Most Popular Books by John Gribbin

Time travel is a familiar theme of science fiction, but is it really possible? Surprisingly, time travel is not forbidden by the laws of physics - and John Gribbin argues that if it is not impossible then it must be possible. Gribbin brilliantly illustrates the possibilities of time travel by comparing familiar themes from science fiction with their real-world scientific counterparts, including Einstein''s theories of relativity, black holes, quantum physics, and the multiverse, illuminated by examples from the fictional tales of Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, Carl Sagan and others. The result is an entertaining guide to some deep mysteries of the Universe which may leave you wondering whether time actually passes at all, and if it does, whether we are moving forwards or backwards. A must-read for science fiction fans and anyone intrigued by deep science.

The day of ice and fire, that brings in its wake devastation to the world. Dr Robert Graham, noted nuclear physicist, has campaigned hard and long for disarmament. Now his patience is at an end. With an ill-assorted handful of desperate, like-minded ''terrorists'', he plans to hold the human race to ransom. His bargaining power is terrifying - nothing short of Ragnarok itself. The world governments must listen - or the countdown to nuclear winter has already begun . . .

Fire on Earth reveals that comets have been a continuing problem throughout geological time. It examines the controversial claims that there are ''periodic extinctions'' of life on earth linked to a recurring cycle of cometary impacts

A richly textured biography of Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle on which Charles Darwin was a passenger, explores his accomplishments and motivations, including his tenure as governor of New Zealand, his contribution to Darwin''s ideas of evolution, and his innovations in the field of meteorological science.

We share so much of our genetic material with other apes and it is clear that, like other species alive on earth today, we have evolved by the Darwinian process of natural selection. We can therefore learn about our own sexuality by looking at how sex works in other species. Gribbin and Cherfas put forward the challenging theory that males have outlived their evolutionary usefulness and include discussion of ideas such as the red queen effect (the need to run as fast as possible, in evolutionary terms, in order to stay in the same place) and the growing resistance bacteria have evolved to widely used drugs.

Genesis is history on its grandest scale, a brilliantly conceived and achieved chronicle of the evolution of man and the cosmos that adds new and provocative dimensions to our understanding of ourselves and our role in the Universe.

''Gribbin has inspired generations with his popular science writing'' Jim Al-Khalili A scintillating collection of short essays that really does cover ''life, the Universe, and everything''. From the mysteries of the subatomic world to the curious property of water that makes our planet inhabitable, master of popular science John Gribbin delves into the astonishing facts that underlie our existence. Some aspects of the quantum world really do seem impossible to ''common sense'', but have been proved correct by experiments. Other features of the Universe appear obvious, such as the fact that atoms are mostly empty space. But this familiarity hides the truly amazing truths underpinning these observations. And some things merely seem improbable but are also hiding a Deep Truth, such as the fact that the Moon and Sun look the same size as viewed from Earth. This book will change forever the way you view the world.

Inspired by the Eyewitness "lexigraphic" approach, the definitive text, detailed captions, and labels combine with many full-color graphics, photos, and 3-D models to show the landmark experiments, the complex equipment, procedures, and concepts in all fields -- from relativity to genetics to ecology.

Everybody knows the names of the great scientists, but how many of us know anything about their work, let alone their private lives? This easy-to-read series enables each of us to become an instant expert

Reports on the threats to the ozone layer as confirmed in the findings of the National Airborne Ozone Expedition (NOZE) in Antarctica in 1986. Discusses past and present experiments and studies on the ozone layer, including ways and means to present further damage.

The author of In Search of Schrodinger''s Cat chronicles the excitement currently surrounding the discoveries about the sun which have been made at an accelerated pace in the last ten years. 25 line drawings.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that “Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Count Rumford are the greatest minds that America has produced,” and indeed, Rumford was a peer of theirs, and arguably contributed more to the scientific canon, and yet is nowhere near as well known. Born in the British Americas as Benjamin Thompson, he died a count and a knight, and lived a fascinating, eventful life in between, founding the Royal Institution in London, inventing a better chimney (still in widespread use) for open fires, finding time along the way to invent the coffee percolator and the enclosed oven, and most importantly pioneering our modern understanding of heat. White Knight, Red Heat tells the story of this notable figure in book form for the first time in over twenty years. Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count von Rumford, was an American-born British physicist, government administrator, and a founder of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, London. His investigations of heat overturned the theory that heat is a liquid form of matter and established the beginnings of the modern theory that heat is a form of motion. Loyal to the British crown, he served as a spy after the outbreak of the American Revolution, but in 1776 he was forced to flee to London, leaving his wife and daughter behind. Knighted by King George III in 1784, Thompson introduced numerous social reforms and brought James Watt’s steam engine into common use... He was created a Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1791. Interest in gunpowder and weaponry stimulated his physical investigations, and in 1798 he began his studies of heat and friction, making one of the earliest measurements of the equivalence of heat and mechanical energy.

