Bücher der Reihe Canto

Nobel laureate Erwin Schrodinger's What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the twentieth century. It was written for the layman, but proved to be one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology and the subsequent discovery of DNA. What is Life? appears here together with Mind and Matter, his essay investigating a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times. Brought together with these two classics are Schrodinger's autobiographical sketches, which offer a fascinating account of his life as a background to his scientific writings.

Since his first appearance over sixty years ago, Mr Tompkins has become known and loved by many thousands of readers as the bank clerk whose fantastic dreams and adventures lead him into a world inside the atom. George Gamow's classic provides a delightful explanation of the central concepts in modern physics, from atomic structure to relativity, and quantum theory to fusion and fission. Roger Penrose's foreword introduces Mr Tompkins to a new generation of readers and reviews his adventures in light of recent developments in physics.

Why do living things and physical phenomena take the form they do? D'Arcy Thompson's classic On Growth and Form looks at the way things grow and the shapes they take. Analysing biological processes in their mathematical and physical aspects, this historic work, first published in 1917, has also become renowned for the sheer poetry of its descriptions. A great scientist sensitive to the fascinations and beauty of the natural world tells of jumping fleas and slipper limpets; of buds and seeds; of bees' cells and rain drops; of the potter's thumb and the spider's web; of a film of soap and a bubble of oil; of a splash of a pebble in a pond. D'Arcy Thompson's writing, hailed as 'good literature as well as good science; a discourse on science as though it were a humanity', is now made available for a wider readership, with a foreword by one of today's great populisers of science, explaining the importance of the work for a new generation of readers.

Human language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than with the calls of other primates. In this wide-ranging and accessible overview, first published in 2000, Jean Aitchison explores the reasons why language is so strange, outlines recent theories about its origin, and discusses possible paths of evolution.

Susan Aldridge gives an accessible guide to the world of DNA and also explores the applications of genetic engineering in biotechnology. She takes the reader, step by step, through the fascinating study of molecular biology, examining DNA and its function within living organisms.

With ever expanding networks of communication, and the increasing globalization of 'English', this timely and broad-ranging book looks at just what this complex of language is, and the variety, implications and options of this vast, pluralistic system that incorporates dialects, creoles, and local variations.

Michael J. A. Howe addresses the belief that genius is born not made, suggesting that it is not a gift but the product of a combination of environment, personality and sheer hard work. These ideas are developed through case studies of figures such as Darwin, the Bronte sisters and Einstein.

Use of the term 'genetic engineering' is now commonplace in all of our everyday lives. But what are the likely consequences of genetic engineering? Is it ethically acceptable? Should we be trying to improve on nature? The authors examine the implications of genetic engineering in every aspect of our lives.

Jay Winter's powerful 1998 study of the 'collective remembrance' of the Great War offers a major reassessment of one of the critical episodes in the cultural history of the twentieth century. Dr Winter looks anew at the culture of commemoration and the ways in which communities endeavoured to find collective solace after 1918. Taking issue with the prevailing 'modernist' interpretation of the European reaction to the appalling events of 1914-18, Dr Winter instead argues that what characterised that reaction was, rather, the attempt to interpret the Great War within traditional frames of reference. Tensions arose inevitably. Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning is a profound and moving book of seminal importance for the attempt to understand the course of European history during the first half of the twentieth century.

This book is an exploration of the process and consequences of the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon (who reigned from 336 to 323 BC), focusing on the effect of his monarchy upon the world of his day. A detailed running narrative of the actual campaigns from the Danube to the Indus is complemented and enlarged upon by thematic studies on the reaction in Greece to Macedonian suzerainty, the administration of the empire, the evolution of the Macedonian army and its role as the instrument of conquest, and on the origins of the ruler cult.

The notion that our society, its education system and its intellectual life, is characterised by a split between two cultures - the arts or humanities on one hand and the sciences on the other - has a long history. But it was C. P. Snow's Rede lecture of 1959 that brought it to prominence and began a public debate that is still raging in the media today. This fiftieth anniversary printing of The Two Cultures and its successor piece, A Second Look (in which Snow responded to the controversy four years later) features an introduction by Stefan Collini, charting the history and context of the debate, its implications and its afterlife. The importance of science and technology in policy run largely by non-scientists, the future for education and research, and the problem of fragmentation threatening hopes for a common culture are just some of the subjects discussed.

