Popular science

A mix of lateral thinking, unbelievable magic tricks, science stunts, factoids, mathematical mischief and cunning conundrums, based on the hit YouTube channel, Quirkology. What would you do if someone bet you they could balance a coin on the edge of a banknote, walk through a postcard, or make yo...

Is running always faster than walking? If you froze your hand in liquid nitrogen and hit it with a hammer, would it shatter? Could you survive in a falling elevator by jumping as it hit the ground? Why can't a fly get out of the toilet?This fascinating foray into the world of science tackles some...

Did you know that mosquitoes' mouthparts are helping to develop pain-free surgical needles? Who'd have thought that the humble mussel could inspire so many useful things, from plywood production to a 'glue' that cements the crowns on teeth and saves unborn babies in the womb? For many years, huma...

533 days in the life of a great European writer. Though a tireless explorer of distant cultures, for more than forty years Cees Nooteboom has also been returning to the island of Menorca, 'the island of the wind', and it is in his house there, with a study full of books and a garden taken over wi...

Real diversity isn't skin deep. Over the past 100,000 years, as humans expanded into every biome on the planet, our bodies and our cultures have been fine-tuned to our local environments. Our ability to adapt is at the heart of being human and the engine of our diversity. As an evolutionary anthr...

'After' is a book for anyone curious about the scope of the human mind, the nature of consciousness, and the pursuit of a meaningful life. Here, Bruce Greyson shares the scientific revelations of four decades of research into the dying process. He has become increasingly convinced that dying is l...

We all age. But why do some of us live longer than others? Why do we live twice as long today as our ancestors did 200 years ago? And what does the latest science teach us that will help us not only live longer lives, but also to live fitter, healthier and happier lives, deep into our later years...

This is a guide to the science driving biology's biggest story: why we get old, and how we can stop it. Ageing is so deeply ingrained in human experience that we never think to ask: is it necessary? Biologists, on the other hand, have been investigating that question for years. This work introduc...

For thousands of years, humans have wondered whether we're alone in the cosmos. Now, for the first time, we have the technology to investigate. The question should have an obvious answer: yes or no. But once you try to find life elsewhere, you realize it is not so simple. How do you find it over ...

A 'cultural history' of the alien phenomenon, this book looks at our fascination with all things alien, as well as explaining what this says about us in the post-religious age. "Since 1947, aliens have poured from the abyss that lies between ourselves and the world." So begins Bryan Appleyard's d...