100 Best Black Holes Books of All Time

We've researched and ranked the best black holes books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more

Featuring recommendations from Timothy Ferriss, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and 36 other experts.
1

A Brief History of Time

In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold worldwide. That edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the intervening years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of... more

Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)

Dan HooperEverybody knows Hawking’s greatest contributions: understanding that black holes radiate light and other particles, that they contain entropy and all these things that no one imagined before him. Hawking and Roger Penrose also worked out the Big Bang singularity, the very moment of creation. To hear him describe some of these things with his own word choices, his own phrasing—not to mention his... (Source)

Adam Hart-DavisWhen Stephen Hawking wrote A Brief History of Time..his publisher told him that every equation he left in would halve the number of readers (Source)

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2

The Martian

Note: Alternate-Cover Edition for this ASIN can be found here

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a...
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Craig BarrettThis book didn’t really change my mind, but rather reinforced the concept of the power of the individual. At a time when we depend more and more on big institutions to solve our business and social problems the real solutions are crafted by individual actions and initiative. This is true in the business world, where ideas from individual researchers or entrepreneurs can create mega companies... (Source)

Dan Christensen@EconTalker @cable_co1 The Martian... hey it can’t all be economics and it’s a great book (Source)

Patrick Chovanec@acgleva The book was great. (Source)

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3

The Hobbit

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
(back cover)
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Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)

Cressida CowellThe Hobbit is such a richly imagined fantasy that, especially as a child, you can live in it. It is so completely immersive. (Source)

Lev GrossmanFirst up, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, by JRR Tolkien. But you knew I was going to say that. This one book, which was published in 1937, defined so many variables for the fantasy tradition that are still in place today. Tolkien’s extraordinary achievement was to recover the epic landscapes of Anglo-Saxon myth, bring them back to life, and then to take us through them on foot, so we could... (Source)

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4

Ready Player One

The bestselling cult classic--soon to be a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.



At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut--part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.

It's the year 2045, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of...
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Steve JurvetsonA gift to all of my Apple II programming buddies from high school and Dungeons & Dragons comrades. (Source)

Fabrice GrindaI have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend. (Source)

Dominic Steil[One of the books that had the biggest impact on .] (Source)

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5
Leonard Susskind, padre de la teoría de cuerdas y uno de los físicos más eminentes de nuestro tiempo y Gerard’t Hooft, premio Nobel de Física, conscientes del reto que implicaba la propuesta de Hawking, fiel a la teoría de la relatividad general, contraatacaron con las leyes de la mecánica cuántica en la mano. Esta obra no es, simplemente, la historia de aquel enfrentamiento entre los más grandes científicos de nuestro tiempo sino que nos transmite la tensión intelectual de estos sabios y el esfuerzo que realizaron para aparcar sus más firmes convicciones y tratar de reconciliar ambas teorías... more
Recommended by Sean M Carroll, and 1 others.

Sean M CarrollThis book discusses some of the deepest features of the laws of nature. (Source)

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6

Black Holes & Time Warps

Einstein's Outrageous Legacy

Ever since Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity burst upon the world in 1915 some of the most brilliant minds of our century have sought to decipher the mysteries bequeathed by that theory, a legacy so unthinkable in some respects that even Einstein himself rejected them.

Which of these bizarre phenomena, if any, can really exist in our universe? Black holes, down which anything can fall but from which nothing can return; wormholes, short spacewarps connecting regions of the cosmos; singularities, where space and time are so violently warped that time ceases to...
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Recommended by Dan Hooper, Sean M Carroll, and 2 others.

Dan HooperThis book is just plain fun. I said before that if somebody asked me for a book to learn about relativity, I probably wouldn’t pick Einstein’s: I would pick Kip Thorne’s. (Source)

Sean M CarrollKip Thorne’s book mostly focuses on space time. It is really the most modern exposition yet at a popular level of Einstein’s theory of relativity…So if you want to know what a wormhole is, and how time machines might work, this is the book for you. (Source)

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7

Cosmos

Cosmos has 13 heavily illustrated chapters, corresponding to the 13 episodes of the Cosmos television series. In the book, Sagan explores 15 billion years of cosmic evolution and the development of science and civilization. Cosmos traces the origins of knowledge and the scientific method, mixing science and philosophy, and speculates to the future of science. The book also discusses the underlying premises of science by providing biographical anecdotes about many prominent scientists throughout history, placing their contributions into the broader context of the development of modern... more

Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)

Bill NyeThe story of my other hero, Carl Sagan. The other guy who inspired me to do what I do now. (Source)

Ante ShodaIt explains 14 billion years of the evolution of the universe, a sort of engineering experiment on the largest possible scale. It spans all scales of space and time, describing everything from the largest scales of the universe to the smallest scales of molecules and atoms. It’s a good book for putting everything in perspective. (Source)

