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The Perfect Wife: The unique and explosive new thriller from the globally bestselling author of The Girl Before
by JP DelaneyThe new thriller from the bestselling author of The Girl Before.
The Perfect Wife: an explosive thriller from the globally bestselling author of The Girl Before
by JP Delaney'Seriously, amazingly, awesomely brilliant'CJ Tudor, author of The Chalk Man'A chilling and uniquely disturbing 21st-century twist on the unreliable narrator makes for a compulsive and deeply thought-provoking psychological thriller'Cara Hunter, author of Close to Home*********"There's something I have to explain, my love," he says, taking your hand in his. "That wasn't a dream. It was an upload."Abbie wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. The man by her side explains that he's her husband. He's a titan of the tech world, the founder of one of Silicon Valley's most innovative startups. He tells Abbie she's a gifted artist, a doting mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. Five years ago, she suffered a terrible accident. Her return from the abyss is a miracle of science, a breakthrough in artificial intelligence that has taken him half a decade to achieve. But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins questioning her husband's motives - and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together for ever? And what really happened to her, half a decade ago?A gripping psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Woman in the Window and The Wife Between Us. **********See what everyone is saying about JP Delaney, the hottest name in psychological thrillers:'DAZZLING' - Lee Child'ADDICTIVE' - Daily Express 'DEVASTATING' - Daily Mail 'INGENIOUS' - New York Times'COMPULSIVE' - Glamour Magazine 'ELEGANT' - Peter James 'SEXY' - Mail on Sunday'ENTHRALLING' - Woman and Home'ORIGINAL' - The Times'RIVETING' - Lisa Gardner'CREEPY' - Heat 'SATISFYING' - Reader's Digest 'SUPERIOR' - The Bookseller'MORE THAN A MATCH FOR PAULA HAWKINS' - Sunday Times
The Perfection of the Paper Clip
by James WardThis wonderfully quirky book will change the way you look at your desk forever with stories of accidental genius, bitter rivalries, and an appreciation for everyday objects, like the humble but perfectly designed paper clip and the utilitarian, irreplaceable pencil.How many of humanity's brightest ideas started out on a scrap of paper, a Post-It, or in the margins of a notebook? In a delightfully witty and fresh voice, James Ward--cofounder of the Boring Conference and collector of the arcane--explores the secret histories of deskbound supplies, from pencils to fluorescent ink, and the gleaming reams of white paper we all take for granted, encouraging a deeper appreciation and fascination for the things that surround us each day. In the spirit of The Evolution of Useful Things and A History of the World in 100 Objects, Ward transforms the mundane into stories of invention, discovery, and even awe. The Perfection of the Paper Clip is a fascinating tour of the objects that touch our daily lives, filled with charming drawings, illuminating stories, and winning humor that will satisfy curious minds and armchair inventors.
The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
by Simon WinchesterThe revered New York Times bestselling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement—precision—in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future.The rise of manufacturing could not have happened without an attention to precision. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century England, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machine tools—machines that make machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods resulted in the creation and mass production of items from guns and glass to mirrors, lenses, and cameras—and eventually gave way to further breakthroughs, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider.Simon Winchester takes us back to origins of the Industrial Age, to England where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who later exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. Winchester moves forward through time, to today’s cutting-edge developments occurring around the world, from America to Western Europe to Asia.As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society?
The Performance Management Systems Playbook: Integrating the ISO 56002 and 56004 Standards Into Your Business Operations
by H. James Harrington Frank VoehlThe objective of the ISO 56002 standard is to provide a framework on how to build an innovation ecosystem that can be sustained over time. Similar to the quality management system that ISO established decades ago, this standard provides instructions related to best practices on how to establish an Innovative Management System within an organization. However, it does not provide guidance on how to implement and/or use the standard. The ISO Standard 56004 Innovation Management Assessment was designed to define the maturity level of an organization's Innovation Management System. The primary purpose of most Innovative Management Systems is to process a continuous flow of new and highly creative outputs that will meet external customers’ needs and expectations. The users of ISO 56002 and 56004 know that they are "what to do" documents. This book, however, shows you how to do it! Both ISO Standard 56002 and 56004 are focused on improving the organization's innovative management system. This book focuses on how to train employees on how to use the system to add value to the organization’s stakeholders. There are no books out on the subject – this book greatly assists managers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and consultants seeking help in using the innovation management system effectively and efficiently. Essentially, this book presents an effective marriage between the innovative management system and how it will operate when it becomes part of the operating procedures.
