"Skillfully interweaving technical details and fascinating personalities, Johnson tells the history of systems management in the U.S. and Europe." —Howard McCurdy, author of Space and the American ImaginationWinner of the Emme Award for Astronautical Literature from the American Astronautical SocietyHow does one go about organizing something as complicated as a strategic-missile or space-exploration program? Stephen B. Johnson here e...

Winner of the Emme Award for Astronautical Literature from the American Astronautical SocietyHow does one go about organizing something as complicated as a strategic-missile or space-exploration program? Stephen B. Johnson here explores the answer—systems management—in a groundbreaking study that involves Air Force planners, scientists, technical specialists, and, eventually, bureaucrats. Taking a comparative approach, Johnson focuses on the theory, or intellectual history, of "sys...

"This account of how a once reviled theory, Baye's rule, came to underpin modern life is both approachable and engrossing" ( Sunday Times).A New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceBayes' rule appears to be a straightforward, one-line theorem: by updating our initial beliefs with objective new information, we get a new and improved belief. To its adherents, it is an elegant statement about learning from experience. To its...

"If you liked Chaos, you'll love Complexity. Waldrop creates the most exciting intellectual adventure story of the year" ( The Washington Post).In a rarified world of scientific research, a revolution has been brewing. Its activists are not anarchists, but rather Nobel Laureates in physics and economics and pony-tailed graduates, mathematicians, and computer scientists from all over the world. They have formed an iconoclastic think-tank a...

A masterpiece of modern epic poetry from the Nobel Prize–winning author: "One of the great poems of our time." —John Lucas, New StatesmanDive into the poignant verses of Omeros, a grand opus of epic poetry penned by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott. Told in multiple chapters and tracing two currents of history, this work offers an immersive blend of historic account and personal sentiment.Titled with the Greek name for Homer, Omeros ele...

The Nobel Prize winner offers "an ideal introduction to the theories of special and general relativity" in clear, comprehensible language ( Nature ).A renowned mathematician and philosopher , and as well as recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Bertrand Russell was acclaimed for his ability to address complex subjects in accessible ways. In this classic reference book, Russell delve...

The author of Storm Clouds Over the Pacific, 1931–1941 chronicles Japan's dramatic reversal of fortune as Allied forces gained advantage during WWII.In early 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were advancing on all fronts, humiliating Allied forces throughout the Pacific. In a matter of months, Japan had conquered an area larger than Hitler's empire at its apex. Hawaiians and Australians feared a future under Hirohito. The fate of half of mankind wa...

An illustrated tour of the structures and patterns we call "math"The only numbers in this book are the page numbers.Math Without Numbers is a vivid, conversational, and wholly original guide to the three main branches of abstract math—topology, analysis, and algebra—which turn out to be surprisingly easy to grasp. This book upends the conventional approach to math, inviting you to think creatively about shape and dimension, the infinite and infinit...

This biographical history of the English Civil War profiles the lives and ultimate fates of the nearly 60 men who sentenced their king to death.On January 30th, 1649, King Charles I was executed on a scaffold outside the Banqueting House of Whitehall. The parliamentarian High Court of Justice declared him guilty of treason, disregarding the Divine Right of Kings. Fifty-nine commissioners signed his death warrant.These killers of the king were soldiers, lawy...

"A crash course in the amazing new science of space archaeology that only Sarah Parcak can give. This book will awaken the explorer in all of us." —Chris Anderson, Head of TEDWinner of Archaeological Institute of America's Felicia A. Holton Book Award • Winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Prize for Science • An Amazon Best Science Book of 2019 • A Science Friday Best Science Book of 2019 • A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2019 • A Science News Best Book of...

A noted linguist examines extinct languages, from Egyptian hieroglyphs to the mysteries of as-yet undeciphered writings, in this scholarly work.While certain ancient languages were passed down continuously through the ages, many others were ignored for centuries. When scholars began to decipher these extinct languages in the early nineteenth century, they uncovered previously inaccessible riches of knowledge and history. Yet much work remains to be done on undeciphe...

A guide to platform businesses that shows how they work, how to replicate the success of some of history's best platforms, and how to handle disruption."[A] stimulating book . . . The authors are particularly interesting on how modern platform companies are able to outsource much of their innovation." — The Financial Times" Modern Monopolies brilliantly lays out the formula for how to get rich in the platform economy...