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8
One Thursday lunchtime Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this is already more than he can cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun. And the Galaxy is a very, very large and startling place indeed. less

Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)

Elon MuskI guess when I was around 12 or 15... I had an existential crisis, and I was reading various books on trying to figure out the meaning of life and what does it all mean? It all seemed quite meaningless and then we happened to have some books by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer in the house, which you should not read at age 14 (laughter). It is bad, it’s really negative. So then I read Hitchhikers Guide... (Source)

Timothy FerrissIf Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Star Wars had a love-child, it would read something like this. This colorful novel by Douglas Adams begins with Arthur Dent narrowly escaping the Earth’s destruction as it is bulldozed to make room for a hyperspace bypass. Beyond the bizarre characters and plot twists, Adams proves that despite how bleak ones situation might be, there’s always something to... (Source)

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9
A vibrant collection of essays on the cosmos from the nation's best-known astrophysicist. "One of today's best popularizers of science." —Kirkus Reviews.

Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" essays in Natural History magazine have long recognized Neil deGrasse Tyson's talent for guiding them through the mysteries of the cosmos with stunning clarity and almost childlike enthusiasm. Here, Tyson compiles his favorite essays across a myriad of cosmic topics.

The title essay introduces readers to the physics of black holes by explaining...
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10

My Heart and Other Black Holes

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for...
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11

Brief Answers to the Big Questions

Stephen Hawking was recognized as one of the greatest minds of our time and a figure of inspiration after defying his ALS diagnosis at age twenty-one. He is known for both his breakthroughs in theoretical physics as well as his ability to make complex concepts accessible for all, and was beloved for his mischievous sense of humor. At the time of his death, Hawking was working on a final project: a book compiling his answers to the "big" questions that he was so often posed--questions that ranged beyond his academic field.

Within these pages, he provides his personal views on our...
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12

A Black Hole Is Not a Hole

Get ready to S-T-R-E-T-C-H your mind!

What is a black hole? Where do they come from? How were they discovered? Can we visit one? Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano takes readers on a ride through the galaxies (ours, and others), answering these questions and many more about the phenomenon known as a black hole.

In lively and often humorous text, the book starts off with a thorough explanation of gravity and the role it plays in the formation of black holes. Paintings by Michael Carroll, coupled with real telescopic images, help readers visualize the facts and ideas presented in...
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13

The Universe in a Nutshell

Stephen Hawking’s phenomenal, multimillion-copy bestseller, A Brief History of Time, introduced the ideas of this brilliant theoretical physicist to readers all over the world.

Now, in a major publishing event, Hawking returns with a lavishly illustrated sequel that unravels the mysteries of the major breakthroughs that have occurred in the years since the release of his acclaimed first book.
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14

All the Bright Places

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
 
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the...
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15
What happens when someone or something goes into a black hole? This book introduces some of the major ideas in cosmology, bringing quarks, preons, hypothetical subparticles, pulsars, galaxies, the Big Bang theory, dark energy, and gravitational waves to life with accessible language and vivid full-color art work. The text includes fascinating sidebars and fact boxes that add extra excitement to this look into deep space phenomena. Whether it's about Stephen Hawking or the James Webb telescope, even the most reluctant readers are sure to enjoy this book. less

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16
The Illustrated A Brief History of Time

In the years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has established itself as a landmark volume in scientific writing and an international publishing phenomenon. The book as on the cutting edge of what was then known about the nature of the universe, but since that time there have been extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first...
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17
This is the sequel to 'The Custodians'. The book contains some of the more complicated concepts in Metaphysics that Dolores Cannon discovered through twenty years of using deep hypnosis to explore the subconscious mind. Some of the topics explored in this book: The origin, knowledge and destruction of Atlantis; The explanations of Earth mysteries, including -- the Pyramids, Easter Island, the Bermuda Triangle, the Ark of the Covenant, Loch Ness Monster, Nazca Lines; Characteristics of other Planets, Parallel Universes, Parallel Lifetimes and Realities; Other Dimensions and much more. This... more

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18
Do you know:
What might happen if you fall into a black hole?

That the Universe does not have an edge?

That the reason it gets dark at night is proof of the Big Bang?

That cosmic particles time-travel through the atmosphere defying death?

That our past, present and future might all coexist "out there"?

With two remarkable ideas, Albert Einstein revolutionized our view of the Universe. His first was that nothing can travel faster than light-the ultimate speed limit. This simple fact leads to the unavoidable conclusion that space and...
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19
The full inside story of the detection of gravitational waves at LIGO, one of the most ambitious feats in scientific history.

Travel around the world 100 billion times. A strong gravitational wave will briefly change that distance by less than the thickness of a human hair. We have perhaps less than a few tenths of a second to perform this measurement. And we don’t know if this infinitesimal event will come next month, next year or perhaps in thirty years.