The Peril Ahead (Department Z #22)
by John CreaseyDepartment Z tracks down a doomsday weapon in an edge-of-your-seat spy thriller from the Edgar Award–winning author who sold eighty million books worldwide. Professor Toller has created a weapon that could change the world as we know it. The threat is imminent as the professor and his formula are kidnapped, and it is left to the head of Department Z, Gordon Craigie, to save the day. Department Z is a small and little-known faction of the intelligence service. Among the other branches, its work is legendary. The department’s agents are scattered across most of the world’s capitals and even in smaller cities, and many strange matters pass through their hands. Or, more accurately, the hands of Gordon Craigie and Bill Loftus. Craigie must take enormous risks as both Washington and Moscow begin to suspect Britain of seeking out such a destructive weapon. His investigation leads him to an English seaside resort where Craigie must track down the men that have taken the professor, while evading the master conspirator who is out to get him. When the conspirator goes after the prime minister, Craigie is in real trouble. “Mr. Creasey realizes that it is the principal business of thrillers to thrill.” —Church Times “Little appears in the newspapers about the Secret Service, but that little makes anything on the subject probable fiction. Mr. Creasey proves himself worthy of the chance.” —Times Literary Supplement
The Peril Ahead (Department Z)
by John CreaseyDepartment Z tracks down a doomsday weapon in an edge-of-your-seat spy thriller from the Edgar Award–winning author who sold eighty million books worldwide.Professor Toller has created a weapon that could change the world as we know it. The threat is imminent as the professor and his formula are kidnapped, and it is left to the head of Department Z, Gordon Craigie, to save the day.Department Z is a small and little-known faction of the intelligence service. Among the other branches, its work is legendary. The department’s agents are scattered across most of the world’s capitals and even in smaller cities, and many strange matters pass through their hands. Or, more accurately, the hands of Gordon Craigie and Bill Loftus.Craigie must take enormous risks as both Washington and Moscow begin to suspect Britain of seeking out such a destructive weapon. His investigation leads him to an English seaside resort where Craigie must track down the men that have taken the professor, while evading the master conspirator who is out to get him. When the conspirator goes after the prime minister, Craigie is in real trouble.“Mr. Creasey realizes that it is the principal business of thrillers to thrill.” —Church Times“Little appears in the newspapers about the Secret Service, but that little makes anything on the subject probable fiction. Mr. Creasey proves himself worthy of the chance.” —Times Literary Supplement
The Permaculture Handbook
by David Holmgren Peter BaneThe urban landscape has swallowed vast swaths of prime farmland across North America. Imagine how much more self-reliant our communities would be if thirty million acres of lawns were made productive again. Permaculture is a practical way to apply ecological design principles to food, housing, and energy systems, making growing fruits, vegetables, and livestock easier and more sustainable.The Permaculture Handbook is a step-by-step, beautifully illustrated guide to creating resilient and prosperous households and neighborhoods, complemented by extensive case studies of three successful farmsteads and market gardens. This comprehensive manual casts garden farming as both an economic opportunity and a strategy for living well with less money. It shows how, by mimicking the intelligence of nature and applying appropriate technologies such as solar and environmental design, permaculture can:*Create an abundance of fresh, nourishing local produce *Reduce dependence on expensive, polluting fossil fuels*Drought-proof our cities and countryside*Convert waste into wealthPermaculture is about working with the earth and with each other to repair the damage of industrial overreach and to enrich the living world that sustains us. The Permaculture Handbook is the definitive practical North American guide to this revolutionary practice, and is a must-read for anyone concerned about creating food security, resilience, and a legacy of abundance rather than depletion.Peter Bane is a permaculture teacher and site designer who has published and edited Permaculture Activist magazine for over twenty years. He helped create Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina, and is now pioneering suburban farming in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Permaculture Transition Manual: A Comprehensive Guide to Resilient Living
by Ross MarsCaught between climate change and a fossil fuel-driven economy that demands ever more growth, the world faces a great transition--by design or disaster--away from fossil fuels to a less energy intensive future. But what proven tools are available to aid in making a successful, deliberate transition to a resilient, sustainable future? For the first time, the power of permaculture design has been brought to bear on the great transition problem. In the process, acclaimed permaculture teacher and designer Ross Mars has distilled his considerable knowledge into the ultimate resource for resilient living. The Permaculture Transition Manual is packed with information on permaculture design principles, soil building, nutrient-dense food growing, including top plant and tree selections for all climatic zones. Coverage extends to rainwater harvesting and irrigation, human waste management, and strategies for rural properties plus a unique focus on applying permaculture to small urban spaces for decluttering and efficient food growing. Also covered are hand tools, food preservation, energy production, and low-carbon housing and a plethora of nearly forgotten skills such as soap making, basket weaving, seed saving, and rope and candle making, and more. On the desert island of a world in decline this is the one-stop guide to vibrant, resilient living you'll want to take with you. Ross Mars is a scientist with a PhD in Environmental Science, entrepreneur and highly-regarded permaculture teacher and designer. Author of The Basics of Permaculture Design, he manages Candlelight Farm, a permaculture demonstration site and training center in Western Australia.
