A science masterpiece! Breaks new ground in presentation of material.
932828
Here it is about 10 years since Carl Sagan passed away, and we are now being treated to works by Neil deGrasse Tyson. I believe that Tyson can be mentioned in the same breathe as Sagan without suffering by the comparison.

If you are a science fan, you owe it to yourself to read this one. There is an economy, style and comprehensiveness here that appear flawless.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Hundred-Greatest-Stars/dp/0387954368/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Hundred Greatest Stars</a>&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Reading-the-Mind-of-God/dp/0385415664/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Reading the Mind of God</a>&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Cosmos/dp/0345331354/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Cosmos</a>&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Horizons-Exploring-the-Universe-with-TheSky-CD-ROM-AceAstronomy-and-Virtual-Astronomy-Labs/dp/0495010030/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Horizons: Exploring the Universe (with TheSky CD-ROM, AceAstronomy?, and Virtual Astronomy Labs)</a>
4054275
This is a completely wonderful creation!  Ostensibly about New York, but actually a celebration of the lives of so many great individuals, not only scientists, but also writers, doctors, travelers and others who have contributed so much to modern life and understanding. Many names I have known since childhood, but also so many new figures I had not encountered before.

Each person is illustrated with an interesting biography, often completed with a more personal anecdote about their life, rendering them in a much more human light than a dry description of their discoveries and work might do.  The accompanying photographs are splendid.  For the historical figures, these are often statues or cameos on walls (or gargoyles!), but for more contemporary characters, the photos are of the individuals themselves.  The Hargittais seem to have met everyone!

This being an account of a single city, many of the players overlapped with one another, attending (or founding) the same schools or universities, tutoring one another, or simply sharing a building.  These interconnections are fascinating.  Some of the group photos are a complete 'who's who' of the foundations of science.  There is the recurring thread of academics escaping Germany and eastern Europe.  One gets the feeling of the ongoing tradition of scientific and academic excellence and of a city that is a melting pot of ideas.

Greatly recommended!
4456411
This is what educational multimedia is all about! The animations combine striking visuals with clear biological information in a way I have not seen before. This is especially amazing given the complexity of the virus'  lifecycle. I don't have a background in biology and was thrilled to finally  understand how well known anti-HIV drugs work.
I am not surprised that  this one is an award-winner.
2397841
Neat, balanced, and with concise, sophisticated, complete, and usable treatment of topics missing from more modern textbooks, such as spreading wavepackets.
Tomonaga's distinctive spare brilliance shows up in every step. It brings to mind the classic of Landau and Lifschits, but does not waste as much time on inessential details.
A "must" in searches for the best way to formulate delicate topics, but, of course, not a coddling indulgence for casual science buffs!
1050352
This is an amazing and wonderful book that will surely attract many new students who would otherwise not choose to study geology.  It is full of colour pictures and photographs, written in an extremely entertaining style, and is also full of high-quality science put in perspectives that I have not seen in any other text.  The authors truly have everything at their fingertips.  The book comprehensively covers the full breadth of what the reader might infer from the title "Understanding Earth", including (in addition to geology) weather and climate, the evolution of life (concentrating mainly on microbes), biogeology, human impact on the earth, and study of the other terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars).  The information presented is up to date and, astonishingly given its publication date, includes detailed coverage of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, and results of the latest space probes to other planets.
3607453
This book is just plan amazing.  One would think that no one could write a 560 page book on frozen water and make it not only interesting, but fascinating.  I found myself turning the pages and reading despite myself.  Mariana Gossnell has a style that leads one on from wonder to wonder.  Indeed "Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance" is a masterpiece of science writing.  From a pond freezing over in winter to the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa and the ice in comets (indeed at least half of the water currently on earth may have originated in these deep space travelers) here is everything everyone might have ever wanted to know about this amazing substance and a lot more beside. Gossnell introduces us to ice in human history, its associations with living things, its uses and its origins. With a lot of ice (the world's glaciers and Greenland's ice cap among others) now melting apparently due to global warming, this is a very timely book.

