Bücher veröffentlicht von Prometheus Books

The story of two brilliant nineteenth-century scientists who discovered the electromagnetic field, laying the groundwork for the amazing technological and theoretical breakthroughs of the twentieth centuryTwo of the boldest and most creative scientists of all time were Michael Faraday (1791-1867) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). This is the story of how these two men - separated in age by forty years - discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and devised a radically new theory which overturned the strictly mechanical view of the world that had prevailed since Newton's time.The authors, veteran science writers with special expertise in physics and engineering, have created a lively narrative that interweaves rich biographical detail from each man's life with clear explanations of their scientific accomplishments. Faraday was an autodidact, who overcame class prejudice and a lack of mathematical training to become renowned for his acute powers of experimental observation, technological skills, and prodigious scientific imagination. James Clerk Maxwell was highly regarded as one of the most brilliant mathematical physicists of the age. He made an enormous number of advances in his own right. But when he translated Faraday's ideas into mathematical language, thus creating field theory, this unified framework of electricity, magnetism and light became the basis for much of later, 20th-century physics.Faraday's and Maxwell's collaborative efforts gave rise to many of the technological innovations we take for granted today - from electric power generation to television, and much more. Told with panache, warmth, and clarity, this captivating story of their greatest work - in which each played an equal part - and their inspiring lives will bring new appreciation to these giants of science.

Proves that math can be serious fun!If you like any kind of game at all, you''ll enjoy the amazing mathematical brainteasers in this entertaining book. No special mathematics training is needed. With an emphasis on puzzling word problems with surprising solutions, the author presents his mathematical hurdles in order of increasing difficulty. Many appear deceptively simple, such as: How many quarter-inch marks are on an unusual sixteen-inch ruler? Or: If the cost of a bottle and a cork is $1.10 and the bottle costs $1.00 more than the cork, how much did the bottle alone cost? Check the answers before you decide that these are too easy. You may be surprised.Novices may want to begin with some of the teasers in the first "easy" section. More experienced math-heads may want to test their wits with the "challenging" or even the "difficult" sections (some are fiendishly difficult). Including word problems by famed mathematical puzzle geniuses Sam Loyd (1841 - 1911) and Henry Ernest Dudeney (1857 - 1930), which have entertained recreational math aficionados for more than a century, this book has something for puzzle solvers at any level. And for the math phobic, it may whet your appetite to delve into a subject you thought could only be boring.

This book shows how language can be used strategically to manipulate beliefs.From Machiavelli to P. T. Barnum to Donald Trump, many have perfected the art of strategically using language to gain the upper hand, set a tone, change the subject, or influence people's beliefs and behaviors. Language--both words themselves and rhetorical tactics such as metaphor, irony, slang, and humor--can effectively manipulate the minds of the listener. In this book, Marcel Danesi, a renowned linguistic anthropologist and semiotician, looks at language that is used not to present arguments logically or rationally, but to "move" audiences in order to gain their confidence and build consensus. He demonstrates that through language techniques communicators can not only sway opinions but also shape listeners' very perception of reality. He assesses how the communicative environment in which the art of the lie unfolds--such as on social media or in emotionally-charged gatherings--impacts the results.Danesi also investigates why lies are often accepted as valid. Artful lying fits in with an Internet society that is largely disinterested in what is true and what is false and in which attention is often given to speech that is entertaining or persuasive. Have we become immune to lies because of a social media discourse shaped by untruths? In an electronic age where facts are deemed irrelevant and conspiracies are accorded as much credibility as truths, this book discusses the implications of lying and language for the future of belief, ethics, and American democracy itself.

