Atlas of the Universe * by MURRAY BOOKS

$7.99 AUD

Category: Science

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems by Randall Munroe

$32.99 AUD

Category: Science

The world's most entertaining and useless self-help guide, from the brilliant mind behind the wildly popular webcomic xkcd and the million-selling What If? and Thing Explainer For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally bad that no one would ever try i t. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole. Bestselling author and cartoonist Randall Munroe explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos. He teaches you how to tell if you're a baby boomer or a millennial by measuring the radioactivity of your teeth. He offers tips for taking a selfie with a telescope, crossing a river by boiling it, and getting to your appointments on time by destroying the moon. And if you want to get rid of this book once you're done with it, he walks you through your options for proper disposal, including dissolving it in the ocean, converting it to a vapour, using tectonic plates to subduct it into the Earth's mantle, or launching it into the sun. By exploring the most complicated ways to do simple tasks, Munroe doesn't just make things difficult for himself and his readers. As he did so brilliantly in What If?, he invites us to explore the most absurd reaches of the possible. Full of clever infographics and amusing illustrations, How To is a delightfully mind-bending way to better understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day. ...Show more

On the Origin of Species (Alma Classics) by Charles Darwin

$14.99 AUD

Category: Science | Series: Evergreens Ser.

When Darwin set sail at the end of 1831, it was only with a vague notion that all life forms, both present and extinct, were more strongly related than the Christian version of the world's creation purported them to be. During his five-year voyage of research and discovery on board HMS Beagle, and later from his home in Kent, he painstakingly collected a mass of evidence from across the planet - from Paraguay and the Galapagos Islands to Staffordshire and Scotland - building a compelling case for a theory that would change the world we live in - and the way we look at it - for ever. The foundation of evolutionary biology and natural selection - which prompted as huge a revolution in the fields of science and religion as Copernicus's heliocentric model of the universe and Newton's law of gravity, Darwin's On the Origin of Species is perhaps the most important book of scientific observation ever written. ...Show more

Robots: the Future Is Now by Charles Hope

$24.99 AUD

Category: Science

Robots are a fascinating and divisive subject. Many people believe they are destined to make our lives easier, while some believe they could be misused with terrible consequences. Take an in-depth look at this amazing technology and how it is already being used in Robots: The Future is Now!

The Planets by Professor Brian Cox; Andrew Cohen

$24.99 AUD

Category: Science

'So staggering you go "whoa " every few seconds' Guardian 'Really impressive' Eamonn Holmes, ITV This Morning A companion book to the critically acclaimed BBC series. The bestselling authors of Wonders of the Universe are back with another blockbuster, a groundbreaking exploration of our Solar System as it has never been seen before. Mercury, a lifeless victim of the Sun's expanding power. Venus, once thought to be lush and fertile, now known to be trapped within a toxic and boiling atmosphere. Mars, the red planet, doomed by the loss of its atmosphere. Jupiter, twice the size of all the other planets combined, but insubstantial. Saturn, a stunning celestial beauty, the jewel of our Solar System. Uranus, the sideways planet and the first ice giant. Neptune, dark, cold and whipped by supersonic winds. Pluto, the dwarf planet, a frozen rock. Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox take readers on a voyage of discovery, from the fiery heart of our Solar System, to its mysterious outer reaches. They touch on the latest discoveries that have expanded our knowledge of the planets, their moons and how they come to be, alongside recent stunning and mind-boggling NASA photography. ...Show more

20th Century Classical Music: A Ladybird Expert Book by Fiona Maddocks

$19.99 AUD

Category: Science | Series: Ladybird Expert Ser.

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Twentieth-Century Classical Music is an accessible, authoritative, and entertaining introduction to the Western classical music that captured the defining moments of the contemporary world. Written by The Observer's classical music critic Fiona Maddocks, Twentieth -Century Classical Music will take you on an acoustic journey through history with a curated playlist on each page. Early in the century, Schoenberg pioneered musical experiments which turned old traditions on their head. Then Stravinsky's sensational Rite of Spring, written on the eve of WWI dramatically altered the course of all classical music that followed. From the influence of the jazz age and the sounds of cities, the nationalism of folk revival, Russian revolutions from the Bolsheviks to Stalin, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, you'll learn how Western composers painted with a new orchestral palette to capture the sentiments of their time. Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years. ...Show more

