It is 50 years since John Cade published his first experiences with lithium treatment in the Medical Journal of Australia. Fortunately, the editors of the journal did not demand an extremely high scientific standard for work to be published at that time. With the present-day requests of most reviewed scientific journals, this work, that reported on the effect of lithium on guinea pigs and in an uncontrolled series of 6 patients, would never have been published. Through the discovery of lithium, research on bipolar disorder, and its therapy, made a huge advance.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) is remembered, along with Copernicus and Galileo, as one of the greatest Renaissance astronomers. A gifted analytical thinker, he made major contributions to physics, astronomy, and mathematics. Kepler was trained as a theologian, yet did not hesitate to challenge church doctrine and prevailing scientific beliefs by supporting the theory of a Sun-centered solar system. As Imperial Mathematician to the Holy Roman Emperor, he analyzed the precise observations of the heavens that his predecessor, the great astronomer Tycho Brahe, had recorded. The book follows the ingenious scientist along the difficult pathway from raw data to his monumental discovery--the three Laws of Planetary Motion. Kepler also made fundamental contributions to optical theory, including a correct description of the function of the eye and a new and improved telescope design. His unique Rudolfine Tables, universal calculations of planetary motion, were unprecedented in their accuracy. James Voelkel vividly describes these scientific achievements, providing enough background in astronomy and geometry so even beginners can follow Kepler's thinking and enjoy this book. Equally captivating is his account of Kepler's tumultuous life.

The best health practices are a synthesis of science and art. Surgery is a case in point. Although all competent surgeons follow scientific protocols, the best surgeons are masters of the art of surgery and produce better outcomes: e.g., smaller incisions; lower mortality rates. Psychotherapists are in exactly the same position. Psychotherapy is both a science and an art. There are excellent resources that convey information about empirically supported practices - the science of psychotherapy. However, this scientific information is incomplete in two important ways...

This book develops the best traditions of the Russian scientific popular literature. Written in a clear and captivating manner by working theoretical physicists, who are, at the same time, dedicated popularizers of scientific knowledge, it brings to the reader the latest achievements in quantum solid-state physics, but along the way it also shows how the laws of physics reveal themselves even in seemingly trivial episodes concerning the natural phenomena around us.