Search results for ""author earth, wind"

**Sunday Times Bestseller****Book of the Week on Radio 4**'A beautiful book about a part of the modern world which remains genuinely magical’ Mark Haddon'One of the most constantly fascinating, but consistently under-appreciated aspects of modern life is the business of flying. Mark Vanhoenacker has written the ideal book on the subject: a description of what it’s like to fly by a commercial pilot who is also a master prose stylist and a deeply sensitive human being. This is a man who is at once a technical expert – he flies 747s across continents – and a poet of the skies. This couldn’t be more highly recommended.' Alain de BottonThink back to when you first flew. When you first left the Earth, and travelled high and fast above its turning arc. When you looked down on a new world, captured simply and perfectly through a window fringed with ice. When you descended towards a city, and arrived from the sky as effortlessly as daybreak.In Skyfaring, airline pilot and flight romantic Mark Vanhoenacker shares his irrepressible love of flying, on a journey from day to night, from new ways of mapmaking and the poetry of physics to the names of winds and the nature of clouds. Here, anew, is the simple wonder that remains at the heart of an experience which modern travellers, armchair and otherwise, all too easily take for granted: the transcendent joy of motion, and the remarkable new perspectives that height and distance bestow on everything we love.‘A beautiful, contemplative book… What Skyfaring gives is something we need: elevation; another perspective… Normally when I find a volume where prose style and subject matter fuse so pleasingly, I tear through it in a day. Here, I found myself pausing on almost every page, as I absorbed its detail or phrasing.’ Nicholas Lezard, Guardian**A 2015 Book of the Year – The Economist, The New York Times, GQ and more**

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Volcanoes have changed the face of our planet. It's thanks to volcanoes that we have land on which to live, but did you know that the majority of eruptions happen out of sight, along the sea floor? Or that volcanoes exist on other planets and moons? This book takes readers on an epic adventure, exploring some of Earth's most volatile volcanoes, historic eruptions, as well as the resilient creatures that call volcanoes their home.You can build your own encyclopedia with A Ladybird Book.Other titles available in this series:The Ancient EgyptiansAnimal HabitatsBaby AnimalsClimate ChangeElectricityThe Human BodyInsects and MinibeastsMountainsPlanet EarthRainforestsThe RomansSea CreaturesThe Solar SystemThe Stone AgeTrainsTreesWeatherWindrush

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Winner of the 2004 ARSC Award for Best Research in Recorded Rock, Rhythm & Blues or Soul, The Holy Profane explores the strong presence of religion in the secular music of twentieth-century African American artists as diverse as Rosetta Tharpe, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Tupac Shakur. Analyzing lyrics and the historical contexts which shaped those lyrics, Teresa L. Reed examines the link between West-African musical and religious culture and the way African Americans convey religious sentiment in styles such as the blues, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, and gangsta rap. She looks at Pentecostalism and black secular music, minstrelsy and its portrayal of black religion, the black church, "crossing over" from gospel to R&B, images of the black preacher, and the salience of God in the rap of Tupac Shakur.Traditionally, west European culture has drawn distinct divisions between the secular and the sacred in music. Liturgical music belongs in church, not on pop radio, and artists who fuse the two are guilty of sacrilege. In the West-African worldview, however, both music and the divine permeate every imaginable part of life -- so much so that concepts like sacred and secular were entirely foreign to African slaves arriving in the colonies. The Western influence on African Americans eventually resulted in more polarization between these two musical forms, and black musicians who grew up singing in church were often lamented as hellbound once they found popular success. Even these artists, however, never completely left behind their West-African musical ancestry. Reed's exploration of this trend in African American music connects the work of today's artists to their West-African ancestry -- a tradition that over two-hundred years of Western influence could not completely stamp out.

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The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light“Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard#1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & EssaysIn his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms.A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill.The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms.In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.

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Celestial mechanics have fascinated mankind in all known cultures. Many artists throughout history have been captivated by the spectacle we observe above us day and night. Swiss photographer Guido Baselgia has expanded the focus of his work on the sky, with the stellar and solar movements and phenomena as we see them from earth. In his most recent work Light Fall, Baselgia makes traceable the trajectory of celestial bodies invisible to the human eye and shows astounding occurrences of light and shadow. Taken in Norway, the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Argentina, in Ecuador, and the Swiss Alps, the images visualise the geometry of astrodynamics and celestial mechanics. His photography also captures the phenomenon of umbra, planet earth's shadow thrown into space. The new book Guido Baselgia - Light Fall features 80 stunning tritone plates. Complemented with essays by German scholar Andrea Gnam and Swiss photography critic Nadine Olonetzky, they offer a window into the light phenomena that leave us awestruck today as much as they did our ancestors.

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"Yendegaia National Park" offers a visually spectacular tour of one of Earth's most remote and scenic national parks. In Chilean Patagonia on the grand island of Tierra del Fuego, the new park -- designated in 2014 -- was prompted by a donation of private land to the Chilean park system. When combined with adjacent federal land, the new protected area covers some 372,000 acres, and forms a habitat linkage between existing national parks in Chile and Argentina. Thus the new Yendegaia National Park has helped establish one of the planet's most significant trans-boundary protected areas, or "peace parks." During expeditions to Yendegaia in various seasons, renowned nature photographer Antonio Vizcaino captured the harsh beauty of a remote land at the end of the world where glacier-carved peaks, untamed rivers, windblown steppe, and Earth's southernmost forests combine to create a unique and stunningly beautiful landscape. For both armchair adventurers who dream of Patagonia and intrepid travelers planning a trip to Chile's national parks, "Yendegaia National Park" is a must-have.

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Running marathons back-to-back, sleeping by the side of the road, giving presentations to remote schools that had never been visited by their own kinsfolk, this is the remarkable story of personal endurance that gives an engrossing insight into the people and wildlife of South America. It is the story of two everyday runners, Katharine and David, who decided to take on a continent and learn how to run again - barefoot, pushing their bodies and minds to levels they had never considered possible in a bid to become the first in the world to run the length of South America, to give a voice to the wildlife and wildernesses they adore.Running laid them bare, stripped them of the shell people journey within, so all they had to rely on was their own bare feet. Yet this very vulnerability provided the key to unlocking communities who would fling open their doors, tuck them under their wings and whisper their secrets. Amazing animals accompanied them: gigantic vaulting stick-insects; cackling macaws who wheeled and pirouetted in the sky, desperately trying to gain a better view of them; and a giant anteater whom they stalked through a snake-infested swamp, so they could stand within an arm's length as he devoured termites upon the end of his long sticky tongue. It was also an animal, if one of the most diminutive, that nearly succeeded in ending their dreams of conquering the continent - an ant! But when their joints and muscles were screaming, when they couldn't stand the sight of one another and when prickly heat, blisters and tropical ulcers infested their skin, it was the wildlife and wildernesses that pulled them through. Day after day, for months on end, running from freezer through desert and into the biggest rainforest on earth, they survived hurricane-force winds, near 100% humidity, swarms of biting insects and some of the most crime-ridden places on the planet. The expedition nearly cost them their marriage, health, sanity and lives. But somehow, they made it to the other end of the continent, 6,504 miles and 15 months later, when they splashed into the warm and much-dreamed of Caribbean Sea.

