A Big History of Everything from the Big Bang to the first stars, to our solar system, life on Earth, dinosaurs, homo sapiens, agriculture, an ice age, empires, fossil fuels, a Moon landing and mass globalization. And what happens next... ... "I have long been a fan of David Christian. In "Origin Story", he elegantly weaves evidence and insights from many scientific and historical disciplines into a single, accessible historical narrative." Bill Gates Most historians study the smallest silver of time. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the Big Bang through the present day ... |
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Every night, above our heads, a drama of epic proportions is playing out. Diamond planets, zombie stars, black holes heavier than a billion Suns. The cast of characters is extraordinary, and each one has its own incredible story to tell. We once thought of our Earth as unique, but we have now discovered thousands of alien planets, and that's barely a fraction of the worlds that are out there. And there are more stars in the Universe than grains of sand on every planet in the Solar System. But amid all this vastness, the Milky Way Galaxy, our Sun and the Earth are home to the only known life in the Universe - at least ... |
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An illustrated tour of the night sky. ... What We See in the Stars Kelsey Oseid is a richly illustrated guide to the myths, histories, and science of the celestial bodies of our solar system, with stories and information about constellations, planets, comets, the northern lights, and more. Combining art, mythology, and science, What We See in the Stars is a tour of the night sky through more than a hundred magical pieces of original art, all accompanied by text that weaves related legends and lore with scientific facts. This beautifully packaged book covers the night sky's most brilliant features such as ... |
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From the beginning of human history, individuals across cultures and belief systems have looked to the sky for meaning. The movement of celestial bodies and their relation to our human lives has been the central tenant of astrology for thousands of years. The practice has both inspired reverence and worship, and deepened our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. While modern-day horoscopes may be the most familiar form of astrological knowledge, their lineage reaches back to ancient Mesopotamia. As author Andrea Richards recounts in Astrology, the second volume in Taschen's Library of Esoterica ... |
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And why nearly everything you know about them is wrong. In A Brief History of Black Holes, award-winning University of Oxford researcher Dr Becky Smethurst charts five hundred years of scientific breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics. Right now, you are orbiting a black hole. The Earth orbits the Sun, and the Sun orbits the centre of the Milky Way: a supermassive black hole, the strangest and most misunderstood phenomenon in the galaxy. In this cosmic tale of discovery, Dr Becky Smethurst takes us from the earliest observations of the universe and the collapse of massive stars, to the iconic first photographs of a ... |
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"Oxford Bookworms Library Factfiles" are non-fiction graded readers from the "Oxford Bookworms Library" available for Levels 1 to 4 (CEFR A1 - B2). Students learn about different countries and cultures, science and nature, history and historical figures all while practising and improving their English. Some call it football, some call it soccer, and to others it's "the beautiful game". By any name, it's a sport with some fascinating stories. There is murder in Colombia, and a game that lasts for two days where many players never see the ball. There's the French writer who learnt ... |
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Traditions and their Transformations in the British Cinema of the 90s, of the 20th Century ... Writing this book was a strange journey over bridges across different cultures. The title is a metaphor of the hybrid, intellectual and anti-spectacular british feature cinema from the end of the 20 th century with affinity to egalitarianism, minimalism of the "short form", archetypal imagery and hedonism. It is a triumph of the expansive yough's counter-culture with it's intrinsic intolerance of authority, power and cliches. The transformation of tradition in the context of instability of the national- ... |
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They say that the eyes feed first, then the body follows."The idea behind this book started in the land of smiles - Thailand. The specific aroma of Asian cuisine embraces everyone who sets foot in this land. This fragrance lingers in the mind, enriching the memories associated with the exotic. One of the festivals celebrated there, which is deeply connected to the story of this book, is the festival of the floating lanterns. Its preparation begins with the crafting of small boats made out of banana leaves in the shape of lotus flowers, lavishly adorned with petals and candles, before being set afloat in flowing water ... |
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Multilingual Edition: English, French, German. Editors: Burkhard Riemschneider, Henk Schiffmacher. ... Whether you’re thinking of getting a tattoo or just want to see to what lengths others have gone in decorating their bodies, this is the book to check out. "1000 Tattoos" explores the history of the art worldwide via designs and photos - from 19th century engravings to tribal body art, from circus ladies of the ’20s to classic biker designs. For years, Henk Schiffmacher has been recognised as one of the stars of the tattoo scene. His Amsterdam studio attracts countless tattoo pilgrims, and he also runs the ... |
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Adventures in scientific curiosity. Comedian Robin Ince quickly abandoned science at school, bored by a fog of dull lessons and intimidated by the barrage of equations. But, twenty years later, he fell in love and he now presents one of the world's most popular science podcasts. Every year he meets hundreds of the world's greatest thinkers. In this erudite and witty book, Robin reveals why scientific wonder isn't just for the professionals. Filled with interviews featuring astronauts, comedians, teachers, quantum physicists, neuroscientists and more - as well as charting Robin's own journey with science - ... |
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From the discovery of entirely new kinds of galaxies to a window into cosmic "prehistory", Bothwell shows us the Universe as we've never seen it before - literally. Since the dawn of our species, people all over the world have gazed in awe at the night sky. But for all the beauty and wonder of the stars, when we look with just our eyes we are seeing and appreciating only a tiny fraction of the Universe. What does the cosmos have in store for us beyond the phenomena we can see, from black holes to supernovas? How different does the invisible Universe look from the home we thought we knew? Dr Matt Bothwell ... |
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Is she their salvation or their destruction? During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she’s delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move. As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn’t at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity’s greatest and final hope..."Action- ... |