The Scientific Sherlock Holmes connects Holmes' vegetable poisons with concepts in botany, his use of fingerprinting with forensic science, and carbon monoxide poisoning and hemoglobin tests with concepts in chemistry, thus integrating the Holmes stories with all branches of science.

One of the world's leading astrobiologists takes us on an awe-inspiring journey across the cosmos to investigate some of humanity's most profound questions.

An illustrated introduction to 52 of the most vital, fatal, unusual and alarming molecules that make up the world around us.

The fascinating stories behind the essential seven units of measurement that allow us to understand the physical world

Contains entries on terror, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, climate change, plant genetics, race, humans and animals, music theology, and the Willmore Conjecture. This book shows how even the most intricate and complex knowledge can enliven public curiosity and spark new thinking on issues either known or yet to be discovered.

A fascinating and mind-bending journey through the science of time perception

A witty and entertaining journey through time from the bestselling author of Just My Type and On the Map

An exploration of transhumanism: the philosophical and technological movement that is working on an update of the human machine.

Moving from ancient Miletus to medieval Baghdad to Oxford, and from the Museum of Alexandria to the Royal Society of London, the author shows that the scientists of the past not only did not understand what we understand about the world - they did not understand what there is to understand.

The paperback outing of this engaging and enlightening history of letter-writing and our relationship with the mail, from the bestselling author of Just My Type and On the Map

Exploring the many surprising facts and myths about our sense of touch, this book reveals how it defines us - and how, by understanding it, we can better know ourselves.

The history of the computer is entwined with that of the modern world and most famously with the life of one man, Alan Turing. How did this device, which first appeared a mere 50 years ago, come to structure and dominate our lives so totally? An enlightening mini-biography of a brilliant but troubled man.

A beautiful and imaginative guide for the armchair naturalist that everyone will want to own.

In 140 pages, the authors present 140 explanations of the biggest questions in physics - in the form of 10 or so tweets per page. They set themselves the challenge of boiling down what is essential on each subject into sentences of 140 characters, and the results are both entertaining and brilliantly informative.

60 of the world's ugliest and most endangered animalsThis collection of 60 of the world's most ugly (and endangered) animals, features rare imagery and explanatory text. The author is a high-profile biologist but also a stand-up comedian, and the text combines expert research with a light tone.

The bug to save the millennium?

Understanding Popular Science provides a framework to help understand the development of popular science and current debates about it. In a lively and accessible style, Peter Broks shows how popular science has been invented, redefined and fought over.