Search results for ""orbit""

Electric Light travels widely in time and space, visiting the sites of the classical world, revisiting the poet's childhood: rural electrification and the light of ancient evenings are reconciled within the orbit of a single lifetime. This is a book about origins (not least the origins of words) and oracles: the places where things start from, the ground of understanding - whether in Arcadia or Anahorish, the sanctuary at Epidaurus or the Bann valley in County Derry.Electric Light ranges from short takes ('glosses') to conversation poems whose cunning passagework gives rein to 'the must and drift of talk'; other poems are arranged in sections, their separate cargoes docked alongside each other to reveal a hidden and curative connection. The presocratic wisdom that everything flows is held in tension with the fixities of remembrance: elegising friends and fellow poets, naming 'the real names' of contemporaries behind the Shakespearean roles they played at school. These gifts of recollection renew the poet's calling to assign to things their proper names. The resulting poems are full of delicately prescriptive tonalities, where Heaney can be heard extending his word-hoard and rollcall in this, his eleventh collection.

Read more less

Potted history, quirky facts, sayings, hints and tips about Ireland's celebration and the saint it commemorates.The Little Book of St Patrick's Day will tell the story of St Patrick and how the holiday began, share the craic with a collection of sayings and describe how the festival is marked around the world (and in outer space).Separate the myths from the facts, find out how to celebrate at home and be dazzled by quirky facts and stats. Why is the shamrock the symbol of the day, did St Patrick really drive snakes out of Ireland and what should you eat and drink on March 17th?Find out in this pocket-sized guide to this Irish celebration that has enchanted people of all backgrounds across the globe.'For the whole world is Irish on the Seventeenth o' March!' The Irish-American poet Thomas Augustine Daly, as seen on Bustle.comOn St Patrick's Day 2011, the Irish-American astronaut Catherine Coleman played a 100-year-old flute belonging to the Irish band The Chieftains, while floating weightless in the space station. Her performance was later included in a track called The Chieftains in Orbit.

Read more less

This exciting new book discusses the motivation for the evolution of a new breed of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) that have emerged from traditional communications satellites. It explores the commercial sectors and technical context that have shaped HTS. The historical underpinnings of HTS are provided to highlight the requirements that dimension these satellites. A survey of operational GEO HTS systems is also included. Readers will understand the technical, operational and commercial context of HTS systems, as well as the performance of the current HTS system. This initial breed of satellites was limited to geostationary satellites, but it is quickly projecting into low earth orbit (LEO) constellations, often referred to as mega-constellations. The industrial and operational facets of LEO constellations are challenging. The characteristics of GEO and LEO systems are presented to understand the differences between the two systems. The book also explores the evolution of the current HTS payload architectures, as well as theoretical methodology is presented for the capacity estimation for both the FORWARD link and RETURN link, which can be used for preliminary HTS dimensioning and can be adapted to practical scenarios.

Read more less

Kaite Welsh's thrilling medical mystery THE UNQUIET HEART is the second in the gothic Sarah Gilchrist series, following a medical student turned detective in Victorian Edinburgh. For readers of Natasha Pulley's THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET or Laura Purcell's THE SILENT COMPANIONSThis powerful novel combines a disturbing look at late Victorian attitudes towards women and morality with a satisfying murder mystery - Sunday ExpressSarah Gilchrist has no intention of marrying her dull fiancé Miles, the man her family hope will restore her reputation and put an end to her dreams of becoming a doctor, but when he is arrested for a murder she is sure he didn't commit she finds herself his reluctant ally. Beneath the genteel façade of upper class Edinburgh lurks blackmail, adultery, poison and madness and Sarah must return to Edinburgh's slums, back alleys and asylums as she discovers the dark past about a family where no one is what they seem, even Miles himself. It also brings her back into the orbit of her mercurial professor, Gregory Merchiston - he sees Sarah as his protegee, but can he stave off his demons long enough to teach her the skills that will save her life?

Read more less

CHOOSE YOUR PATH. CHANGE THE STORY. SAVE THE EARTH. From the creator of the interactive Escape This Book! series comes another adventure series about climate superheroes in which YOU get to help save the planet by choosing which story line you think is the right one!The Calamity Corporation is determined to end life on Earth as we know it. The company has built hotels that orbit Earth and small cities on the moon and has plans to move the human population to Mars. The sinister corporation is determined to ruin Earth so that people have no choice but to leave it. Not so fast! Four kids who secretly possess the powers of land, air, sea, and creatures are about to change the course of history. These kids may not be the likeliest of heroes, but they are determined to stop Calamity Corporation from destroying Earth. And they have a secret weapon: a fifth hero. YOU! Throughout the book, there are three chances for you to help change the course of the story alongside our fearless team. Choose incorrectly and it's game over. But choose wisely and you might save the planet!

