National Network for Equitable Library Service

Recounts Stephen Hawking's improbable journey, from his postwar London boyhood to his years of international acclaim and celebrity. Writing with characteristic humility and humor, Hawking opens up about the challenges that confronted him following his diagnosis of ALS at age 21. Tracing his progress as a thinker, he explains how the prospect of an early death urged him onward through numerous intellectual breakthroughs, and talks about the genesis of his masterpiece A brief history of time.

The author explains what, exactly, a cold is, how it works, and whether it's really possible to "fight one off."

Kurlansky discusses the history of commercial cod fishing and the plight of the Atlantic fish and fisheries today as the cod faces extinction.

When young Joseph Banks stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769, he hoped to discover Paradise. Inspired by the scientific ferment sweeping through Britain, the botanist had sailed with Captain Cook in search of new worlds. Other voyages of discovery- astronomical, chemical, poetical, philosophical- swiftly follow in Richard Holmes's thrilling evocation of the second scientific revolution.

Written by a friend and scientific collaborator with Albert Einstein, this remarkable study is a model of what a biography of a scientist should be. On these pages, we come to know Albert Einstein as the 'backward' child; the academic outcast; the reluctant world celebrity; the exile; the pacifist; the philosopher; the humanitarian; the tragically saddened 'father' of the atomic bomb; and above all, the unceasing searcher after scientific truth.

An exploration of the age-old complicity between skywatchers and warfighters, from the best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. In this fascinating foray into the centuries-old relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war.

Based on exhaustive research and dozens of fresh interviews, this book is the definitive and thrilling account of one of humankind's greatest technological achievements: the Apollo 11 mission.

During the short Arctic summers, the tundra, covered most of the year under snow and ice, becomes filled with colourful flowers, mosses, shrubs, and lichens. These hardy little plants transform the northern landscape, as they take advantage of the warmer weather and long hours of sunlight. Caribou, lemmings, snow buntings, and many other wildlife species depend on tundra plants for food and nutrition, but they are not the only ones. A Walk on the Tundra follows Inuujaq, a little girl who travels with her grandmother onto the tundra.

The iglu, a traditional winter shelter built in the Arctic for centuries, is a vital part of Inuit culture. The qamutiik, a traditional sled used for hunting, is an essential tool whose versatility and dependability have allowed it to endure over time. In How to Build an Iglu and a Qamutiik, Solomon Awa provides thorough how-to instructions on building iglus and qamutiiks, along with general background information on their construction and importance to survival.

We're all connected to the ocean, and the ocean to us. The ocean provides half the oxygen we breathe; it feeds us, creates our weather and provides us with water. But we haven't been as kind to the ocean in return. The problems are many: pollution, overfishing, rising seas and acid waters. What can be done? Don't despair; take action. Dive In!