Book Details

A Light History of Hot Air

Peter Doherty

From a life lived on three continents Doherty has collected a vast repertoire of information on illumination, hot air and burning, and presented it in a narrative written with great style, intimate with stories, concerned with the world around him, and the simple beauty of science.

Opinion

‘Illustrated with many interesting and amusing personal anecdotes as well as simple scientific explanations, A Light History of Hot Air is both a very entertaining and informative memoir and an intriguing observation of human activity.’ Chris Harrington, Australian Bookseller & Publisher, September 2007

‘Doherty’s fulminations on everything from rising sea levels to the elights of domestic heating are the extraordinary outpourings of a brilliant mind.’
Martin Stevenson, Launceston Examiner, 13/10/2007

About this Title

We've lit big fires and gentle flames over the ages to open our minds, to warn of danger, to brighten our way through the darkess and to allow us to read in bed at night …

Nobel Prize-winner Peter Doherty's enthusiasm and curiosity about the world around him informs this atmospheric collection of stories on illumination, hot air and burning in all their guises. Written with great style and richly intimate with personal anecdotes, A Light History of Hot Air is concerned with the world and the simple beauty of science. Doherty shines a unique, tangential light of insight that reveals his subjects in new and unexpected ways.

A childhood in Queensland awakens a boy's-own-adventure enthusiasm for trains and ships; further learning leads to admiration for such engineering marvels as the humble refrigerator and the steady march of progress that has brought us from tallow candles to electric lights.

Featuring cameos from Albert Einstein, Samuel Pepys, Charles Dickens and Thomas the Tank Engine, among others, A Light History of Hot Air is an unmissable treat.

About the Author

Peter Doherty AC was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Swiss colleague, Rolf Zinkernagel, in 1996. He was Australian of the Year in 1997, and is the author of The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize: A Life in Science.

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978-0-522-85407-7