Read more less

Defy gravity with an access-all-areas pass to the spectacular International Space Station with this behind-the-scenes guide to life in space.Have you ever wondered what life is like in the International Space Station? Or whether plants can grow in space? Or how astronauts go to the loo in zero gravity? Or what it feels like to orbit Earth at 17,500 mph?Then this may be the book for you!Revealing a new perspective into the world of space exploration and the daring astronauts who make it possible, Behind the Scenes at the Space Station takes you on a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the International Space Station, as well as other amazing space stations past and present. Learn what it takes to get to space and what astronauts do once they make it there, from experiments to repairs, and so muchmore! Soar straight into the pages of this all-encompassing space book to explore:-Over 400 exciting behind-the-scenes images showcasing the nooks and crannies of space stations and the work of the crews who call them home-Stunning pictures of life in outer space-Features past and present space stations, including China's Tiangong space station-Profiles the roles of the space station staff in space and back on Earth, such as mission control, astronaut, scientists, and engineersIn 2021, more than 23,000 people applied to the European Space Agency hoping to become an astronaut yet just 4-6 positions were available! Behind the Scenes at the Space Station is a treasure trove of information. Did you know that during a 24-hour period, the International Space Station completes 16 orbits of Earth and the astronauts on board see 16 sunrises and sunsets everyday? Or that it is so enormous that it was launched in pieces and constructed in orbit? Brimming with awe-inspiring visuals, step-by-step explanations of everyday astronaut tasks, and job profiles of the adventurous people who make it happen, Behind the Scenes at the Space Station is the perfect way to experience life in space. A rare behind-the-scenes guide to the International Space Station and the work that goes on there, this book will seek to answer any and all questions about living and working in space from everyday tasks to truly miraculous experiences.A must-have volume for Children 9+ who are enthusiastic about space, astronomy, aeronautics, and space exploration as well as parents looking for a gift purchase to answer a curious child's questions about outer space, how astronauts live on space station, and the missions that they carry out!

Read more less

"Atkinson's bright voice rings on every page, and her sly and wry observations move the plot as swiftly as suspense turns the pages of a thriller."-San Francisco ChronicleTwo years after the events of Case Histories left him a retired millionaire, Jackson Brodie has followed Julia, his occasional girlfriend and former client, to Edinburgh for its famous summer arts festival. But when he witnesses a man being brutally attacked in a traffic jam - the apparent victim of an extreme case of road rage - a chain of events is set in motion that will pull the wife of an unscrupulous real estate tycoon, a timid but successful crime novelist, and a hardheaded female police detective into Jackson's orbit. Suddenly out of retirement, Jackson is once again in the midst of several mysteries that intersect in one giant and sinister scheme."Compelling and always entertaining." -USA Today"One Good Turn crackles with energy and imagination." -Chicago Tribune"Atkinson's tart prose sparkles." -Entertainment Weekly"Entertaining both as a murder mystery and as a sprawling multi-character study in the best post-Nashville tradition." -The Onion"A remarkable feat of storytelling bravado." -Washington Post

Read more less

In 1937, F. Scott Fitzgerald was a troubled, uncertain man whose literary success was long behind him. In poor health, with his wife consigned to a mental asylum and his finances in ruin, he struggled to make a new start as a screenwriter in Hollywood. The last three years of Fitzgerald's life, often obscured by the legend of his earlier Jazz Age glamour, are the focus of Stewart O'Nan's heartfelt new novel. With flashbacks to key moments from Fitzgerald's past, the story follows him as he arrives on the MGM lot, falls in love with brassy gossip columnist Sheilah Graham, begins work on The Last Tycoon, and tries to maintain a semblance of family life with the absent Zelda and their daughter, Scottie. Fitzgerald's orbit of literary fame and the Golden Age of Hollywood is brought vividly to life through the novel's romantic cast of characters, from Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemingway to Humphrey Bogart. Written with striking grace and subtlety, this wise and intimate portrait of a man trying his best to hold together a world that's flying apart, if not gone already, is an American masterpiece.

Read more less

From the dense rainforests of the Amazon to the chill of the snowy Arctic, come on an intrepid adventure to the world's most extreme places, and find out just what it takes to survive there.Discover how to navigate the vast Australian outback, keep yourself alive in a sandstorm in the Arabian desert, avoid a bear attack in a North American forest, explore the dark depths of the Atlantic Ocean and even perform a spacewalk up in orbit! In this beautiful and bright fully illustrated hardback book, visit 12 incredible and diverse habitats: the Arctic Circle, a North American forest, the Amazon Rainforest, a Pacific desert island, the Alps, the Arabian desert, the African savannah, the Himalayas, the Australian outback, Antarctica, deep in the ocean and high up in space on the International Space Station. Find out how the people, plants and animals who live in these incredible places have learnt to survive, pick up top tips for your own explorations, and discover what you can do to help protect these amazing environments for the future. A thrilling adventure around the world that you won't want to miss! Have you got what it takes to survive?

Read more less

On January 28, 1986, NASA space shuttle orbiter Challenger lifted off into the clear blue skies over Florida on mission STS-51L, carrying a crew of seven, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. Just seventy-three seconds into the launch, a massive explosion tore Challenger apart. This newly revised edition of Teacher in Space tells the story of how McAuliffe graduated from her role as a much-loved high school teacher to occupying a seat on the veteran orbiter’s tenth and last flight into space. McAuliffe’s dream was to carry out science projects while in orbit around the earth that were to be telecast live to school students across the United States. Her dream came to a sudden and tragic end that terrible day. Nevertheless, that ambition to educate from space remained an inspiration to many and, in her name and those of the Challenger crew, manifested itself in the establishment of hundreds of youth education programs and institutes of learning across America and around the world.Teacher in Space is a remarkable story of renewed faith, cooperation, and hope for the future and of a dedicated and much-loved teacher who came to symbolize the best of human achievement.

