This book takes readers back and forth through time and makes the past accessible to all families, students and the general reader and is an unprecedented collection of a list of events in chronological order and a wealth of informative knowledge about the rise and fall of empires, major scientific breakthroughs, groundbreaking inventions, and monumental moments about everything that has ever happened.
One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer. In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand -- and, if possible, answer -- the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.
“A superb survey of the paranormal” and a travelogue through the twilight zone of human consciousness—hailed by experts as the best introduction to psychic phenomena (Herbie Brennan, New York Times–bestselling author). This is the most entertaining and broad survey of the paranormal ever made—combining forgotten lore, evidence from parapsychological experiments, and the testimonies of scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists, psychologists, physicists, and philosophers. Exploring the possibility that paranormal phenomena may be objectively real, this travelogue through the twilight zone of human consciousness is both scientifically rigorous and extremely entertaining. Readers may be surprised to learn that reputable scientists, among them several Nobel laureates, have claimed that: • Telepathy is a reality • Cleopatra’s lost palace and Richard III’s burial place were recovered with clairvoyance • The US military set up an espionage program using psychics Could it be that what we usually call “supernatural” is a natural but little understood communication via this mental internet? The winner of the most prestigious award in the field, the Parapsychological Association Book Award, A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal is an engaging, entertaining and informative analysis of a controversial subject.
ABOUT THE BOOK In his introduction to A Short History of Nearly Everything, author Bill Bryson describes a childhood experience common to many of us: a brief infatuation with science, with all its potential and possibility. For Bryson, it was inspired by a textbook’s cut-away illustration of the interior strata of the Earth, with the molten core at the center. For myself, it was a children’s biography of Jacques Cousteau. Excited by the nearly endless prospects of science, the questions that could finally satisfy a child’s curiosity, we both reached for more books, and found our budding passions firmly squashed by an impenetrable wall of unfathomable writing. As Bryson writes in his introduction, “there seemed to be a mystifying universal conspiracy among textbook authors to make certain the material they dealt with never strayed too near the realm of the mildly interesting.” Bryson wrote A Short History of Nearly Everything as an antidote to the dry-as-dust science tomes that weigh down students’ backpacks. It is a layman’s love song to science, to its strange history and stranger characters. Published in 2003, it has been become a popular addition to the popular science genre. MEET THE AUTHOR Nicole Cipri is a restless wanderer and passionate writer. A graduate of the Evergreen State School in Olympia, WA, Nicole has since written about such varied topics as modern urban farming, the role of glitterbombing as political theater, and the economic impacts of natural disasters. You can follow her adventures on Twitter, @nicolecipri. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Drama abounded in the 19th century. After the discovery of the first dinosaur fossil in 1784, and with subsequent uncovering of massive bones that belonged to other extinct species, there was an uncomfortable public debate concerning extinctions. Why, after all, would an omniscient God create species of animals only to casually wipe them out? Throughout history, the sciences have routinely butted heads with the Church, a trend that continues today. From geology and paleontology, Bryson moves to chemistry. With its origins in the enigmatic studies of alchemy, chemistry evolved along its own strange path. Bryson tells one exemplifying story, in which an amateur alchemist became convinced the he could distill gold from human urine. “The similarity of color,” Bryson explains, “seems to have been a factor in his conclusion.” In an attempt to prove his hypothesis, the man collected fifty buckets of human urine, which he kept in his cellar. After a few months, the man noted, the substance in the buckets began to glow or explode into flames when exposed to air. He had failed in distilling gold from urine, but he had succeeded in creating phosphorous. Buy a copy to keep reading!
Packed with bizarre ideas, hopeless theories, impossible dreams, preposterous statements, loony prophecies: welcome to the deranged history of our planet.
"As esports has grown, the need for professional legal representation has grown with it. Justin's Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming provides a great baseline and will help prevent the legal horror stories of esports in the past." Mitch Reames, AdWeek and Esports Insider "Justin’s exploration of the business and law side of the esports sector fills a gap of knowledge that is an absolute necessity in truly understanding the esports space." Kevin Hitt, The Esports Observer The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming covers everything you need to know about the past, present, and future of esports and professional video gaming. The book is written by one of the foremost attorneys and business practitioners in today’s esports and professional gaming scene, Justin M. Jacobson, Esq. This guide is meant to provide you with an in-depth look at the business and legal matters associated with the esports world. • Includes coverage of the stakeholders in the esports business "ecosystem," including the talent, the teams, the publishers, and the event organizers. • Explores various legal fields involved with esports, including intellectual property, employment and player unions, business investments and tax "write-offs," immigration and visas, event operation tips, social media and on-stream promotions, and much more. • The most current book on the market, with actual contract provisions modeled on existing major esports player, coach, shoutcaster, and sponsorship agreements. About the Author Justin M. Jacobson, Esq. is an entertainment and esports attorney located in New York City. For the last decade, he has worked with professional athletes, musicians, producers, DJs, record labels, fashion designers, as well as professional gamers, streamers, coaches, on-air talent, and esports organizations. He assists these creative individuals with their contract, copyright, trademark, immigration, tax, and related business, marketing, and legal issues. He is a frequent contributor to many industry publications and has been featured on a variety of entertainment, music, and esports publications and podcasts, including Business Insider, The Esports Observer, Esports Insider, Tunecore, and Sport Techie. Justin has positioned himself as a top esports business professional working with talent in a variety of franchise leagues including the Overwatch League, Overwatch Contenders, and Call of Duty Pro League as well as in many popular competitive titles such as Fortnite, CS:GO, Gears of War, Halo, Super Smash Brothers, Rainbow 6, PUBG, Madden, and FIFA and mobile games such as Brawlhalla, Clash of Clans, and Call of Duty mobile. Previously, he worked with various esports talent agencies as well as in an official capacity on behalf of several esports teams and brands.
