Author: Karim A. Malik
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030327345
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
This fascinating book provides an accessible and up-to-date overview of modern cosmology. In particular, the book discusses the formation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the evolution of large scale structures in the universe, the distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies on very large distance scales. Following a brief introduction, the authors describe the scientific method – how science is done. They then discuss observational cosmology, the instruments and what observations can be done with them, and what is derived from those observations. After discussing the constituents of the universe, including dark matter and dark energy, the authors provide an outline of the forces that shape the universe, with particular emphasis on gravitation. Following this, the reader is taken on a journey in time from the present day back to the very beginning of the universe, a period called inflation, which sets the initial conditions for the subsequent evolution of the universe. The book ends with a brief chapter on what lies beyond. Written by two experts, the book is aimed at the interested lay-person with little or no physics background, but an interest in modern cosmology.
How Cosmologists Explain the Universe to Friends and Family
Author: Karim A. Malik
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030327345
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
This fascinating book provides an accessible and up-to-date overview of modern cosmology. In particular, the book discusses the formation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the evolution of large scale structures in the universe, the distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies on very large distance scales. Following a brief introduction, the authors describe the scientific method – how science is done. They then discuss observational cosmology, the instruments and what observations can be done with them, and what is derived from those observations. After discussing the constituents of the universe, including dark matter and dark energy, the authors provide an outline of the forces that shape the universe, with particular emphasis on gravitation. Following this, the reader is taken on a journey in time from the present day back to the very beginning of the universe, a period called inflation, which sets the initial conditions for the subsequent evolution of the universe. The book ends with a brief chapter on what lies beyond. Written by two experts, the book is aimed at the interested lay-person with little or no physics background, but an interest in modern cosmology.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030327345
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268
Book Description
This fascinating book provides an accessible and up-to-date overview of modern cosmology. In particular, the book discusses the formation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the evolution of large scale structures in the universe, the distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies on very large distance scales. Following a brief introduction, the authors describe the scientific method – how science is done. They then discuss observational cosmology, the instruments and what observations can be done with them, and what is derived from those observations. After discussing the constituents of the universe, including dark matter and dark energy, the authors provide an outline of the forces that shape the universe, with particular emphasis on gravitation. Following this, the reader is taken on a journey in time from the present day back to the very beginning of the universe, a period called inflation, which sets the initial conditions for the subsequent evolution of the universe. The book ends with a brief chapter on what lies beyond. Written by two experts, the book is aimed at the interested lay-person with little or no physics background, but an interest in modern cosmology.
We Have No Idea
Author: Jorge Cham
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735211523
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
Prepare to learn everything we still don’t know about our strange and mysterious universe Humanity's understanding of the physical world is full of gaps. Not tiny little gaps you can safely ignore —there are huge yawning voids in our basic notions of how the world works. PHD Comics creator Jorge Cham and particle physicist Daniel Whiteson have teamed up to explore everything we don't know about the universe: the enormous holes in our knowledge of the cosmos. Armed with their popular infographics, cartoons, and unusually entertaining and lucid explanations of science, they give us the best answers currently available for a lot of questions that are still perplexing scientists, including: * Why does the universe have a speed limit? * Why aren't we all made of antimatter? * What (or who) is attacking Earth with tiny, superfast particles? * What is dark matter, and why does it keep ignoring us? It turns out the universe is full of weird things that don't make any sense. But Cham and Whiteson make a compelling case that the questions we can't answer are as interesting as the ones we can. This fully illustrated introduction to the biggest mysteries in physics also helpfully demystifies many complicated things we do know about, from quarks and neutrinos to gravitational waves and exploding black holes. With equal doses of humor and delight, Cham and Whiteson invite us to see the universe as a possibly boundless expanse of uncharted territory that's still ours to explore.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735211523
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
Prepare to learn everything we still don’t know about our strange and mysterious universe Humanity's understanding of the physical world is full of gaps. Not tiny little gaps you can safely ignore —there are huge yawning voids in our basic notions of how the world works. PHD Comics creator Jorge Cham and particle physicist Daniel Whiteson have teamed up to explore everything we don't know about the universe: the enormous holes in our knowledge of the cosmos. Armed with their popular infographics, cartoons, and unusually entertaining and lucid explanations of science, they give us the best answers currently available for a lot of questions that are still perplexing scientists, including: * Why does the universe have a speed limit? * Why aren't we all made of antimatter? * What (or who) is attacking Earth with tiny, superfast particles? * What is dark matter, and why does it keep ignoring us? It turns out the universe is full of weird things that don't make any sense. But Cham and Whiteson make a compelling case that the questions we can't answer are as interesting as the ones we can. This fully illustrated introduction to the biggest mysteries in physics also helpfully demystifies many complicated things we do know about, from quarks and neutrinos to gravitational waves and exploding black holes. With equal doses of humor and delight, Cham and Whiteson invite us to see the universe as a possibly boundless expanse of uncharted territory that's still ours to explore.
