{"product_id":"9780380977543","title":"Acid Tongues and Tranquil Dreamers: Tales of Bitter Rivalry That Fueled the Advancement of Science and Technology","description":"From the laws of gravity to cyberspace, a brilliant examination of some of the most momentous scientific advancements and the human minds and competition behind them.\u003cp\u003e    As George Bernard Shaw said, \"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.\" Like other creative geniuses, scientists have achieved breakthroughs as a result of nonrational motives -- notably the desire to best a rival. In this fascinating, unique book, Michael White paints an intimate portrait of several of the world's greatest minds over the past four centuries and explores eight all-too-human rivalries, revealing how each fired scientific endeavor and resulted in extraordinary discoveries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e    White demonstrates how rivalries have evolved from scientist against scientist to modern competition between nations and corporations. Enlightening and entertaining, here is a rich history of intectual achievement that elevates White to the ranks of the best popular science writers, including Dava Sobel, Timothy Ferris, and Richard Rhodes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e    FAMOUS RIVALRIES\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e    The Calculus -- Isaac Newton versus Gottfried Leibniz\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Oxygen -- Antoine Lavoisier versus Joseph Priestly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Evolution -- Charles Darwin versus Richard Owen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Electric Current -- Nikola Tesla versus Thomas Edison\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  The Atom Bomb -- The Allies versus the Axis Powers \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  DNA -- Francis Crick and James Watson versus Linus Pauling versus Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  The Race to the Moon -- The United States versus the Soviet Union\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Cyberspace -- Bill Gates versus Larry Ellison\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e      ABOUT THE AUTHOR\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Michael White is the author of more than a dozen books and is a consultant for the Discovery Channel series \u003ci\u003eThe Science of the Impossible.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47024919478512,"sku":"9780380977543","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780380977543_p0.jpg?v=1763693938","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780380977543","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}