Interesting anecdotes and engaging tales make science fun, meaningful, and accessible. Separating sense from nonsense and fact from myth, these essays cover everything from the ups of helium to the downs of drain cleaners and provide answers to numerous mysteries, such as why bug juice is used to color ice cream and how spies used secret inks. Mercury in teeth, arsenic in water, lead in the environment, and aspartame in food are discussed. Mythbusters include the fact that Edison did not invent the lightbulb and that walking on hot coals does not require paranormal powers. The secret life of bagels is revealed, and airbags, beer, and soap yield their mysteries. These and many more surprising, educational, and entertaining commentaries show the relevance of science to everyday life.
This book is an outstanding addition to the Dr. Joe books. For scientists AND novices alike, this book will entertain you with well written and down to earth stories about one of the most mystifying and misunderstood fields of study in the world. Best of all, the information in this book is not unreachable...but it is based on items that we encounter in day to day life. An entertaining and stimulating read for the inner curiosity that we all have!
The much-loved tale read by generations of children, now annotated and with over one hundred stunning illustrations.
Frances Hodgson Burnett was famous in her time for her adult novels and her forays into children's literature with Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess. The Secret Garden, her story of an orphan girl who moves from India to the British countryside, has become a favorite book of every generation thereafter. Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, the author of the definitive biography of Burnett, brings out aspects of Burnett's life that led her to write the book, details of the Victorian England time period, attitudes toward children, and Burnett's spiritual leanings.
Secret Codes (Penguin Active Reading Series - Level 4 Intermediate) For thousands of years people have used codes and ciphers to keep secrets from people who will do anything to learn them. How did secret messages cause a queen to lose her head? How have lost languages finally been understood? How did one little-known language help a country win a war? Read this book and find out.
Set in Leningrad in 1941 against Hitler's invasion of Russia, this story tells of the impossible love between a Russian girl, Tatiana, and a young officer named Alexander. It is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart and it carries a secret that could mean death for anyone who hears it.
James Watson, of Watson and Crick fame. He and his co-author Andrew Berry have produced a clear and easygoing history of genetics, from Mendel through genome sequencing. Watson offers readers a sense of immediacy, a behind-the scenes familiarity with some of the most exciting developments in modern science.
Watson J. 
