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Letters to a Young Scientist
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Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
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Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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The Double Helix
- A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
- By: James D. Watson
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner, Roger Clark
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only 24, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries.
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A great discovery, but is this an accurate account?
- By Seayeaitch on 16-05-19
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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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With his characteristic eyebrow-raising behavior, Richard P. Feynman once provoked the wife of a Princeton dean to remark, "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" But the many scientific and personal achievements of this Nobel Prize-winning physicist are no laughing matter. Here, woven with his scintillating views on modern science, Feynman relates the defining moments of his accomplished life.
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Endlessly interesting
- By Simon on 06-08-09
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Blueprint
- The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
- By: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Narrated by: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all our inventions - our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations - we carry with us innate proclivities to make a good society.
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Brilliant but needs full attention
- By Jonathan Abecassis on 12-12-19
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Wilding
- The Return of Nature to a British Farm
- By: Isabella Tree
- Narrated by: Isabella Tree
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Forced to accept that intensive farming on the heavy clay of their land at Knepp was economically unsustainable, Isabella Tree and her husband, Charlie Burrell, made a spectacular leap of faith: they decided to step back and let nature take over. Thanks to the introduction of free-roaming cattle, ponies, pigs and deer - proxies of the large animals that once roamed Britain - the 3,500 acre project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and diversity in little over a decade.
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Favourite Read of 2019
- By Loves Reading on 26-07-19
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Underland
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In Underland, Robert Macfarlane takes us on a journey into the worlds beneath our feet. From the ice-blue depths of Greenland's glaciers to the underground networks by which trees communicate, from Bronze Age burial chambers to the rock art of remote Arctic sea caves, this is a deep-time voyage into the planet's past and future.
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Epic. Sobering. Wonderful.
- By Sararara on 13-05-19
-
Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
-
The Double Helix
- A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
- By: James D. Watson
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner, Roger Clark
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only 24, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries.
-
-
A great discovery, but is this an accurate account?
- By Seayeaitch on 16-05-19
-
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his characteristic eyebrow-raising behavior, Richard P. Feynman once provoked the wife of a Princeton dean to remark, "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" But the many scientific and personal achievements of this Nobel Prize-winning physicist are no laughing matter. Here, woven with his scintillating views on modern science, Feynman relates the defining moments of his accomplished life.
-
-
Endlessly interesting
- By Simon on 06-08-09
-
Blueprint
- The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
- By: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Narrated by: Nicholas A. Christakis
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all our inventions - our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations - we carry with us innate proclivities to make a good society.
-
-
Brilliant but needs full attention
- By Jonathan Abecassis on 12-12-19
-
Wilding
- The Return of Nature to a British Farm
- By: Isabella Tree
- Narrated by: Isabella Tree
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forced to accept that intensive farming on the heavy clay of their land at Knepp was economically unsustainable, Isabella Tree and her husband, Charlie Burrell, made a spectacular leap of faith: they decided to step back and let nature take over. Thanks to the introduction of free-roaming cattle, ponies, pigs and deer - proxies of the large animals that once roamed Britain - the 3,500 acre project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and diversity in little over a decade.
-
-
Favourite Read of 2019
- By Loves Reading on 26-07-19
-
Underland
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Underland, Robert Macfarlane takes us on a journey into the worlds beneath our feet. From the ice-blue depths of Greenland's glaciers to the underground networks by which trees communicate, from Bronze Age burial chambers to the rock art of remote Arctic sea caves, this is a deep-time voyage into the planet's past and future.
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Epic. Sobering. Wonderful.
- By Sararara on 13-05-19
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The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
- The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the best short works of Richard P. Feynman, from interviews and speeches to lectures and printed articles. A sweeping, wide-ranging collection, it presents an intimate and fascinating view of a life in science - a life like no other. From his ruminations on science in our culture to his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, this book will delight anyone interested in the world of ideas.
