Sub-titled 'How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I', the book explores the birth of a world-changing idea in the middle of a bloodbath. It is a riveting exploration of the beauty of scientific creativity and the enduring horrors of human nature - two great forces battling in a story, the mind-bending theory of general relativity. The Great War was industrialised slaughter that bled Europe from 1914-18 and shaped Einstein's life and work. While he never held a rifle, he formulated general relativity while blockaded in Berlin, literally starving. He lost 50 pounds in weight in three months, unable to communicate with his most important colleagues, some of whom fought against rabid nationalism. Others were busy inventing chemical warfare. Being a scientist trapped a person in the powerplays of empire. Meanwhile, Einstein struggled to craft relativity and persuade the world that it was correct. This was after all the first complete revision of our conception of the Universe since Isaac Newton's, and its victory was far from certain. Scientists seeking to confirm Einstein's ideas were arrested as spies. Technical journals were banned as enemy propaganda. Colleagues died in the trenches. Einstein was separated from his most crucial ally by barbed wire and U-boats. This ally was the Quaker astronomer and Cambridge don A. S. Eddington, who would go on to convince the world of the truth of relativity and of the greatness of Einstein. Eddington in May 1919 led a globe-spanning expedition to catch a fleeting solar eclipse for a rare opportunity to confirm Einstein's bold prediction that light has weight. It was as a result of this that the proof of relativity as many saw it put Einstein on front pages around the world. This is an epic tale and celebration of how bigotry and nationalism can be defeated, and of what science can offer when they are. This moving and beautifully written account captures the heady thrills and the crushing setbacks amid the divided line that World War One had drawn across Europe. 390pp, illus.

In this chunky volume Darwin's biographer has collected hundreds of quotations from the writings of the great evolutionary scientist, illuminating both his public and private life. The first section deals with his early education and the voyage of the Beagle where he collected the specimens that would underlie his research. Of his schooldays he says disparagingly "The school as a means of education to me was simply a blank". But then "delight is a weak term to describe the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has been wandering by himself in a Brazilian forest"; "with my pistols in my belt and a geological hammer in my hand, shall I not look like a grand barbarian?". After an earthquake in Chile, "solid buttresses 6-10 feet thick are broken into fragments like so much biscuit". Famously, "four natives of Terra del Fuego were carried to England" where "they were taught the simpler religious truths and duties". While writing On The Origin of Species Darwin observes to geologist Charles Lyell that "I believe only one or a few of each large genus ultimately becomes victorious and leaves modified descendants". Darwin's religious faith collapsed: "We can no more argue that the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being" and "I gradually came to disbelieve in Christianity, but I was very unwilling to give up my belief". Above all, Darwin was adventurous: "I am like a gambler, and love a wild experiment." 348pp, black and white photos, chronology.

In The Descent of Man Darwin addresses many of the issues raised by his notorious Origin of Species: finding in the traits and instincts of animals the origins of the mental abilities of humans, of language, of our social structures and our moral capacities, he attempts to show that there is no clear dividing line between animals and humans. Most importantly, he accounts for what Victorians called the 'races' of mankind by means of what he calls sexual selection. This book presents a full explanation of Darwin's ideas about sexual selection, including his belief that many important characteristics of human beings and animals have emerged in response to competition for mates. This was a controversial work. Yet Darwin tried hard to avoid being branded as a radical revolutionary. He is steeped in Victorian sensibilities regarding gender and cultural differences: he sees human civilization as a move from barbarous savagery to modern gentlefolk, and women as more emotional and less intellectual than men, thus providing a biological basis for the social assumptions and prejudices of the day. The Descent of Man played a major role in the emergence of social Darwinism. This complete version of the first edition gives the modern reader an unparalleled opportunity to engage directly with Darwin's proposals, launched in the midst of continuing controversy over On the Origin of Species. New from Wordsworth. Paperback, 674pp with b/w illus.

