On Being: A Scientist's Exploration Of The Great Questions Of Existence

Author: Peter Atkins

Stock information

General Fields

  • : 23.99 NZD
  • : 9780199660544
  • : Oxford University Press
  • : Oxford University Press
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  • : October 2012
  • : 196mm X 129mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 24.0
  • : October 2012
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Peter Atkins
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  • : Paperback
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  • : 111.1
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  • : 128
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Barcode 9780199660544
9780199660544

Description

In this scientific 'Credo', Peter Atkins considers the universal questions of origins, endings, birth, and death to which religions have claimed answers. With his usual economy, wit, and elegance, unswerving before awkward realities, Atkins presents what science has to say. While acknowledging the comfort some find in belief, he declares his own faith in science's capacity to reveal the deepest truths.

Reviews

"A paean to science." Times Literary Supplement "An effortless read--a real page turner." -BBC Focus"Few can match the chiseled beauty of Peter Atkins's prose as he reflects on the nature of life and death, of beginnings and endings." -Richard Dawkings "A delight to read. Who else can cover the grand sweep of existence with such clarity and wit as Peter Atkins? The text sparkles with lively metaphors and arresting insights." -Paul Davies "Crisp with good sense, clear with scientific knowledge effortlessly imparted, and delicious with the sort of wit that makes you stop and put the book down just to enjoy it the more fully. It presents a vision of life and death, of matter and space and time that is honest and consistent and miracle-free." -Philip Pullman

Table of contents

Prologue; 1. Creation; 2. Evolution; 3. Birth; 4. Death; 5. Ending; Epilogue