Mathematics & Science

An authoritative interdisciplinary account of the historic discovery of gravitational waves.In 1915, Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves - ripples in the fabric of spacetime caused by the movement of large masses - as part of...

Journey into the vast depths of the observable universe by visualising the most spectacular images in astronomy in stereoscopic 3D.Welcome to the Universe in 3D takes you on a grand tour of the observable universe, guiding you through the most...

A comprehensive look at four of the most famous problems in mathematics. Tales of Impossibility recounts the intriguing story of the renowned problems of antiquity, four of the most famous and studied questions in the history of mathematics. First posed...

How math holds the keys to improving one's health, wealth, and love lifeWhat's the best diet for overall health and weight management? How can we change our finances to retire earlier? How can we maximize our chances of finding our soul mate? In The...

Menstruation is something half the world does for a week at a time, for months and years on end, yet it remains largely misunderstood. Scientists once thought of an individual's period as useless, and some doctors still believe it's unsafe for a...

Leading scholars take stock of Darwin's ideas about human evolution in the light of modern science In 1871, Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man, a companion to Origin of Species in which he attempted to explain human evolution, a topic...

A provocative and timely case for how the science of genetics can help create a more just and equal societyIn recent years, scientists like Kathryn Paige Harden have shown that DNA makes us different, in our personalities and in our health - and in ways...

A groundbreaking guide to flower flies in North America This is the first comprehensive field guide to the flower flies (also known as hover flies) of northeastern North America. Flower flies are, along with bees, our most important pollinators. Found in...

The classic case for why government must support science - with a new essay by physicist and former congressman Rush Holt on what democracy needs from science today Science, the Endless Frontier is recognised as the landmark argument for the...

The legendary Renaissance math duel that ushered in the modern age of algebraThe Secret Formula tells the story of two Renaissance mathematicians whose jealousies, intrigues, and contentious debates led to the discovery of a formula for the solution of...

New perspectives on the iconic physicist's scientific and philosophical formationAt the end of World War II, Albert Einstein was invited to write his intellectual autobiography for the Library of Living Philosophers. The resulting book was his uniquely...

The fascinating untold story of how the ancients imagined robots and other forms of artificial life-and even invented real automated machines The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT...

Biological evolution is a fact-but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. When Adaptation and Natural Selection was first published in 1966, it struck a powerful blow against those who argued for the concept of group...

How you can become better at solving real-world problems by learning creative puzzle-solving skillsWe solve countless problems-big and small-every day. With so much practice, why do we often have trouble making simple decisions-much less arriving at...

How Birds Evolve explores how evolution has shaped the distinctive characteristics and behaviours we observe in birds today. Douglas Futuyma describes how evolutionary science illuminates the wonders of birds, ranging over topics such as the meaning and...

Financial Times Best Books of 2020: ScienceWaterstones Best Books of 2020: Popular ScienceSymmetry Magazine Top Physics Books of 2020Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand...

What neurobiology and artificial intelligence tell us about how the brain builds itselfHow does a neural network become a brain? While neurobiologists investigate how nature accomplishes this feat, computer scientists interested in artificial...

What is morality? Where does it come from? And why do most of us heed its call most of the time? In Braintrust, neurophilosophy pioneer Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain. She describes the "neurobiological...

A provocative and inspiring look at the future of humanity and science from world-renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential...

The only comprehensive photographic guide to the ferns, clubmosses, quillworts and horsetails of BritainThis is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated and user-friendly photographic identification guide to the fifty-seven ferns and seventeen other...

An illustrated record book of theropod facts and figures - from the biggest to the fastest to the smartest The theropod dinosaurs ruled the planet for millions of years, with species ranging from the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex to feathered raptors...

Hailed by the Washington Post as "a sure-footed and witty guide to slippery ethical terrain," a philosophical exploration of AI and the future of the mind that Astronomer Royal Martin Rees calls "profound and entertaining"Humans may not be Earth's most...

The Greco-Roman mathematician Claudius Ptolemy is one of the most significant figures in the history of science. He is remembered today for his astronomy, but his philosophy is almost entirely lost to history. This groundbreaking book is the first to...

NPR's Best Books of 2020 American Scientist's 2020 Science Book Gift Guide Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system.Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often...

Walter Tschinkel has spent much of his career investigating the hidden subterranean realm of ant nests. This wonderfully illustrated book takes you inside an unseen world where thousands of ants build intricate homes in the soil beneath our feet...

