Technology, Engineering & Agriculture Books

Book SynopsisThe Southern Way continues to be the definitive journal for all those interested in the history and heritage of the Southern Railway and the Southern Region of British Railways. Edited by Kevin Robertson, whose many publications on the railways of the south of England are well known to SR enthusiasts, each volume contains a series of authoritative articles on a fascinating range of topics, copiously illustrated with a wealth of photographs.As always four new issues of The Southern Way will be released during 2021

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the latest addition to our ever growing and highly successful portfolio of railway atlases. At its core is a set of maps contrasting, on opposite pages, the Scottish railway network in 1920 and the same areas today. This graphically illustrates how the system has contracted over the course of the last 100 years and allows comparison between these two eras to be easily made.However, there is so much more to this atlas than just the maps. For example, the Index of Stations has photographs of all those that are currently in use. For closed stations, each entry gives their OS Location, site status description and has a small map of the station. All stations in the Index have a chronology referring to the date of opening, closure dates for those no longer in use and any changes to their names that were made.Other sections of the Atlas contain information on British Railways Scottish Region Motive Power Depots with closure dates and locations, preserved railway lines, major structures on the network, signal boxes and a listing of the Scottish railways companies which became constituents of the LMS and the LNER. This excellent addition to our range of railway atlases will be very much welcomed by the many railway enthusiasts who have great interest in and affection for Scotland''s railways, their history and heritage.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn indispensable guide to the CAA and EASA PPL and LAPL Air Law Theoretical Knowledge requirements and written examination.The Air Law Revision Guide starts with a revision section covering all the essential knowledge required to pass the CAA or EASA PPL or LAPL Air Law Theoretical Knowledge examination. This essential knowledge revision section is a unique feature of AFE Revision Guides, allowing the user to consolidate and update their knowledge before attempting the sample exam papers.The essential knowledge revision section is followed by four practice examination papers, each set out in the style of the UK CAA written examination, with a representative number of questions, time limits, question style and subject coverage.The practice exam papers are followed by the explanation sections, in which the correct answer for each question is given, together with a fully worked explanation of why the given answer is correct and (where appropriate) how it is calculated. For each question, a reference is also given to the AFE Aeronautical Knowledge - Air Law manual for further study if required.Based on the best-selling ''PPL Question and Answer'' books which have helped tens of thousands of pilots through their written exams, this revised edition of the CAA and EASA Air Law Revision Guide series is the only up-to-date publication for a pilot studying for the current UK CAA written examination for PPL and LAPL Air Law and incorporates the most recent changes to that examination.The 2021 edition of the EASA PPL Air Law Revision Guide has been fully updated and revised to incorporate the most recent changes to the written examinations.

Read more less

Book SynopsisToo often, the subject of radio communications is treated as an ''after thought'' in pilot training. The student pilot may be expected to learn largely from their own training experience but, without a deeper knowledge of proper radio phraseology and Air Traffic Service (ATS) procedures, the student becomes a pilot who is under-confident in use of the radio and dealing with any ATS unit other than that at their home airfield.This potential shortcoming was addressed in the 2015 EASA Private Pilot Licence (PPL) and Light Aircraft Pilot Licence (LAPL) courses, produced by a team of experienced flying instructors and examiners put together by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This new syllabus is designed to bring PPL and LAPL training in-line with the modern training environment. In particular, the new training courses are focused on providing up-to-date and practical aeronautical knowledge, rather than requiring the pilot to rote learn largely academic and irrelevant material with little application to ''real world'' flying.To make the most of this new approach to PPL and LAPL theoretical knowledge, Aeronautical Knowledge, Communications is part of a brand new series of aviation training manuals, designed from the beginning to take full advantage of this new methodology in aviation training. In this book, AFE has produced a totally new publication for the subject of Communications, fully aligned with the 2015 EASA PPL and LAPL syllabi and providing the pilot with a deeper understanding of the day-to-day radio procedures in accordance with European standards including the Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA).Aeronautical Knowledge, Communications approaches the subject of radio phraseology and procedures on a ''step-by-step'' basis, from a starting point assuming no prior knowledge of the subject, through to a comprehensive coverage of practical radio communications for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight. In line with modern teaching methodology, the emphasis is on developing sound knowledge and practical skills, rather than requiring the student pilot to learn purely academic material with little or no application to day-to-day operations.Aeronautical Knowledge, Communications is part of a new series of publications marking a fresh and modern approach to Theoretical Knowledge training. This series is now delivering the real-word aeronautical knowledge that today''s pilot need - not just to pass the relevant exams but also to operate safely and proficiently in the modern aviation environment.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOperational Procedures is one of the first Theoretical Knowledge (TK) subjects to be tackled on almost any pilot''s licence course.Nevertheless, many student pilots approach ''Ops Proc'' with a heavy heart, not helped by the original syllabus for the subject which was confused and lacked practical knowledge. This shortcoming was addressed in the new 2015 EASA pilot training syllabi, designed to bring pilot training into line with the modern flying environment.To make the best of this new approach to teaching aviation Theoretical Knowledge requires new training material for the student pilot, and Aeronautical Knowledge - Operational Procedures is part of a brand-new series of training manuals, designed from the beginning to take full advantage of this new methodology in aviation training. Rather than merely making revisions to an existing publication, AFE has produced a totally new training manual for Operational Procedures, covering new topics such as Threat and Error Management (TEM), EASA ''Part-NCO'' regulations, Portable Electronic Devices (PED) and incident reporting.Written by the best-selling aviation author of over 25 pilot training manuals, Aeronautical Knowledge - Operational Procedures finally brings this important aviation subject fully up-to-date.

