Newton S Gift

In this portrait of scientist Isaac Newton, the author explores Newton's childhood, his intellectual competitions, his political escapades, and how his discoveries "unlocked the system of the world".

A “thoroughly surprising” chapter in the life of Isaac Newton, with a “vivid re-creation of 17th-century London and its fascinating criminal haunts” (Providence Journal). When renowned scientist Isaac Newton takes up the post of Warden of His Majesty’s Mint in London, another kind of genius—a preternaturally gifted counterfeiter named William Chaloner—has already taken up residence in the city, rising quickly in an unruly, competitive underworld. In the courts and streets of London, and amid the tremors of a world being transformed by ideas Newton himself set in motion, Chaloner crosses paths with the formidable new warden. An epic game of cat and mouse ensues in Newton and the Counterfeiter, revealing for the first time the “remarkable and true tale of the only criminal investigator who was far, far brainier than even Sherlock Holmes: Sir Isaac Newton during his tenure as Warden of the Royal Mint . . . A fascinating saga” (Walter Isaacson). “I absolutely loved Newton and the Counterfeiter. Deft, witty and exhaustively researched.” —Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao “A delicious read, featuring brilliant detective work and a captivating story . . . A virtuoso performance.” —Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind “Through a page-turning narrative, we witness Isaac Newton’s genius grappling with the darker sides of human nature, an all too human journey reflecting his deepest beliefs about the cosmic order.” —Brian Greene, author of The Fabric of the Cosmos “Levenson transforms inflation and metallurgy into a suspenseful detective story bolstered by an eloquent summary of Newtonian physics and stomach-turning descriptions of prison life in the Tower of London. . . . [The book] humanizes a legend, transforming him into a Sherlock Holmes in pursuit of his own private Moriarty.” —The Washington Post

Twenty-first-century scientists make shocking discoveries on an expedition to the prehistoric age in the Hugo Award–winner’s “mystery within a mystery” (Wired). In 2070 AD, anthropologist John Gribardsun assembles a team of scientists to travel back in time to the prehistoric world of 12,000 BC. Their unprecedented mission—one that could never be repeated—is to learn about the primitive Magdalenian culture. They are willing to risk anything to finally uncover the origins of human civilization. But they could never have imagined what their findings reveal . . . or the effects they will have on the future. After emerging from their timeship, the other members of the crew begin to suspect something out of the ordinary about their enigmatic leader. As Gribardsun adapts to their primitive surroundings with remarkable ease, it is almost as if he belongs . . . Time’s Last Gift is set in Philip José Farmer’s expansive fantasy world that interweaves the lives of Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, James Bond, Flash Gordon, and other larger-than-life characters.

As the United States enters the new century, technological advances have the power to transform commerce, the public sector, and how citizens interact. This volume, part of the multiyear Digital Promise project administered by The Century Foundation, examines emerging technologies including wireless telephones, electronic data transmission, and Internet communications and how they impact educational, cultural, and other nonprofit organizations. The book features a report prepared by Lawrence K. Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS, and Newton Minow, former chairman of the FCC and PBS, two of the leading intellectuals on public telecommunications matters. They offer specific policy recommendations for securing and protecting the public's interest in the ongoing technology revolution. Specifically, Grossman and Minow suggest creating a "Digital Information Trust," modeled after the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Acts of the nineteenth century. The trust fund would be financed by revenues from the federal government's sale or lease of electromagnetic spectrum and would be used to support the work of a range of educational and nonprofit groups.Other contributors include Les Brown (Fordham University), Marion R. Fremont-Smith (Harvard University), Richard Kimball (Project Vote Smart) and Mark Lloyd (Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy).