A popular clinical psychologist explores an often misunderstood and unrecognized emotion that's the root cause of many self-defeating and harmful behaviors.Emotional paralysis, a distorted view of self, a feeling of being a fraud, lack of trust in others, fear of criticism resulting in underdeveloped talents, and a chronic sense of being worthless, invisible, or disposable--these are typical symptoms of shame. In this book, psychologist Stephan B. Poulter delves into this "primary emotional wound." Distinguishing it from commonplace guilt over a particular moral failing, he describes this toxic emotion as a pervasive but largely unrecognized "emotional cancer," with the power of undermining many aspects of life.Dr. Poulter guides the reader through exercises that teach one to expose this "big secret" and to recognize the triggers in daily life that arouse fears and other negative emotions. Beyond these first steps, he shows how we can continue the healing process of self-acceptance, self-forgiveness, empathy, and a new sense of inner well-being.Based on thirty years of experience with patients of all ages and from many walks of life, this is a book full of insight and understanding, one that can help most of us discover and realize our full potentials.

An expert on US election law presents an encouraging assessment of current efforts to make our voting system more accessible, reliable, and effective.In contrast to the anxiety surrounding our voting system, with stories about voter suppression and manipulation, there are actually quite a few positive initiatives toward voting rights reform. Professor Joshua A. Douglas, an expert on our electoral system, examines these encouraging developments in this inspiring book about how regular Americans are working to take back their democracy, one community at a time.Told through the narratives of those working on positive voting rights reforms, Douglas includes chapters on expanding voter eligibility, easing voter registration rules, making voting more convenient, enhancing accessibility at the polls, providing voters with more choices, finding ways to comply with voter ID rules, giving redistricting back to the voters, pushing back on big money through local and state efforts, using journalism to make the system more accountable, and improving civics education. At the end, the book includes an appendix that lists organizations all over the country working on these efforts.Unusually accessible for a lay audience and thoroughly researched, this book gives anyone fed up with our current political environment the ideas and tools necessary to affect change in their own communities.

This provocative and important overview of the challenges of and possible approaches to climate change by an expert and shared recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize is essential reading for policy makers, climate scientists, and lay persons alike.Though the Paris Agreement on climate change was a significant achievement, most authorities agree that its measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions will be insufficient to offset the forecasted increase in global warming. Even in the unlikely case of ideal compliance, the Earth will still experience major climate-driven damages. Given this reality, climate expert Roger A. Sedjo argues in this book that a Plan B is required. He makes a compelling case that doing more of the same, by focusing only on the mitigation plan of the Paris Agreement, will leave humanity increasingly vulnerable; instead, we must also begin planning adaptation strategies--Plan B--which enable societies to anticipate and protect against the worst effects of inevitable climate change. The author examines several areas where environmental damage could be severe. Sea-level rise is a major concern and measures could be, and in some cases are now being, undertaken to protect coastal areas. The author also addresses the need for more robust action to ward off the likely decline in agricultural productivity, destruction of forests and biodiversity, and the impact of natural catastrophes like hurricanes made worse by climate change. In addition, he considers geo-engineering strategies, such as atmospheric reflectivity, which may play a role in lessening the impact of global warming.

Monsieur Rene has come upon a great idea. As the Permanent President of the International Brotherhood of Concierges and Hall Porters, he and his service industry brothers are privy to huge amounts of sensitive, exclusive information and gossip from heads of state, world leaders, diplomats, and the wealthy, which they happen to overhear while working in the rooms, dining halls, and elevators of Geneva's finest hotels. As waiters, porters, and servants, they are trusted to be silent about such weighty matters-top secret information that, in the wrong hands, could change the course of world events.A self-appointed revolutionary humanitarian, M. Rene gathers some of his trusted brothers to reveal his plan to form a secret conspiracy of distinguished servants who will record the conversations of their clients, gather their correspondences, and spy on their actions. M. Rene confides his plan, "It is always at a table that statesmen are at their most unguarded. Waiters have golden opportunities for this kind of work. . . . Who needs spies if they have concierges, waiters, and valets?" Is the purpose bribery or blackmail? Will the power be transferred to those who have none? Will the plan benefit the world, or place free countries in great danger? As these questions arise, the conspiracy brings to light assassinations, secret clauses in treaties, government conspiracies, and more.What unravels is a novel of suspense, intrigue, and danger, territory that Sir Peter Ustinov has mastered in this original literary triumph. If ever the workers of the world had better reason to come together and seize control of the establishment, this book is it.