In 1916 Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves: miniscule ripples in the very fabric...
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20

Llama Destroys the World

Meet Llama, the next great picture-book megastar, who has most definitely driven a bus and who loves tacos way more than you.

He also loves cake, and that’s where our story begins.

On Monday, Llama discovers a pile of cake, which he promptly eats.
On Tuesday, Llama squeezes into his dancing pants, which he promptly rips.
The force of the rip creates a black hole (naturally).
By Friday, Llama will (indirectly) destroy the world.
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21

Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry

From the basics of physics to big questions about the nature of space and time, celebrated astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson breaks down the mysteries of the cosmos into bite-sized pieces. Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry describes the fundamental rules and unknowns of our universe clearly—and with Tyson’s characteristic wit, there’s a lot of fun thrown in, too.

This adaptation by Gregory Mone includes full-color photos, infographics, and extra explanations to make even the trickiest concepts accessible. Building on the wonder inspired by...
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22

Black Holes (Mega Bites)

Did you know you can tell how hot a star is by looking at its colour? This volume is crammed full of quirky facts and figures, close-up views and feature boxes on all kinds of space oddities. less

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23
Join George and Annie as they explore the galaxy in this cosmic adventure series from acclaimed scientist Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking.

This three-book collection includes:
George’s Secret Key to the Universe
George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt
George and the Big Bang
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24
Brilliant, audaciously rogue police officer Harry Hole from The Snowman and The Thirst is back and in the throes of a new, unanticipated rage--once again hunting the murderer who has haunted his entire career.

Harry Hole is not in a good place. Rakel--the only woman he's ever loved--has ended it with him, permanently. He's been given a chance for a new start with the Oslo Police, but it's in the cold case office, when what he really wants is to be investigating cases he suspects have ties to Svein Finne, the serial rapist and murderer who Harry helped put...
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25

Black Holes and Baby Universes

NY Times bestseller. 13 extraordinary essays shed new light on the mysteries of the universe & on one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time.
In his phenomenal bestseller A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking literally transformed the way we think about physics, the universe, reality itself. In these thirteen essays and one remarkable extended interview, the man widely regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein returns to reveal an amazing array of possibilities for understanding our universe. Building on his earlier work, Hawking...
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27

Black Hole

Suburban Seattle, the mid-1970s. We learn from the out-set that a strange plague has descended upon the area’s teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways — from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable) — but once you’ve got it, that’s it. There’s no turning back.

As we inhabit the heads of several key characters — some kids who have it, some who don’t, some who are about to get it — what unfolds isn’t the expected battle to fight the plague, or bring heightened awareness to it , or even to treat it. What we become...
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28

Black Holes (The Universe)

Expand your young reader's universe! Simple, straightforward text paired with vibrant photos and colorful diagrams breaks down scientific concepts of black holes, such as gravity, light, and energy. Readers will learn about the formation and different sizes of black holes. Also discussed are the discovery of black holes and how scientists study them with telescopes and other tools. Features include a table of contents, fun facts, a glossary with phonetics, and an index. Buddy Books is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Group. less

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29
From the best-selling author of The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos comes his most expansive and accessible book to date—a book that takes on the grandest question: Is ours the only universe?

There was a time when “universe” meant all there is. Everything. Yet, in recent years discoveries in physics and cosmology have led a number of scientists to conclude that our universe may be one among many. With crystal-clear prose and inspired use of analogy, Brian Greene shows how a range of different “multiverse” proposals emerges from theories developed to explain the most...
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Don't have time to read the top Black Holes books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.

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31
A girl's friendship with a lonely black hole leads her to face her own sadness in this original, funny, and touching middle grade novel for fans of Crenshaw and Flora & Ulysses.

When eleven-year-old Stella Rodriguez shows up at NASA to request that her recording be included in Carl Sagan's Golden Record, something unexpected happens: A black hole follows her home, and sets out to live in her house as a pet. The black hole swallows everything he touches, which is challenging to say the least--but also turns out to be a convenient way to get rid of those...
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32

The Theory of Everything

The Origin and Fate of the Universe

Based on a series of lectures given at Cambridge University, Professor Hawking's work introduced "the history of ideas about the universe" as well as today's most important scientific theories about time, space, and the cosmos in a clear, easy-to-understand way. "The Theory of Everything" presents the most complex theories, both past and present, of physics; yet it remains clear and accessible. It will enlighten readers and expose them to the rich history of scientific thought and the complexities of the universe in which we live. less

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33

The Science of Interstellar

A journey through the otherworldly science behind Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film, Interstellar, from executive producer and theoretical physicist Kip Thorne.

