Search results for ""Planet!""

_______________ 'As an advocate for the hungry and the hunted, the forgotten and the ignored, Mary Robinson has not only shone a light on human suffering, but illuminated a better future for our world' BARACK OBAMA SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2018 Holding her first grandchild in her arms in 2003, Mary Robinson was struck by the uncertainty of the world he had been born into. Before his fiftieth birthday, he would share the planet with more than nine billion people – people battling for food, water, and shelter in an increasingly volatile climate. The faceless, shadowy menace of climate change had become, in an instant, deeply personal. Mary Robinson’s mission would lead her all over the world, from Malawi to Mongolia, and to a heartening revelation: that an irrepressible driving force in the battle for climate justice could be found at the grassroots level, mainly among women, many of them mothers and grandmothers like herself. From Sharon Hanshaw, the Mississippi matriarch whose campaign began in her East Biloxi hair salon and culminated in her speaking at the United Nations, to Constance Okollet, a small farmer who transformed the fortunes of her ailing community in rural Uganda, Robinson met with ordinary people whose resilience and ingenuity had already unlocked extraordinary change. Powerful and deeply humane, Climate Justice is a stirring manifesto on one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time, and a lucid, affirmative, and well-argued case for hope.

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Identifies in 'Silicon Valley Cinema' a recent trend in twenty-first century Hollywood film Reveals how 'Silicon Valley Cinema' builds upon previous Hollywood trends Analyses three distinct subtrends in 'Silicon Valley Cinema': biopics, films about the workplace, and science fiction action films, all of which are set in Silicon Valley Demonstrates how this trend interrogates Silicon Valley's development, impact on our present world, and its potential to determine our human future Silicon Valley corporations such as Facebook, Google, and Apple now dominate our daily lives to the extent that they might even be dictating the entire future of humanity. The 2010s saw a sequence of Hollywood films debate how these corporations achieved this position of dominance. This sequence included biopics of key Silicon Valley figures Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, science fiction action extravaganzas like Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Venom, and Terminator: Genisys, the dystopian thriller The Circle, and extended to The Internship and Why Him?, whimsical comedies that warned us of the profound dangers of Silicon Valley capitalism. Silicon Valley Cinema argues that these films undercut the messianic pretensions of our Silicon Valley overlords and encourage us to end our immersion in Silicon Valley's technotopia. Releasing ourselves from Silicon Valley's grip, they suggest, will make our working lives more pleasurable, our world a better place, and might even avert a cataclysmic war with genetically enhanced apes or a robot-led apocalypse.

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Rochdale is a town in post-industrial Britain, but it could be anywhere on the digitalised, environmentally decimated planet: a place devoid of hope, where poverty, violence, and squalor are the near-future consequences of decisions being made at this very moment. Grime is the dazzling multi voice story of four teenagers haphazardly brought together by individual tragedy and a collective love of grime, the music genre that replaced punk as the sound of the angry and the dispossessed: martial-arts-obsessed Don(atella); Peter, a traumatised Polish boy; Karen, a tech-savvy girl with albinism; and Hannah, an orphan from Liverpool. Despite the increasingly sophisticated workings of an authoritarian surveillance state, the four set out to exact revenge on the people they hold responsible for their misery. But what starts out as a teen hit squad evolves into a makeshift family as the four kids attempt to create a home on the fringes - both physically and mentally - of society. In this stylistically innovative epic, acclaimed novelist Sibylle Berg addresses the question currently being debated around the world: where will climate change, artificial intelligence, the rise of right-wing populism, and the inexorable expansion of surveillance lead? This masterful dystopian satire is a merciless and surgically precise evisceration of neoliberalism, and beneath its rage and brutality beats a deeply human heart. Grime spent 25 weeks on European bestseller lists and won the Swiss Book Prize.

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'John Feffer is our 21st-century Jack London' - Mike Davis In a post-Trump world, the right is still very much in power. Significantly more than half the world’s population currently lives under some form of right-wing populist or authoritarian rule. Today’s autocrats are, at first glance, a diverse band of brothers. But religious, economic, social and environmental differences aside, there is one thing that unites them - their hatred of the liberal, globalised world. This unity is their strength, and through control of government, civil society and the digital world they are working together across borders to stamp out the left. In comparison, the liberal left commands only a few disconnected islands - Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain and Uruguay. So far they have been on the defensive, campaigning on local issues in their own countries. This narrow focus underestimates the resilience and global connectivity of the right. In this book, John Feffer speaks to the world’s leading activists to show how international leftist campaigns must come together if they are to combat the rising tide of the right. A global Green New Deal, progressive trans-European movements, grassroots campaigning on international issues with new and improved language and storytelling are all needed if we are to pull the planet back from the edge of catastrophe. This book is both a warning and an inspiration to activists terrified by the strengthening wall of far-right power.

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Offering a fresh look at trade during the second industrial revolution, Global Markets Transformed describes a world of commodities on the move—wheat and rice, coffee and tobacco, oil and rubber, all jostling around the planet through a matrix of producers, processors, transporters, and buyers. Steven C. Topik and Allen Wells discuss how innovations in industrial and agricultural production, transportation, commerce, and finance transformed the world economy from 1870 to 1945.Topik and Wells trace the evolution of global chains of commodities, from basic food staples and stimulants to strategically important industrial materials, that linked the agricultural and mineral-producing areas of Latin America, Asia, and Africa to European and North American consumers and industrialists. People living a great distance apart became economically intertwined as never before. Yet laborers and consumers at opposite ends of commodity chains remained largely invisible to one another. Affluent American automobile owners who were creating the skyrocketing demand for tires, for example, knew almost nothing about poor Brazilian tappers who sweated in the Amazon to supply the rubber necessary for their vehicles.As commodity chains stretched out around the world, more goods were bound up in markets that benefited some countries more than others. Global Markets Transformed highlights the lessons and legacy of the early years of globalization—when the world’s population doubled, trade quadrupled, industrial output multiplied fivefold, and the gap between rich and poor regions grew ever wider.

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'With The Sell, Fredrik Eklund has created the modern day How to Win Friends and Influence People. If you're looking for how to achieve success in the 21st century, the answer is in your hands' Tom Doctoroff, CEO, J. Walter Thompson, and author of Twitter is Not a StrategyJust over a decade ago, Fredrik Eklund moved to New York City from his native Sweden with nothing but a worn-out pair of sneakers and a dream: to make it big in the city that never sleeps. Despite having no experience in real estate and no contacts, Fredrik transformed himself into the best seller in the most competitive real estate market on the planet, brokering multimillion-dollar deals for celebrities, selling out properties all over the city and charming TV audiences as one of the stars of Million Dollar Listing New York.Blending personal stories and the expertise he's gained from his meteoric rise, The Sell is the modern guide to becoming successful. Featuring everything from the importance of intangible factors like personality and charm, to tips and tricks for preparing, persuading and negotiating, The Sell is a vital go-to book for anyone who wants to have an impact in his or her personal and professional life. No matter what your background is - sales rep, CEO or kitchen-table entrepreneur - this book will help you sell yourself or your brand, and lead a richer, more fulfilling life.

