Overview

Admit it. When you hear the word neuroscience, you expect something abstract and remote, very complex, of little practical value. But this time…it is personal.

In a highly anticipated, three-part series airing on the National Geographic Channel in Fall 2011, National Geographics Brainworks makes YOU the test subject in an array of astonishing challenges and experiments. Your brain will be stimulated, fooled, and ultimately amazed, as scientists and other experts show you how this three pound blob of gray matter effectively makes you, you.

The television program brings together a crack team of scientists and researchers from a wide range of fields, including neurology, psychology, and opthamology. Awareness expert Dan Simons and memory expert Elizabeth Loftus are just two of the notables who lend their considerable brainpower to this unprecedented project. The program also draws on the know how of those who traffic in brain tricks illusionists such as David Copperfield and Apollo Robbins and artists such as color expert Beau Lotto to bring each mind bending illusion to life.

The captivating companion book further messes with your head through the visual illusions discovered and perfected by masters of fine art as well as through deceptively simple illustrations that are finely crafted by psychologists to highlight the way we take in and process the world around us.

In three sections Seeing, Thinking, and Being you will see for yourself why these visual illusions and experiments hoodwink the brain. You will find out how the structure of the eye influences what you see. And you will think of events that may not have actually happened, in order to learn how the mind can create a false memory.

Rather than simply displaying a collection of puzzlers or visual illusions, each chapter guides you through a series of perceptual and thought experiments firsthand and then walks you through your brain reaction in clear, user friendly language providing every reader with a compelling personal interest in finding out why his or her mind acts the way it does.

Smart, exciting, and deeply engaging, Brainworks pulls you in, manipulates your mind, and leaves you with a better understanding as well as a richer appreciation of the mental marvels that we take for granted.

Author Information

Michael Sweeney, a graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, received his Ph.D. in Journalism from Ohio Universitys E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and his Masters in Journalism at the University of North Texas. He reported for nationalgeographic.com on Dr. Robert Ballards Titanic expedition. Sweeneys numerous books include The Ultimate Survival Book, Peace: The Biography of a Symbol, God Grew Tired of Us, and Mind: The Complete Brain.

A member of the exclusive club of world famous magicians, David Copperfield is known for staging whopper illusions, including making the Statue of Liberty disappear before a live audience and millions of TV viewers. In addition to performing worldwide, he has had a hit on Broadway (Dreams and Nightmares), founded an organization to help rehabilitate disabled people (Project Magic), and published books (Beyond Imagination and David Copperfields Tales of the Impossible).

Overview

New advances in brain science will directly affect our lives, from the courtroom to the classroom to the living room. Cerebrum has long been the leading magazine for distilling these developments into concise, intelligent prose accessible to a general reader as a result, its articles by scientists and scholars are often cited in prominent publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and the Washington Post. Assembled here is a new array of articles from Cerebrums Web edition that collects the most cutting edge developments in brain science in one essential volume.

The featured articles offer thought-provoking analyses and expert perspectives on such topics as the causes and effects of identity disorder, the dangers of unidentified traumatic brain injury, and explanations for why the mind is sometimes foggy after heart surgery. Other timely articles explore the brain and politics, conflicts of interest in science, the use of the technology to map brain connections, and the pros and cons of screening for childhood disorders. Top scientists and scholars including neuroscientist Guy McKhann, computational neuroscientist Sebastian Seung, developmental psychologist Jerome Kagan, and neurologist Stephen L. Hauser clearly and concisely explain these and many other exciting and pertinent developments. In addition, the foreword by Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health, offers a fascinating way of conceptualizing psychological disorders as disorders of the brain.

An absorbing and readable compendium, Cerebrum 2009 provides vital insight into the cognitive human condition and shows how advances in medicine and neuroscience can help us lead longer, healthier lives.

Author Information

Dana Press, a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, received his Ph.D. in Journalism from Ohio Universitys E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and his Masters in Journalism at the University of North Texas. He reported for nationalgeographic.com on Dr. Robert Ballards Titanic expedition. Sweeneys numerous books include The Ultimate Survival Book, Peace: The Biography of a Symbol, God Grew Tired of Us, and Mind The Complete Brain.

