Tesla Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney

$12.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: good

In "Tesla: Man Out of Time, " Margaret Cheney explores the brilliant and prescient mind of one of the twentieth century's greatest scientists and inventors. Called a madman by his enemies, a genius by others, and an enigma by nearly everyone, Nikola Tesla was, without a doubt, a trailblazing inventor wh o created astonishing, sometimes world-transforming devices that were virtually without theoretical precedent. Tesla not only discovered the rotating magnetic field -- the basis of most alternating-current machinery -- but also introduced us to the fundamentals of robotics, computers, and missile science. Almost supernaturally gifted, unfailingly flamboyant and neurotic, Tesla was troubled by an array of compulsions and phobias and was fond of extravagant, visionary experimentations. He was also a popular man-about-town, admired by men as diverse as Mark Twain and George Westinghouse, and adored by scores of society beauties. From Tesla's childhood in Yugoslavia to his death in New York in the 1940s, Cheney paints a compelling human portrait and chronicles a lifetime of discoveries that radically altered -- and continue to alter -- the world in which we live. "Tesla: Man Out of Time" is an in-depth look at the seminal accomplishments of a scientific wizard and a thoughtful examination of the obsessions and eccentricities of the man behind the science. ...Show more

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

$14.00 NZD

Category: Science | Series: The Neuroplasticity Chronicles | Reading Level: very good

An astonishing new scientific discovery called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the adult human brain is fixed and unchanging. It is, instead, able to change its own structure and function, even into old age. Psychiatrist and researcher Norman Doidge, MD, travelled around t he United States to meet the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity, and the people whose lives they've transformed -- people whose mental limitations or brain damage were previously seen as unalterable, and whose conditions had long been dismissed as hopeless. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole; a woman labelled retarded who cured her deficits with brain exercises and now cures those of others; blind people who learn to see; learning disorders cured; IQs raised; ageing brains rejuvenated; stroke patients recovering their faculties; children with cerebral palsy learning to move more gracefully; entrenched depression and anxiety disappearing; and lifelong character traits changed. Doidge takes us onto terrain that might seem fantastic. We learn that our thoughts can switch our genes on and off, altering our brain anatomy. We learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn to play a musical instrument -- simply by imagining doing so. Using personal stories from the heart of this neuroplasticity revolution, Dr Doidge has written an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential. ...Show more

Billions & Billions. Thoughts on Life and Death at the brink of the Millennium by SAGAN CARL

$10.00 NZD

Category: Science | Reading Level: good

*A "New York Times Bestseller" In this book, his last, Carl Sagan again demonstrates his extraordinary ability to interpret the mysteries of life and the majesty of the universe to the lay reader. He provides clarity and understanding for an audience eager to make sense of the world and goes beyond that as he illuminates the strongly held belief that we have the ability to change things for the better. In their posthumous award to Dr. Sagan, the National Science Foundation declared that his "research transformed planetary science, " and that "his gifts to mankind were infinite." ...Show more

Full House - The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin by Stephen Jay Gould

$14.00 NZD

Category: Science | Reading Level: very good

Gould shows why a more accurate way of understanding our world is to look at a given subject within its own context, to see it as a part of a spectrum of variation and then to reconceptualize trends as expansion or contraction of this full house of variation, and not as the progress or degeneration of a n average value, or single thing. ...Show more

The Exceptional Brain and How it Changed the World by Robert M. Kaplan

$15.00 NZD

Category: Psychology | Reading Level: very good

Dr Robert Kaplan, a forensic-psychiatrist and researcher, set out to explore the various brain diseases or conditions that have made some people very famous (or infamous), and often changed the course of history. The Exceptional Brain and How It Changed the World delves into the lives of famous figures and celebrates the work of ground-breaking doctors who helped us understand the way the brain works. Dr. Kaplan illuminates both the bizarre and common conditions that affected a collection of exceptional people, including Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Arthur Inman (the world's longest diarist), Nijinsky, Woody Guthrie, Jack Ruby, Howard Hughes and others. Conditions and diseases such as temporal lobe epilepsy, hypergraphia, mirror writing, brain tumour, parkinsonism, syphilis, schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. The Exceptional Brain and How It Changed the World is fascinating reading for anyone who has ever wondered how our brains tick. ...Show more

Charles Darwin: Voyaging by Janet Browne

$16.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: good

Few lives of great men offer so much interest - and so many mysteries - as the life of Charles Darwin. Many books have been devoted to various aspects of his theories, his personality, even his inexplicable ill-health. Now in this truly magisterial biography, Janet Browne brings Darwin to us whole. With great subtlety and understanding, using a range of materials and subject matter she is uniquely qualified to deploy, she enables us to see Darwin and the world of 19th-century science with fascinating clarity. This volume, the first of two, takes him from childhood and university through the Beagle voyage, which shaped him as a scientist, and the years of e xperiment and thought leading up to his difficult decision to publish The Origin of the Species. ...Show more