Beyond Weird by Philip Ball

$29.99 AUD

Category: Science

An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, addressing the question that most others fail to ask: what does quantum mechanics actually mean? 'This is the book I wish I could have written but am very glad I've read' Jim Al-Khalili 'I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.' Richard Feynman wrote this in 1965 - the year he was awarded the Nobel prize in physics for his work on quantum mechanics. Quantum physics is regarded as one of the most obscure and impenetrable subjects in all of science. But when Feynman said he didn't understand quantum mechanics, he didn't mean that he couldn't do it - he meant that's all he could do. He didn't understand what the maths was saying: what quantum mechanics tells us about reality. Over the past decade or so, the enigma of quantum mechanics has come into sharper focus. We now realise that quantum mechanics is less about particles and waves, uncertainty and fuzziness, than a theory about information: about what can be known and how. This is more disturbing than our bad habit of describing the quantum world as 'things behaving weirdly' suggests. It calls into question the meanings and limits of space and time, cause and effect, and knowledge itself. The quantum world isn't a different world: it is our world, and if anything deserves to be called 'weird', it's us. This exhilarating book is about what quantum maths really means - and what it doesn't mean. ...Show more

Consciousness: A Ladybird Expert Book by Hannah Critchlow

$19.99 AUD

Category: Science | Series: Ladybird Expert Ser.

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Consciousness is a clear, simple and entertaining introduction to one of life's most interesting questions: what does it mean to be conscious? Written by celebrated neurologist and neuropsychologist Dr Hannah Critchlow, Consciousness will take you on a voyage to d iscover what allows the grey matter in our skulls to produce such complex emotions, personality traits, thoughts and memories. Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years. ...Show more

Drone Photography and Video Masterclass by Fergus Kennedy

$34.99 AUD

Category: Science

Drones are changing the way we interact with the world, and--with one of their key applications being aerial photography--the way we look at it. Stills and videos that once required an aircraft charter are now being shot with a drone carried in a backpack. Over 1.5 million posts on Instagram are tagged with #drone. This book takes the view that successful drone photography is all about the shot, not the drone. So, while the reader is equipped with an essential introduction to drone technology, flying skills, safety measures, and legal requirements, author Fergus Kennedy demonstrates how the skills of planning, composition, lighting, focus, and exposure remain essential to capturing great images. He shows how to transfer camera tools and technique from ground to air to achieve outstanding overhead, panoramic, and 360� shots; and how to master gimbal and other skills to bring depth and movement to video tracking shots. Applications from 3D mapping and modeling to landscape and travel photography are covered, demonstrating the range of markets and creative possibilities available to the professional drone photographer. This book is an essential guide to elevating the art of your photography to dizzying new heights. ...Show more

Genetics: A Ladybird Expert Book by Adam Rutherford

$19.99 AUD

Category: Science | Series: The\Ladybird Expert Ser.

Part of the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES. ____________ Who discovered genetics? How does gene inheritance work? Is DNA common to all living things? We inherit CODES from our parents. And these codes are written in the molecule DNA. This DNA means that we RESEMBLE each other, namely our families. This raises so many questions such as how does DNA influence evolution? How was it discovered? And what does it mean for the future of the human race? Discover the answers and more inside Adam Rutherford's Ladybird Expert - Genetics, the thrilling and accessible account that explains race and genetics, whether it is our DNA or the environment that influences us most, what are our chances of being related to royalty, genetic engineering and much more . . . ...Show more

Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do about It by Christopher Clearfield; Andras Tilcsik

$32.99 AUD

Category: Science

'Endlessly fascinating, brimming with insight, and more fun than a book about failure has any right to be.' - Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit A groundbreaking exploration of how complexity causes failure in business and life - and how to prevent it. An accidental overdose in a state-of-th e-art hospital. The Post Office software that led to a multimillion-pound lawsuit. The mix-up at the 2017 Oscars Awards ceremony. An overcooked meal on holiday. At first glance, these events have little in common. But surprising new research shows that many modern failures share similar causes. In Meltdown, world-leading experts in disaster prevention, Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik, use real-life examples to reveal the errors in thinking, perception, and system design that lie behind both our everyday errors and disasters like the Fukushima nuclear accident. But most crucially, Meltdown is about finding solutions. It reveals why ugly designs make us safer, how a five-minute exercise can prevent billion-dollar catastrophes, why teams with fewer experts are better at managing risk, and why diversity is one of our best safeguards against failure. The result is an eye-opening and empowering book - one that will change the way you see our complex world and your own place within it. ...Show more

My European Family : The First 54,000 Years by Karin Bojs; Fiona Graham (Translator)

$19.99 AUD

Category: Science

Karin Bojs grew up in a small, broken family. At her mother's funeral she felt this more keenly than ever. As a science journalist she was eager to learn more about herself, her family and the inter-connectedness of society. After all, we're all related. And in a sense, we are all family. My European Fa mily tells the story of Europe and its people through its genetic legacy, from the first wave of immigration to the present day, weaving in the latest archaeological findings. Karin goes deep in search of her genealogy; by having her DNA sequenced she was able to trace the path of her ancestors back through the Viking and Bronze ages to the Neolithic and beyond into prehistory, even back to a time when Neanderthals ran the European show. The genes of this modern European woman have a truly fascinating story to tell, and in many ways it is the true story of Europe. At a time when politics is pushing nations apart, this book shows that, ultimately, our genes will always bind us together. Book jacket. ...Show more