Sam Kean Books

From the author of the bestsellers The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist's Thumb, fascinating tales of the brain and the history of neuroscience. Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike-strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations that took place afterward, altering victims' personalities. An injury to one section can leave a person unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler, pedophile, or liar. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain's secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible.

For centuries, scientists had only one way to study the brain: wait for misfortune to strike - strokes, seizures, infections, lobotomies, horrendous accidents, phantom limbs, Siamese twins - and see how the victims changed afterwards. In many cases their survival was miraculous, and observers marvelled at the transformations that took place when different parts of the brain were destroyed. Parents suddenly couldn't recognise their children. Pillars of the community became pathological liars and paedophiles. Some people couldn't speak but could still sing. Others couldn't read but could write. The stories of these people laid the foundations of modern neuroscience and, century by century, key cases taught scientists what every last region of the brain did. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explores the brain's secret passageways and recounts the forgotten tales of the ordinary individuals whose struggles, resilience and deep humanity made neuroscience possible.

A round-the-globe journey through the periodic table explains how the air people breathe reflects the world's history, tracing the origins and ingredients of the atmosphere to explain air's role in reshaping continents, steering human progress, and powering revolutions

New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean tells the incredible story of how a renegade group of spies kept Hitler from obtaining his ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb.

** GUARDIAN SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 ** 'Popular science at its best' Mail on Sunday 'Eminently accessible and enjoyable' Observer With every breath, you literally inhale the history of the world. On the ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar died of stab wounds in the Roman Senate, but the story of his last breath is still unfolding. In fact, you're probably inhaling some of it now. Of the sextillions of molecules entering or leaving your lungs at this moment, some might also bear traces of Cleopatra's perfumes, German mustard gas, particles exhaled by dinosaurs or emitted by atomic bombs, even remnants of stardust from the universe's creation. In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe and across time to tell the epic story of the air we breathe.

Obsession in the scientific community can lead to dangerous consequences, as illustrated in this true story. Bestselling author Sam Kean explores how ambition can drive otherwise rational individuals to breach ethical boundaries and commit crimes, all in the pursuit of knowledge. The narrative delves into the darker side of science, revealing the potential for noble intentions to warp into sinister actions when the pursuit of discovery becomes an all-consuming obsession.

BASNW 2014 : [A] thought provoking, perspective shifting edition of a consistently strong series. - Publishers Weekly The book is filled with excellent, thoughtful articles...Engaging and thought-provoking. - The Examiner This is not a book geared for science nerds, this is reading for anyone interested in life...You will start seeing the world and the universe from new perspectives. - EcoLit Books BASNW 2013 : An excellent introduction to the key issues in science today. -PD Smith, The Guardian BASNW 2012 : There is so much we don't know, which leads us to make so many irrational decisions that we need scientists and science writers to share their inquiries and discoveries in welcoming and lucid prose. Stellar examples of just this sort of cogent and compelling writing sustains this invaluable and exciting series. - Booklist BASNW 2011 : Don't expect this installment of the popular Best American Science and Nature Writing series to be forbiddingly technical. On her website, guest editor Mary Roach confesses, 'I often write about science, though I don't have a science degree and must fake my way through interviews with experts I can't understand.' With that winning unpretentiousness, Roach seems a perfect choice to select science and nature articles that general readers can enjoy. -Barnes & Noble

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium (Cd, 48)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history? The periodic table is one of our crowning scientific achievements, but it's also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, betrayal and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, gold and every single element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. Why did a little lithium (Li, 3) help cure poet Robert Lowell of his madness? And how did gallium (Ga, 31) become the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Disappearing Spoon has the answers, fusing science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, discovery and alchemy, from the big bang through to the end of time

Did the human race almost go extinct? Can genetics explain a cat lady's love for felines? And how did the right combination of genes create the exceptionally flexible thumbs and fingers of a truly singular violinist? This title explains how genetics has shaped our past and how DNA will determine humankind's future.

Originally published in 1967 The Pearl provides a close examination of the poem The Pearl. The main themes are established through detailed analysis of the poem, which is seen as much more than either a lament for an individual or the mere figurative presentation of an idea.