 |
|
|
|
| |
|
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £4.29
Author:
Francis Fukuyama
By Profile Books Ltd
In Our Posthuman Future, one of America's most conspicuous public intellectuals, Francis Fukuyama, explores the profound political, social and spiritual implications of the biotechnology revolution. He argues that if we are to avoid some of the worst political consequences of the biotech revolution then sweeping national and international regulation is required. The heart of the book lies in his discussion of the philosophical issues raised by our ability to manipulate human nature. Fukuyama argues that future biotech capabilities may give us the capacity to effectively control human behaviour but may ultimately lead us into a "posthuman" future. What is ultimately at stake in the biotech revolution, according to Fukuyama, is the loss of our human essence. This amounts to more than a mere change in genetic constitution because the politically indispensable concept of human rights is derived not from God nor from man himself, but from nature. Fukuyama has some plausible predictions about the way the American political landscape will shift as a result of the biotech revolution. The left, he predicts, will be split between pro-personal autonomy and environmentalist/anti...
 Good, focussed analysis of problem, 2002-08-08
This book presents a good general analysis of the social and ethical problems associated with the possibility of human genetic engineering. The author contends that our current political and social institutions are based on the notion of a shared humanity. However, with changes to humanity as profound as the possibility of mixing of our DNA with that of other creatures, to what extent will it be possible to speak of a shared humanity? What will it mean to be human? Will it not be that the definitions with which we are currently familiar will become so overstretched that they will be meaningless? In attempting to address this problem he proposes that the major characteristic we might use to identify human-ness is human emotionality. In the same way that we treat people who are not physically perfect as human, so we might also treat future generations as human by virtue of their emotional makeup. The book is sensibily divided up into three sections, each one dealing with different aspects of the issue. The first presents us with the general context of human intervention in our health and well-being, the second our current philosophical and legal understanding of the issues, and then finally some ideas as to how we might control the future use of these potentially transfiguring technologies. The metaphor I kept coming up with was that this is the same sort of problem that affects countries enduring large-scale immigration. How does one manage that process while still retaining control of the identity of your nationality? In the same way, the changes in the human genetic future will be profound, but we will still have to retain some sense of what it means to be human.
List Price: £31.99
Our Price: £16.44
Author:
Jeffrey Zeldman
By Peachpit Press
Fantastic book, 2006-05-19
This is a great book which will give you a thorough understanding of web standards. If you are a budding web designer, this book will explain important principles that will save you a great deal of time when you begin creating web sites. One of the most important things you will learn is creating sites that work with all browsers, platforms and devices. Overall, this book will give you a firm understanding of web standards and what it means to be a quality web designer.
List Price: £13.95
Our Price: £7.33
Author:
Neil A. Downie
By Princeton University Press
Wonderful excitement filled projects, 2005-01-06
What a great change, to see a "science book" with the sort of projects and demonstrations that will interest children of all ages, and quite a lot of adults. The "Vacuum bazooka" is an extremely powerful device - especially with a damned great wet/dry vacuum powering it. We used plastic 35mm film cannisters and got 100 feet (high) shots from ours. The fluid amplifier project is also nicely messy, but a great demonstration of some basic (electronic) theory. Highly recommended to those interested in practical science, with good theoretical backup and resources in the book.
List Price: £25.00
Our Price: £12.45
Author:
Everett M. Rogers
By Simon & Schuster International
Packed With Knowledge!, 2004-05-06
Why would a villager draw polluted drinking water from a canal where a dead donkey floats instead of using a nearby tap to get clean drinking water? Why did it take hundreds of years for the British Navy to give sailors oranges and lemons when tests had proven that citrus fruit cured the scurvy that killed sailors and left vessels under-manned? Why do eminently sensible things not happen? If youve ever wondered, this book will give you the answers. Its a thick, heavy, academic tome, but spiced with abundant anecdotes and observations that make it an easy, enjoyable read. This is the rare book that combines solid intellectual content with thought-provoking entertainment. We highly recommend this classic from 1962 to all audiences, but especially those whose business it is to understand and use the social mechanisms through which innovations must diffuse.
List Price: £17.99
Our Price: £10.29
Author:
Michael Smith
By The Collins Press
Usual great style from Polar writer, 2008-03-07
A tiny museum in Castletownbere gave me an tantilising introduction to Tom Crean, and an Amazon search then introduced me to Michael Smith and The Unsung Hero. I just loved it - a wonderful heoric tale by a very skilled author, and having fallen madly in love with Tom Crean I have now read just about everything there is on Antartic Exploration at the turn of the Century. This book is of the period half a century earlier and is written in the same wonderful style, where Michael Smith brings into your life a little known and probably even less admired hero. The book covers Crozier's many travels into both the Artic and Antartic, and takes us to the time when the latter was being explored for the first time, and most interesting, getting named. So those coves and coasts and mountains - Ross Shelf, Cape Crozier, Mount Terror and Mount Erebus etc, all come from Croziers era. Also, and so disappointingly, came all those bad habits that plagued the later explorations - like dependancy on man hauling, not using locally caught game, using canvas tents etc.
This is just a great book - just one small criticism - the picture reproduction is lousy and it desperately needs a couple of detailed maps at the beginning, so you can keep referring back, rather than try and find the rather undetailed ones hidden in the text.
Mr Smith - I've read both your Tom Crean books - please find another 'unsung hero' for us!
List Price: £19.95
Our Price: £11.31
Author:
Andrew Robinson
By Thames & Hudson Ltd
 Not really a story, just very short series of 2-page articles, 2008-03-01
The main item missing from this is a story. This is a series of articles, few of which are connected. There is nothing wrong with the items, although because of the shortness of the text on each item there isn't much detail. If you want some basic background on a range of measuremnet topics this is fine, if you want a detailed discussion of the history of measurement and the characters linking the history, look elsewhere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|