A LAB DESTROYED. While investigating an explosion at a secret lab in Stockholm, Interpol director Nick Dial uncovers research that pushes the boundaries of modern medicine and technology. A SCIENTIST ON THE RUN. Fearing that he may be linked to the events in his homeland, Dr. Mattias Sahlberg calls on Jonathon Payne for help. Together with his best friend, David Jones, they discover truths that will alter Payne’s understanding of his family’s past and shed light on the secret lives of the world’s greatest minds — including Einstein himself. A MIRACULOUS DISCOVERY. As Dial’s case intertwines with Payne’s search for answers, they are pulled toward an inevitable face-off with those who will stop at nothing to ensure that mankind’s most radical and innovative discoveries will never reach the masses.
"The Institute for Advanced Study occupies a unique position among institutions of higher learning. An account of its early years is long overdue, so the appearance of the present volume, during the 75th anniversary of the Institute's founding, is most welcome. Batterson has mined the Institute's archives to provide a detailed and unvarnished account of the backstage conflicts and intrigue that attended the Institute's growth and determined its future. Those unfamiliar with the Institute will learn how one man's vision shaped a couple's philanthropy and created a haven for scholars in the midst of the Great Depression. Equally, those who have had the privilege of Institute membership will enhance their appreciation of the intellectual leaders who made their own Institute experiences possible." ---John W. Dawson, Jr., author of Logical Dilemmas: The Life and Work of Kurt Gödel
When his physicist mentor is murdered for his possible knowledge about Einstein's Unified Field Theory, physics professor David Swift is swept up by a violent struggle for control of the information and its staggering potential.
The commonly held view of Albert Einstein is of an eccentric genius for whom the pursuit of science was everything. But in actuality, the brilliant innovator whose Theory of Relativity forever reshaped our understanding of time was a man of his times, always politically engaged and driven by strong moral principles. An avowed pacifist, Einstein’s mistrust of authority and outspoken social and scientific views earned him death threats from Nazi sympathizers in the years preceding World War II. To him, science provided not only a means for understanding the behavior of the universe, but a foundation for considering the deeper questions of life and a way for the worldwide Jewish community to gain confidence and pride in itself. Steven Gimbel’s biography presents Einstein in the context of the world he lived in, offering a fascinating portrait of a remarkable individual who remained actively engaged in international affairs throughout his life. This revealing work not only explains Einstein’s theories in understandable terms, it demonstrates how they directly emerged from the realities of his times and helped create the world we live in today.
Like many, I have given the origin and meaning of life a great deal of thought in an effort to live it fully-with grace and intelligence. In the process, I discovered that theological/philosophical discussions on reality are empty without the consideration of scientific inquiry as they inform each other on the nature of human existence. We can benefit immensely from the great minds chronicled in this book that have dramatically changed the world and helped man imagine himself in it-leading to one's own self-discovery. DISCOVER: In Theology Is the soul immortal? Is reincarnation possible? Islam's holiest shrine in Mecca was built by the founding father of the Jewish nation. How one man uprooted 1500 years of Roman Catholic domination with a simple document. In Philosophy Is the world pre-determined with orderly harmony or governed by man's free will? Is knowledge gained solely from experience and reasoning-or is it innate? How the self-awareness of existentialism allows one to live an authentic life. How 9th century Muslim scholars contributed to the foundation of modern civilization. In Science What makes all physical matter stable? How does matter reproduce itself? Isaac Newton described gravity's effect, but it was Einstein who showed how it originated. Did man evolve or was he created? The search for a unifying theoretical basis of all the sciences.
“A thought-provoking critique of Einstein’s tantalizing combination of brilliance and blunder.”—Andrew Robinson, New Scientist Never before translated into English, the Manimekhalai is one of the great classics of Indian culture.
Why did Einstein tirelessly study unified field theory for more than thirty years? In this book, the author argues that Einstein believed he could find a unified theory of all of nature's forces by repeating the methods he thought he had used when he formulated general relativity. The book discusses Einstein's route to the general theory of relativity, focusing on the philosophical lessons that he learnt. It then addresses his quest for a unified theory for electromagnetism and gravity, discussing in detail his efforts with Kaluza-Klein and, surprisingly, the theory of spinors. From these perspectives, Einstein's critical stance towards the quantum theory comes to stand in a new light. This book will be of interest to physicists, historians and philosophers of science.
Albert Einstein remains the quintessential icon of modern genius. Like Newton and many others, his seminal work in physics includes the General Theory of Relativity, the Absolute Nature of Light, and perhaps the most famous equation of all time: E=mc2. Following his death in 1955, Einstein’s brain was removed and preserved, but has never been fully or systematically studied. In fact, the sections are not even all in one place, and some are mysteriously unaccounted for! In this compelling tale, Frederick E. Lepore delves into the strange, elusive afterlife of Einstein’s brain, the controversy surrounding its use, and what its study represents for brain and/or intelligence studies. Carefully reacting to the skepticism of 21st century neuroscience, Lepore more broadly examines the philosophical, medical, and scientific implications of brain-examination. Is the brain simply a computer? If so, how close are we to artificially creating a human brain? Could scientists create a second Einstein? This “biography of a brain” attempts to answer these questions, exploring what made Einstein’s brain anatomy exceptional, and how “found” photographs--discovered more than a half a century after his death--may begin to uncover the nature of genius.
In this fascinating look at the European scientific advances of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, historian Lisa Jardine demonstrates that the pursuit of knowledge occurs not in isolation, but rather in the lively interplay and frequently cutthroat competition between creative minds. The great thinkers of that extraordinary age, including Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, and Christopher Wren, are shown in the context in which they lived and worked. We learn of the correspondences they kept with their equally passionate colleagues and come to understand the unique collaborative climate that fostered virtuoso discoveries in the areas of medicine, astronomy, mathematics, biology, chemistry, botany, geography, and engineering. Ingenious Pursuits brilliantly chronicles the true intellectual revolution that continues to shape our very understanding of ourselves, and of the world around us.
ECONOMIST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016 'A scintillating, encyclopaedic history, rich in detail from the arcane to the familiar... a veritable tour de force' Richard Overy, New Statesman 'Transnational history at its finest ... .. social, political and cultural themes swirl together in one great canvas of immense detail and beauty' Gerard DeGroot, The Times 'Dazzlingly erudite and entertaining' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times A masterpiece which brings to life an extraordinarly turbulent and dramatic era of revolutionary change. The Pursuit of Power draws on a lifetime of thinking about nineteenth-century Europe to create an extraordinarily rich, surprising and entertaining panorama of a continent undergoing drastic transformation. The book aims to reignite the sense of wonder that permeated this remarkable era, as rulers and ruled navigated overwhelming cultural, political and technological changes. It was a time where what was seen as modern with amazing speed appeared old-fashioned, where huge cities sprang up in a generation, new European countries were created and where, for the first time, humans could communicate almost instantly over thousands of miles. In the period bounded by the Battle of Waterloo and the outbreak of World War I, Europe dominated the rest of the world as never before or since: this book breaks new ground by showing how the continent shaped, and was shaped by, its interactions with other parts of the globe. Richard Evans explores fully the revolutions, empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century, but the book is about so much more, whether it is illness, serfdom, religion or philosophy. The Pursuit of Power is a work by a historian at the height of his powers: essential for anyone trying to understand Europe, then or now.