Fear Itself
Author: Rush W. Dozier
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0312247249
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
A Pulitzer Prize-nominated science writer conducts a thrilling journey through the science and everyday reality of this most human emotion. Illustrations.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0312247249
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
A Pulitzer Prize-nominated science writer conducts a thrilling journey through the science and everyday reality of this most human emotion. Illustrations.
Before the Big Bang
Author: Laura Mersini-Houghton
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 1328557146
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
"A riveting tour of the cosmos from one of the brightest minds in astrophysics." —The Washington Post A revolutionary new account of our universe’s creation—and a breathtaking exploration of the landscape from which we sprang—from one of the world’s most celebrated cosmologists What came before the Big Bang, and what exists outside of the universe it created? Until recently, scientists could only guess at what lay past the edge of space-time. However, as pioneering theoretical physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton explains, new scientific tools are now giving us the ability to peer beyond the limits of our universe and to test our theories about what is there. And what we are finding is upending everything we thought we knew about the cosmos and our place in it. Mersini-Houghton is no stranger to boundaries—or to pushing through them. As a child growing up in Communist Albania, she discovered a universe beyond her walled-off world through the study of math and science, and through music. As a female cosmologist in a male-dominated field, she transcended the limits that society and her profession tried to place on her. And as a trailblazing researcher, she helped to revolutionize the study of our universe by revealing that, far from living in a cosmic Albania, with a world that ends at its borders, we are part of a larger family of universes—a multiverse—that holds wonders we are only beginning to unlock. Mersini-Houghton’s groundbreaking research suggests that we sit in a quantum landscape whose peaks and valleys hide a multitude of other universes, and even hold the secret to the origins of existence itself. Recent evidence has revealed the signatures of such sibling universes in our own night sky, confirming Mersini-Houghton’s theoretical work and offering humbling evidence that our universe is just one member of an unending cosmic family. The incredible scientific saga of one woman’s mind-expanding journey through the multiverse, Before the Big Bang will reshape our understanding of humanity’s place in the unfathomable vastness of the cosmos.
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 1328557146
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
"A riveting tour of the cosmos from one of the brightest minds in astrophysics." —The Washington Post A revolutionary new account of our universe’s creation—and a breathtaking exploration of the landscape from which we sprang—from one of the world’s most celebrated cosmologists What came before the Big Bang, and what exists outside of the universe it created? Until recently, scientists could only guess at what lay past the edge of space-time. However, as pioneering theoretical physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton explains, new scientific tools are now giving us the ability to peer beyond the limits of our universe and to test our theories about what is there. And what we are finding is upending everything we thought we knew about the cosmos and our place in it. Mersini-Houghton is no stranger to boundaries—or to pushing through them. As a child growing up in Communist Albania, she discovered a universe beyond her walled-off world through the study of math and science, and through music. As a female cosmologist in a male-dominated field, she transcended the limits that society and her profession tried to place on her. And as a trailblazing researcher, she helped to revolutionize the study of our universe by revealing that, far from living in a cosmic Albania, with a world that ends at its borders, we are part of a larger family of universes—a multiverse—that holds wonders we are only beginning to unlock. Mersini-Houghton’s groundbreaking research suggests that we sit in a quantum landscape whose peaks and valleys hide a multitude of other universes, and even hold the secret to the origins of existence itself. Recent evidence has revealed the signatures of such sibling universes in our own night sky, confirming Mersini-Houghton’s theoretical work and offering humbling evidence that our universe is just one member of an unending cosmic family. The incredible scientific saga of one woman’s mind-expanding journey through the multiverse, Before the Big Bang will reshape our understanding of humanity’s place in the unfathomable vastness of the cosmos.
Believe
Author: Ralph Crawford
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1490811532
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
It is not a coincidence you are reading these words. God is making a personal connection with you through this book. He wants you to know He is real, and He wants you to see how easy it is to believe in Him. This book is full of evidence you can believe in, whether you believe in God or not, because there are a few things that everybody believes in: science, history, and facts. Everybody believes in these things because they are solid, reliable, and known to be true. You are about to see facts that prove God created us. You are about to see the science and history that you believe in prove that God created the universe, Earth, and man. You will see even more evidence that proves He is real. God wants you to know these facts in order to change your perspective and to challenge you to look at Him in a different light-not as some philosophical or existential question mark but as a living, loving Father who created you as a complex and precise living being with an eternal soul connected to Him. Facts in this book show just how precise and complex you really are. Whether you believe or not, you are about to see science prove God is real.