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All you want to hear is already in the first book.
- By Fritz on 07-01-17
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Istanbul
- A Tale of Three Cities
- By: Bettany Hughes
- Narrated by: Bettany Hughes
- Length: 24 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Istanbul has always been a place where stories and histories collide and crackle, where the idea is as potent as the historical fact. From the Qu'ran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place and overspills its boundaries - real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between the East and West, it has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires.
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Captivating and comprehensive
- By Mark Patrick on 04-07-17
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Winners Take All
- The Elite Charade of Changing the World
- By: Anand Giridharadas
- Narrated by: Anand Giridharadas
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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What explains the spreading backlash against the global elite? In this revelatory investigation, Anand Giridharadas takes us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, showing how the elite follow a 'win-win' logic, fighting for equality and justice any way they can - except ways that threaten their position at the top. But why should our gravest problems be solved by consultancies, technology companies and corporate-sponsored charities instead of public institutions and elected officials? Why should we rely on scraps from the winners?
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Disappointing
- By A Buyer on 09-03-19
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Consilience
- The Unity of Knowledge
- By: Edward O. Wilson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.
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Behave
- By: Robert M Sapolsky
- Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom
- Length: 26 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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We are capable of savage acts of violence but also spectacular feats of kindness: is one side of our nature destined to win out over the other? Every act of human behaviour has multiple layers of causation, spiralling back seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, even centuries, right back to the dawn of time and the origins of our species. In the epic sweep of history, how does our biology affect the arc of war and peace, justice and persecution? How have our brains evolved alongside our cultures?
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Slow to start but it all comes together
- By Mark on 25-08-18
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On Human Nature: Revised Edition
- By: Edward O. Wilson
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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This revised edition of Human Nature begins a new phase in the most important intellectual controversy of this generation: Is human behavior controlled by the species' biological heritage? Does this heritage limit human destiny?
With characteristic pungency and simplicity of style, the author of Sociobiology challenges old prejudices and current misconceptions about the nature-nurture debate.
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Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs
- How the Struggle for Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior
- By: Roger Lederer
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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When we see a bird flying from branch to branch happily chirping, it is easy to imagine they lead a simple life of freedom, flight, and feathers. What we don't see is the arduous, life-threatening challenges they face at every moment. Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs guides the listener through the myriad, and often almost miraculous, things that birds do every day to merely stay alive. Like the goldfinch, which manages extreme weather changes by doubling the density of its plumage in winter.
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Read "The Genius of Birds" instead.
- By Amazon Customer on 21-12-18
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The Selfish Gene
- By: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands to rethink their beliefs about life.
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Great listen
- By Luke Barton on 20-08-11
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In Search of Nature
- By: Edward O. Wilson
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
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Perhaps more than any other scientist of our century, Edward O. Wilson has scrutinized animals in their natural settings, tweezing out the dynamics of their social organization, their relationship with their environments, and their behavior, not only for what it tells us about the animals themselves, but for what it can tell us about human nature and our own behavior. He has brought the fascinating and sometimes surprising results of these studies to general readers through a remarkable collection of books.
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Cosmos
- By: Carl Sagan
- Narrated by: LeVar Burton, Seth MacFarlane, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Cosmos is one of the best-selling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space.
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Astronomy and so much more
- By Andrei S. on 23-01-18
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The Blind Watchmaker
- Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
- By: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The Blind Watchmaker, knowledgably narrated by author Richard Dawkins, is as prescient and timely a book as ever. The watchmaker belongs to the 18th-century theologian William Paley, who argued that just as a watch is too complicated and functional to have sprung into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Charles Darwin's brilliant discovery challenged the creationist arguments; but only Richard Dawkins could have written this elegant riposte.
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Sparkling with life!
- By Jeremy on 10-08-11
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Pale Blue Dot
- A Vision of the Human Future in Space
- By: Carl Sagan
- Narrated by: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time.