A Financial Times Science Book of the Year sub-titled 'How Covid-19 Can Help Us to Save Humanity.' You could not hope for a better guide to the pandemic world order than Mackenzie who has been on this story from the start. Her readable and authoritative explanation of how this could possibly happen, and more importantly how it will happen again if we don't change, deserves a read. The Covid-19 pandemic has left a trail of loss, misery and economic ruin in its wake. With such destruction, can there be a silver lining? As science journalist Mackenzie illuminates in her eye-opening book there is one - with the lessons learned from this disaster we can avoid going through a nightmare like this, or worse, ever again. Here she lays out the full story in gripping detail, the previous viruses that should have prepared us, the shocking public health failures that led to this catastrophe, the wrong decisions made at every turn. Employing what we have learned about viruses, vaccines, inequality, global cooperation and more, Mackenzie charts a bold and optimistic path forward for protecting humanity from threats to come. It is a heart-pounding telling of the misadventures and the responsibilities of countries to work together to fight disease. 353pp, paperback.

Historians have often interpreted the lack of plant images in palaeolithic cave paintings as meaning our ancestors found vegetation either visually unstimulating or short on meaning, not "alive" as, say, a bison, mammoth or deer. Cave portraits of animals see them walking in air, never grazing and while there are plenty of images of men hunting, there are few of them gathering or working trees and wood, which was just as important. In his lyrical and highly original exploration of the history of our relationship with plants, Richard Mabey enthrals with fascinating tales of plants from all corners of the world. Here is the hunt for mythical plants such as the Amazonian moonflower and wonders of old age like the self-rejuvenating yew of Fortingall, Perthshire, that defies any effort to determine its real age as well as the Methuselahs of the plant world, the Bristlecone Pines of the southwest USA, many of which have been reliably dated to over 5,000 years old. Here too are "intelligent" plants, such as mimosas and the carnivores, plus wonderfully surreal tales of telepathic plants, plants which react to polygraphs (lie detectors) and could pick out a suspect who had killed (i.e., trod upon) another member of its species! Famous and less celebrated scientists, landmark and crazy experiments and thousands of amazing specimens, locations and habitats, Mabey's summation of a lifetime's looking at plants reads as a happy tangle of stories and studies, science and poetry. 374pp paperback with 50+ colour and b/w illus.

A futuristic journey through the cosmos with eight gorgeous pull-out posters to Venus (See you at Cloud 9 Observatory), Mars (Visit the historic sites), Ceres (Queen of the asteroid belt), Jupiter (Experience the mighty auroras) with turquoise blue and purple and lights on silvery balloons, Europa (Discover life under the ice), Titan (Ride the tides through the throat of Kraken), and Enceladus (More than 100 breath-taking geysers!) among them. Professor of Earth and Space Exploration in Arizona, the main belt Asteroid 8146 Jim Bell is named in the author's honour. We are welcomed to his 2218 edition travel guide to see the marvels of space. Jim Bell starts from close-to-Earth destinations in and around the solar system, moves out to the asteroid belt and to the outer solar system, and even includes the newly discovered TRAPPIST-No.1 System. You will find a treasure trove of useful historical and scientific facts, figures and information, from what causes Jupiter's auroras or 'Northern Lights' to why Titan provides a unique window into understanding the early history of our own Earth. Spectacular photos and inspirational posters guide us to Moon's intact lava-tube caves which are geological wonderlands. We witness a celestial drama unfold at Mercury's Double Sunrise Resort and Spa, visit Mars and climb the tallest volcano in the solar system, enjoy a romantic dinner at Phobos's Cucina Panorama while watching the surface of Mars drift past, take an impressive Low-g concert, one of the Deimos City Jazz Festival's live performances, zoom through the famous rings of Saturn on a stunning shuttle tour or hit the slopes of Pluto for some of the best skiing beyond the Jupiter system. Learn the history of near-Earth asteroids, things to do and places to stay and what not to miss and what to beware of. A cosmic travel guidebook imported from the USA, with stunning colour artworks, 160 large pages.
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A photography book with a difference, there is a motion picture on the front cover reproduced of a horse and rider on the front with legs actually moving as you turn the book side to side just as Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1900) demonstrated in his series of 'Locomotion' photographs. Famous for his invention of very fast photography and his discovery of how animals and people run, Muybridge's photographs showed horses, cats and people moving in their natural and instinctive ways. He invented techniques that showed the specific elements of our motion so that they could be studied and understood. This special big picture book uses a unique combination of words, printed reproductions of his classic photos, and 'lenticular' pictures which seem to move, magically on the page. A man doffs his hat, a cat bursts into a sprint, boxers take punches at each other. The book tells the true story of an enigmatic genius who opened the door to the modern movie. A short introduction, 32 very large pages, illus. Designed for ages 9-18 years but will be loved by curious adults.