Read more less

Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests examines the impact of the Persian Sasanian context on the Babylonian Talmud, perhaps the most important corpus in the Jewish sacred canon. What impact did the Persian Zoroastrian Empire, as both a real historical force and an imaginary interlocutor, have on rabbinic identity and authority as expressed in the Talmud? Drawing from the field of comparative religion, Jason Sion Mokhtarian addresses this question by bringing into mutual fruition Talmudic studies and ancient Iranology, two historically distinct disciplines. Whereas most research on the Talmud assumes that the rabbis were an insular group isolated from the cultural horizon outside their academies, this book contextualizes the rabbis and the Talmud within a broader sociocultural orbit by drawing from a wide range of sources from Sasanian Iran, including Middle Persian Zoroastrian literature, archaeological data such as seals and inscriptions, and the Aramaic magical bowl spells. Mokhtarian also includes a detailed examination of the Talmud's dozens of texts that portray three Persian others: the Persians, the Sasanian kings, and the Zoroastrian priests. This book skillfully engages and demonstrates the rich penetration of Persian imperial society and culture on the Jews of late antique Iran.

Read more less

The previous two volumes of this acclaimed anthology set forth a globally decentered revision of twentieth-century poetry from the perspective of its many avant-gardes. Now editors Jerome Rothenberg and Jeffrey C. Robinson bring a radically new interpretation to the poetry of the preceding century, viewing the work of the romantic and post-romantic poets as an international, collective, often utopian enterprise that became the foundation of experimental modernism.Global in its range, volume three gathers selections from the poetry and manifestos of canonical poets, as well as the work of lesser-known but equally radical poets. Defining romanticism as experimental and visionary, Rothenberg and Robinson feature prose poetry, verbal-visual experiments, and sound poetry, along with more familiar forms seen here as if for the first time. The anthology also explores romanticism outside the European orbit and includes ethnopoetic and archaeological works outside the literary mainstream. The range of volume three and its skewing of the traditional canon illuminate the process by which romantics and post- romantics challenged nineteenth-century orthodoxies and propelled poetry to the experiments of a later modernism and avant-gardism.

Read more less

Comet presents the amazing story of the Rosetta space probe and its interstellar voyage to the comet Tchoury. Its mission – to find clues to the origins of our solar system and the emergence of life on Earth. Following a ten-year voyage and a journey spanning millions of kilometres through our Solar System, the Rosetta entered the comet’s orbit. Its lander, Philae – a miniature science laboratory – landed directly on Tchoury’s surface and was able to take the photographs presented here. This triumph of scientific endeavour brought back a raft of incredible new photographs, the best of which are featured here. The book is built around the various phases in Rosetta’s journey: leaving Earth, breaching its atmosphere and watching the lights of home recede; skirting the Moon and coming close to Mars; plunging into the cosmos’ starry void and approaching the comet; and, finally, landing on Tchoury. The photographs are accompanied by a text that reflects on the objectives of the mission and the accomplishment of such a technological feat for humanity. Detailed captions provide the reader with accessible scientific information, enabling them to get to the heart of the subject.

Read more less

In this essential primer on the key themes in sports law, Jack Anderson explains how law has become important to all aspects of sport, including participation, administration and the resolution of disputes. Crossing legal jurisdictions and sporting codes, it covers issues ranging from ambush marketing to broadcasting, corruption and doping.Analysing the broad range of actors and stakeholders involved in sport, this concise introduction illustrates how sports law, once the folly of contract law, now engages criminal, competition and international human rights law. The legal nuances to contemporary debates on concussion, the ‘gamblification’ of sport, the rights of transgender athletes, and sport’s flirtation with everything from cryptocurrencies to NFTs and private equity, all come into the orbit of this book. A departure point for further study in sports law, this book is also a reminder that sports law must be about fair play on, off and in court.An accessible, global approach to sports law, this book will be an invaluable companion for scholars and students of sports law worldwide. It will be equally beneficial to legal practitioners, journalists and those with an interest in sport generally.

Read more less

Kaite Welsh's thrilling medical mystery THE UNQUIET HEART is the second in the gothic Sarah Gilchrist series, following a medical student turned detective in Victorian Edinburgh. For readers of Natasha Pulley's THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET or Laura Purcell's THE SILENT COMPANIONSThis powerful novel combines a disturbing look at late Victorian attitudes towards women and morality with a satisfying murder mystery - Sunday ExpressSarah Gilchrist has no intention of marrying her dull fiancé Miles, the man her family hope will restore her reputation and put an end to her dreams of becoming a doctor, but when he is arrested for a murder she is sure he didn't commit she finds herself his reluctant ally. Beneath the genteel façade of upper class Edinburgh lurks blackmail, adultery, poison and madness and Sarah must return to Edinburgh's slums, back alleys and asylums as she discovers the dark past about a family where no one is what they seem, even Miles himself. It also brings her back into the orbit of her mercurial professor, Gregory Merchiston - he sees Sarah as his protegee, but can he stave off his demons long enough to teach her the skills that will save her life?

Read more less

An eye-opening examination of the ties between American gun culture and white male supremacy from the American Revolution to today. One-third of American adults—approximately 86 million people—own firearms. This is not just for protection or hunting. Although many associate gun-centric ideology with individualist and libertarian traditions in American political culture, Race, Rights, and Rifles shows that it rests on an equally old but different foundation. Instead, Alexandra Frilindra shows that American gun culture can be traced back to the American Revolution when republican notions of civic duty were fused with a belief in white male supremacy and a commitment to maintaining racial and gender hierarchies. Drawing on wide-ranging historical and contemporary evidence, Race, Rights, and Rifles traces how this ideology emerged during the Revolution and became embedded in America’s institutions, from state militias to the National Rifle Association (NRA). Utilizing original survey data, Filindra reveals how many White Americans —including those outside of the NRA’s direct orbit—embrace these beliefs, and as a result, they are more likely than other Americans to value gun rights over voting rights, embrace antidemocratic norms, and justify political violence.