Read more less

Book SynopsisUnlike many of his fellow managers, Dick was a rail enthusiast at heart and never lost his passion for locomotives and their crews. He considered himself first and foremost a ''people person'' and estimated he had worked during his career with more than 25,000 men and women, many of whom became close friends and remained so for many years afterwards. After retirement in 1982, he made a major contribution to the continuance of main line steam train operations across the network. This book is a welcome reissue of two of his autobiographical volumes outlining aspects of his illustrious railway career, Steam in the Blood and Railways in the Blood. These have been out of print for some years and their reissue in this competitively priced paperback edition, will bring the life and times of this remarkable railwayman to the attention of a new audience.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of our best received railway titles in recent years was Northern Rail Rover, a selection of unpublished photos taken in the final years of steam on Britain''s railways by photographer, Allan Heyes. We were delighted when Allan agreed to compile a sequel from his extensive archive which covers his travels in search of steam in the 1960s. The result is an all new collection of his work, Northern Rail Steam.This book takes the reader on a journey recorded in over 200 images, which starts in North Wales and moves on through Chester to Merseyside. There follows a roughly circular itinerary starting around the Wigan area and south east Lancashire before heading to the north east and Cumbria before returning to Lancashire. While the majority of photos cover steam on the BR network, some explore the colliery and other industrial lines which fed traffic onto the main lines. Sequences of pictures at certain locations will recreate the lineside experience of many enthusiasts at this time and will bring them to life for those too young to remember those days.A feature of the photographs of Allan Heyes is that they honestly and accurately portray the reality of those last years of steam. There is no attempt to glamorise the subject, the dirty and unkempt nature of engine sheds and their locos is here for all to see. The book also focuses on the infrastructure and the environment of the steam railway so much of which has been swept away in the decades following the end of steam on Britain''s railways.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book is a meticulously researched review of the many German, Italian and Japanese aircraft taken to Allied countries or flown by the Allies during or after the Second World War. The history of these captured aircraft has been extensively researched and the book is copiously illustrated by an unrivalled selection of around 500 photographs, gleaned from around the world.The book''s chapters are devoted to chronological themes describing the individual histories of each aircraft and the units which flew them in the USA or France or in specific theatres of war, with a final chapter covering the use made of aircraft in other countries. Coverage includes civilian aircraft and sailplanes as well as military types; post-war production of German designs and details of surviving aircraft in museums. Appendices and indexes cover designation and marking systems, information sources and other useful background.The UK chapters include coverage of RAF Farnborough, 1426 (EA) Flight, individual squadrons, experimental organisations and manufacturers, the ATAIU in Malaya and the little-known Gremlin Task Force. US chapters deal with evaluation at Wright Field, Freeman Field, and in Europe by Watson''s Whizzers, by the US Navy TAIC at Anacostia, TAIUs in Australia and the Philippines and many individual units. The book also includes the most complete record published of British ''Air Min'' and USAAF ''FE'' and ''T2'' aircraft numbering systems.This new edition of an acclaimed title first published nearly thirty years ago has been fully revised and updated. The opportunity has been taken to use modern technology to improve the quality of the images and many new photos uncovered since the original publication have been included.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSince its first issue published in 2007, The Southern Way has become the acknowledged definitive journal on the history and heritage of the Southern Railway and the Southern Region of British Railways. The quarterly periodical has now reached issue number 60, and it continues to be the ''go-to'' reference for all those interested in the UK''s Southern Railways. Each issue contains a variety of articles and photo features, each offering an in-depth exploration of an historical aspect of the railways, rolling stock, infrastructure, incidents, events and people associated with ''The Southern Way''.The 60th issue of The Southern Way continues the tradition of previous issues with articles including:- The Queen and the Southern- 1948 - A Year of Change- Elmers End to Addiscombe and Sanderstead- Southern Engine Sheds in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire- Southern Railway Platform Tickets- A Day in the Life- Accidents will Happen- Longmoor Military Railway Open Day- Class 33 Mock-ups- Class 33s in the 1960s- Bulleid''s Class 4DD EMUs- Raworth/Bulleid Class 70 Electric Locomotives- BR Standard 2-6-4Ts on the SouthernIllustrated throughout its 96 pages, including rare and previously unseen colour images, The Southern Way continues to be the ultimate reference source for railway modellers, historians and enthusiasts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSolar Power Finance Without the Jargon introduces financial concepts through a lively history of the solar industry, and cuts through the main areas of mystique and misinformation about solar technology and projects. With extensive experience in answering questions from clients in the solar, finance and energy industries, Chase focuses on the practical and financial aspects of solar power, making this book suitable for those wanting to work in clean energy or who have a strong interest in the subject, particularly those without a business background.Since the first edition was published in 2019, solar capacity has only grown bigger and cheaper, opening up new markets. Most significantly, Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, igniting an energy crisis across the world which made countries glad of any renewable energy capacity they had built, as well as amplifying calls for a diversified and resilient global supply chain for renewable energy components. This second edition of Solar Power Finance Without the Jargon is considerably more detailed and optimistic about batteries and hydrogen. It extensively updates readers on the rapidly-changing price and energy landscape, the latest industry thinking on the effects of large volumes of renewable energy on the grid and the path to deep decarbonisation of human civilisation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis substantially updated edition now in full colour provides key techniques used when working with fungal and fungal-like plant pathogens. As a practical manual it also deals with disease recognition, detection and identification of fungi, plus methods to characterise and curate fungi and handle them under quarantine and quality assurance systems. Furthermore, this new edition includes significant updates with respect to:- Greater awareness and concern internationally about plant health and biosecurity.- Molecular biology - next generation sequencing and in-field detection.- Improved opportunities for surveillance and detection in diverse substrates. - Changes in taxonomy and reference to current fungal plant pathogens.- New chapters on tree health, and public awareness, outreach and communications.Fungal Plant Pathogens: Applied Techniques, 2nd edition provides a valuable guide to investigating fungal plant diseases and interpreting laboratory findings for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students, extension plant pathologists, consultants and advisers in agriculture, forestry and horticulture, and the food supply chain.