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An insightful look at the American environmental crisis and emerging solutions from the heartland to the coasts in the era of global climate change “Thought-provoking, informative, and, ultimately, hopeful.”—Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History “Breakpoint is both a stark reminder of the urgent environmental challenges facing the planet and a hopeful call to action to those in power. This is boots-on-the-ground science at its finest.”—Leonardo DiCaprio Eminent ecologist Jeremy B. C. Jackson and award-winning journalist Steve Chapple traveled the length of the Mississippi River interviewing farmers, fishermen, scientists, and policymakers to better understand the mounting environmental problems ravaging the United States. Along their journey, which quickly expands to California, Florida, and New York, the pair uncovered surprising and profound connections between ecological systems and environmental crises across the country. Artfully weaving together independent research and engaging storytelling, Jackson and Chapple examine the looming threats from recent hurricanes and fires, industrial agriculture, river mismanagement, extreme weather events, drought, and rising sea levels that are pushing the country toward the breaking point of ecological and economic collapse. Yet, despite these challenges, the authors provide optimistic and practical solutions for addressing these multidimensional issues to achieve greater environmental stability, human well‑being, and future economic prosperity. With a passionate call to action, they look hopefully toward emerging and achievable solutions to preserve the country’s future.

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In this compelling study, Rena Steinzor highlights the ways in which the government, over the past twenty years, has failed to protect children from harm caused by toxic chemicals. She believes these failures—under-funding, excessive and misguided use of cost/benefit analysis, distortion of science, and devolution of regulatory authority—have produced a situation in which harm that could be reduced or eliminated instead persists. Steinzor states that, as a society, we are neglecting our children's health to an extent that we would find unthinkable as individual parents, primarily due to the erosion of the government's role in protecting public health and the environment. At this pace, she asserts, our children will inherit a planet under grave threat. We can arrest these developments if a critical mass of Americans become convinced that these problems are urgent and the solutions are near at hand. By focusing on three specific case studies—mercury contamination through the human food chain, perchlorate (rocket fuel) in drinking water, and the effects of ozone (smog) on children playing outdoors—Steinzor creates an analysis grounded in law, economics, and science to prove her assertions about the existing dysfunctional system. Steinzor then recommends a concise and realistic series of reforms that could reverse these detrimental trends and serve as a blueprint for restoring effective governmental intervention. She argues that these recommendations offer enough material to guide government officials and advocacy groups toward prompt implementation, for the sake of America's—and the world's—future generations.

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An iconoclast and best-selling author of both nonfiction and fiction, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing, thinking, and writing about the cultures of animals such as lions, wolves, dogs, deer, and humans. In this compulsively readable book, she provides a plainspoken, big-picture look at the commonality of life on our planet, from the littlest microbes to the largest lizards.Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution—that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships—Thomas takes readers on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of “Gaia’s creatures,” from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting “anthropodenial,” the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren’t really as special as we think we are—and that it doesn’t take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things.A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better. This joyfully written book is a fascinating look at the challenges and behaviors shared by creatures from bacteria to larvae to parasitic fungi, a potted hyacinth to the author herself, and all those in between.

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Any realistic response to climate change will require reducing carbon emissions to a sustainable level. Yet even people who already recognize that the climate is the most urgent issue facing the planet struggle to understand their individual responsibilities. Is it even possible to live with a sustainable carbon footprint in modern American society—much less to live well? What are the options for those who would like to make climate awareness part of their daily lives but don’t want to go off the grid or become a hermit?In Live Sustainably Now, Karl Coplan shares his personal journey of attempting to cut back on carbon without giving up the amenities of a suburban middle-class lifestyle. Coplan chronicles the joys and challenges of a year on a carbon budget—kayaking to work, hunting down electric-car charging stations, eating a Mediterranean-style diet, and enjoying plenty of travel on weekends and vacations while avoiding long-distance flights. He explains how to set a personal carbon cap and measure your actual footprint, with his own results detailed in monthly diary entries. Presenting the pros and cons of different energy, transportation, and lifestyle options, Live Sustainably Now shows that there does not have to be a trade-off between the ethical obligation to maintain a sustainable carbon footprint and the belief that life should be fulfilling and fun. This powerful and persuasive book provides an individual-level blueprint for a carbon-sustainable tweak to the American dream.

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As alarm over global warming spreads, a radical idea is gaining momentum. Forget cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, some scientists argue. Instead, bounce sunlight back into space by pumping reflective nanoparticles into the atmosphere. Launch mirrors into orbit around the Earth. Make clouds thicker and brighter to create a "planetary thermostat." These ideas might sound like science fiction, but in fact they are part of a very old story. For more than a century, scientists, soldiers, and charlatans have tried to manipulate weather and climate, and like them, today's climate engineers wildly exaggerate what is possible. Scarcely considering the political, military, and ethical implications of managing the world's climate, these individuals hatch schemes with potential consequences that far outweigh anything their predecessors might have faced. Showing what can happen when fixing the sky becomes a dangerous experiment in pseudoscience, James Rodger Fleming traces the tragicomic history of the rainmakers, rain fakers, weather warriors, and climate engineers who have been both full of ideas and full of themselves. Weaving together stories from elite science, cutting-edge technology, and popular culture, Fleming examines issues of health and navigation in the 1830s, drought in the 1890s, aircraft safety in the 1930s, and world conflict since the 1940s. Killer hurricanes, ozone depletion, and global warming fuel the fantasies of today. Based on archival and primary research, Fleming's original story speaks to anyone who has a stake in sustaining the planet.

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Sustainability is a nearly ubiquitous concept today, but can we ever imagine what it would be like for humans to live sustainably on the earth? No, says Bryan G. Norton in Sustainable Values, Sustainable Change. One of the most trafficked terms in the press, on university campuses, and in the corridors of government, sustainability has risen to prominence as a buzzword before the many parties laying claim to it have come close to agreeing how to define it. But the term's political currency urgently demands that we develop an understanding of this elusive concept. While economists, philosophers, and ecologists argue about what in nature is valuable, and why, Norton here offers an action-oriented, pragmatic response to the disconnect between public and academic discourse around sustainability. Looking to the arenas in which decisions are made-and the problems that are driving these decisions-Norton reveals that the path to sustainability cannot be guided by fixed, utopian objectives projected into the future; sustainability will instead be achieved through experimentation, incremental learning, and adaptive management. Drawing inspiration from Aldo Leopold's famed metaphor of "thinking like a mountain" for a spatially explicit, pluralistic approach to evaluating environmental change, Norton replaces theory-dependent definitions with a new decision-making process guided by deliberation and negotiation across science and philosophy, encompassing all stakeholders and activists and seeking to protect as many values as possible. Looking across scales to today's global problems, Norton urges us to learn to think like a planet.

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‘Action sequences to speed the blood’ The Times HER WORD IS HER WEAPON Exhilarating and original, Every Sky A Grave tells an epic tale of truth and power on the greatest canvas there is: outer space. Mankind has spread out and conquered the galaxy by mastering the fundamental language of the universe. With the right training, the right application of words, truth itself can be rearranged.Language is literally power. Peace reigns now. Order reigns. For if a planet deviates too far from what the authorities plan, an agent is sent out to correct that. To quietly and with great skill, end that world. One such agent is Elyth – a true believer. But on a clandestine mission to stop an uprising before it can truly begin, Elyth comes to realise she hasn’t been told the whole truth herself. There’s so much she doesn’t know. How can there be people whose truth is different to that of the authorities? Elyth’s faith in the powers that be is shaken just when she needs it most. While on her mission, a dark and unknown presence makes itself known at the edges of the galaxy – and it cannot be controlled, for nobody knows its name… For fans of Anne Leckie and N. K. Jemisin comes an explosive and ambitious series about the power of words set far in the future, far away – but with a message about truth that hits home.