Read more less

Captivating and hypnotic writing from a prize-winning novelist, whose prose is reminiscent of Marilynne Robinson's and Paul Harding's.New York, June 1961. The Bill Evans Trio, featuring twenty-five year old Scott LaFaro on bass, play a series of concerts at the Village Vanguard that will go down in musical history. Shortly afterwards, LaFaro is killed in a car accident, and Evans disappears. Intermission tells the story of what happens next.In measured, evocative prose, Intermission takes a period from the life of one of America’s great artists and fashions it into a fiction of extraordinary imaginative skill and ambition. The novel inhabits the lives of four people in orbit around a tragedy, presenting an intense and moving portrait of the burden of grief, and of a man lost to his family and to himself. It is also a conjuring of a pivotal moment in American music and culture, and a unique representation of the jazz scene in the early 1960s. Intermission is a novel of pure control and power, certain to establish Owen Martell as one of the most promising young writers in Britain today.

Read more less

This book covers the optical and electrical properties of nanoscale materials with an emphasis on how new and unique material properties result from the special nature of their electronic band structure. Beginning with a review of the optical and solid state physics needed for understanding optical and electrical properties, the book then introduces the electronic band structure of solids and discusses the effect of spin orbit coupling on the valence band, which is critical for understanding the optical properties of most nanoscale materials. Excitonic effects and excitons are also presented along with their effect on optical absorption.2D materials, such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides, are host to unique electrical properties resulting from the electronic band structure. This book devotes significant attention to the optical and electrical properties of 2D and topological materials with an emphasis on optical measurements, electrical characterization of carrier transport, and a discussion of the electronic band structures using a tight binding approach. This book succinctly compiles useful fundamental and practical information from one of the fastest growing research topics in materials science and is thus an essential compendium for both students and researchers in this rapidly moving field.

Read more less

As seen in the major Netflix documentary `Mercury 13' In 1961, Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the `Woman in Space' programme. Wally sailed through a series of rigorous physical and mental tests, with one of her scores beating all the male Mercury 7 astronauts', including John Glenn's, the first American in orbit. But just one week before the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. A combination of politics and prejudice meant that none of the women ever flew into space. Undeterred, Wally went on to become America's first female aviation safety inspector, though her dream of being an astronaut never dimmed. In this offbeat odyssey, journalist and fellow space enthusiast Sue Nelson joins Wally, now approaching her eightieth birthday, as she races to make her own giant leap before it's too late. Covering their travels across the United States and Europe - taking in NASA's mission control in Houston, the European Space Agency's HQ in Paris and Spaceport America in New Mexico, where Wally's ride into space awaits - this is a uniquely intimate and entertaining portrait of a true aviation trailblazer.

Read more less

B. M. (Bertha Muzzy) Bower was the first woman to make a career of writing popular westerns. And what a career it was—more than sixty novels published from 1904 to 1940, the year of her death, and still more posthumously. In the western orbit, Bower was—and still is—a star. Her first, Chip of the Flying U, lays out a ranch in Montana and introduces the Happy Family, the bunkhouse gang that reappears in her later books. Chip is the typical woman-shy cowboy, but he is also a gifted artist (reputedly, Bower based the character on Charles M. Russell, who illustrated Chip). Della, a doctor, is the young woman who disrupts his solitary life. The result as a quality ranch romance. Chip of the Flying U was a great success that led to several movie versions, one of them casting Hoot Gibson as Chip. Today’s readers who grew up watching westerns on television will appreciate Bower’s cinematic style. After living much of her life in Chouteau County, Montana, she moved to Los Angeles, close to the movie industry that increasingly fascinated her.

Read more less

Glamorous messiah or charlatan? A mask of beauty hides deadly secrets in #1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s mesmerizing novel of suspense. In the Pacific Northwest, detective Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a young journalist found at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsay soon learns that the victim was writing an exposé. Her subject: a charismatic wellness guru who’s pulled millions into her euphoric orbit… To hear Marnie Spellman tell it, when she was a child, a swarm of bees lifted her off the ground and toward the sunlight, illuming her spiritual connection with nature—an uncanny event on which Marnie built a cosmetics empire and became a legend, a healer, and the queen of holistic health and eternal beauty. In her inner circle is an intimate band of devotees called the Hive. They share Marnie’s secrets of success—including one cloaked in darkness for twenty years. Determined to uncover the possibly deadly mysteries of the group, Lindsay focuses her investigation on Marnie and the former members of the Hive, who are just as determined to keep Lindsay from their secrets as they are to maintain their status.

Read more less

In You Are Here, celebrated astronaut Chris Hadfield gives us the really big picture: this is our home, as seen from space. The millions of us who followed Hadfield's news-making Twitter feed from the International Space Station thought we knew what we were looking at when we first saw his photos. But we may have caught the beauty and missed the full meaning. Now, through photographs – many of which have never been shared – Hadfield unveils a fresh and insightful look at our planet. He sees astonishing detail and importance in these images, not just because he's spent months in space but because his in-depth knowledge of geology, geography and meteorology allows him to reveal the photos' mysteries.Featuring Hadfield's favourite images, You Are Here is divided by continent and represents one (idealized) orbit of the ISS. Surprising, thought-provoking and visually delightful, it opens a singular window on our planet, using remarkable photographs to illuminate the history and consequences of human settlement, the magnificence of never-before-noticed landscapes, and the power of the natural forces shaping our world and the future of our species.

