David Baker

Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation

Shortest History of Sex

A wild—and satisfying!—ride through two billion years of sexual evolution. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. From the first microbial exchanges of DNA to Tinder and sexbots, how did sex begin, and how did it evolve to be so varied and complex in humans? What influence do our genetic ancestors have on our current love lives? And what might sex look like in the future? With acuity, humor, and respect for human diversity, The Shortest History of Sex reveals where the many facets of our sexuality—chemical, anatomical, behavioral, social—come from. Chasing down our evolutionary family tree, from the first aquatic creatures to primate societies, David Baker sheds light on our baffling array of passions, impulses, and fetishes, and guides us toward a clear understanding of one of the deepest, most abiding forces of human nature. The Shortest History of Sex also charts how sex changed for humans across the foraging, agrarian, and modern eras, showing how, even as our biology and sexual instincts have remained the same, the current nature of our sex lives has no historical or evolutionary precedent. The result is a revealing, utterly unique insight into history and human behavior—and the profound forces of nature and nurture compelling our most intimate relationships.

The Shortest History of Sex: Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation (Shortest History)

Sea Fever

Craig Benjamin

Esther Quaedackers

Routledge Handbook of Big History

A humorous and evocative debut novel about a food journalist's desperate attempt to save his career—and possibly, his marriage—by tracking an extremely valuable bottle of wine stolen by the Nazis over half a century ago. Ten years ago, Bruno Tannenbaum was a passionate food journalist with a respected newspaper column, a popular segment on the evening news, and a bestselling guide to relationships through food. These days, Bruno is a passionate 'has-been' living on his mother's couch, separated from his wife and daughters, eating his way through an ever-dwindling bank account, faced with the gnawing doubt that he'll never be the writer he once was. Then Bruno stumbles on the secret to a 'lost vintage' of wine, stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War and presumed lost to the world for good. Recognizing his one chance at reviving his career, he scrapes together his last resources and sets off on an exciting food-filled quest that leads him from the rolling hills of Burgundy to a raucous wedding in Moldova, to a Beaune Bacchanal, and the greying walls of a Russian prison, as he attempts to find this extremely valuable wine and prove himself as the writer, father, and husband he knows he can be. Vintage is an exhilarating debut that reads like a delectable food memoir combined with a comic travelogue, including mouthwatering recipes and wine pairings. It is a deliciously scintillating story.

A Novel

Vintage

Paul Hogan

Barbara Job

Sprechen die Deutsch? This guide aims to help you build your vocabulary and perfect your grammar using a structured, week-by-week course. Whether you are ordering the finest ale at the Munich Bierfest or exploring the country, this title aims to have you understanding and speaking German in just three months.

Teacher file extra resource

Key Maths

The Shortest History of Sex

How did time begin? What conditions led to humans evolving on Earth? Will we survive the Anthropocene? And is it really true that we're all made from stars? The Shortest History of the World follows the continuum of historical change in the cosmos - from the Big Bang, through the evolution of life, to human history. Combining knowledge from chemistry, biology and physics with insights from the social sciences and humanities, The Shortest History of the World takes a bird's eye view of 13.8 billion years. In this compelling and revealing book, David Baker traces the rise of complexity in the cosmos, from the first atoms to the first life and then to humans and the things we have made. He shows us how simple clumps of hydrogen gas transformed into complex human societies. This approach - Big History - allows us to see beyond the chaos of human affairs to the overall trajectory. Finally, Baker looks at the dramatic and sudden changes we're making to our planet and its biosphere and how history hints at what might come next. 'We have been the dominant species on this planet for the briefest flicker of our history, and until we understand that, we can't reckon meaningfully with the dramatic and sudden changes we're making to our planet and its biosphere.' -John Green

The Shortest History of the World

Profiling hundreds of space programmes and their different technologies, Jane's Space Directory enables you to identify thousands of different commercial and defence applications. Key objectives, developments and technical specifications of available vehicles and systems are reviewed, including the new generation of launch vehicles. Structured around the categorisation of functions and presented for quick comparison and evaluation, each entry comes with accompanying illustrations. Supplier and manufacturer listings help support your market research and procurement requirements. Key content includes: Government and non-government space programmes; Global space industry directory; Civilian operations; Orbital and suborbital launch vehicles; Propulsion; Commercial and military satellites; Planetary and space science; Human space flight; Launch listings; Contractors. For a complete listing of aerospace organisations and personnel around the globe see Jane's International ABC Aerospace Directory.

