Exploring the interplay between philosophy and science, the book delves into the universe's formation before the Big Bang and its parallels to life. It presents a compelling narrative on biological evolution, illustrating how mammals evolved from ancient whales. The text also tackles longstanding mysteries such as gravity, warp drive, and cryostasis, applying scientific principles to transform these once-impossible concepts into plausible realities. This integration of ancient ideas with modern science offers a fresh perspective on our understanding of the universe.
A Times Book of the Month for readers of Golden Hill and Cloud Atlas.It is 1800, and the future of Chicago hangs in the balance, to be decided on the outcome of a game of chess. Win or lose, the result will reverberate through the next 100 years of history, and the players’ lives, the lives of their descendants, and the city itself will never be the same again …
The Wagner Clan by Jonathan Carr is the first thorough and balanced history of Germany's most famous family. For well over a century the Wagner clan has run the Bayreuth Festival and played host to many of the greatest and ghastliest figures in the arts and politics. Its members have also regularly battled one another - indeed, with its jealousy, greed, passion and intrigue the Wagner family saga is as riveting as any opera. Drawing on extensive interviews with members of the family and on both archive and recent material, Jonathan Carr - author of a highly praised biography of Mahler - presents a balanced but gripping portrait of the Wagners and their circle. He takes a fresh look at hotly controversial matters such as Richard Wagner's antisemitism and the family's role during the so-called "Third Reich". Not least he underlines the decisive roles played in Bayreuth over decades by two British-born members of the clan, both of them fervent admirers of Adolf Hitler.
Dopo La famiglia Winshaw, un altro caleidoscopio di invenzioni narrative e un'altra girandola di personaggi ora commoventi ora comici, in un dormiveglia caotico che non conosce riposo. In La casa del sonno si racconta l'avventura di un gruppo di giovani. Da studenti, nei primi anni ottanta, vivono tutti nella severa Ashdown: Gregory che studia medicina e ha la mania di spiare il sonno altrui; Veronica, una lesbica volitiva, ultrapoliticizzata e appassionata di teatro; Terry, che dorme quattordici ore al giorno e da sveglio sogna di girare un film che richiederà cinquant'anni di riprese; Robert, romantico studente di lettere, che scrive poesie d'amore per Sarah; e Sarah, appunto, intorno alla quale girano le vicende di tutti gli altri. Dodici anni dopo Ashdown è diventata una clinica dove si cura la narcolessia e nei sotterranei si svolgono oscuri esperimenti. È un autentico "castello dei destini incrociati", dove si avverano sogni e si dissolvono visioni; dove c'è chi dorme troppo e chi troppo poco, chi ama sognare piuttosto che vivere e chi non vorrebbe perdere un solo minuto di vita nel sonno. E, mentre si interroga ossessivamente sul valore e il significato del sonno, l'eterogenea comunità di studenti, diventata adulta, inciampa nel malessere, nella follia e nelle comiche incongruenze della vita.
A biography of the composer Gustav Mahler which examines his life and work, as well as the circumstances which led to his death in 1911, focusing on his last ten years. Includes a chronology of his life and work.
