Description
Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. For over two thousand years magnets have inspired tales of myth, magic, exploration, science, and art. From the physical to the metaphorical, our language is littered with magnetic allusions: magnetic personalities, animal magnetism, mesmerism, and magnetic attraction. We take them for granted yet magnets are essential to our existence--as important as gravity--and to our survival on this planet and in this universe. Eva Barbarossa's Magnet weaves together stories of ancient and modern wonders, of discovery and creation, of madness and desire, of beauty and awe, taking us from the spectacle of the aurora borealis to the disastrous searches for the North Pole. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
Behind the ancient wonder, extraordinary science, and the deep emotions inspired by the magnet are stories of discovery and creation, of madness and desire, and of beauty and awe.
About the Author
Eva Barbarossa is a writer and researcher based in Los Angeles and Italy. Her writing has appeared in the Review of Contemporary Fiction, Surface, and The Island Review.
Reviews
Eva Barbarossa delights in details and shows how much fun technology can be when science appears to be magic. * Mark Kurlansky, author of Paper: Paging Through History (2016), Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas (2018), and Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of a Common Fate (forthcoming 2019) *
In this delightful and engaging account, Eva Barbarossa shows us how our attraction to magnets is just as much part of culture as it is science--and has been for millennia. Magnet brings together everything from magic and mystery to mesmerism and MRIs as Barbarossa unpacks the meaning of a magnet's pull. Magnet is a must read. * Lydia Pyne, author of Bookshelf (2016) and Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff (forthcoming 2019) *
Book Information
ISBN 9781501348754
Author Eva Barbarossa
Format Paperback
Page Count 136
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic USA
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Weight(grams) 132g
Behind the ancient wonder, extraordinary science, and the deep emotions inspired by the magnet are stories of discovery and creation, of madness and desire, and of beauty and awe.
About the Author
Eva Barbarossa is a writer and researcher based in Los Angeles and Italy. Her writing has appeared in the Review of Contemporary Fiction, Surface, and The Island Review.
Reviews
Eva Barbarossa delights in details and shows how much fun technology can be when science appears to be magic. * Mark Kurlansky, author of Paper: Paging Through History (2016), Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas (2018), and Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of a Common Fate (forthcoming 2019) *
In this delightful and engaging account, Eva Barbarossa shows us how our attraction to magnets is just as much part of culture as it is science--and has been for millennia. Magnet brings together everything from magic and mystery to mesmerism and MRIs as Barbarossa unpacks the meaning of a magnet's pull. Magnet is a must read. * Lydia Pyne, author of Bookshelf (2016) and Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us About Real Stuff (forthcoming 2019) *
Book Information
ISBN 9781501348754
Author Eva Barbarossa
Format Paperback
Page Count 136
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic USA
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Weight(grams) 132g
