4th Rock from the Sun
$27.00
Mars is ingrained in our culture, from H. G. Wells's 1898 novel The War of the Worlds to Looney Tunes's hapless Marvin the Martian to David Bowie's extraterrestrial spiders. Ancient mythologies defined the planet as a violent harbinger of war, stargazers puzzled over its peculiar motion, and astrologers defined human personalities by its position.
Science fact is now surpassing science fiction. Robot vehicles have trundled across the planet's surface, beaming back views of its rust-orange surface, and have tested soil and atmosphere to get clues about how the planet has evolved and whether it supported (or supports) life. There are many more Mars missions planned over the next decade. And while little green Martians are now firmly the preserve of literature and film, there is growing evidence that the now-arid, frozen planet once had been warm, wet, and possibly thronging with microbial life. One day in the foreseeable future, humans are likely to set foot on the Red Planet. What are the challenges involved, and how are we preparing for them? Is there a long-term future for humans on Mars?
4th Rock from the Sun examines Mars in its entirety--its nature, attributes, and impact on the 3rd Rock's culture; its environmental science and geology; and its potential for human colonization. Writing in an engaging manner, Nicky Jenner provides a comprehensive and spellbinding guide to the Red Planet.
ISBN/SKU:
9781472922496
Publication Date:
2017-06-20
Publisher:
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Aliens: The World's Leading Scientists on the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
$25.00
In these lively and fascinating essays, scientists from around the world weigh in on the latest advances in the search for intelligent life in the universe and discuss just what that might look like. Since 2000, science has seen a surge in data and interest on several fronts related to E.T. (extraterrestrials); A.I. (artificial intelligence); and SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence). The debate has intensified over whether life exists outside our solar system, what that life would look like, and whether we'll ever make contact.
Included here are essays from a broad spectrum of the scientific community: cosmologists, astrophysicists, NASA planetary scientists, and geneticists, to name just a few, discussing the latest research and theories relating to alien life. Some of the topics include: If life exists somewhere in space, what are the odds that it evolves into something we would recognize as intelligent? What will space travel look like in the future, and will it all be done by cyborg technology? How long until we are ruled by robot overlords? (This is actually a serious consideration.) Are we simply a simulation in the mind of some supreme being, acting out a virtual reality game?
For those who have ever wondered, Is there anybody out there? here are the latest theories and evidence that move us closer to answering that question.
ISBN/SKU:
9781250109637
Publication Date:
2017-05-09
Publisher:
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Almost Human
$26.00
This first-person narrative about an archaeological discovery is rewriting the story of human evolution. A story of defiance and determination by a controversial scientist, this is Lee Berger's own take on finding Homo naledi, an all-new species on the human family tree and one of the greatest discoveries of the 21st century. In 2013, Berger, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, caught wind of a cache of bones in a hard-to-reach underground cave in South Africa. He put out a call around the world for petite collaborators--men and women small and adventurous enough to be able to squeeze through 8-inch tunnels to reach a sunless cave 40 feet underground. With this team of "underground astronauts," Berger made the discovery of a lifetime: hundreds of prehistoric bones, including entire skeletons of at least 15 individuals, all perhaps two million years old. Their features combined those of known prehominids like Lucy, the famous Australopithecus, with those more human than anything ever before seen in prehistoric remains. Berger's team had discovered an all new species, and they called it Homo naledi. The cave quickly proved to be the richest primitive hominid site ever discovered, full of implications that shake the very foundation of how we define what makes us human. Did this species come before, during, or after the emergence of Homo sapiens on our evolutionary tree? How did the cave come to contain nothing but the remains of these individuals? Did they bury their dead? If so, they must have had a level of self-knowledge, including an awareness of death. And yet those are the very characteristics used to define what makes us human. Did an equally advanced species inhabit Earth with us, or before us? Berger does not hesitate to address all these questions. Berger is a charming and controversial figure, and some colleagues question his interpretation of this and other finds. But in these pages, this charismatic and visionary paleontologist counters their arguments and tells his personal story: a rich and readable narrative about science, exploration, and what it means to be human.
ISBN/SKU:
9781426218118
Publication Date:
2017-05-09
Publisher:
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Amazing Sights Night Sky Playing Cards
$5.95
Play cards and learn about the night sky!
This gorgeous deck of playing cards, put together by author George Moromisato, features full-color photographs of 54 of the best objects and phenomena the night sky has to offer, including the Andromeda Galaxy, the International Space Station, planets, and more! Anyone who enjoys stargazing will love having these cards for playing their favorite games or to use as flash cards.
ISBN/SKU:
9781591936947
Publication Date:
2017-02-28
Publisher:
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Anatomy Coloring Book (4TH ed.)
$26.90
Why use this coloring book? For more than 35 years, The Anatomy Coloring Book has been the #1 best-selling human anatomy coloring book! A useful tool for anyone with an interest in learning anatomical structures, this concisely written text features precise, extraordinary hand-drawn figures that were crafted especially for easy coloring and interactive study. Organized according to body systems, each of the 162 two-page spreads featured in this book includes an ingenious color-key system where anatomical terminology is linked to detailed illustrations of the structures of the body. When you color to learn with The Anatomy Coloring Book, you make visual associations with key terminology, and assimilate information while engaging in kinesthetic learning. Studying anatomy is made easy and fun! The Fourth Edition features user-friendly two-page spreads with enlarged art, clearer, more concise text descriptions, and new boldface headings that make this classic coloring book accessible to a wider range of learners.
