A simple and entertaining introduction to the building blocks of the universe. In 2014 the Lego Group sold 62 billion Lego pieces. That's 102 Lego bricks for every person in the world. That's nothing however to the estimated seven billion billion billion atoms that make up each of us, let alone the between ten quadrillion vigintillion and one-hundred thousand quadrillion vigintillion atoms in the known observable universe. Thankfully, understanding atomic and subatomic physics need not be infathomable. Lego bricks are a great way to visualize the blueprint of the Universe, right down to its smallest elements. Particle Physics Brick by Brick explains how and with what the universe came to be. It introduces the Standard Model of Physics, the "rule book" of physics which has been proven correct again and again since its mid-20 century development. Today, it is the gaps in the model that keep physicists busy. In concise chapters, the book assigns to each atomic element a colored Lego brick, such as neutrons, leptons, and quarks. By assembling actual or imaginary bricks and observing their relationships and interactions, particle physics becomes clear. The book opens with the Standard Model of Physics, the physicists and the discoveries made over history, and directions on how to use the book. The chapters that follow are: Building Blocks and Construction Rules Building a Universe Electromagnetism and QED (Quantum ElectroDynamics) The Strong Force and QCD (Quantum ChromoDynamics) The Weak Force and Breaking Symmetries Broken Symmetry and Mass Problems with Ghosts Violated Symmetry The Future. Particle Physics Brick by Brick is a succinct introduction for anyone that wants to gain a basic understanding of the atomic world, its elements and how they interact. By using tangible substitutes -- bricks -- it brings the unseen atomic world into the realm of the visual.
Firefly Books
|
9780228100126
|
Paperback
Wild Sex
By D., Carin Bondar Ph.
A brilliantly engaging guide to the reproductive habits of creatures great and small, based on the author's popular webseries "Wild Sex," which has received over 14 million views Birds do it, bees do it -- every member of the animal kingdom does it, from fruit flies to blue whales. But if you think humans have a tough time dating, try having to do it while being hunted down by predators, against a backdrop of unpredictable and life-threatening conditions. The animal kingdom is a wild place - and it's got mating habits to match. The sex lives of our animal cousins are fiendishly difficult, infinitely varied, often incredibly violent -- and absolutely fascinating. In Wild Sex, Dr. Carin Bondar takes readers on an enthralling tour of the animal kingdom as she explores the diverse world of sex in the wild. She looks at the evolution of sexual organs (and how they've shaped social hierarchies) , tactics of seduction, and the mechanics of sex. She investigates a wide range of topics, from whether animals experience pleasure from sex to what happens when females hold the reproductive power. Along the way, she encounters razor-sharp penises, murderous carnal cannibals, and spontaneous chemical warfare in an epic battle between the sexes. The resulting book is titillating, exhilarating, amusing, petrifying, alluring -- and absolutely guaranteed to make you think about sex in a whole new way.
Pegasus Books
|
9781681771663
|
Print book
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide
By Travel, Dk
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides: the most maps, photography, and illustrations of any guide.DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Loire Valley is your in-depth guide to the very best of the Loire Valley in France.Whether you're on the hunt for a bike ride through the valley, a visit to fortresses and cathedrals, or a relaxing afternoon shopping at local markets, our DK Eyewitness Travel Guide has everything you'll need to experience the best of the Loire Valley. Explore old world villages and storybook chateaux, try local delicacies and superb wines, or take a walking tour and experience stunning views: We have everything you'll need to make the most of a trip to the Loire Valley on any budget.Discover DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Loire Valley * Detailed itineraries and "don't miss" destination highlights at a glance. * Illustrated cutaway 3-D drawings of important sights. * Floor plans and guided visitor information for major museums. * Guided walking tours, local drink and dining specialties to try, things to do, and places to eat, drink, and shop by area. * Area maps marked with sights. * Insights into history and culture to help you understand the stories behind the sights. * Hotel and restaurant listings highlight DK Choice special recommendations. With hundreds of full-color photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, and custom maps that illuminate every page, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Loire Valley truly shows you the Loire Valley as no one else can.Recommended: For an in-depth guidebook to France, check out DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: France, which offers the most complete coverage of France, trip-planning itineraries, and more.