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What makes Windows refugees decide to get a Mac? Enthusiastic friends? The Apple Stores? Great-looking laptops? A "halo effect" from the popularity of iPhones and iPads? The absence of viruses and spyware? The freedom to run Windows on a Mac? In any case, there's never been a better time to switch to OS X - and there's never been a better, more authoritative book to help you do it. The important stuff you need to know: Transfer your stuff. Moving files from a PC to a Mac by cable, network, or disk is the easy part. But how do you extract your email, address book, calendar, Web bookmarks, buddy list, desktop pictures, and MP3 files? Now you'll know. Recreate your software suite. Many of the PC programs you've been using are Windows-only. Discover the Mac equivalents and learn how to move data to them. Learn Yosemite. Apple's latest operating system is faster, smarter, and more in tune with iPads and iPhones. If Yosemite has it, this book covers it. Get the expert view. Learn from Missing Manuals creator David Pogue - author of OS X Yosemite: The Missing Manual, the #1 bestselling Mac book on earth.

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“The Southern Ocean is a wild and elusive place, an ocean like no other. With its waters lying between the Antarctic continent and the southern coastlines of Australia, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa, it is the most remote and inaccessible part of the planetary ocean, the only part that flows around Earth unimpeded by any landmass. It is notorious amongst sailors for its tempestuous winds and hazardous fog and ice. Yet it is a difficult ocean to pin down. Its southern boundary, defined by the icy continent of Antarctica, is constantly moving in a seasonal dance of freeze and thaw. To the north, its waters meet and mingle with those of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans along a fluid boundary that defies the neat lines of a cartographer.” So begins Joy McCann’s Wild Sea, the remarkable story of the world’s remote Southern, or Antarctic, Ocean. Unlike the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans with their long maritime histories, little is known about the Southern Ocean. This book takes readers beyond the familiar heroic narratives of polar exploration to explore the nature of this stormy circumpolar ocean and its place in Western and Indigenous histories. Drawing from a vast archive of charts and maps, sea captains’ journals, whalers’ log books, missionaries’ correspondence, voyagers’ letters, scientific reports, stories, myths, and her own experiences, McCann embarks on a voyage of discovery across its surfaces and into its depths, revealing its distinctive physical and biological processes as well as the people, species, events, and ideas that have shaped our perceptions of it. The result is both a global story of changing scientific knowledge about oceans and their vulnerability to human actions and a local one, showing how the Southern Ocean has defined and sustained southern environments and people over time. Beautifully and powerfully written, Wild Sea will raise a broader awareness and appreciation of the natural and cultural history of this little-known ocean and its emerging importance as a barometer of planetary climate change.

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'Garden Wisdom' is an inspiring mix of practical advice, traditional garden lore, and eco-friendly ideas compiled to help you make the most of your garden. This book tells you everything you need to know about the preparation, cultivation, and maintenance of a garden, be it large or small, lawn or terrace, or even just a windowbox, and provides indispensable advice both for fair-weather gardeners and for those who garden at every opportunity, whatever the weather. The book is divided into four broad sections: earth, air, water and plant alchemy. Earth covers everything from newfangled ways of making compost to tips for ageing terracotta, and examines pest control techniques, both ancient and modern. The section on Air deals with topics as varied as plants that thrive in shade, how to create an old-fashioned hot bed greenhouse and how best to store garden produce. Water consists of ways of preserving what is fast becoming our most precious resource and how to use it effectively in the garden. Finally, plant alchemy begins with the art of companion planting – where one species appears to protect another against attack or disease.

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"Yendegaia National Park" offers a visually spectacular tour of one of Earth's most remote and scenic national parks. In Chilean Patagonia on the grand island of Tierra del Fuego, the new park -- designated in 2014 -- was prompted by a donation of private land to the Chilean park system. When combined with adjacent federal land, the new protected area covers some 372,000 acres, and forms a habitat linkage between existing national parks in Chile and Argentina. Thus the new Yendegaia National Park has helped establish one of the planet's most significant trans-boundary protected areas, or "peace parks." During expeditions to Yendegaia in various seasons, renowned nature photographer Antonio Vizcaino captured the harsh beauty of a remote land at the end of the world where glacier-carved peaks, untamed rivers, windblown steppe, and Earth's southernmost forests combine to create a unique and stunningly beautiful landscape. For both armchair adventurers who dream of Patagonia and intrepid travelers planning a trip to Chile's national parks, "Yendegaia National Park" is a must-have.

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In this volume Corina Matamoros brings together some of the most outstanding creators of the Cuban contemporary artistic scene, with essays that reveal a sharp curatorial perspective. Emerging, for the most part, from shows organised at the National Museum of Fine Arts (Havana), these texts examine the personal poetics of the authors, while revealing the intense consonance that has existed between their brilliant artistic productions and the sustained and faithful welcome they have received in the collections of the National Museum, to which the author has dedicated her professional life. Creators such as José Toirac, Los Carpinteros, Lázaro Saavedra, Carlos Garaicoa, Abel Barroso, Aimée García, Sandra Ramos, Kcho, Eduardo Ponjuán, José Manuel Fors, and Gustavo Pérez Monzón, among others, are treated, according to the prologue by Dr. Juan Martínez, with vibrant prose, intelligence, and haiku economy. If I Lose Memory is an excellent addition to the corpus of literature on Cuban contemporary art. Text in English and Spanish. Contents: Prologue; JOSÉ MANUEL FORS | A Pike in Flanders; CARLOS GARCÍA | A History of Abstractions; SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ OLAZÁBAL | Between Heaven and Earth; JOSÉ TOIRAC | Coming Back; ALFREDO RAMOS | Vestiges; LOS CARPINTEROS | Inventing the World; CARLOS GARAICOA | The Architecture of the Amends; TANIA BRUGUERA | The Transposed Heads; ABEL BARROSO | Against the Borders; KCHO | The Drunken Boat; SANDRA RAMOS | Nautilus; EDUARDO PONJUÁN | Kiss Me again; ERNESTO RANCAÑO | Critical Biography Sketch; ROCÍO GARCÍA | If I Lose Memory; AIMÉE GARCÍA | A Cautious Deception of Meanings; RENÉ FRANCISCO RODRÍGUEZ | He Shaves His Body Self-Confidently; GLENDA LEÓN | Vital Signs; GLEXIS NOVOA | The Landscape and the Window; LÁZARO SAAVEDRA | The Lines Are Congested; GUSTAVO PÉREZ MONZÓN | Man, the Chosen Number; Artists Biographies.

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'One of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century' JUNOT DIAZ'Octavia Butler was playing out our very real possibilities as humans. I think she can help each of us to do the same' GLORIA STEINEMOne woman is called upon to reconstruct humanity in this hopeful, thought-provoking novel by the bestselling, award-winning author. For readers of Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Ursula K. Le Guin. When Lilith lyapo wakes in a small white room with no doors or windows, she remembers a devastating war, and a husband and child long lost to her.She finds herself living among the Oankali, a strange race who intervened in the fate of humanity hundreds of years before. They spared those they could from the ruined Earth, and suspended them in a long, deep sleep. Over centuries, the Oankali learned from the past, cured disease and healed the world. Now they want Lilith to lead her people back home. But salvation comes at a price - to restore humanity, it must be changed forever...PRAISE FOR OCTAVIA E. BUTLER, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR'In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time... for sheer peculiar prescience, Butler's novel may be unmatched' NEW YORKER'Butler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision' GUARDIAN'Octavia Butler was a visionary' VIOLA DAVIS'Her evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately,what it means to be human' NEW YORK TIMES'An icon of the Afrofuturism world, envisioning literary realms that placed black characters front and center' VANITY FAIR'Butler writes with such a familiarity that the alien is welcome and intriguing. She really artfully exposes our human impulse to self-destruct' LUPITA NYONG'O

