Search results for ""smithsonian""

The Everything Family Guide to Washington D.C. includes all the most interesting and popular D.C. destinations. This informative and fun guide takes you from the White House and the monuments to the expansive Smithsonian and other museums, with important travel information such as: Famous landmarks and points of interest The best hotels for your money Activities for kids of all ages Where to dine—with and without the kids This completely revised and updated edition features an expanded section on special interest attractions like the African-American Civil War Memorial, the National Japanese American Memorial, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Holocaust Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The Everything Family Guide to Washington D.C. offers all your family needs to plan a trip and get the most out of it.

Read more less

Birds and planes don't always get along. What can we do to help? Enter the world of forensic ornithology in this investigative non-fiction title created with the Smithsonian Institution and the Division of Birds at the US National Museum of Natural History. Discover the fascinating work of leading ornithologists, bird detectives who use science and technology to solve bird strikes and other bird mysteries. They examine evidence from clues like feathers and snarge, pilot slang for what's left behind after a bird strike, and create solutions to save our feathered friends and protect people and planes in flight. Discover how the study of birds shapes our world, from inspiring aviation and airfield design to increasing safety in the skies. Full of photos, case studies, fun facts and interactive elements, this STEM exploration reveals a fascinating field of science to kids.

Read more less

How Venetian glass influenced American artists and patrons during the late nineteenth centurySargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass presents a broad exploration of American engagement with Venice’s art world in the late nineteenth century. During this time, Americans in Venice not only encountered a floating city of palaces, museums, and churches, but also countless shop windows filled with dazzling specimens of brightly colored glass. Though the Venetian island of Murano had been a leading center of glass production since the Middle Ages, productivity bloomed between 1860 and 1915. This revival coincided with Venice’s popularity as a destination on the Grand Tour, and resulted in depictions of Italian glassmakers and glass objects by leading American artists. In turn, their patrons visited glass furnaces and collected museum-quality, hand-blown goblets decorated with designs of flowers, dragons, and sea creatures, as well as mosaics, lace, and other examples of Venetian skill and creativity.This lavishly illustrated book examines exquisitely crafted glass pieces alongside paintings, watercolors, and prints of the same era by American artists who found inspiration in Venice, including Thomas Moran, Maria Oakey Dewing, Robert Frederick Blum, Charles Caryl Coleman, Maurice Prendergast, and Maxfield Parrish, in addition to John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler. Italian glass had a profound influence on American art, literature, and design theory, as well as the period’s ideas about gender, labor, and class relations. For artists such as Sargent and Whistler, and their patrons, glass objects were aesthetic emblems of history, beauty, and craftsmanship.From the furnaces of Murano to American parlors and museums, Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass brings to life the imaginative energy and unique creations that beckoned tourists and artists alike.Published in association with the Smithsonian American Art MuseumExhibition ScheduleSmithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DCOctober 8, 2021–May 8, 2022Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TexasJune 25–September 11, 2022

Read more less

The strange and surprising history of the so-called epidemic of bad posture in modern America—from eugenics and posture pageants to today’s promoters of “paleo posture”In 1995, a scandal erupted when the New York Times revealed that the Smithsonian possessed a century’s worth of nude “posture” photos of college students. In this riveting history, Beth Linker tells why these photos were only a small part of the incredible story of twentieth-century America’s largely forgotten posture panic—a decades-long episode in which it was widely accepted as scientific fact that Americans were suffering from an epidemic of bad posture, with potentially catastrophic health consequences. Tracing the rise and fall of this socially manufactured epidemic, Slouch also tells how this period continues to feed today’s widespread anxieties about posture.In the early twentieth century, the eugenics movement and

Read more less

For centuries humanity has engaged in a virtual exploration of space through astronomical observation, aided by astounding scientific and technological advances. In more than sixty years since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, more than 6,000 functioning satellites have been launched into Earth’s orbit and beyond – some to the farthest reaches of the Solar System – and more than 540 people have travelled into space. Unprecedented in its chronological and geographical scope, this book charts the history of space exploration from the first gunpowder rockets through the Moon landings, and into a future of space tourism. Numerous sidebars focus on the key individuals and inventions that brought us closer to the farthest reaches of the universe. Filled with astonishing images from the Smithsonian, NASA archives and other international collections, this is the first in-depth, fully illustrated survey of this universal human journey.

Read more less

Essential reference to the scientific study of chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in the environment in natural places. This science is used to monitor and assess long-term effects of natural and human-made contaminants in soil and water on ecological and human health. This handy six page laminated reference is made for quick access to the core of the science, developed as designer notes, with succinct bulleted facts grouped in colour coded sections along with diagrams and illustrations for ease of use. For 30 years QuickStudy guides have boosted test scores and grades plus supported students well beyond school as a professional reference. Author Max G. Levy, PhD is a scientist and writes for WIRED, Smithsonian, Vox, Science Magazine, ChemMatters and more and has developed the ultimate easy-to-use tool we give to you at an amazing value.

