Tim Edwards

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Arizona

A Star Lost, a New Future

An unassuming astronomer and her family find themselves and the entire world dislocated after she makes a series of major interstellar discoveries that lead to the worst threat to Earth ever. Everyone tries to carry on with life as best they can, seeking normalcy in the midst of the news that the Earth has less than four years. Then she makes another discovery even more remarkable that opens the door to our first contact with an advanced civilization that has come to our rescue. The future of our solar system, the sun, and the Earth will never be the same again.

Sirius Loss

9195afd6-6b45-4606-92bf-1ab8fca4040d-1

Florida

Science

Animal Bodies

Matt Richtel

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Alaska

A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention





From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel, a brilliant, narrative-driven exploration of technology's vast influence on the human mind and society, dramatically-told through the lens of a tragic "texting-while-driving" car crash that claimed the lives of two rocket scientists in 2006.

In this ambitious, compelling, and beautifully written book, Matt Richtel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, examines the impact of technology on our lives through the story of Utah college student Reggie Shaw, who killed two scientists while texting and driving. Richtel follows Reggie through the tragedy, the police investigation, his prosecution, and ultimately, his redemption.

In the wake of his experience, Reggie has become a leading advocate against "distracted driving." Richtel interweaves Reggie's story with cutting-edge scientific findings regarding human attention and the impact of technology on our brains, proposing solid, practical, and actionable solutions to help manage this crisis individually and as a society.

A propulsive read filled with fascinating, accessible detail, riveting narrative tension, and emotional depth, A Deadly Wandering explores one of the biggest questions of our time--what is all of our technology doing to us--and provides unsettling and important answers and information we all need.

A Deadly Wandering - advanced readers copy 

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John D. Barrow

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Tennessee

John Barrow is increasingly recognized as one of our most elegant and accomplished science writers, a brilliant commentator on cosmology, mathematics, and modern physics. Barrow now tackles the heady topic of impossibility, in perhaps his strongest book yet.
Writing with grace and insight, Barrow argues convincingly that there are limits to human discovery, that there are things that are ultimately unknowable, undoable, or unreachable. He first examines the limits on scientific inquiry imposed by the deficiencies of the human mind: our brain
evolved to meet the demands of our immediate environment, Barrow notes, and much that lies outside this small circle may also lie outside our understanding. Barrow investigates practical impossibilities, such as those imposed by complexity, uncomputability, or the finiteness of time, space, and
resources. Is the universe finite or infinite? Can information be transmitted faster than the speed of light? The book also examines the deeper theoretical restrictions on our ability to know, including Godel's theorem--which proved that there were things that could not be proved--and Arrow's
Impossibility theorem about democratic voting systems. Finally, having explored the limits imposed on us from without, Barrow considers whether there are limits we should impose upon ourselves. For instance, if the secrets of the atom are to be found only by recreating extreme environments at great
financial cost, just how much should we devote to that quest?
Weaving together this intriguing tapestry, he illuminates some of the most profound questions of science, from the possibility of time travel to the very structure of the universe.

Impossibility - The Limits of Science and the Science of Limits

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Brian M. Fagan

The Journey from Eden - The Peopling of Our World

377a01a0-2357-4d06-8bbc-7d4fa64f2349-1

Michael J. Benton

The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time

The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history happened some 251 million years ago. In this cataclysm at least 90% of life was killed, both on land and in the sea, almost bringing evolution to a halt.What caused destruction on such an unimaginable scale?Was it the impact of a huge meteorite, or prolonged volcanic eruption in Siberia? In this acclaimed book, newly available in paperback, Michael Benton assembles all the evidence and gives his verdict.