Read more less

Book SynopsisScale insects feed on plant juices and can easily be transported to new countries on live plants. They sometimes become invasive pests, costing billions of dollars in damage to crops worldwide annually, and farmers try to control them with toxic pesticides, risking environmental damage. Fortunately, scale insects are highly susceptible to control by natural enemies so biological control is possible. They have unique genetic systems, unusual metamorphosis, a broad spectrum of essential symbionts, and some are sources of commercial products like red dyes, shellac and wax. There is, therefore, wide interest in these unusual, destructive, beneficial, and abundant insects. The Encyclopedia of Scale Insect Pests is the most comprehensive work on worldwide scale insect pests, providing detailed coverage of the most important species (230 species in 26 families, 36% of the scale insect pest species known). Advice is provided on collection, preservation, slide-mounting, vouchering, and labelling of specimens, fully illustrated with colour photographs, diagrams and drawings. Pest species are presented in two informal groups of families, the 'primitive' Archaeococcoids followed by the more 'advanced' Neococcoids, covered in phylogenetic order. Each family is illustrated and diagnosed based on features of live and slide-mounted specimens, with information on numbers of genera and species, main hosts, distribution, and biology. For the important pest species, coverage includes information on the morphology of live and slide-mounted specimens, common names, principal synonyms, geographical distribution, plant hosts, plant damage and economic impact, reproductive biology, dispersal, and management strategies including biological, cultural and chemical control, sterile insect techniques, regulatory control, early warning systems and field monitoring. An additional complete list of scale insect pests worldwide is provided, comprising 642 species in 28 scale insect families (about 8% of the 8373 species of living scales known), with information on plant hosts, geographical distribution and validation sources. Beneficial uses of scale insects include sources of red dyes, natural resins and waxes, and agents for invasive weed control, alongside the importance of their honeydew to bees for making honey, and as a food source to other animals. Academic researchers, students, entomologists, pest management officials in agribusiness or government including plant quarantine identifiers, extensionists, farmers, field scientists and ecologists will all benefit from this book.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Beneficial scale insects Chapter 2: A list of scale insect agricultural pests Chapter 3: Archaeococcids Chapter 4: Neococcoids Chapter 5: Collection, preservation, slide-mounting, labelling and vouchering of scale insects

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe fungal genus Ganoderma includes around 80 currently recognized species that are widely distributed in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions, and cause disease in a range of economically important perennial crops and tree-like plants. Ganoderma root and lower stem rots have a significant impact on yields from crops including oil palm, coconut, beverage crops, Acacia and rubber. The identification of species responsible for stem and butt rots is often ambiguous as closely related species may only be distinguished by subtle morphological differences. Within species there can be considerable morphological plasticity and this can make morphology-based identification difficult, particularly for species described from a single specimen. Molecular techniques are helping to slowly resolve Ganoderma taxonomy but it will be some time (if ever) before the taxonomy is fully resolved. This book brings together information on Ganoderma species that are reported to be responsible for crop diseases in tropical and sub-tropical agriculture and covers taxonomy, biology, genetics, aetiology, epidemiology and control. This book is an essential resource for researchers in Ganoderma in crop science and tropical agriculture, as well as practitioners and industry.