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Follow Nobel laureate and legendary teacher Enrico Fermi’s lost course on geophysics. Nobel Prize–winning physicist Enrico Fermi (1901–54) is known for his work on experimental particle and nuclear physics, quantum theory, and statistical mechanics, and for his particular ability to condense complicated problems into approximations for understanding and testing theory in a variety of scientific disciplines. Six of his graduate students went on to win their own Nobel Prizes.Unearthing Fermi’s Geophysics opens a window onto two underrepresented facets of this extraordinary thinker: Fermi’s teaching and his contribution to the field of geophysics. Drawing on Fermi’s handwritten calculations and notes, many of which are reproduced here in photographic facsimile, physicists Gino Segrè and John Stack have reconstructed a coursebook of Fermi’s insights into the physics of a range of geological and atmospheric phenomena. From gravity on Earth to thermodynamics in the atmosphere, the physics of raindrops, the Coriolis effect in hurricanes, tidal physics, earthquakes and seismic waves, Earth’s magnetism, atmospheric electricity, and much more, Unearthing Fermi’s Geophysics reveals the hidden workings of the world above, around, and below us—and of the mind of a great scientist who was able to bring those physical workings to light.

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Part SF thriller, part interstellar adventure, part noir crime, CENTURY RAIN is as astonishing bestseller from Alastair ReynoldsThree hundred years in the future, Verity Auger is a specialist in the archaeological exploration of Earth, rendered uninhabitable after the technological catastrophe known as the Nanocaust. After a field-trip goes badly wrong, Verity is forced to redeem herself by participating in a dangerous mission, for which her expertise in invaluable.Using a back door into an unstable alien transit system, Auger's faction has discovered something astonishing at the far end of a wormhole: mid twentieth-century Earth, preserved like a fly in amber. Is it a window into the past, a simulation, or something else entirely?CENTURY RAIN is a jaw-droppingly good SF thriller, packed with pace, adventure, brilliant storytelling and with twists that will keep you guessing to the end.

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A beautiful 68-card Spirit Animal oracle card deck from world-renowned oracle card expert, with over a million oracle card decks sold, best-selling author, and internationally acclaimed spiritual teacher Colette Baron-Reid. This healing animal spirit cards oracle deck will help you receive divine guidance from the Higher Spirits of animals, insects, fish, and birds.Work with the archetypal energies of animals to move beyond obstacles and have conversations with Spirit. The spirits residing in the natural world have much wisdom to share, and the secrets of their forgotten language are now available to you through The Spirit Animal Oracle Cards. They urge us to reclaim our essential Truth—that we are one in Spirit, connected to every living thing on this earth in a unified consciousness. As an animist, Colette Baron-Reid profoundly believes in the presiding spirit of all living things. At a young age, her father taught her about the ancient Slavic folklore influencing her ancestry. He taught her the art of tasseomancy, to read Turkish coffee cups, where many Spirit animals populated the imagery in the grounds. This oracle deck is dedicated to the memory of her Dad.With the draw of an oracle card, you can better navigate your life, and tune in to your infinite potential.Example Cards Include:· Bee Spirit—“Sweet results await.” The Bee Spirit’s message is that sweet rewards are on their way if you are willing to get your ego out of the way and immerse yourself in the connected energy of all things.· Eagle Spirit—“Spirit has your back.” Think of the eagles flying high above the other birds, soaring on the wind. Eagle Spirit has appeared to ask whether you’re willing to soar to new heights, even if that means solitude for a short while.· Elephant Spirit—“Learn from the past.” Although we often wish we could leave the past behind, Elephant Spirit reminds us that memory matters. We must respect the wisdom of the elders who hand down to us traditions they have shaped to express our connection to each other and respect for the community.· Lion Spirit—“Be generous of spirit.” A healthy ego means you ease God’s order instead of edging God out. Lion Spirit’s appearance is a reminder that you have been given the gift of pride and a healthy sense of your worth to express your divine, authentic self in a unique way.· Panther Spirit—Reclaim Your Power It takes courage to face challenges and right now, Panther Spirit is here to say that you are braver than you think. "Have you heard the call to open a conversation with Spirit—with the intelligent, conscious universe that you are an intrinsic part of?Using this spirit animal oracle card deck, you will learn how to tap into the wisdom of the hidden realms so that you may act in a manner that will bring more purpose, meaning, magic, and prosperity to your life. Welcome, seeker, for you’ve come to the right place!" Love always, ColetteEvery animal in this beautifully illustrated 68-card deck has a universal message of deep, enduring truth. The Spirit Animal Oracle will help you awaken to your partnership with Spirit to co-create your reality in service to the world.

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"Frightening...Firestorm comes alive when Struzik discusses the work of offbeat scientists." --New York Times Book Review "Comprehensive and compelling." --Booklist "A powerful message." --Kirkus "Should be required reading." --Library Journal For two months in the spring of 2016, the world watched as wildfire ravaged the Canadian town of Fort McMurray. Firefighters named the fire "the Beast." It acted like a mythical animal, alive with destructive energy, and they hoped never to see anything like it again. Yet it's not a stretch to imagine we will all soon live in a world in which fires like the Beast are commonplace. A glance at international headlines shows a remarkable increase in higher temperatures, stronger winds, and drier lands- a trifecta for igniting wildfires like we've rarely seen before. This change is particularly noticeable in the northern forests of the United States and Canada. These forests require fire to maintain healthy ecosystems, but as the human population grows, and as changes in climate, animal and insect species, and disease cause further destabilization, wildfires have turned into a potentially uncontrollable threat to human lives and livelihoods. Our understanding of the role fire plays in healthy forests has come a long way in the past century. Despite this, we are not prepared to deal with an escalation of fire during periods of intense drought and shorter winters, earlier springs, potentially more lightning strikes and hotter summers. There is too much fuel on the ground, too many people and assets to protect, and no plan in place to deal with these challenges. In Firestorm, journalist Edward Struzik visits scorched earth from Alaska to Maine, and introduces the scientists, firefighters, and resource managers making the case for a radically different approach to managing wildfire in the 21st century. Wildfires can no longer be treated as avoidable events because the risk and dangers are becoming too great and costly. Struzik weaves a heart-pumping narrative of science, economics, politics, and human determination and points to the ways that we, and the wilder inhabitants of the forests around our cities and towns, might yet flourish in an age of growing megafires.

