James Burke

Explores the accidents of time, place, and circumstance that culminated in the century's technological achievements: the computer, the telephone, the production line, the airplane, the atomic bomb, the guided rocket, plastics, and television

Connections

Companion book to the PBS television series which examines the relationship of science, technology, history, and world change.

The Day the Universe Changed

Using 100s of fascinating examples, James Burke shows how old established ideas in science and technology often lead to serendipitous and amazing modern discoveries and innovations.

How Renaissance Water Gardens Made Carburetor Possible - and Other Journeys

The Pinball Effect

In The Knowledge Web, James Burke, the bestselling author and host of television's Connections series, takes us on a fascinating tour through the interlocking threads of knowledge running through Western history. Displaying mesmerizing flights of fancy, he shows how seemingly unrelated ideas and innovations bounce off one another, spinning a vast, interactive web on which everything is connected to everything else: Carmen leads to the theory of relativity, champagne bottling links to wallpaper design, Joan of Arc connects through vaudeville to Buffalo Bill. Illustrating his open, connective theme in the form of a journey across a web, Burke breaks down complex concepts, offering information in a manner accessible to anybody -- high school graduates and Ph.D. holders alike. The journey touches almost two hundred interlinked points in the history of knowledge, ultimately ending where it begins. At once amusing and instructing, The Knowledge Web heightens our awareness of our interdependence -- with one another and with the past. Only by understanding the interrelated nature of the modern world can we hope to identify complex patterns of change and direct the process of innovation to the common good.

From Electronic Agents to Stonehenge and Back -- And Other Journeys Through Knowledge

The Knowledge Web

Robert Evan Ornstein

Traces the advantages and dangers of mankind's inventions and argues that the time has come to rethink their use

A Double-edged History of Human Culture

The Axemaker's Gift

Considers the nature of change, the qualities of the divine, and the origins of contemporary civilization, citing how divergent paths stemming from specific historical events subsequently converged in the modern world.

The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World

Twin Tracks

The Founding Fathers. Networked.

American Connections

Fifty Roundtrips Through History Technology Science Culture

Circles 

Identifies lesser-known coincidences linking each of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence and modern-day America, tracing how historical events and people gave rise to today's technologies.

From the bestselling author of The Knowledge Web come fifty mesmerizing journeys into the history of technology, each following a chain of consequential events that ends precisely where it began. Whether exploring electromagnetic fields, the origin of hot chocolate, or DNA fingerprinting, these essays -- which originally appeared in James Burke's popular Scientific American column -- all illustrate the serendipitous and surprisingly circular nature of change. In "Room with (Half) a View," for instance, Burke muses about the partly obscured railway bridge outside his home on the Thames. Thinking of the bridge engineer, who also built the steamship that laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable, causes him to recall Samuel Morse; which, in turn, conjures up Morse's neighbor, firearms inventor Sam Colt, and his rival, Remington. One dizzying connection after another leads to Karl Marx's daughter, who attended Socialist meetings with a trombonist named Gustav Holst, who once lived in the very house that blocks Burke's view of the bridge on the Thames. Burke's essays all evolve in this organic manner, highlighting the interconnectedness of seemingly unrelated events and innovations. Romantic poetry leads to brandy distillation; tonic water connects through Leibniz to the first explorers to reach the North Pole. Witty, instructive, and endlessly entertaining, Circles expands on the trademark style that has captivated James Burke fans for years. This unique collection is sure to stimulate and delight history buffs, technophiles, and anyone else with a healthy intellectual curiosity.

Fifty Round Trips Through History Technology Scien

Circles

Using the unique approach that he has employed in his previous books, author, columnist, and television commentator James Burke shows us our connections to the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Over the two hundred-plus years that separate us, these connections are often surprising and always fascinating. Burke turns the signers from historical icons into flesh-and-blood people: Some were shady financial manipulators, most were masterful political operators, a few were good human beings, and some were great men. The network that links them to us is also peopled by all sorts, from spies and assassins to lovers and adulterers, inventors and artists. The ties may be more direct for some of us than others, but we are all linked in some way to these founders of our nation. If you enjoyed Martin Sheen as the president on television's The West Wing, then you're connected to founder Josiah Bartlett. The connection from signer Bartlett to Sheen includes John Paul Jones; Judge William Cooper, father of James Fenimore; Sir Thomas Brisbane, governor of New South Wales; an incestuous astronomer; an itinerant math teacher; early inventors of television; and pioneering TV personality Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the inspiration for Ramon Estevez's screen name, Martin Sheen.