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Outdoor Photographer of the Year presents a stunning collection of the winning, commended and shortlisted photographs from the 2016 Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition. Featuring over 150 winning, commended and selected images from entrants based all around the world, it captures the magnificent diversity of our planet. The annual competition, organized by Outdoor Photography magazine and now in its sixth year, last year received over 12,000 entries from more than 35 countries. Judged by some of the most respected names in the outdoor photography community, the contest attracts and curates the most inspiring images in adventure, travel, landscape, wildlife and nature. This year's winner will be given the opportunity to photograph the 2017 Fjallraven Polar Expedition, a 300-kilometre dog-sled adventure across the Arctic, through some of the world's wildest and most beautiful scenery. The book is divided into the eight categories of the competition, including At the Water's Edge, Wildlife Insight, Live the Adventure and Spirit of Travel.A breathtaking variety of images is accompanied by detailed captions and technical information, creating a collection of extreme environments and exceptional photography that will inspire outdoor photographers and adventure enthusiasts alike. Outdoor Photographer of the Year will be launched alongside the awards ceremony and exhibition at The Photography Show at the NEC from 18 to 21 March 2017. The images will be showcased through international media and online coverage, alongside the social media of Outdoor Photography magazine, The Photography Show and competition sponsors Fjallraven.

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Get to know the icky but important FUNGI that keep nature running!It's time to show FUNGI some LOVE! This book is an icky, mouldy celebration of the incredible work fungus does all day long. Fungus is a generous food-sharer, an air-purifier, a communication network and lots of fun, too.Icky World takes a look at the science of the messiest parts of nature and reminds us all to protect these icky but important bits of our precious planet. Each book has been reviewed and endorsed by an expert in the relevant branch of science and supports curriculum learning in the areas of science and ecology for ages 6 and up.In praise of Icky World: We Need FUNGUS!"This is an excellent fun-fungi fact book to enjoy at school, with the family or on your own! Simply explained but retaining all the scientific accuracy. A fantastic resource to inspire the next generation of fungi lovers."Dr. Ester Gaya, Senior Research Leader, Comparative Fungal Biology at Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, KewJust some of the contents of Icky World: We Need FUNGUS!Fungi and insects, lichens - a special partnership, fungi extremes, fungi - the wonder medicine?, fungi as food and food for thought and what you can do for a fungus near you.Titles in the series:We Need MUDWe Need SLIMEWe Need POOWe Need FUNGUS

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"When I say this book is a love story, I mean it is about things that cannot be gotten over--like this world, and some of the people in it." In 1819, the poet John Keats wrote six poems that would become known as the Great Odes. Some of them--"Ode to a Nightingale," "To Autumn"--are among the most celebrated poems in the English language. Anahid Nersessian here collects and elucidates each of the odes and offers a meditative, personal essay in response to each, revealing why these poems still have so much to say to us, especially in a time of ongoing political crisis. Her Keats is an unflinching antagonist of modern life--of capitalism, of the British Empire, of the destruction of the planet--as well as a passionate idealist for whom every poem is a love poem. The book emerges from Nersessian's lifelong attachment to Keats's poetry; but more, it "is a love story: between me and Keats, and not just Keats." Drawing on experiences from her own life, Nersessian celebrates Keats even as she grieves him and counts her own losses--and Nersessian, like Keats, has a passionate awareness of the reality of human suffering, but also a willingness to explore the possibility that the world, at least, could still be saved. Intimate and speculative, this brilliant mix of the poetic and the personal will find its home among the numerous fans of Keats's enduring work.

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This is the first of the two-volume set of the Southeast Asia Cruising Guide to reach a second edition. It is the only guide that covers the entire length and breadth of a region frequently visited by round-the-world sailors, many of whom leave Australia to head west. This edition concentrates on the most frequented routes and includes the most popular stops. There are hundreds of possible anchorages, the most popular of which are usefully summarised in tables. Introductory sections cover planning and the last part of the book deals with more general topics including advice on provisioning and the problems that are often faced by cruisers. Stephen Morgan and Elaine Davies first arrived in the region over 30 years ago. They work in Hong Kong; Stephen Davies as Director of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum and Elaine Morgan as a writer and editor. While this pilot is aimed at yachtsmen and indeed was surveyed from the Davies/Morgan yacht, it is just as relevant to the commercial or military mariner. The part of the world described in this work is one of the most interesting on our planet. Culturally, scenically, climatically and commercially; it has everything. This excellent book - now in its second edition, describes it all very enticingly. Set to the usual high standard of the Imray pilots that precede it, this one is spiced up by the wit and anecdotes the authors are so good at.

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It takes more than 10 billion years to create just the right conditions on one planet for life to begin. It takes another three billion years of evolving life forms until it finally happens, a primate super species emerges: mankind. In conjunction with History Channel's hit television series by the same name, Mankind is a sweeping history of humans from the birth of the Earth and hunting antelope in Africa's Rift Valley to the present day with the completion of the Genome project and the birth of the seven billionth human. Like a Hollywood action movie, Mankind is a fast-moving, adventurous history of key events from each major historical epoch that directly affect us today such as the invention of iron, the beginning of Buddhism, the crucifixion of Jesus, the fall of Rome, the invention of the printing press, the Industrial Revolution, and the invention of the computer. With more than 300 colour photographs and maps, Mankind is not only a visual overview of the broad story of civilization, but it also includes illustrated pop-out sidebars explaining distinctions between science and history, such as why there is 700 times more iron than bronze buried in the earth, why pepper is the only food we can taste with our skin, and how a wobble in the earth's axis helped bring down the Egyptian Empire. This is the most exciting and entertaining history of mankind ever produced.

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With the removal of not only Saddam Hussein but also Jean-Betrand Aristide, as well as the ongoing civil war in against Charles Taylor in Liberia, much has changed in the world of dictators since the first publication of this work less than a year ago. With his colleagues in diplomacy and politics shying away from bold solutions to this ever-present problem, Ambassador Mark Palmer has once again set out to persuade everyone that the only way to achieve global peace is through the removal of dictators with democracy as their replacements. Drawing on his 25 years of extensive diplomatic experience, Ambassador Palmer asks us to embrace a bold vision of a world made safe by democracy. This is the story of the remaining dictators, the strategy and tactics to oust them, and the need to empower the people of every nation to control their own destinies. We know that these dictators are at the root of terrorism and war. Under their leadership and instruction, millions have gone to their deaths, a great many more have been forced to become refugees across the planet, and nations have been driven into poverty, famine, and despair. With all of this, Ambassador Palmer has led a passionate fight to end this Axis of Evil in the not too distant future. For if dictatorships are allowed to continue, the world will never be safe for democracy.