Read more less

Book SynopsisKiwifruit is one of the few fruit crops that has been successfully introduced to the marketplace and for which commercial production in several countries has expanded rapidly over the last 50 years. Kiwifruit science and production has advanced significantly during this time, with multiple new green-, yellow- and red-fleshed cultivars being commercialized while moving into the era of genomics, sustainability, digital technology and automation. This book reviews the scientific and technical information published on kiwifruit, their biology and management. It provides a comprehensive reference on kiwifruit, including their history, genetic material, culture, physiology, pest and disease control, and fruit consumption. Particular attention is given to recent threats and opportunities, including environmental issues, the disease Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, new genetics, new growing areas and technology advances. Contributions from a wide range of international specialists ensure coverage of key aspects of kiwifruit and their culture in different environments.Of particular interest to academic researchers in horticulture, the book is also suitable for a wider audience including extension personnel, growers, consultants, and professional and technical staff associated with the kiwifruit industry.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book addresses topics related to the impact of invasive species including biosecurity, demographics, species diversity and food security. It is meant for researchers, upper-level students, and policy makers and provides a factual basis for the underlying science and a discussion of that information with respect to current and future impacts and possible solutions. This book explores the nexus of climate change and biological invasions, resulting impacts (biological and economic) and assesses ways to reduce vulnerability and increase the resiliency and sustainability of managed and unmanaged ecosystems. The book has three parts, focusing on: (1) the dimensions of the problem; background and science; (2) case studies; (3) Management: detection, prevention, control and adaptation. This revised edition examines a wide range of topics and region, the underlying science, examples (case studies) from around the world, and ways and means to recognize, manage and control the consequences. It includes new cases and new threats; for example, a chapter summarizing case studies regarding climate change and invasive species that are also disease carriers (e.g. ticks and Lyme disease).- Covers a wide range of topics and areas- Examines the synergy between invasive species and climate change- Explains options to control and mitigate effectsThis book is of interest to academics, researchers and students studying climate change and invasive species. Those interested in the environment and ecology, land managers, policy makers, agronomists, federal and state departments of natural resources, climate change activists, public health professionals.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, is the most destructive and invasive termite species globally. It is also the only termite species listed in the world's 100 worst invasive alien species of the Global Invasive Species Database. Annually, its infestation costs more than $4 billion in control and damage repairs in the USA alone. This book is the first comprehensive resource drawing on all the literature on C. formosanus since Tokuichi Shiraki first described the species in 1909. The book covers the worldwide distribution of this species, its biogeography, and how it has dispersed from its native range in southern China and Taiwan to different parts of the world. It describes its present taxonomic status and discusses the species' biology, ecology, foraging behavior, physiology, chemical ecology and its association with symbionts. From a practical standpoint, the authors address all of the various management options for this species, such as baits, soil termiticides, wood preservatives, inspection and detection technologies, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches. Lastly, there are chapters dedicated to another important destructive species, Coptotermes gestroi (the Asian subterranean termite), and the recently discovered C. formosanus/C. gestroi hybrids. This important book is an essential and valuable reference for researchers, graduate students, pest management professionals, chemical manufacturer personnel, building and property managers, and others. It provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of the biology and management of the Formosan subterranean termite and the Asian subterranean termite.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction. By Nan-Yao Su and Chow-Yang Lee. Chapter 2: Biogeography of Coptotermes formosanus. By Rudolf H. Scheffrahn. Chapter 3: Taxonomic status of Coptotermes formosanus and related species. By Hou-Feng Li and Chia-Chien Wu. Chapter 4: A primer to termite biology: Coptotermes colony life cycle, development, and demographics. By Thomas Chouvenc. Chapter 5: Ecology and foraging behavior. By Nan-Yao Su. Chapter 6: Physiology of the Formosan subterranean termite, with special reference to wood degradation and metabolism. By Gaku Tokuda, Shuji Itakura, Nathan Lo. Chapter 7: Chemical Ecology. By Qian Sun. Chapter 8: Symbiosis and microbiome: a unique quadripartite system. By Claudia Husseneder. Chapter 9: Dispersal and genetic structure of colonies and populations. By Edward L. Vargo. Chapter 10: Inspection and monitoring. By Faith M. Oi. Chapter 11: Management using baits. By Nan-Yao Su. Chapter 12: Management of subterranean termites with liquid insecticides. By Chow-Yang Lee and Kok-Boon Neoh. Chapter 13: Prevention of damage to building materials using wood preservatives. By Wakako Ohmura and Koichi Yamamoto. Chapter 14: Alternative and experimental management methods. By J. Kenneth Grace. Chapter 15: IPM and area-wide population management. By Nan-Yao Su. Chapter 16: Asian Subterranean Termite, Coptermes gestroi. By Kok-Boon Neoh and Chow-Yang Lee. Chapter 17: Hybridization between Coptotermes formosanus and Coptotermes gestroi. By Thomas Chouvenc and Hou-Feng Li. Chapter. 18: Using Coptotermes for laboratory experiments: field collection, laboratory rearing and bioassay visualization. By Thomas Chouvenc. Chapter 19: More questions to answer

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisJackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae) and is widely esteemed in tropical Asia. The jackfruit tree is well suited to tropical lowlands, and is widely cultivated throughout South and South-East Asia. It is also grown to a limited extent in Australia, USA, East Africa, as well as in Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean. Producing giant fruits which can reach up to 80kg in size, jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world. It is highly versatile, providing food, timber, fuel in addition to medicinal and industrial products. The ripe fruit is sweet and is more often used for desserts. Canned green jackfruit has a mild taste and meat-like texture that lends itself to being called a 'vegetable meat'. Hence, it is growing in popularity due to its use as a vegan meat alternative.The tree is a major component of subsistence and small-farming systems and the fruit often assumes the role of a secondary staple food as well as contributing to the livelihoods of the poor. Despite this, it is still an underutilized crop in many countries. Containing information on jackfruit production technology, postharvest management and processing, this is a valuable resource for researchers in horticulture, plant science, and those interested in sustainable food systems.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe future of Africa and the whole globe is dependent on sustainable agribusiness management. This book offers insights to a wide range of agricultural marketing and agribusiness management practices with a focus on sustainability. It is designed to provide academics and graduate students in business studies with a comprehensive treatment of the nature of agricultural marketing and agribusiness management, as well as sustainability transitions and related practices in certain regions of the world (particularly in Africa). The text also serves as an invaluable resource for agricultural marketing practitioners requiring more than anecdotal evidence on the structure and operation of agricultural marketing and agribusiness management, as well as sustainability in different organisations and geographical areas. It allows the reader to compare and contrast agricultural marketing and agribusiness management, as well as sustainability practices across different research methodologies and settings. The book provides a unique mix of theory, reviews, primary research findings and case studies.