When Life Nearly Died - The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time

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Richard Ellis

A noted naturalist's fascinating inquiry into the life and death of animal species Just about every species that has ever lived on earth is extinct. The trilobites, which dominated the ocean floors for 300 million years, are gone. The last of the dinosaurs was wiped out by a Mount Everest-sized meteorite that slammed into the earth 65 million years ago. The great flying reptiles are gone, and so are the marine reptiles, some of them larger than a humpback whale. Before humans crossed the Bering land bridge some 15,000 years ago, North America was populated by mastodons, mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and cave bears. They too are MIA. Passenger pigeons once flew over North America in flocks that numbered in the billions; the last one died in 1914. In this book you will meet creatures that were driven to extinction even more recently, as well as some that were brought back from the brink. You will even encounter animals not known to exist until recently -- an antidote to extinction.

No Turning Back - The Life and Death of Animal Species

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David Dobbs

Reef Madness opens up the world of nineteenth-century science and philosophy at a moment when the nature of scientific thought was changing, when what we call "science" (the word did not even exist) was spoken of as "natural philosophy" and was a part of theology, the study of "God's natural works."
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This is how what is now called science, until then based on the presence and hence the authority of God, moved toward reliance on observable phenomena as evidence of truth. At the book's center, two of that century's most bitter debates: one about the theory of natural selection, the other about the origin of coral.
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Caught in the grip of these controversies were two men considered to be the gods of the nineteenth-century scientific world: Charles Darwin, the most controversial and ultimately the most influential; and the Swiss-born zoologist Louis Agassiz, almost forgotten today but at the time even more lionized than Darwin.
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Agassiz was a paleontologist, the first to classify the fossil fish of the planet, and the first to conceive the idea of the ice age that altered our view of the Earth. He taught at Harvard, founded the Museum of Comparative Zoology, was one of the founders of the Smithsonian and of the National Academy of Sciences, and was considered the greatest lecturer of his time--eloquent, charming, spellbinding. Among his admirers: Emerson, Theodore Roosevelt, William James, and Thoreau. Agassiz believed that nature was so vast, complicated, and elegantly ordered that it could only be the work of God.
nbsp;
We see how this central principle of Agassiz's was threatened by Darwin's most central theory--that species change through natural causes, that we exist not because we're meant to but because we happen to. Agassiz, forced either to disprove Darwin's principle or give up his own, went to war full tilt against the theory of natural selection. It was a war that, beyond its own drama, had a second important effect on the new world of science.
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David Dobbs tells how Agassiz's son, Alexander, one of the most respected naturalists of his time, who witnessed his father's rise and tragic defeat yet supported the theory of natural selection over his father's objections, himself became locked in combat with Darwin.
nbsp;
The subject of contention was the "coral reef problem." As a young man of twenty-six, Darwin, with only a small amount of data, put forth a theory about the formation of these huge beautiful forms composed of the skeletons of tiny animals that survive in shallow water. It explained how the reefs could rise on foundations that emerged from the Pacific's greatest depths. This became the subject of Darwin's first long paper, and it propelled him to the highest circles of British science.
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The obsessed younger Agassiz spent the next thirty years in a vain effort to disprove Darwin's coral theory, traveling 300,000 miles of ocean and looking at every coral mass. In so doing, he laid the groundwork for oceanography, through which, in 1950, the question of the origin of coral was finally resolved.
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In Reef Madness, Dobbs looks at the nature of scientific theory. He shows how Darwin was crucially influenced by his encounters with the Agassiz father and son, and how the coral problem prefigured the fierce battle about evolution.
nbsp;
Original, illuminating, and fascinating, Reef Madness uses these large human struggles, which devastated two lives and shaped the thinking of another, to make real the Victorian world of science and to show how it affected the century that followed and continues to this day to affect our own.

Reef Madness - Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning of Coral

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David Myers

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Social Psychology

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John Polkinghorne

Science is very successful in discovering the structure and history of the physical world, but its success is purchased by the modesty of its ambition. There is more to be told of the encounter with reality, including the nature of scientific inquiry itself, than can be gained from impersonal experience and experimental test. This book goes beyond science to consider the human context in which it operates and to pursue that wider understanding which we all seek. It looks to issues of meaning and value, intrinsic to scientific practice but excluded from science's consideration by its own self-denying ordinance. It raises the question of the significance of the deep mathematical intelligibility of the physical world and its anthropically fruitful history. It considers how we may find responsible ways to use the power that science places in human hands. Science is portrayed as an activity of human persons pursued within a convivial and truth-seeking community. This book neither over-values science (as if it were the only worthwhile source of knowledge) nor devalues it (as if it were to be treated with suspicion or not taken seriously). Beyond Science provides a considered and balanced account which firmly asserts science's place in human culture, maintained in mutually illuminating relationships with other aspects of that culture.