Water has always fascinated me and this book just confirms the wonder that is water in all of its forms. It is a truism that without water life simply would not exist on the planet. DNA may be the molecule that determines life, but water is the molecule that allows it, at least in a form that we know. If you think the subject boring, read "Ice" and be surprised!  I recommend it highly.
799340
This review and guide to the depths and lofty heights of physics is a marvel in terms of strength of content and lucidity.  The clarity and  linguistic ease with which both elementary (as if there was such a thing!)  and advanced concepts are delineated speaks to the erudition of primarily  the subject, but also the editorial author.  This book is truly a work  deservant of note and appreciation from the lay and scientific communities.  I could continue but would undoubtedly only repeat my admiration.  Therefore, I close my comment with marvel and joy that I, and we my  friends, are fortuitous enough to enjoy and this superlative effort.
1097452
Although I am no particle physicist, Brian Green succeeds to give us a truly passionate account of how close Science is to resolve the problem of matter and what is all the fuss about string theory. Without any equation besides the now-popular E=mc2 but with a good deal of common sense and easy-to-understand examples, the author not only reviews the upmost important results found by Einstein's scientific family but also succeeds to give the reader an excellent feeling of what is a string, how come scientists dare to think there may be more than three spatial dimensions and even maybe more than one universe! On top of it, the author tries to keep a critical mind, noticing us that string theory is up to now "only" a beautiful mathematical object which, for the first time in history of Science, can almost explain everything but is still way, way ahead of experimentation. Thus, like any abstract thing not strongly tight to reality, string theory can still be toppled even by a light breeze...
810033
There is something very unique in this book in my opinion, which is the nice mix between real world scenarios with science behind the explanation. Something that you will not find if the person that is writing don't have the real experience with a great academic background. Congrats guys, excellent book!
2046045
My "headline" says it all.  Other glowing reviews are no doubt accurate too.  The author comingles materials science, chemistry, biology, sociology, psychology (general & perceptual), history, anatomy, philosophy (last chapter), and much more.  Yet it is all AN EASY READ!  And fascinating.  Even to someone who is already a chemist!  The book also serves as being full of examples of good pedagogy (teaching, at least in written discourse).  There's more excellence too:  humor done well (i.e. truly funny, but not over-done so as to distract); excellent use of analogies; substantial insightfulness & depth (I learned alot even in the technical aspects -- despite already being a chemist); profound thoughts.  This book is a superb complement to the book Napoleon's Buttons (17 molecules that changed the world [thought 17 SETS is more like it]).  But stand-alone the book is supremely outstanding.  Something you should cherish & savor.
371461
Science is a great intellectual adventure waiting to be explored. Thanks to science, we understand concepts once thought unimaginable and enjoy the luxuries once thought of as impossible. Still yet, many scientific concepts remain a mystery to most people. Fortunately, a solution is at hand; Carolyn White's series of Snowff make scientific literacy possible for everyone! Her books are entertaining, accurate, and amazingly informative.

Carolyn's new book entitled, "Snowff and the Rowdy Cloudy Bunch" transforms the classroom into a mesmerizing learning journey. Throughout the book science concepts are revealed in a way that engages and totally captivates students reading while listening to the CD.  Two years ago a tornado swept through our town leaving many families homeless and causing an array of questions in the minds of many students. Chapter 3 - "Tornado Horse" presented a tornado in a way that allowed students to grasp the concept of warm and cold fronts coming together during a thunderstorm. Many children experiencing fear and discomfort with changing weather often misunderstand weather in general. Carolyn White has found a way to present these concepts in a fun and interesting way that will leave students with a better understanding and appreciation for weather. I would recommend this book to anyone.
595571
As an educator, I have always been disturbed that physics is usually left for last. It thus becomes "optional" when it is actually foundational. And it is FUN! This is a great book for anyone with adequate reading skills from age 11 to 111. This means that science curriculums must be revamped and physics made essential. Along with earlier algebra instruction that is also more enjoyable than in the past, accessible physics will encourage students and others to pursue more advanced work.
And this will help make the supposedly  "impossible" {wink}, possible. And Dr. Kaku knows this!
Five cheers. Uh, stars.
To the future.
4632281
Greene has brought me up-to-date as well as enhancing my understanding of the space-time relationship and quantum mechanics!  From the tiniest particle to the unimaginably distant stars, I have become awed with the wonder of our universe. Don't miss this one.  It is physics made easy.
3197237
This Dianetics book is a breakthrough work of genius! If a science is defined as a subject with techniques that produce a predictable result, then this new science fulfills all expectations in spades!  It delivers a workable mental science into the hands of the everyday person, to help himself and family and friends. No longer is such knowledge 'owned ' only by those with vested interests, desiring to use it to contol rather than free one from his mental chains. Sounds incredible and it is. I have studied this book many times and used its techniques and later advances. I highly recommend this science of mental health not mental illness and, as author American L. RonHubbard has said, "May you never be the same again!"
4063811
This book has beautiful graphics and is chock full of the latest
developments in physics. A wonderful addition to the bookshelf of any
science buff. Even if you don't understand all of it you can look at
it in wonder !

John
3254748
As impossible as it seems, this brilliant book allows its reader to manipulate scientific concepts like light, sound, time, and space. It provides teachers, parents, grandparents, librarians, children and unaccompanied adults the opportunity to play and learn without pain. Each person who makes up a secret code, or creates kaleidoscopic art using the spirograph, or figures out which day birthdays will be three years hence, or projects accurate  constellations  onto the ceiling, cannot help but be entranced! The book's vivid colors are beautiful. The paper pop-ups are sturdy. And, the reader is treated to concise explanations matching these ingenious inventions. It is a great buy for active thinkers, though it requires a smartphone or a flashlight, plus pens and blank paper, to fully enjoy all of the contraptions within. This "doing" book is perfect for use in independent learning centers, or for grandparents to share with grandchildren, or as a teaching tool in science or design classrooms. It is an irresistible treat for all ages.
4187318
I just loved this book. Being a student of Physics in the late 60's I had no idea what was churning behind the scenes.  By humanizing the progress of scientific discovery and understanding through semi fictional relationships (recreating a collection of relationships from research, letters, and known meetingsand peppered throughout with imagination) she brought the characters, discussions and science to life in a whole new way.  My understanding of Quantum phisics is more solid because by following its history, I can better see how the different interpretations evolved.