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In The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin proposed that an ant’s brain, no larger than a pin’s head, must be sophisticated to accomplish all that it does. Yet today many people still find it surprising that insects and other arthropods show behaviors that are much more complex than innate reflexes. They are products of versatile brains which, in a sense, think.Fascinating in their own right, arthropods provide fundamental insights into how brains process and organize sensory information to produce learning, strategizing, cooperation, and sociality. Nicholas Strausfeld elucidates the evolution of this knowledge, beginning with nineteenth-century debates about how similar arthropod brains were to vertebrate brains. This exchange, he shows, had a profound and far-reaching impact on attitudes toward evolution and animal origins. Many renowned scientists, including Sigmund Freud, cut their professional teeth studying arthropod nervous systems. The greatest neuroanatomist of them all, Santiago Ramón y Cajal—founder of the neuron doctrine—was awed by similarities between insect and mammalian brains.Writing in a style that will appeal to a broad readership, Strausfeld weaves anatomical observations with evidence from molecular biology, neuroethology, cladistics, and the fossil record to explore the neurobiology of the largest phylum on earth—and one that is crucial to the well-being of our planet. Highly informative and richly illustrated, Arthropod Brains offers an original synthesis drawing on many fields, and a comprehensive reference that will serve biologists for years to come.

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'Smart and topical' Financial Times (An FT Best New Thriller 2023)'A compelling, fast-paced thriller' SunAustralian inventor and geoengineer Clive Winner is the genius who brought the Great Barrier Reef back from the brink, yet his ambition goes well beyond that. He wants to save the planet.For the all-powerful fossil-fuel industry, Winner is their 'get out of jail free card'. If he can engineer a solution to climate change, business can continue as usual.When old-school journalist William Carver is tipped off by a trusted Whitehall source that climate scientists have begun to go missing in suspicious circumstances, his gut instinct tells him to follow the story. It rapidly becomes clear that scientists, green campaigners and well-intentioned politicians are in the firing line; William Carver and his colleagues must move fast to find out who is behind the disappearances. They know the journalist's job is to speak truth to power - but first you must uncover that truth and this time it's buried deeper than ever.Racing between Sydney, New York, Seville and London, The Burning Time is an intelligent, timely and fast-paced thriller for the twenty-first century.'Deftly plotted . . . a propulsive read' Straits Times'This adrenaline-laced adventure packs a mighty punch' Irish Independent'A brilliant thriller with a timely and essential reminder of what journalism is supposed to be' James O'Brien, LBC

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl, Stacey Lee, an evocative novel about a teen aroma expert who uses her extrasensitive sense of smell to help others fall in love—while protecting her own heart at all costs. Perfect for fans of When Dimple Met Rishi and I’ll Be the One and now in paperback.Sometimes love is right under your nose. As one of only two aromateurs left on the planet, sixteen-year-old Mimosa knows what her future holds: a lifetime of weeding, mixing love elixirs, and matchmaking—all while remaining incurably alone.For Mim, the rules are clear: falling in love would render her nose useless, taking away her one great talent. Still, Mimosa doesn’t want to spend her life elbow-deep in soil and begonias. She dreams of a normal high school experience with friends, sports practices, debate club, and even a boyfriend.But when she accidentally gives an elixir to the wrong woman and has to rely on the lovesick woman’s son, the school soccer star, to help fix the situation, Mim quickly begins to realize that falling in love isn’t always a choice you can make.At once hopeful, funny, and romantic, Stacey Lee’s The Secret of a Heart Note is a richly evocative coming-of-age story that gives a fresh perspective on falling in love and finding one’s place in the world.

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Human health depends on the health of the planet. Earth’s natural systems, the air, the water, the biodiversity, the climate, are our life support systems. Yet climate change, biodiversity loss, scarcity of land and freshwater, pollution and other threats are degrading these systems. The emerging field of planetary health aims to understand how these changes threaten our health and how to protect ourselves and the rest of the biosphere. Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves provides a readable introduction to this new paradigm. With an interdisciplinary approach, the book addresses a wide range of health impacts felt in the Anthropocene, including food and nutrition, infectious disease, non-communicable disease, dislocation and conflict, and mental health. It also presents strategies to combat environmental changes and its ill-effects, such as controlling toxic exposures, investing in clean energy, improving urban design, and more. Chapters are authored by widely recognised experts. The result is a comprehensive and optimistic overview of a growing field that is being adopted by researchers and universities around the world. Students of public health will gain a solid grounding in the new challenges their profession must confront, while those in the environmental sciences, agriculture, the design professions, and other fields will become familiar with the human consequences of planetary changes. Understanding how our changing environment affects our health is increasingly critical to a variety of disciplines and professions. Planetary Health is the definitive guide to this vital field.

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The official prequel to Jim Henson’s beloved The Dark Crystal, collected in a complete, premium hardcover for the first time!Years have passed since the Dark Crystal was healed and peace was restored on Thra. Though Jen and Kira have ruled as King and Queen, they have become distracted by power. The planet is sick and those on the surface of Thra are not the only ones affected. The new conflict will reveal a mysterious race of creatures called Firelings living in Mithra, a realm near the planet’s core.Jen and Kira’s greatest fear will be realized when the Crystal is broken once more. The evil Skeksis will return, eager to regain their cruel dominance over the world. But even as the Gelfling and Skeksis battle for control of the Crystal Castle, Mithra pursues its own agenda to restore its former power and glory. Caught in the middle and on the run, a fireling named Thurma and a Gelfling named Kensho will find themselves on a quest that holds the key to saving both kingdoms… and lay bare the secret that connects their two worldsWritten by Simon Spurrier (Coda, Step By Bloody Step) and Phillip Kennedy Johnson (The Last God, Action Comics) and lushly illustrated by Kelly and Nichole Matthews (Just Beyond), The Power of the Dark Crystal, the long awaited official sequel to the beloved fantasy film, is collected in its entirety for the first time in this premium hardcover.

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Few people rode the popular wave of the sixties quite like Tara Browne. One of Swinging London's most popular faces, he lived fast, died young and was immortalized for ever in the opening lines of 'A Day in the Life', a song that many critics regard as The Beatles' finest. But who was John Lennon's lucky man who made the grade and then blew his mind out in a car?Author Paul Howard has pieced together the extraordinary story of a young Irishman who epitomized the spirit of the times: racing car driver, Vogue model, friend of The Rolling Stones, style icon, son of a peer, heir to a Guinness fortune and the man who turned Paul McCartney on to LSD.I Read the News Today, Oh Boy is the story of a child born into Ireland's dwindling aristocracy, who spent his early years in an ancient castle in County Mayo, and who arrived in London just as it was becoming the most exciting city on the planet. The Beatles and the Stones were about to conquer America, Carnaby Street was setting the style template for the world and rich and poor were rubbing shoulders in the West End in a new spirit of classlessness. Among young people, there was a growing sense that they could change the world. And no one embodied the ephemeral promise of London's sixties better than Tara Browne.Includes a sixteen-page plate section of stunning colour photographs.