Beyond Science - The Wider Human Context

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#hardcover #biology #science #microbiology #microorganisms #colorpictures 

The hidden dangers surrounding us.

Despite the confident strides of modern science, the threat of deadly unseen organisms such as viruses, bacteria and fungi still grip the imagination with their ferocious intensity.

For instance, resistant strains of bacteria can now survive the strongest antibiotics and deadly new biological weapons are being cooked up in laboratories worldwide.

Microterrors explores these threats as well as humanity's greatest living rivals that have been on the planet far longer than we have.

The introduction covers terms, definitions and a brief natural history, including the role of viruses in human evolution, as well as bioengineering and biological weapons. Microterrors then presents the truly terrifying rogues' gallery of invisible killers.

Dramatic life-like digital illustrations and computer-colored electron images provide mug book profiles of hundreds of naturally occurring and bioengineered microterrors, including:

 * Ebola, bubonic plague, cholera, malaria
 * Bacteria: pneumonia, anthrax, botulism
 * Viruses: HIV, hepatitis, common cold
 * Fungi and blood and tissue diseases.

Each entry includes concise facts such as date of discovery and place of origin, period of incubation, symptoms and length of suffering, likelihood of death, treatments, vaccines and cures.

Microterrors - Bacterial, Viral and Fungal Infections That Threaten Our Health

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Solar Systems

08506d74-4a13-4f27-82b0-33b699788a6b-1

Kris Bonnell

Minnesota

Bug Eyes

3d207776-c619-42bc-83b8-62795151a606-1

Out of This World Slime

Paul E. Desautels

Vivid photographs supplement practical data on the characteristics and collection of rock and mineral specimens.

Rocks and Minerals

f94197c3-4ba9-44d3-82fd-2847a56bc7b2-1

Anne Capeci

Oregon

Magic School Bus Science Chapter Book #6.

The Giant Germ

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#genetics #biology #cellbiology #DNA #environment #manipulation #formulations #observations #science

Maryland

The Forgotten Factor of Context

A provocative work that challenges our common assumptions about nature and science, this book is for all who want to understand the biological revolution of the late twentieth century. In this clearly written, well-illustrated book, Holdrege describes, using fascinating examples, how living organisms develop and exist within the context of their environments. In an age when we are able to reshape life on earth, this book offers a deeper, more complex vision of nature, one that can help us establish a more conscious and responsible connection to the world around us.

Genetics and the Manipulation of Life

1a8620dc-ea8f-4594-a734-30fbf29dc538-1

Sean Connolly

Louisiana

64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists

What could be more fun for kids than to have the kind of rip-roaring good time that harkens back to pre-video game, pre-computer days? Introducing 64 valuable science experiments that snap, crackle, pop, ooze, crash, boom, and stink! From Marshmallows on Steroids to Home-Made Lightning, the Sandwich Bag Bomb to Giant Air Cannon, The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science awakens kids' curiosity while demonstrating scientific principles like osmosis, air pressure, and Newton's Third Law of Motion. Kids will love performing these experiments, which use common household ingredients and equipment, in front of an audience or for themselves (though many require adult supervision). Entries are categorized into seven chapters according to scientific theme and are written in a simple-to-follow recipe format. each includes a detailed explanation of the scientific principle involved and a "Take Care!" section with special tips. The book's design and illustrations recall the pulp fiction look of science magazines from the days when space travel was still considered sci-fi, while the author's voice is wry and a bit conspiratorial. He assumes his readers are clever and never coddles them. Drop Mentos into a bottle of diet soda and stand back as a geyser erupts! Launch a rocket made from a film canister! Encase your little brother in a giant soap bubble! For young scientists—and the young at heart—this book is a blast. Literally.

