Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Y como usted mismo, los elementos también tienen su vida, su historia; personalidades y actitudes, talentos y defectos, historias llenas de significado. Puede que la vaga idea que tenga de ellos sean las letras que las representan en la tabla periodica pero en realidad los conoce mucho mas de lo que piensa.Bienvenido a un deslumbrante viaje a traves de la historia, la literatura, la ciencia y el arte. Se topara con el hierro que llueve del cielo y los gases que iluminan el camino al vicio. Descubrira como el plomo puede predecir su futuro, o como el zinc cubrira su feretro; que tienen en comun sus huesos conla CasaBlancao el brillo de las farolas con la sal de cocina.Desde las civilizaciones antiguas a la cultura contemporanea, desde el oxigeno de la publicidad hasta el fosforo de la orina, los elementos estan tan cerca como lejos de nosotros mismos. Periodic Tales desentraña sus secretos y nos demuestra que sus historias, las de los elementos, son tambien las nuestras.

Enchanting to the point of escapism Simon Ings Spectator Hugh Aldersey Williams rescues his subject from Newton s shadow where he was been unjustly confined for over three hundred years Literary Review Filled with incident discovery and revelation Dutch Light is a vivid account of Christiaan Huygens s remarkable life and career but it is also nothing less than the story of the birth of modern science as we know it Europe s greatest scientist during the latter half of the seventeenth century Christiaan Huygens was a true polymath A towering figure in the fields of astronomy optics mechanics and mathematics many of his innovations in methodology optics and timekeeping remain in use to this day Among his many achievements he developed the theory of light travelling as a wave invented the mechanism for the pendulum clock and discovered the rings of Saturn via a telescope that he had also invented A man of fashion and culture Christiaan came from a family of multi talented individuals whose circle included not only leading figures of Dutch society but also artists and philosophers such as Rembrandt Locke and Descartes The Huygens family and their contemporaries would become key actors in the Dutch Golden Age a time of unprecedented intelle

From Cnut to D-Day: the history and science of the unceasing tide explored for the first time.Half of the worlds population lives in coastal regions lapped by tidal waters. Yet how little most of us know about the tide.Our ability to predict and understand the tide depends on centuries of science, from the observations of Aristotle and the theories of Newton to todays supercomputer calculations. This story is punctuated here by notable tidal episodes in history, from Caesars thwarted invasion of Britain to the catastrophic flooding of Venice, and interwoven with a rich folklore that continues to inspire art and literature today.With Aldersey-Williams as our guide to the most feared and celebrated tidal features on the planet, from the original maelstrm in Scandinavia to the worlds highest tides in Nova Scotia to the crumbling coast of East Anglia, the importance of the tide, and the way it has shaped - and will continue to shape - our civilization, becomes startlingly clear.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERIf only chemistry had been like this at school Matt Ridley, Prospect ________________Elements. Everything in the universe is made of them, including you. And like you, the elements have personalities, attitudes, talents, shortcomings, stories rich with meaning. Here youll meet iron that rains from the heavens. Youll learn how lead can tell your future while zinc may one day line your coffin. Youll discover what connects the bones in your body with the Whitehouse in Washington, the glow of a streetlamp with the salt on your dinner table.Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colourful pasts, Periodic Tales is a voyage of wonder and discovery, showing that their stories are our stories, and their lives are inextricable from our own.________________A love letter to the chemical elements. Aldersey-Williams is full of good stories, and he knows how to tell them wellSunday TelegraphGreat fun to read and an endless fund of unlikely and improbable anecdotesFinancial TimesThe history, science, art, literature and everyday applications of all the elements from aluminium to zincThe Times