The Persimmon Genome (Compendium of Plant Genomes)
by Ryutaro Tao Zhengrong LuoThis book will expound the latest information on the current state of persimmon genomics and transcriptomics, with a particular focus on the latest findings and analysis in relation to the most important agronomic traits. The genus Diospyros contains about 400 species distributed all continents of the globe. Most of Diospyros species are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions, while cultivated persimmon or simply kaki (Diospyros kaki) originates in East Asia and has been grown in China, Japan and Korea for many years. World production of persimmon has been increasing continuously since 1990s, with China being the most producer. Outside Asia, kaki production has been rapidly increasing in Spain in recent years. Because kaki is mostly hexaploid (2n = 6x =90) and its genome size is quite large with the flow cytometric analysis estimation of about 900 Mb, genetic and molecular studies in persimmon are quite complicated. Diploid close relatives of kaki, D. lotus and D. oleifera have been recently used as model species of kaki. Utilizing these species, molecular basis of several economically molecular basis of important traits such as sexuality and astringency has been studied, giving important information for kaki breeding.
The Pesticide Detox: Towards a More Sustainable Agriculture
by Jules PrettySince the 1960s, the world's population has more than doubled and agricultural production per person has increased by a third. Yet this growth in production has masked enormous hidden costs arising from widespread pesticide use - massive ecological damage and high incidences of farmer poisoning and chronic health effects. Whereas once the risks involved with pesticide use were judged to be outweighed by the potential benefits, increasingly the external costs of pesticides, to environments and human health, are being seen as unacceptable. In response to this trend, recent years have seen millions of farmers in communities around the world reduce their use of harmful pesticides and develop cheaper and safer alternatives. The Pesticide Detox explores the potential for the phasing-out of hazardous pesticides and the phasing-in of cost effective alternatives already available on the market. This book makes clear that it is time to start the pesticide detox and to move towards a more sustainable agriculture.
The Peter James Collection: Twilight, Denial and Sweet Heart
by Peter JamesTHREE PETER JAMES TITLES IN ONE!TwilightThree muffled thuds ring from the partially filled grave of the newly wed girl.Only the verger hears them and he dismisses the noise as his imagination. But when an exhumation order is granted, reporter Kate Hemingway sneaks into the small suburban churchyard when the coffin is opened, and the scene she witnesses is so horrific she can never forget it. As she starts work on the story, Kate finds herself caught up in a sinister and macabre cover-up.DenialIntroducing policeman Glenn Branson...When actress Gloria Lamark takes her own life, her devoted son, Thomas, is heart-broken. Something must be wrong with a world in which such a tragedy is allowed to happen. How could her high-profile, media-star psychiatrist have failed to save such a special person, whom Thomas loved in such a very special way? Dr Tennent has a lesson to learn - a very painful one.Michael Tennent is caught up in the first flush of love - but has no idea how dangerous romance can be. For both Michael and Thomas will do anything for the women they love .SweetheartCharley has a strange feeling when she sees the idyllic mill house; a powerful sense of recognition, as if she has been there before. Except she knows she hasn't.After Charley and her husband Tom move into Elmwood Mill, sinister memories of a previous existence start to haunt her. Despite both their attempts to dismiss everything with rational explanations, the feeling turns to certainty as the memories become increasingly vivid and terrifying.
