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Explore a selection of publications by alumni and academics, and books with a link to the University or Cambridge

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Light after Dark II

Light after Dark II

Charles Francis (Jesus 1975)

In Light after Dark II: The Large and the Small, Dr Francis explores the physics and the philosophy pertinent to the conceptual foundations of modern physical theory, avoiding equations and with sufficient explanation to be accessible to general readers.

A comprehensive rationale is described for the theories of Einstein, Heisenberg, Dirac, von Neumann, Feynman, and others. Spacetime curvature is elucidated. The meanings of Schrödinger’s cat, Bell’s theorem and Bertlmann’s socks are explained. Implications for determinism, free will, and the nature of space and time are examined.

Agent 110, An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII

Agent 110, An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII

Scott Miller (Darwin 1993)

In November 1942, American spymaster Allen Dulles slipped into Switzerland just before Nazi forces sealed the border. His mission: to report on the inner workings of the Third Reich. Code-named Agent 110 by the OSS, he was astounded to find a network of Germans – industrialists, students, diplomats and generals -- conspiring to overthrow Hitler and negotiate a surrender to end World War II. On back roads, in bedrooms, and high in the Alps, Dulles plotted with his ring of renegades who were risking and losing their lives. Yet Dulles was much more than a spy.

The Outside Lands

The Outside Lands

Hannah Kohler (Corpus 1998)

Jeannie is nineteen when the world changes, Kip only fourteen. The sudden accident that robs them of their mother leaves them adrift, with only their father to guide them. Jeannie seeks escape in work and later marriage to a man whose social connections propel her into an unfamiliar world of wealth and politics. Ill-equipped and unprepared, Jeannie finds comfort where she can. Meanwhile Kip's descent into a life of petty crime is halted only when he volunteers for the Marines.

Sharks & Rays of the Arabian/Persian Gulf

Sharks & Rays of the Arabian/Persian Gulf

Dareen Almojil (Lucy Cavendish 2011), Alec Moore and William White

The Gulf has a unique diversity of sharks and rays, but for many years their correct identification has been problematic. This fully illustrated book - the first of its kind to focus on the Gulf - brings together the latest research and years of work by the authors to provide a clear and comprehensive guidebook. For each species known to occur in the Gulf, colour images, identification features, and notes on distribution, abundance, ecology and conservation status are provided.

Rethinking Reputational Risk: How to Manage the Risks that can Ruin Your Business, Your Reputation and You

Rethinking Reputational Risk: How to Manage the Risks that can Ruin Your Business, Your Reputation and You

Anthony Fitzsimmons (Pembroke 1969) and Derek Atkins

From ringside seats, I saw three decades' worth of crises as they unfolded, damaging organisations, their leaders, their reputations and their shareholders. But this lawyerly work left important questions unanswered: Why didn't insiders see what was coming? And were these crises 'predictable' only with hindsight?

It took time to uncover why predictable crises kept on happening but answers emerged from research spanning dozens of dissections as we dug in fields that included behavioural economics, anthropology and luck.

After the Final Whistle

After the Final Whistle

Stephen Cooper (Trinity 1977)

When Britain’s Empire went to war in August 1914, rugby players were the first to volunteer: they led from the front and paid a disproportionate price. When Armistice came after four long years, their war game was over; even as the echo of the last guns of November faded, it was time to play rugby again. As Allied troops of all nations waited to return home, sport occupied their minds and bodies.

Modern Social Thought: An Introduction

Modern Social Thought: An Introduction

Anthony Thomson (King's 1977)

This text provides an accessible survey of Western social thought from the early twentieth century to today by tracing the emergence, evolution, and consequence of ideas expressed by recognized social and political theorists as well as poets, novelists, and visual artists. A contextualizing approach helps place theory in broad, practical terms by linking key ideas to specific social, historical, cultural, and political developments.

Berber and Arabic in Siwa (Egypt)

Berber and Arabic in Siwa (Egypt)

Lameen Souag (Caius 2000)

Siwi is the easternmost Berber language, one of the few surviving representatives of the languages spoken in the eastern Sahara before the arrival of Bedouin Arab groups in the 11th century – although this apparent continuity conceals a history of migration, as this book argues based on loanwords and intra-Berber relationships.  The effects of contact upon the grammar are far more far-reaching than in better documented westerly Berber languages, extending to non-concatenative templatic morphology and some pronominal endings, as well as prominent calquing.

The Making of Social Theory: Order, Reason, and Desire (Second Edition)

The Making of Social Theory: Order, Reason, and Desire (Second Edition)

Anthony Thomson (King's 1977)

The Making of Social Theory: Order, Reason, and Desire, second edition, chronicles the development of Western ideas about society, politics, and social life from the medieval period through to the rise of modern sociology in the early twentieth century. Theories are examined within a historical social context to provide understanding of the social circumstances in which various sociological ideologies arose. The first edition was published in 2006.

