This entertaining, eye-opening account of how the laws of thermodynamics are essential to understanding the world today—from refrigeration and jet engines to calorie counting and global warming—is “a lesson in how to do popular science right” (Kirkus Reviews).Einstein’s Fridge tells the incredible epic story of the scientists who, over two centuries, harnessed the power of heat and ice and formulated a theory essential to comprehending our univers...

This entertaining, eye-opening account of how the laws of thermodynamics are essential to understanding the world today—from refrigeration and jet engines to calorie counting and global warming—is “a lesson in how to do popular science right” (Kirkus Reviews).Einstein’s Fridge tells the incredible epic story of the scientists who, over two centuries, harnessed the power of heat and ice and formulated a theory essential to comprehending our univers...

Providing an up-to-date overview of the most popular global optimization methods used in interpreting geophysical observations, this new edition includes a detailed description of the theoretical development underlying each method and a thorough explanation of the design, implementation and limitations of algorithms. New and expanded chapters provide details of recently developed methods, such as the neighborhood algorithm, particle swarm optimization, hybrid Monte Carlo and multi-chain MC...

From a giant of health care policy, an engaging and enlightening account of why American health care is so expensive—and why it doesn't have to beUwe Reinhardt was a towering figure and moral conscience of health care policy in the United States and beyond. Famously bipartisan, he advised presidents and Congress on health reform and originated central features of the Affordable Care Act. In Priced Out, Reinhardt offers an engaging and enlightening account ...

Pathologies of Power uses harrowing stories of life—and death—in extreme situations to interrogate our understanding of human rights. Paul Farmer argues that promoting the social and economic rights of the world's poor is the most important human rights struggle of our times. With passionate eyewitness accounts from the prisons of Russia and the beleaguered villages of Haiti and Chiapas, this book links the lived experiences of individual victims to a broader analysis of structura...

In February of 2008, amid the looming global financial crisis, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France asked Nobel Prize-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, along with the distinguished French economist Jean Paul Fitoussi, to establish a commission of leading economists to study whether Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—the most widely used measure of economic activity—is a reliable indicator of economic and social progress. The Commission was given the further task of laying out an...

The application of Biotechnology dates back to the early era of civilization, when people first started to cultivate food crops. While the early applications are certainly still relevant, modern biotechnology is primarily associated with molecular biology, cloning and genetic engineering not only to increase the yield and to improve the quality of the crop but also its potential impact has touched upon virtually all domains of human interactions. Within the last 50 years, several key scien...

"A provocative new study . . . [which] amounts to a treatise on the inadequacy of GDP growth as an indication of overall economic health." — The New York TimesNobel Prize–Winning AuthorsIn February of 2008, amid the looming global financial crisis, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France asked Nobel Prize–winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, along with the distinguished French economist Jean Paul Fitouss...

Scholars in diverse fields now agree on the importance of investigating the impact of consumption practices on the global environment, quality of life, and international justice. In this comprehensive collection of essays, most of which appear for the first time, eminent scholars from many disciplines-philosophy, economics, sociology, political science, demography, theology, history, and social psychology-examine the causes, nature, and consequences of present-day consumption patterns in t...

Reviews latest research on understanding potato plant physiology and genetic varietyDiscusses major advances in conventional and hybrid breeding as well as their application in improved varietiesFocuses on ways of supporting smallholders in key regions such as Africa

**Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian“Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator… This is the place where science comes to life.” ―Neil Gaiman“One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters to the laity of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline...[a] momentous book” ―John Banville, The Wall Street Journal**A startling new look at quantum theory, from th...

By the star physicist and author of multiple #1 Sunday Times bestsellers, a major and definitive narrative work on black holes and how they can help us understand the universe.At the heart of our galaxy lies a monster so deadly it can bend space, throwing vast jets of radiation millions of light years out into the cosmos. Its kind were the very first inhabitants of the universe, the black holes.Today, across the universe, at the heart of every gala...