For Joe Rosen, the much sought-after Theory of Everything ‘is but a mirage’. In this book he explores the boundaries between science and metaphysics and argues that science, despite its phenomenal progress and insights, can only go so far in comprehending nature.

Lydia Pyne tells the stories of seven human fossils found between 1908 and 2008, each of which won a different kind of fame or notoriety. She explains their significance for our understanding of human evolution and investigates how and why such scientific discoveries have ‘become written into popular culture’, including the specimen named ‘Lucy’ after a Beatles song and the surprisingly long-lasting Piltdown Man hoax. Off-mint and felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

Spanning more than three decades, these 41 essays reflect Richard Dawkins’ commitment to communicating the values and history of science, through his writings on evolution and the wonders of nature, his polemical attacks on faulty logic and his articles connecting scientific discourse to public debates. As well as providing new annotations to individual pieces, he uses the volume’s introduction to reiterate the importance of adhering to reason and objective values in an age of demagoguery and prejudice.

The physics professor James Kakalios reveals the complex science behind the basic things that keep our everyday lives running – from how refrigerators keep things cool to how aeroplanes stay in the air. Each explanation is coupled with a story that demonstrates the interplay of the invisible forces that surround us, demonstrating that while sophisticated scientific concepts may seem abstract, they are also eminently practical. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

In this humorous meditation on the existence of Father Christmas, The Simpson’s screenwriter Eric Kaplan poses questions about the nature of reason and the human propensity to believe contradictory propositions simultaneously.

This series introduces the texts that have helped shape Western civilization, every volume providing a detailed examination of the central ideas and arguments of a seminal text and discussion of its lasting significance.

Translated and introduced by David Adams, this is the complete English edition of Pensées sur l’interprétation de la Nature (1754). It is accompanied by The Letter to the Blind (1749) and D’Alembert’s Dream (1769). Off-mint.

Deflationism has emerged as one of the most significant developments in contemporary philosophy. These papers represent Paul Horwich's development of the deflationary perspective over two and a half decades, and demonstrate its considerable power and fertility.

The last few centuries have seen a huge expansion in our understanding of the world around us, but are we approaching the limits of what it is possible to discover? In this summary of the challenges facing modern science, Russell Stannard argues that there are questions, such as the nature of time, the size of the universe or what constitutes consciousness, which we may never be able to fully explain.