In the bestselling tradition of Freakonomics and Scorecasting comes a clever and accessible look at the big ideas underlying the science of football. Did you hear the one about the MacArthur genius physicist and the NFL coach? It’s not a joke. It’s actually an innovative way to understand chaos theory, and the remarkable complexity of modern professional football. In Newton’s Football, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Allen St. John and TED Speaker and former Yale professor Ainissa Ramirez explore the unexpected science behind America’s Game. Whether it’s Jerry Rice finding the common ground between quantum physics and the West Coast offense or an Ivy League biologist explaining—at a granular level—exactly how a Big Mac morphs into an outside linebacker, Newton’s Football illuminates football—and science—through funny, insightful stories told by some of the world’s sharpest minds. With a clear-eyed empirical approach—and an exuberant affection for the game—St. John and Ramirez address topics that have long beguiled scientists and football fans alike, including: • the unlikely evolution of the football (or, as they put it, “The Divinely Random Bounce of the Prolate Spheroid”) • what Vince Lombardi has in common with Isaac Newton • how the hardwired behavior of monkeys can explain a head coach’s reluctance to go for it on fourth-down • why a gruesome elevator accident jump-started the evolution of placekicking • how Teddy Roosevelt saved football using the same behavioral science concept that Dreamworks would use to save Shrek • why woodpeckers don’t get concussions • how better helmets actually made the game more dangerous Every Sunday the NFL shares a secret with only its savviest fans: The game isn’t just a clash of bodies, it’s a clash of ideas. The greatest minds in football have always possessed an instinctual grasp of science, understanding the big ideas and gritty realities that inform the game’s rich past, as well as its increasingly uncertain future. Blending smart reporting, counterintuitive creativity, and compelling narrative, Newton’s Football takes gridiron analysis to the next level, giving fans a book that entertains, enlightens, and explains the game anew. Praise for Newton’s Football “It was with great interest that I read Newton’s Football. I’m a fan of applying of science to sport and Newton’s Football truly delivers. The stories are as engaging as they are informative. This is a great read for all football fans.”—Mark Cuban “A delightfully improbable book putting science nerds and sports fans on the same page.”—Booklist “This breezily-written but informative book should pique the interest of any serious football fan in the twenty-first century.”—The American Spectator “The authors have done a worthy job of combining popular science and sports into a work that features enough expertise on each topic to satisfy nerds and jocks alike. . . . The writers succeed in their task thanks to in-depth scientific knowledge, a wonderful grasp of football’s past and present, interviews with a wide array of experts, and witty prose. . . . [Newton’s Football is] fun and thought-provoking, proving that football is a mind game as much as it is a ball game.”—Publishers Weekly

The first ever Biography of Robert Newton... "He was never an actor, he was always like that, a little devil...!" The man laughs; laughter in his voice and in his eyes, glad at the rich memory. Lamorna, Cornwall, June 2005. From an idyll Cornish childhood to a desperate death amidst the Hollywood elite. Cowboy, beach-bum, loaded and flat broke. He survived the bloodiest naval arena in the second world war; married four times he failed as a husband and a father. He starred in dozens of films, dozens of plays. Newton was more than an actor, yet he is the quintessential pirate, Disney's 'Long John Silver', is the brutal 'Bill Sykes' in Oliver Twist. Farmer, tax exile, he ran his own theatre and loved Rolls Royces. In America and Australia. Generous, gregarious, needful, lost, he swept through life and left people reeling in his wake; Olivier, Burton, Coward, Wayne. Laughing, infected with his joyous lust for life. He hid discretion under a coat of folly, but he was the man who would tell you, tell everybody, loudly, that the Emperor was naked...

With his critically acclaimed best-sellers The Mathematical Toursist and Islands of Truth, Ivars Peterson took readers to the frontiers of modern mathematics. His new book provides an up-to-date look at one of science's greatest detective stories: the search for order in the workings of the solar system. In the late 1600s, Sir Isaac Newton provided what astronomers had long sought: a seemingly reliable way of calculating planetary orbits and positions. Newton's laws of motion and his coherent, mathematical view of the universe dominated scientific discourse for centuries. At the same time, observers recorded subtle, unexpected movements of the planets and other bodies, suggesting that the solar system is not as placid and predictable as its venerable clockwork image suggests. Today, scientists can go beyond the hand calculations, mathematical tables, and massive observational logs that limited the explorations of Newton, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and others. Using supercomputers to simulate the dynamics of the solar system, modern astronomers are learning more about the motions they observe and uncovering some astonishing examples of chaotic behavior in the heavens. Nonetheless, the long-term stability of the solar system remains a perplexing, unsolved issue, with each step toward its resolution exposing additional uncertainties and deeper mysteries. To show how our view of the solar system has changed from clocklike precision to chaos and complexity, Newton's Clock describes the development of celestial mechanics through the ages--from the star charts of ancient navigators to the seminal discoveries of the 17th centure; from the crucial work of Poincaré to the startling, sometimes controversial findings and theories made possible by modern mathematics and computer simulations. The result makes for entertaining and provocative reading, equal parts science, history, and intellectual adventure.