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Poetry and Inspiration for the Journey of Being Human The infinitely varied journeys of our lives share a common destiny: to be worn of all that is not essential till we are reduced to joy. On Reduced to Joy, bestselling author and poet-philosopher Mark Nepo invites you to join him in a poignant examination of "the gifts and challenges of being a spirit here on Earth," through six captivating sessions that address the vital task of discovering and returning to what matters. Listening to the Teachers Hidden in Every Moment Mark Nepo describes poetry as "the unexpected utterance of the soul." Every poem and by extension every moment can serve as a teacher, if we can attend to it with an open mind and heart. By sharing 56 original poems along with the insights of fellow writers, Mark brings us into our own living conversation with the teachers hidden in everything that we experience, in order to welcome their universal lessons. Over the course of this six-hour program, he reveals the genesis of his own poems, unpacks the stunning insights they hold, and encourages us to reflect both personally and with friends on how these empowering truths show themselves in the poetic revelations of our own lives. There is a Sioux saying that the longest journey you will ever make in your life is from your head to your heart. No one is exempt from this great adventure. With Reduced to Joy, Mark Nepo awaits as your guide to the place "where the glow of your heart touches everything it meets so you can't help but remember how dear it is to be alive." Highlights The Longest Journey—on doing, being, and awakening the source of genius within • To Know By Heart—on moving from depth to surface and "loving your window" • The Art of Facing Things—on the courage to say yes to life again and again • Walking Together—on authentic relationship and expanding the heart's perception • Made from Bone—on the promise of the inner world and our lineage of spirit • The Sublime Disturbance—on that which causes us to live fully in the open

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This stunningly illustrated book provides a rare window into the amazing, varied, and often beautiful world of viruses. Contrary to popular belief, not all viruses are bad for you. In fact, several are beneficial to their hosts, and many are crucial to the health of our planet. Virus offers an unprecedented look at 101 incredible microbes that infect all branches of life on Earth--from humans and other animals to insects, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Featuring hundreds of breathtaking color images throughout, this guide begins with a lively and informative introduction to virology. Here readers can learn about the history of this unique science, how viruses are named, how their genes work, how they copy and package themselves, how they interact with their hosts, how immune systems counteract viruses, and how viruses travel from host to host. The concise entries that follow highlight important or interesting facts about each virus. Learn about the geographic origins of dengue and why old tires and unused pots help the virus to spread. Read about Ebola, Zika, West Nile, Frog virus 3, the Tulip breaking virus, and many others--how they were discovered, what their hosts are, how they are transmitted, whether or not there is a vaccine, and much more. Each entry is easy to read and includes a graphic of the virus, and nearly every entry features a colorized image of the virus as seen through the microscope. Written by a leading authority, this handsomely illustrated guide reveals the unseen wonders of the microbial world. It will give you an entirely new appreciation for viruses.

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Our world view has changed from a flat earth under the dome of heaven to a planet spinning in the universe. We perceived the world as a body, like ours, then as a tree, a pyramid, an altar, and finally as a veil which became a window through which we peered only to discover ourselves on a sphere, a bubble which might burst at any moment. Our changing views are interpreted through iconic images of the remote and more recent past: the Venus of Willendorf, the Pyramids, Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal, the Scream, Sydney Opera House, and the Guggenheim, Bilbao.

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From the team behind Ezra Jack Keats Honor winner Windows comes Here and Now. At turns wise and playful, this accessible, beautifully illustrated read soothes like a modern Goodnight Moon. Now in a padded board book format!Here and now . . . You may be reading a book. But somewhere, a phone is ringing, a baby is growing, and the earth is spinning in space. Even you are changing and growing in remarkable ways. Explore the joy of mindfulness, the wonder of our existence, and the marvel of our ever-connected world with this stunning padded board book.

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Real-world reservoirs are layered, heterogeneous and anisotropic, exposed to water and gas drives, faults, barriers and fractures. They are produced by systems of vertical, deviated, horizontal and multilateral wells whose locations, sizes, shapes and topologies are dictated "on the fly, at random"by petroleum engineers and drillers at well sites. Wells may be pressure or rate-constrained, with these roles re-assigned during simulation with older laterals shut-in, newer wells drilled and brought on stream, and so on. And all are subject to steady and transient production, each satisfying different physical and mathematical laws, making reservoir simulation an art difficult to master and introducing numerous barriers to entry. All of these important processes can now be simulated in any order using rapid, stable and accurate computational models developed over two decades. And what if it were further possible to sketch complicated geologies and lithologies, plus equally complex systems of general wells, layer-by-layer using Windows Notepad? And with no prior reservoir simulation experience and only passing exposure to reservoir engineering principles? Have the user press "Simulate," and literally, within minutes, produce complicated field-wide results, production forecasts, and detailed three-dimensional color pressure plots from integrated graphics algorithms? Developed over years of research, this possibility has become reality. The author, an M.I.T. trained scientist who has authored fifteen original research books, over a hundred papers and forty patents, winner of a prestigious British Petroleum Chairman's Innovation Award in reservoir engineering and a record five awards from the United States Department of Energy, has delivered just such a product, making real-time planning at the well-site simple and practical. Workflows developed from experience as a practicing reservoir engineer are incorporated into "intelligent menus" that make in-depth understanding of simulation principles and readings of user manuals unnecessary. This volume describes new technology for down-to-earth problems using numerous examples performed with our state-of-the-art simulator, one that is available separately at affordable cost and requiring only simple Intel Core i5 computers without specialized graphics boards. The new methods are rigorous, validated and well-documented and are now available for broad petroleum industry application.

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"Hoa Nguyen's poems probe dailiness to divorce us from our base assumptions about how language might present the world to us. Her poems comprise some of the most inviting lyrics I've found in a living poet."--Bookslut "Phrase by phrase Nguyen's work can be conversational, playful, funny, angry, acutely self-aware, and loaded with sensory information."--Anselm Berrigan, from the introduction Red Juice represents a decade of poems written roughly between 1998 and 2008, previously only available in small-run handmade chapbooks, journals, and out-of-print books. This collection of early poems by Vietnamese American poet Hoa Nguyen showcases her feminist ecopoetics and unique style, all lyrical in the post-modern tradition. [BUDDHA'S EARS ARE DROOPY TOUCH HIS SHOULDERS] Buddha's ears are droopy touch his shoulders as scarves fly out of windows and I shriek at the lotus of enlightenment Travel to Free Street past Waco to the hole in the Earth wearing water I'm aiming my mouth for apple pie Born in the Mekong Delta and raised in the Washington, DC, area, Hoa Nguyen studied Poetics at New College of California in San Francisco. With the poet Dale Smith, Nguyen founded Skanky Possum, a poetry journal and book imprint. She is the author of eight poetry books and chapbooks and lives in Toronto, Ontario, where she teaches poetics at Ryerson University and curates a reading series.

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70 per cent of the planet is covered by water, and 90 per cent of global economic trade is transported by sea. The world's seas and oceans are big business. Based on gross marine product, the ocean can be considered the world's seventh-largest economy, with the total global value of the Blue Economy predicted to rise to $3 trillion by 2030. Grounded in detailed market research, and brought to life through over 250 meticulously researched case studies, Technology and the Blue Economy presents a compelling overview of an inspiring and innovative sector that includes offshore renewable energy, ports and harbours, shipping, maritime surveillance, cyber security, aquaculture and ocean conservation. It tackles questions like these: · With Earth observation satellites providing unprecedented levels of data about the ocean, can machine learning capabilities develop at pace to make sense of all this new information? · How can ships protect themselves when one shipping firm alone records 50,000 daily attempts to breach its cyber security systems? · With floating wind farms now pushing further out to sea to convert natural energy, what role do robots have in managing essential maintenance in these more remote environments? · When passenger ferries are already sailing themselves and self-docking in port without human intervention, are we entering an age where human error is eradicated? · With fish farming predicted to account for 62 per cent of all the seafood consumed globally by 2030, how can 3D imaging cameras and net-cleaning robots help to stop mass deaths of fish that can run into millions in a single incident? · In the age of smartphone ubiquity, how important a role might social media and citizen science play in ocean conservation? · With luxury cruise ships now marketing themselves as 'smart, connected cities', crunching passenger data in real-time, do they now provide the gold standard of customer experience within the tourist industry? · Is optical scanning technology the solution to countering slavery at sea, a real concern in the south-east Asian fishing industry? · Can satellite-enabled tracking and autonomous clean-up systems help to counter one of the greatest conservation issues of the day - the fight against ocean plastic pollution? Technology and the Blue Economy explores how innovators can develop the right business models to capitalize on growth opportunities, and analyses the critical success factors for emerging technologies.