Most Americans believe they possess an immaterial soul that will survive the death of the body. In sharp contrast, the current scientific consensus rejects the traditional soul, although this conclusion is rarely discussed publicly. In this book, a cognitive scientist breaks the taboo and explains why modern science leads to this controversial conclusion. In doing so, the book reveals the truly astonishing scope and power of scientific inquiry, drawing on ideas from biology, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and the physical sciences.Much more than chronicling the demise of the traditional soul, the book explores where soul beliefs come from, why they are so widespread culturally and historically, how cognitive science offers a naturalistic alternative to religious conceptions of mind, and how postulating the existence of a soul amounts to making a scientific claim.Although the new scientific view of personhood departs radically from traditional religious conceptions, the author shows that a coherent, meaningful, and sensitive appreciation of what it means to be human remains intact. He argues that we do not lose anything by letting go of our soul beliefs and that we even have something to gain. Throughout, the book takes a passionate stand for science and reason. It also offers a timely rejoinder to recent claims that science supports the existence of the soul and the afterlife.

As one of the most gifted and prolific writers of the twentieth century, Isaac Asimov became legendary for his talent for explaining complex subjects in clear, concise prose. This book is a condensation of his three-volume autobiography, which spans Asimov's life.

Is the sex depicted in pornographic movies a reflection of what happens in real life? What is obscenity? What is the difference between the erotic, the pornographic, and the artistic? This book ponders such questions and more in the pornography debate. It ranges from gay to straight pornography, and from sadomasochism to phone sex.

Hundreds of millions of people believe that Jesus came back from the dead. This cogent, forcefully argued book presents a decidedly unpopular view namely, that the central tenet of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus, is false. The author asks a number of probing questions: Is the evidence about Jesus as it has been relayed to us over the centuries of sufficient quantity and quality to justify belief in the resurrection? How can we accept the resurrection but reject magic at the Salem witch trials? What light does contemporary research about human rationality from the fields of behavioral economics, empirical psychology, cognitive science, and philosophy shed on the resurrection and religious belief? Can we use contemporary research about the reliability of people's beliefs in the supernatural, miracles, and the paranormal to shed light on the origins of Christianity and other religions? Does it make sense that the all-powerful creator of the universe would employ miracles to achieve his ends? Can a Christian believe by faith alone and yet reasonably deny the supernatural claims of other religions? Do the arguments against Christianity support atheism? By carefully answering each of these questions, this book undermines Christianity and theism at their foundations; it gives us a powerful model for better critical reasoning; and it builds a compelling case for atheism. Without stooping to condescension or arrogance, the author offers persuasive arguments that are accessible, thoughtful, and new.

Offers an exploration of how our understanding of evolution is key to the future of our planet. This title argues that understanding evolution has never mattered more in human history. It explains how health, food production, and human impact on the environment are dependent on our knowledge of evolution.

WINNER: National Press Club's Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism Leading journalists from Fox News, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, newspapers, and other outlets-including Dan Rather, Ashleigh Banfield, Robert McChesney, Greg Palast, Pulitzer Prize and Emmy winners, and more-recount the press censorship they experienced in the wake of 9/11 security concerns. With a foreword by Gore Vidal and edited by former CBS and CNN producer Kristina Borjesson, this highly acclaimed anthology has been described as "fascinating and disturbing," "uplifting" and "infuriating," and a "penetrating collection of powerful essays." The original edition won the National Press Club's Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the most extraordinary titles of 2002.

Contains historic debates that led to the creation of one of the free world's most respected documents: the Constitution of the United States. This book includes Madison's notes and remarks as well as other requisite information for interpreting the events of that historic year.