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1490811532
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
It is not a coincidence you are reading these words. God is making a personal connection with you through this book. He wants you to know He is real, and He wants you to see how easy it is to believe in Him. This book is full of evidence you can believe in, whether you believe in God or not, because there are a few things that everybody believes in: science, history, and facts. Everybody believes in these things because they are solid, reliable, and known to be true. You are about to see facts that prove God created us. You are about to see the science and history that you believe in prove that God created the universe, Earth, and man. You will see even more evidence that proves He is real. God wants you to know these facts in order to change your perspective and to challenge you to look at Him in a different light-not as some philosophical or existential question mark but as a living, loving Father who created you as a complex and precise living being with an eternal soul connected to Him. Facts in this book show just how precise and complex you really are. Whether you believe or not, you are about to see science prove God is real.
Flashes of Creation
Author: Paul Halpern
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541673611
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
A respected physics professor and author breaks down the great debate over the Big Bang and the continuing quest to understand the fate of the universe. Today, the Big Bang is so entrenched in our understanding of the cosmos that to doubt it would seem crazy. But as Paul Halpern shows in Flashes of Creation, just decades ago its mere mention caused sparks to fly. At the center of the debate were Russian American physicist George Gamow and British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle. Gamow insisted that a fiery explosion explained how the elements of the universe were created. Attacking the idea as half-baked, Hoyle countered that the universe was engaged in a never-ending process of creation. The battle was fierce. In the end, Gamow turned out to be right -- mostly -- and Hoyle, along with his many achievements, is remembered for giving the theory the silliest possible name: "The Big Bang." Halpern captures the brilliance of both thinkers and reminds us that even those proved wrong have much to teach us about boldness, imagination, and the universe itself.
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541673611
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
A respected physics professor and author breaks down the great debate over the Big Bang and the continuing quest to understand the fate of the universe. Today, the Big Bang is so entrenched in our understanding of the cosmos that to doubt it would seem crazy. But as Paul Halpern shows in Flashes of Creation, just decades ago its mere mention caused sparks to fly. At the center of the debate were Russian American physicist George Gamow and British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle. Gamow insisted that a fiery explosion explained how the elements of the universe were created. Attacking the idea as half-baked, Hoyle countered that the universe was engaged in a never-ending process of creation. The battle was fierce. In the end, Gamow turned out to be right -- mostly -- and Hoyle, along with his many achievements, is remembered for giving the theory the silliest possible name: "The Big Bang." Halpern captures the brilliance of both thinkers and reminds us that even those proved wrong have much to teach us about boldness, imagination, and the universe itself.
The Chemical Cosmos
Author: Steve Miller
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441984445
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
If you have ever wondered how we get from the awesome impersonality of the Big Bang universe to the point where living creatures can start to form, and evolve into beings like you, your friends and your family, wonder no more. Steve Miller provides us with a tour through the chemical evolution of the universe, from the formation of the first molecules all the way to the chemicals required for life to evolve. Using a simple Hydrogen molecule – known as H-three-plus - as a guide, he takes us on a journey that starts with the birth of the first stars, and how, in dying, they pour their hearts out into enriching the universe in which we live. Our molecular guide makes its first appearance at the source of the Chemical Cosmos, at a time when only three elements and a total of 11 molecules existed. From those simple beginnings, H-three-plus guides us down river on the violent currents of exploding stars, through the streams of the Interstellar Medium, and into the delta where new stars and planets form. We are finally left on the shores of the sea of life. Along the way, we meet the key characters who have shaped our understanding of the chemistry of the universe, such as Cambridge physicist J.J. Thomson and the Chicago chemist Takeshi Oka. And we are given an insider’s view of just how astronomers, making use of telescopes and Earth-orbiting satellites, have put together our modern view of the Chemical Cosmos.