DK Eyewitness Travel
|
9781465468291
|
Paperback
A False Report
By Miller, T Christian
Two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists tell the riveting true story of Marie, a teenager who was charged with lying about having been raped, and the detectives who followed a winding path to arrive at the truth. On August 11, 2008, eighteen-year-old Marie reported that a masked man broke into her apartment near Seattle, Washington, and raped her. Within days police and even those closest to Marie became suspicious of her story: details of the crime didn't seem plausible and her foster mother thought she sounded as though she were reciting a Law & Order episode. The police swiftly pivoted and began investigating Marie. Confronted with inconsistencies in her story and the doubts of others, Marie broke down and said her story was a lie--a bid for attention. Police charged Marie with false reporting. One of Marie's best friends created a web page branding her a liar. More than two years later, Colorado detective Stacy Galbraith was assigned to investigate a case of sexual assault. Describing the crime to her husband that night--the attacker's calm and practiced demeanor, which led the victim to surmise "he's done this before"--Galbraith learned that the case bore an eerie resemblance to a rape that had taken place months earlier in a nearby town. She joined forces with the detective on that case, Edna Hendershot, and the two soon realized they were dealing with a serial rapist: a man who photographed his victims, threatening to release the images online, and whose calculated steps to erase all physical evidence suggested he might be a soldier or a cop. Through meticulous police work the detectives would eventually connect the rapist to other attacks in Colorado--and beyond. Based on investigative files and extensive interviews with the principals, A False Report is a serpentine tale of doubt, lies, and a hunt for justice, unveiling the disturbing reality of how sexual assault is investigated today--and the long history of skepticism toward rape victims.
Crown Publishing Group (NY)
|
9781524759933
|
Hardcover
Buzzed
By Ph.d., Cynthia Kuhn
The essential source for understanding how drugs affect the body and behavior.Fully updated, this matter-of-fact handbook includes the most recent discoveries about drug use, including new information on electronic smoking devices, abuse of prescription stimulants, and the opioid crisis. "Lively, highly informative, unbiased, [and] thorough" (Addiction Research & Theory) , Buzzed surveys drugs from caffeine to heroin to reveal how these drugs affect the body, the different "highs" they produce, and the circumstances in which they can be deadly.Neither a "Just Say No" treatise nor a "How to" manual, Buzzed is based on the conviction that people make better decisions with accurate information at hand. 8 pages of color illustrations
W. W. Norton & Company
|
9780393356465
|
Paperback
Honorable Exit
By Clarke, Thurston
A groundbreaking revisionist history of the last days of the Vietnam War that reveals the acts of American heroism that saved more than one hundred thousand South Vietnamese from communist revengeIn 1973 U.S. participation in the Vietnam War ended in a cease-fire and a withdrawal that included promises by President Nixon to assist the South in the event of invasion by the North. But in early 1975, when North Vietnamese forces began a full-scale assault, Congress refused to send arms or aid. By early April that year, the South was on the brink of a defeat that threatened execution or years in a concentration camp for the untold number of South Vietnamese who had supported the government in Saigon or worked with Americans. Thurston Clarke begins Honorable Exit by describing the iconic photograph of the Fall of Saigon: desperate Vietnamese scrambling to board a helicopter evacuating the last American personnel from Vietnam. It is an image of U.S. failure and shame. Or is it? By unpacking the surprising story of heroism that the photograph actually tells, Clarke launches into a narrative that is both a thrilling race against time and an important corrective to the historical record. For what is less known is that during those final days, scores of Americans--diplomats, businessmen, soldiers, missionaries, contractors, and spies--risked their lives to assist their current and former translators, drivers, colleagues, neighbors, friends, and even perfect strangers in escape. By the time the last U.S. helicopter left Vietnam on April 30, 1975, these righteous Americans had helped to spirit 130,000 South Vietnamese to U.S. bases in Guam and the Philippines. From there, the evacuees were resettled in the U.S. and became American citizens, the leading edge of one of America's most successful immigrant groups. Into this tale of heroism on the ground Clarke weaves the political machinations of Henry Kissinger advising President Ford in the White House while reinforcing the delusions of the U.S. Ambassador in Saigon, who, at the last minute, refused to depart. Groundbreaking, page-turning, and authoritative, Honorable Exit is a deeply moving history of Americans at a little-known finest hour.
