Generations of practical and ingenious Maritimers have given the word great things. Since the mid-nineteenth century, scientists have fanned out into the world from colleges and universities that are among the oldest in North America. Great Maritime Achievers in Science and Technology brings together the achievements of more than 30 of these trail-blazing scientists and inventors, many of whom gained national and international prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century and the...

From the bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House, this is the incredible true story of how a college student and two female accomplices stole some of the rarest objects on the planet—moon rocks—from an "impregnable" high-tech vault.But breaking into a highly secure laboratory wasn't easy. Thad Roberts, an intern in a prestigious NASA training program, would have to concoct a meticulous plan to get past security checkpoints, an...

A stunning investigation of the roots of the first moon landing forty years ago.This illuminating story of the dawn of the space age reaches back to the reactionary modernism of the Third Reich, using the life of “rocket scientist” Wernher von Braun as its narrative path through the crumbling of Weimar Germany and the rise of the Nazi regime. Von Braun, a blinkered opportunist who could apply only tunnel vision to his meteoric career, stands as an archetype of myri...

Through family interviews, diaries, letters, and workbooks that had been sealed for over sixty years, Barbara Goldsmith reveals the Marie Curie behind the myth—an all-too-human woman struggling to balance a spectacular scientific career, a demanding family, the prejudice of society, and her own passionate nature. Obsessive Genius is a dazzling portrait of Curie, her amazing scientific success, and the price she paid for fame.The best-selling, "excellent . . . poignant—and ...

The definitive biography of Alan Shepard, America’s first man in space, with a new Foreword by Chris Kraft“One of the finest books ever written about the space program.”—Homer Hickan, author of Rocket Boys“A wonderful and gripping biography . . . meticulously reported in the best tradition of David Halberstam.”—Buzz Bissinger, New York Times bestselling author of Friday Night LightsAlan Sh...

A penetrating, mesmerizing biography of a scientific icon"Absolutely fascinating . . . Davidson has done a remarkable job."-Sir Arthur C. Clarke"Engaging . . . accessible, carefully documented . . . sophisticated."-Dr. David Hollinger for The New York Times Book Review"Entertaining . . . Davidson treats [the] nuances of Sagan's complex life with understanding and sympathy."-The Christian Science Monitor"Excellent . . . Davidson acts as a keen critic to Sagan...

Steve Jobs: entrepreneur, visionary, and the man who put a computer in everyone's pocket. This unauthorized autobiography tells his story in his own words — from a college dropout adopted by a working-class family in California, to the co-founder of Apple, Pixar and NeXT.What drives a man to demand perfection — from himself and everyone around him?Jobs speaks candidly about being ousted from the company he built, the wilderness years that nearly br...

From the host of the History channel’s Brad Meltzer’s Decoded: the laws of the universe like you’ve never experienced them before.This approachable book explains the world of physics with clarity, humor, and a dash of adventure. Physics for Rock Stars is not a weighty treatise on science, but a personal tour of physics from a quirky friend.Anyone who’s ever wondered why nature abhors a vacuum, what causes magnetic attraction, or how to jump off a m...

Sir John Herschel, one of the founders of Southern Hemisphere astronomy, was a man of extraordinarily wide interests. He made contributions to botany, geology, and ornithology, as well as to astronomy, chemistry, and mathematics. Throughout his scientific career he kept a diary, recording his public and private life. The diaries from 1834 to 1838, years he spent making astronomical observations at the Cape of Good Hope, are reproduced in this book and prove to be much more than an ordinary...

He was the first astronaut to orbit the Earth. Nearly four decades later, as the world's oldest astronaut, his courage reveted a nation. But these two historical events only bracketed a life that covers the sweep of an extraordinary century.John Glenn's autobiography spans the seminal events of the twentieth century. It is a story that begins with his childhood in Ohio where he learned the importance of family, community, and patriotism. He took these values with him as a marine fi...

Unlike other American astronauts, Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom never had the chance to publish his memoirs. Killed along with his crew in a launch pad fire on January 27, 1967, Grissom also lost his chance to walk on the moon and return to describe his journey. Others went in his place. The stories of the moon walkers are familiar. Less appreciated are Grissom's contributions.The international prestige of winning the Moon Race cannot be understated, and Grissom played a pivotal and endu...

The devastating accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, occurred on April 26, 1986. On April 29, Alexander A. Borovoi, an atomic physicist with the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow, was ordered to Chernobyl to help measure and control the release of lethal radioactive materials. He stayed for twenty-three years. In My Chernobyl, first published in 1996—at which time, the British magazine New World called it the best work of journalism for that ...