Glimpses Over The Edge

Glimpses Over The Edge

Alexander Treves (King's 1992)

A photobook documenting refugee stories in 12 different countries: photographed in Burma, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, South Africa, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey. The images, of refugees from a dozen countries, are accompanied by a personal account which sets the individuals’ lives into the context of a vast global problem.

'Janiform Novels' and Other Literary Essays

'Janiform Novels' and Other Literary Essays

Cedric Watts (Pembroke 1958)

Previously published in a diversity of magazines and books, these conveniently-gathered literary discussions deal with such authors as Sophocles, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, Marvell, Milton, Defoe, Richardson, Jane Austen, Conrad, Hemingway, Graham Greene, William Golding, Samuel Beckett and Chinua Achebe. Topics include covert plotting, the conceit of the conceit, the fallacies of structuralist and post-structuralist literary theory, delayed decoding, Shakespeare's scepticism, Conrad' s opposition to racism and imperialism, and Hemingway's profoundly ambiguous style.

Curiocity: In Pursuit of London

Curiocity: In Pursuit of London

Henry Eliot (Magdalene 2004) and Matt Lloyd-Rose (Magdalene 2003)

Curiocity is a new guide to the capital that weaves the city’s stories together with practical ideas and itineraries. Londonist called it ‘the greatest book about London published in modern times’ and Philip Pullman described it as ‘the most ingenious, insightful, inspiring, intoxicating, and simply interesting guide to the great city that I have ever seen.’ It has 26 large maps drawn by artists including the children’s laureate Chris Riddell and the graphic novelist Isabel Greenberg.

Generation Cherry

Generation Cherry

Tim Drake (Caius 1963)

In the UK, life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last century, and with it, our need to be financially active beyond the current retirement age. But what can we do when we find ourselves retired or redundant with a reduced income or a skinny pension?

In his positive and practical new book, author, thought leader and septuagenarian, Tim Drake, sets out how we can make a new future work for us.

The Canadian Law of Unjust Enrichment and Restitution

The Canadian Law of Unjust Enrichment and Restitution

Mitchell McInnes (Trinity Hall 1989)

The book is the first and only work devoted to the modern Canadian law of unjust enrichment.

Reflections on Cambridge

Reflections on Cambridge

Alan Macfarlane

The traditions and creativity of Cambridge University have survived 800 years. In celebration, this first-ever combined historical and anthropological account explores the culture, the customs, the colleges and the politics of this famous institution. As professor here for nearly forty years, the author sets forth on a personal but also dispassionate attempt to understand how this ancient university developed and changed, and how it continues to influence all people who pass through it.

The Worst Golf Course Ever: Coldham Common

The Worst Golf Course Ever: Coldham Common

Michael Morrison (Darwin 1978)

Bernard Darwin famously described Coldham Common in nineteenth century Cambridge as ‘the worst course I have ever seen, and many others would probably award it a like distinction’. Flat, featureless, frequently waterlogged, with foul-smelling ditches, a rifle range and local hooligans stealing golf balls were just some of the attributes that justified Darwin’s assertion. And yet from modest beginnings in 1869, CUGC would thrive and by the early 1890s, become one of the largest golf clubs in England.

Rivals of the Republic

Rivals of the Republic

Annelise Freisenbruch (Newnham 1995)

Rome, 70BC. Roman high society hums with gossip about the sudden, suspicious suicide of a prominent Roman senator. Shortly afterwards, the body of a Vestal Virgin is discovered in the river Tiber.

Everyday Evils: A Psychoanalytic View of Evil and Morality

Everyday Evils: A Psychoanalytic View of Evil and Morality

Coline Covington (Darwin 1975)

Everyday Evils blends psychoanalytic concepts with sociology, history, anthropology, philosophy, theology and studies of violence to look at the evils committed by “ordinary” people in different contexts. Ranging from discussion of Nazi atrocities and the horrors of Islamic State to the consequences of Stockholm Syndrome, this book will appeal to scholars from across disciplines as well as anyone who has ever asked the question:"How could anyone do something like that?" Coline Covington is a Jungian analyst in private practice in London.

Pain, Pleasure and Perversity: Discourses of Suffering in Seventeenth-Century England

Pain, Pleasure and Perversity: Discourses of Suffering in Seventeenth-Century England

John Yamamoto-Wilson (Magdalene 1971)

Luther’s 95 Theses begin and end with the concept of suffering, and the question of why a benevolent God allows his creations to suffer remains one of the central issues of religious thought. In order to chart the processes by which religious discourse relating to pain and suffering became marginalised during the period from the Renaissance to the end of the seventeenth century, this book examines a number of works on the subject translated into English from (mainly) Spanish and Italian.

Low Life Lawyer: in the footsteps of Bechet

Low Life Lawyer: in the footsteps of Bechet

Michael Simmons (Emmanuel 1952)

A legal thriller charting the rise and fall --and rise and fall again--of a somewhat unorthodox lawyer. 

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