-
The Physics of Christmas
- From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
These are among the questions explored in this irresistibly witty audiobook, which illuminates the cherished rituals, legends, and icons of Christmas from a unique and fascinating perspective: science.
The Physics of Christmas is also available in print from Little, Brown and Company.
(P)2002 Random House Inc.
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"Enchanting...a delightful compendium." (New York Times Book Review)
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Queen of Fats
- Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them
- By: Susan Allport
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A nutritional whodunit that takes readers from Greenland to Africa to Israel, The Queen of Fats gives a fascinating account of how we have become deficient in a nutrient that is essential for good health: the fatty acids know as omega-3s.
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Eye Opener about fats, weight and health!
- By Eric on 12-22-11
By: Susan Allport
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
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The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
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Evolving Ourselves
- How Unnatural Selection and Nonrandom Mutation are Changing Life on Earth
- By: Juan Enriquez, Steve Gullans
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Why are conditions like autism, asthma, obesity, and allergies exploding at unprecedented rates? Why are we living longer, getting smarter, having far fewer kids? If Darwin were alive today, how would he explain this new world?
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fascinating ideas and science
- By Joel on 07-04-15
By: Juan Enriquez, and others
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A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
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an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
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The Fat Switch
- By: Richard J. Johnson MD
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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If you've ever struggled with losing weight and keeping it off, I don't have to tell you it's a challenge. You already know. What if losing weight could be as easy as flipping a switch? I know that sounds incredible. But now there's an abundance of research telling us that may be possible. In his new book, The Fat Switch, Dr. Richard J. Johnson, presents news-breaking, science-based studies that will reverse current thinking on both the cause and treatment of obesity.
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Want to understand weight gain?
- By Programming Dragon on 02-01-16
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The Triumph of Seeds
- How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses & Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History
- By: Thor Hanson
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life, supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and the humble peppercorn drove the Age of Discovery, so did coffee beans help fuel the Enlightenment and cottonseed help spark the Industrial Revolution. And from the fall of Rome to the Arab Spring, the fate of nations continues to hinge on the seeds of a Middle Eastern grass known as wheat.
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Delightfully simplistic!
- By Adrian on 03-30-16
By: Thor Hanson
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Biomimicry
- Innovation Inspired by Nature
- By: Janine M. Benyus
- Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Biomimicry is rapidly transforming life on earth. Biomimics study nature's most successful ideas over the past 3.5 million years, and adapt them for human use. The results are revolutionizing how materials are invented and how we compute, heal ourselves, repair the environment, and feed the world. Janine Benyus takes listeners into the lab and in the field with maverick thinkers as they: discover miracle drugs by watching what chimps eat when they're sick; learn how to create by watching spiders weave fibers; and many more examples.
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Dated but good
- By stephen taylor on 09-05-21
By: Janine M. Benyus
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Beer
- Tap into the Art and Science of Brewing
- By: Charles Bamforth
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Beer offers an amusing and informative account of the art and science of brewing, examining the history of brewing, and how the brewing process has evolved through the ages. The third edition features more information concerning the history of beer, especially in the United States; British, Japanese, and Egyptian beer; beer in the context of health and nutrition; and the various styles of beer. Author Charles Bamforth has also added detailed information on prohibition, Sierra Nevada, and life as a maltster.
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Commercial Brewing
- By taylor brackeen on 03-15-18
By: Charles Bamforth
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13 Things That Don't Make Sense
- The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time
- By: Michael Brooks
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Science starts to get interesting when things don't make sense. Science's best-kept secret is that there are experimental results and reliable data that the most brilliant scientists can neither explain nor dismiss. If history is any precedent, we should look to today's inexplicable results to forecast the future of science. Michael Brooks heads to the scientific frontier to meet 13 modern-day anomalies and discover tomorrow's breakthroughs.
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10 interesting chapters-read epiloge first
- By Stephen on 06-10-09
By: Michael Brooks
What listeners say about The Physics of Christmas
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Laura
- 04-23-07
A lot of fun
A lot of fun facts, in amusing prose and read in a lively way, about Christmas and its various tropes.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Anne
- 02-08-04
I put my tree up to the sound of this book!
This was very fun and interesting. The science was presented in a fun manner that should appeal to most people.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Tara
- 03-11-08
close but no banana
Good book but really focuses more on the anthropological standpoints in Christmas than physics.
I had been expecting something a bit more like the physics of what it would take for Santa to go around the world in one night - this really wasn't covered.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- jpr
- 12-19-02
More history than science
Best for those who find history fascinating. Could also use much more humor (in my opinion). Otherwise, an OK audiobook. Not much else to say.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Frank
- 01-13-16
80% Physics, 20% Christmas
My expectation was that there was going to be more "Christmas" in this book. There are some interesting explanations but it reads more like the physics of things in general with Christmas sprinkled in as a loose narrative to connect it all together. The author gets high marks for effort, but low marks for execution.
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1 person found this helpful