New Releases by William J Broad

UMA AVALIAÇÃO INÉDITA E IMPARCIAL DA PRÁTICA MILENAR Neste surpreendente livro sobre yoga, William Broad, praticante desde 1970, nos mostra, a partir da visão de um premiado e experiente jornalista do caderno de Ciência do New York Times, que, apesar dos enormes benefícios, os riscos da prática do yoga não podem nem devem ser ignorados. Uma obra que levou cinco anos para ser escrita, A Moderna Ciência do Yoga nos apresenta um amplo quadro que mostra mais de um século de meticulosa pesquisa e apresenta a leigos e praticantes uma visão imparcial dessa prática milenar. O livro celebra o que é real sem deixar de expor o que é ilusório. Descreve o que é edificante e benéfico e revela o que é controverso e muitas vezes perigoso, sem deixar de explicar os porquês. Lança luz sobre benefícios pouco conhecidos do yoga, como a melhora do humor e o estímulo à criatividade, e não deixa de nos alertar sobre os movimentos que podem aleijar e até matar. E, como é comum durante investigações científicas, alguns mistérios surgiram ao longo da preparação desse estudo inédito: seriam a animação suspensa e o êxtase sexual sem limites capacidades humanas latentes? Prepare-se para uma instigante viagem que vai leva-lo dos velhos arquivos de Calcutá até centros de pesquisa médica de última geração, de famosos ashrams a impecáveis laboratórios, de deliciosos estúdios de yoga com renomados professores a salinhas de curandeiros. O livro também descortina a burguesa indústria global do yoga, que atrai não somente cientistas curiosos como também fervorosos praticantes e embromadores carismáticos. Em essência: derruba mitos, apresenta benefícios inesperados e uma emocionante visão crítica sobre como essa prática ancestral pode - e deve - ser desenvolvida.

El yoga se ha convertido en el oxígeno del alma moderna que vive a toda velocidad por el ritmo de la vida cotidiana. Sus bondades recorren todo el mundo y cada vez hay más maestros que enseñan la disciplina. Sin embargo, esta creciente popularidad puede conllevar la banalización de la técnica y la exageración de sus efectos. William J. Broad, periodista científico y practicante habitual de yoga desde hace más de treinta años, se respalda en la ciencia para separar lo que resulta realmente efectivo de lo que sólo es una falsa creencia, y revisa con riguroso espíritu científico las supuestas transformaciones del cuerpo y del alma que produce el yoga: la curación emocional, la tonificación muscular, la remisión de las depresiones o la exaltación del placer sexual. Así, con un enfoque eminentemente práctico, Broad compila todo el conocimiento actual sobre el yoga e ilustra las principales posturas y técnicas que previenen lesiones y malas prácticas, centrándose en lo que la ciencia nos dice del yoga. «Este libro pretende superar la confusión que rodea al yoga moderno y explicar qué nos dice la ciencia al respecto. Desentraña más de un siglo de numerosas investigaciones para distinguir entre lo que es verdad y lo que no, qué ayuda y qué perjudica y, lo que es casi tan importante, por qué.»

A lead science writer for The New York Times—and lifelong yoga practitioner—examines centuries of history and research to scrutinize the claims made about yoga for health, fitness, emotional wellbeing, sex, weight loss, healing, and creativity. He reveals what is real and what is illusory, in the process exposing moves that can harm or even kill. A New York Times bestseller. The Science of Yoga draws on more than a century of painstaking research to present the first impartial evaluation of a practice thousands of years old. It celebrates what’s real and shows what’s illusory, describes what’s uplifting and beneficial and what’s flaky and dangerous—and why. Broad unveils a burgeoning global industry that attracts not only curious scientists but true believers and charismatic hustlers. He shatters myths, lays out unexpected benefits, and offers a compelling vision of how the ancient practice can be improved.

A gripping modern-day detective story about the scientific quest to understand the Oracle of Delphi Like Walking the Bible, this fascinating book turns a modern eye on an enduring legend. The Oracle of Delphi was one of the most influential figures in ancient Greece. Human mistress of the god Apollo, she had the power to enter into ecstatic communion with him and deliver his prophesies to men. Thousands of years later, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist William J. Broad follows a crew of enterprising researchers as they sift through the evidence of history, geology, and archaeology to reveal—as far as science is able—the source of her visions.

For decades, archaeologists and historians have debated whether the collapse of Minoan civilization was a result of a volcano eruption on the island of Thera. This article re-opens the debate with the recent discovery of Thera ash found by geologists proposing that the eruption was far greater than previously thought. (SLNSW Infocus item no. 2286).

In the wake of the anthrax letters following the attacks on the World Trade Center, Americans have begun to grapple with two difficult truths: that there is no terrorist threat more horrifying -- and less understood -- than germ warfare, and that it would take very little to mount a devastating attack on American soil. In Germs, three veteran reporters draw on top sources inside and outside the U.S. government to lay bare Washington''s secret strategies for combating this deadly threat. Featuring an inside look at how germ warfare has been waged throughout history and what form its future might take (and in whose hands), Germs reads like a gripping detective story told by fascinating key figures: American and Soviet medical specialists who once made germ weapons but now fight their spread, FBI agents who track Islamic radicals, the Iraqis who built Saddam Hussein''s secret arsenal, spies who travel the world collecting lethal microbes, and scientists who see ominous developments on the horizon. With clear scientific explanations and harrowing insights, Germs is a masterfully written -- and timely -- work of investigative journalism.

Explores the depths of Earth''s oceans to discover a long-hidden world of alien creatures, vanished civilizations, and lost ships, and describes the new technologies that make such expeditions possible.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter reveals how the father of the H-bomb sold the nation the pipe dream called Star Wars. Broad shows how Teller disregarded evidence, ignored colleagues, and continued to promote the Star Wars program. Ultimately, more than $25 billion was misspent on this system, still more a dream than reality. Photographs and line drawings.

SCOTT (Copy 1): From the John Holmes Library collection.