Read more less

A brilliant, beautiful account of how British boffins triumphed across the decades in creating everything from computer games to Martian landers.The book contains chapters on the Beagle II, Elite - the 80s computer game, the Blue Streak missile, Concorde, mobile phone technology and the Human Genome Project, among others.Britain is the only country in the world to have cancelled its space programme just as it put its first rocket into orbit. Starting with this forgotten episode, 'Backroom Boys' tells the bittersweet story of how one country lost its industrial tradition and got back something else. Sad, inspiring, funny and ultimately triumphant, it follows the technologists whose work kept Concorde flying, created the computer game, conquered the mobile-phone business, saved the human genome for the human race - and who now are sending the Beagle 2 probe to burrow in the cinnamon sands of Mars. 'Backroom Boys' is a vivid love-letter to quiet men in pullovers, to those whose imaginings take shape not in words but in mild steel and carbon fibre and lines of code. Above all, it is a celebration of big dreams achieved with slender means.

Read more less

Using a highly effective case study format, Case Reviews in Ophthalmology, 3rd Edition, incorporates both medical knowledge and clinical judgement to help you achieve the best possible results on practical exams. This carefully compiled study resource provides more than 165 relevant cases covering every aspect of the field: optics/refraction, neuro-ophthalmology/orbit, pediatrics/strabismus, external disease/adnexa, anterior segment, and posterior segment. Large photos highlight each case, enhancing your knowledge and reinforcing key aspects of diagnosis. Helps you prepare for examinations and clinical practice with real-world patient scenarios (19 new to this edition) with accompanying images, questions, and answers. Covers the most important and relevant aspects of each topic in a concise, bulleted format for easy recall and effective exam preparation. Contains hundreds of clinical and histological images, OCT and other current imaging methods, anatomic details, common ophthalmic test findings, and more. Presents the findings of key clinical studies with which you are expected to be familiar. Enhanced eBook version included with purchase. Your enhanced eBook allows you to access all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

Read more less

The rules of love and second chances are due for a major-league shake-up in a warm, witty, and unpredictable romance by the bestselling author of The Friend Zone. Ian “Bash” Sebastian and Ember Carlson were high school sweethearts…until their single parents got married. With one thorny twist of fate, a secret young crush went from on fire to off-limits. What could a new stepbrother do but bail? Now, after almost four years, Bash has returned to Seattle, and he’s back in Ember’s orbit at End of the Line. EOL is the go-to college for second-chance scholarships. But what about love? Sure, the old hurts are there. So is the attraction—and it’s more magnetic than ever. Still, they’re adults now, levelheaded and just fine with the friend thing. If only to make family dinners less awkward. But when they agree to start dating other people, moving on threatens to bring them closer together than ever. Is it time to admit their past to their parents? Even trickier, their hope for the future? Because Ember and Bash deserve a love story of their own. With all their defenses down, can they make it a happy ever after?

Read more less

The story of the world’s most audacious infrastructure project Less than a decade ago, China did not have a single high-speed train in service. Today, it owns a network of 14,000 miles of high-speed rail, far more than the rest of the world combined. Now, China is pushing its tracks into Southeast Asia, reviving a century-old colonial fantasy of an imperial railroad stretching to Singapore; and kicking off a key piece of the One Belt One Road initiative, which has a price tag of $1 trillion and, reaches inside the borders of more than 60 countries. The Pan-Asia Railway portion of One Belt One Road could transform Southeast Asia, bringing shiny Chinese cities, entire economies, and waves of migrants where none existed before. But if it doesn't succeed, that would be a cautionary tale about whether a new superpower, with levels of global authority unimaginable just a decade ago, can pull entire regions into its orbit simply with tracks, sweat, and lots of money. Journalist Will Doig traveled to Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore to chronicle the dramatic transformations taking place—and to find out whether ordinary people have a voice in this moment of economic, political, and cultural collision.

Read more less

From the Women's Prize Shortlisted-author of Weather, an electrifying, funny and wise account of a couple falling out of one another's orbit. 'It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who don't quite understand, until they give in and read it too' John Self, Guardian They used to send each other letters. The return address was always the same: Dept. of Speculation. They used to be young, brave, and giddy with hopes for their future. They got married, had a child, and skated through all the small calamities of family life. But then, slowly, quietly something changes. As the years rush by, fears creep in and doubts accumulate until finally their life as they know it cracks apart and they find themselves forced to reassess what they have lost, what is left, and what they want now. Dept. of Speculation navigates the jagged edges of a modern marriage to tell a story that is darkly funny, surprising and wise. 'Funny, and moving, and true... It tells a profound story of love and parenthood while invoking (among others) Keats, Kafka, Einstein, Russian cosmonauts, and advice for the housewife of 1897' Michael Cunningham

