Is science beautiful? Yes, argues acclaimed philosopher and historian of science Robert P. Crease in this engaging exploration of history’s most beautiful experiments. The result is an engrossing journey through nearly 2,500 years of scientific innovation. Along the way, we encounter glimpses into the personalities and creative thinking of some of the field’s most interesting figures.We see the first measurement of the earth’s circumference, accomplished in the third century B.C. b...

Cutting-edge astrophysics that builds on Einstein's theories to find the unseen matter that fills the Universe.Dark energy. Dark matter. These strange and invisible substances don't just sound mysterious: their unexpected appearance in the cosmic census is upending long-held notions about the nature of the Universe. Astronomers have long known that the Universe is expanding, but everything they could see indicated that gravity should be slowing this spread. Instead, it appears that...

This book looks at ancient Rome from the inside—how Romans judged right and wrong, what they admired, and what they feared. Instead of a strict year-by-year history, it follows Roman voices and the lives behind them: statesmen, poets, philosophers, soldiers, and emperors. Their words and choices show a culture shaped by law, duty, and public honor, but also by ambition, pleasure, and cruelty. It also points out how Roman practical thinking often differed from Greek ideals.Across ab...

"An exceptional and compelling biography about one of the Tudor Age's most complex and controversial figures." —Alison WeirThomas Cromwell has long been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power. As King Henry VIII's right-hand man, Cromwell was the architect of the English Reformation; secured Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and plotted the downfall of his second wife, Anne Boleyn; and was fatally accused of trying t...

From one of our most acclaimed and original colonial historians, a groundbreaking book tracing the critical "long year" of 1774 and the revolutionary change that took place from the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEARIn this masterly work of history, the culmination of more than four decades of research and thought, Mary Beth Norton ...

From the best-selling author of The Seven Daughters of Eve, an eye-opening work no dog lover or ancestry aficionado should be without.How did wolves evolve into dogs? When did this happen, and what role did humans play? Oxford geneticist Bryan Sykes used the full array of modern technology to explore the canine genetic journey when our ancestors first learned to hunt together with wolves. In the process, he discovered that only a handful of genes have crea...

From the big bang to black holes, this fast-paced illustrated tour of time and space for the astro-curious unlocks the science of the stars to reveal fascinating theories, surprising discoveries, and ongoing mysteries in modern astronomy and astrophysics.Before the big bang, time, space, and matter didn't exist. In the 14 billion years since, scientists have pointed their telescopes upward, peering outward in space and backward in time, developing and refining theo...

Learn about the most important legal milestones in history in The Law Book.Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Law in this overview guide to the subject, great for novices looking to find out more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Law Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams...

From the author of Memory and the Mediterranean, a comprehensive history of the Italian city states from 1450 to 1650.In the fifteenth century, even before the city states of the Apennine Peninsula began to coalesce into what would become, several centuries later, a nation, "Italy" exerted enormous influence over all of Europe and throughout the Mediterranean. Its cultural, economic, and political dominance is utterly astonishing and unique in world history...

**Finalist for the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History"A luminous biography." —Rafia Zakaria, Guardian**Four centuries ago, a Muslim woman ruled an empire. Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the twentieth and most cherished wife of the Emperor Jahangir. Nur ruled the vast Mughal Empire alongside her husband, leading troops into battle, signing imperial orders, and astutely handling matters of the state.

Take a trip through the defining moments of our global story and see the thinkers, leaders, ideas, and inventions that have shaped the world.Presented in a beautiful slipcase, World History is an essential guide for anyone who loves history or wants to broaden their knowledge. This accessible book covers over 350 of the world's most important turning points, from our earliest human ancestors of prehistory to political events of the modern world.Fol...

A New York Times bestseller! The untold story of the eccentric Wall Street tycoon and the circle of scientific geniuses who helped build the atomic bomb and defeat the Nazis—changing the course of history.Legendary financier, philanthropist, and society figure Alfred Lee Loomis gathered the most visionary scientific minds of the twentieth century—Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, Enrico Fermi, and others—at his state-of-the-art laboratory in ...