The Sunday Times Science Book of the Year, Anatomies by Hugh Aldersey-Williams, author of bestseller Periodic Tales, is a splendidly entertaining journey through the art, science, literature and history of the human body.Magnificent, inspired. He writes like a latter-day Montaigne. Stimulating scientific hypotheses, bold philosophic theories, illuminating quotations and curious facts. I recommend it to allTelegraph *****Splendid, highly entertaining, chock-full of insights ... It inserts fascinating scientific snippets and anecdotes about our organs into the wider history of our changing understanding of our bodiesSunday TimesA relentlessly entertaining cultural history of the human body ... brims with fascinating details, infectious enthusiasm ... the terrain he covers is so richly brought to lifeGuardianElegant and informative ... For Aldersey-Williams, [the body] is a thing of wonder and a repository of fascinating factsMail on Sunday ****In Anatomies, bestselling author Hugh Aldersey-Williams investigates that marvellous, mysterious form: the human body. Providing a treasure trove of surprising facts, remarkable stories and startling information drawn from across history, science, art and literature - from finger-prints to angel physiology, from Isaac Newtons death-mask to the afterlife of Einsteins brain - he explores our relationship with our bodies and investigates our changing attitudes to the extraordinary physical shell we inhabit.More than a science book - its also history, biography and autobiography - Anatomies is writing at its most refined, regardless of genreSunday TimesPraise for Periodic Tales:Science writing at its best ... fascinating and beautiful ... if only chemistry had been like this at school ... to meander through the periodic table with him ... is like going round a zoo with Gerald Durrell ... a rich compilation of delicious tales, but it offers greater rewards, too Matt RidleyImmensely engaging and continually makes one sit up in surpriseSunday TimesSplendid ... enjoyable and polishedObserverFull of good stories and he knows how to tell them well ... an agreeable jumble of anecdote, reflection and informationSunday TelegraphGreat fun to read and an endless fund of unlikely and improbable anecdotes ... sharp and often wittyFinancial TimesHugh Aldersey-Williams studied natural sciences at Cambridge. He is the author of several books exploring science, design and architecture and has curated exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wellcome Collection. His previous book Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements was a Sunday Times bestseller and has been published in many languages around the world. He lives in Norfolk with his wife and son.

Enchanting to the point of escapism. Simon Ings, SpectatorHugh Aldersey-Williams rescues his subject from Newtons shadow, where he was been unjustly confined for over three hundred years. Literary ReviewFilled with incident, discovery, and revelation, Dutch Light is a vivid account of Christiaan Huygenss remarkable life and career, but it is also nothing less than the story of the birth of modern science as we know it. Europes greatest scientist during the latter half of the seventeenth century, Christiaan Huygens was a true polymath. A towering figure in the fields of astronomy, optics, mechanics, and mathematics, many of his innovations in methodology, optics and timekeeping remain in use to this day. Among his many achievements, he developed the theory of light travelling as a wave, invented the mechanism for the pendulum clock, and discovered the rings of Saturn via a telescope that he had also invented.A man of fashion and culture, Christiaan came from a family of multi-talented individuals whose circle included not only leading figures of Dutch society, but also artists and philosophers such as Rembrandt, Locke and Descartes. The Huygens family and their contemporaries would become key actors in the Dutch Golden Age, a time of unprecedented intellectual expansion within the Netherlands. Set against a backdrop of worldwide religious and political turmoil, this febrile period was defined by danger, luxury and leisure, but also curiosity, purpose, and tremendous possibility.Following in Huygenss footsteps as he navigates this era while shuttling opportunistically between countries and scientific disciplines, Hugh Aldersey-Williams builds a compelling case to reclaim Huygens from the margins of history and acknowledge him as one of our most important and influential scientific figures.

What exactly are your chances of being struck by a meteorite?Think youre having less sex than the French?How high will sea levels actually rise?We live in an increasingly uncertain world. Theres so much to worry about it is often hard to know what to really panic about. But stay calm! For Panicology is the perfect answer to the conundrums and questions that bedevil modern life. Putting a lit match to the lies, headlines and statistical twaddle that seeks to frighten us, it explores 40 reasons for worry: from binge-drinking to Frankenstein foods, bird flu to alien abductions - and explores what, if any, effect they will have on your life.Why worry in ignorance when you can be a happy, informed sceptic?

Del autor del éxito internacional LA TABLA PERIÓDICA, un entretenido y luminoso trayecto a través del arte, la ciencia, la literatura y la historia del cuerpo humano El cuerpo humano, nuestro tabú más incomodo. El unico elemento comun para todos los seres humanos. Una suma de huesos, piel, grasa y fluidos a la que, mientras todo carbura, prestamos escasa atencion. Y sin embargo, desde el arte antiguo a la cirugia plastica, desde los primeros anatomistas a los artistas conceptuales, de los profanadores de tumbas a los atletas bionicos, nuestra relacion con el cuerpo humano dice mas de nosotros mismo que cualquier otro asunto en la historia de la humanidad.Mezclando historia, arte, literatura y vida cotidiana, Hugh Aldersey-Williams se adentra en la mas misteriosa y maravillosa de las creaciones. El resultado es una obra fascinante repleta de hechos asombrosos, historias inverosimiles e informacion deslumbrante que va desde la primera huella dactilar hasta la psicologia de los angeles, desde la mascara funebre de Isaac Newton hasta el cerebro embalsamado de Einstein.

Todo está hecho de elementos. Desde la roca más remota del universo hasta este mismo libro. Incluso usted no es más que la suma de un conjunto de elementos de la tabla periódica. Bienvenido a un des