Read more less

From the small towns strung along the coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i to the land-locked landscapes of Paraguay to the volcanic surface of Venus, this collection of poetry is a field guide to flora, fauna, and mineralia encountered, real, and imagined. Jennifer Hasegawa scans across physical and mental planes to reveal their inhabitants. Packed tightly into exploratory rocket segments, these poems ignite our gravest flaws to send our grandest potentials into orbit. Hasegawa’s poems not only rearrange our ways of seeing the world, but they also reset the language we use in it. Banzai, with a literal translation of “10,000 years,” was used by the Japanese as a rallying cry in imperialistic and militaristic contexts. Today, the understanding of this word has shifted to a comparatively neutral translation of the enthusiastic expression “Hurrah!” in both in Japan and beyond. In La Chica’s Field Guide to Banzai Living, Hasegawa aims to reclaim banzai, recasting the language of war and unwavering loyalty and forming it into one that stands against aggression and racism and embraces tolerance and self-acceptance. Here banzai becomes a rallying cry not of war but of grand potential. La Chica’s Field Guide to Banzai Living chronicles a celebratory life and poetry filled with wonder.

Read more less

Another toe-curlingly awkward and laugh-out-loud diary from Chloe Snow, hapless high schooler and all-round disaster magnet. It's Chloe Snow's sophomore year of high school, and life has only grown more complicated. Last year, Chloe was the star of the musical. This year, she's just a lowly member of the ensemble. Chloe’s best friend, Hannah, is no help: she’s been sucked into the orbit of Lex, evil Queen Bee of the class. Meanwhile, Chloe’s dad is busy falling in love with Miss Murphy, and her mother is MIA in Mexico with her much younger bullfighting boyfriend, Javi... If only Chloe could talk to Grady about it - he's easy to talk to. Or he was, until he declared his love for Chloe, she turned him down because despite all her rational brain cells she can't seem to get over Mac, and then Grady promptly started going out with Lex. GAH! As the performance of the show approaches, Chloe must find a way to navigate all the messy elements of her life and make it through the end of the year. 'A mash-up of Mean Girls, High School Musical and MTV’s Awkward, Chloe Snow’s Diary is one of the best teen reads of 2017' - culturefly.co.uk

Read more less

Paul Polgar recovers the racially inclusive vision of America's first abolition movement. In showcasing the activities of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, the New York Manumission Society, and their African American allies during the post-Revolutionary and early national eras, he unearths this coalition's comprehensive agenda for black freedom and equality. By guarding and expanding the rights of people of African descent and demonstrating that black Americans could become virtuous citizens of the new Republic, these activists, whom Polgar names "first movement abolitionists," sought to end white prejudice and eliminate racial inequality. Beginning in the 1820s, however, colonization threatened to eclipse this racially inclusive movement. Colonizationists claimed that what they saw as permanent black inferiority and unconquerable white prejudice meant that slavery could end only if those freed were exiled from the United States. In pulling many reformers into their orbit, this radically different antislavery movement marginalized the activism of America's first abolitionists and obscured the racially progressive origins of American abolitionism that Polgar now recaptures. By reinterpreting the early history of American antislavery, Polgar illustrates that the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are as integral to histories of race, rights, and reform in the United States as the mid-nineteenth century.

Read more less

In his second collection of poems, Jeff Latosik looks to those provisional moments of arrival and anchoring in what Canadian poet Don Coles has called "the catastrophe of time." Safely Home Pacific Western is a combination of words common to travel-package tour buses, and, as the title implies, there will be journeys to be had: into ruined stretches of the rural US and Ontario mine country, across the English Channel in a hot air balloon, into the flight paths of fish hurled across Northern Territory Australia by a water spout, and even the far blinking orbit of a Navstar satellite. But unlike that modern promise of a brief, comfortable excursion, these poems often end up in strange, uncomfortable places that shore up the always prevalent chaotic impulses of civilization, finding not reconciliation but charged moments of witness, of coming to terms with the very act of looking. Moving through alternate histories, cutting edge and antiquated technology, and the wily language of patent and invention, Safely Home Pacific Western peers deep into the notion of personal and communal progress to reckon with the only seeming certainty: that in a poem, as in our lives, we are done and undone by the emergent element we cannot control.

Read more less

Wild and Crazy Guys is the larger-than-life story of the much-loved Hollywood comedy stars that ruled the 1980s. This paperback edition features never-seen-before bonus material. As well as delving behind the scenes of classic movies such as Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places and dozens more, it chronicles the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Candy et al. It’s got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S Thompson, while tied to a lawn chair. It’s akin to Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, following the key players through their highs and lows, and their often turbulent relationships with each other. Nick de Semlyen has interviewed many of the key directors such as Walter Hill, John Landis and Carl Reiner, as well as the comedians themselves. Taking you on a trip through the tumultuous ’80s, Wild And Crazy Guys explores the friendships, feuds, triumphs and disasters experienced by these iconic funnymen. Based on candid interviews from the stars themselves, as well as those who entered their orbit, it reveals the hidden history behind the most fertile period ever for screen comedy.

Read more less

The inspiring story of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson (the subject of the hit movie Hidden Figures).Katherine Johnson grew up during a time when women were not encouraged to excel in the fields of math and science, and when African-Americans were heavily discriminated against. But she was so good at math that she zoomed ahead of her elementary school classmates, attended a high school far away from home, and started college at age fourteen, taking difficult geometry classes taught just for her. She went on to become one of NASA's "computers who wore skirts," women who did calculations that helped the men engineers design flight plans and rockets.Katherine wasn't like other women. She asked lots and lots of questions, and she didn't stay out of design meetings that were previously just for men. She was so good at her job that she was asked to double check the calculations of a machine computer. Katherine made important contributions to the first flight into space, the first orbit of the Earth, and the first trip to the moon--and back--breaking barriers for African Americans and women everywhere. Author Suzanne Slade brings Katherine's story to life in this smartly written picture book biography, illustrated by debut artist Veronica Miller Jamison.