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First Time Read and Disappointed
- By Sarah on 20-02-18
Summary
Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson imparts the wisdom of his storied career to the next generation.
Edward O. Wilson has distilled sixty years of teaching into a book for students, young and old. Reflecting on his coming-of-age in the South as a Boy Scout and a lover of ants and butterflies, Wilson threads these twenty-one letters, each richly illustrated, with autobiographical anecdotes that illuminate his career - both his successes and his failures - and his motivations for becoming a biologist. At a time in human history when our survival is more than ever linked to our understanding of science, Wilson insists that success in the sciences does not depend on mathematical skill, but rather a passion for finding a problem and solving it. From the collapse of stars to the exploration of rain forests and the oceans’ depths, Wilson instills a love of the innate creativity of science and a respect for the human being’s modest place in the planet’s ecosystem in his readers.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dean
- 08-05-19
Enchanting and exciting
Very interseting learning how Edward O. Wilson carved his career and all the helpful advice he gives in this fantastic book to future generations of scientists. He talks about his career in Antomology, although these creatures appear small, he writes about them in a way which can be transfered into the biggest of biologicial studies. Highly recomend this book to any one at the begining of their science studies or career.
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- Omar Amin
- 05-11-18
A nice book to read
Its a really good book for those who want to pursue a career as a scientist.
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- Haqqeem Razak
- 20-07-18
for aspiring scientists
must read, an honest inside perspective of a scientist. well thought out and never a bore.
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- KeithSiew
- 13-04-16
For those is science, this is a must!
Just finished up my PhD and moving on to a Postdoctoral fellowship. I think I'll be writing the principles shared here on my wall for safe keeping!
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Mr
- GLASGOW, United Kingdom
- 09-10-15
Wonderful!
When I was in my scientific training I wish that this book had been written. It provides much in the way of encouragement and is full of heart, providing hope to the many undergraduate scientists out there. Particularly, for those students wondering if there is a future in their chosen fields and those in high school considering a career in science, you all must read this book!
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- A. Mandelin
- 02-08-18
Long on biography, short on advice
maybe I am imagining it but I thought the description of this book suggested that it would give advice in surviving in science in the current political climate of science bashing and fake news
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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- Diego Zárrate
- 23-10-17
love it
Great book for either beginning or continuing biology and ecology professionals. a lot of great advices to move forward.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Katie
- 21-01-17
Inspiring and thought provoking
Dry details but overall reassuring for someone questioning whether or not to pursue a career in science.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- jc 550m
- 13-12-19
great candid guidance to have a rewarding career
content and candidness are great . very good to listen to on way to work
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-08-19
odd voice changes
It was very obvious that there was a second reader chiming in to complete some statements and trying to match the voice of the main reader. While it wasn't offputting or bad it pulled me from story briefly every time.
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- cds48
- 22-03-19
Good for a young scientist (In biology)
I think if I were just going to college I would like this book more, but even then there are long stretches of the book where Wilson just goes on about research he did and experiences he had in order to make a single point.
If you find ecology, biology, and info about ants (his main field of study) and other insect species fun to learn about then you will love this book more than I did.
I thought I was getting a book about "lessons learned being a scientist," but got a book about "the study of ants with a couple bits of advice" (mostly at the beginning).
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- Steve
- 30-11-18
Not for me
I found it boring I would zone out and find myself having to just back to the last thing I rememered
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- Anonymous User
- 04-09-18
Genuinely changed and enriched my life and career
I cannot put into words what this book and it's excellent narration means to people like or even unlike myself.
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- History Lover
- 09-07-18
Very pronunciation
I absolutely loved the book, but the reading left a lot to be desired. Ecosystem is not pronounced Echosystem. There were a number of other similar words that were grossly mispronounced.
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- Abhigyan
- 13-01-17
Good for budding researchers
Gives you a good framework of researching , as well as an interesting read for anyone amateur.