A Romantic Irish Drama, in Three Acts

Shannon Boys

Isaac Asimov

Jules Bergman

The Impact of Science on Society

The Day the Universe Changed presents a sweeping view of the history of science, technology, and human civilization and examines the moments in history when a change in knowledge radically altered man's understanding of himself and the world around him. James Burke examines eight periods in history when our view of the world shifted dramatically: In the eleventh century, when extraordinary discoveries were made by Spanish crusaders. In fourteenth-century Florence, where perspective in painting emerged. In the fifteenth century, when the advent of the printing press shook the foundations of an oral society. In the sixteenth century, when gunnery developments triggered the birth of modern science. In the early eighteenth century, when hot English summers brought on the Industrial Revolution. In the battlefield surgery stations of the French revolutionary armies, where people first became statistics. In the nineteenth century, when the discovery of dinosaur fossils led to the theory of evolution. In the 1820s, when electrical experiments heralded the end of scientific certainty. Based on the popular television documentary series, The Day the Universe Changed is a bestselling history that challenges the reader to decide whether there is absolute knowledge to discover-or whether the universe is "ultimately what we say it is."

Day the Universe Changed

Bad breath - whether chronic or temporary - cannot be effectively treated with "generic" bad breath products, such as mouthwashes, home-made rinses or herbal remedies. Most oral rinses available today - even 2nd or 3rd generation mouthwashes (otherwise known as oxidisers) - are in fact broad-spectrum antibiotics, that is, they do not target specific strains of bacteria and their effects typically last less than an hour. The same goes for home-made remedies, including hydrogen peroxide rinses, baking soda, tea tree oil, or any other natural or herbal "bad breath remedy".Because bad breath is often just a symptom of other conditions, infections or diseases that you may or may not be aware of (not necessarily serious), treating bad breath "directly" means you are only addressing a symptom, not the root causes of the problem. Furthermore, the causes of halitosis will be different for each bad breath sufferer, making each particular case unique, with different factors involved, and hence different strains of bacteria (or fungi) involved.Bacterial imbalances are present for a reason. Determining the root causes of your bad breath, and hence indentifying your particular type of bad breath, is what will enable you to use specific methods, tools, treatments and remedies that will target the actual root causes of your bad breath problem. The author will take you, step by step, through the process of identification of all the root causes (often multiple) of your bad breath problem, and provide you with the methods, tools and specific remedies or treatments that will target your particular type of bad breath.This is an in-depth, practical self-instructional guide that contains all the information and advice you need to effectively cure your bad breath:Proven strategies, techniques and little-known at-home treatments and remedies that will help you freshen your breath from day 1, whether your bad breath is chronic or temporaryFind out what type of bad breath you suffer from and the most likely factors that are contributing to your problemLearn the only reliable methods to test for bad breath at any given time and find out the exact areas where those malodours are originating fromDiscover the specific remedies you can use at home that will target your particular type of bad breath. Not "broad-spectrum" solutions but remedies that will work for youGet access to the most up-to-date research, plus the invaluable experiences and advice of a former chronic bad breath sufferer who has now been bad breath free for over a yearDo popular bad breath products work at all? If so, for how long? Shocking research that proves what works, what doesn't and whyLearn all the tricks you need to use to eliminate bad breath caused by: wisdom tooth infections, tonsil stones, URIs, sinus problems, post nasal drip, runny nose, allergies, gum disease, acid reflux, indigestion, diet... and many more!Find out the precise prevention methods you can use at home to keep halitosis at bay once you have already cured itEasy to follow instructions that will show you the exact steps you need to take to get rid of your bad breath once and for all.Ultimately, dealing with the underlying causes of your halitosis is the only approach that has the potential to cure it permanently. You can continue covering up those nasty odours, or you can take action now to finally address your problem.

James Burke

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