The Peter James Collection: Twilight, Denial and Sweet Heart
by Peter JamesTHREE PETER JAMES TITLES IN ONE!TwilightThree muffled thuds ring from the partially filled grave of the newly wed girl.Only the verger hears them and he dismisses the noise as his imagination. But when an exhumation order is granted, reporter Kate Hemingway sneaks into the small suburban churchyard when the coffin is opened, and the scene she witnesses is so horrific she can never forget it. As she starts work on the story, Kate finds herself caught up in a sinister and macabre cover-up.DenialIntroducing policeman Glenn Branson...When actress Gloria Lamark takes her own life, her devoted son, Thomas, is heart-broken. Something must be wrong with a world in which such a tragedy is allowed to happen. How could her high-profile, media-star psychiatrist have failed to save such a special person, whom Thomas loved in such a very special way? Dr Tennent has a lesson to learn - a very painful one.Michael Tennent is caught up in the first flush of love - but has no idea how dangerous romance can be. For both Michael and Thomas will do anything for the women they love .SweetheartCharley has a strange feeling when she sees the idyllic mill house; a powerful sense of recognition, as if she has been there before. Except she knows she hasn't.After Charley and her husband Tom move into Elmwood Mill, sinister memories of a previous existence start to haunt her. Despite both their attempts to dismiss everything with rational explanations, the feeling turns to certainty as the memories become increasingly vivid and terrifying.
The Petlyakov Pe-2: Stalin's Successful Red Air Force Light Bomber
by Peter C. SmithThe definitive book on the development and deployment of the Soviet Union’s supreme dive-bomber—with rare archival and private photos.During the Second World War, the Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka was the Soviet Union’s main dive- and light-bomber in operations across the Eastern Front. It became a mainstay of the Soviet counteroffensive that led to the fall of Berlin. They also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945.Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated on political charges, the Peshka had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane. But due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, it was quickly transformed into the fastest dive-bomber in the skies.Only a handful had reached front lines by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. But by 1945, more than 11,000 of the type were built, including many variants. Many of these remained in service with the air forces of Yugoslavia and the Warsaw Pact countries into the 1950s. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, as well as rare color and black-and-white photographs from both official and private collections, this is the definitive record of the Pe-2.
The Petlyakov Pe-2: Stalin's Successful Red Air Force Light Bomber
by Peter C. SmithThe definitive book on the development and deployment of the Soviet Union’s supreme dive-bomber—with rare archival and private photos.During the Second World War, the Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka was the Soviet Union’s main dive- and light-bomber in operations across the Eastern Front. It became a mainstay of the Soviet counteroffensive that led to the fall of Berlin. They also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945.Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated on political charges, the Peshka had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane. But due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, it was quickly transformed into the fastest dive-bomber in the skies.Only a handful had reached front lines by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. But by 1945, more than 11,000 of the type were built, including many variants. Many of these remained in service with the air forces of Yugoslavia and the Warsaw Pact countries into the 1950s. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, as well as rare color and black-and-white photographs from both official and private collections, this is the definitive record of the Pe-2.
The Petroleum Industry: A Nontechnical Guide (Pennwell Nontechnical Ser.)
by Charles F. ConawayEverything from upstream to downstream is covered in this nontechnical overview of the petroleum industry. Organized in a natural chronology, the text begins with the geology and origins of oil and gas formation and moves through the techniques used to find, drill, and produce oil. The author then moves the reader through clear explanations of downstream issues including storage, transportation, and marketing as well as refining and petrochemicals. Special attention is given to the differences between onshore and offshore processes. Features Newcomers will quickly learn petroleumindustry language and concepts Provides cross-training in the other disciplines Easy-to-grasp concepts of technology and processes Points out the distinctions between onshore and offshore operations Includes a comprehensive glossary of industry terms and buzzwords
The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies And Blunders On Maps
by Edward Brooke-HitchingThe Phantom Atlas is a guide to the world not as it is, but as it was imagined to be. It's a world of ghost islands, invisible mountain ranges, mythical civilizations, ship-wrecking beasts, and other fictitious features introduced on maps and atlases through mistakes, misunderstanding, fantasies, and outright lies. This richly illustrated book collects and explores the colorful histories behind a striking range of real antique maps that are all in some way a little too good to be true. Author Edward Brooke-Hitching investigates the places where exploration and mythology meet, using gorgeous atlas images as springboards for tales of the deranged buccaneers, seafaring monks, heroes, swindlers, and other amazing stories behind cartography's greatest phantoms.