Read more less

"Modesty and discretion characterize everything Christenberry touches.” –Richard B. Woodward, The New York Times William Christenberry is firmly established as a contemporary American master photographer, but no comprehensive overview of his diverse talents is currently in print. This 260-page volume--the largest Christenberry overview yet published--corrects this lacuna, offering a thematic survey of his half-century-long career. It is composed of 13 sections, each devoted to a particular series or theme: the wooden sculptures of Southern houses, cafes and shops; the early, black-and-white, Walker Evans-influenced photographs of Southern interiors, taken in Alabama and Mississippi in the early 60s; documentations of Ku Klux Klan meeting houses and rallies, from the mid-1960s; color photographs of tenant houses in Alabama, from 1961 to 1978; signs in landscapes, ranging from handwritten gas station signs to Klan and corporate signs; graves (which, through Christenberry's lens, emerge as a kind of folk art); churches in Alabama, Delaware and Mississippi, taken between the mid-1960s and the 80s; Alabama street scenes, in towns such as Demopolis, Marion and Greensboro; street scenes in Tennessee (mostly Memphis); Southern landscapes; gas stations, trucks and cars in Alabama; and a selection from Christenberry's famous series of buildings to which he returns annually, photographing them over several decades-the palmist building, the Underground Nite Club, Coleman's Cafe, the Bar-B-Q Inn, the Green Warehouse and the Christenberry family home, near Stewart, Alabama. William Christenberry (born 1936) has been a professor at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C., since 1968. His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions over the last 40 years, and can be found in numerous permanent collections, including those of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; The Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson. His work was the subject of a major year-long solo exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2006.

Read more less

Sally Hogshead believes the greatest value you can add is to become more of yourself. Hogshead rose to the top of the advertising profession in her early 20s, writing ads that fascinated millions of consumers. Over the course of her ad career, Sally won hundreds of awards for creativity, copywriting, and branding, and was one of the most awarded advertising copywriters right from start of career, including almost every major international advertising award. She frequently appears in national media including NBC's Today Show and the New York Times. Hogshead was recently inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame, the industry's highest award for professional excellence. Her advertising work hangs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The science of fascination is based on Hogshead's decade of research with 250,000 participants, including dozens of Fortune 500 teams, hundreds of small businesses, and over a thousand C-level executives.

Read more less

Artists of Nigeria analyses the influence of different art systems (museums, cultural institutions, art fairs, galleries, the internet) and cultures on the development of modern and contemporary Nigerian art in the past 100 years. Organised chronologically, and including biographical notes on the artists and lavish colour illustrations, this unprecedented book charts the development of modern Nigerian art, and analyses the works of significant Nigerian artists and art movements within the country and beyond. This comprehensive overview demonstrates the variety and vitality of Nigerian artists and confers on them a visibility they are often denied in global publications. Among the artists featured are Olowere, whose work is in the collections of the British Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution; Chike Aniakor, who has a PhD from Indiana University; and Uche Okeke, whose work has been shown at the Sherman Gallery at Boston University.

Read more less

The dream of being able to fly is as old as human history. This book, based on the outstanding collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., tells the story of the remarkable people - dreamers, inventors, and pilots - who turned that dream into a reality. Richly illustrated with photographs and illustrations The Story of Flight takes young readers on an exciting journey through time. Here you will read about: - the development of ballooning - the earliest gliders - the Wright brothers' first sustained flights - Charles Lindbergh's solo trip across the Atlantic - Amelia Earhart's courageous flights - other women of flight - the explosion of the airship Hindenburg - the dogfights of World Wars I and II - the early days of air travel - Whirlybirds - Chuck Yeager's blast through the sound barrier - the Apollo astronauts' first steps on the moon - the building of the International Space Station -

Read more less

Sparking vigorous debate in the sciences, The Social Conquest of Earth upends “the famous theory that evolution naturally encourages creatures to put family first” (Discover). Refashioning the story of human evolution, Wilson draws on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to demonstrate that group selection, not kin selection, is the premier driving force of human evolution. In a work that James D. Watson calls “a monumental exploration of the biological origins of the human condition,” Wilson explains how our innate drive to belong to a group is both a “great blessing and a terrible curse” (Smithsonian). Demonstrating that the sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts are fundamentally biological in nature, the renowned Harvard University biologist presents us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition and why it resulted in our domination of the Earth’s biosphere.

Read more less

Create beautiful paper models of 20 orchid species! Display native orchids with these realistic paper replicas that you simply pop-out and glue togetherno scissors required! These paper sculptures were produced under the direction of scientists at the North American Orchid Conservation Center, which is located at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland. This kit features: A full-color book presenting fascinating information about the orchid species. Precut pieces for 20 beautiful 3D paper orchids Detailed assembly instructions for each model, which are ranked by difficulty A display base for each modelThe accompanying book explains the efforts that are underway to conserve threatened and endangered native North American species. The project introductions show photos of the finished models as well as stunning photos of each model's living counterpart. The amazing collection of orchids in this kit includes: The Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid: the tallest US

Read more less

Mejor libro del año según The Wall Street Journal , Smithsonian Magazine ,Star Tribune (Minneapolis), The Times (Londres), The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Libro del año sobre la naturaleza según The Times (Londres)Libro destacado del New York TimesSeleccionado para el National Book Award en la categoría de No FicciónUna de las sorpresas editoriales del año: la historia de los cinco años de viaje de un hombre por el Lejano Oriente ruso con el objetivo de preservar la especie de búho más misteriosa del mundo, un relato que cobra vida gracias a una brillante prosa y corre veloz entre el deshielo de los ríos y unos personajes inolvidables.Irish ExaminerUn espectacular ejemplo de la fructífera intersección de las investigaciones científicas, la defensa conservacionista de la vida silvestre y la aventura en la naturaleza salvaje [...]. Un retrato irresistible de una criatura singular.Heller Mcalpin, The Wall Street JournalUn relato detallado y emocionante [...] que atr