Maintains that science can help us make wise choices and that an increase in scientific knowledge can help modify our ethical values and bring fresh ethical principles into social awareness. This book covers topics including bio-genetic engineering, stem cell research, organ transplants, human enhancement, abortion, euthanasia, and psychiatry.

Reveals a sometimes funny but more often disturbing world of fanaticism and extremism.

"Is there still anything worth living for? Is anything worth pursuing, apart from money, love, and caring for one's own family?" Internationally known social philosopher and ethicist Peter Singer has an answer to these and other questions in this compelling new volume. "If we can detach ourselves from our own immediate preoccupations and look at the world as a whole and our place in it, there is something absurd about the idea that people should have trouble finding something to live for."Singer suggests that people who take an ethical approach to life often avoid the trap of meaninglessness, finding a deeper satisfaction in what they are doing than those people whose goals are narrower and more self-centered. He spells out what he means by an ethical approach to life, and shows that it can bring about significant and far-reaching changes to one's life.

An autobiography of Frank Harris (1856-1931), an Irish writer and editor who founded "Pearson's Magazine" in the United States (1914-1918). It includes depictions of his sexual exploits with willing Victorian Age debutantes.

This disturbing expose describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe. Journalist Paul L. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence of ';stay-behind' units in many European countries consisting of five thousand to fifteen thousand military operatives. According to the author's research, the initial funding for these guerilla armies came from the sale of large stocks of SS morphine that had been smuggled out of Germany and Italy and of bogus British bank notes that had been produced in concentration camps by skilled counterfeiters. As the Cold War intensified, the units were used not only to ward off possible invaders, but also to thwart the rise of left-wing movements in South America and NATO-based countries by terror attacks. Williams argues that Operation Gladio soon gave rise to the toppling of governments, wholesale genocide, the formation of death squads, financial scandals on a grand scale, the creation of the mujahideen, an international narcotics network, and, most recently, the ascendancy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit cleric with strong ties to Operation Condor (an outgrowth of Gladio in Argentina) as Pope Francis I.Sure to be controversial, Operation Gladio connects the dots in ways the mainstream media often overlooks.

Wouldn't it be great if all school teachers (from kindergarten through high school) would share the joy of mathematics with their students, rather than focus only on the prescribed curriculum that will subsequently be tested? This book promises to help teachers and all readers do just that by revealing some wonders of mathematics often missing from classrooms. Here's your chance to catch up with the math gems you may have missed in your school years.Using jargon-free language and many illustrations, the authors--all veteran math educators--explore five areas--arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability, and the ways in which mathematics can reinforce common sense. Among other things, you'll learn "the rule of 72," which enables you to quickly determine how long it will take your bank account to double its value at a specific interest rate. Other handy techniques include an automatic algorithm for multiplying numbers mentally and a clever application that will allow you to convert from miles to kilometers (or the reverse) mentally. A delightful presentation of geometric novelties reveals relationships that could have made your study of geometry more fun and enlightening. In the area of probability there is a host of interesting examples: from the famous Monty-Hall problem to the counterintuitive probability of two people having the same birthday in a crowded room.Finally, the authors demonstrate how math will make you a better thinker by improving your organizing abilities and providing useful and surprising solutions to common mathematics problems. You'll come away with a grasp of math you never thought possible and a true appreciation for this "queen of the sciences."