A member of the exclusive club of world famous magicians, David Copperfield is known for staging whopper illusions, including making the Statue of Liberty disappear before a live audience and millions of TV viewers. In addition to performing worldwide, he has had a hit on Broadway (Dreams and Nightmares), founded an organization to help rehabilitate disabled people (Project Magic), and published books (Beyond Imagination and David Copperfields Tales of the Impossible).

Overview

From the Pythagorean theorem to DNAs double helix, from the discovery of microscopic life forms to the theory of relativity the big ideas of science and technology shape an eras worldview. Open this book, grasp the newest ideas from thought leaders of today, then spring off from them to move back through the past, one big idea at a time. Meet the people who gave birth to these ideas and those who fought against them. Meet the MIT electrical engineer currently developing a way to turn on the lights cordlessly, then move back through Nikola Tesla visionary concept of the wireless transfer of energy, Thomas Edisons groundbreaking work in developing a nationwide electrical grid, Ben Franklins experiments to capture electricity, all the way back to ancient Greece, where Thales of Miletus described static electricity as a property of naturally occurring amber.

Ingeniously organized and eminently browsable, this richly visual volume is divided into six big sections medicine, transportation, communication, biology, chemistry, and the environment. Words and images that work together to explain such fascinating and elusive subjects as cloud computing, sunshields to cool the Earth, and self driving cars. What did it take to get to these futuristic realities? Then, turn the page and follow a reverse chronological illustrated time line of science and technology. This remarkable illustrated history tells the story of every Big Idea in our history, seen through the lens of where science is taking us today and tomorrow.

With an irresistibly cutting edge look and original illustrations created by award winning Ashby Design, paired with the reliable authority and comprehensiveness that National Geographics world history books always offer, this is a one of a kind trip to the future and back through all time all in one. Graphics and pictograms and the great variety of photographic material make even the most complex information easy.

Author Information

Timothy Ferris is the author of a dozen books, among them Seeing in the Dark, The Whole Shebang, and Coming of Age in the Milky Way, which was translated into 15 languages and named by The New York Times as among the leading books published in the twentieth century. Called the best popular science writer in the English language by The Christian Science Monitor and the best science writer of his generation by The Washington Post, Ferris has received the American Institute of Physics prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and his works have been nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Overview

A digital innovator shows how we can thrive in the new technological age.

When Cathy Davidson and Duke University gave free iPods to the freshman class in 2003, critics said they were wasting their money. Yet when students in practically every discipline invented academic uses for their music players, suddenly the idea could be seen in a new light as an innovative way to turn learning on its head.

This radical experiment is at the heart of Davidsons inspiring new book. Using cutting edge research on the brain, she shows how attention blindness has produced one of our societys greatest challenges while we have all acknowledged the great changes of the digital age, most of us still toil in schools and workplaces designed for the last century. Davidson introduces us to visionaries whose groundbreaking ideas from schools with curriculums built around video games to companies that train workers using virtual environments will open the doors to new ways of working and learning. A lively hybrid of Thomas Friedman and Norman Doidge, Now You See It is a refreshingly optimistic argument for a bold embrace of our connected, collaborative future.

Author Information

Timothy Ferris is the author of a dozen books, among them Seeing in the Dark, The Whole Shebang, and Coming of Age in the Milky Way, which was translated into 15 languages and named by The New York Times as among the leading books published in the twentieth century. Called the best popular science writer in the English language by The Christian Science Monitor and the best science writer of his generation by The Washington Post, Ferris has received the American Institute of Physics prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and his works have been nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Overview

Bursting with color and dramatic focal points, these exceptional interiors offer exclusive access into the homes of Paris finest art and antiques aficionados. The magic of Paris is distinctly captured in its interiors windows are tall, and rooms have high ceilings with grand architectural details; but the real charm comes in the thoughtfully selected elements that bring those spaces to life. Paris is rife with antique collectors, art historians, architects, and interior designers who dedicate their lives to the contemplation of each element that goes into the ideal interior.

Barbara and Rene Stoeltie invite us inside the private oases of twenty of the citys celebrated interiors gurus, capturing in vivid photographs these havens of perfection, brimming with inspiration for the home. While each interior is distinctly unique, they all draw from a rich historical tradition of decorative arts combined with an instinctive desire to reinvent itself, mixing the best elements from different epochs with contemporary art, bold colors, or surprising pattern combinations. A foreword from Jacques Garcia, with his gracious nod to the great Madeleine Castaing, opens this handsome volume.