Read more less

A Smithsonian collaboration–this journey of discovery through the animal kingdom, past and present, calls on us to educate ourselves and take action to save the amazing diversity of our planet. Every living creature contributes towards the richness and beauty of our planet. Each one has a reason to exist, from the giant panda to the pygmy possum, and if we lose them, it will be forever. Extinctopedia tells a complex story, not just of those who are extinct, but also of those in greatest peril, with explanations of what threatens their survival. It is also a story of hope – hope for animals who have been rediscovered, hope in the form of newly-discovered animals, and hope that we might hear the warning call and act to preserve the amazing biodiversity of our fragile planet for future generations to come. Read stories about animals that are no longer with us Discover endangered animals at risk of extinction Learn

Read more less

As Michael Silverstein discusses in his introduction to this new edition, the two foundational essays presented here are culminating moments in the scholarly history of North American indigenous peoples’ languages and cultures. Franz Boas’s “Introduction” essay (1911) initiates readers into the collection of grammatical sketches contained in the multiple volumes of the Handbook of American Indian Languages, underscoring critical issues of language in human cognition and its role in sociocultural variation. Twenty years earlier, J. W. Powell published “Indian Linguistic Families of America North of Mexico” to accompany his Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) of the Smithsonian Institution. Powell interpreted the BAE’s vast collection of vocabularies through a classificatory perspective like those of geology, geography, and biology, thus organizing understanding of the hundreds of attested languages as members of linguistic families. Originally published in the same volume in 1966, these two essays form a cornerstone of modern indigenous language studies.

Read more less

Named a best book of the year by The New Yorker A Smithsonian top ten science book of 2023 One of AARP magazine''s favorite books of 2023Blending the humor, compassion, and absorbing family drama of first-rate memoir with expert science writing, [Sandeep Jauhar] has composed a can't-miss introduction to what has been called the Age of Alzheimer's. Sanjay Gupta, author of Keep Sharp and World War CA deeply affecting memoir of a father's descent into dementia, and a revelatory inquiry into why the human brain degenerates with age and what we can do about it.Almost six million Americansabout one in every ten people over the age of sixty-fivehave Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia, and this number is projected to more than double by 2050. What is it like to live with and amid this increasingly prevalent condition, an affliction that some fear more than death? In My Father's Brain, the disting

Read more less

Deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate in many parts of the world, causing destruction of natural habitat and fragmentation of what remains. Nowhere is this problem more pressing than in the Amazon rainforest, which is rapidly vanishing in the face of enormous pressure from humans to exploit it. This book presents the results of the longest-running and most comprehensive study of forest fragmentation ever undertaken, the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) in central Amazonia, the only experimental study of tropical forest fragmentation in which baseline data are available before isolation from continuous forest took place.A joint project of Brazil’s National Institute for Research in Amazonia and the U.S. Smithsonian Institution, the BDFFP has investigated the many effects that habitat fragmentation has on plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The book provides an overview of the BDFFP, reports on its case studies, looks at forest ecology and tree genetics, and considers what issues are involved in establishing conservation and management guidelines.

Read more less

The second volume of the publication of the excavations at Lerna (published jointly with the Smithsonian Institute) deals with the human bones that were found and gives a physical anthropological study of them. Skeletons from Neolithic to Roman times are described and measured in detail, studied against the ecological, historical, and cultural background of the area, and interpreted in terms of (1) demography, (2) health and disease status, (3) body build and posture, (4) microevolution, (5) genetic relationships or connections with other populations. Although the author had for many years been studying the physical anthropology of the bones from many areas of Greece, Lerna was the first site that offered him a sufficient number of sufficiently well-preserved skeletons over so long a range of time as to allow a type of study long recognized as desirable. The significance of this study for early periods of archaeology is as great as the soundness of method and clarity of presentation.

Read more less

FART DIARY - And by tiny…we mean really tiny. These 2.75” by 3.75” journals will help you remember the important moments of your life–you know, like those notable farts. That’s right. Finally. The Tiny Fart Diary is here. Every page will include space to date, rate, and evaluate your latest fart. Think of all of the memories your grandchild will share as they flip through this window to your gastrointestinal history. VINTAGE INSPIRED - Features a perfect bound foil stamped felt cover with gold edged paper cover and 112 pages, each one designed to note your best or worst gastrointestinal experience. With space for the date, location, summary of the experience, this fart diary will ensure your gassy stories will live on, possibly at the Smithsonian one day, depends on how gassy. GIFT IT UP - The Tiny Fart Diary by Brass Monkey makes a great gift because it provides a fun and memorable way for people to record their most interesting or bo

Read more less

Area 51, a top-secret military installation hidden in the desert northwest of Las Vegas, has been shrouded in mystery since 1955. Now, aerospace historian Peter Merlin cuts through the myths and conspiracy folklore to reveal in extraordinary detail the true story of how a ramshackle temporary outpost was ultimately transformed into one of the nation’s premier flight test and evaluation facilities for advanced aviation technology and high-tech weapons. This compelling narrative is based on a treasure trove of declassified documents and interviews and is richly illustrated with more than 700 images, many never published before. Author Peter Merlin has appeared in more than a dozen film and television documentaries for the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and others. This manuscript was produced to the same rigorous academic standard as the author’s works published by NASA and the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Read more less