Editor at Nature, Science and Science News and the author of Uncertainty, David Lindley holds a PhD in Astro-Physics from Sussex University and in his book provides vivid and captivating narrative about the emergence of modern science and how fundamental physics is regressing to its pre-scientific roots. In the early 17th century, Galileo broke free from the hold of ancient Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy. When he asserted that we should base our understanding of reality on what we can observe rather than on pure thought, he drastically changed the way we view the natural world. In the process he invented what came to be called science. This set the stage for Kepler, Newton, and Einstein, but in the early 20th century science began to change course. As quantum physics opened up realms increasingly far removed from what could be observed directly, theorists were forced to trust in the elegance and aesthetics of mathematics to develop their conception of physical reality. This process rendered theories more and more resistant to experimental and observational scrutiny and as a result, much of theoretical physics today is once again more akin to the philosophy of Plato than to the centuries-long model of science from which it springs. Lindley asks whether science that has become completely untethered from measurable phenomena is really science at all. He looks at the rise of particle physics and modern cosmology and argues that while the power of mathematics has been essential in delivering deep theoretical understanding, it has also widened the gulf between theory and observation and at times led astray scientists who put too much faith in what mathematics tells them. Fundamental physics has evolved into a highly mathematical form of philosophy and the book asks deep questions and has an impressive ability to attempt to answer them. 224pp, diagrams.

The founder of the Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution, the influential British scientist Michael Faraday might have been surprised not only by the topics covered, but to know that the Lectures he began continue today and reach so many people worldwide and online. The first book in the series covered the solar system. This volume sets off to explore the living wonders of our own planet and has an introduction by Richard Attenborough. A succession of eminent speakers has filled the Lecture Theatre with a teeming array of furry animals, luxuriant plants, squawking birds, crawling insects and many more besides as they unlock the greatest secrets of life on Earth. The book begins in the early 20th century when studies of the living world were gradually shifting away from a descriptive discipline preoccupied mainly with finding and naming species, towards the modern science of ecology, and how creatures interact with each other and their environment, forming an intricate web of life. Each Lecture consisted of between three and six hour long talks and the aim of the book is to give a flavour of the most exciting discoveries and ideas discussed. They include The Childhood of Animals by Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell 1911, Concerning the Habits of Insects by Francis Balfour-Browne 1924, Rare Animals and the Disappearance of Wild Life by Sir Julian Huxley 1937, How Animals Move Sir James Grey 1951, Animal Behaviour Desmond Morris 1964, The Languages of Animals David Attenborough 1973, Growing Up In the Universe Richard Dawkins 1991, To the End of the Earth: Surviving Antarctic Extremes Lloyd Peck 2004 and The 300 Million Year War by Sue Hartley 2009. With many pictures such as Attenborough introducing to the audience Tammy, a ring-tailed lemur, and a cave drawing of a wild horse. A companion to 92050 10 Voyages Through the Human Mind. 214pp with gilt edged pages.

Here are puzzles inspired by Albert Einstein who said 'The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.' You will find puzzles, enigmas and tests of logic forcing you to think, reason and imagine like the greatest thinker of the modern age, unlocking your genius through 60 demanding problems. Try the mashed quotes, Fibonacci's game, scientific logic, tribal mathematics, ciphertexts, true statements, coffee conundrums, sequences, magic squares, art and logic, the prisoner's dilemma, the coin challenge, a berry paradox, ballistics and more. Big clear layout, full page archive photographs of Albert Einstein himself and line art. 144pp.