Read more less

Listen to the bees.Bees reflect human society – understand them and we can get a little closer to understanding ourselves. Humans and bees have enjoyed a close relationship for millennia, and the entries in this book reflect at least two thousand years of fascination with the world's favourite insect. Monarch, celebrity, monk, peasant, warrior or regular Joe, there are few who haven't fallen under the spell of bees and the riches they bring. From superstition to science, cake recipes to self-help, these quotes are a mirror to ourselves – our hopes and fears, our lives and deaths. Not to mention our taste-buds.'A summer where there are no bees becomes as sad and as empty as one without flowers or birds' The Life of the Bee, Maurice Maeterlinck, 1901, trans. Alfred Sutro, 1914.In many European countries and parts of North America it is traditional to visit a hive and 'tell the bees' when there is a birth, marriage, departure, return or death in the family.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Fascinating ... compelling ... very funny' Sunday Times'A defiant call to arms ... affecting ... lingers long in the memory after its final page' Morning Star'A skilful act of literary witness, sharp, moving and funny' Joanne Limburg 'Christoph Keller ... ranks among the great Swiss writers' Neue Zürcher ZeitungMost stories of disability follow a familiar pattern: Life Before Accident. Life After Accident. For Christoph Keller, it was different: his childhood diagnosis with a form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy only revealed what had been with him since birth. SMA III, the 'kindest one', allows those who have it to live a long life, and it progresses slowly. There is no cure. By the age of 25, he had to use a wheelchair some of the time. 'There were two of me: Walking Me. Rolling Me.' By 32, he could still walk into a restaurant with a cane or on somebody's arm. At 45, 'Rolling Me' took over altogether.Intimate, absurdist and winningly frank, Every Cripple a Superhero is at once a memoir of life with a progressive disorder, and a profound exploration of the challenges of loving, being loved, and living a public life - navigating restaurants, aeroplanes, museums and artists' retreats - in a world not designed for you. Threaded throughout are Keller's own photographs of the unexpected beauty found in puddle-filled 'curb cuts', the pavement ramps that, left to disintegrate, form part of the urban obstacle course. Those puddles become portals into a different, truer city; and, as they do, so this book - told with humour and immense grace - begins to uncover a truer world: one where the 'normal' is not normal, where disability is far more widespread than we might think, and where there always exist, just alongside our own, the lives of everyday superheroes.Trade ReviewFascinating ... [The book is] a series of snapshots, anecdotes, poems and short stories about what it is to be disabled in a world that isn't very interested in accommodating disability. This isn't an angry book, it's a very funny one ... compelling and unsettling. The tension between Keller's intellect and his physical weakness courses through the writing ...Yet his gripe is not with his own physical limitations ... Keller is asking us to consider whether it is disability that is the problem, or whether it is a society that insists on seeing people with disabilities that way -- Rosie Kinchen * The Sunday Times *A defiant call to arms ... angry and funny in equal measure ... [Keller's life story is] enough to move any reader to remove dust from their proverbial eye ... moving ... Every Cripple a Superhero lingers long in the memory after its final page -- Craig Campbell * Morning Star *A skilful act of literary witness, sharp, moving and funny -- Joanne Limburg, author of Letters to My Weird SistersWhat is it like to have a 'wasting' disease? In Every Cripple a Superhero, the excellence of Christoph Keller's writing is matched by its fearlessness. Precision, tragicomedy, quiet rage, elegant storytelling; every awkwardness, every frustration, every terror, every abjection is illuminated by the superpower of his style. No word or phrase is wasted in this marvellous book. And by the way, it is also a love story -- Alicia Ostriker, New York State Poet Laureate 2018-2021 and author of The Volcano and After: Selected and New Poems 2002-2019An eye-opener regarding the everyday obstacles the author has to overcome when negotiating his local environment. The passage describing the absurd, insulting, and tragi-comic experience of visiting an award-winning new building and finding the only way to enter by wheelchair is via a remote corner of the building should be compulsory reading for anyone aiming to design inclusive spaces -- Laura Vaughan, Professor of Urban Form and Society, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College LondonShocking ... Keller's humor is quiet and sophisticated, melancholic and sarcastic, wide awake and always open to the unexpectedly beautiful ... [his] book has a lightness that brings tears to your eyes * Kulturzeitschrift *Everyone who doesn't use a wheelchair, and everyone who does, should read Christoph Keller's Every Cripple A Superhero. So many worlds exist side-by-side, yet we seldom truly enter the experience of another. Grace, strength, and humor are superpowers of extraordinary depth and stature, and Keller's slender, powerful book glows like a supernova -- Jayne Anne Phillips, author of Quiet Dell and Lark and TermiteExplosive and moving, the book also has a real capacity to open the eyes of readers and to change attitudes * Procap Magazine *Christoph Keller ... ranks among the great Swiss writers * Neue Zürcher Zeitung *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBetween 1981 and 2011, NASA's reusable transportation system, the Space Shuttle, completed 135 launches. Along with launching and servicing many satellites, space-based observatories and planetary missions, the Shuttle also lifted most of the components for the Space Station into orbit. It helped build a commercial space industry by launching non-governmental satellites for private companies. Following NASA's lead, European governments banded together to create the European Space Agency. With cooperation from Canada, Japan and Russia, the International Space Station was created. This book looks at the legacy of the Space Shuttle, its missions and roles, and appreciates that, as an engineering feat, it was a marvel.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis Chronicle opens a fascinating window revealing life during the Second World War and the decades following it, and how everyone has benefited by developments in technology. Future generations will be interested to learn how ordinary people fared during the twentieth and early twenty-first century. During this period there was so much innovation, which included home ownership, university education, universal medical care, washing machines, central heating, wall-to-wall carpets, high-definition televisions, computers, social media, car ownership and overseas travel. Subsequently many of these became universally available and are now be taken for granted by succeeding generations. During the late 20th century a generation of dedicated telecommunications engineers worldwide, provided the basis for important innovations which enabled world events to be accurately reported at home and across international borders counteracting propaganda and false news from rogue states. This narrative is a compelling invitation for readers to grasp every opportunity that presents itself and exploit the most adventurous life possible. It shows it is never too late to get out of a rut and combat mid-life blues. It is always possible to do something extraordinary, live life to the full and eventually look back on a fulfilled existence.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat exactly is White Elephant Technology?White Elephant Technology is any unusual invention past or present that fails in the marketplace despite its innovative nature. From jeeps that fly to tanks that shouldn’t; from a wave-powered boat that took over three months to reach its destination to a jet-powered train that shook itself apart, White Elephant Technology showcases each inventor’s talent for creating something nobody asked for. Importantly, none of these inventions are speculative. Each one was built, field tested and worked more or less as planned (except when it killed its creator).Although success is highly prized, failure has a lot to teach us, especially when you realise it’s the rule and not the exception. Still, no one has undertaken a survey of failed inventions despite history being littered with them … until now. White Elephant Technology corrects this oversight in an entertaining, respectful and occasionally humorous manner, proving that failure is not only as fascinating as success but is also the purest expression of the human condition.Trade Review‘I read this book and loved it! There were so many inventions I’d never heard of. I only wish I’d read it before I started my museum.’ -- Dr Samuel West * Founder, Museum of Failure *'White Elephant Technology is a fascinating look at the wild, wacky, and downright weird contraptions concocted by inventors who couldn't leave well enough alone. Flying tanks, flying bikes, flying cars, swimming cars, train-planes, plane-trains, even a rail Zeppelin. They're dissected with a wit so dry you can almost hear the hapless tinkerers as they utter "Back to the drawing board.' -- Stuart Elliot * former New York Times columnist *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the time of the Picts to the present day, Scotland has played an important role in the development of British brewing, providing a host of inventions and other contributions vital to its success. Covering such topics as Scotch Ale, Porter, Shilling Ales and the influential waters of Edinburgh and Alloa, The Little History of Scottish Brewing will intrigue both the aficionado and the interested enthusiast.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn December 1943, a top secret contract (E.24/43) was awarded to Miles Aircraft. The contract was to build the world's first supersonic jet capable of 1000mph. The only reliable source of data on supersonic objects came from the Armament Research Dept and their wind tunnel tests on ammunition. From this, Miles developed an exceptionally thin-winged, bullet-shaped aircraft. the research was inexplicably passed to the Americans in 1944. By December 1945, one prototype was virtually complete. The second, destined for an attempt at the sound barrier was 80 per cent complete. In February 1946, Capt Eric Brown was confirmed as the test pilot and October 1946 was set for the supersonic trials. However, on 12 February 1946, Miles were ordered to stop production. No plausible explanation was given for the cancellation when Britain was within six months of breaking the sound barrier. Eric Brown and others directly involved including Dennis Bancroft, the Chief Aerodynamicist on the M.52, have now come together to try and finally solve the mystery behind the cancellation.