Interstellar, from acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan, takes us on a fantastic voyage far beyond our solar system. Yet in The Science of Interstellar, Kip Thorne, the physicist who assisted Nolan on the scientific aspects of Interstellar, shows us that the movie’s jaw-dropping events and stunning, never-before-attempted visuals are grounded in real science. Thorne...
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34

Black Holes

...eminent and prolific science writers summarize the astrophysical principles and observations that make these mind- and space-bending events at least feasible...young scientists...will be sucked in by the dramatic illustrations. -- School Library Journal less

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35

The Last Time We Say Goodbye

There's death all around us.
We just don't pay attention.
Until we do.


The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.

Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.

As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed...
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36

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

All the beauty of modern physics in fewer than a hundred pages.

This is a book about the joy of discovery. A playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics, it's already a major bestseller in Italy and the United Kingdom. Carlo Rovelli offers surprising—and surprisingly easy to grasp—explanations of general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute...
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Recommended by Naval Ravikant, and 1 others.

Naval RavikantI’ve read that one at least twice. (Source)

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37

Ilium (Ilium, #1)

The Trojan War rages at the foot of Olympos Mons on Mars—observed and influenced from on high by Zeus and his immortal family—and twenty-first-century professor Thomas Hockenberry is there to play a role in the insidious private wars of vengeful gods and goddesses. On Earth, a small band of the few remaining humans pursues a lost past and devastating truth—as four sentient machines depart from Jovian space to investigate, perhaps terminate, the potentially catastrophic emissions emanating from a mountaintop miles above the terraformed surface of the Red Planet. less

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38
Roger Penrose, one of the most accomplished scientists of our time, presents the only comprehensive and comprehensible account of the physics of the universe. From the very first attempts by the Greeks to grapple with the complexities of our known world to the latest application of infinity in physics, The Road to Reality carefully explores the movement of the smallest atomic particles and reaches into the vastness of intergalactic space. Here, Penrose examines the mathematical foundations of the physical universe, exposing the underlying beauty of physics and giving us one the most... more

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39
Is it true that within a black hole is a polarity so intense that not even light can escape? But despite that, there has been several studies made by scientists about the subject. The most interesting fruits of the years of labor and observation have been recorded in the pages of this reference book for sixth graders. Go ahead and secure a copy today! less

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41

Ideas and Opinions

A new edition of the most definitive collection of Albert Einstein's popular writings, gathered under the supervision of Einstein himself. The selections range from his earliest days as a theoretical physicist to his death in 1955; from such subjects as relativity, nuclear war or peace, and religion and science, to human rights, economics, and government. less

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42
NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK

Answers to science's most enduring questions from "Can I break the light-speed barrier like on Star Trek?" and "Is there life on other planets?" to "What is empty space made of?"
This is an indispensable guide to physics that offers readers an overview of the most popular physics topics written in an accessible, irreverent, and engaging manner while still maintaining a tone of wry skepticism. Even the novice will be able to follow along, as the topics are addressed using plain English and (almost) no equations. Veterans of popular physics...
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43

George's Secret Key to the Universe

In their bestselling book for young readers, noted physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy, provide a grand and funny adventure that explains fascinating information about our universe, including Dr. Hawking's latest ideas about black holes. It's the story of George, who's taken through the vastness of space by a scientist, his daughter, and their super-computer named Cosmos. George's Secret Key to the Universe was a New York Times bestseller and a selection of Al's Book Club on the Today show. less

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44
"It would be hard to imagine a better guide to this difficult subject." --Scientific American
In Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, Lee Smolin provides an accessible overview of the attempts to build a final "theory of everything." He explains in simple terms what scientists are talking about when they say the world is made from exotic entities such as loops, strings, and black holes and tells the fascinating stories behind these discoveries: the rivalries, epiphanies, and intrigues he witnessed firsthand.

"Provocative, original, and unsettling."...
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45

Geons, Black Holes and Quantum Foam

A Life in Physics

He studied with Niels Bohr, taught Richard Feynman, and boned up on relativity with his friend and colleague Albert Einstein. John Archibald Wheeler's fascinating life brings us face to face with the central characters and discoveries of modern physics. He was the first American to learn of the discovery of nuclear fission, later coined the term "black hole," led a renaissance in gravitation physics, and helped to build Princeton University into a mecca for physicists.

From nuclear physics, to quantum theory, to relativity and gravitation, Wheeler's work has set the trajectory of...
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46

The Geometry of Kerr Black Holes

This unique monograph by a noted UCLA professor examines in detail the mathematics of Kerr black holes, which possess the properties of mass and angular momentum but carry no electrical charge. Suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of mathematics, physics, and astronomy as well as professional physicists, the self-contained treatment constitutes an introduction to modern techniques in differential geometry.
The text begins with a substantial chapter offering background on the mathematics needed for the rest of the book. Subsequent chapters emphasize physical...
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47
.".".an absurdly motivating book." -"A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author" "

Black Hole Focus is a handbook for intelligent people looking for step-by-step guidance in creating a focus so powerful it will transform lives.

