John Barrow

Reality as we know it is bound by a set of constants--numbers and values that dictate the strengths of forces like gravity, the speed of light, and the masses of elementary particles. In The Constants of Nature, Cambridge Professor and bestselling author John D. Barrow takes us on an exploration of these governing principles. Drawing on physicists such as Einstein and Planck, Barrow illustrates with stunning clarity our dependence on the steadfastness of these principles. But he also suggests that the basic forces may have been radically different during the universe's infancy, and suggests that they may continue a deeply hidden evolution. Perhaps most tantalizingly, Barrow theorizes about the realities that might one day be found in a universe with different parameters than our own.

Francis Drake was among the most successful explorers and naval officers of England in the Elizabethan era, successfully circumnavigating the globe and emerging victorious against the Spanish Armada. This biography discusses the most notable accomplishments of Francis Drake, and the role he assumed on voyages around the world. Although the numerous successes he enjoyed on his daring expeditions gained him plaudits in his native England, for the Spanish he was considered a ruthless and menacing pirate for his coastal raids upon settlements. Between 1577 and 1580 Drake succeeded in circumnavigating the world on a single voyage, an achievement which symbolized the growing naval prowess of his nation. A lengthy, blow-by-blow account of the battle with the Spanish Armada spans some three chapters of this text. Feared for its sheer numbers and tonnage, Spain's enormous fleet proved to be unwieldy in battle: novel tactics, such as England's use of ships set aflame and driven toward the enemy's tightly-packed vessels, drove the Armada off. However, as this biography notes, the victory was also thanks to the levelheadedness of Drake and his fellow commanders.