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘An extraordinary history’ PETER ACKROYD, The Times‘A lively account of (Bazalgette’s) magnificent achievements. . . graphically illustrated’ HERMIONE HOBHOUSE‘Halliday is good on sanitary engineering and even better on cloaca, crud and putrefaction . . . (he) writes with the relish of one who savours his subject and has deeply researched it. . . splendidly illustrated’ RUTH RENDELLIn the sweltering summer of 1858, sewage generated by over two million Londoners was pouring into the Thames, producing a stink so offensive that it drove Members of Parliament from the chamber of the House of Commons.The Times called the crisis ‘The Great Stink’. Parliament had to act – drastic measures were required to clean the Thames and to improve London’s primitive system of sanitation. The great engineer entrusted with this enormous task was Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who rose to the challenge and built the system of intercepting sewers, pumping stations and treatment works that serves London to this day. In the process, he cleansed the Thames and helped banish cholera.The Great Stink of London offers a vivid insight into Bazalgette’s achievements and the era in which he worked and lived, including his heroic battles with politicians and bureaucrats that would transform the face and health of the world’s then largest city.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary history -- Peter AckroydA lively account of (Bazalgette’s) magnificent achievements. . . graphically illustrated -- Hermione HobhouseHalliday is good on sanitary engineering and even better on cloaca, crud and putrefaction . . . (he) writes with the relish of one who savours his subject and has deeply researched it. . . splendidly illustrated -- Ruth RendellAn extraordinary history -- Peter AckroydA lively account of (Bazalgette’s) magnificent achievements. . . graphically illustrated -- Hermione HobhouseHalliday is good on sanitary engineering and even better on cloaca, crud and putrefaction . . . (he) writes with the relish of one who savours his subject and has deeply researched it. . . splendidly illustrated -- Ruth Rendell