Jane's Space Directory 2005-2006

The Odyssey of the Idiots is an autobiography of the author with satirical tones discussing the politics and history that have led America to where it is today. Manuscript’s Strengths • The author uses an educated style and language that will appeal to an educated/scholarly audience. This language sets up the book to be for an educated audience who has some understanding of the topic and wishes to learn more regarding the issues discussed. • Including the glossary of terms in the back of the book was great on the part of the author to provide a tool for readers to fully understand the author’s terminology in the book. It adds a reference for readers to be able to refer to if they need further clarification of terms, which will assist in their better grasping the author’s meanings and message. • The author’s language holds a dramatic and descriptive flair that helps contribute to the engagement of readers in the text. It makes the author’s writing unique and adds something readers may not find elsewhere.

The End of the Odyssey of the Idiots

Is there life on Mars? Could humans survive on the Red Planet? These age-old questions have prompted many missions to Mars, and this informative manual covers the development, design, and engineering of three generations of Mars rovers. The Sojourner, which landed in 1997, was the size of a microwave; Spirit and Opportunity, both the size of a shopping cart, followed in 2004; and Curiosity, the size of a car, landed in 2012. With this illustrated guide, readers will learn how these machines work as well as what they have found and hope to discover – and about the possibility that humans may yet set foot on Mars.

Inside the Mars Rover

Miles Davis

The Giants of Jazz series is designed to provide a method for studying, analyzing, imitating and assimilating the idiosyncratic and general facets of the styles of various jazz giants. The Davis book provides many transcriptions, plus discography, biographical data, list of innovations, genealogy, bibliography and comments.

A Musical and Historical Perspective

The Jazz Style of Miles Davis

The big history of sex from early life to sexbots How did sex begin? How did it evolve to be so varied and complex in humans? What influence does our genetic ancestry have on our love life today? And what might sex look like in the future? Sex traces where all the facets of human sexuality came from, starting at the creation of sex approximately 2 billion years ago and chasing it down our evolutionary family tree – from dinosaurs to primates and the earliest humans – until we arrive at the present, revealing why humanity's baffling array of passions, impulses and fetishes are the way they are. From the basic chemical process of two microbes sharing DNA to the modern phenomena of Tinder and OnlyFans, author David Baker guides the reader towards a clear understanding of one of the deepest and most abiding forces of human nature. He looks at how sex changed for humans across the foraging, agrarian and modern eras, and how we arrived at a period in history where the present nature of our sex lives has no historical or evolutionary precedent. Baker then looks at the horizon to figure out where current trends may lead us, as humans navigate the brave new world of technology. The result is a revealing and utterly unique insight into history and human behaviour – and the dance between Nature and Nurture in society. With a foreword by Simon Whistler

‘Well-researched, superbly written, often punchy ... always entertaining’ DAVID CHRISTIAN, bestselling author of Origin Story ‘If you’ve ever felt that sex was confusing, messy or slightly ridiculous, this book is for you’ EMMA BYRNE, author of Swearing Is Good for You ‘David Baker’s wonderful book offers information, entertainment and insight’ SUSAN QUILLIAM, co-author of The Joy of Sex With a foreword by Simon Whistler THE BIG HISTORY OF SEX FROM EARLY LIFE TO SEXBOTS How did sex begin? How did it evolve to be so varied and complex in humans? What influence does our genetic ancestry have on our love life today? And what might sex look like in the future? The Shortest History of Sex traces exactly where all the facets of human sexuality stemmed from, starting at the creation of sex approximately two billion years ago and chasing it down our evolutionary family tree – from dinosaurs to primates and the earliest humans – until we arrive at the present phenomena of Tinder and OnlyFans, revealing why humanity’s baffling array of passions, impulses and fetishes are the way they are. Finally, it looks at the horizon to figure out where current trends may lead us, as humans navigate the brave new world of technology. The result is a revealing and utterly unique insight into history and human behaviour – and the dance between Nature and Nurture in society.

