After Dr. Amelia Evans’s friend is murdered in a Wren-designed church in Central London, DCI's Vance and Shepherd are called in to investigate the case. They discover that Evans had stumbled across a centuries-old secret about the Philosophers’ Stone, and that there are unscrupulous people who will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. The doctor's life is threatened by rogue Freemasons, and she also needs to fend off those who would save her. Resolving the Stone's Enigma could bring her a professorship and the Nobel Prize, but at what cost? A compelling crime mystery, THE WREN ENIGMA is the sixth book in John Broughton's Vance And Shepherd Mysteries series.

A unique interdisciplinary study, this book examines the British and European tradition of the wren hunt, in which a bird ordinarily revered and protected for most of the year was killed around the time of the annual solstice. In focusing on this ancient ritual, Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence draws on her training in cultural anthropology and biology to cast a fresh light on the complexities of human-animal relationships.Following an introductory chapter on animal symbolism, Lawrence proceeds in subsequent chapters to describe the wren both as a biological entity and as the subject of numerous tales and legends, to delineate the details of the wren hunt ceremony and the various meanings ascribed to it, and, finally, to relate the ceremony to important contemporary issues in human-animal interactions and current attitudes toward the living environment. Whereas most other studies tend to concentrate solely on human perceptions of animals and fail to include the animal's role in the relationship, Lawrence's approach shows how the participation of both animal and human determines the symbolic status of the animal -- which in turn influences the treatment of that animal within a particular society.At a time when human destructiveness toward nature has reached tragic proportions, Lawrence contends, it is critical that we understand the processes by which certain cultural beliefs, in combination with observations about the natural history of a particular animal, result in emotional and mental responses that may ultimately determine the fate of that species. The author argues persuasively that the wren hunt -- with its ancient roots, associated beliefs, and complex meanings in thepreindustrialized world -- still has much to teach us.

With an introductory essay on cryptography and the history of code-breaking by Simon Singh, this book reveals the workings of Colossus and the extraordinary staff at Bletchley Park through personal accounts by those who lived and worked with the computer.

Alan Turing has long proved a subject of fascination, but following the centenary of his birth in 2012, the code-breaker, computer pioneer, mathematician (and much more) has become even more celebrated with much media coverage, and several meetings, conferences and books raising public awareness of Turing's life and work. This volume will bring together contributions from some of the leading experts on Alan Turing to create a comprehensive guide to Turing that will serve as a useful resource for researchers in the area as well as the increasingly interested general reader. The book will cover aspects of Turing's life and the wide range of his intellectual activities, including mathematics, code-breaking, computer science, logic, artificial intelligence and mathematical biology, as well as his subsequent influence.

Rome, 1847. Renowned watercolourist Edward Lear convinces his pupil, Lord John Proby to accompany him on a painting tour of Sicily. After Lear suggests an adventure into the Aspromonte Mountains of Calabria, the two start exploring paths untrodden by other Englishmen. Hiring a guide and a mule, the two encounter spectacular scenery as well as brigands, liberal revolutionaries and repressive monarchists. Through many twists and turns, they learn more about themselves - and the world - than they could have ever expected. A compelling historical mystery, John Broughton's THE ASPROMONTE RIDDLE is an exciting mix of fact, fiction and fantasy.

The computer unlike other inventions is universal; you can use a computer for many tasks: writing, composing music, designing buildings, creating movies, inhabiting virtual worlds, communicating... This popular science history isn't just about technology but introduces the pioneers: Babbage, Turing, Apple's Wozniak and Jobs, Bill Gates, Tim Berners-Lee, Mark Zuckerberg. This story is about people and the changes computers have caused. In the future ubiquitous computing, AI, quantum and molecular computing could even make us immortal. The computer has been a radical invention. In less than a single human life computers are transforming economies and societies like no human invention before.