The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps
by Edward Brooke-HitchingThe Phantom Atlas is an atlas of the world not as it ever existed, but as it was thought to be. These marvellous and mysterious phantoms - non-existent islands, invented mountain ranges, mythical civilisations and other fictitious geography - were all at various times presented as facts on maps and atlases. This book is a collection of striking antique maps that display the most erroneous cartography, with each illustration accompanied by the story behind it. Exploration, map-making and mythology are all brought together to create a colourful tapestry of monsters, heroes and volcanoes; swindlers, mirages and murderers. Sometimes the stories are almost impossible to believe, and remarkably, some of the errors were still on display in maps published in the 21st century. Throughout much of the 19th century more than 40 different mapmakers included the Mountains of Kong, a huge range of peaks stretching across the entire continent of Africa, in their maps - but it was only in 1889 when Louis Gustave Binger revealed the whole thing to be a fake. For centuries, explorers who headed to Patagonia returned with tales of the giants they had met who lived there, some nine feet tall. Then there was Gregor MacGregor, a Scottish explorer who returned to London to sell shares in a land he had discovered in South America. He had been appointed the Cazique of Poyais, and bestowed with many honours by the local king of this unspoiled paradise. Now he was offering others the chance to join him and make their fortune there, too - once they had paid him a bargain fee for their passage... The Phantom Atlas is a beautifully produced volume, packed with stunning maps and drawings of places and people that never existed. The remarkable stories behind them all are brilliantly told by Edward Brooke-Hitching in a book that will appeal to cartophiles everywhere.
The Pharaoh Key (Gideon Crew series)
by Douglas Preston Lincoln ChildDon't miss the this exciting adventure from #1 New York Times-bestselling authors Preston & Child, in which the secrets of a mysterious ancient tablet may point the way to untold treasure-or unspeakable danger. <P><P>"I just want to be crystal clear about this: if it has value, we're gonna steal it. Are you with me?" <P>Effective Engineering Solutions has been inexplicably shut down and the head of the company, Eli Glinn, has all but vanished. Fresh off a diagnosis that gives him only months to live, Gideon Crew is contacted by one of his coworkers at EES, Manuel Garza, who tells him the two have mere hours to collect their belongings before the office closes forever. <P>After years of dedicated service and several high-risk missions, theirs seems like the most ignoble of terminations-until Gideon and Garza happen upon an incredible discovery. <P><P>After centuries of silence, a code-breaking machine at EES has cracked the long-awaited translation of a centuries-old stone tablet, the Phaistos Disc, that dates back to an otherwise completely unknown, ancient civilization. The mysteries of the message itself hint at incredible treasures, and perhaps even a world-altering secret. No one remains at EES to take on this most remarkable mission but Gideon and Garza. <P><P>The two agree to solve the mystery of the disc's message and split the spoils: the perfect parting gift their employer doesn't know he has given. What lies at the end of the trail may save Gideon's life-or bring it to a sudden, shocking close. As Gideon and Garza soon discover, some missions are more dangerous than others. But as Gideon has proved again and again, there's no such thing as too great a risk when you're living on borrowed time. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Philosopher of Palo Alto: Mark Weiser, Xerox PARC, and the Original Internet of Things
by John TinnellA compelling biography of Mark Weiser, a pioneering innovator whose legacy looms over the tech industry’s quest to connect everything—and who hoped for something better. When developers and critics trace the roots of today’s Internet of Things—our smart gadgets and smart cities—they may single out the same creative source: Mark Weiser (1952–99), the first chief technology officer at Xerox PARC and the so-called “father of ubiquitous computing.” But Weiser, who died young at age 46 in 1999, would be heartbroken if he had lived to see the ways we use technology today. As John Tinnell shows in this thought-provoking narrative, Weiser was an outlier in Silicon Valley. A computer scientist whose first love was philosophy, he relished debates about the machine’s ultimate purpose. Good technology, Weiser argued, should not mine our experiences for saleable data or demand our attention; rather, it should quietly boost our intuition as we move through the world. Informed by deep archival research and interviews with Weiser’s family and colleagues, The Philosopher of Palo Alto chronicles Weiser’s struggle to initiate a new era of computing. Working in the shadows of the dot-com boom, Weiser and his collaborators made Xerox PARC headquarters the site of a grand experiment. Throughout the building, they embedded software into all sorts of objects—coffeepots, pens, energy systems, ID badges—imbuing them with interactive features. Their push to integrate the digital and the physical soon caught on. Microsoft’s Bill Gates flagged Weiser’s Scientific American article “The Computer for the 21st Century” as a must-read. Yet, as more tech leaders warmed to his vision, Weiser grew alarmed about where they wished to take it. In this fascinating story of an innovator and a big idea, Tinnell crafts a poignant and critical history of today’s Internet of Things. At the heart of the narrative is Weiser’s desire for deeper connection, which animated his life and inspired his notion of what technology at its best could be.
