Media Bites July 2023

The Basis of Everything: Rutherford, Oliphant and the Coming of the Atomic Bomb ANDREW RAMSEY

Before the Manhattan Project , before nuclear warfare and the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was the twentieth century’s great scientific quest to fathom the secrets of the atom. The unlikely story of an Antipodean friendship that changed the world forever. Before the Manhattan Project , before nuclear warfare and the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was the twentieth century’s great scientific quest to fathom the secrets of the atom. It was through that search for the inner workings of matter that a unique friendship was forged, a partnership that defied academic orthodoxy and altered the course of history. Centred on the inter-war years – within the ivy clad walls of Cambridge University’s famed Cavendish Laboratory, amid the windswept valleys of north Wales, and in the industrial heartland of Birmingham – The Basis of Everything is the story of the coming of the atomic bomb, and how the unlikely union of two scientists – Ernest Rutherford, the son of a New Zealand farmer, and Mark Oliphant, a peace-loving vegetarian from a tiny Australian hills village – would change the world.

Released: 21/06/23 TPB | 384pp AU $34.99 NZ $39.99 Imprint: HarperCollins

Wow It’s All A Lot: 32 reminders to SMILE while navigating your way through life SAMUEL LEIGHTON-DORE

This is a book for anyone going through a tough time. It’s about celebrating the middle bits – the messy, awkward, uncomfortable bits – while navigating our way through the uncertainties of life. When Samuel Leighton-Dore began rolling out clay tiles and engraving words into them, he had just been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. After years spent in therapy waiting rooms, searching for meaning, encouragement and guidance, he turned to art to better understand who he was and why he was, slowing down to rediscover the joy and humour in the everyday. Samuel’s artwork and writing celebrate all the messy bits of trying to navigate our busy lives. Life, like the tiles themselves, can be hard and fragile, so it’s okay to be a ‘work in progress’ and not have everything figured out all the time. His writing is relatable and comforting, like the world’s biggest hug from a friend. It’s also funny, sad, hopeful, inspirational and ultimately drawn from his own experiences with mental health and human connection.

sadmanstudio.com

Released: 05/07/23 NSH | 144pp AU $24.99 NZ $27.99 Imprint: Harper By Design

NON-FICTION