Natural sciences

How did life emerge? What are the smallest elements of matter? How are planets formed? Over the centuries, brilliant men and women have sought to develop theories to answer the most compelling questions about the world around us. Through their amazing insights and conscientious efforts they helped to create the world we know today. In this entertaining introduction, Anne Rooney explores the fas

"Peake's explanation of your immortality is the most innovative and provocative argument I have seen" - Bruce Greyson, Carlson Professor of Psychiatry, University of Virginia. What happens when we die? As the bestselling author of Is There Life After Death? and Cheating the Ferryman, Anthony Peake has studied this topic for over two decades. In this latest follow-up, Peake explores the incre

Discover the incredible capabilities of the human body and its functions with this indispensable hardback guide, richly illustrated in full-colour. The human body is a remarkable work of nature - its immense complexity allowing us to sense the world around us, move, regulate our temperature, formulate thoughts and much more besides. In this stunning visual guide, author Robert Snedden examin

Pick a number, any number, and The Book of Numbers will let you in on all its secrets. You'll be amazed at just how exciting numbers can be... From zero to infinity, this handy hardback is the ultimate number reference guide which explores the mathematical significance and cultural associations of over 130 numbers. Discover how a pack of playing cards came to have 52 cards, why 7 is the 'magic

* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the Hugo Award * Scientific American´s #1 Book for 2023 * Winner of Royal Society's Trivedi Prize * A Guardian Best Book of 2024 * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Times Best Science and Environment Book of 2023 * A Tor.com Best Book of 2023 * “Exceptional. . . Forceful, engaging and funny . . . This book will make you happy to l

A captivating exploration of how underwater animals tap into sound to survive, and a clarion call for humans to address the ways we invade these critical soundscapes—from an award-winning science writer “Sing Like Fish is that rare book that makes you see the world differently.”—Mark Kurlansky, New York Times bestselling author of Salt and Cod For centuries, humans ignored sound in t

A brilliant new theory of the mind that upends our understanding of how the brain interacts with the world “This thoroughly readable book will convince you that the brain and the world are partners in constructing our understanding.” —Sean Carroll, New York Times bestselling author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion For as long as we´ve studied human cogniti

A dire warning from DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman about the risks of fast-developing technologies like AI, DNA printers, and quantum computers, which could reshape global order. In The Coming Wave, Suleyman calls for urgent action to control these powerful tools to prevent global upheaval and potential disaster.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “The conscience of the AI revolution” (Fortune) explains how we´ve arrived at an era of AI harms and oppression, and what we can do to avoid its pitfalls. “AI is not coming, it´s here. If we answer the beautiful call inside these pages, we can decide who we are going to be and how we´re going to use technology in service of what it means to be fully human.”—Bren&e

A practical companion to the international bestselling Dopamine Nation to offer readers a toolkit to overcoming addictive behaviours.

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations and consults everyone from astronauts to nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by comics. (They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.) Welcom

Good Nature is a groundbreaking exploration that reveals how, if we bring nature more into our lives, it can help improve our health and well-being in so many unexpected ways. Oxford professor Kathy Willis has spent her career researching fossilised plants and plant matter - but when she stumbled across a

The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence.

'A primer for the magical, near inexplicable world of quantum mechanics... Mind-blowing' Dara O Briain

Quantum theory is so shocking that Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is so important that it underpins all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering, no computers.

A ce

From the author of The Immortal King Rao, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a personal and provocative exploration of how technology companies have both fulfilled and exploited the human desire for understanding When it was released to the public in November 2022, ChatGPT awakened the world to a secretive project: teaching AI-powered machines to write. Its creators had a sweeping ambition—to

A whimsically illustrated collection of fascinating, surprising, and funny facts about baby animals and their parents, from the author of The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts. Who doesn't love baby animals? Amazing Facts About Baby Animals is an adorable celebration of all kinds of fuzzy, fluffy, scaly, and feathery animal babies and their parents. This charming collection by

This rich and beautiful guide from bestselling garden writer Ambra Edwards explores the most magnificent botanic havens from every continent across the world. There has never been a better time to celebrate botanic gardens. From Brooklyn and San Francisco, to Colombia and Brazil; Oxford and Kew, to Cape Town and Mauritius; Norway and Germany, to Sydney and Thailand, discover surprising diversity

Explore the fascinating past, present, and possible future of Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the first comprehensive photographic history of the company. The private space industry’s consensus leader, SpaceX, headed by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, was worth an estimated $187 billion in 2023 while taking on more roles—flying cargo, supplies, and astronauts to outer space, and even playing a cent

Expand your bird knowledge with this gorgeous encyclopedia of nearly 400 bird species around the world, unique for its inclusion of both their physical and mythological characteristics. If you’re a nature lover who thrives on bird videos and photography, go beyond the scope of standard field guides with this comprehensive reference. Each entry of The Complete Language of Birds provides not only

An elegantly written exploration of the cutting-edge science of the strangest and most remarkable creatures on our planet by a leading marine biologist Hundred-year-old giant clams, coral kingdoms the size and shape of cities, and jellyfish that glow in the dark: ocean invertebrates are among the oldest and most diverse organisms on earth, seeming to bend the rules of land-based biology. Although