The Philosophical Breakfast Club
by Laura J. SnyderThe Philosophical Breakfast Club recounts the life and work of four men who met as students at Cambridge University: Charles Babbage, John Herschel, William Whewell, and Richard Jones. Recognizing that they shared a love of science (as well as good food and drink) they began to meet on Sunday mornings to talk about the state of science in Britain and the world at large. Inspired by the great 17th century scientific reformer and political figure Francis Bacon--another former student of Cambridge--the Philosophical Breakfast Club plotted to bring about a new scientific revolution. And to a remarkable extent, they succeeded, even in ways they never intended. Historian of science and philosopher Laura J. Snyder exposes the political passions, religious impulses, friendships, rivalries, and love of knowledge--and power--that drove these extraordinary men. Whewell (who not only invented the word "scientist," but also founded the fields of crystallography, mathematical economics, and the science of tides), Babbage (a mathematical genius who invented the modern computer), Herschel (who mapped the skies of the Southern Hemisphere and contributed to the invention of photography), and Jones (a curate who shaped the science of economics) were at the vanguard of the modernization of science. This absorbing narrative of people, science and ideas chronicles the intellectual revolution inaugurated by these men, one that continues to mold our understanding of the world around us and of our place within it. Drawing upon the voluminous correspondence between the four men over the fifty years of their work, Laura J. Snyder shows how friendship worked to spur the men on to greater accomplishments, and how it enabled them to transform science and help create the modern world.From the Hardcover edition.
The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World
by Laura J. SnyderThe Philosophical Breakfast Club recounts the life and work of four men who met as students at Cambridge University: Charles Babbage, John Herschel, William Whewell, and Richard Jones. Recognizing that they shared a love of science (as well as good food and drink) they began to meet on Sunday mornings to talk about the state of science in Britain and the world at large. Inspired by the great 17th century scientific reformer and political figure Francis Bacon—another former student of Cambridge—the Philosophical Breakfast Club plotted to bring about a new scientific revolution. And to a remarkable extent, they succeeded, even in ways they never intended. Historian of science and philosopher Laura J. Snyder exposes the political passions, religious impulses, friendships, rivalries, and love of knowledge—and power—that drove these extraordinary men. Whewell (who not only invented the word “scientist,” but also founded the fields of crystallography, mathematical economics, and the science of tides), Babbage (a mathematical genius who invented the modern computer), Herschel (who mapped the skies of the Southern Hemisphere and contributed to the invention of photography), and Jones (a curate who shaped the science of economics) were at the vanguard of the modernization of science. This absorbing narrative of people, science and ideas chronicles the intellectual revolution inaugurated by these men, one that continues to mold our understanding of the world around us and of our place within it. Drawing upon the voluminous correspondence between the four men over the fifty years of their work, Laura J. Snyder shows how friendship worked to spur the men on to greater accomplishments, and how it enabled them to transform science and help create the modern world.
The Philosophical Foundations of Modern Medicine
by Keekok LeeAn exploration of the philosophical foundation of modern medicine which explains why such a medicine possesses the characteristics it does and where precisely its strengths as well as its weaknesses lie. Written in plain English, it should be accessible to anyone who is intellectually curious, lay persons and medical professionals alike.
The Philosophy of Science and Engineering Design
by Dingmar Van EckThis book discusses the relationship between the philosophy of science and philosophy of engineering, and demonstrates how philosophers of engineering design as well as design researchers can benefit from the conceptual toolkit that the philosophy of science has to offer. In this regard, it employs conceptual tools from the philosophical literature on scientific explanation to address key issues in engineering design and philosophy of engineering design. Specifically, the book focuses on assessing the explanatory value of function ascriptions used in engineering design and philosophy of technical functions; on elaborating the structure of explanation in engineering design; on assessing the role and value of design representations in engineering design and philosophy thereof; and on elaborating means for the testing of design methods. Presenting a novel and effective approach to tackling key issues in the field, philosophers of engineering and design alike will greatly benefit from this book.
The Philosophy of Software: Code and Mediation in the Digital Age
by D. BerryThis book is a critical introduction to code and software that develops an understanding of its social and philosophical implications in the digital age. Written specifically for people interested in the subject from a non-technical background, the book provides a lively and interesting analysis of these new media forms.