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441984445
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
If you have ever wondered how we get from the awesome impersonality of the Big Bang universe to the point where living creatures can start to form, and evolve into beings like you, your friends and your family, wonder no more. Steve Miller provides us with a tour through the chemical evolution of the universe, from the formation of the first molecules all the way to the chemicals required for life to evolve. Using a simple Hydrogen molecule – known as H-three-plus - as a guide, he takes us on a journey that starts with the birth of the first stars, and how, in dying, they pour their hearts out into enriching the universe in which we live. Our molecular guide makes its first appearance at the source of the Chemical Cosmos, at a time when only three elements and a total of 11 molecules existed. From those simple beginnings, H-three-plus guides us down river on the violent currents of exploding stars, through the streams of the Interstellar Medium, and into the delta where new stars and planets form. We are finally left on the shores of the sea of life. Along the way, we meet the key characters who have shaped our understanding of the chemistry of the universe, such as Cambridge physicist J.J. Thomson and the Chicago chemist Takeshi Oka. And we are given an insider’s view of just how astronomers, making use of telescopes and Earth-orbiting satellites, have put together our modern view of the Chemical Cosmos.
Missing Persons
Author: Bruce Piasecki
Publisher: Square One Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 0757054129
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 227
Book Description
“An unpretentious, tactical, and sure-footed examination of the events that shaped his own life.” --Jay Parini, author of the best-selling historical novel, The Last Station Bruce Piasecki’s book on business strategy Doing More With Less: the New Way to Wealth, was an immediate success, becoming a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Indeed, Doing More With Less is not just a clever book title; it explains the core philosophy of a man, who propelled from an impoverished and fatherless childhood, became an internationally, sought-after resource for the world’s largest corporations—from Toyota and Wal-Mart to Shell and Suncor Energy. Those who helped and shaped Dr. Piasecki are the focus of his latest work Missing Persons: A Life of Unexpected Influences. Indeed, in this set of 70 vignettes Piasecki channels his poetic side - a side that was first noticed at Cornell when his little-known book of poems was published under the title Stray Prayers in 1973. The memoir, one part autobiography, one part creative non-fiction and written in vignette form, recounts the author’s formative relationships and experiences with intimacy and longing. Meet his mother, and father, his interracial brothers and sisters, his early and late business partners, his lovers, his daughter and his wife. It is told in a unique third person narrative that provides intrigue for the reader as they follow the protagonist through loss, passion, self-invention, a litany of fears and dreams - each revealed in eloquent prose. Through his uniquely informed perspective, Bruce allows us to understand the power of memory and how it influences us. The simplicity that made Doing More With Less a bestseller makes this new work not only compelling, but also life-affirming. Missing Persons explores the meaning and power of memory, and offers an opportunity for the reader to pause, reflect, and recount the myriad of influences in their own lives.
Publisher: Square One Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 0757054129
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 227
Book Description
“An unpretentious, tactical, and sure-footed examination of the events that shaped his own life.” --Jay Parini, author of the best-selling historical novel, The Last Station Bruce Piasecki’s book on business strategy Doing More With Less: the New Way to Wealth, was an immediate success, becoming a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Indeed, Doing More With Less is not just a clever book title; it explains the core philosophy of a man, who propelled from an impoverished and fatherless childhood, became an internationally, sought-after resource for the world’s largest corporations—from Toyota and Wal-Mart to Shell and Suncor Energy. Those who helped and shaped Dr. Piasecki are the focus of his latest work Missing Persons: A Life of Unexpected Influences. Indeed, in this set of 70 vignettes Piasecki channels his poetic side - a side that was first noticed at Cornell when his little-known book of poems was published under the title Stray Prayers in 1973. The memoir, one part autobiography, one part creative non-fiction and written in vignette form, recounts the author’s formative relationships and experiences with intimacy and longing. Meet his mother, and father, his interracial brothers and sisters, his early and late business partners, his lovers, his daughter and his wife. It is told in a unique third person narrative that provides intrigue for the reader as they follow the protagonist through loss, passion, self-invention, a litany of fears and dreams - each revealed in eloquent prose. Through his uniquely informed perspective, Bruce allows us to understand the power of memory and how it influences us. The simplicity that made Doing More With Less a bestseller makes this new work not only compelling, but also life-affirming. Missing Persons explores the meaning and power of memory, and offers an opportunity for the reader to pause, reflect, and recount the myriad of influences in their own lives.
Endless Universe
Author: Paul J. Steinhardt
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0385523114
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” —Wall Street Journal The Big Bang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an explanation has yet to be found for what caused the Big Bang in the first place. In Endless Universe, Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a bold new cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” (Discover). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory. According to this theory, the Big Bang was not the beginning of time but the bridge to a past filled with endlessly repeating cycles of evolution, each accompanied by the creation of new matter and the formation of new galaxies, stars, and planets. Endless Universe provides answers to longstanding problems with the Big Bang model, while offering a provocative new view of both the past and the future of the cosmos. It is a “theory that could solve the cosmic mystery” (USA Today).
