Alan P Lightman

"From the acclaimed author of Einstein's Dreams, here is an inspired, lyrical meditation on religion and science that explores the tension between our yearning for permanence and certainty, and the modern scientific discoveries that demonstrate the impermanent and uncertain nature of the world. As a physicist, Alan Lightman has always held a scientific view of the world. As a teenager experimenting in his own laboratory, he was impressed by the logic...

Meditates on scientific findings that are changing the understanding of the cosmos, exploring such topics as the debate between science and religion, the conflict between the desire for permanence and nature's impermanence, and the ways technology has changed physical experiences.

"Modern science teaches us that anything can be explained in terms of atoms and forces, including the inner workings of the brain. But certain personal experiences can challenge the idea that there's nothing beyond inert matter. Communing with nature, working through a complex problem, or experiencing a piece of art, we sometimes feel a powerful sense of transcendence, of connecting with a cosmic unity that may seem unexplainable by science. But according...

"Portrays the struggles of a Cambodian farming family against the extreme patriarchal attitudes of their society and the cruel and dictatorial family father, set against a rural community that is slowly being exposed to the modern world and its values. The book spans the period from 1973, just before the Khmer Rouge genocide, to 2015"--

"There's only one gift Isabel wants for her sixth birthday: a way to see invisible things. She can hardly think of anything else! Finally, the day of her party arrives. Unwrapping a big box, Isabel finds a surprise inside--a glass prism--and a dazzling world of previously invisible color emerges, lighting up the room around her. What else could be out there, waiting for her eyes to discover? In simple, engaging language, complemented by luminous artwork...

"Lightman's grandfather M.A. Lightman was the family's undisputed patriarch: it was his movie theater empire that catapulted the Lightmans to prominence in the South, his fearless success that both galvanized and paralyzed his children and grandchildren. In this ... memoir, the author chronicles his return to Memphis in an attempt to understand the origins he so eagerly left behind forty years earlier. As aging uncles and aunts begin telling family...

"An anthology of original reflections on Henry David Thoreau's life and work"-- "From twenty-seven of today's leading writers, an anthology of original pieces on the author of Walden. Features essays by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Kristen Case, George Howe Colt, Gerald Early, Paul Elie, Will Eno, Adam Gopnik, Lauren Groff, Celeste Headlee, Pico Iyer, Alan Lightman, James Marcus, Megan Marshall, Michelle Nijhuis, Zoë Pollak, Jordan Salama, Tatiana Schlossberg,...