'It all began in Cambridge. We were gathered there for the Alumni Weekend, when a thousand elderly graduates return to hear lectures from the great minds of the 21st century.'
Roger Gosden (Darwin 1970), Ursula Eichenlaub-Ritter and Alan Trounson, co-editors
The human egg—the rarest and most rapidly aging cell in the body—is a topic of intense study for scientists and in assisted reproduction (“IVF”) clinics vying for better pregnancy rates. This new edition of what one reviewer of the first edition (2003) described as, “possibly the definitive work on the oocyte,” covers the developmental biology and pathology of this mother cell, and ovotechnologies to overcome infertility, avoid inherited diseases, and create genetically engineered embryos from stem cells and cloning.
Roger Gosden (Darwin 1970) and Pam Walker, editors
The story of a renowned New York doctor, Robert T. Morris (1857-1945), who struggled with a reactionary profession to pioneer sterility, small incisions, and better wound-healing in surgery. Blessed with abundant energy, sagacity, and long life, he also achieved distinction as a naturalist, horticulturist, and explorer, celebrating nature with brilliant prose and poetry. For those days, Morris was a rare visionary, grounded in science and courageously fighting on the side of suffering humanity, though few remember him today.
The book celebrates 60 years of the varsity blind wine-tasting competition, the oldest contest of its kind founded in 1953 by the legendary Harry Waugh (a cousin of Evelyn and Auberon Waugh) when he was with the historic wine merchant Harveys of Bristol. Champagne Pol Roger assumed the varsity match sponsorship in 1992.
The Meaning of Success: Insights from Women at Cambridge makes a compelling case for a more inclusive definition of success. It argues that in order to recognise, reward and realise the talents of both women and men, a more meaningful definition of success is needed. Practical ways of achieving this are explored through interviews with female role models at the University of Cambridge. First-person stories bring alive the achievements and challenges women experience in their working lives, and the effect gender has on careers.
Gratitude is often understood as etiquette rather than ethics, an emotion rather than politics. It was not always so. From Seneca to Shakespeare, gratitude was a public virtue. The circle of benefaction and return of service worked to make society strong. But at the beginning of the modern era, European thinkers began to imagine a political economy freed from the burdens of gratitude. Though this rethinking was part of a larger process of secularization, it was also a distorted byproduct of an impulse ultimately rooted in the teachings of Jesus and the apostle Paul.
For such a relatively small and opaque industry, the art world is imbued with glamour and sophistication and attracts a lot of wealth. In recent years much attention has been given to art’s appeal as an investment, not least because the growth and influence of global investment banking and wealth-management industries from the 1980s encouraged a more financially sophisticated approach to asset allocation. When the wider economic markets began to unravel in 2008, art dealers and other art-market practitioners maintained that art wasn’t subject to the same volatility as other investments.
Samantha Sutton is hesitant to join her Uncle Jay and his team on another archaeological excavation. But the marshes near Cambridge, England sound harmless after the sinister perils she faced in Peru.
The Big Picture is a much-needed book that allows the reader to consider the big questions of life without feeling bludgeoned to adopt the author’s opinion. The book explains basics of science, philosophy and religion in a straightforward manner, and includes topics as diverse as quantum physics, cellular biology, evolution, consciousness, free will, historical accuracy of biblical accounts, and how to engineer a Boeing 747.
Robert Alston and Stuart Laing (Corpus Christi 1967)
The 1800 agreement between Oman and Britain declared that the bond between the two nations should be "unshook till the end of time" - an ambitious goal but whatever the political ups and downs, a remarkable relationship endures to this day. Oman's location at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, pincering oil flows with Iran, is of huge strategic importance and makes it the focus on increasing political interest.