Read more less

You’ll never believe the terrible things being said about the perfect president of the PTA. Attempted murder? Inexplicable accident? Either way, a PTA mom struggled for her life in an elementary school cafeteria, poisoned by a wolfsbane-laced smoothie at the fifth-grade graduation party. Now all eyes are on the accused, the victim, and a woman hired to look deeper. Ambitious defense attorney and single mother Allison Barton is anxious to escape the shadow of the low-down dog of a marquee partner carrying their renowned Virginia law firm. A win for her high-profile new client will give Allison the career she deserves. And PTA president Kira Grant certainly appears innocent—except for the toxic bloom in her backyard and perhaps a bit of a malicious streak. But no one said the innocent had to be likable—or entirely honest. Besides, with an image as carefully cultivated as her garden, Kira would be insane to risk everything on something as outrageous as the attempted murder of one of her closest friends. What about those in Kira’s orbit, a sunny suburb of moms behaving badly? What do they really know about Kira? What does Kira know about them? For Allison, the answers are getting darker every day.

Read more less

'An astronomical Sherlock Holmes' WASHINGTON POST'Visionary' STEPHEN GREENBLATT'Compelling . . . The book is not so much a claim for one object as an argument for a more open-minded approach to science - a combination of humility and wonder' NEW STATESMAN</font>Harvard's top astronomer takes us inside the mind-blowing story of the first interstellar visitor to our solar system In late 2017, scientists at a Hawaiian observatory glimpsed a strange object soaring through our inner solar system. Astrophysicist Avi Loeb conclusively showed it was not an asteroid; it was moving too fast along a strange orbit, and leaving no trail of gas or debris in its wake. There was only one conceivable explanation: the object was a piece of advanced technology created by a distant alien civilization. In Extraterrestrial, Loeb takes readers inside the thrilling story of the first interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system. He outlines his theory and its profound implications: for science, for religion, and for the future of our planet. A mind-bending journey through the furthest reaches of science, space-time, and the human imagination, Extraterrestrial challenges readers to aim for the stars-and to think critically about what's out there, no matter how strange it seems.

Read more less

_____; Fungi are not like us – they are entirely, magically, something else.; Welcome to the astonishing secret world of fungi.; _____; Fungi can appear anywhere, from desert dunes to frozen tundra. They can invade our bodies and thoughts; live between our toes or our floorboards; they are unwelcome intruders or vastly expensive treats; symbols of both death and eternal life. But despite their familiar presence, there's still much to learn about the eruption, growth and decay of their interconnected world.; Aliya Whiteley has always been in love with fungi - from a childhood taking blurry photographs of strange fungal eruptions on Exmoor to a career as a writer inspired by their surreal and alien beauty. This love for fungi is a love for life, from single-cell spores to the largest living organism on the planet; a story stretching from Aliya's lawn into orbit and back again via every continent.; From fields, feasts and fairy rings to death caps, puffballs and ambrosia beetles, this is an intoxicating journey into the life of extraordinary organism, one that we have barely begun to understand.; _____; ' Accessible, inviting and revelatory… Aliya Whiteley animates the hidden world of fungi in prose as rich and beautiful as the strange organisms she turns her attention to.' - Alice Tarbuck, author of A Spell in the Wild

Read more less

Discover the latest advances in spintronic materials, devices, and applications In Spintronics: Materials, Devices and Applications, a team of distinguished researchers delivers a holistic introduction to spintronic effects within cutting-edge materials and applications. Containing the perfect balance of academic research and practical application, the book discusses the potential—and the key limitations and challenges—of spintronic devices. The latest title in the Wiley Series in Materials for Electronic and Optoelectronic Applications, Spintronics: Materials, Devices and Applications explores giant magneto-resistance (GMR) and tunneling magnetic resistance (TMR) materials, spin-transfer torque and spin-orbit torque materials, spin oscillators, and spin materials for use in artificial neural networks. Applications in multi-ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic materials are presented as well. This book also includes: A thorough introduction to recent research developments in the fields of spintronic materials, devices, and applications Comprehensive explorations of skymions, magnetic semiconductors, and antiferromagnetic materials Practical discussions of spin-transfer torque materials and devices for magnetic random-access memory In-depth examinations of giant magneto-resistance materials and devices for magnetic sensors Perfect for advanced students and researchers in materials science, physics, electronics, and computer science, Spintronics: Materials, Devices and Applications will also earn a place in the libraries of professionals working in the manufacture of optics, photonics, and nanometrology equipment.

Read more less

This major new book offers a much-needed introduction to the work of Siegfried Kracauer, one of the main intellectual figures in the orbit of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. It is part of a timely revival and reappraisal of his unique contribution to our critical understanding of modernity, the interrogation of mass culture, and the recognition of both the dynamism and diminution of human experience in the hustle and bustle of the contemporary metropolis. In stressing the extraordinary variety of Kracauer’s writings (from scholarly philosophical treatises to journalistic fragments, from comic novels to classified reports) and the dazzling diversity of his themes (from science and urban architectural visions to slapstick and dancing girls), this insightful book reveals his fundamental and formative influence upon Critical Theory and argues for his vital relevance for cultural analysis today.Kracauer’s work is distinguished by an acute sensitivity to the ‘surface manifestations’ of popular culture and a witty, eminently readable literary style. In exploring and making accessible the work of this remarkable thinker, this book will be indispensable for scholars and students working in many disciplines and interdisciplinary fields: sociology and social theory; film, media and cultural studies; urban studies, cultural geography and architectural theory; philosophy and Critical Theory.