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From the bestselling and Roald Dahl Funny Prize-winning author of Barry Loser comes the third book in the brilliant Future Ratboy series! Perfect for readers aged 7-10 years old and fans of David Solomons, Pamela Butchart, Tom Gates and Mr Gum. When a bolt of lightning hit Colin Lamppost he was zapped millions of years into the future and turned into a half boy, half rat, half TV! With new superkeel powers and a real life sidekick in Not Bird, Future Ratboy was born. In this new adventure, Future Ratboy sees a surprising new side to his enemy, evil Mr X, goes on a journey to the Planet Bin and faces a race against time to find the missing thingy. This laugh-out-loud, unlikely superhero comedy adventure will delight all those that enjoyed Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants and Jedi Academy. Jim Smith is the keelest kids’ book author in the whole wide world amen. He graduated from art school with first class honours (the best you can get) and is the author of the award-winning and bestselling BARRY LOSER series: I am not a Loser, I am still not a Loser, I am sort of a Loser, I am so over being a Loser, Barry Loser and the Holiday of Doom, Barry Loser and the Case of the Crumpled Carton and Barry Loser Hates Half Term. He lives in London. He also designs cards and gifts under the name Waldo Pancake.

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You think, therefore you are. Get a straightforward rundown on philosophy from the ancient world to today If you’ve ever pondered your existence over your morning coffee or considered the nature of crime and punishment, you’re an amateur philosopher. From everyday questions about happiness and responsibility to deep, spiritual examinations about God and the cosmos, philosophy pervades every part of our lives. And even though it might seem complex at first glance, these questions that affect everyone on the planet can be understood and talked about by anyone! In Philosophy For Dummies, Dr. Tom Morris delivers a refreshing and engaging exploration of the fundamentals of philosophy and shows you that philosophy can be fascinating and fun at the same time. You’ll be introduced to topics like the meaning of life, religious belief, and ways to live in the most satisfying ways. You’ll also learn about the insights of some of history’s greatest philosophers. This book is full of the questions—and proposed solutions—to the questions that keep philosophers up at night, like: When should we doubt our beliefs and knowledge? Is there a God? What is His/Her/Their nature? Do we have free will or are we simply acting out physical imperatives? Whether you’re interested in the nature of the mind/soul versus the body, or you want to learn more about morals and ethics, Philosophy For Dummies will be your personal guide to some of life’s most enduring problems and questions.

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Life on 1/10th the fossil fuels turns out to be awesome. We all want to be happy. Yet as we consume ever more in a frantic bid for happiness, global warming worsens. Alarmed by drastic changes now occurring in the Earth's climate systems, the author, a climate scientist and suburban father of two, embarked on a journey to change his life and the world. He began by bicycling, growing food, meditating, and making other simple, fulfilling changes. Ultimately, he slashed his climate impact to under a tenth of the US average and became happier in the process. Being the Change explores the connections between our individual daily actions and our collective predicament. It merges science, spirituality, and practical action to develop a satisfying and appropriate response to global warming. Part one exposes our interconnected predicament: overpopulation, global warming, industrial agriculture, growth-addicted economics, a sold-out political system, and a mindset of separation from nature. It also includes a readable but authoritative overview of climate science. Part two offers a response at once obvious and unprecedented: mindfully opting out of this broken system and aligning our daily lives with the biosphere. The core message is deeply optimistic: living without fossil fuels is not only possible, it can be better. AWARDS GOLD (tie) | 2017 IPPY Awards: Books Most Likely to Save the Planet SILVER | 2017 Nautilus Book Awards: Green Living / Sustainability BRONZE | 2017 Foreword INDIES: Ecology & Environment

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In The Medea Hypothesis, renowned paleontologist Peter Ward proposes a revolutionary and provocative vision of life's relationship with the Earth's biosphere--one that has frightening implications for our future, yet also offers hope. Using the latest discoveries from the geological record, he argues that life might be its own worst enemy. This stands in stark contrast to James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis--the idea that life sustains habitable conditions on Earth. In answer to Gaia, which draws on the idea of the "good mother" who nurtures life, Ward invokes Medea, the mythical mother who killed her own children. Could life by its very nature threaten its own existence? According to the Medea hypothesis, it does. Ward demonstrates that all but one of the mass extinctions that have struck Earth were caused by life itself. He looks at our planet's history in a new way, revealing an Earth that is witnessing an alarming decline of diversity and biomass--a decline brought on by life's own "biocidal" tendencies. And the Medea hypothesis applies not just to our planet--its dire prognosis extends to all potential life in the universe. Yet life on Earth doesn't have to be lethal. Ward shows why, but warns that our time is running out. Breathtaking in scope, The Medea Hypothesis is certain to arouse fierce debate and radically transform our worldview. It serves as an urgent challenge to all of us to think in new ways if we hope to save ourselves from ourselves.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'It will do your soul good to read this.' NIGELLA LAWSONA balm for our times from the internationally bestselling author of Wintering.Our sense of enchantment is not only sparked by grand things. The awe-inspiring, the numinous, is all around us, all the time. It is transformed by our deliberate attention. The magic is of our own conjuring.'A total joy . . . Thoughtful, patient and beautifully written, like walking with a friend as dusk settles, this is the book your soul needs right now.'CARIAD LLOYD'Beautifully written.'PHILIPPA PERRYFeeling bone-tired, anxious and overwhelmed by the rolling news cycle and the pandemic age, Katherine May seeks to unravel the threads of a life wound too tightly. Could there be another way to live - one that feels more meaningful, more grounded in the places beneath our feet? One that would allow us to feel more connected, more rested and at ease, even as seismic changes unfold on the planet?Craving a different path, May explores the restorative properties of the natural world and begins to rekindle her sense of wonder. It is a journey that takes her from sacred wells to wild moors, from cradling seas to starfalls. Through deliberate attention and ritual, she finds nourishment and a more hopeful relationship to the world around her.Enchantment is an invitation to each of us to experience life in all its sensual complexity and to find the beauty waiting for us there.

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A provocative rethinking of how humans and fire have evolved together over time—and our responsibility to reorient this relationship before it's too late.​The Pyrocene tells the story of what happened when a fire-wielding species, humanity, met an especially fire-receptive time in Earth's history. Since terrestrial life first appeared, flames have flourished. Over the past two million years, however, one genus gained the ability to manipulate fire, swiftly remaking both itself and eventually the world. We developed small guts and big heads by cooking food; we climbed the food chain by cooking landscapes; and now we have become a geologic force by cooking the planet. Some fire uses have been direct: fire applied to convert living landscapes into hunting grounds, forage fields, farms, and pastures. Others have been indirect, through pyrotechnologies that expanded humanity's reach beyond flame's grasp. Still, preindustrial and Indigenous societies largely operated within broad ecological constraints that determined how, and when, living landscapes could be burned. These ancient relationships between humans and fire broke down when people began to burn fossil biomass—lithic landscapes—and humanity's firepower became unbounded. Fire-catalyzed climate change globalized the impacts into a new geologic epoch. The Pleistocene yielded to the Pyrocene. Around fires, across millennia, we have told stories that explained the world and negotiated our place within it. The Pyrocene continues that tradition, describing how we have remade the Earth and how we might recover our responsibilities as keepers of the planetary flame.

