Books published by publisher W.H. Freeman

"Keep your eye on the ball!" may be good advice--but it is impossible to do. The batter can track the ball until it is about five feet in front of the plate, but then he falls behind because the ball is moving too fast. In Keep Your Eye on the Ball, Robert G. Watts and A. Terry Bahill--engineers by vocation, baseball fans by avocation--have devised a series of experiments that put some of baseball's most cherished myths to the test. By applying physics, psychology, physiology, and other scientific principles to baseball, the authors have resolved, once and for all, some of the controversial issues that have intrigued fans for decades, including: * Do curveballs really curve? Do fastballs rise? * How do knuckleballs and spitballs work? * What exactly happens when the ball hits the bat? * Does corking the bat really help a hitter? * Are aluminum bats more dangerous than wooden bats? * Can certain physiological factors help predict success for a hitter? * Why are more home runs being hit than ever before? * Are today's players better than yesterday's? Completely revised and updated to include recent statistics, new research, and additional historical commentary, Keep Your Eye on the Ball is a highly informative and entertaining guide to the science of baseball that all fans of the game--regardless of scientific background--will enjoy.

The Eleventh Plague deals with a terrifying and compelling subject: biological and chemical warfare. Using historical and contemporary examples, Cole explains what biological and chemical weapons are, how they are developed and tested, and what their effects can be. He vividly describes the very real threat that Iraq would use chemical weapons in the Gulf War - real enough that every man, woman, and child in Israel had to wear a gas mask. He also analyzes the possibility that the so-called Gulf War syndrome may have been due to biological or chemical weapons, a possibility that federal investigations have yet to confirm or disprove. Cole lucidly describes the wide range of possible responses to the threat of biological or chemical warfare. But every expert admits that absolute protection may be impossible. Materials can be easy to get, even easier to transport, and virtually impossible to trace. The Eleventh Plague arms us with a frightening knowledge. What do recent political and technical developments suggest for the future? And how will we fight this increasingly ominous, deadly plague?

Discovering the Universe is the best-selling brief text for descriptive one-term astronomy courses (especially those with no mathematics prerequisites). Carried along by the book's vibrant main theme, "the process of scientific discovery," readers will encounter spectacular sights, landmark experiments, and recent discoveries, while learning to avoid the pitfalls created by common misconceptions about astronomy. Now enhanced with a powerful technology and image projection package, this is the most exciting and effective edition yet. The accompanying CD-ROM features a special student version of the award-winning virtual planetarium software, Starry Night Enthusiast and the new innovative Deep Space Explorer.