A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss
Internationally known
theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss offers
provocative, revelatory answers to the most basic philosophical
questions: Where did our universe come from? Why is there something
rather than nothing? And how is it all going to end?
Why is there
something rather than nothing?” is asked of anyone who says there is no
God. Yet this is not so much a philosophical or religious question as it
is a question about the natural world—and until now there has not been a
satisfying scientific answer. Today, exciting scientific advances
provide new insight into this cosmological mystery: Not only can something arise from nothing, something will always
arise from nothing. With his wonderfully clear arguments and wry humor,
pioneering physicist Lawrence Krauss explains how in this fascinating
antidote to outmoded philosophical and religious thinking. As he puts it
in his entertaining video of the same title, which has received over
675,000 hits, “Forget Jesus. The stars died so you could be born.”
A mind-bending trip back to the beginning of the beginning, A Universe from Nothing
authoritatively presents the most recent evidence that explains how our
universe evolved—and the implications for how it’s going to end. It
will provoke, challenge, and delight readers to look at the most basic
underpinnings of existence in a whole new way. And this knowledge that
our universe will be quite different in the future from today has
profound implications and directly affects how we live in the present.
As Richard Dawkins has described it: This could potentially be the most
important scientific book with implications for atheism since Darwin.
Basic Texas Birds by Mark W. Lockwood
Finding all the
birds in Texas can be a lifetime pursuit. Basic Texas Birds,
an easy-to-use field guide, will help you identify over 180 species of
birds that are found across the state, including a selection of the
rarer "Texas specialties" that draw birders to Texas from around the
world. These are the birds that form the basis of a birder's life list
for Texas.
Basic Texas Birds is organized by bird
families to aid in identifying any bird you see in the wild. It is
loaded with resources, including:
Nerve by Taylor Clark
Nerves make us bomb job
interviews, first dates, and SATs. With a presentation looming at work,
fear robs us of sleep for days. It paralyzes seasoned concert musicians
and freezes rookie cops in tight situations. And yet not everyone
cracks. Soldiers keep their heads in combat; firemen rush into burning
buildings; unflappable trauma doctors juggle patient after patient. It's
not that these people feel no fear; often, in fact, they're riddled
with it.
In Nerve, Taylor Clark draws upon cutting-edge
science and painstaking reporting to explore the very heart of panic
and poise. Using a wide range of case studies, Clark overturns the
popular myths about anxiety and fear to explain why some people thrive
under pressure, while others falter-and how we can go forward with
steadier nerves and increased confidence.
Poisoned Love by Caitlin Rother
The
daughter of a well-to-do California family, Rossum was a brainy blonde
beauty whose talent for toxicology had won her a post at the San Diego
County Medical Examiner's Office. But her sweet smile masked a dark
side. She'd developed a taste for methamphetamine in high school, and
six months after her marriage to Greg, she'd begun seeking secret trysts
with other men.
On November 6, 2000,
paramedics answered a call to find Kristin Rossum, 24, sobbing. Her
husband, Greg de Villers, wasn't breathing and she claimed he had
overdosed on drugs after learning she was leaving him. But family and
friends who knew of Greg's distaste for drugs weren't buying Kristin's
story--particularly the idea that he would take his own life.
American Beauty--The daughter of a
well-to-do California family, Rossum was a brainy blonde beauty whose
talent for toxicology had won her a post at the San Diego County Medical
Examiner's Office. But her sweet smile masked a dark side. She'd
developed a taste for methamphetamine in high school, and six months
after her marriage to Greg, she'd begun seeking secret trysts with other
men.
Toxic Passion--At
the time of her husband's death, Rossum was engaged in an illicit
affair with her married boss. Investigators found that the Medical
Examiner's Office was missing supplies of meth and fentanyl, the
narcotic that had killed her husband. With each clue discovered, another
piece of Rossum's "good girl" façade fell away. What the world would
eventually see was the true face of a murderer--and the hand of justice.
. .
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Based on more than
forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years--as well as
interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends,
adversaries, competitors, and colleagues--Walter Isaacson has written a
riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense
personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and
ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers,
animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital
publishing.
At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative
edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build
digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness
and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in
the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He
built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with
remarkable feats of engineering.
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control
over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was
published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew
to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so,
about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes,
and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions,
perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control
that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that
resulted.
Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and
despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as
Apple's hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated
system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons
about innovation, character, leadership, and values.