This rhyming, fun-to-read-aloud story is great for children ages 3 to 8 and takes them on a lyrical trip through an unusual town filled with whimsical characters brought to life in a creative and colorful style.

There's a Cricket in My Car!

"At its center, Heresy and the Ideal is based on Baker's sense of Romantic poetics, especially on how contemporary poets have applied, altered, or rejected certain Romantic principles. He uses the Romantic trope to measure the tension between passion and reason and between the problems of literary transcendence and the obligations of social engagement."--BOOK JACKET.

On Contemporary Poetry

Heresy and the Ideal

Lakshman Karalliedde

Robert Maynard

Virginia Murray

Norman HT Parkinson

Essentials of Toxicology for Health Protection is ideal as both a course book for students and a handbook for field professionals involved in responding to chemical incidents and local environmental concerns. Produced by Health Protection England, it offers a comprehensive and structured approach to dealing with toxicological problems worldwide. The text covers both the basics of toxicology and its application to issues of topical concern such as contaminated land, food additives, and water and air pollution. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field, making Essentials of Toxicology for Health Protection essential reading for all professionals in environmental public health, including: health protection consultants, specialists and trainees; public health practitioners; environmental health practitioners; environmental scientists; and staff of the emergency services, the water and waste industries, and other industrial and regulatory bodies.

A handbook for field professionals

Essentials of Toxicology for Health Protection

A complete history of the universe, spanning 13.8 billion years in an ultra-accessible, uncommonly illuminating, exhilarating chronicle of key events “Baker introduces us not only to the history of our species and our planet, but the history of our vast universe.”—from the foreword by John Green, author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our Stars In this thrilling history, David Baker captures the longest-possible time span—from the Big Bang to the present day—in an astonishingly concise retelling. His impressive timeline includes the “rise of complexity” in the cosmos and the creation of the first atoms; the origin of all galaxies, stars, and our solar system; and the evolution of life on Earth, from tiny single-celled organisms to human beings. Weaving together insights across the sciences—including chemistry, physics, biology, archaeology, and anthropology—Baker answers the fundamental questions: How did time begin? Why does matter exist? What made life on Earth the way it is? He also argues that never before has life on Earth been forced to adjust to a changing climate so rapidly, nor has one species ever been responsible for such sudden change. Baker’s grand view offers the clearest picture of what may come next—and the role we can still play in our planet’s fate.

The Unlikely Journey from the Big Bang to Us

The Shortest History of Our Universe

A concise introduction to all the key tenets of electrical and mechanical engineering degree course, written by former NASA engineer Dr David Baker. A Degree in a Book: Electrical and Mechanical Engineering is presented in an attractive landscape format in full-color. With timelines, feature spreads and information boxes, readers will quickly get to grips with the fundamentals of electrical and mechanical engineering and their practical applications. Covering Newtonian mechanics, nuclear engineering, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and more, this essential guide brings clarity to complex ideas. David Baker delves into the history and development of this far-reaching subject as well as the challenges of the future such as environmental responsibility. Complete with a useful glossary of key terms, this holistic introduction will equip students and laypeople alike with the knowledge of an engineering graduate. ABOUT THE SERIES: Get the knowledge of a degree for the price of a book with Arcturus Publishing's A Degree in a Book series. Written by experts in their fields, these highly visual guides feature handy timelines, information boxes, feature spreads and margin annotations, allowing readers to get to grips with complex subjects in no time.

David Baker

Books

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