Life on Earth arose nearly 4 billion years ago, bursting forth from air, water, and rock. Though the process obeyed all the rules of chemistry and physics, the details of that original event pose as deep a mystery as any facing science. How did non-living
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and n
In this fast-paced information age, how can Americans know what's really important and what's just a passing fashion? Now more than ever, we need a source that concisely sums up the knowledge that matters to Americans -- the people, places, ideas, and eve
A national bestseller, The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy has been widely acclaimed for identifying and defining the core body of knowledge that no literate American should be without. Now in this newly revised and updated edition, the authors provide a
James Trefil takes the reader on a thrilling tour across the borders of current scientific knowledge-from astronomy to genetics, from information technology to cosmology, the great contested questions that preoccupy researchers today and will become headl
A critically acclaimed and successful popular science author presents a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the latest scientific thinking about the controversial question: whether the human mind is unique or whether a machine could be built that