La playa mágica, la primera novedad en cuarenta años del creador de Harold and the Purple Crayon, es la historia de un niño y una niña que descubren el poder de las palabras al escribirlas sobre la arena en una playa encantada. Los niños solo tienen que escribir una palabra en la arena y el objeto aparece ante ellos, haciendo un juego intrigante sobre la idea de textos escritos y magia. Justo cuando la marea sube, los textos escritos en la arena se borran finalizando en un mágico estado de realidad-ficción tan propios de Johnson. Los originales de de La playa mágica fueron encontrados, por casualidad, en la Smithsonian Istitution en 2005. Como todas las grandes historias, esta se extiende mucho más allá de las páginas. Su nombre debería estar en todas las enciclopedias, por el conocimiento técnico y por el control estilístico que dio a toda su obra. Hubo un silencio impresionante sobre David Crocket Era el más grande de todos! Maurice Sendak

Read more less

Un fascinante libro híbrido, parte memoir, parte biografía y parte aventura científica, en la línea de La ridícula idea de no volver a verte y Tierra de Mujeres.Los peces no existen es una fábula maravillosa sobre cómo vivir sin etiquetas, siguiendo los pasos del biólogo marino más importante del SXIX.Bestseller en EE. UU. y nombrado Mejor Libro del Año por el Washington Post, NPR, Chicago Tribune y SmithsonianUn placer de lectura. ?Susan OrleanLulu Miller, periodista científica, atraviesa una profunda crisis en su vida cuando encuentra una historia que cambia su manera de ver el mundo: la de David Starr Jordan, el biólogo marino más importante del SXIX, y de cómo este resulta ser un ejemplo de la más pura terquedad humana ante los reveses de la vida.Su investigación sobre Jordan lleva a Miller a reconsiderar imposiciones sociales y etiquetas que nos sujetan a una concepción de nosotros mismos que nos limita. Una de sus reflexiones surge al averiguar que la ca

Read more less

It's 1967, and Katherine Roebling is a Chicago-based stewardess caught between the hold of highflying travel and the call of her Native American ancestors just as the women’s movement is taking the US by storm. As she vacillates between an ever-present mystical ancestral feather and her alluring stewardess life of excitement and travel, she embarks on a journey from one adventure to the next—each episode bringing her closer to her predestined calling. A chance meeting with a college student from Athens, Greece at a Chicago Playboy Mansion Press Party and her visit to the Oracle of Delphi intertwine with Katherine's discovery of the treasure inside herself. Ultimately, she gains wings that allow her to glide over society’s barriers; she abandons the so-called glamorous life she’s been living, creates her own path, and embarks upon a new career at the Smithsonian in DC—one that will take her on a miraculous experience of personal growth and uncharted paths.

Read more less

TINY SEX DIARY - And by tiny…we mean really tiny. These 2.75” by 3.75” journals will help you remember the important moments of your life–you know, like those intimate moments. That’s right. Finally. The Tiny Sex Diary is here. Every page will include space to date, rate, and evaluate your latest escapade. Think of all the memories future you will look back on as you flip through this window to your own sexual history. VINTAGE INSPIRED - Features a perfect bound foil stamped felt cover with gold edged paper cover and 112 pages, each one designed to note your best or worst sensual experience. With space for the date, location, summary of the experience, this sex diary will ensure your sultry stories will live on, possibly at the Smithsonian one day, depends on how alluring. GIFT IT UP - The Tiny Sex Diary by Brass Monkey makes a great gift because it provides a fun and memorable way for people to record their most interesting or boring(

Read more less

The Beaverkill, Willowemoc, Neversink, Esopus, Schoharie, and Delaware-the rivers of angling pioneers Thaddeus Norris, Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, Theodore Gordon, and many others-are celebrated in this gorgeous book of photographs and text. In three major sections, Land of Little Rivers presents historical and physical profiles of the rivers; classic rods, reels, and flies; and engaging stories of the people, events, and developments that constitute the Catskill fly-fishing tradition. Author Austin McK. Francis, noted angling historian and biographer and acknowledged authority on the history of Catskill fly fishing, has a home in the Catskill Mountains and has fished there for more than thirty-five years. Famed photographer and avid fly fisher Enrico Ferorelli, a regular contributor to National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines, spent five months creating the most evocative portfolio of photos ever made of these historic rivers. Together they have produced an exquisite, museum-quality work, one that captures magnificently the beauty and passion so central to the sport Izaak Walton called "the gentle art."

