LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A riveting feat of science writing that recasts that most familiar of celestial objects into something eerily extraordinary, pivotal to our history, and awesome in the original sense of the word.”—Ed Yong, New York Times bestselling author of An Immense World
FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE • A NEW
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather a planet that came to life.
“Glorious . . . full of achingly beautiful passages, mind-bending conceptual twists, and wonderful characters. Jabr reveals how Earth has been profoundly, miracu
An exploration of abstract textile work with practical tips on how to progress from the realistic to the abstract within your own practice.
From Amish quilts through to contemporary makers, abstract textile work is a captivating art form that can capture a mood or feeling. In this fascinating book, renowned textile artist and tutor Anne Kelly shows you how to incorporate the abstract into your ow
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The veteran of four space flights and the American record holder for consecutive days spent in space, Scott Kelly has experienced things very few have. Now, he takes us inside a sphere utterly hostile to human life: the extreme challenges of long-term spaceflight.
“Kelly´s account is insightful, at times humorous, heart-tugging at others. And it´s inspiring enough
From the Arthur C. Clarke award winner, Adrian Tchaikovsky, comes the third instalment of the DOGS OF WAR science fiction series, a future where genetically engineered "Bioforms" have inherited not the Earth, but the Solar System.
New York Times bestselling author Deepak Chopra delivers a visionary and unprecedented exploration of how artificial intelligence can revolutionize well-being and open new horizons for personal development.
“AI has the potential to help us create a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthy, and joyful world. Digital Dharma shows you a path.”—Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
In a world captivated
Space travel...Genetic engineering...Computer science...Astounding achievements as new as tomorrow. But stunning recent evidence proves that these ultramodern advances were known to our forefathers millions of yesterdays ago...as early as 3,000 years before the birth of Christ!
Finally, a comprehensive guide to constructing of beautiful wood strip rowing crafts. This style of construction is renowned for producing sophisticated hull shapes. Construction techniques can be mastered by the hobby builder. Over 835 clear color photos and detailed text take the reader through every step required to create two different, elegant boats for both sport fishing and sculling. The wo
This modern textbook provides an extensive depiction of more than 75 dagger fencing techniques according to 15th-century dagger Master Hans Talhoffer's manuscripts, among other fencing luminaries, from past and present. In the Middle Ages, dagger fighting was part of every fencer’s standard repertoire—just as combat training was for swordsmen. The authors have spent years thoroughly researching th
Project Mercury was America's entry into the manned spaceflight program. When the program began in 1958, the Soviet Union was far ahead of the US in the race for supremacy in space. With immense effort, and in record time, NASA, the newly created spaceflight organization, developed a space transport system with orbital capsule and booster rockets. They used it to send Alan Shepard on a first subor
In just two-and-a-half years, beginning in 1964, two unmanned and ten manned flights took place in the Gemini program. This program was the turning point in the space race with the USSR; from then on the Americans took the lead. Flights lasting two weeks, into the Van Allen Belt, the first extravehicular activities, rendezvous maneuvers and docking with other spacecraft—all of this was achieved by
UAVs—unmanned aerial vehicles, remotely piloted aircraft; the labels vary—are a disruptive technology on par with computers and smartphones. Present since soon after the dawn of manned aviation, they have become controversial only in recent times. In the United States, the mainstream media has painted them with a broad brush as "drones" with a warlike past, and civil liberties organizations warn o
The CZ handgun models 50 and 70 are available to Western collectors today but were both developed and produced behind the Iron Curtain. These pistols were seldom seen and little understood for decades. Now they are widely available for purchase, and this book fills the information gap.
In the years since the release of his Cold War Pistols of Czechoslovakia, author James D. Brown has continued h
NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Geobiologist Hope Jahren has spent her life studying trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Lab Girl is her revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also a celebration of the lifelong curiosity, humility, and passion that drive every scientist.
"Does for botany what Oliver Sacks´s essays did for neurology, what Stephe
The journey into space is a dangerous one, and although some aspects of space travel seem to be routine it still takes humanity to the limits of what is technically possible. It is an environment that forgives no mistake, and where carelessness usually has fatal consequences. This book records more than a dozen American and Soviet space disasters from 1967 to the present day. Presented are tragic
The first of two volumes on the legendary P.08 Luger (Pistole Parabellum), this illustrated book presents the design, manufacturing, and development of the various models from 1900 through the Weimar Republic period of the 1920s. Adopted by the Swiss in 1901 and then by the German army, the Luger would remain in service until the beginning of World War II and see use in the postwar East Germany, a
As part of its rise as a regional South American power, Chile chose to emulate the highly successful Prussian military system in the last decades of the 19th century. Prior conflicts and the prospect of war with Argentina, which came to a head in the early 1890s, can be seen as the pretext for Chile’s purchase of "Prussian" military equipment, including Mauser rifles and Krupp cannons. This book s
The flight campaign for the American space shuttle began on April 12, 1981, with the launch of STS-1 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and ended on July 21, 2011, with wheels stop of STS-135. During the 30 years and 135 missions in between, the program experienced triumphs and tragedies, amazed the world with its orbital exploits, and was frequently the subject of admiration, condemnation, p
The Colt M1911 is one of the most well-known and popular military weapons of the 20th century. Designed by John Browning, this pistol, with its legendary reliability and firepower, represents the developmental starting point of a majority of automatic pistols to this day. It was the standard-issue sidearm of the US armed forces for more than 70 years and is still in use throughout the world. This