Hardcover. NY, Basic Books, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 280 pages. On the night of March 26, 1938, nuclear physicist Ettore Majorana boarded a ship, cash and passport in hand. He was never seen again. In A Brilliant Darkness, theoretical physicist Joao Magueijo tells the story of Majorana and his research group, "the Via Panisperna Boys," who discovered atomic fission in 1934. As Majorana, the most brilliant of the group, began to realize the implications of what they had found, he became increasingly unstable. Did he commit suicide that night in Palermo? Was he kidnapped? Did he stage his own death?A Brilliant Darkness chronicles Majorana's invaluable contributions to science -- including his major discovery, the Majorana neutrino -- while revealing the truth behind his fascinating and tragic life.

Hardcover. NY, Oxford University Press, 1st, 1994, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Pais turns his attention to the great physicist's life outside of science, with an informal, almost kalaidoscopic portrait of Einstein--his personal life and his public persona ("my mythical namesake who has made my life so burdensome"), his scientific contributions, and his thoughts on religion, philosophy, and politics, on Israel and Zionism, on the rise of Nazism and McCarthyism, and on much more. Pais offers a candid look at Einstein's troubled personal life--his two failed marriages, his first child Lieserl, who was born out of wedlock (and of whom all trace has vanished), his estranged son Hans Albert, also a scientist, who felt his father had abandoned the family, and his son Eduard, who gradually descended into madness. Of course, any book on Einstein must touch upon science, and Pais includes several illuminating chapters, one of which offers general readers an accessible explanation of relativity, and another traces the long road to Einstein's Nobel Prize (after being nominated almost every year from 1909 to 1920, he finally won in 1921--not for relativity, but for his work on the photoelectric effect). On the lighter side, Pais includes samples from Einstein's "curiosity file," in which he kept crank letters, marriage proposals, hate mail (one began "You are the prince of idiocy, the count of imbecility, the duke of cretinism, the baron of morons"), and the like. But the heart of the book is the final section, where Pais traces Einstein's lifeas seen through the media. Here we not only meet Einstein the living legend--receiving the keys to New York City from flamboyant Mayor Jimmy Walker, attending the Hollywood premier of City Lights with Charlie Chaplin--but also witness his extensive involvement in the issues of his day.

Hardcover. Bristol/Philadelphia, Institute of Physics Publishing, 1st , 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 330 pages, b&w illustrations. All physicists are familiar with Hooke's law of springs, but few will know of his theory of combustion, that his Micrographia was the first book on microscopy, that his astronomical observations were some of the best seen at the time, that he contributed to the knowledge of respiration, insect flight and the properties of gases, that his work on gravitation preceded that of Newton's, that he invented the universal joint, and that he was an architect of distinction and a surveyor for the City of London after the Great Fire. England's Leonardo is a biography of Hooke covering all aspects of his work, from his early life on the Isle of Wight through his time at Oxford University, where he became part of a group who would form the original Fellowship of the Royal Society. The author adopts a novel approach at this stage, dividing the book by chapter according to the fields of research-Physiology, Engineering, Microscopy, Astronomy, Geology, and Optics-in which Hooke applied himself. The book concludes with a chapter considering the legacy of Hooke and his impact on science.

Hardcover. London, Frank Cass & Co., reprint, 1967, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Three hardcover volumes, a facsimile reprint of the third edition published in 1857 with an index added in part three. Red cloth covers with gilt lettering in black box on spine. Previous owner's signature on each front fly leaf, otherwise clean. Fading to red cloth on spines.

Hardcover. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Volume 1: 403 pages. ISBN: 9780198250913 Volume 2: 375 pages. ISBN: 9780198250920Previous owner's name and information on flyleafs. Dust jackets unclipped, former bookstore's price tag on back covers of dust jackets. Some shelf wear to bottom of volume 1 dust jacket (see image). Black cover boards, gilt title on spines, excellent condition. Pages bright, spines straight, binding tight. Domestic shipping only.

Softcover. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press, reprint, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, like new. 371 pages. Written by noted quantum computing theorist Scott Aaronson, this book takes readers on a tour through some of the deepest ideas of maths, computer science and physics. Full of insights, arguments and philosophical perspectives, the book covers an amazing array of topics. Beginning in antiquity with Democritus, it progresses through logic and set theory, computability and complexity theory, quantum computing, cryptography, the information content of quantum states and the interpretation of quantum mechanics. There are also extended discussions about time travel, Newcomb's Paradox, the anthropic principle and the views of Roger Penrose. Aaronson's informal style makes this fascinating book accessible to readers with scientific backgrounds, as well as students and researchers working in physics, computer science, mathematics and philosophy.

Hardcover. Cambridge MA, MIT Press, 1st, 1970, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover, silver boards with white lettering on spine. In a worn dust jacket with chipping and fading. The 16 articles in this book were prepared for the Conference of Newtonian Studies, held at the University of Texas, 300 years after what Newton himself described as his best year (1665), when he returned to his hometown to escape the plague in Cambridge. Articles cover Newton's life and society, his scientific achievements, philosophical analyses of his scientific achievements, and Newton's influence. B&w illustrations. Mild soil to edges of front fly leaf, otherwise clean, no markings.

Hardcover. Montreal CAN, Septentrion, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a dust jacket with mild fade to spine, 221 pages illustrated in color and b&w. A study of the work of Jean-Antoine Nollet was an 18th century French clergyman and physicist who did a number of experiments with electricity and discovered osmosis. One of Nollet's first accomplishments was to draw new maps of the world, based on the results of recent Dutch and English expeditions. He was later involved in early experiments with electricity. Nollet taught physics to members of the French aristocracy and to the king of Sardinia. Profusely illustrated with scientific instruments of the time. cCean copy.