Through personal (and sometimes embarrassing) stories, Dr. Isaiah Hankel breaks down the primary driver behind the actions of successful people: focus.

Divided into three parts, Black Hole Focus explains why you need a focus, how to create your focus, and what your newfound focus can do for you in the face of adversity.
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48

The Black Hole Book

The Black Hole Book is your guide to the mysteries of Deep Space in astrological interpretation. These celestial powerhouses are revealed as important formative agents, both in our character and in the events unfolding in the world around us. With extensive interpretive material on Black Hole interaction with each planet that can be applied to the birth chart, supported by detailed examples from celebrity charts and current events, The Black Hole Book also delves into cutting edge astrophysical theory to explain the scientific background on how these energy transducers operate and the effect... more

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49

Exploring Black Holes

What space objects can have millions of times more mass than our Sun, but they remain invisible? Black holes! Their gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. In this book, you'll learn about one of the amazing wonders of space. As part of the Searchlight Books(TM) collection, this series explores outer space and sheds light on the question What's Amazing about Space? Fantastic photos, kid-friendly explanations of science concepts, and useful diagrams will help you discover the answers!

-- "Journal"
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50

Black Holes and the Universe

Formed by the force of gravity, warping space and time, crushing stars and perhaps galaxies, black holes represent the most condensed state of matter in the universe. Their properties and significance are explored by a scientist hailed as Russia's answer to Stephen Hawking. less

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Don't have time to read the top Black Holes books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.

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51

Olympos (Ilium, #2)

Librarian's Note: Alternate Edition with same isbn & isbn 13: January 2011

THE EXTRAORDINARY AND MAGNIFICENT EPIC CONCLUSION TO THE HUGO AWARD-NOMINATED ILIUM

Beneath the gaze of the gods, the mighty armies of Greece and Troy met in fierce and glorious combat, scrupulously following the text set forth in Homer's timeless narrative, but that was before twenty-first century scholar Thomas Hockenberry stirred the bloody brew, causing an enraged Achilles to join forces with his archenemy Hector and turn his murderous wrath on Zeus and the entire pantheon of divine...
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52
While sleeping on the roof of his father’s hotel, thirteen-year-old Lucas Benes finds a baby alone and learns that the Good Company has restarted its profitable kidnapping business.

Brainwashed (Crime Travelers #1) tracks the secret urban adventures of the New Resistance, a network of international teenage spies. Headquartered in Las Vegas’s posh Globe Hotel, the New Resistance sends its Tier One kids to Paris on its biggest mission to date. Lucas leads a group of friends through the hotspots of Paris—from the catacombs to the Eiffel tower—in an all-out effort to sabotage a...
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53
The most Eloquent and inspired scienc writing of our time.An astonishing cast of more than ninety renowned writers provides thoughtful and lucid reflections on some of the major scentific topics of our time - from black holes and galaxies to artificial intelligence and chaos theory. Featuring essays, articles, and poems penned by notables in the worlds of both science and literature, this unique book will delight the science enthusiast and the inquisitive general reader alike. less

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54

The Life of the Cosmos

Cosmologist Lee Smolin offers a startling new theory of the universe that is at once elegant, comprehensive, and radically different from anything proposed before. In The Life of the Cosmos, Smolin cuts the Gordian knot of cosmology with a simple, powerful idea: "The underlying structure of our world, " he writes, "is to be found in the logic of evolution." Today's physicists have overturned Newton's view of the universe, yet they continue to cling to an understanding of reality not unlike Newton's own - as a clock, an intricate mechanism, governed by laws which are mathematical and eternally... more

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55
The contentious history of the idea of the black hole—the most fascinating and bizarre celestial object in the heavens

For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapes—not even light—seemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein and Hawking and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe.

...
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56
Can anything escape the gravitational pull of a black hole?
A True Book: Space series dives into the many components that make each planet distinctive and exceptional, as well as explore many of the other components that make up Space. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.

This book describes how black holes form, their different sizes, how scientists find black holes in space, and if anything can escape from its gravitational pull.
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57
"As went the marriage so goes the divorce" and "Stay away from the flypaper!" These were the most important words spoken to me when I was going through my own high conflict divorce some 13 years ago. My therapist's advice changed the way I thought about nearly everything that happened from that point forward and, most importantly, how I reacted to events during the 2-1/2 year divorce process. If you have been caught up in the long and painful path of a high conflict divorce you will probably agree with these statements. If you are just beginning the divorce process, please take time to... more

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58

Antimatter

Of all the mind-bending discoveries of physics--quarks, black holes, strange attractors, curved space--the existence of antimatter is one of the most bizarre. It is also one of the most difficult, literally and figuratively, to grasp.