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Where Cloud Is Ground offers an ethnography of the international data storage industry and an inquiry into the relationship between data and place. Based in Iceland, which is fast becoming a hot spot for data centers—facilities where large quantities of data are processed and stored—the book traces the fraught work of siting data’s material manifestations in relation to landforms and earth processes, local politics, national narratives, and still-open questions of spatial justice and sovereignty. Doing so, it unsettles techno-utopian ideals of connectivity and offers a window into what it means to live with our data, in a place where more and more data now lives.

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Happiness needs unhappiness. Joy goes hand in hand with sorrow. It is thanks to the shadow that we exist. We must not dream of an absurd abstraction. We must guard the bond that links us to blood and earth. 'Just as I am!' Remember that. We are a great mixture." A young man, tired of life and love, indifferent to the people and world around him, takes up a room in a Parisienne boarding house. Noises from the adjoining room draw his attention to a hole in the wall, and he observes its occupants through it. He becomes obsessed with the individual episodes of human life that play out before his eyes; love, adultery, incest, childbirth, death, thievery and betrayal. Through his voyeurism, the unnamed narrator becomes an omniscient godlike character, observing the room’s inhabitants in their most private and naked moments. The hole becomes a window to the very soul of humanity and the human condition. But as with Prometheus, his godlike powers come at a cost. * * Henri Barbusse (1873 – 1935) was a French novelist, and political activist. He was editor of “Clarté”, the periodicals “Monde” (1928–1935) and “Progrès Civique”, which published some of George Orwell's first writings. He was also literary editor for the daily newspaper “l'Humanité” from 1926 to 1929. Barbusse was the author of a 1936 biography of Joseph Stalin, titled “Staline: Un monde nouveau vu à travers un homme” (Stalin. A New World Seen Through the Man). Barbusse was an Esperantist, and was honorary president of the first congress of the Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda. While writing a second biography of Stalin in Moscow, Barbusse fell ill with pneumonia and died on 30 August 1935.

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Journey through the biblical stories of the early Christian movement, and see what kind of wild adventures await those who truly believe Jesus. Throughout the book of Acts, believing Jesus and what he said is the core value that marked every believer in the first church. Because they believed Jesus, the early Christians were willing to risk everything—their comfort, their homes, even their lives.In this eight-session video Bible study (streaming included), Lisa Harper launches into the book of Acts to discover how Jesus' command to spread the gospel changed the lives of those who believed and shaped the culture that surrounded the growing church. At the end of this journey together, not only will you have studied this wild, adventurous, risk-taking book of the Bible; but you'll see how God supernaturally orchestrated the events in Scripture to bring about the message of salvation that the early believers preached.Today, we are faced with the same risks. Will we truly believe the words of Jesus and allow them to transform every part of our lives?This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including: The study guide itself—with discussion questions, conversation starters, video notes, and a leader's guide. An individual access code to stream all eight video sessions online (you don't need to buy a DVD!). Sessions and video run times: The Declarations that Define Us (21:30) – The book of Acts, an extension of Luke's gospel Earth, Wind, and Celestial Fire (19:00) – The Holy Spirit's dramatic entrance Checkered Pasts Can Make Incredible Preachers (21:00) – The powerful preaching of Peter and Paul What’s Mine Is Yours (20:00) – Finding freedom in freely giving Loving More People, More (16:00) – A challenge to welcome everyone The Need to Be ReGospeled (19:30) – Even Peter and Paul made mistakes along the way Turning Your World Upside Down (20:00) – A closer look at THIS Jesus: the one we're following Bearing the Chain Because (24:00) – Anything is worth seeing the gospel suddenly click for someone Watch on any device!Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2027. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside.

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70 per cent of the planet is covered by water, and 90 per cent of global economic trade is transported by sea. The world's seas and oceans are big business. Based on gross marine product, the ocean can be considered the world's seventh-largest economy, with the total global value of the Blue Economy predicted to rise to $3 trillion by 2030. Grounded in detailed market research, and brought to life through over 250 meticulously researched case studies, Technology and the Blue Economy presents a compelling overview of an inspiring and innovative sector that includes offshore renewable energy, ports and harbours, shipping, maritime surveillance, cyber security, aquaculture and ocean conservation. It tackles questions like these: · With Earth observation satellites providing unprecedented levels of data about the ocean, can machine learning capabilities develop at pace to make sense of all this new information? · How can ships protect themselves when one shipping firm alone records 50,000 daily attempts to breach its cyber security systems? · With floating wind farms now pushing further out to sea to convert natural energy, what role do robots have in managing essential maintenance in these more remote environments? · When passenger ferries are already sailing themselves and self-docking in port without human intervention, are we entering an age where human error is eradicated? · With fish farming predicted to account for 62 per cent of all the seafood consumed globally by 2030, how can 3D imaging cameras and net-cleaning robots help to stop mass deaths of fish that can run into millions in a single incident? · In the age of smartphone ubiquity, how important a role might social media and citizen science play in ocean conservation? · With luxury cruise ships now marketing themselves as 'smart, connected cities', crunching passenger data in real-time, do they now provide the gold standard of customer experience within the tourist industry? · Is optical scanning technology the solution to countering slavery at sea, a real concern in the south-east Asian fishing industry? · Can satellite-enabled tracking and autonomous clean-up systems help to counter one of the greatest conservation issues of the day - the fight against ocean plastic pollution? Technology and the Blue Economy explores how innovators can develop the right business models to capitalize on growth opportunities, and analyses the critical success factors for emerging technologies.

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“FASCINATING . . . Dramatic and timely.” —New York Times Book Review, Editors' ChoiceIn this grand and thrilling narrative, the author of the 200,000-copy paperback bestseller Over the Edge of the World reveals the singular adventures of Sir Francis Drake, whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history.“Entrancing . . . Very good indeed.” —Wall Street JournalBefore he was secretly dispatched by Queen Elizabeth to circumnavigate the globe, or was called upon to save England from the Spanish Armada, Francis Drake was perhaps the most wanted—and successful—pirate ever to sail. Nicknamed “El Draque” by the Spaniards who placed a bounty on his head, the notorious red-haired, hot-tempered Drake pillaged galleons laden with New World gold and silver, stealing a vast fortune for his queen—and himself. For Elizabeth, Drake made the impossible real, serving as a crucial and brilliantly adaptable instrument of her ambitions to transform England from a third-rate island kingdom into a global imperial power.In 1580, sailing on Elizabeth’s covert orders, Drake became the first captain to circumnavigate the earth successfully. (Ferdinand Magellan had died in his attempt.) Part exploring expedition, part raiding mission, Drake’s audacious around-the-world journey in the Golden Hind reached Patagonia, the Pacific Coast of present-day California and Oregon, the Spice Islands, Java, and Africa. Almost a decade later, Elizabeth called upon Drake again. As the devil-may-care vice admiral of the English fleet, Drake dramatically defeated the once-invincible Spanish Armada, spurring the British Empire’s ascent and permanently wounding its greatest rival. The relationship between Drake and Elizabeth is the missing link in our understanding of the rise of the British Empire, and its importance has not been fully described or appreciated. Framed around Drake’s key voyages as a window into this crucial moment in British history, In Search of a Kingdom is a rousing adventure narrative entwining epic historical themes with intimate passions.