Read more less

Book SynopsisRunning a railway is a complex business. However organised it is, there will always be surprises: often hilarious, frequently unexpected, but sometimes serious.Along Different Lines includes such bizarre ‘everyday’ events as coping with hurricanes, rogue locomotives and runaway wagons; PR successes and otherwise; the Brighton Belle, Flying Scotsman and Mallard; training-course capers; a wino invasion; trackside antics; the Eurostar backdrop; the birth of a prison; and royal and other special occasions.Expert authors Geoff Body and Bill Parker lovingly compiled this entertaining collection in which railway professionals recall notable incidents from across their careers. This illustrated compilation provides an enjoyable look back at life on the railways.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTwo supplement volumes round off the British and Commonwealth Armies series. Supplement Volume 1 contains five chapters providing data covering formations in North Africa, the Mediterranean, North-West Europe, Burma / India and Special Forces. The units covered range from 7th Armoured Division in North Africa to Fiji?s military forces.Careful presentation combined with a host of hard-to-find information ensure this will be the standard source for order-of-battle data about the British and Commonwealth armies. All organisations are analysed down to platoon level, and listings include specific types of equipment and weaponry used, along with explanatory notes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOur world can be pretty weird. If you do not believe us, come and see this surprising science for yourself!

Read more less

Book SynopsisDigital Health: The Impact of Technology on Healthcare offers an enlightening deep dive into the dynamic intersection of healthcare and technology. This seminal work explores how digital innovations are revolutionising patient care, treatment modalities, and health management. It navigates the reader through the labyrinth of modern technological advancements, uncovering the profound implications they have on the healthcare industry.Delving into the core of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics, this book illuminates their transformative roles in reshaping diagnosis, treatment customization, and predictive healthcare. It addresses the surge in telehealth and remote monitoring, showcasing how these digital platforms extend the reach of medical services to previously underserved populations.Through meticulous research and insightful analysis, the book examines the rise of personalised medicine facilitated by genomic sequencing, changing the landscape of treatment efficacy and patient care. It also critically assesses the evolving landscape of wearable health technologies and mobile health applications, highlighting their growing influence on proactive health management and lifestyle choices.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPrinciples of Pavement Engineering, Third edition is an essential reference on fundamental principles of pavement engineering, showing how to design, construct, evaluate and maintain pavements of all types.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEarly Contractor Involvement explains how to structure and administer a process of early contractor involvement within a two-stage tender process. It provides clear practical guidance on the range of factors that need to be considered to achieve the benefits of early contractor involvement (ECI).

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBIM: Contractual and Legal Perspectives is a guide to the legal and contractual issues that need to be considered when operating under Building Information Modelling (BIM). The book illustrates the ways in which these issues are presently addressed and considers emerging approaches that can support the effective integration of BIM.