The go-to photographic guide to all the insect orders of Britain and IrelandBritain's Insects is an innovative, up-to-date, carefully designed and beautifully illustrated field guide to Britain and Ireland's twenty-five insect orders, concentrating on...

Why the social character of scientific knowledge makes it trustworthy Do doctors really know what they are talking about when they tell us vaccines are safe? Should we take climate experts at their word when they warn us about the perils of global...

An essential undergraduate textbook on algebra, topology, and calculusAn Introduction to Analysis is an essential primer on basic results in algebra, topology, and calculus for undergraduate students considering advanced degrees in mathematics. Ideal for...

How birds have evolved and adapted to survive winterBirds in Winter is the first book devoted to the ecology and behavior of birds during this most challenging season. Birds remaining in regions with cold weather must cope with much shorter days to find...

Our universe seems strangely "biophilic," or hospitable to life. Is this happenstance, providence, or coincidence? According to cosmologist Martin Rees, the answer depends on the answer to another question, the one posed by Einstein's famous remark:...

More than fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein's vital engagement with the world continues to inspire others, spurring conversations, projects, and research, in the sciences as well as the humanities. Einstein for the 21st Century shows us why he...

An essential resource for learning about general relativity and much more, from four leading experts Important and useful to every student of relativity, this book is a unique collection of some 475 problems--with solutions--in the fields of special and...

How our ability to learn from each other has been the essential ingredient to our remarkable success as a species Human beings are a very different kind of animal. We have evolved to become the most dominant species on Earth. We have a larger...

A richly illustrated, state-of-the-art field guide for identifying European passerines in flight-the first of its kindOpening up new frontiers in birdwatching, this is the first field guide for identifying European passerines in flight, featuring more...

Physics Today, Notable Books of 2020 A finely drawn portrait of Einstein's sixteen months in Prague In the spring of 1911, Albert Einstein moved with his wife and two sons to Prague, the capital of Bohemia, where he accepted a post as a...

This book presents reverse mathematics to a general mathematical audience for the first time. Reverse mathematics is a new field that answers some old questions. In the two thousand years that mathematicians have been deriving theorems from axioms, it...

Paul Nahin is a master at explaining odd phenomena through straightforward mathematics. In this collection of twenty-six intriguing problems, he explores how mathematical physicists think. Always entertaining, the problems range from ancient catapult...

How music has influenced mathematics, physics, and astronomy from ancient Greece to the twentieth centuryMusic is filled with mathematical elements, the works of Bach are often said to possess a math-like logic, and Igor Stravinsky said "musical form is...

A stunning portrait of the nocturnal moths of Central and South America by famed American photographer Emmet Gowin American photographer Emmet Gowin (b. 1941) is best known for his portraits of his wife, Edith, and their family, as well as for his images...

In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard O'Neill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanity's expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler, an MIT-trained engineer, turned his attention to the molecular world as the place where...

Two hundred sixty million years ago, life on Earth suffered wave after wave of cataclysmic extinctions, with the worst wiping out nearly every species on the planet. The Worst of Times delves into the mystery behind these extinctions and sheds light on...

Until a few decades ago, the ocean depths were almost as mysterious and inaccessible as outer space. Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth's surface with an average depth of more than two miles--yet humans had never ventured more than a few hundred feet...

An accessible field guide to more than 500 of the most commonly found spider species in North AmericaOf the more than 49,000 species of spider worldwide, some 4,000 are in North America. Spiders of North America explores more than 500 of the most common...

A look at the extraordinary ways the brain turns thoughts into actions-and how this shapes our everyday lives.Why is it hard to text and drive at the same time? How do you resist eating that extra piece of cake? Why does staring at a tax form feel...

A comprehensive history of the biological sciences from antiquity to the modern era. This book presents a global history of the biological sciences from ancient times to today, providing needed perspective on the development of biological thought while...

An accessible, streamlined, and user-friendly approach to calculus Calculus is a beautiful subject that most of us learn from professors, textbooks, or supplementary texts. Each of these resources has strengths but also weaknesses. In Calculus...

How scientists through the ages have conducted thought experiments using imaginary entities - demons - to test the laws of nature and push the frontiers of what is possible.Science may be known for banishing the demons of superstition from the modern...

A book that finally demystifies Newton's experiments in alchemyWhen Isaac Newton's alchemical papers surfaced at a Sotheby's auction in 1936, the quantity and seeming incoherence of the manuscripts were shocking. No longer the exemplar of Enlightenment...