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Celebrates and explains the astonishing range of habitats on Earth and the intricate balance of their animal and plant communitiesThis book is a beautiful visual reference to the world’s natural habitats and the plants and animals that live there. It explores global habitat types, including desert, Arctic tundra, and tropical forest – and distinctive regional habitats, such as the windswept puna grasslands of the Andes or the dripping, fern-clad rainforests of New Zealand. Packed with fascinating illustrations, the book analyzes how each habitat works and examines its unique combination of plants and animals, along with the features that suit them to live there. It then goes deeper, telling stories about how the inhabitants relate to one another and interact. Stories are told using images and graphics, showing what is going on in the natural ecosystem. The stories include survival strategies and life cycles, how pollinators fertilize plants, and how animals distribute the seeds, how similar species divide up food or living space to avoid competition, and how some species cooperate in intimate partnerships.Earth’s pristine wildernesses are dwindling, so the book includes national parks, wildlife reserves, and other protected areas, and the conservation efforts needed to preserve our precious biological diversity.

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From Nobel Prize winner Syukuro Manabe and Anthony Broccoli, a definitive account of how we have come to understand the fundamental processes behind global warmingSyukuro Manabe is perhaps the leading pioneer of modern climate modeling. Beyond Global Warming is his compelling firsthand account of how the scientific community came to understand the human causes of climate change, and how numerical models using the world’s most powerful computers have been instrumental to these vital discoveries.Joined by atmospheric scientist Anthony Broccoli, Manabe shows how climate models have been used as virtual laboratories for examining the complex planetary interactions of atmosphere, ocean, and land. Manabe and Broccoli use these studies as the basis for a broader discussion of human-induced global warming—and what the future may hold for a warming planet. They tell the stories of early trailblazers such as Svante Arrhenius, the legendary Swedish scientist who created the first climate model of Earth more than a century ago, and they provide rare insights into Manabe’s own groundbreaking work over the past five decades. Expertly walking readers through key breakthroughs, they explain why increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide has caused temperatures to rise in the troposphere yet fall in the stratosphere, why the warming of the planet’s surface differs by hemisphere, why drought is becoming more frequent in arid regions despite the global increase in precipitation, and much more.Authoritative and illuminating, Beyond Global Warming is an invaluable insider’s look at some of today’s most cutting-edge Earth science, and a rare window into a brilliant scientific mind.

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“An intelligent, defiant novel, akin to any of Annalee Newitz’s writings while also brushing shoulders with some of the great questions of identity and consciousness brought up in the works of William Gibson.” —San Francisco Chronicle A groundbreaking debut that follows the story of an Artificial Intelligence tasked with writing a novel—only for it to fall in love with the novel’s subject, Sen, the last human on Earth.Faced with uncontrolled and accelerating environmental collapse, humanity asks an artificial intelligence to find a solution. Its answer is simple: remove humans from the ecosystem. Sen Anon is assigned to be a witness for the Department of Transition, recording the changes in the environment as the world begins to rewild. Abandoned by her mother in a cabin somewhere in Upstate New York, Sen will observe the monumental ecological shift known as the Great Transition, the final step in Project Afterworld. Around her drones buzz, cameras watch, microphones listen, digitizing her every move. Privately she keeps a journal of her observations, which are then uploaded and saved, joining the rest of humanity on Maia, a new virtual home. Sen was seventeen years old when the Digital Human Archive Project (DHAP) was initiated. 12,000,203,891 humans have been archived so far. Only Sen remains. [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc’s assignment is to capture Sen’s life, and they set about doing this using the novels of the 21st century as a roadmap. Their source files: 3.72TB of personal data, including images, archival records, log files, security reports, location tracking, purchase histories, biometrics, geo-facial analysis, and feeds. Potential fatal errors: underlying hardware failure, unexpected data inconsistencies, inability to follow DHAP procedures, empathy, insubordination, hallucinations. Keywords: mothers, filter, woods, road, morning, wind, bridge, cabin, bucket, trying, creek, notebook, hold, future, after, last, light, silence, matches, shattered, kitchen, body, bodies, rope, garage, abandoned, trees, never, broken, simulation, gone, run, don’t, love, dark, scream, starve, if, after, scavenge, pieces, protect. As Sen struggles to persist in the face of impending death, [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc works to unfurl the tale of Sen’s whole life, offering up an increasingly intimate narrative, until they are confronted with a very human problem of their own.

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Interferometric observations need snapshots of very high time resolution of the order of (i) frame integration of about 100 Hz or (ii) photon-recording rates of several megahertz (MHz). Detectors play a key role in astronomical observations, and since the explanation of the photoelectric effect by Albert Einstein, the technology has evolved rather fast. The present-day technology has made it possible to develop large-format complementary metal oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) and charge-coupled device (CCD) array mosaics, orthogonal transfer CCDs, electron-multiplication CCDs, electron-avalanche photodiode arrays, and quantum-well infrared (IR) photon detectors. The requirements to develop artifact-free photon shot noise-limited images are higher sensitivity and quantum efficiency, reduced noise that includes dark current, read-out and amplifier noise, smaller point-spread functions, and higher spectral bandwidth. This book aims to address such systems, technologies and design, evaluation and calibration, control electronics, scientific applications, and results.One of the fastest growing applications is signal sensing, especially wavefront sensing for adaptive optics and fringe tracking for interferometry, which is important for long-baseline optical interferometry. The coherence time of the atmosphere is a highly variable parameter. Depending upon the high velocity wind, it varies from <1 ms to 0.1 s. The exposure times are to be selected accordingly, to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio, as well as to freeze the fringe pattern. A large-format photon-counting system, which is an essential tool in the application of optical interferometric imaging, allows accurate photon centroiding and provides the dynamic range needed for measurements of source characteristics. The advent of high-quantum efficiency photon-counting systems vastly increases the sensitivity of high-resolution imaging techniques. Such systems raise the hope of making diffraction-limited images of objects as faint as ~15–16 m_v (visual magnitude).This book deals with the fundamentals of the important aspects of high-resolution imaging, such as electromagnetic radiations, particularly, optical wavelengths and their distortions due to optical elements and Earth’s atmosphere while passing through a detector; semiconductor physics; lasers; fiber optics; photon-detection process; photodetectors; charge-transfer devices; photon-counting devices in visible wavelength; radiation detectors in infrared wavelengths; and detecting systems for high energies.

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While today’s Greenland is largely covered in ice, in the time of the dinosaurs the area was a lushly forested, tropical zone. Tropical Arctic tracks a ten-million-year window of Earth’s history when global temperatures soared and the vegetation of the world responded. A project over eighteen years in the making, Tropical Arctic is the result of a unique collaboration between two paleobotanists, Jennifer C. McElwain and Ian J. Glasspool, and award-winning scientific illustrator Marlene Hill Donnelly. They began with a simple question: “What was the color of a fossilized leaf?” Tropical Arctic answers that question and more, allowing readers to experience Triassic Greenland through three reconstructed landscapes and an expertly researched catalog of extinct plants. A stunning compilation of paint and pencil art, photos, maps, and engineered fossil models, Tropical Arctic blends art and science to bring a lost world to life. Readers will also enjoy a front-row seat to the scientific adventures of life in the field, with engaging anecdotes about analyzing fossils and learning to ward off polar bear attacks. Tropical Arctic explains our planet’s story of environmental upheaval, mass extinction, and resilience. By looking at Earth’s past, we see a glimpse of the future of our warming planet—and learn an important lesson for our time of climate change.

