Simon Winchester

Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought provoking history of the wind written in his edifying and entertaining style What is going on with our atmosphere The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes murderous tornadoes and cataclysmic fires Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by weather services around the world Atmospheric scientists are warning that winds the force at the centre of all these dangerous natural events are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead strengthening in power speed and frequency While this prediction worried the insurance industry governmental leaders scientists and conscientious citizens one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm To the energy industry rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind a vital source of clean and safe power Between these two poles wind as a malevolent force and wind as saviour of our planet lies a world of fascination history literature science poetry and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and Vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works In The Breath of the Gods he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives from

In the nineteenth century, two distinguished clever men become friends. But they come from very different backgrounds, one is a brilliant academic, the other is a madman and murderer. In spite of this they work together on one of the greatest works in the English language. An intriguing tale about the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary.

A delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter New York Times An ebullient irrepressible spirit invests this book It is erudite and sprightly

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2018 Bestselling author Simon Winchester writes a magnificent history of the pioneering engineers who developed precision machinery to allow us to see as far as the moon and as close as the Higgs boson

No empire in history built so variously as the British empire in India. The buildings there attest to the richness of an imperial presence that lasted--from the first trading settlement to the end of the Raj--some three hundred years. The attitude of the British to India was compounded partly of arrogance, but partly also of homesickness, and it shows in their constructions. Georgian terraces were adapted to tropical conditions, Victorian railway stations were elaborately orientalized, seaside villas were adjusted to suit Himalayan conditions, and everywhere the fundamental ambivalence of the British empire, a baffling mixture of good and evil, was mirrored in the imperial architecture. This book, now reissued with an introduction by Simon Winchester, was the first to describe the whole range of British constructions in India. The text and photographs illustrate these buildings not simply as physical objects, but as reflections of an empire''s mingled emotions. Stones of Empire charts an enterprise in architecture, engineering, and social adaptation unique in human history. `Review from previous edition ''...magical prose and marvellous photographs' Sunday Times

This volume celebrates the most dramatic and often the most dangerous places on the planet. It is divided into four chapters: earth, fire, air and water. Each section celebrates the natural world's most astonishing phenomena from the most active volcano to the driest desert.

La perfección no existe, pero los desconocidos ingenieros que se han empeñado en alcanzarla han tenido más importancia en nuestra vida de lo que pensamos.A través de anécdotas y ejemplos, teje la historia de la ingenieria de precision y hace comprensibles sus inestimables aportaciones: el avion, la lente de una camara Leica, las maquinas de rayos X, el telescopio Hubble, el microchip, el smartphone...Simon Winchester, venerado autor de bestsellers internacionales, hasta ahora no se habia publicado en español."Hipnotizante y fascinante. El Sr. Winchester es un maestro de la narracion, y todos los individuos, lugares y eventos sobre los que escribe apasionadamente cobran vida con exquisito detalle"New York Journal of Books

La perfección no existe, pero los desconocidos ingenieros que se han empeñado en alcanzarla han tenido más importancia en nuestra vida de lo que pensamos. A través de anécdotas y ejemplos, teje la historia de la ingenieria de precision y hace comprensibl