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Ronnie Wood is one of rock’s true originals. This is his story, in his own words, about his life, loves, family, friends, music, art and survival against the odds. It’s a roller-coaster ride of unbelievable highs and unimaginable lows, From a small boy growing up on a working class council estate not far from Heathrow Airport who wanted to play music and paint - the first generation of his "water gypsy" family to be born on dry land - to becoming one of the most famous musicians in the world, Ronnie Wood toured the world with his Rolling Stone bandmates - Mick, Keith, Charlie and, for a while, Bill. And the five of them have, arguably, been seen in person by more people on this planet than anyone else in the history of mankind. But as mayhem and hysteria invariably followed on Ronnie's adventure through the excesses of rock ‘n roll, the drugs got harder and his relationships - especially with Mick, Keith, various women and his family - became increasingly more complex. This is Ronnie the husband, father, grandfather and rock star the way you have never seen any rock star before. RONNIE is an up-front and personal look at life as a Rolling Stone, from the inside, and at the Stones as the rest of the world has never seen them. After RONNIE, drugs, sex and rock ‘n roll will never be the same again.

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AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From Jason June, author of the breakout teen debut novel Jay’s Gay Agenda, comes Out of the Blue, a stand-alone dual POV queer rom-com that asks if love is enough to change everything you’ve grown up believing. Perfect for fans of Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly. Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the month-long sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder—or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with. Humans are disgusting. They’ve polluted the planet so much that there’s a floating island of trash that’s literally the size of a country.In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together, and Crest’s perspective on humans begins to change, they’ll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings . . .This sophomore novel from Jason June dives into the many definitions of the word home and shows how love can help us find the truest versions of ourselves.

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An Irish Times Best Poetry Books of 2021. In Collected Poems one of Ireland's best-loved contemporary poets brings together poems from her six principal collections, Oar (1990), The Parchment Boat (1997), Carrying the Songs (1907), Hands (2011), Keats Lives (2015) and Donegal Tarantella (2019) - more than three decades' work - a poetry of individual poems which compose a memorable, unpredictable sequence of discovery. The immediacy of our response to the beauty of our exploited planet inspire many of Moya Cannon's poems. The perfection of very early cave art she sees as testimony to the centrality of art in our evolution as humans. Geology, archaeology, history and music figure as gateways to a deeper understanding of our relationship with our past and the natural world. 'Whatever inspiration is,' she quotes Wislawa Szymborska as saying, 'it is born from a continuous 'I don't know',' from the confusion of adolescence to the very different confusions of adult life. There are dark confusions and those which are luminous and filled with joy - desperation and rapture are their extremes. Each poem makes a space in which the readers share experience and discover something uniquely their own as well. She regards herself as fortunate in having developed in a culture rapidly changing, in which the poetries of the world were becoming available, in which the situation of women was radically changing. She was at once a beneficiary and an agent of change and these poems retain that enabling agency.

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Upon gaining access to the hostile starship known as Ark Prime, the heroes find themselves immersed in propaganda designed to show the might and superiority of the ancient empire that launched the vessel eons ago. Once they break free of the brainwashing, they can fight past robots, holographic constructs, and alien supersoldiers awoken from stasis to confront Ark Prime's evil AI. In the end, the heroes must decide what to do with hundreds of other sleeping citizens of a formerly dangerous civilization. Their important decision could affect the future of the galaxy! “Dominion's End” is a Starfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for four 18th-level characters. This adventure concludes The Devastation Ark Adventure Path, a three-part, monthly campaign in which the players stop the threat of an ancient alien civilization in Starfinder's first high-level adventures! This volume also includes a catalog of technomagical relics from the ancient Sivv Dominion as well as a selection of ferocious alien threats. Each monthly full-color softcover Starfinder Adventure Path volume contains a new installment of a series of interconnected science-fantasy quests that together create a fully developed plot of sweeping scale and epic challenges. Each 64-page volume of the Starfinder Adventure Path also contains in-depth articles that detail and expand the Starfinder campaign setting and provide new rules, a host of exciting new monsters and alien races, a new planet to explore and starship to pilot, and more!

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The heroes travel to Absalom Station to warn the Pact Worlds government of a fast-approaching threat from beyond the stars! But before they are fully prepared, the titanic spacecraft arrives and shuts down the fabled Starstone Reactor, plunging the station into chaos. The heroes must find a way to bring the power back online, while rescuing citizens and dealing with Azlanti spies, angry outsiders, and confused spirits. Can they save the heart of the Pact Worlds and take the fight to the strange alien vessel?"The Starstone Blockade" is a Starfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for four 16th-level characters. This adventure continues The Devastation Ark Adventure Path, a three-part, monthly campaign in which the players stop the threat of an ancient alien civilization in Starfinder's first high-level adventures! This volume also includes an examination of the church of Eloritu-the god of history, magic, and secrets-as well as a selection of ghastly new aliens!Each monthly full-color softcover Starfinder Adventure Path volume contains a new installment of a series of interconnected science-fantasy quests that together create a fully developed plot of sweeping scale and epic challenges. Each 64-page volume of the Starfinder Adventure Path also contains in-depth articles that detail and expand the Starfinder campaign setting and provide new rules, a host of exciting new monsters and alien races, a new planet to explore and starship to pilot, and more!

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A pilot's love letter to the world's greatest cities from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Skyfaring'A journey around both the author's mind and the planet's great cities that leaves us energised, open to new experiences and ready to return more hopefully to our lives' ALAIN DE BOTTONGrowing up in his small hometown, Mark Vanhoenacker spun the illuminated globe in his bedroom and dreamt of elsewhere - of distant, real cities, and a perfect metropolis that existed only in his imagination.Now, as a commercial airline pilot, Mark has spent more than two decades crossing the skies of our planet and touching down in the cities he'd always longed to see. Imagine a City celebrates the metropolises he has come to know and love through the lens of the hometown his heart has never left. From the sweeping roads of Los Angeles and the old gates of Jeddah to the intricate, dream-inspired plan of Brasília, he shows us with warmth and fresh eyes the extraordinary places that billions of us call home.'Vanhoenacker... has a near-bottomless appetite for fresh sights and guidebook curiosities... Intimate and thoughtful' PICO IYER, AIR MAIL'A love letter to the cities he's returned to again and again... Vanhoenacker captivates when describing the silent beauty of a world glimpsed from above' Washington Post'Eloquent... A love song to cities the world over' Wall Street Journal

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'Comforting, wise and so empowering.' Kirsty Gallagher, author of bestseller Lunar Living'A beautiful, vulnerable and cosmic journey through Caggie's life, lessons and love.' Steven Bartlett, author of Happy Sexy MillionaireWhat if there was a simple explanation for the turbulence and challenges of your twenties? What if every obstacle you faced, whether in love, your career or in your own relationship to your self, had a greater purpose all along?In Saturn Returns, Caggie Dunlop and astrologer Noura Bourni, unpack the astrological phenomenon that holds the answers to these all-important questions.Your Saturn Return occurs in your late twenties as the planet Saturn re-enters the position it was in when you were born. This transit is considered an essential time of reckoning and renewal, and an opportunity to step into your higher self. For Caggie Dunlop this period of her life was transformative: she realised that the shifts and redirections she experienced were not failures or losses, but part of a necessary initiation into adulthood.Inspired by her hugely popular podcast, Saturn Returns helps you to see the meaning in the madness of your twenties. Through personal stories, expert advice, and reassuring exercises, Caggie empowers readers to embrace their own spiritual journey. With chapters on relationships, self-worth and finding hope in the darkness, this is a book about welcoming change in all its forms and learning to love and accept yourself along the way.