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0385523114
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” —Wall Street Journal The Big Bang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an explanation has yet to be found for what caused the Big Bang in the first place. In Endless Universe, Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a bold new cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” (Discover). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory. According to this theory, the Big Bang was not the beginning of time but the bridge to a past filled with endlessly repeating cycles of evolution, each accompanied by the creation of new matter and the formation of new galaxies, stars, and planets. Endless Universe provides answers to longstanding problems with the Big Bang model, while offering a provocative new view of both the past and the future of the cosmos. It is a “theory that could solve the cosmic mystery” (USA Today).
Travels of a Thermodynamicist
Author: Rick Fleeter
Publisher: Rick Fleeter
ISBN: 1432703668
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Book Description
Astonishing answers to unspoken questions revealed! Dr. Rick Fleeter [email protected] 11573 Greenwich Point, Reston VA 20194 They say fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly, but what they don't tell you is that thermodynamicists gotta travel. In fact, travel is so fundamental to the life of the engineer or scientist, that most of them no more realize that simple fact, than fish realize what water is. One who did was the greatest Thermodynamicist of all, Ludwig Boltzman. As so often happens, seeing a greater perspective led him to write - in his case the essay "Travels of a Thermodynamicist in California" but also to his profound depression, which he successfully, and appropriately, resolved by hanging himself from a hotel room chandelier. I thank the dearth of chandeliers in today's La Quinta and Econolodge hotels for my having thus far escaped emulating even that element of Boltzman's greatness, and thus providing the time for writing this book. Such is the importance of travel ? I owe my life to budget hotels. How did I decide to compete swimming breastroke, pick up the Cello, pursue long distance solo cycling and do a PhD in Thermodynamics? The common denominator is the search for a pursuit so archaic, so unappealing to the opposite sex (or even my own), so widely ignored, that even I, with minimal effort, could, if not dominate, at least get to the first wrung on a competitive sports, music or career ladder. That strategy propelled me to the #1 (and not coincidentally the only) position worldwide in authoring books on microspacecraft. A quick scan of Amazon or your local bookstore tells you why I will never write a book on starting a company, or pioneering a new field in Engineering. The shelves are full of well written books I couldn't hope to outshine. But a book on the experiences and the lessons learned from a career of mostly pointless business, recreational and competitive travel ? there's a niche even Rick Fleeter can own for a long time. And, dear potential reader, therein might lie a similar opportunity for you ? to be unique in having actually purchased and read that book. For $59, can you bypass the opportunity to be the first on your block, and maybe on the planet? I hope not.
Publisher: Rick Fleeter
ISBN: 1432703668
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Book Description
Astonishing answers to unspoken questions revealed! Dr. Rick Fleeter [email protected] 11573 Greenwich Point, Reston VA 20194 They say fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly, but what they don't tell you is that thermodynamicists gotta travel. In fact, travel is so fundamental to the life of the engineer or scientist, that most of them no more realize that simple fact, than fish realize what water is. One who did was the greatest Thermodynamicist of all, Ludwig Boltzman. As so often happens, seeing a greater perspective led him to write - in his case the essay "Travels of a Thermodynamicist in California" but also to his profound depression, which he successfully, and appropriately, resolved by hanging himself from a hotel room chandelier. I thank the dearth of chandeliers in today's La Quinta and Econolodge hotels for my having thus far escaped emulating even that element of Boltzman's greatness, and thus providing the time for writing this book. Such is the importance of travel ? I owe my life to budget hotels. How did I decide to compete swimming breastroke, pick up the Cello, pursue long distance solo cycling and do a PhD in Thermodynamics? The common denominator is the search for a pursuit so archaic, so unappealing to the opposite sex (or even my own), so widely ignored, that even I, with minimal effort, could, if not dominate, at least get to the first wrung on a competitive sports, music or career ladder. That strategy propelled me to the #1 (and not coincidentally the only) position worldwide in authoring books on microspacecraft. A quick scan of Amazon or your local bookstore tells you why I will never write a book on starting a company, or pioneering a new field in Engineering. The shelves are full of well written books I couldn't hope to outshine. But a book on the experiences and the lessons learned from a career of mostly pointless business, recreational and competitive travel ? there's a niche even Rick Fleeter can own for a long time. And, dear potential reader, therein might lie a similar opportunity for you ? to be unique in having actually purchased and read that book. For $59, can you bypass the opportunity to be the first on your block, and maybe on the planet? I hope not.