Antimatter explores this strange mirror world, where particles have identical yet opposite properties to those that make up the familiar matter we encounter everyday, where left becomes right, positive becomes negative, and where--should matter and antimatter meet--the resulting flash of blinding energy would make even thermonuclear...
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59

A Relativist's Toolkit

This textbook fills a gap in the existing literature on general relativity by providing the advanced student with practical tools for the computation of many physically interesting quantities. The context is provided by the mathematical theory of black holes, one of the most successful and relevant applications of general relativity. Topics covered include congruences of timelike and null geodesics, the embedding of spacelike, timelike and null hypersurfaces in spacetime, and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of general relativity. less

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60
Invites us to explore the harmony of science and spirituality. This book offers a collection of practical reflections, prayers and meditations which unifies the worlds of science and religion, weaving profound spiritual lessons. less

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61
Before Man and insectlike Thranx had become allies, when the reptilian AAnn were just occasional raiders of Thranx colony worlds, one young Thranx agricultural expert lived a life of quiet desperation.

A dreamer in a world of sensible, stable beings, Ryo buried himself in his work -- reclaiming marshland from a tenacious jungle -- until he came across a letter describing a relative's encounter with horrid, two-legged, soft-skinned space-going beasts...
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62

Our Chemical Hearts

Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but the slo-mo, heart palpitating, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of love that he's been hoping for just hasn't been in the cards for him-at least not yet. Instead, he's been happy to focus on his grades, on getting into a semi-decent college and finally becoming editor of his school newspaper. Then Grace Town walks into his first period class on the third Tuesday of senior year and he knows everything's about to change.

Grace isn't who Henry pictured as his dream girl-she walks with a cane, wears oversized...
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63
"And everywhere the Humans went, they found life..."
This dazzling future history, winner of the 2000 Philip K. Dick Award, is the most ambitious and exciting since Asimov's classic Foundation saga. It tells the story of Humankind - all the way to the end of the Universe itself.

Here, in luminous and vivid narratives spanning five million years, are the first Poole wormholes spanning the solar system; the conquest of Human planets by Squeem; GUTships that outrace light; the back-time invasion of the Qax; the mystery and legacy of the Xeelee, and their artifacts as large as...
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64

Icarus at the Edge of Time

A futuristic reimaging of the classic Greek myth, as a boy ventures through deep space and challenges the awesome power of black holes. The beauty of the book lies in the images, provided by NASA and the Hubble Space telescope, and printed on board rather than paper. less

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65
On July 26, Arthur Gordon learns that Europa, the sixth moon of Jupiter, has disappeared. Not hiding, not turned black, but gone. On September 28th, Edward Shaw, a geologist working in Death valley, finds a mysterious new cinder cone in very well-mapped area As more unexplained phenomena spring up around the globeL: a granite mountain appearing in Australia, sounds emanating from the Earth's core, flashes of light among the asteroids, it becomes clear to some that the end is approaching, and there is nothing that can be done. In The Forge of God, award-winning author Greg Bear describes the... more

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66

The Collapsing Universe

Was the mysterious 30-megaton blast that flattened a Siberian forest in 1908 actually caused by a small black hole? Does matter drawn into a black hole reappear out the 'other side' as anti-matter, a sort of mirror-image of the universe as we know it? Could back holes explain the 'Big Bang'? Does their existence raise the possibility that matter can move faster than the speed of light? The noted scientist and science fiction author explores the exciting implications of black holes, taking the reader on an engaging tour from the atom's innermost core to the outermost reaches of the universe. less

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67
Winner of:
NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 for 2014 list

Humans have gazed into the night sky for thousands of years and wondered, What are those twinkling lights? Though the sun, moon, and planets moved across the background of stars, the stars themselves appeared immovable, forever fixed in constellations. Only when astronomers began taking a closer look did anyone realize what a fascinating, ever-changing universe lies beyond our solar system—red giant and white dwarf stars, spiral galaxies, wispy nebulae, black holes, and much more.
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68

Gateway (Heechee Saga, #1)

Gateway opened on all the wealth of the Universe... and on reaches of unimaginable horror.

When prospector Robinette Broadhead went out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he decided he would know which was the right mission to make him his fortune. Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Rob Broadhead has to face what happened to him and what he has become... in a journey into himself as perilous and even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he drove himself to take!
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69

Endless Universe

Beyond the Big Bang

Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision of the cosmos that “steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory.” —Wall Street Journal

The Big Bang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an...
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71
When the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Inspector Harry Hole is dispatched from Oslo to help hush up the case.

