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Reviews
The ultimate challenge
The Energy Imperative: 100 Percent Renewable Now
, is one more of Hermann
Scheer’s contributions to the topic of renewable energies, and the last book he wrote
before his death in 2010. Scheer will be remembered as one of the world’s leading
advocates of renewable energy. He was a firm believer that climate change is not just
an environmental issue, but touches every part of our lives: peace, security, human
rights, poverty, health, hunger, mass migration, economics …
With this in mind, in this book he lays out his vision for Earth – a planet 100
percent powered by renewables – and examines the fundamental ethical and economic
imperatives necessary for such a transition. He introduces the topic of renewable
energy, goes on to explain the challenges faced in achieving a 100 percent renewable
world, the lack of alternatives to this type of energy, and continues through to the
technologies that are working today, and the policy and market conditions that would
allow them to flourish.
If you are an advocate of clean, safe, unlimited energy, this book is for you. The
Energy Imperative gives a practical, inspirational map for the next stage of the journey,
demonstrating why, in the words of Herman Scheer, the time for the energy transition
is now.
Karin Ranero Celius
The Day Without Yesterday
, written by Stuart Clark, brings to life the story of Albert
Einstein and George Lemaître, whose scientific theories underlie today’s understanding
of the Universe.
Set during the First World War, Clark plunges the reader into the struggles of
scientific endeavour in the context of a war-torn society. He charts the personal and
professional clashes that Einstein faces as he works towards a major scientific break-
through, and the fame that followed. Conflicts between his peers, and questions of
morality face Einstein, from the concern of his colleagues working on poison gas to be
used in the war, to the collapse of his marriage following an affair. Meanwhile, the
young priest and physicist Lemaître confronts Einstein with the idea of ‘a day without
yesterday’, and thus the seed for the Big Bang theory was planted.
Don’t be deterred by the prospect of complex physics for this is not a textbook,
instead this is a ‘docudrama’ style novel accessible to people with various backgrounds.
But even the most devout cosmologist will not get bored; the story adds emotional
depth to scientific theories so often taken for granted today.
This ­is the third novel in Clark’s ‘The Dark Sky’s Labyrinth’ trilogy that, together,
provide a unique and engaging account of how the Universe was observed from the
seventeenth century onwards. Each novel offers insight into the complex relationship
between scientific discovery, religion and society, and the losses and frustrations faced
by the scientists, along with their successes, which ultimately laid the foundations of
modern physics.
Emily Baldwin
The day without yesterday
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The first wings into space
When the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite in 1957, the Cold War intensi-
fied as the United States feared losing the space race.
The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the
First Wings into Space
tells the story of the hypersonic X-15, the rocket-powered aircraft
that paved the way for human spaceflight as the world’s first operational spaceplane. The
book commences with an inspiring foreword by Joe Engle, one of the most famous X-15
pilots other than the late Neil Armstrong.
Drawing on interviews with those who took part in the programme, Michelle Evans
captures the drama and excitement of cutting-edge aerospace research – from the devel-
opment of a variable-thrust rocket engine, to the dissipation of the heat generated at
speeds up to Mach 7, through to how to safely re-enter the atmosphere and glide to an
unpowered landing. This book tells the human story of the feats of science and engi-
neering that went into the X‑15 programme, many of them important for the later
development of the Space Shuttle. We are introduced to the X-15 pilots. Twelve men flew
this revolutionary plane, with eight of them reaching sufficient altitude to earn their astro-
naut wings. The X-15 Rocket Plane brings these pioneers, and the others who made it
happen, back into the spotlight, and to their place in the history of spaceflight. All in all,
this is an enlightening historical account that will be enjoyed by space enthusiasts, engi-
neers and historians alike.
Peter Clissold
The Sun at the tip of your fingers
Carry the Sun in your pocket! Developed in collaboration with NASA scientists, the
3D Sun
Classic App
provides a unique window to the Sun’s ever-changing surface. A 3D image of
the Sun can be rotated manually, and shows the position of NASA’s two STEREO (Solar
TErrestrial RElations Observatory) satellites, which provide most of the spectacular material
in the image and news galleries included in the app. Examine the surface of the Sun at
different wavelengths, watch amazing videos of colourful magnetic loops, spectacular
plasma rains, fiery solar tornadoes and stay up-to-date on current solar activity. Every day
there’s something new under the Sun!
Merel Groentjes
A record-setting spacewalker
In
Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA’s Record-setting
Frequent Flyer
, Jerry L. Ross, together with John Norberg, details his personal journey
towards becoming an astronaut and a frequent ‘space flyer’. From a very young age,
Ross decided he wanted to be involved in the exploration of the Universe. He went on
to obtain a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, and later joined
the United States Air Force. Finally, he embarked on what would be a long career at
NASA.
This book offers an insider’s account of the US Space Shuttle programme and the
construction of the International Space Station, but also Ross’s in-situ experiences of
his multiple launches into space, nine spacewalks, observing Earth from orbit and
witnessing the disasters of the Challenger and Columbia. The story is completed by
accounts of Ross’s life from the perspective of his wife and children.
This is a very informative book with the added inspirational story of a life
following the stars, and a must-read for anyone who ever dreamed of flying to space.
The book is available in print as well as Kindle edition.
Merel Groentjes
The University of Nebraska Press
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