ISBN/SKU:
9780321832016
Publication Date:
2013-04-06
Publisher:
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Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
$18.95
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.
But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.
ISBN/SKU:
9780393609394
Publication Date:
2017-05-02
Publisher:
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Bad Choices: How Algorithms Can Help You Think Smarter and Live Happier
$20.00
A relatable, interactive, and funny exploration of algorithms, those essential building blocks of computer science--and of everyday life--from the author of the wildly popular Bad Arguments
Algorithms--processes that are made up of unambiguous steps and do something useful--make up the very foundations of computer science. But they also inform our choices in approaching everyday tasks, from managing a pile of clothes fresh out of the dryer to deciding what music to listen to. With Bad Choices, Ali Almossawi presents twelve scenes from everyday life that help demonstrate and demystify the fundamental algorithms that drive computer science, bringing these seemingly elusive concepts into the understandable realms of the everyday. Readers will discover how:
- Matching socks can teach you about search and hash tables
- Planning trips to the store can demonstrate the value of stacks
- Deciding what music to listen to shows why link analysis is all-important
- Crafting a succinct Tweet draws on ideas from compression
- Making your way through a grocery list helps explain priority queues and traversing graphs
- And more As you better understand algorithms, you'll also discover what makes a method faster and more efficient, helping you become a more nimble, creative problem-solver, ready to face new challenges. Bad Choices will open the world of algorithms to all readers, making this a perennial go-to for fans of quirky, accessible science books.
Algorithms--processes that are made up of unambiguous steps and do something useful--make up the very foundations of computer science. But they also inform our choices in approaching everyday tasks, from managing a pile of clothes fresh out of the dryer to deciding what music to listen to. With Bad Choices, Ali Almossawi presents twelve scenes from everyday life that help demonstrate and demystify the fundamental algorithms that drive computer science, bringing these seemingly elusive concepts into the understandable realms of the everyday. Readers will discover how:
- Matching socks can teach you about search and hash tables
- Planning trips to the store can demonstrate the value of stacks
- Deciding what music to listen to shows why link analysis is all-important
- Crafting a succinct Tweet draws on ideas from compression
- Making your way through a grocery list helps explain priority queues and traversing graphs
- And more As you better understand algorithms, you'll also discover what makes a method faster and more efficient, helping you become a more nimble, creative problem-solver, ready to face new challenges. Bad Choices will open the world of algorithms to all readers, making this a perennial go-to for fans of quirky, accessible science books.
ISBN/SKU:
9780735222120
Publication Date:
2017-04-04
Publisher:
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Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets
$27.95
From a leading planetary scientist and an award-winning science writer, a propulsive account of the developments and initiatives that have transformed the dream of space colonization into something that may well be achievable.
We are at the cusp of a golden age in space science, as increasingly more entrepreneurs--Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos--are seduced by the commercial potential of human access to space. But Beyond Earth does not offer another wide-eyed technology fantasy: instead, it is grounded not only in the human capacity for invention and the appeal of adventure but also in the bureaucratic, political, and scientific realities that present obstacles to space travel--realities that have hampered NASA's efforts ever since the Challenger disaster.
In Beyond Earth, Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R.Hendrix offer groundbreaking research and argue persuasively that not Mars, but Titan--a moon of Saturn with a nitrogen atmosphere, a weather cycle, and an inexhaustible supply of cheap energy, where we will even be able to fly like birds in the minimal gravitational field--offers the most realistic and thrill-ing prospect of life without support from Earth.
(With 8 pages of color illustrations)
We are at the cusp of a golden age in space science, as increasingly more entrepreneurs--Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos--are seduced by the commercial potential of human access to space. But Beyond Earth does not offer another wide-eyed technology fantasy: instead, it is grounded not only in the human capacity for invention and the appeal of adventure but also in the bureaucratic, political, and scientific realities that present obstacles to space travel--realities that have hampered NASA's efforts ever since the Challenger disaster.
In Beyond Earth, Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R.Hendrix offer groundbreaking research and argue persuasively that not Mars, but Titan--a moon of Saturn with a nitrogen atmosphere, a weather cycle, and an inexhaustible supply of cheap energy, where we will even be able to fly like birds in the minimal gravitational field--offers the most realistic and thrill-ing prospect of life without support from Earth.
(With 8 pages of color illustrations)
ISBN/SKU:
9780804197977
Publication Date:
2016-11-15
Publisher:
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Big History
$50.00
Featuring a foreword by the father of Big History, David Christian, and produced in association with the Big History Institute, Big History provides a comprehensive understanding of the major events that have changed the nature and course of life on the planet we call home. This first fully integrated visual reference on Big History for general readers places humans in the context of our universe, from the Big Bang to virtual reality.
Why does the universe work the way it does? Why are stars so big? Why are humans so small? What does it mean to be human? Big History blends geology, biology, physics, anthropology, sociology, and so much more to tell one coherent story, taking us right back to our origins and exploring how a unique series of events led to and then impacted human existence: how everything came to be, where we fit in, and even where we are going. Graphics, artworks, timelines, and at-a-glance overviews make the causes and effects of pivotal events and major thresholds in Big History instantly accessible, and evidence features explain how we know what we know. An additional 64-page reference section provides a more conventional account of events in human history.
Placing humans in the context of our universe and revealing how and why we got to where we are today, Big History covers 13.8 billion years of history, from the formation of the universe and the dawn of time to the present day.
ISBN/SKU:
9781465454430
Publication Date:
2016-10-11
Publisher:
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