But once he arrives Harry discovers that this case is about much more than one random murder. There is something else, something more pervasive, scrabbling around behind the scenes. Or, put another way, for every cockroach you see in your hotel room, there are hundreds behind the walls. Surrounded by round-the-clock traffic noise, Harry wanders the streets of Bangkok lined with go-go bars, temples, opium dens, and tourist traps,...
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72
Black holes are the most extreme objects in the universe, and yet they are ubiquitous. Every massive star leaves behind a black hole when it dies, and every galaxy harbors a supermassive black hole at its center. Frighteningly enigmatic, these dark giants continue to astound even the scientists who spend their careers studying them. Which came first, the galaxy or its central black hole? What happens if you travel into one—instant death or something weirder? And, perhaps most important, how can we ever know anything for sure about black holes when they destroy information by their very... more

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73

Exploring Black Holes

Introduction to General Relativity

A concise, direct examination of general relativity and black holes, "Exploring Black Holes" provides tools that motivate tools that motivate readers to become active participants in carrying out their own investigations about curved spacetime near earth and black holes. The authors use calculus and algebra to make general relativity accessible, and use quotes from well-known personalities, including Einstein, to offer further insight. Five chapters introduce basic theory. The book also includes seven projects regarding the analysis of major applications. Discussions provide the background... more

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74
Advanced Heechee technology had enabled Robinette Broadhead to live after death as a machine-stored personality, enjoying his life by flitting along the wires from party to party with a host of other machine-people. But suddenly his decadent existence ends when an all powerful alien race intent on the utter destruction of all intelligent life reappears after eons of silence, and threatens the lives of all heechee and humans. Even Robin, virtually immortal and with unlimited access to millennia of accumulated data, cannot discover how to stop these aliens. It began to seem that only a face to... more

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75
In a handful of observatories around the world, scientists are waiting, and listening. Their quest: to be the first to detect gravitational waves, infinitesimal quakes that stretch and compress space-time and could add a brand-new dimension to our universal knowledge-allowing us to hear a sun going supernova, black holes colliding, and perhaps one day, the remnant rumble of the Big Bang itself... less

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76
Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes takes up where the artist's first volume, Monologues for the Coming Plague, left off. Like the Coming Plague, Black Holes is a creatively experimental laboratory, comprising a collection of free flowing stream-of-consciousness gags, strips, and drawings that slowly coalesce into an unexpectedly compelling and complex narrative. The hints of story that came together in Coming Plague are extrapolated and expanded upon and grow to incorporate some of Nilsen's other outre strips from the anthology... more

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78

The Little Book of Black Holes

Dive into a mind-bending exploration of the physics of black holes

Black holes, predicted by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity more than a century ago, have long intrigued scientists and the public with their bizarre and fantastical properties. Although Einstein understood that black holes were mathematical solutions to his equations, he never accepted their physical reality--a viewpoint many shared. This all changed in the 1960s and 1970s, when a deeper conceptual understanding of black holes developed just as new observations revealed the existence of quasars...
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79

Quantum theory confronts us with bizarre paradoxes which contradict the logic of classical physics. At the subatomic level, one particle seems to know what the others are doing, and according to Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle", there is a limit on how accurately nature can be observed. And yet the theory is amazingly accurate and widely applied, explaining all of chemistry and most of physics. "Introducing Quantum Theory" takes us on a step-by-step tour with the key figures, including Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrodinger. Each contributed at least one crucial concept to...

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81
Once the stuff of science-fiction novels, black holes, and their even stranger cosmological counterparts, white holes and worm holes, are now the subject of serious scientific inquiry. Physicists who formerly shunned these astrophysical eccentricities have begun to theorize about them and search for the physical proof of their existence with the zeal of converts. Their unavoidable conclusion of this research is that these "rips in the fabric of spacetime" are not only real, they might actually provide a passage to other universes and travel through time. Unveiling the Edge of Time tells the... more

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82
This volume has become one of the modern classics of relativity theory. When it was written in 1983 there was little physical evidence for the existence of black holes. Recent discoveries have only served to underscore the elegant theory developed here, and the book remains one of the clearest statements of the relevant mathematics.
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83
- A unique exposition of the foundations of the quantum theory of black holes including the impact of string theory, the idea of black hole complementarily and the holographic principle
bull; Aims to educate the physicist or student of physics who is not an expert on string theory, on the revolution that has grown out of black hole physics and string theory
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84

Extraterrestrial Civilizations

The master of science fiction speculates about life on other planets...