Doubleday
|
9780385539647
|
Hardcover
Murder in Canaryville
By Coen, Jeff
- Dick Simpson, author of The Good Fight The grandson and great-grandson of Chicago police officers, Chicago Police Detective James Sherlock was CPD through-and-through. His career had seen its share of twists and turns, from his time working undercover to thwart robberies on Chicago's L trains to his years as a homicide detective. He thought he had seen it all. But on this day, he was at the records center to see the case file for the murder of John Hughes, who was seventeen years old when he was gunned down on Chicago's Southwest Side in 1976. The case's threads led everywhere: Police corruption. Hints of the Chicago Outfit. A crooked judge. Even the belief that the cover-up extended to "hizzoner" himself - legendary Chicago mayor Richard J.
Chicago Review Press
|
9781641602815
|
Hardcover
Bringing Up Race
By Asika, Uju
"Uju Asika has written a necessary book for our times." -- Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters' StreetYou can't avoid it, because it's everywhere. In the looks Black kids get in certain spaces, the manner in which some people speak to them, the stuff that goes over their heads. Stuff that makes them cry even when they don't know why. How do you bring up your kids to be kind and happy when there is so much out there trying to break them down?Bringing Up Race is an important book, for all families whatever their race or ethnicity. It's for everyone who wants to instil a sense of open-minded inclusivity in their kids, and those who want to discuss difference instead of shying away from tough questions. Uju Asika draws on often shocking personal stories of prejudice along with opinions of experts, influencers, and fellow parents to give prescriptive advice in this invaluable guide.
Sourcebooks
|
9781728238562
|
Paperback
Hillbilly Elegy
By Vance, J D
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NAMED BY THE TIMES AS ONE OF "6 BOOKS TO HELP UNDERSTAND TRUMP'S WIN" AND SOON TO BE A MAJOR-MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY RON HOWARD "You will not read a more important book about America this year." - The Economist "A riveting book." - The Wall Street Journal"Essential reading." - David Brooks, New York TimesFrom a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working classHillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis - that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.'s grandparents were "dirt poor and in love," and moved north from Kentucky's Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually their grandchild (the author) would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving generational upward mobility.But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that this is only the short, superficial version. Vance's grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. Vance piercingly shows how he himself still carries around the demons of their chaotic family history.A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.
Music, Lyrics, and Life
By Errico, Mike
Particle Physics Brick by Brick
By Still, Ben
A simple and entertaining introduction to the building blocks of the universe. In 2014 the Lego Group sold 62 billion Lego pieces. That's 102 Lego bricks for every person in the world. That's nothing however to the estimated seven billion billion billion atoms that make up each of us, let alone the between ten quadrillion vigintillion and one-hundred thousand quadrillion vigintillion atoms in the known observable universe. Thankfully, understanding atomic and subatomic physics need not be infathomable. Lego bricks are a great way to visualize the blueprint of the Universe, right down to its smallest elements. Particle Physics Brick by Brick explains how and with what the universe came to be. It introduces the Standard Model of Physics, the "rule book" of physics which has been proven correct again and again since its mid-20 century development. Today, it is the gaps in the model that keep physicists busy. In concise chapters, the book assigns to each atomic element a colored Lego brick, such as neutrons, leptons, and quarks. By assembling actual or imaginary bricks and observing their relationships and interactions, particle physics becomes clear. The book opens with the Standard Model of Physics, the physicists and the discoveries made over history, and directions on how to use the book. The chapters that follow are: Building Blocks and Construction Rules Building a Universe Electromagnetism and QED (Quantum ElectroDynamics) The Strong Force and QCD (Quantum ChromoDynamics) The Weak Force and Breaking Symmetries Broken Symmetry and Mass Problems with Ghosts Violated Symmetry The Future. Particle Physics Brick by Brick is a succinct introduction for anyone that wants to gain a basic understanding of the atomic world, its elements and how they interact. By using tangible substitutes -- bricks -- it brings the unseen atomic world into the realm of the visual.
Wild Sex
By D., Carin Bondar Ph.