In Morality Bernard Williams confronts the problems of writing moral philosophy and offers a stimulating alternative to more systematic accounts which seem nevertheless to have left all the important issues somewhere off the page. Williams explains, analyses and distinguishes a number of key positions, from the purely amoral to notions of subjective or relative morality, testing their coherence before going on to explore the nature of 'goodness' in relation to responsibilities and choice, roles, standards and human nature. A classic in moral philosophy.

Thomas Nagel's Mortal Questions explores some fundamental issues concerning the meaning, nature and value of human life. Questions about our attitudes to death, sexual behaviour, social inequality, war and political power are shown to lead to more obviously philosophical problems about personal identity, consciousness, freedom and value. This original and illuminating book aims at a form of understanding that is both theoretical and personal in its lively engagement with what are literally issues of life and death.

Quantum physics is believed to be the fundamental theory underlying our understanding of the physical universe. However, it is based on concepts and principles that have always been difficult to understand and controversial in their interpretation. This book aims to explain these issues using a minimum of technical language and mathematics. After a brief introduction to the ideas of quantum physics, the problems of interpretation are identified and explained. The rest of the book surveys, describes and criticises a range of suggestions that have been made with the aim of resolving these problems; these include the traditional, or 'Copenhagen' interpretation, the possible role of the conscious mind in measurement, and the postulate of parallel universes. This new edition has been revised throughout to take into account developments in this field over the past fifteen years, including the idea of 'consistent histories' to which a completely new chapter is devoted.

The rapid endangerment and death of many minority languages across the world is a matter of widespread concern, not only among linguists and anthropologists but among all concerned with issues of cultural identity in an increasingly globalized culture. By some counts, only 600 of the 6000 or so languages in the world are 'safe' from the threat of extinction. A leading commentator and popular writer on language issues, David Crystal asks the fundamental question, 'Why is language death so important?', reviews the reasons for the current crisis, and investigates what is being done to reduce its impact. The book contains not only intelligent argument, but moving descriptions of the decline and demise of particular languages, and practical advice for anyone interested in pursuing the subject further.

The impact of Europe on the newly-discovered world of America has long been the subject of historical fascination, yet the impact of that discovery for the conquering powers has received less attention. J. H. Elliott's pioneering 1992 book shows how the encounter with the new world affected Europe intellectually, economically, and politically.

In the last few years, scientists have begun to answer some of the most fundamental questions about the origin and early evolution of the universe. This book presents a fresh and engaging introduction to these ideas. Lucid analogies and clear and concise language make this book a delight to read.

Can we change the past? The surprising answer can be found here. Novikov examines the history of the study of time, depicting figures who have shaped our views in the context of their own times and struggles. An engaging style and wonderful illustrations make this enjoyable and accessible to all.

The past quarter of a century has seen dramatic developments in social and political thought. These essays offer an indispensable introduction to some of the most influential amongst them.

In this book, which has its origin in a series of radio broadcasts, Paul Davies interviews eight physicists involved in debating and testing quantum theory, with radically different views of its significance.

A hundred years ago Darwin and Wallace in their theory of natural selection, or the survival of the fittest, explained how evolution could have happened, in terms of processes known to take place today. In this book John Maynard Smith describes how their theory has been confirmed, but at the same time transformed, by recent research, and in particular by the discovery of the laws of inheritance.

Superstring theory is one of the most exciting and actively pursued branches of physics today. This book explains the superstring theory for laymen, in an introduction to the subject which originated in the BBC Radio programme, Desperately Seeking Superstrings.

This book addresses the question of how life may have arisen on earth, in the spirit of an intriguing detective story.

Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and one of the foremost living African writers, here analyses the interconnecting worlds of myth, ritual and literature in Africa.

Brian Ridley's book sets out to survey in simple, non-mathematical terms what physics has to say about the fundamental structure of the universe.

Retha Warnicke's fascinating and controversial reinterpretation focuses on the sexual intrigues and family politics pervading the court, offering a new explanation of Anne's fall.