The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science

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Michael Crichton

New Jersey

A Novel

Deep in the remote Nevada desert, eight people are trapped inside of the Xymos Corporation by a rapidly evolving swarm of predatory molecules that have massed together to form a powerful and intelligent organism that is targeting its creators.

Prey

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Marianne Taylor

Do you know why we are able to see light and hear sound? What is the Earth made of? How does the body produce energy? And, most important, does any of this matter? In I Used to Know That: Science, Marianne Taylor will answer those questions and more and will tell you why the answers are vital to us and to the scientists working on the cutting edge of scientific research. In this book, you will learn about: Physics-Energy and Electricity: How electricity is generated; how heat moves from one place to another; the relationship between electricity and magnetism Forces: The four fundamental forces; the origins of the universe; the composition and behavior of planets, stars and galaxies; the basic laws of mechanical physics Waves, Radiation and Space: How waves behave and how they affect us; the electromagnetic spectrum; radioactivity Chemistry-The Periodic Table: How to read the table; how atoms work; chemical bonds and reactions Fuels, Air and Pollution: Chemicals, both helpful and dangerous, in the air; crude oil and its useful chemicals; live cycle assessments Metals: The Earth’s structure; metals and alloys; construction materials Organic Chemistry: Natural polymers and their usefulness; nutrition; which chemicals are harmful Biology-Human (and Other) Bodies: The body’s systems-circulatory, skeletal, muscular, nervous, digestive, reproductive, respiratory and sensory Cell Biology: The structure of a cell; how photosynthesis works; what hormones do Evolution and Environment Ecology: The origins of life; how the eukaryotic cell evolved; mutation and natural selection; population, predation and extinction Genetics: what chromosomes are; how you inherit genetic traits; reproduction and cloning I Used to Know That: Science is a necessary read for anyone who wants to understand the modern scientific world and how the general principles of physics, chemistry, and biology affect our everyday lives.

I Used to Know That bundle of 2 

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#hardcover #kids #nonfiction #science #experiments #activities

These simple step-by-step activities combine hands-on fun and scientific investigation.

50 Science Things to Make and Do

374cfa84-c581-4847-a751-dcdd3c5e782e-1

Stephen Hawking

Lucy Hawking

Follows the adventures of a young boy and his neighbor friend as they travel through a computer portal into outer space, where they explore such mysteries as black holes and the origins of the universe, while trying to evade an evil scientist.

George's Secret Key to the Universe

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At Home in the Ocean

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Tim Edwards

Sirius Loss

Cory Phillips

Animal Bodies

Matt Richtel

A Deadly Wandering - advanced readers copy

John D. Barrow

Impossibility - The Limits of Science and the Science of Limits

Brian M. Fagan

The Journey from Eden - The Peopling of Our World

Michael J. Benton

When Life Nearly Died - The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time

Richard Ellis

No Turning Back - The Life and Death of Animal Species

David Dobbs

Reef Madness - Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning of Coral

David Myers

Social Psychology

John Polkinghorne

Beyond Science - The Wider Human Context

C. A. Hart; Tony Hart

Microterrors - Bacterial, Viral and Fungal Infections That Threaten Our Health

Kendrick Frazier; Time-Life Books Editors (Contribution by)

Solar Systems

Kris Bonnell

Bug Eyes

Kris Hirschmann

Out of This World Slime

Paul E. Desautels

Rocks and Minerals

Anne Capeci

The Giant Germ

Craig Holdrege

Genetics and the Manipulation of Life

Sean Connolly

The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science

Michael Crichton

Prey

Sean Connolly

The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science

Marianne Taylor

I Used to Know That bundle of 2

Kate Knighton

50 Science Things to Make and Do

Stephen Hawking; Lucy Hawking

George's Secret Key to the Universe

M. J. Cosson

At Home in the Ocean