Read more less

‘Knowing these cool facts will make kids appreciate wildlife even more.’ – Smithsonian Magazine Inspired by books of world records, children are invited to learn fascinating facts about 22 of the most incredible animals on Earth Over thousands of years of evolution, certain animals have become masters of survival. They are capable of exceptional abilities, from perceiving sounds and smells that humans can’t detect, to creating powerful chemical formulas. Each animal ‘superhero’ is given a stunning visual portrait as well as superpower icons, from superstrength and vision, to superspeed and intelligence. Important key facts, such as the animals’ habitat and predators, give context to their super abilities. A playful and unusual approach to a fascinating non-fiction topic for children, this book builds on children’s knowledge of animals, bringing them memorable facts to absorb. With striking graphic tarot-card-inspired design, this collection of record-breaking animals is for all animal lovers and would be zoologists. For ages 7-11

Read more less

From seventeenth-century broadsides about the handling of dead bodies, printed during London's plague years, to YouTube videos about preventing the transmission of STDs, public health advocacy and education has always had a powerful visual component. Imagining Illness explores the diverse visual culture of public health, broadly defined, from the nineteenth century to the present.Contributors to this volume examine historical and contemporary visual practices-Chinese health fairs, documentary films produced by the World Health Organization, illness maps, fashions for nurses, and live surgery on the Internet-in order to delve into the political and epidemiological contexts underlying their creation and dissemination. Contributors: Liping Bu, Alma College; Lisa Cartwright, U of California, San Diego; Roger Cooter, U College London; William H. Helfand; Lenore Manderson, Monash U, Australia; Emily Martin, New York U; Gregg Mitman, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Mark Monmonier, Syracuse U; Kirsten Ostherr, Rice U; Katherine Ott, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian; Shawn Michelle Smith, Art Institute of Chicago; Claudia Stein, Warwick U.

Read more less

Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids is the first comprehensive guide for identifying the fossils of echinoderms from hundreds of millions of years ago, when North America was covered by a warm, equatorial sea. Crinoids and blastoids, echinoderms (the same family of marine animals to include starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars) from the Fort Payne Formation in Kentucky, are rarely seen at gem, mineral, and fossil shows, nor are they regularly displayed at major museums. By combining high-quality color photographs and an accompanying descriptive text, William W. Morgan provides the first comprehensive identification guide to these fascinating fossils. Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids features photographs, often offering more than one view, of the best-quality specimens curated in the Smithsonian and other prominent invertebrate fossil museums. Morgan includes photographs that are unlabeled so that readers can test themselves to see whether they can differentiate some of the more subtle features that may be necessary for accurate identification.

Read more less

'My kind of thriller' Dan BrownThe Knights of the Golden Circle was the largest and most dangerous clandestine organization in American history. It amassed billions in stolen gold and silver, all buried in hidden caches across the United States. Since 1865 treasure hunters have searched, but little of it has ever been found. Now, two factions of the Knights want that treasure - one to spend it for their own ends, the other to preserve it. Thrust into the battle is former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone, who has a personal connection to the knights. His ancestor, Angus "Cotton" Adams, holds the key to everything. Complicating matters are a reckless Speaker of the House and the bitter widow of a Senator, who together are planning radical changes to the country. From the Smithsonian Institution to the rugged mountains of northern New Mexico, The Lost Order is a perilous adventure into a dark period of history - and a potentially even darker future.

Read more less

With over 200 color illustrations, Byzantine Silk on the Silk Roads examines in detail the eclectic iconography of the Byzantine period and its impact on design and creativity today. Through an examination of the extraordinary variety of designs in these captivating silks, an international team of experts reveal that Byzantine culture was ever-moving and open to diverse influences across the length of the Silk Road. Commentaries from curators at key collections including the Museum of Arts, Boston, the Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt), the V&A and the Vatican reveal the spread of silk embroidery and designs from East to West, and from West to East, from China to Rome, and from Constantinople to Korea. Drawing on exclusive imagery from worldwide collections within museums, churches and archives as case studies, their analysis of these unique woven silks explores the relationship between color and power, material culture and status, and offers broader insight into Byzantine culture,

Read more less

Wright's photography has been featured in National Geographic Society publications, Smithsonian, Outside, Time, Islands, and The New York Times, as well as a number of books. The recipient of the Dorothea Lange Award in Documentary Photography for covering child labor in Asia, and a two-time recipient of the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award, Alison travels the globe collecting raw, thought-provoking images. This retrospective of her illustrious, ongoing career features a portfolio of striking portraits of more than 200 individuals. From Asia to Africa, to the Middle East and back, she captures the tapestry of humanity in all its diversity and splendor. Warmth, dignity, and grace emanate from the eyes of monks and geishas, nomads and cowboys, tribal warriors and even inspirational icons like His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Together, these stunning portraits, accompanied by written testimonials, explore the universal interconnectedness of the human spirit.

Read more less

James Castle (1899-1977) spent his formative years in remote Garden Valley, Idaho and his adult life at locations near Boise, where, for nearly seven decades, he devoted himself daily to intensive art-making. Castle worked with materials that were immediately available, including a wide range of ephemera-advertisements, periodicals, and packaging-that he manipulated with soot, sticks, string and improvised colours to create an elaborate and unmistakable representation of his world. Subjects range from the farms of Garden Valley and interiors of homes, to family members, household objects, and snippets of popular culture. Other works move beyond the documentary to include invented. SELLING POINTS: . Features fifty-four pieces acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2013 . A fully representative selection of the artist's immense oeuvre, including drawings, handmade books, texts, and constructions . Highlights the remarkable quality of Castle's vision, and gives an insight into the world of one of the most enigmatic American artists of the twentieth century

Read more less

Gray Delacroix has dedicated his life to building his very successful global spice empire, but it has come at a cost. Resolved to salvage his family before it spirals out of control, he returns to his ancestral home to save his brother and sister before it's too late. As a junior botanist for the Smithsonian, Annabelle Larkin has been charged with the impossible task of gaining access to the notoriously private Delacroix plant collection. If she fails, she will be out of a job and the family farm in Kansas will go under. She has no idea that in gaining entrance to the Delacroix world, she will unwittingly step into a web of dangerous political intrigue far beyond her experience. Unable to deny her attraction to the reclusive business tycoon, Annabelle will be forced to choose between her heart and loyalty to her country. Can Gray and Annabelle find a way through the storm of scandal without destroying the family Gray is fighting to save?

