James S. Trefil

Eric Donald Hirsch

Joseph F. Kett

Argues that American children are deprived of cultural literacy

What Every American Needs to Know

Cultural Literacy

Defines the people, places, sayings, and ideas representing essential information for literate Americans

The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy

Provides information on ideas concerning people, places, ideas, and events currently under discussion, including gene therapy, NAFTA, pheromones, and Kwanzaa.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy

Robert M. Hazen

Over 100,000 readers have relied on Trefil to gain a better understanding of physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth sciences, and biology. The book focuses on the great ideas in each field while showing readers how core scientific principles connect to their daily lives. The sixth edition emphasizes important themes and relationships, along with new real world connections. Scientific American has been added to the book along with completely updated examples. The presentation also employs a more visual approach that includes new illustrations and visuals. In addition, new problems help readers answer the big questions in science.

An Integrated Approach

The Sciences

Why science?

لماذا العلم؟

A national bestseller, The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy has been widely acclaimed for identifying and defining the core body of knowledge that no literate American should be without. Now in this newly revised and updated edition, the authors provide a comprehensive look at cultural literacy for the nineties. New entries reflect suggestions from hundreds of readers. The dictionary takes into account the growing consensus over the specifics of multiculturalism, the political and geographic changes in the world, and the new ideas and terms that flow constantly from scientific research and technological development. Twenty-three sections, each alphabetically arranged, cover every major area of knowledge. Within each section, hundreds of individual entries identify ideas, events, and individuals, explaining their significance in our culture and placing them in context. More than 250 maps, charts, and illustrations provide information that cannot be conveyed by words alone. A complete index enables quick reference to any topic. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy challenges us to find out more about what we know and helps us make sense of what we read, hear, and learn. It is a "must have" book for every home.

An illustrated grand tour of the universe, beginning in our own solar system before moving on to the Milky Way galaxy and finally on to the building blocks of the universe, including dark matter and dark energy.

Mapping the Universe and Beyond

Space Atlas

Robert T. Rood

Two scientists, chronicling past and current research concerning extraterrestrials, calculate the possibility of life in outer space and consider the chances that earthlings may be the first space colonists

The Possibility of Extraterrestrial Civilizations

Are We Alone?

An introduction to physics and such concepts as the scientific method, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, the Newtonian world, and the theory of relativity is presented in a format that views the science in relation to the development of Western civilization

Physics as a Liberal Art

One of the founders of modern quark theory employs minimal mathematics and nontechnical terms to traverse the eons and bring readers within the first millisecond of the Big Bang, 1983 edition.

Big Bang Physics from Before the First Millisecond to the Present Universe

The Moment of Creation

Essays discuss mountain formation, plate tectonics, continental drift, the creation of the earth, fossils, rocks, weathering, astronomical observations, and twisted trees

A Scientist in the Mountains

Meditations at 10,000 Feet

A noted physicist and popular science writer explains why the sea is salty, how bubbles form on the water's surface, where waves come from, and other curiosities. 1987 edition.

A Scientist at the Seashore

An alphabetically arranged handbook contains essays on two hundred key principles, from Kepler's laws of planetary motion and Mendel's laws of genetics, to lesser-known laws that explain everything from black holes to sunflower patterns.

An A-Z Guide to the Laws and Principles Governing Our Universe

The Nature of Science

Presents nearly one thousand entries and 750 illustrations on science and technology, with bibliographies after each entry and sidebars containing relevant facts.

James S. Trefil

Books

Your next favorite book is out there