A brilliantly engaging guide to the reproductive habits of creatures great and small, based on the author's popular webseries "Wild Sex," which has received over 14 million views Birds do it, bees do it -- every member of the animal kingdom does it, from fruit flies to blue whales. But if you think humans have a tough time dating, try having to do it while being hunted down by predators, against a backdrop of unpredictable and life-threatening conditions. The animal kingdom is a wild place - and it's got mating habits to match. The sex lives of our animal cousins are fiendishly difficult, infinitely varied, often incredibly violent -- and absolutely fascinating. In Wild Sex, Dr. Carin Bondar takes readers on an enthralling tour of the animal kingdom as she explores the diverse world of sex in the wild. She looks at the evolution of sexual organs (and how they've shaped social hierarchies) , tactics of seduction, and the mechanics of sex. She investigates a wide range of topics, from whether animals experience pleasure from sex to what happens when females hold the reproductive power. Along the way, she encounters razor-sharp penises, murderous carnal cannibals, and spontaneous chemical warfare in an epic battle between the sexes. The resulting book is titillating, exhilarating, amusing, petrifying, alluring -- and absolutely guaranteed to make you think about sex in a whole new way.
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide
By Travel, Dk
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides: the most maps, photography, and illustrations of any guide.DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Loire Valley is your in-depth guide to the very best of the Loire Valley in France.Whether you're on the hunt for a bike ride through the valley, a visit to fortresses and cathedrals, or a relaxing afternoon shopping at local markets, our DK Eyewitness Travel Guide has everything you'll need to experience the best of the Loire Valley. Explore old world villages and storybook chateaux, try local delicacies and superb wines, or take a walking tour and experience stunning views: We have everything you'll need to make the most of a trip to the Loire Valley on any budget.Discover DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Loire Valley * Detailed itineraries and "don't miss" destination highlights at a glance. * Illustrated cutaway 3-D drawings of important sights. * Floor plans and guided visitor information for major museums. * Guided walking tours, local drink and dining specialties to try, things to do, and places to eat, drink, and shop by area. * Area maps marked with sights. * Insights into history and culture to help you understand the stories behind the sights. * Hotel and restaurant listings highlight DK Choice special recommendations. With hundreds of full-color photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, and custom maps that illuminate every page, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Loire Valley truly shows you the Loire Valley as no one else can.Recommended: For an in-depth guidebook to France, check out DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: France, which offers the most complete coverage of France, trip-planning itineraries, and more.
A False Report
By Miller, T Christian
Two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists tell the riveting true story of Marie, a teenager who was charged with lying about having been raped, and the detectives who followed a winding path to arrive at the truth. On August 11, 2008, eighteen-year-old Marie reported that a masked man broke into her apartment near Seattle, Washington, and raped her. Within days police and even those closest to Marie became suspicious of her story: details of the crime didn't seem plausible and her foster mother thought she sounded as though she were reciting a Law & Order episode. The police swiftly pivoted and began investigating Marie. Confronted with inconsistencies in her story and the doubts of others, Marie broke down and said her story was a lie--a bid for attention. Police charged Marie with false reporting. One of Marie's best friends created a web page branding her a liar. More than two years later, Colorado detective Stacy Galbraith was assigned to investigate a case of sexual assault. Describing the crime to her husband that night--the attacker's calm and practiced demeanor, which led the victim to surmise "he's done this before"--Galbraith learned that the case bore an eerie resemblance to a rape that had taken place months earlier in a nearby town. She joined forces with the detective on that case, Edna Hendershot, and the two soon realized they were dealing with a serial rapist: a man who photographed his victims, threatening to release the images online, and whose calculated steps to erase all physical evidence suggested he might be a soldier or a cop. Through meticulous police work the detectives would eventually connect the rapist to other attacks in Colorado--and beyond. Based on investigative files and extensive interviews with the principals, A False Report is a serpentine tale of doubt, lies, and a hunt for justice, unveiling the disturbing reality of how sexual assault is investigated today--and the long history of skepticism toward rape victims.