Read more less

In "Geographies of Nineteenth-Century Science", David N. Livingstone and Charles W. J. Withers gather essays that deftly navigate the spaces of science in this significant period and reveal how each is embedded in wider systems of meaning, authority, and identity. Chapters from a distinguished range of contributors explore the places of creation, the paths of knowledge transmission and reception, and the import of exchange networks at various scales. Studies range from the inspection of the places of London science, which show how different scientific sites operated different moral and epistemic economies, to the scrutiny of the ways in which the museum space of the Smithsonian Institution and the expansive space of the American West produced science and framed geographical understanding. This volume makes clear that the science of this era varied in its constitution and reputation in relation to place and personnel, in its nature by virtue of its different epistemic practices, in its audiences, and in the ways in which it was put to work.

Read more less

William Spratling was a U.S. educator whose artistic impact caused a successful silver jewelry industry to arise in Taxco, Mexico, in the 1940s. This book examines Spratling's Mexican work and explores how his talent attracted the attention of the U.S. Interior Department. In 1945, he was invited to create a similar program for Alaska, where it was felt that the indigenous people needed to be encouraged for their own artistic expression and economic gain. Thirty never-before-seen Alaskan models, lost for over 50 years, have been found and now are preserved at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. These and original designs for the project, made in 1949, are presented here along with Spratling’s original 1945 report to the Arts and Crafts Board. Also featured are Spratling’s designs that inspired a new company’s formation to carry on his legacy at Taxco. Clearly, innovation in designs and inspiration for generations of new artists have risen from Spratling’s work.

Read more less

The US Antarctic meteorite collection exists due to a cooperative program involving the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Smithsonian Institution. Since 1976, meteorites have been collected by a NSF-funded field team, shipped for curation, characterization, distribution, and storage at NASA, and classified and stored for long term at the Smithsonian. It is the largest collection in the world with many significant samples including lunar, martian, many interesting chondrites and achondrites, and even several unusual one-of-a-kind meteorites from as yet unidentified parent bodies. Many Antarctic meteorites have helped to define new meteorite groups. No previous formal publication has covered the entire collection, and an overall summary of its impact and significant samples has been lacking. In addition, available statistics for the collection are out of date and need to be updated for the use of the community. 35 seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites (1976-2011): A Pictorial Guide to the Collection is the first comprehensive volume that portrays the most updated key significant meteoritic samples from Antarctica. 35 seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites presents a broad overview of the program and collection nearly four decades after its beginnings. The collection has been a consistent and reliable source of astromaterials for a large, diverse, and active scientific community. Volume highlights include: Overview of the history, field practices, curation approaches Special focus on specific meteorite types and the impact of the collection on understanding these groups (primitive chondrites, differentiated meteorites, lunar and martian meteorites) Role of Antarctic meteorites in influencing the determination of space and terrestrial exposure ages for meteorites Statistical summary of the collection by year, region, meteorite type, as well as a comparison to modern falls and hot desert finds The central portion of the book features 80 color plates each of which highlights more influential and interesting samples from the collection. 35 seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites would be of special interest to a multidisciplinary audience in meteoritics, including advanced graduate students and geoscientists specializing in mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, astronomy, near-earth object science, astrophysics, and astrobiology.

Read more less

SORAYAMA: A Grandmaster of technical and erotic phantasy without limits. The Japanese artist Sorayama lives in Tokyo. He is a global phenomenon and has the reputation of being an enfant terrible. His art is being shown at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Smithsonian Institute of Technology Museum. Washington DC, the World Erotic Art Museum, Miami and numerous exhibitions around the world. At last there is a new and considerably expanded edition of his COMPLETE MASTERWORKS in enhanced print quality and at a very reasonable price. This thick tome is a reference catalogue to Sorayamas rich work including a lot of new illustrations. Printed in high-density and best possible quality his MASTERWORKS sparkle with extraordinary talent, wondrous imagination and impeccable skill. Enjoy! - Sorayamas surreal and futuristic DADAIST images not only produce incredible sensations in the observer, but also blend into a unique homage to life. With joyful freedom he combines and morphs fear with happiness, pain with pleasure, repulsion with attraction, past with future, flesh with metal, the organic with ethereal. Stronger than any constraint, the energy of life and love that goes through his work is what I admire most in his amazingly perfect technique. Thierry Mugler / SORAYAMA: Ein Großmeister der Fantasie in Sachen Technik und Erotik ohne jede Grenze. Der japanische Künstler Sorayama lebt in Tokyo und gilt weltweit als Phänomen und enfant terrible. Seine Werke finden sich u.a. im Museum of Modern Art, New York, Smithsonian Institute of Technology Museum. Washington DC, World Erotic Art Museum, Miami und über die Jahre weltweit in zahlreichen Kunstausstellungen. Endlich liegt eine wesentlich erweiterte Neuausgabe seiner COMPLETE MASTERWORKS in verbesserter Druckqualität und vor allem zu einem sehr günstigen Preis vor. - Sehr viele Nachwuchskreative aus dem Bereich der Airbrushmalerei sehen in Sorayama ihr großes Vorbild. Eine der Ursachen ist zweifellos der Umstand, dass Sorayama seine Vorliebe für alles Leuchtende und Glänzende sowohl bei den Sexy Robots als auch bei den vielen Pin-Up-Variationen so perfekt mit dem Pinsel umgesetzt hat, dass ihm fälschlicherweise die Spritzpistole als wesentliches Arbeitsmittel zugeschrieben worden ist. Sicher ein Missverständnis, mit dem es sich gut leben lässt Arno Welke Sorayama ist unangefochten die Nr. 1 in Sachen erotischer Illustrationen! Peter W. Czernich (Marquis)

