National Network for Equitable Library Service

Theoretical physics is in trouble. At least that’s the impression you’d get from reading a spate of recent books on the continued failure to resolve the 80-year-old problem of unifying the classical and quantum worlds. The seeds of this problem were sewn eighty years ago when a dramatic revolution in physics reached a climax at the 1927 Solvay conference in Brussels. It’s the story of a rush to formalize quantum physics, the work of just a handful of men fired by ambition, philosophical conflicts and personal agendas.

John W. Moffat was a poor student of math and science. That is, until he read Einstein’s famous paper on general relativity. Realizing instantly that he had an unusual and unexplained aptitude for understanding the complex physics described in the paper, Moffat wrote a letter to Einstein that would change the course of his life.

"This is the story of a man and his owl. But what a man and what an owl! The owl is one of our planet’s most beautiful and elusive beings, an enchanting spook, a feathered spirit from some ancient world. "The man is Robert Nero, his name synonymous with that of the Great Gray Owl, his love affair with the species spanning twenty-five years. For me, a non-professional adrift in a sea of biologists, it is heartening to find in Dr. Nero not just the able scientific mind but also a sense of wonder, undiminished by the years.

A resource for understanding the regions geology and seeing the evidence of important processes typical of the unique geological system in Jasper National Park.

Dawson worked for the International Boundary Commission and the Geological Survey of Canada. He surveyed the 49th parallel, vast tracts of land in British Columbias Interior, and many rivers in the Yukon. He knew the value of the Klondike gold fields ten years before the rush of 1898.

The latest research on child development may hold the key to the parenting of the future. Combining the expertise of its author – a celebrated expert in parent-infant mental health and mother of two – with the latest findings in gene-by-environment interactions, epigenetics, behavioural science, and attachment theory, Scientific Parenting describes how children’s genes determine their sensitivity to good or bad parenting, how environmental cues can switch critical genes on or off, and how addictive tendencies and mental health problems can become hardwired into the human brain.

From the jetliner and the snowmobile to the pacemaker and the BlackBerry, Canadians have long been at the forefront of innovation and invention. Canadians are behind a variety of cutting-edge products, life-saving medicines, innovative machines, and fascinating ideas. Although our inventions have typically been created with little fanfare, financing, or expectation of return, they have often gone on to play important roles in day-to-day life. Our "greatest invention" is probably insulin, which millions of people depend on for life and health.

Once people encounter the natural world and become aware of its intricacy, fragility, beauty, and significance, they will recognize the need for conservation. The fascinating development of natural history studies in North America is portrayed through the life stories of 22 naturalists.

"Writing with uncanny skill, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence leads us gently into the world of birds. Her perception, intuition and experience give her insights that she here freely shares with us all. "I knew this remarkable lady for years, and had previously read her Mar, but on re-reading it, I was struck with the sensitive, magical way she reveals the behaviour of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. "At her doorstep, at almost everyone’s doorstep, there is a wondrous, beautiful world, if we will only be patient and observant. In Mar, Mrs.

Marc Garneau, Roberta Bondar, Julie Payette, Robert Thirsk, Chris Hadfield, and more recently, Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque de Soleil, all have one thing in common: they’re some of the very few Canadians who have been in space. The launch of a spaceship is terribly exciting. That’s why thousands of people come to watch. They laugh, cheer, and applaud as the rocket rises. They see the smoke, steam, and white-hot fire as millions of litres of fuel burn in seconds. They feel the chest-thumping impact of the sound.