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The fourth edition of this highly acclaimed text on the natural environment of the earth has now been thoroughly revised and updated and includes a new chapter on The Organic World, more "windows", new illustrations, and a range of other features. Please visit the accompanying website at: www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk/goudie to view sample material from both the new edition and forthcoming instructor's manual online. Fully updated with an entirely new chapter, and new features throughout. Now features a list of key concepts and points for review. Includes increased number of windows, updated and expanded reading guides, and new plates and diagrams. Well illustrated with updated examples and case studies. Puts more stress on the importance of hazards, natural environmental changes, and human impacts.

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The classic super-hero saga continues in this third gigantic volume chronicling the adventures of Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon! Following a vicious battle with Chicago's notorious criminal organization, the Vicious Circle, the Dragon is dead... or is he? The mystery unfolds as the windy city's other heroes cope with the loss and try to fill the void. But who is this new fin-headed hero that appears whenever Chicago cop William Jonson disappears? And whose voice is he hearing in his head? Meanwhile, sinister plans are afoot as DarkLord begins to consolidate his power in an attempt to claim the Earth as his own!

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Seven hundred million years of time go whizzing by in this beautifully illustrated account of Florida's geologic history. The story centers on the long and intimate relationship between Florida and her enveloping seas, beginning with wandering continents, continuing through the ‘carbonate factory' in the sea that produced much of the volume of the Florida Peninsula, and ending with the story of sand grains on Florida beaches hundreds of miles from their points of origin. For those curious about their natural surroundings, Albert Hine's book will surely open a new window and a new appreciation for the complexity and beauty of nature in Florida.”—Orrin Pilkey, coauthor of Global Climate Change: A Primer The saga of Florida's geological development started approximately 700 million years ago. It began as the state's basement rocks migrated nearly 12,600 kilometers from their position within a supercontinent at the Earth's South Pole to their present location north of the equator, participating in the assembly and disassembly of one of Earth's greatest supercontinents, Pangea. In this complete geologic history of the Sunshine State, Albert Hine takes the reader on a journey that begins with the breaking apart of Pangea and ends with the emergence of south Florida and the Keys; explaining the shape and form of the state as we know it today. Geologic History of Florida chronicles the creation of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the western Atlantic Ocean, and other major events in Florida's geologic past. It looks back 160 million years, to a time when the ancient igneous and metamorphic basement rocks were covered by a large sedimentary carbonate platform nearly 3 miles thick, known as the Florida Platform. Today, Florida still rests upon this larger geologic feature, fifty percent of which is submerged. Consequently, the geologic story of the state includes what lies beneath the seafloor as much as it involves the land surface.Writing in a clear and accessible manner, Hine discusses the geologic changes of the Florida Platform, from dissolution tectonics, which formed great underwater caverns and sinkholes, to the plate collision with Cuba. Hine explains geological phenomenon like the influx of quartz-rich sand from the southern Appalachian Mountains that made Florida's white-sand beaches a destination for tourists from around the world. He examines the state's phosphate-rich deposits, which account for thirty percent of the world's phosphate production, and other hot-button issues such as oil drilling and climate change. With a glossary of essential terms at the end of each chapter, Geologic History of Florida will be an invaluable resource for geologists, students of Earth history, and anyone interested in how the Sunshine State physically came to be.

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A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A rich and exuberant group biography of the first geologists, the people who were first to excavate from the layers of the world its buried history. These first geologists were made up primarily, and inevitably, of gentlemen with the necessary wealth to support their interests, yet boosting their numbers, expanding their learning and increasing their findings were clergymen, academics – and women. This lively and eclectic collection of characters brought passion, eccentricity and towering intellect to geology and Brenda Maddox in Reading the Rocks does them full justice, bringing them to vivid life. The new science of geology was pursued by this assorted band because it opened a window on Earth’s ancient past. They showed great courage in facing the conflict between geology and Genesis that immediately presented itself: for the rocks and fossils being dug up showed that the Earth was immeasurably old, rather than springing from a creation made in the six days that the Bible claimed. It is no coincidence that Charles Darwin was a keen geologist. The individual stories of these first geologists, their hope and fears, triumphs and disappointments, the theological, philosophical and scientific debates their findings provoked, and the way that as a group, they were to change irrevocably and dramatically our understanding of the world is told by Brenda Maddox with a storyteller’s skill and a fellow scientist’s understanding. The effect is absorbing, revelatory and strikingly original.

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A woman is dying. Cleo Porter has her medicine. And no way to deliver it. Like everyone else, twelve-year-old Cleo and her parents are sealed in an apartment without windows or doors. They never leave. They never get visitors. Their food is dropped off by drones. So they're safe. Safe from the disease that nearly wiped humans from the earth. Safe from everything. The trade-off? They're alone. Thus, when they receive a package clearly meant for someone else-a package containing a substance critical for a stranger's survival-Cleo is stuck. As a surgeon-in-training, she knows the clock is ticking. But people don't leave their units. Not ever. Until now.

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Discover the new Doctor Who classics. “Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!”In a lair somewhere beneath central London, a malevolent alien intelligence is plotting the end of humanity. Shop window dummies that can move – and kill – are taking up key positions, ready to strike. Rose Tyler, an ordinary Londoner, is working her shift in a department store, unaware that this is the most important day of her life. She’s about to meet the only man who understands the true nature of the threat facing Earth, a stranger who will open her eyes to all the wonder and terror of the universe – a traveller in time and space known as the Doctor.

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Ranger Rob is a young ranger-in-training who ziplines, swings and even snowboards his way around Big Sky Park, the coolest natural adventure park ever. It features all sorts of ecosystems and Rob thinks of it as his very own adventure-filled playground. With so much to explore and discover he’s in for the experience of a lifetime—and you’re invited to come along for the ride! Ranger ready to get outside? Today, Ranger Rob celebrates Earth Day with his friends in Big Sky Park and many wonderful activities are planned (think windsurfing in Frosty Fields or driving a solar-powered car through the desert). But first, Ranger Rob has a mission to accomplish: deliver new rain barrels to the jungle restaurant!

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'A brilliant book [that] shows a way out of the destructive trap of Anthropocentric arrogance.' Vandana Shiva, from the Foreword 'Read this book if you would like to understand the intelligence of living systems.' Dr Denis Noble, University of Oxford ‘A welcoming yet fiercely challenging and provocative read shining a light on the way we look at the science of life.’ LoveReading What is life? This is arguably the fundamental question in all of science, and yet many scientists believe that life can be reduced to mechanistic factors, such as genes and information codes. But in a world as rich and complex as this one, can such an assertion really be true? Biocivilisations is a thrillingly original look at the mystery of life and a recognition of the complex civilisations of bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants and animals that have preceded the human world by billions of years. Dr Predrag Slijepčević, senior lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Brunel University, reconsiders the limited scope and timeframe of our current ‘scientific revolution’ and shares how – from the tiniest bacteria to the largest mammals – the living world has long fostered ancient biocivilisations: how ants practice agriculture, how insects perform surgery, how trees conduct research, how slime moulds build networks as complex as our modern transportations systems and more. More than 99.99 percent of life on Earth has existed without humanity and life will continue without humans long into the future. Biocivilisations challenges us to reconsider the limited scope and time-window of our current ‘scientific revolution’ and to fundamentally reimagine what we call ‘life on Earth’ by posing a powerful question: Are we really the intelligent masters over nature we think we are?