Read more less

Discover the origin, design, range, and function of arms including stone axes, swords, machine-guns, and sniper rifles, and meet the warriors who wielded them.An epic, 4,000-year illustrated volume, Weapon: A Visual History of Arms and Armor traces the evolution of the entire spectrum of weaponry through stunning photography and authoritative coverage. All the major arms through the ages including edged weapons, clubs, projectiles, and firearms can be found in the guide. This comprehensive book covers ancient Egyptian axes, bows, and spears of early societies in Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, and guns and missiles of modern infantry forces. Richly detailed catalogs showcase many weapons at their actual size, outlining the timeframe, weight, size, and country of origin to create comprehensive fact files.Also profiled are the world’s top fighting forces, from the ancient Greek hoplites to today's US Navy Seals. Created in association with the Smithsonian Institution, this weapon encyclopedia presents in vivid detail the tools that have been at the cutting edge of history, helping determine the rise of kingdoms and the fall of empires.

Read more less

The piano is where art, craftsmanship, musicianship, design and technology meet to form one of the most beloved and popular musical instruments of our times. The exhibition Piano 300 at the Smithsonian's International Gallery in Washington D.C. in 2000 and 2001 presented the astonishing 300-year history of this great musical instrument from its beginnings in Florence to the great manufacturers of the last century. The instruments themselves, and also the composers, performers, makers, teachers, and publishers connected with them, were represented in a highly successful display that attracted over 330,000 visitors in 20 months. Part exhibition catalogue, part technical and social history of the piano, PIANO 300: Celebrating Three Centuries of People and Pianos presents the exhibition's highlights in a lavishly illustrated book that captures the visual excitement of this authoritative survey of one of western culture's most pervasive musical icons. Scarecrow Press is proud to be the distributor in association with the National Museum of American History, Behring Center, Smithsonian Institution and NAMM-International Music Products Association.

Read more less

In this groundbreaking, exceptionally researched installment of the award-winning Scientists in the Field series, discover how lizards rapidly adapt to life in the Caribbean islands, allowing scientists to study Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection in real time. Award-winning author Dorothy Hinshaw Patent joins forces with scientists/filmmakers Neil Losin and Nate Dappen, whose work is detailed in the Smithsonian Channel documentary “Laws of the Lizard,” to explore how the small but mighty lizards we call “anoles” are used by scientists to study basic principles of evolution and ecology. Travel with the team to Florida and the Caribbean as they research how anoles followed similar but independent evolutionary paths on the four major islands of the Greater Antilles (Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba). So while anoles on different islands may look like close relatives, they often are not! This is Darwin's principle of natural selection at work.And it makes anoles the perfect subjects for experiments that study how animals adapt to new challenges—such as climate change—in this exciting and timely addition to a celebrated series.

Read more less

Over the first half of the twentieth century, scientist and scholar Frances Densmore (1867–1957) visited thirty-five Native American tribes, recorded more than twenty-five hundred songs, amassed hundreds of artifacts and Native-crafted objects, and transcribed information about Native cultures. Her visits to indigenous groups included meetings with the Ojibwes, Lakotas, Dakotas, Northern Utes, Ho-chunks, Seminoles, and Makahs. A “New Woman” and a self-trained anthropologist, she not only influenced government attitudes toward indigenous cultures but also helped mold the field of anthropology. Densmore remains an intriguing historical figure. Although researchers use her vast collections at the Smithsonian and Minnesota Historical Society, as well as her many publications, some scholars critique her methods of “salvage anthropology” and concepts of the “vanishing” Native American. Travels with Frances Densmore is the first detailed study of her life and work. Through narrative descriptions of her life paired with critical essays about her work, this book is an essential guide for understanding how Densmore formed her collections and the lasting importance they have had for researchers in a variety of fields.

Read more less

An incredible true story of murder, romance, and a fateful search for utopia in the Galápagosfrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden ParkAt the height of the Great Depression, Los Angeles oil mogul George Allan Hancock and his crew of Smithsonian scientists came upon a gruesome scene: two bodies, mummified by the searing heat, on the shore of a remote Galápagos island. For the past four years Hancock and other American elites had traveled the South Seas to collect specimens for scientific research. On one trip to the Galápagos, Hancock was surprised to discover an equally exotic group of humans: European exiles who had fled political and economic unrest, hoping to create a utopian paradise. One was so devoted to a life of isolation that he''d had his teeth extracted and replaced with a set of steel dentures.As Hancock and his fellow American explorers would witness, paradise had turned into chaos. The three sets of exilesa Berlin doctor and his lover, a traumat