The title, Existence is Elsewhen, paraphrases the last sentence of André Breton’s 1924 Manifesto of Surrealism, perfectly summing up the intent behind this anthology of stories from a wonderful collection of authors. Different worlds… different times. It’s what Elsewhen Press has been about since we launched our first title in 2011. Here, we present twenty science fiction stories for you to enjoy. We are delighted that headlining this collection is the fantastic John Gribbin, with a worrying vision of medical research in the near future. Future global healthcare is the theme of J A Christy’s story; while the ultimate in spare part surgery is where Dave Weaver takes us. Edwin Hayward’s search for a renewable protein source turns out to be digital; and Tanya Reimer’s story with characters we think we know, gives us pause for thought about another food we take for granted. Evolution is examined too, with Andy McKell’s chilling tale of what states could become if genetics are used to drive policy. Similarly, Robin Moran’s story explores the societal impact of an undesirable evolutionary trend; while Douglas Thompson provides a truly surreal warning of an impending disaster that will reverse evolution, with dire consequences. On a lighter note, we have satire from Steve Harrison discovering who really owns the Earth (and why); and Ira Nayman, who uses the surreal alternative realities of his Transdimensional Authority series as the setting for a detective story mash-up of Agatha Christie and Dashiel Hammett. Pursuing the crime-solving theme, Peter Wolfe explores life, and death, on a space station; while Stefan Jackson follows a police investigation into some bizarre cold-blooded murders in a cyberpunk future. Going into the past, albeit an 1831 set in the alternate Britain of his Royal Sorceress series, Christopher G. Nuttall reports on an investigation into a girl with strange powers. Strange powers in the present-day is the theme for Tej Turner, who tells a poignant tale of how extra-sensory perception makes it easier for a husband to bear his dying wife’s last few days. Difficult decisions are the theme of Chloe Skye’s heart-rending story exploring personal sacrifice. Relationships aren’t always so close, as Susan Oke’s tale demonstrates, when sibling rivalry is taken to the limit. Relationships are the backdrop to Peter R. Ellis’s story where a spectacular mid-winter event on a newly-colonised distant planet involves a Madonna and Child. Coming right back to Earth and in what feels like an almost imminent future, Siobhan McVeigh tells a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of using technology to deflect the blame for their actions. Building on the remarkable setting of Pera from her LiGa series, and developing Pera’s legendary Book of Shadow, Sanem Ozdural spins the creation myth of the first light tree in a lyrical and poetic song. Also exploring language, the master of fantastika and absurdism, Rhys Hughes, extrapolates the way in which language changes over time, with an entertaining result.

In 1915, Albert Einstein presented his masterwork to the Prussian Academy of Sciences - a theory of gravity, matter, space and time: the General Theory of Relativity. Einstein himself said it was ''the most valuable theory of my life'', and ''of incomparable beauty''. It describes the evolution of the Universe, black holes, the behaviour of orbiting neutron stars, gravitational lensing, and why clocks run slower on the surface of the Earth than in space. It even suggests the possibility of time travel. And yet we think instead of 1905, the year of Einstein''s Special Theory of Relativity and his equation E=mc2, as his annus mirabilis, even though the Special Theory is less far-reaching. Today the General Theory is overshadowed by these achievements, regarded as ''too difficult'' for ordinary mortals to comprehend. In Einstein''s Masterwork, John and Mary Gribbin put Einstein''s astonishing breakthrough in the context of his life and work, and make it clear why his greatest year was indeed 1915.

2005 marks the 100th anniversary of Einstein''s three papers which were the basis for the Theory of Relativity, and that are referred to in the science community as the "Annus Mirabilis."

Examines global warming as a result of human activities against a broader background of natural climatic processes. British science writer Gribbin explains why the world is getting warmer, what the change in temperature and rainfall patterns will mean for human society, and what can and must be done to slow the pace of these changes. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

For Big Bang Theory fans, don''t miss this indispensable guide:COMPLETELY REVISED AND UPDATED SECOND EDITIONHow did the Universe begin? And how will it end?In this radically revised and updated edition incorporating the latest scientific findings, acclaimed science writer and cosmologist John Gribbin explores the origins of the Universe and considers its ultimate fate.Tracing the early attempts to formulate a theory of the Universe, he surveys the major players involved and the crucial technical developments on the long road towards discovery which led to the first detailed model of the Big Bang in the 1940s. The detection of tiny variations in cosmic microwave energy by the COBE satellite in the 1990s gave further support to the theory. John Gribbin explains how after many billion of years the Universe, which is now expanding, may one day recollapse into a mirror image of the Big Bang. Finally, taking into account his own recent researches, he reveals how an accurate measurement of the age of the Universe has helped to provide conclusive proof of the theory of the Big Bang.`A remarkably readable guide to the mysteries of cosmic creation''-Nature`Witty, entertaining and learned, his book is the work of an expert raconteur''-Economist`The best entree to the highly abstract and mathematical world of modern cosmology''-Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson