Popular Science

Powells.com Staff Pick
"Let us try a creative experiment," Alan Weisman proposes on page three: If humans disappeared from earth, what would happen? To your home, for example. To our cities, farms, and oceans. To the animals that remain. Or to the billion tons of plastic we'd... (read more)

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Electronic games have established a huge international market, significantly outselling non-digital games; people spend more money on The Sims than on andquot;Monopolyandquot; or even on andquot;Magic: the Gathering.andquot; Yet it is widely believed... (read more)

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Gribbin's classic 150,000-copy bestseller In Search of Schrodinger's Cat explained the mysterious and confounding world of quantum mechanics. Now, in this long-awaited sequel, he shows how dramatic improvements in experimental techniques and fascinating... (read more)

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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... (read more)

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Tancer searches deep inside the massive database of online intelligence to reveal the naked truth and unexpected insights about how people use the Web, navigate to sites, and search for information — and what that says about individuals and their... (read more)

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In this jargon-free review of one of the most fascinating topics in modern science, acclaimed science writer, Kitty Ferguson, examines the discovery of black holes, their nature, and what they can teach us about the mysteries of the universe. In search... (read more)

Powells.com Staff Pick
A revelation for music buffs and science geeks — and all the better if you happen to be both. How do memory and music work together? What makes timbre? How do writers like Lennon and McCartney, or John Coltrane and Miles Davis, manipulate our... (read more)

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The nightly news and conventional wisdom tell us that things are bad and getting worse. Yet despite dire predictions, scientists see many good things on the horizon. John Brockman, publisher of Edge (www.edge.org), the influential online salon, recently... (read more)

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The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious examples. Here, leading thinkers discuss ideas - whether they... (read more)

Powells.com Staff Pick
This learned and amusing work covers the origin of the universe to the human genome. A welcome journey with Bryson in typical wise and witty fashion. Recommended by... (read more)

Powells.com Staff Pick
In her remarkable debut, Stiff, Mary Roach explored what happens to the body after death, and in the process brought the corpse to glittering life. In her follow up, she stakes out similar terrain. What happens to the soul after death? And how can you... (read more)

Powells.com Staff Pick
"Brian Greene presents the bizarre world of quantum mechanics and string theory using language accessible to all while taking the reader on an exciting journey through a truly unusual universe." Blane, Powells... (read more)