Flourish: New Zealand Women and Their Extraordinary Gardens by Barb Rogers; Juliet Nicholas

$30.00 NZD

Category: Gardening

This book celebrates the endeavours and achievements of women gardeners who are responsible for some of the most-admired gardens within New Zealand. Often starting as a home-based hobby, fitting around child care and other domestic tasks, the gardens developed by the women featured in this book have evo lved into living works of art. Scattered from the far north to Stewart Island, these gardens have a few things in common. Each one has been developed by a woman responding to her own landscape and locale with energy and verve. Often an outlet for a creative urge, the gardens portray a wide cross-section of styles. The stories of the gardeners also share common bonds - hard work and a passion for the landscape - but also stories of combating isolation, loss and joining a sisterhood of gardeners. Some gardens are well known and justly celebrated both here and overseas- Bev McConnell's Ayrlies in Auckland, and Margaret Barker's garden at Larnach Castle in Dunedin. Others are undiscovered gardens worthy of wider attention. Gracious country rose gardens, inner city courtyards and edible gardens all feature. ...Show more

Flight Lines: Across the globe on a journey with the astonishing ultramarathon birds by Andrew Darby

$20.00 NZD

Category: Natural History | Reading Level: near fine

Andrew Darby follows the extraordinary migratory shorebirds from Australia's southern ocean to the Arctic and back. On these travels he explores the power of science to reveal the mysteries of these birds, and to heal both their endangered world - and unexpectedly - himself. As the sun lowered and turne d Gulf St Vincent fiery, they each called a high-pitched 'peeooowiii!', flashed their black wing-pits, spread their tail skirts and took flight. Andrew Darby follows the odysseys of two Grey Plovers, little-known migratory shorebirds, as they take previously uncharted ultramarathon flights from the southern coast of Australia to Arctic breeding grounds. On these extraordinary flights they chance predators, typhoon weather and exhaustion before they can breed, and maybe return to familiar southern feeding grounds. But the greatest threat to these, and other long-distance migrants on the flyway, is China's dragon economy, engulfing their vital Yellow Sea staging spots. The author meets the dedicated people working to save these intrepid birds, from Russia to Alaska, and the rim of the Arctic Sea to the coasts of the Southern Ocean. Out of their hard-won science he finds hope for the birds - a bright light for our times. But his journey to understand this work and these birds almost ends when he is suddenly diagnosed with an incurable cancer. Then he finds science coming to his rescue too.     ...Show more

Everything in Its Place: First Loves and Last Tales by Oliver Sacks

$18.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

From the bestselling author of Gratitude and On the Move, a final volume of essays that showcase Sacks's broad range of interests - from his passion for ferns, swimming, and horsetails, to his final case histories exploring schizophrenia, dementia, and Alzheimer's. Oliver Sacks, scientist and storytelle r, is beloved by readers for his neurological case histories and his fascination and familiarity with human behavior at its most unexpected and unfamiliar. Everything in Its Place is a celebration of Sacks's myriad interests. ...Show more

It's a Long Road to a Tomato - Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life by Keith Stewart; Flavia Bacarella (Illustrator)

$14.00 NZD

Category: Gardening | Reading Level: very good

A new edition of longtime farmer Keith Stewart's deeply personal and highly acclaimed book on the hows and whys of running a small organic farm in 21st century America--updated with five new essays, a foreword by Deborah Madison, and gorgeous new woodcuts by Flavia Bacarella Keith Stewart, already in hi s early forties and discontent with New York's corporate grind, moved upstate and started a one-man organic farm in 1986. Today, having surmounted the seemingly endless challenges to succeeding as an organic farmer, Keith employs seven to eight seasonal interns and provides 100 varieties of fresh produce to the shoppers and chefs who flock twice weekly, May to December, to his stand at Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan--the only place where his produce is sold. It's a Long Road to a Tomato opens a window into the world of Keith's Farm, with essays on Keith's development as a farmer, the nuts and bolts of organic farming for an urban market, farm animals domestic and wild, and the political, social, and environmental issues relevant to agriculture today--and their impact on all of us. ...Show more

The Plant Magic Man by Lawrence Durrell

$15.00 NZD

Category: Travel | Series: Yes! Capra Chapbook Series Number Five | Reading Level: very good

The Old Red Sandstone or New Walks in an Old Field by Hugh Miller

$50.00 NZD

Category: Natural History | Reading Level: good-very good