Caesar's Last Breath

Caesar's Last Breath PDF Author: Sam Kean
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316381632
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
The Guardian's Best Science Book of 2017: the fascinating science and history of the air we breathe. It's invisible. It's ever-present. Without it, you would die in minutes. And it has an epic story to tell. In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe, and across time to tell the story of the air we breathe, which, it turns out, is also the story of earth and our existence on it. With every breath, you literally inhale the history of the world. On the ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar died of stab wounds on the Senate floor, but the story of his last breath is still unfolding; in fact, you're probably inhaling some of it now. Of the sextillions of molecules entering or leaving your lungs at this moment, some might well bear traces of Cleopatra's perfumes, German mustard gas, particles exhaled by dinosaurs or emitted by atomic bombs, even remnants of stardust from the universe's creation. Tracing the origins and ingredients of our atmosphere, Kean reveals how the alchemy of air reshaped our continents, steered human progress, powered revolutions, and continues to influence everything we do. Along the way, we'll swim with radioactive pigs, witness the most important chemical reactions humans have discovered, and join the crowd at the Moulin Rouge for some of the crudest performance art of all time. Lively, witty, and filled with the astounding science of ordinary life, Caesar's Last Breath illuminates the science stories swirling around us every second.

Caesar's Last Breath

Caesar's Last Breath PDF Author: Sam Kean
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316381632
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Guardian's Best Science Book of 2017: the fascinating science and history of the air we breathe. It's invisible. It's ever-present. Without it, you would die in minutes. And it has an epic story to tell. In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe, and across time to tell the story of the air we breathe, which, it turns out, is also the story of earth and our existence on it. With every breath, you literally inhale the history of the world. On the ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar died of stab wounds on the Senate floor, but the story of his last breath is still unfolding; in fact, you're probably inhaling some of it now. Of the sextillions of molecules entering or leaving your lungs at this moment, some might well bear traces of Cleopatra's perfumes, German mustard gas, particles exhaled by dinosaurs or emitted by atomic bombs, even remnants of stardust from the universe's creation. Tracing the origins and ingredients of our atmosphere, Kean reveals how the alchemy of air reshaped our continents, steered human progress, powered revolutions, and continues to influence everything we do. Along the way, we'll swim with radioactive pigs, witness the most important chemical reactions humans have discovered, and join the crowd at the Moulin Rouge for some of the crudest performance art of all time. Lively, witty, and filled with the astounding science of ordinary life, Caesar's Last Breath illuminates the science stories swirling around us every second.

The Disappearing Spoon

The Disappearing Spoon PDF Author: Sam Kean
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316089087
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes incredible stories of science, history, finance, mythology, the arts, medicine, and more, as told by the Periodic Table. Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. The Disappearing Spoon masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery -- from the Big Bang through the end of time. Though solid at room temperature, gallium is a moldable metal that melts at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. A classic science prank is to mold gallium spoons, serve them with tea, and watch guests recoil as their utensils disappear.

The Twelve Caesars

The Twelve Caesars PDF Author: Matthew Dennison
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 125002353X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
A retelling of the lives and times of the Roman emperors traces how their reigns marked Rome's shift from a republic to an influential empire, offering a sequence of biographies that offers insight into the political and social dynamics of each ruler's time.

Blood of the Caesars

Blood of the Caesars PDF Author: Stephen Dando-Collins
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1620458799
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Could the killing of Germanicus Julius Caesar—the grandson of Mark Antony, adopted son of the emperor Tiberius, father of Caligula, and grandfather of Nero—while the Roman Empire was still in its infancy have been the root cause of the empire's collapse more than four centuries later? This brilliant investigation of Germanicus Caesar’s death and its aftermath is both a compelling history and first-class murder mystery with a plot twist Agatha Christie would envy.

American Caesars

American Caesars PDF Author: Nigel Hamilton
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300171609
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 780

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Book Description
An insightful portrait of U.S. presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Hamilton examines their unique characters, their paths to Pennsylvania Avenue, their effectiveness as global leaders, and their lessons in governance, both good and bad.

Long Live Latin

Long Live Latin PDF Author: Nicola Gardini
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 0374717044
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
A “fascinating” meditation on the joys of a not-so-dead language (Los Angeles Review of Books). From acclaimed novelist and Oxford professor Nicola Gardini, this is a personal and passionate look at the Latin language: its history, its authors, its essential role in education, and its enduring impact on modern life—whether we call it “dead” or not. What use is Latin? It’s a question we’re often asked by those who see the language of Cicero as no more than a cumbersome heap of ruins, something to remove from the curriculum. In this sustained meditation, Gardini gives us his sincere and brilliant reply: Latin is, quite simply, the means of expression that made us—and continues to make us—who we are. In Latin, the rigorous and inventive thinker Lucretius examined the nature of our world; the poet Propertius told of love and emotion in a dizzying variety of registers; Caesar affirmed man’s capacity to shape reality through reason; Virgil composed the Aeneid, without which we’d see all of Western history in a different light. In Long Live Latin, Gardini shares his deep love for the language—enriched by his tireless intellectual curiosity—and warmly encourages us to engage with a civilization that has never ceased to exist, because it’s here with us now, whether we know it or not. Thanks to his careful guidance, even without a single lick of Latin grammar, readers can discover how this language is still capable of restoring our sense of identity, with a power that only useless things can miraculously express. “Gardini gives another reason for studying classical languages: ‘The story of our lives is just a fraction of all history . . . life began long before we were born.’ This is the very opposite of a practical argument—it is a meditative, even self-effacing one. To learn a language because it was spoken by some brilliant people 2,000 years ago is to celebrate the world; not a way to optimize yourself, but to get over yourself.” —The Economist “Nicola Gardini’s paean to Latin belongs on the shelf alongside Nabokov’s Lectures on Literature. With a similar blend of erudition, reverence, and impeccable close reading, he connects the dots between etymology and poetry, between syntax and society. And he proves, in the process, that a mysterious and magnificent language, born in ancient Rome, is still relevant to each and every one of us.” —Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times–bestselling author of Roman Stories

The Violinist's Thumb

The Violinist's Thumb PDF Author: Sam Kean
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316202975
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own DNA. In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In THE VIOLINIST'S THUMB, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid PDF Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767926315
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
From one of the world's most beloved writers and New York Times bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s. Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as "The Thunderbolt Kid." Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and of his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends. Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.

The Curious Kid's Guide to the World Jesus Knew

The Curious Kid's Guide to the World Jesus Knew PDF Author: Marc Olson
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
ISBN: 1506455514
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
A visual guide to the history and culture of the world during Jesus's time, with vibrant illustrations and maps.

Her Last Breath

Her Last Breath PDF Author: Hilary Davidson
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: 9781542028691
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
When her beloved sister Caroline dies suddenly, Deirdre is heartbroken. However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident. Paranoid and armed with just enough information to make her dangerous, Deirdre digs into the disturbing secrets buried with Caroline. But as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her own life may be at risk - and that there may be more than one killer in the family. Author of "One Small Sacrifice." Hometown: Toronto, ON.