Buzzed
By Ph.d., Cynthia Kuhn
The essential source for understanding how drugs affect the body and behavior.Fully updated, this matter-of-fact handbook includes the most recent discoveries about drug use, including new information on electronic smoking devices, abuse of prescription stimulants, and the opioid crisis. "Lively, highly informative, unbiased, [and] thorough" (Addiction Research & Theory) , Buzzed surveys drugs from caffeine to heroin to reveal how these drugs affect the body, the different "highs" they produce, and the circumstances in which they can be deadly.Neither a "Just Say No" treatise nor a "How to" manual, Buzzed is based on the conviction that people make better decisions with accurate information at hand. 8 pages of color illustrations
Honorable Exit
By Clarke, Thurston
A groundbreaking revisionist history of the last days of the Vietnam War that reveals the acts of American heroism that saved more than one hundred thousand South Vietnamese from communist revengeIn 1973 U.S. participation in the Vietnam War ended in a cease-fire and a withdrawal that included promises by President Nixon to assist the South in the event of invasion by the North. But in early 1975, when North Vietnamese forces began a full-scale assault, Congress refused to send arms or aid. By early April that year, the South was on the brink of a defeat that threatened execution or years in a concentration camp for the untold number of South Vietnamese who had supported the government in Saigon or worked with Americans. Thurston Clarke begins Honorable Exit by describing the iconic photograph of the Fall of Saigon: desperate Vietnamese scrambling to board a helicopter evacuating the last American personnel from Vietnam. It is an image of U.S. failure and shame. Or is it? By unpacking the surprising story of heroism that the photograph actually tells, Clarke launches into a narrative that is both a thrilling race against time and an important corrective to the historical record. For what is less known is that during those final days, scores of Americans--diplomats, businessmen, soldiers, missionaries, contractors, and spies--risked their lives to assist their current and former translators, drivers, colleagues, neighbors, friends, and even perfect strangers in escape. By the time the last U.S. helicopter left Vietnam on April 30, 1975, these righteous Americans had helped to spirit 130,000 South Vietnamese to U.S. bases in Guam and the Philippines. From there, the evacuees were resettled in the U.S. and became American citizens, the leading edge of one of America's most successful immigrant groups. Into this tale of heroism on the ground Clarke weaves the political machinations of Henry Kissinger advising President Ford in the White House while reinforcing the delusions of the U.S. Ambassador in Saigon, who, at the last minute, refused to depart. Groundbreaking, page-turning, and authoritative, Honorable Exit is a deeply moving history of Americans at a little-known finest hour.
Murder in Canaryville
By Coen, Jeff
- Dick Simpson, author of The Good Fight The grandson and great-grandson of Chicago police officers, Chicago Police Detective James Sherlock was CPD through-and-through. His career had seen its share of twists and turns, from his time working undercover to thwart robberies on Chicago's L trains to his years as a homicide detective. He thought he had seen it all. But on this day, he was at the records center to see the case file for the murder of John Hughes, who was seventeen years old when he was gunned down on Chicago's Southwest Side in 1976. The case's threads led everywhere: Police corruption. Hints of the Chicago Outfit. A crooked judge. Even the belief that the cover-up extended to "hizzoner" himself - legendary Chicago mayor Richard J.
Bringing Up Race
By Asika, Uju
"Uju Asika has written a necessary book for our times." -- Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters' StreetYou can't avoid it, because it's everywhere. In the looks Black kids get in certain spaces, the manner in which some people speak to them, the stuff that goes over their heads. Stuff that makes them cry even when they don't know why. How do you bring up your kids to be kind and happy when there is so much out there trying to break them down?Bringing Up Race is an important book, for all families whatever their race or ethnicity. It's for everyone who wants to instil a sense of open-minded inclusivity in their kids, and those who want to discuss difference instead of shying away from tough questions. Uju Asika draws on often shocking personal stories of prejudice along with opinions of experts, influencers, and fellow parents to give prescriptive advice in this invaluable guide.
Hillbilly Elegy
By Vance, J D
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NAMED BY THE TIMES AS ONE OF "6 BOOKS TO HELP UNDERSTAND TRUMP'S WIN" AND SOON TO BE A MAJOR-MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY RON HOWARD "You will not read a more important book about America this year." - The Economist "A riveting book." - The Wall Street Journal"Essential reading." - David Brooks, New York TimesFrom a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working classHillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis - that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.'s grandparents were "dirt poor and in love," and moved north from Kentucky's Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually their grandchild (the author) would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving generational upward mobility.But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that this is only the short, superficial version. Vance's grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. Vance piercingly shows how he himself still carries around the demons of their chaotic family history.A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.