Introducing Kierkegaard (Paperback)

Dave Robinson

Oscar Zarate Oscar Zarate

Sren Kierkegaard is now regarded as the founder of Existentialism and the first moder theologian. Philosphy, in his radical view, was of no use unless it permanently changed people's lives. This is an account of the strange life and ideas of a being tortured by his attempts to change the priorities of Western thought.

Lovelock and Gaia (Hardback)

Jon Turney

Gaia is a theory of the Earth that has revolutionised how we see this 'pale blue dot': all living things are part of one great organism and life as a whole shapes the planetary environment. Lovelock and Gaia tells how that came about including the theory's long struggle to gain respectability. Opponents dubbed it mere metaphor or myth, suggested that it was either irrefutable or unnecessary, or argued that it was impossible on Darwinian grounds for life to affect environment on a global scale in any way which could be fruitfully coupled with natural selection. It is not yet clear where it will lead but its impact compares with the greatest of scientific revolutions.

Jon Turney teaches at University College London. Formerly science editor, then features editor of the times Higher Education Supplement, he reviews for New Scientist, the Guardian, the Independent and the New York times. He has been once winner and once runner up for the Association of British Science Writers annual awards.

Eureka! (Paperback)

The Birth of Science

Andrew Gregory

That man ever managed to develop to 'scientific' attitude to the natural world is one of true wonders of human thought. And answering the question of where and how this attitude began can help us understand the world we live in and the science that governs it. Science began with the Greeks. But is Greek science something we would recognise today? This superbly approachable book has won many plaudits since publication late in 2001.

Andrew Gregory is a young writer on science who also teaches in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College, London. He is the author of Harvey's Heart: The Discovery of Blood Circulation and Plato's Philosophy of Science.

Kuhn Vs Popper (Hardback)

The Struggle for the Soul of Science

Steve Fuller

In 1965 Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper met at the University of London to stage what has turned out to be the most momentous philosophical debate of the 20th century. At stake was no less than the soul of science itself…No discipline remained untouched by the consequences of this exchange. Was it really such a good thing that Kuhn's 'postmodernism' triumphed over Popper's 'positivism'? Kuhn vs. Popper is a provocative account of a landmark confrontation in which 'the wrong guy' won. A fantastically regarded author whom Icon are proud to have on board Touches upon every aspect of thinking about science in the 20th century Pacey, provocative and sure to receive media coverage

Steve Fuller trained in the history and philosophy of science, and is now Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick.

An Entertainment for Angels (Paperback)

Electricity in the Enlightenment

Patricia Fara

Electricity was the scientific fashion of the Enlightenment, 'an Entertainment for Angels, rather than for Men'. Lecturers attracted huge audiences to marvel at sparkling fountains, flaming drinks, pirouetting dancers and electrified boys. Enlightenment optimists predicted that this new-found power of nature would cure illnesses, improve crop production, even bring the dead back to life. 

Benjamin Franklin, better known as one of America's founding fathers, played a key role in developing the new instruments and theories of electricity during the eighteenth century. Celebrated for drawing lightning down from the sky with a kite, Franklin was an Enlightenment expert on electricity, developing one of the most successful explanations of this mysterious phenomenon.

But Patricia Fara, Senior Tutor of Clare College Cambridge, reveals how the study of electricity became intertwined with Enlightenment politics. By demonstrating their control of the natural world, Enlightenment philosophers hoped to gain authority over society. And their stunning electrical performances provided dramatic evidence of their special powers.

Patricia Fara is a Senior Tutor at Clare College at the University of Cambridge, where she teaches history of science. She is also the author of Newton: The Making of Genius (Macmillan, 2002) and Sex, Botany and Empire (Icon, 2003).

Sex, Botany and Empire (Icon Science) (Hardback)

The Story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks

Patricia Fara

The Manhattan Project (Paperback)

Big Science and the Atom Bomb

Jeff Hughes