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Learn the facts about recycling and discover the best way to make an impact Recycling is a simple action we can take that has an immediate positive effect. It keeps waste out of landfills, conserves natural resources, prevents pollution, and saves energy. Who wouldn’t want to do this? But recycling isn’t always straightforward. With so many different rules, it can be tough to work out the right thing to do. If you’re worried that you’re not recycling properly, or wondering whether you could be recycling more, this is the book for you. Recycling For Dummies cuts through the confusion around what you can and can’t recycle. This easy-to-follow manual breaks down recycling codes, symbols, and rules in a straightforward way that anyone can understand and apply. You’ll gain insight into the recycling process (where does that stuff go, anyway?) and learn tons of tips on reusing items in your daily life to cut down on waste. It also guides you on how to make smarter choices as a consumer to help preserve the planet for generations to come. Figure out what common materials can and can’t be recycled Understand what the recycling symbols are telling you Explore the many specialist recycling services available Learn what happens to your recyclables after they get picked up Become a true recycler by switching to recycled products Check out this book if you want to make your efforts count and be part of the recycling solution.

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Biogeography is the study of geographic variation in all characteristics of life - ranging from genetic, morphological and behavioural variation among regional populations of a species, to geographic trends in diversity of entire communities across our planet's sufrace. From the ancient hunters and gatherers to the earliest naturalists, Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, and scientists today, the search for patterns in life has provided insights that proved invaluable for understanding the natural world. And many, if not most, of the compelling kaleidoscope of patterns in biological diversity make little sense unless placed in an explicit geographic context. The Very Short Introduction explains the historical development of the field of biogeography, its fundamental tenets, principles and tools, and the invaluable insights it provides for understanding the diversity of life in the natural world. As Mark Lomolino shows, key questions such as where species occur, how they vary from place to place, where their ancestors occurred, and how they spread across the globe, are essential for us to develop effective strategies for conserving the great menagerie of life across our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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Physics, the fundamental science of matter and energy, encompasses all levels of nature from the subatomic to the cosmic, and underlies much of the technology around us. Understanding the physics of our universe is an essential aspect of humanity's quest to understand our environment and our place within it. Doing physics enables us to explore the interaction between environment and human society, and can help us to work towards the future sustainability of the planet. This Very Short Introduction provides an overview of how this pervasive science came to be and how it works: who funds it, how physicists are trained and how they think, and how physics supports the technology we all use. Sidney Perkowitz presents the theories and outcomes of pure and applied physics from ideas of the Greek natural philosophers to modern quantum mechanics, cosmology, digital electronics and energy production. Considering its most consequential experiments, including recent results in elementary particles, gravitational waves and materials science, he also discusses outside the lab, the effects of physics on society, culture, and humanity's vision of its place in the universe. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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A Times History Book of the Year 2022 From the #1 bestselling historian Max Hastings ‘the heart-stopping story of the missile crisis’ Daily Telegraph The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was the most perilous event in history, when mankind faced a looming nuclear collision between the United States and Soviet Union. During those weeks, the world gazed into the abyss of potential annihilation. Max Hastings’s graphic new history tells the story from the viewpoints of national leaders, Russian officers, Cuban peasants, American pilots and British disarmers. Max Hastings deploys his accustomed blend of eye-witness interviews, archive documents and diaries, White House tape recordings, top-down analysis, first to paint word-portraits of the Cold War experiences of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Nikita Khrushchev’s Russia and Kennedy’s America; then to describe the nail-biting Thirteen Days in which Armageddon beckoned. Hastings began researching this book believing that he was exploring a past event from twentieth century history. He is as shocked as are millions of us around the world, to discover that the rape of Ukraine gives this narrative a hitherto unimaginable twenty-first century immediacy. We may be witnessing the onset of a new Cold War between nuclear-armed superpowers. To contend with today’s threat, which Hastings fears will prove enduring, it is critical to understand how, sixty years ago, the world survived its last glimpse into the abyss. Only by fearing the worst, he argues, can our leaders hope to secure the survival of the planet.

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A droid and his boy, on a search for a legendary weapon. Daslakh is an AI with a problem. Its favorite human, a young man named Zee, is in love with a woman who never existed—and he will scour the Solar System to find her, and drag Daslakh along for the ride. But in the Tenth Millennium a billion worlds circle the Sun—everything from terraformed planets to artificial habitats, home to a quadrillion beings. Daslakh’s nicely settled life gets more complicated when Zee helps a woman named Adya escape a gang of crooks. This gets the pair caught up in the hunt for the Godel Trigger, a legendary weapon left over from an ancient war between humans and machines—which could spell the end of civilization. In their search, they face a criminal cat and her henchmen, a paranoid supermind with a giant laser, the greatest thief in history, and a woman who might actually be Zee's lost love. It’s up to Daslakh to save civilization, keep Zee’s love life on the right track—and make sure that nobody discovers the real secret of the Godel Trigger. About The Godel Operation: “With this freewheeling story of an ancient, cunning artificial intelligence and its naïve human companion, Cambias (The Initiate) mashes humor, mystery, and looming apocalypse into a roundly satisfying space epic. . . . With plenty of fun moments along the way, this raucous adventure through the solar system’s distant future will appeal to any fan of lighter science fiction.”—Publishers Weekly Praise for Arkad's World: “Far-flung adventure . . . Cambias offers up an entertaining coming-of-age novel filled with action and surprises. His aliens are suitably non-human in mannerisms, attitudes, and objectives, and his worldbuilding suggests a vast universe ready for further exploration. Readers . . . will find this hits the spot.”—Publishers Weekly “. . . a classic quest story, a well-paced series of encounters with different folk along the way, building momentum toward a final confrontation with Arkad’s past . . . [with] a delicious twist to the end.”—ALA Booklist “Cambias has achieved a feat of world-building: an expansive, believable setting with fascinating aliens, compelling mysteries, and a rich sense of history.”—Bookpage “Drop a teenage boy into a distant planet chock full of colorful aliens—with troubles all their own. Stir, flavor, apply heat. A tour de force in the field, and great, quick fun.”—Gregory Benford Praise for the work of James L. Cambias: “Beautifully written, with a story that captures the imagination the way SF should.”—Booklist, starred review “An engaging nail-biter that is exciting, fun and a satisfying read.”—The Qwillery “An impressive debut by a gifted writer.”—Publishers Weekly starred review “An exceptionally thoughtful, searching and intriguing debut.”—Kirkus starred review “James Cambias will be one of the century's major names in hard science fiction.”—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award–winning author of Red Planet Blues “Fast-paced, pure quill hard science fiction. . . . Cambias delivers adroit plot pivots that keep the suspense coming.”—Gregory Benford, Nebula Award-winning author of Timescape