"Intriguing"--Publishers Weekly
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85

Black Holes

A Very Short Introduction

Black holes are a constant source of fascination to many due to their mysterious nature. This Very Short Introduction, addresses a variety of questions, including what a black hole actually is, how they are characterized and discovered, and what would happen if you came too close to one.
Professor Katherine Blundell looks at the seemingly paradoxical, mysterious, and intriguing phenomena of black holes. Outlining their nature and characteristics, both those resulting from the spectacular collapse of heavy stars, and the giant black holes found at the centres of galaxies, she separates...
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86

Black Holes

Describes the characteristics, formation, and study of black holes in our solar system. less

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87

How to Build a Time Machine

With his unique knack for making cutting-edge theoretical science effortlessly accessible, world-renowned physicist Paul Davies now tackles an issue that has boggled minds for centuries: Is time travel possible? The answer, insists Davies, is definitely yes--once you iron out a few kinks in the space-time continuum. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, Davies explains the theoretical physics that make visiting the future and revisiting the past possible, then proceeds to lay out a four-stage process for assembling a time machine and making it work. Wildly inventive and theoretically sound,... more

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88

Black Holes

Did you know nothing escapes a black hole? What else do scientists know about these mysterious places in space? Find out more in Black Holes. less

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89

Black Holes

Black holes are the most fascinating discovery of modern astronomy. They have already become legendary, and form the basis of many myths and fantasies. Are they really the monsters of science fiction which devour light and stars? Are they purely hypothetical objects from the theory of relativity or are they an observable reality? In answering these questions, the author takes us on a fabulous voyage through space and time. He explains how stars are born, light up and die. He takes us into the strange world of supernovae, X-ray stars and quasars. We travel on a journey to the very edge of the... more

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90
The author of Zero explains the scientific revolution that is transforming the way we understand our world Previously the domain of philosophers and linguists, information theory has now moved beyond the province of code breakers to become the crucial science of our time. In Decoding the Universe, Charles Seife draws on his gift for making cutting-edge science accessible to explain how this new tool is deciphering everything from the purpose of our DNA to the parallel universes of our Byzantine cosmos. The result is an exhilarating adventure that deftly combines... more

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91
This pedagogical introduction to the physics of black holes emphasizes the “membrane paradigm”, which translates the mathematics and physics of black holes into a form accessible to readers with little knowledge of general relativity but a solid grounding in nonrelativistic physics.  This is accomplished without resort to approximations or loss of content.  
Instead of treating a black hole’s “event horizon” as a globally defined null surface in four-dimensional space time, the paradigm views it as a two-dimensional membrane in three-dimensional space.  Made of viscous fluid,...
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92

Really, Really Big Questions About Space and Time

Really Really Big Questions From Space and Time is an unusual and fun introduction to space science and astrophysics. It explores those massive, complicated, weird and often unanswered questions such as Does the Universe have a shape? What makes sunshine? Do stars explode? How do you build a time machine? and Do aliens look like me? Your head will spin – with knowledge! less

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94
From the Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author of Woman, a playful, passionate guide to the science all around us
With the singular intelligence and exuberance that made Woman an international sensation, Natalie Angier takes us on a whirligig tour of the scientific canon. She draws on conversations with hundreds of the world's top scientists and on her own work as a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for the New York Times to create a thoroughly entertaining guide to scientific literacy. Angier's gifts are on full display in The Canon, an ebullient celebration of science that stands...
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95

Prisons of Light - Black Holes

What is a black hole? Could we survive a visit to one? Have we yet discovered any real black holes? These are just some of the tantalizing questions answered in this tour-de-force, jargon-free review of one of the most facinating topics in modern science. In search of the answers, we trace a star from its birth to its death throes, take a hypothetical journey to the border of a black hole and beyond, spend time with leading theoretical physicists and astronomers, and take a whimsical look at some wild ideas black holes have inspired.Prisons of Light - Black Holes is comprehensive and... more

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96
Comprised of the sons and grandsons of runaway American slaves, the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes was formed in 1895 in Halifax. Twenty-five years before the negro baseball leagues in the United States and twenty-two years before the birth of the National Hockey League, the Coloured League helped to pioneer the emerging sport of ice hockey. In an era when many believed blacks could not endure cold and possessed ankles too weak to effectively skate, these men defied the established myths. With colorful names such as the Africville Sea-Sides and the New Glasgow Speed Boys, the... more

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97

As She Climbed Across the Table

Anna Karenina left her husband for a dashing officer. Lady Chatterley left hers for the gamekeeper. Now Alice Coombs has her boyfriend for nothing … nothing at all.  Just how that should have come to pass and what Philip Engstrand, Alice’s spurned boyfriend, can do about it is the premise for this vertiginous speculative romance by the acclaimed author of Gun, with Occasional Music.
         Alice Coombs is a particle physicist, and she and her colleagues have created a void, a hole in the universe, that they have taken to calling Lack. But Lack is a nullity with taste—tastes; it...
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98

Artifact

Artifact

A small cube of black rock has been unearthed in a 3500-year-old Mycenaean tomb.

An incomprehensible object in an impossible place; its age, its purpose, and its origins are unknown.

Its discovery has unleashed a global storm of intrigue, theft and espionage, and is pushing nations to the brink of war.

Its substance has scientists baffled. And the miracle it contains does not belong on this Earth.

It is mystery and madness -- an enigma with no equal in recorded history. It is mankind's greatest discovery ... and worst nightmare.

It...

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