LaChapelles images of the most famous faces on the planet, and marginalized figures like transsexual Amanda Lepore or the cast of his critically acclaimed social documentary Rize call into question our relationship with gender, glamour, and status. Using his trademark baroque excess, LaChapelle inverts the consumption he appears to celebrate, pointing instead to apocalyptic consequences for humanity itself. While referencing and acknowledging diverse sources such as the Renaissance, art history, cinema, The Bible, pornography, and the new globalized pop culture, LaChapelle has fashioned a deeply personal and epoch defining visual language that holds up a mirror to our times.

Author Information

Barbara Stoeltie is a journalist specializing in fashion and beauty, who has written for Vogue and many other magazines. She is the author of Chanel Collections and Creations.

Overview

For introductory, one-semester courses devoted to digital photography.
The London, Upton, Stone series has helped over 1,000,000 photography students capture their potential.

After a very successful first edition, this second edition returns with the most upto date industry knowledge. Modeled after the long-running and widely used A Short Course in Photography, a brief text which presents the medium entirely in its most updated form.

Author Information

His photographs have been exhibited and published internationally, and collected by the Museum of Modern Art, Bostons Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among many others. Six of his books, A Users Guide to the View Camera, Darkroom Dynamics, A Short Course in Photography and A Short Course in Digital Photography (both with Barbara London), Photography 10th Edition, and Photography The Essential Way (both books with Barbara London and John Upton), are in wide and continued use for university level courses, and there have been three artist books published of his photographs, Stranger Than Fiction (Light Work, 1993), Historiostomy (Piltdown Press, 2001), and Why My Pictures are Good (Nazraeli Press, 2005).

Stone has received awards from the Massachusetts Arts Council, The New England Foundation for the Arts, The San Francisco Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For several years he served on the board of directors for the Society for Photographic Education and Boston Photographic Resource Center. He taught formerly at Boston College and the Rhode Island School of Design. Currently he is Professor of Photography at the University of New Mexico.

Overview

The Science Book Everything You Need to Know About the World and How It Works encapsulates centuries of scientific thought in one volume. Natural phenomena, revolutionary inventions, scientific facts, and the most uptodate questions are all explained in detailed text that is complemented by visually arresting graphics.

Six major sections ranging from the universe and the planet Earth to biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics are further broken down into subsections that encompass everything from microscopic life to nuclear power.

The Science Book covers a wide range of scientific areas, providing both a general overview of topics for the browsing reader, and more specific information for those who wish to obtain in depth insight into a particular subject area. Natural phenomena, revolutionary inventions, scientific facts, and upto date questions are explained in detailed texts. The vivid illustrations, pictures, and graphics throughout the book make the information even more accessible and comprehensible.

Within the book, the theory of the universe and the character of the earth are detailed, along with an overview of the diverse living organisms that can be found on Earth. The technical developments and achievements of humankind are discussed and we pay particular attention to subjects of current interest, like climate change and genetic engineering.

The well structured organization of this book with its numerous sections and chapters offers the reader an entertaining introduction into the large field of natural sciences and allows just as well for quick reference. Events and issues of special significance are discussed in greater detail in side bars of 3 different kinds. Numerous cross references within the chapters and to other sections of the book emphasize the many links between the individual scientific fields. Illustrative elements, such as 3D graphics and pictograms and the great variety of photographic material make even the most complex information easy.

Author Information

Marshall Brain is the founder of the award winning website HowStuffWorks.com. A graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he earned his masters in computer science from North Carolina State University, where he later taught. Named one of the Carolinas top entrepreneurs by Ernst And Young, Brain is also a distinguished speaker and author of more than a dozen books, in which he masterfully simplifies complex subject matter into a digestible format for people of all ages and experience levels.

Overview

LaChapelle Heaven to Hell is the long awaited third volume in an exhilarating trilogy that began with LaChapelle Land (1996) and continued with the infamous Hotel LaChapelle (1999). Packed with astonishing, color saturated, and provocative images, those titles both became instant collectors items and have since gone through multiple printings. Featuring almost twice as many images as its predecessors, LaChapelle Heaven to Hell is an explosive compilation of new work by the visionary photographer. Since the publication of Hotel LaChapelle, the strength of LaChapelle work lies in its ability to focus the lens of celebrity and fashion toward more pressing issues of societal concern.