Read more less

Book SynopsisProfessor O'Reilly brings a lifetime's engineering experience, and not a little scholarship, to an enduring problem.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA revised new edition of first book by the author Bill Munro on the history of this famous coach-building company.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGood maintenance regimes do not happen by accident: they need careful planning, proactive management and comprehensive reporting. This Guide has been prepared for all those involved in maintenance; electrical technicians, maintenance managers and also office-based design staff. The document provides updates to the original text where necessary and introduces additional items and areas for consideration as part of a maintenance programme. Appendix B in the original document now forms a new Section to provide greater focus on the practical aspects across a wide range of electrical installations. Additional topics have been added, and the format revised to make it a more practical tool for technicians and supervisors alike. A good maintenance regime has an increasingly significant role in a more sustainable world where correctly maintained electrical systems keep operating at their maximum energy efficiency for longer and are disposed of correctly at the end of their lifecycle.Table of Contents Foreword Author Biography Section 1: Management aspects of electrical maintenance Section 2: Technical aspects of electrical maintenance Appendix A: Checklists Appendix B: Summary of relevant legislation and standards Appendix C: References Appendix D: Glossary Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Internet for the People, leading tech writer Ben Tarnoff offers an answer. The internet is broken, he argues, because it is owned by private firms and run for profit. Google annihilates your privacy and Facebook amplifies right-wing propaganda because it is profitable to do so. But the internet wasn't always like this-it had to be remade for the purposes of profit maximization, through a years-long process of privatization that turned a small research network into a powerhouse of global capitalism. Tarnoff tells the story of the privatization that made the modern internet, and which set in motion the crises that consume it today.The solution to those crises is straightforward: deprivatize the internet. Deprivatization aims at creating an internet where people, and not profit, rule. It calls for shrinking the space of the market and diminishing the power of the profit motive. It calls for abolishing the walled gardens of Google, Facebook, and the other giants that dominate our digital lives and developing publicly and cooperatively owned alternatives that encode real democratic control. To build a better internet, we need to change how it is owned and organized. Not with an eye towards making markets work better, but towards making them less dominant. Not in order to create a more competitive or more rule-bound version of privatization, but to overturn it. Otherwise, a small number of executives and investors will continue to make choices on everyone's behalf, and these choices will remain tightly bound by the demands of the market. It's time to demand an internet by, and for, the people now.Trade ReviewBen Tarnoff is the best kind of visionary: deeply knowledgeable, intensely practical, and utterly committed to the transformation of an abusive and corrupt status quo. We are profoundly fortunate to have his fine mind focussed on reimagining the tools that have remade our lives. An extraordinary and urgent book. -- Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not EnoughThe privacy-invading, throttled, and ad-filled Internet we have is not the Internet we deserve. But as Ben Tarnoff lucidly lays out, if we want to manifest the latent democratic potential of our communications infrastructure, we will have to wrest control from the privatizers and profiteers and transform the underlying political economy. Internet for the People provides an engaging and enraging account of how the online world was hijacked by corporate interests, excavating the past so we can envision and organize for a better future. Ben Tarnoff has done a public service writing this book. Now we need to get busy building the movements and popular power that can fight for an Internet in the public interest. -- Astra Taylor, author of Democracy May Not Exist But We’ll Miss it When It’s Gone and The People’s PlatformTarnoff offers not only an eloquent and essential guide to the history of our capitalist internet, he also charts the myriad ways in which alternatives are emerging. A key book for imagining a better digital future. -- Nick Srnicek, author of Platform CapitalismThroughout this easy-reading narrative history, Tarnoff weaves his thesis that the internet must be de-privatized for the good of users....Tarnoff's politically infused history and critical analysis of the privatized internet is a useful, brief primer. -- Grace O'Hanlon * Library Journal *A helpful reframing-from thinking about how to avoid a horrible internet to how to create a good one....Tarnoff wants to bring the internet back to its publicly owned, civically oriented roots, and whether or not that's the right thing to do, it's the right question to ask. -- Gabriel Nicholas * Washington Post *Strikes a happy middle ground between technical history and polemic. -- Evan Malmgren * The Nation *In this stalled conversation, Ben Tarnoff's new book, Internet for the People, makes a striking intervention....his book reveals the hidden history of the internet and expands our ideas about its possible futures. -- Sarah Leonard * New Republic *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSilicon Valley wants us to believe that technology will revolutionize our cities and the ways we move around. Autonomous vehicles will make us safer, greener, and more efficient. On-demand services like Uber and Lyft will eliminate car ownership. Micromobility devices like electric scooters will be at every corner, and drones will deliver goods and services. Meanwhile visionaries like Elon Musk promise to eliminate congestion with tunnels, and Uber help with flying cars. The future of transport is frictionless, sustainable, and according to Paris Marx, a threat to our ideas of what a society should be.Road to Nowhere exposes the problems with tech's visions of the future and argues that we cannot allow ourselves to be continually distracted by technological fantasies that delay the collective solutions we already know are effective. Technological solutions to social problems and the people who propose them must be challenged if we are to build cities and transportation systems which serve the public good.In response, Paris Marx offers a vision for a more collective way of organizing transportation systems which considers the needs of poor, marginalized, and vulnerable peoples. The book also argues that rethinking mobility can be the first step in a broader reimagining of how we organize our social, economic, and political systems to serve the many, not the few.Trade ReviewThe last decade has been a trainwreck for Silicon Valley's dreams of mobility. Paris Marx's invaluable new book explains how and why big tech's utopian transit projects crashed and burned, why these disasters will keep finding funding if they are not opposed, and what the alternative might look like. The path to a better, more equitable future of transit begins with the Road to Nowhere. -- Brian Merchant, author of The One DeviceA lively summary of the ways Big Tech has distracted us from the urgent task of making our cities work for everyone. -- Jarrett Walker, author of Human TransitAn astute and engaging critique of Silicon Valley's visions for transportation, Marx highlights the problems of technology being driven by the needs of capital and crafts a compelling vision of a world where technology is instead used to deliver social good -- Wendy Liu, author of Abolish Silicon ValleyDraws a compelling picture of the evolution of the Western vision of mobility. -- Konrad Bleyer-Simon * Green European Journal *I recommend Road to Nowhere not only for what it says about transport, but for its approach to technologies more generally ... [it] is far ahead of the depressing pile of texts that put a 'left' gloss on techno-optimism -- Simon Pirani * Ecologist *I know it is heresy, but electric cars are still cars and they won't save us. Marx has written a wonderful book that explains why, and is persuasive about that better, more equitable future we could all have if we looked to Main Street instead of Sand Hill Road. -- Lloyd Alter * Treehugger *Road to Nowhere is a sharply rendered, compelling, and illuminating text that combines diffuse histories and complex processes into a clear narrative. Marx's work helps us better understand the past and contemplate the kind of futures we might bring about. -- Matthew Seidel * Protean Magazine *As greenhouse gas emissions ramp up, housing prices reach astronomical heights, and we all stay stuck in traffic, Paris Marx's new book Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation looks at how the quest for market share got us to this point and why visions of the future from California tech billionaires cannot solve these problems. -- Clement Nocos * Broadbent Institute *[Road to Nowhere] traces the historical echo between automakers' takeover of the North American continent and the present monopolistic powers of the tech industry. -- David A. Banks * Real Life Magazine *You may find yourself driven to drink by the events recounted in this book, but Marx is a designated driver you can count on. -- Rob Larson * Jacobin *Road to Nowhere stands as an intervention into broad discussions about the future of mobility, particularly those currently taking place on the political left. -- Zachary Loeb * Boundary2 *The most concise, well-reasoned critique of that corner of the tech industry that most directly affects cities: transportation. -- James Brasuell * Planetizen *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 1. How the Automobile Disrupted Mobility 9 2. Crafting the Ideology of Tech 36 3. Electric Vehicles and Their Dirty Secret 63 4. Uber's Assault on Cities and Labor 89 5. Self-Driving Cars Did Not Deliver 114 6. Carving New Paths for Cars 140 7. The Coming Fight for the Sidewalk 160 8. The Real Futures That Tech Is Building 180 9. Toward a Better Transport Future 202 Conclusion 228

Read more less