Psychedelics, neuroscience, and historical biography come together when a journalist finds a lost photograph of Aldous Huxley and uncovers a hidden side of the celebrated author of Brave New World and The Doors of Perception. Allene Symons had no inkling that Aldous Huxley was once a friend of her father's until the summer of 2001 when she discovered a box of her dad's old photographs. For years in the 1940s and '50s, her father had meticulously photographed human hands in the hope of developing a science of predicting human aptitudes and even mental illness. In the box, along with all the other hand images, was one with the name of Aldous Huxley on the back. How was it possible for two such unlikely people to cross paths--her aircraft-engineer father and the famous author?This question sparked a journalist's quest to understand what clearly seemed to be a little- known interest of Aldous Huxley. Through interviews, road trips, and family documents, the author reconstructs a time peaking in mid-1950s Los Angeles when Huxley experimented with psychedelic substances, ran afoul of gatekeepers, and advocated responsible use of such hallucinogens to treat mental illness as well as to achieve states of mind called mystical. Because the author's father had studied hundreds of hands, including those of schizophrenics, he was invited into Huxley's research and discussion circle. This intriguing narrative about the early psychedelic era throws new light on one of the 20th-century's foremost intellectuals, showing that his experiments in consciousness presaged pivotal scientific research underway today.

"e;Does a god exist? This question has undoubtedly been asked, in one form or another, since man has had the ability to communicate. . . Thousands of volumes have been written on the subject of a god, and the vast majority have answered the questions with a resounding 'Yes!' "e;"e;You are about to read a minority viewpoint."e;With this intriguing introduction, George H. Smith sets out to demolish what he considers the most widespread and destructive of all the myths devised by man - the concept of a supreme being. With painstaking scholarship and rigorous arguments, Mr. Smith examines, dissects, and refutes the myriad "e;proofs"e; offered by theists - the defenses of sophisticated, professional theologians, as well as the average religious layman. He explores the historical and psychological havoc wrought by religion in general - and concludes that religious belief cannot have any place in the life of modern, rational man."e;It is not my purpose to convert people to atheism . . . (but to) demonstrate that the belief in God is irrational to the point of absurdity. If a person wishes to continue believing in a god, that is his prerogative, but he can no longer excuse his belief in the name of reason and moral necessity."e;

This eclectic history of unusual crowd behavior describes a rich assortment of mass phenomena ranging from the amusing and quirky to the shocking and deplorable. What do fads, crazes, manias, urban legends, moral panics, riots, stampedes, and other mass expressions of emotion have in common? By creating a typology of such behavior, past and present, the authors show how common extraordinary group reactions to fear or excitement are. And they offer insights into how these sometimes dangerous mob responses can be avoided. We may not be surprised to read about the peculiarities of the European Middle Ages, when superstition was commonplace: like the meowing nuns of France, "tarantism" (a dancing mania) in Italy, or the malicious anti-Semitic poison-well scares. But similar phenomena show up in our own era. Examples include the social-networking hysteria of 2012, which resulted in uncontrollable twitching by teenage girls in Leroy, NY; the "phantom bus terrorist" of 2004 in Vancouver, Canada; and the itching outbreak of 2000 in South Africa. Vivid, detailed, and thoroughly researched, this is a fascinating overview of collective human behavior in its many unusual forms.

How does the cosmos do something it has long been thought that only gods could achieve? How does an inanimate universe generate stunning new forms and unbelievable new powers without a Creator? How does the cosmos create? That's the central question of a book that in its original edition was called profound, extraordinary, provocative, mind-bending, and daring. Author Howard Bloom takes you on a scientific expedition into the secret heart of a cosmos you've never seen. Not just any cosmos. An electrifyingly inventive cosmos. An obsessive-compulsive cosmos. A driven, ambitious cosmos. A cosmos of colossal shocks. A cosmos of screaming, stunning surprise. A cosmos that breaks five of science's most sacred laws. Yes, five. At the end of this intellectual thrill-ride is a whole new theory of the beginning, middle, and end of the universethe Bloom toroidal model, also known as the big bagel theorywhich explains two of the biggest mysteries in physics: dark energy and why, if antimatter and matter are created in equal amounts, there is so little antimatter in this universe. Called ';truly awesome' by Nobel Prizewinner Dudley Herschbach, this paperback edition of The God Problem will pull you in with the irresistible attraction of a black hole and spit you out again enlightened with the force of a big bang. Be prepared to have your mind blown.