LaChapelles images of the most famous faces on the planet, and marginalized figures like transsexual Amanda Lepore or the cast of his critically acclaimed social documentary Rize call into question our relationship with gender, glamour, and status. Using his trademark baroque excess, LaChapelle inverts the consumption he appears to celebrate, pointing instead to apocalyptic consequences for humanity itself. While referencing and acknowledging diverse sources such as the Renaissance, art history, cinema, The Bible, pornography, and the new globalized pop culture, LaChapelle has fashioned a deeply personal and epoch defining visual language that holds up a mirror to our times.

Author Information

David LaChapelle is a conceptual interdisciplinary artist whose work investigates the connection between space, time and information, and the impact that they have on everything that we find around us. Infinite Instances (originally started as Archetime) is supported in part by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The Tank Space for Performing and Visual Arts and NYC Future Salon.

Overview

A lush visual selection from the Chanel archive essential reading for fashionistas and design aficionados everywhere.
Chanels combination of tradition, originality, and style has always made it the most seductive of fashion labels. Here the House of Chanel opens its private archives, revealing a galaxy of brilliant designs created by Coco Chanel from 1920 onwards. Dazzling clothes, intricate accessories, beautiful models, and timeless design leave no doubt as to the lasting fame of her name and embody everything that has come to symbolize the magic of Chanel.

The book explores five central themes the suit, the camellia, jewelry, makeup and perfume, the little black dress and follows the threads from past to present to show how these key items have been rediscovered and reinvented by new designers. It includes many previously unpublished archive photographs and original drawings by Karl Lagerfeld, as well as glorious images from some of the greatest names in fashion photography. 139 illustrations, 83 in color.

LaChapelles images of the most famous faces on the planet, and marginalized figures like transsexual Amanda Lepore or the cast of his critically acclaimed social documentary Rize call into question our relationship with gender, glamour, and status. Using his trademark baroque excess, LaChapelle inverts the consumption he appears to celebrate, pointing instead to apocalyptic consequences for humanity itself. While referencing and acknowledging diverse sources such as the Renaissance, art history, cinema, The Bible, pornography, and the new globalized pop culture, LaChapelle has fashioned a deeply personal and epoch defining visual language that holds up a mirror to our times.

Author Information

Daniele Bott is a journalist specializing in fashion and beauty, who has written for Vogue and many other magazines. She is the author of Chanel Collections and Creations.

Overview

Are you a foodie looking to take eye catching photos of your culinary concoctions? Do you have a food blog that you would like to enhance with better visuals? Do you want to create photos that conjure up the flavors of your favorite foods but lack the photographic technique to make it happen? Then this book is for you.

In Food Photography From Snapshots to Great Shots, photographer Nicole Young dishes up the basics on getting the right camera equipment lights, lenses, reflectors, etc. and takes you through the key photographic principles of aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. She then discusses lighting and composition and shows how to style food using props, fabrics, and tabletops. Finally, she explains how to improve your photos through sharpening, color enhancement, and other editing techniques. Beautifully illustrated with large, vibrant photos, this book offers the practical advice and expert shooting tips you need to get the food images you want every time you pick up your camera.

Follow along with your friendly and knowledgeable guide, photographer and author Nicole S. Young, and you will

• Use your cameras settings to gain full control over the look and feel of your images
• Master the photographic basics of composition, focus, depth of field, and much more
• Learn to enhance your food photographs using professional food styling techniques
• Get tips on different types of lighting, including strobes, flashes, and natural light
• Improve the look of your photos using Adobe Photoshop
• Go “behind the scenes” and walk through the process of creating great food photographs with an entire chapter of start to finish examples

And once you have got the shot, show it off. Join the books Flickr group to share your photos, recipes, and tips at flickr.com.

Author Information

Nicole S. Young is a full time photographer specializing in commercial photography, and she licenses many of her images through iStockphoto and Getty Images. Nicole is an accredited Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop and a Help Desk Specialist with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. The author of Canon 7D From Snapshots to Great Shots and Canon 60D From Snapshots to Great Shots, she blogs at nicolesyblog.com.