Read more less

The tomato gets no respect. Never has. Lost in the dustbin of history for centuries, accused of being vile and poisonous, subjected to being picked hard-green and gassed, even used as a projectile, the poor tomato has become the avatar for our disaffection with industrial foods - while becoming the most popular vegetable in America (and, in fact, the world). Each summer, tomato festivals crop up across the country; the Heinz ketchup bottle, instantly recognizable, has earned a spot in the Smithsonian; and now the tomato is redefining the very nature of farming, moving from fields into climate-controlled mega-greenhouses the size of New England villages. Supported by meticulous research and told in a lively, accessible voice, Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World seamlessly weaves travel, history, humor, and a little adventure (and misadventure) to follow the tomato's trail through history. A fascinating story complete with heroes, con artists, conquistadors, and-no surprise-the Mafia, this book is a mouth-watering, informative, and entertaining guide to the food that has captured our hearts for generations.

Read more less

Speechifying collects the most important speeches of Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole—noted Black feminist anthropologist, the first Black female president of Spelman College, former director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art, and former chair and president of the National Council of Negro Women. A powerful and eloquent orator, Dr. Cole demonstrates her commitment to the success of historically Black colleges and universities, her ideas about the central importance of diversity and inclusion in higher education, the impact of growing up in the segregated South on her life and activism, and her belief in public service. Drawing on a range of Black thinkers, writers, and artists as well as biblical scripture and spirituals, her speeches give voice to the most urgent and polarizing issues of our time while inspiring transformational leadership and change. Speechifying also includes interviews with Dr. Cole that highlight her perspective as a Black feminist, her dedication to public speaking and “speechifying” in the tradition of the Black church, and the impact that her leadership and mentorship have had on generations of Black feminist scholars.

Read more less

The tomato gets no respect. Never has. Lost in the dustbin of history for centuries, accused of being vile and poisonous, subjected to being picked hard-green and gassed, even used as a projectile, the poor tomato has become the avatar for our disaffection with industrial foods - while becoming the most popular vegetable in America (and, in fact, the world). Each summer, tomato festivals crop up across the country; the Heinz ketchup bottle, instantly recognizable, has earned a spot in the Smithsonian; and now the tomato is redefining the very nature of farming, moving from fields into climate-controlled mega-greenhouses the size of New England villages. Supported by meticulous research and told in a lively, accessible voice, Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World seamlessly weaves travel, history, humour, and a little adventure (and misadventure) to follow the tomato's trail through history. A fascinating story complete with heroes, con artists, conquistadors, and-no surprise-the Mafia, this book is a mouth-watering, informative, and entertaining guide to the food that has captured our hearts for generations.

Read more less

This new book chronicles not only the aptly named P-61 "Black Widow", but also the Douglas P-70 series, the P-38 night fighter variants, the Bristol Beaufighter, B-25s and the DeHavilland Mosquito - the proposed XA-26A and the P-39 nightfighters are also discussed. Historical accounts of American night fighter pilots, as well as the complets history of all night fighter squadrons formed during World War II are included, as is the development of radar and modern air defenses. This book is the product of over twenty years of study and research. Its sources include the National Archives, Northrop Aircraft archived, the U.S. Air Force Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and interviews with P-61 test pilots, designers and engineers. Garry Pape's previous works include books on the P-61 and the P-38 night-fighter versions. He is currently employed by Northrop, after years with Hughes and Lockheed, and lives in California. Brig. Gen. Ronald Harrison is an F-16 Wing Commander in the Air Force Reserves, and lives in Georgia as an attorney.

Read more less

With over 100 new dinosaurs species discovered since 2012, Discovering Dinosaurs will make all earlier dino books EXTINCT!The most up-to-date illustrated dinosaur encyclopedia on the market! DISCOVERING DINOSAURS features spectacular illustrations of nearly 140 species, including all of the top dinosaur discoveries through 2015--written and illustrated by two of the world's top dinosaur experts and artists. With a stunning oversized format that showcases Bob Walters' and Tess Kissinger's award-winning illustrations, and a textured dinosaur-skin-like book cover, kids will not want to put the book down!Bob Walters is one of the world's top paleoartists, with his work appearing in numerous books, magazine and journal articles, TV and films, and award-winning permanent murals in places like the Smithsonian, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Dinosaur National Monument, and others. He lives in Philadelphia. Tess Kissinger is an award-winning paleoartist, curator, writer and consultant who has worked with the History Channel, The Learning Channel, numerous museums, and the movie Jurassic Park 3. She lives in Philadelphia.

Read more less

A fully updated new edition of the bible of model rocketry and the official handbook of the National Association of Rocketry G. Harry Stine was one of the founders of model rocketry and one of its most accomplished and respected figures. His Handbook of Model Rocketry has long been recognized as the most authoritative and reliable resource in the field. Now fully updated and expanded by Harry's son Bill Stine, who inherited his father's passion for model rockets, the new Seventh Edition includes the many changes in the hobby that have occurred since the last edition was published, such as new types of rockets, motors, and electronic payloads, plus computer software and Internet resources. This new edition also includes new photos and a new chapter on high-power rocketry. G. Harry Stine, founder and one-time president of the National Association of Rocketry, started the world's first model rocket company, whose kits are now in the Smithsonian. Bill Stine, also a model rocket expert, is the founder and president of Quest Aerospace Inc.

Read more less