Critical Mass
How One Thing Leads to Another
$40.31
- Paperback
656 pages
- Release Date
1 April 2005
Summary
The winner of the Aventis Prize for Science Books, this is a fascinating exploration of the age-old question—are there ‘laws of nature’ that guide human affairs? Is there anything inevitable about the ways humans behave and organize themselves? Do we have complete freedom in creating our societies, or are we trapped by ‘human nature’? Is there a ‘physics of society’? Philip Ball’s investigation into human nature ranges from Hobbes and Adam Smith to modern work on traffic flow and market tradi…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780099457862 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0099457865 |
| Author: | Philip Ball |
| Publisher: | Cornerstone |
| Imprint: | Arrow Books Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 656 |
| Release Date: | 1 April 2005 |
| Weight: | 444g |
| Dimensions: | 196mm x 130mm x 43mm |
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Critics Review
Exquisitely produced and painstakingly researched… Ball writes patiently and eloquently.. Exciting… A rousing call-to-arms, and an elegant answer to the shallow tradition of British empiricism.
Exquisitely produced and painstakingly researched… Ball writes patiently and eloquently.. Exciting… A rousing call-to-arms, and an elegant answer to the shallow tradition of British empiricism. * Independent *In his fascinating new book, Critical Mass, Philip Ball tells the story of this research in a comprehensive and often captivating way… Ball delves far beyond today’s headlines… Impressively clear and breathtaking in scope… Substantial, impeccably researched and…persuasive. For anyone who would like to learn about the intellectual ferment at the surprising junction of physics and social science, Critical Mass is the place to start. * Nature *Lucid, accessible and engaging… Ball makes a persuasive, comprehensive case and it’s a welcome antidote to popular individualistic thought. * Glasgow Herald *Critical Mass fizzes with ideas and insights * The Guardian *more than a book, this in an intellectual curiosity * Independent on Sunday *Lucid, accessible and engaging * Glasgow Herald *A dazzlingly informed book… I can promise you’ll be amazed * Bill Bryson, Daily Express *
About The Author
Philip Ball
Philip Ball writes regularly in the scientific and popular media and worked for many years as an editor for physical sciences at Nature. His books cover a wide range of scientific and cultural phenomena, and include Critical Mass- How One Thing Leads To Another (winner of the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books), The Music Instinct, Curiosity- How Science Became Interested in Everything, Serving The Reich- The Struggle for the Soul of Science Under Hitler and Invisible- The history of the Unseen from Plato to Particle Physics.
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