Caesars Last Breath Sam Kean by Sam Kean 9780316381642, 0316381640 instant download after payment.

The fascinating science and history of the air we breathe

It's invisible. It's ever-present. Without it, you would die in minutes. And it has an epic story to tell.

In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe, and across time to tell the story of the air we breathe, which, it turns out, is also the story of earth and our existence on it.

With every breath, you literally inhale the history of the world. On the ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar died of stab wounds on the Senate floor, but the story of his last breath is still unfolding; in fact, you're probably inhaling some of it now. Of the sextillions of molecules entering or leaving your lungs at this moment, some might well bear traces of Cleopatra's perfumes, German mustard gas, particles exhaled by dinosaurs or emitted by atomic bombs, even remnants of stardust from the universe's creation.

Tracing the origins and ingredients of our atmosphere, Kean reveals how the alchemy of air reshaped our continents, steered human progress, powered revolutions, and continues to influence everything we do. Along the way, we'll swim with radioactive pigs, witness the most important chemical reactions humans have discovered, and join the crowd at the Moulin Rouge for some of the crudest performance art of all time. Lively, witty, and filled with the astounding science of ordinary life, Caesar's Last Breath illuminates the science stories swirling around us every second.

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Praise for *Caesar's Last Breath *

"Sam Kean has done it again - this time clearly and entertainingly explaining the science of the air around us. He is a gifted storyteller with a knack for finding the magic hidden in the everyday."―Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive**

"The most fun to be had from nonfiction is a good science book, with a writer of craft who can capture both the excitement and the elegance of science, the incredible fact that this is really how it works. Sam Kean is such a writer and Caesar's Last Breath is such a book. An enormous pleasure to read."―Mark Kurlansky, author of Paper and Salt**

"Fascinating stories, so insightful, informative, and disarmingly written. It gave this astronaut a new respect for the air around us all, and made me delightfully more aware of each breath I take."―Col. Chris Hadfield, author of An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth**

Praise for The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons:

****Longlisted for the 2015 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

****One of Amazon's Best Books of the Year: Science

One of The A.V. Club's Best Books of 2014**

A Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist: Nonfiction

"This is Sam Kean's finest work yet, an entertaining and offbeat history of the brain populated with mad scientists, deranged criminals, geniuses, and wretched souls. The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons is one of those books that will have you following your friends around, reading passages out loud, until they snatch the book away from you and read it for themselves. Good luck getting it back."―Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist**

"Put your Netflix queue on hold. Sam Kean's The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons will command your full attention from the first page. It's not just an engaging guide to mysteries of existence; it's compelling story-telling for anyone with a taste for the bizarre and metaphysical."―William Poundstone, author of Rock Breaks Scissors**

"In tale after tale, best-selling author Kean provides a fascinating, and at times gloriously gory, look at how early efforts in neurosurgery were essentially a medical guessing game.... Entertaining and quotable, Kean's writing is sharp, and each individual story brings the history of neuroscience to life. Compulsively readable, wicked scientific fun."―*Kirkus*

Praise for The Violinist's Thumb:

Named one of Entertainment Weekly's Best Books of 2012; one of Amazon's Best Books of the Year; and a Publishers Weekly Editors Pick

"Kean's accessible genetic overview, written for the layman, is often as simple and elegant as a double helix."―Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly**

"Kean is one of America's smartest and most charming science writers, and his new book could be perfect for summer readers who prefer some substance with their fun."―Michael Schaub, National Public Radio**

"Science is made fun whenever best-selling author Kean...is narrating."―Susannah Cahalan, New York Post**

Sam Kean spent years collecting mercury from broken thermometers as a kid, and now he's a writer in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in the New York Times magazine, Mental Floss, Slate, and Science, and it has been featured on NPR's Radiolab and All Things Considered. The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist's Thumb were New York Times bestsellers.