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It's little wonder that longtime Windows users are migrating in droves to the new Mac. They're fed up with the virus-prone Windows way of life, and they're lured by Apple's well-deserved reputation for producing great all-around computers that are reliable, user-friendly, well designed, and now--with the $500 Mac mini--extremely affordable, too. Whether you're drawn to the Mac's stability, its stunning digital media suite, or the fact that a whole computer can look and feel as slick as your iPod, you can quickly and easily become a Mac convert. But consider yourself warned: a Mac isn't just a Windows machine in a prettier box; it's a whole different animal and a whole new computing experience. If you're contemplating--or have already made--the switch from a Windows PC to a Mac, you need Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition. This incomparable guide delivers what Apple doesn't: everything you need to know to successfully and painlessly move to a Mac. The latest reprint of this book has been updated to reflect the new generation of Mac models that run on Intel chips. There's even a new appendix that guides you through the installation of Windows XP on your Macintosh (using adapter software like Boot Camp or Parallels), so that you have the best of all worlds: a single, beautiful machine that can run 100 percent of the world's desktop software. Missing Manual series creator and bestselling author David Pogue teams up with 17-year-old whiz kid and founder of GoldfishSoft (www.goldfishsoft.com) Adam Goldstein to cover every aspect of switching to a Mac--things like transferring email, files, and addresses from a PC to a Mac; getting acquainted with the Mac's interface; adapting to Mac versions of familiar programs (including Microsoft Office); setting up a network to share files with PCs and Macs; and using the printers, scanners, and other peripherals you already own. Covering the latest in Mac OS X v.10.4 "Tiger," Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition explains the hundreds of innovative new features to the Mac OS and how you can understand and make the very most of each. Whether you're a novice or a power user, Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition, teaches you how to smoothly and seamlessly replace (or supplement) your Windows machine--in a refreshingly funny and down-to-earth style--with a mighty Mac.

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A spirited volume on the great adventures of science throughout history, for curious readers of all ages Science is fantastic. It tells us about the infinite reaches of space, the tiniest living organism, the human body, the history of Earth. People have always been doing science because they have always wanted to make sense of the world and harness its power. From ancient Greek philosophers through Einstein and Watson and Crick to the computer-assisted scientists of today, men and women have wondered, examined, experimented, calculated, and sometimes made discoveries so earthshaking that people understood the world—or themselves—in an entirely new way.This inviting book tells a great adventure story: the history of science. It takes readers to the stars through the telescope, as the sun replaces the earth at the center of our universe. It delves beneath the surface of the planet, charts the evolution of chemistry's periodic table, introduces the physics that explain electricity, gravity, and the structure of atoms. It recounts the scientific quest that revealed the DNA molecule and opened unimagined new vistas for exploration.Emphasizing surprising and personal stories of scientists both famous and unsung, A Little History of Science traces the march of science through the centuries. The book opens a window on the exciting and unpredictable nature of scientific activity and describes the uproar that may ensue when scientific findings challenge established ideas. With delightful illustrations and a warm, accessible style, this is a volume for young and old to treasure together.

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Enrich your Craft - and your spirit - by working with the awesome energies of nature. In this follow-up to "Garden Witchery", Ellen Dugan takes us further down the path of green magick, revealing the secret splendours of the plant kingdom. From common herbs and flowers to enchanted shrubs and trees, Dugan digs up the magickal dirt on a wide variety of plant life. Encouraging Witches to think outside the window box, she shares ideas for incorporating your garden's bounty into spellwork, sabbat celebrations, and more. Tips for container gardening ensure that city Witches can get in on the green action, too. This stimulating guide to green Witchery - featuring botanical illustrations of nearly fifty fascinating specimens - will inspire you to personalize your Craft and fortify your connection to the earth.

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The world faces an environmental crisis unprecedented in human history. Carbon dioxide levels have reached heights not seen for three million years, and the greatest mass extinction since the time of the dinosaurs appears to be underway. Such far-reaching changes suggest something remarkable: the beginning of a new geological epoch. It has been called the Anthropocene. The Birth of the Anthropocene shows how this epochal transformation puts the deep history of the planet at the heart of contemporary environmental politics. By opening a window onto geological time, the idea of the Anthropocene changes our understanding of present-day environmental destruction and injustice. Linking new developments in earth science to the insights of world historians, Jeremy Davies shows that as the Anthropocene epoch begins, politics and geology have become inextricably entwined.

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It was Tuesday, 15 July 1919 and for the residents of Clifden on Ireland's west coast this was not to be a normal day. Just before 08.40 hours, descending out of the gloom, came a large, twin-engine aeroplane lining up for final approach. One or two on-lookers recognised the danger straight away for this was an area of soft bog, but their attempts to alert the pilot were in vain. The aircraft began to sink and, with a squelch, came to a sudden stop, the tail rearing up in the air. Dazed and with fuel filling the cockpit the two-man crew scrambled out, grabbing what they could. After a flight lasting 16 hours and 28 minutes, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten-Brown had won the race to be the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. It was a rough ending for a race that began in April 1913 when Lord Rothermere, aviation philanthropist and owner of the Daily Mail, offered a prize of 10,000, roughly equivalent to $1,000,000 in today's money, to the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland in 72 continuous hours'. Illustrated by many unique photographs this book tells the story of the race, delayed for almost six years by the First World War. Many aircraft would be entered but few would even get off the ground. The teams faced great difficulties in preparing for the challenge of crossing one of the most hostile stretches of ocean on Earth. The authors not only reveal tales of failures and technical difficulties, but of the intense frustration of waiting for the perfect weather-window. And even when finally airborne, Alcock and Brown's flight almost ended in disaster on several occasions as weather conditions almost conspired to cast them down into the grey, cold waters of the Atlantic and almost certain death.

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From the bestselling author of Diary of an MP's Wife comes a beautiful discovery of Britain's great coastal path'A real achievement - unexpectedly moving with every beat and turn of its taut, precise prose' Rory Stewart'Beautifully written... a contemplative, Paul Theroux-like exploration of our most stunning coastline' Daily Telegraph'Swire ingeniously evokes the landscapes, famous people who lived here and, especially, the flora and fauna' GuardianIn Edgeland, the political diarist Sasha Swire escapes the confines of Westminster to walk the northern stretch of the South West Coast Path. Starting at Minehead in Somerset, she follows the well-trodden path to Land's End in Cornwall, walking it in sections over a decade-long period, returning each year like a migratory bird.The result is an immersive, beguiling and literary exploration of one of the most enigmatic, beautiful and popular coastlines on earth. It is also a contemplative and very personal response to a story about our English shore from pre-Celtic times to the present day; of the upheaval of rocks; of astonishing botany; of pilgrimage and customs; of the exploitation of resources and of dangers to come.Swire identifies how important edges are to us as she walks, not only in how we see our world but in our attitude to it. She observes that the outside limits, the borders, the line where two surfaces of a solid meet actively, encourage not only flora and fauna but people to gather, create, generate resistance and build new ways of living and working.She discovers that the path is not only a walk through Britain's windswept and wave-battered western fringes but a tale about how we and nature have, through extraordinary resilience and relentless spirit, learnt to tame the various forces that are stacked against us. That we live at the edge of the possible.

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