactive dialogue in which there is no separation between plan and execution.There have been many attempts to resolve the paradox of how organisms make themselves. Lucid, authoritative, and entertaining, The Art of Genes offers fresh and exciting insights into the nature of evolution, development, and human creativity.

This authoritative translation by John Cottingham of the Meditations is taken from the much acclaimed three-volume Cambridge edition of the Philosophical Writings of Descartes. It is based on the best available texts and presents Descartes' central metaphysical writings in clear, readable modern English.

This book offers an in-depth exploration of the search for habitable planets beyond our solar system. It provides insights into the characteristics that make a planet habitable, and the techniques scientists use to detect these planets. Readers who are intrigued by space exploration and the possibility of life beyond Earth will find this book captivating. The author, James Kasting, has extensive experience working with NASA and provides a well-researched and engaging perspective on the topic.