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When and where did the ancestors of modern birds evolve? What enabled them to survive the meteoric impact that wiped out the dinosaurs? How did these early birds spread across the globe and give rise to the 10,600-plus species we recognise today ― from the largest ratites to the smallest hummingbirds? Based on the latest scientific discoveries and enriched by personal observations, The Ascent of Birds sets out to answer these fundamental questions. The Ascent of Birds is divided into self-contained chapters, or stories, that collectively encompass the evolution of modern birds from their origins in Gondwana, over 100 million years ago, to the present day. The stories are arranged in chronological order, from tinamous to tanagers, and describe the many dispersal and speciation events that underpin the world's 10,600-plus species. Although each chapter is spearheaded by a named bird and focuses on a specific evolutionary mechanism, the narrative will often explore the relevance of such events and processes to evolution in general. The book starts with The Tinamou’s Story, which explains the presence of flightless birds in South America, Africa, and Australasia, and dispels the cherished role of continental drift as an explanation for their biogeography. It also introduces the concept of neoteny, an evolutionary trick that enabled dinosaurs to become birds and humans to conquer the planet. The Vegavis's Story explores the evidence for a Cretaceous origin of modern birds and why they were able to survive the asteroid collision that saw the demise not only of dinosaurs but of up to three-quarters of all species. The Duck's Story switches to sex: why have so few species retained the ancestral copulatory organ? Or, put another way, why do most birds exhibit the paradoxical phenomenon of penis loss, despite all species requiring internal fertilisation? The Hoatzin's Story reveals unexpected oceanic rafting from Africa to South America: a stranger-than-fiction means of dispersal that is now thought to account for the presence of other South American vertebrates, including geckos and monkeys. The latest theories underpinning speciation are also explored. The Manakin’s Story, for example, reveals how South America’s extraordinarily rich avifauna has been shaped by past geological, oceanographic and climatic changes, while The Storm-Petrel’s Story examines how species can evolve from an ancestral population despite inhabiting the same geographical area. The thorny issue of what constitutes a species is discussed in The Albatross's Story, while The Penguin’s Story explores the effects of environment on phenotype ― in the case of the Emperor penguin, the harshest on the planet. Recent genomic advances have given scientists novel approaches to explore the distant past and have revealed many unexpected journeys, including the unique overland dispersal of an early suboscine from Asia to South America (The Sapayoa’s Story) and the blackbird's ancestral sweepstake dispersals across the Atlantic (The Thrush’s Story). Additional vignettes update more familiar concepts that encourage speciation: sexual selection (The Bird-of-Paradise's Story); extended phenotypes (The Bowerbird's Story); hybridisation (The Sparrow's Story); and 'great speciators' (The White-eye's Story). Finally, the book explores the raft of recent publications that help explain the evolution of cognitive skills (The Crow's Story); plumage colouration (The Starling's Story); and birdsong (The Finch's Story)

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A celebration of British Columbia's coastal cuisine with recipes and fork-lore from the region's farmers, artisans, fishers, foragers, and chefs. The Butcher, the Baker, the Wine and Cheese Maker by the Sea is a tribute to the remarkable innovators and culinary leaders who make up west coast food culture. Discover some of the most diverse and delicious food on the planet--from the fabulous food-truck fare of Tofino to the elegant dishes of downtown Vancouver's five-star restaurants, along the Sea to Sky highway to the famous apres-ski pub grub of Whistler and the hearty, homegrown smorgasbord of the lush farming valley of Pemberton. In addition to delicious recipes, such as Beignet with Baked Bowen Apples, Sea Urchin Bruschetta with Avocado, Pepperoncino and Spot Prawns, and Huckleberry Creme Brulee, this collection features the stories of more than 150 of the area's experts. Discover why Vikram Vij is the maharaja of the west coast, how Lisa Ahier put a gourmet spin on traditional Texas taste, what inspired David Hawksworth to create his own foundation for young chefs, and where Donna Plough grows her sought-after BC artichokes. The follow-up to the international award-winning The Butcher, the Baker, the Wine and Cheese Maker: An Okanagan Cookbook, this collection is a commemoration of the intricate community, network, and culture that defines British Columbia's coastline and the abundance it has to offer.

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As humans, rituals have fed our hearts, minds, and souls since the dawn of our species on this planet. "Everyone in the world has a ritual, whether they realize it or not," writes author Ashley River Brant. Far from being a relic of simpler times, these rituals align us with our intentions to heal and evolve. They help us tap into our own deep wells of wisdom, connect back to the earth and our bodies, and remember that the sacred is ever present in our lives. In Tending to the Sacred, Brant shares a curated collection of accessible yet profound rituals to help you awaken your true connection with the earth, Spirit, and yourself. As you engage with each ritual, you'll begin to lovingly peel back the layers that keep you from being fully embodied and empowered in your life, leading to greater emotional balance, ease, purpose, and resilience on your Sacred Path. Used by the author in her personal life and healing arts practice, each ritual is woven from an abundance of ancient wisdom, medicine, and creativity. Plant healing recipes (including elixirs, oils, essences, and teas), elemental rituals, journal prompts, mantras, and visualizations are all included in this beautifully illustrated guide. Ritual is a powerful way to become more present with yourself, the earth, and the love all around you. Explore the simple yet transformative impacts of ritual with Tending to the Sacred.

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Celebrated yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn shares pivotal accounts of her life with raw honesty—enriched with in-depth spiritual teachings—to help us heal, evolve, and change the world “My first lessons in spirituality and yoga had nothing to do with a mat, but everything to do with waking up. They included angels, seeing God, and being in Heaven. But, believe me, not the way you might think.” So begins Revolution of the Soul. What comes next reads like a riveting memoir filled with uncensored moments of joy, pain, wonder, and humor. Except, this book is so much more than that. Seane's real purpose is to guide us into a deep, gut-level understanding of our highest Self through yoga philosophy and other tools for emotional healing—not just as abstract ideas but as embodied, fully-felt wisdom. Why? To spark a "revolution of the soul" in each of us, so we can awaken to our purpose and become true agents of change. Just a few of the stops along the way include: The everyday "angels" Seane finds in the gritty corners of New York's 1980s East Village; her early struggles as a total yoga-class misfit; the profound shadow work and body-based practices that helped her to heal childhood trauma, OCD, unhealthy behaviors, and relationship wounding; hard-earned lessons from some of the most heartbreaking places on the planet; and many other unforgettable teaching stories.

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Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer is a fan favorite manga series that is nothing short of a full-throttle, energetic, and mesmerizing experience. Combining the stylized action and over-the-top fight scenes of a hot-blooded shonen series like Bleach with an emotionally gripping and character-driven storyline like Berserk, Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer is a cult phenomenon never before available in print in North America. Seven Seas is pleased to release this hotly anticipated series in its entirety in five omnibus editions. Each edition of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer contains two volumes - worth of story - over four hundred pages long - and is filled with dynamically powerful artwork and colour inserts. Everything about college student Amamiya Yuuhi is average: grades, looks, and his blase outlook on life. So what happens when he awakens one day to a talking lizard, who informs him that there is a gigantic hammer in outer space that is poised to split the Earth into pieces and requests his allegiance in the fight against the forces of evil? Pretend it never happened? Unfortunately for Yuuhi, a bit of coercion in the form of a super-powered princess prevents him from returning to his mediocre life-as-usual. In the adventure of a lifetime, Yuuhi will join forces with the capricious princess and a motley crew of companions to fight back against an evil mage and his horrifying homunculus before the Biscuit Hammer can destroy the planet!

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