Read more less

'Smart, hilarious and deeply moving' Elliot Page, author Pageboy'Bellies announces Nicola Dinan as a genuine literary talent, a gimlet-eyed cartographer of the human heart' Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti'Thoughtful, seductive, and entirely engrossing - Bellies is already a classic' Bryan Washington, author of Memorial and LotIt begins as your typical boy meets boy. While out with friends at a university drag night, Tom buys Ming a drink. Confident and witty, a charming young playwright, Ming is the perfect antidote to Tom's awkward energy, and their connection is instant. Tom finds himself deeply and desperately drawn into Ming's orbit, and on the cusp of graduation, he's already mapped out their future together. But, shortly after they move to London to start their next chapter, Ming announces her intention to transition.From London to Kuala Lumpur, New York to Cologne, we follow Tom and Ming as they face shifts in their relationship in the wake of Ming's transition. Through a spiral of unforeseen crises - some personal, some professional, some life-altering - Tom and Ming are forced to confront the vastly different shapes their lives have taken since graduating, and each must answer the essential question: is it worth losing a part of yourself to become who you are?

Read more less

Under Their Thumb:How a Nice Boy from Brooklyn Got Mixed Up with the Rolling Stones (and Lived to Tell About It) tells the story of Bill German's unlikely friendship with the Rolling Stones. He first met them on the streets of New York when he was a seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist. After handing them a copy of his amateur fanzine, they took the author under their wing and hired him as their official historian. They turned his little rag into their official newsletter and advertised it in one of their albums.Soon after, he began traveling the world with them and staying at their homes. German went from being a teenage fan who wanted to know everything about his favorite band to suddenly knowing too much! He was privy to their private jams and recording sessions as well as to their parties, peccadilloes, and in-fights. Yet, through it all, he maintained his identity as that nice boy from Brooklyn. Despite Keith's observation—or edict?—that "people only leave the Stones in a casket or handcuffs," he was one of the few to leave their orbit on his own terms.This updated edition of Under Their Thumb includes new stories about German's relationship to the Stones and twenty never-before-seen images.

Read more less

The real Prince in the words of those who knew him best—from award-winning author Touré.“...one of the rare oral histories I’d recommend as an introduction to its subject. The author’s interview skills and his trusted status in the Prince orbit mean that his book—based on decades of interviews—is full of revealing insights into Prince’s life and work.”—Jay Gabler, The Current Nothing Compares 2 U is an oral history built from years of interviews with dozens of people who were in Prince’s inner circle—from childhood friends to band members to girlfriends to managers to engineers to photographers, and more—all providing unique insights into the man and the musician. This revelatory book is a deeply personal and candid discussion of who Prince really was emotionally, professionally, and romantically. It tackles subjects never-before-discussed, including Prince’s multiple personalities, his romantic relationships, his traumatic childhood and how it propelled him into his music career, and how he found the inspiration for some of his most important songs, including “Purple Rain,” “Starfish and Coffee,” and the unheard “Wally.” Nothing Compares 2 U paints the most complete picture yet written of the most important and most mysterious artist of his time.

Read more less

The decades-long love story of a NASA commander and the leader of the Astronaut Wives ClubFar Side of the Moon is the untold, fully authorized story of the lives of Frank and Susan Borman. One was a famous astronaut—an instrumental part of the Apollo space program—but the other was just as much a warrior. This real-life love story is far from a fairy tale. Life as a military wife was beyond demanding, but Susan always rose to the occasion. When Frank joined NASA and was selected to command the first mission to orbit the moon, that meant putting on a brave face for the world as her husband risked his life for the space race. The pressure and anxiety were overwhelming, and eventually Susan’s well-hidden depression and alcoholism finally came to light. Frank had to come to terms with how his “mission above all else” mentality contributed to his wife’s suffering. As Susan healed, she was able to begin helping others who suffered in silence from mental illness and addiction.Discover how Frank and Susan’s love and commitment to each other is still overcoming life’s challenges, even beyond their years as an Apollo commander and the founder of the Astronaut Wives Club.

Read more less

Presented in this oversize publication are 146 aerospace-related toys from the collection of Rolf Fehlbaum, Vitra’s chairman emeritus and the founder of Vitra Design Museum. Toys related to space exploration—rockets, robots and astronaut figurines—exploded in popularity in the 1930s with the success of space opera comic strips such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, which portrayed postwar fantasies of untold technological possibilities. From there, sci-fi only gained a wider audience as the Soviet/American space race began and people of all ages turned their gazes skywards to wonder about what marvels may exist beyond Earth’s orbit. The toys in this volume are shown at their original size with the available packaging, organised into ten categories and arranged in chronological order by their manufacture dates. Some of the toys depict amusing conjectures for the future of aeronautical exploration such as space dogs, space elephants and even a space whale, while others are more realistic replicas of rockets in miniature. Infused with an undeniable nostalgia, this collection maintains the childlike wonder of the toys’ initial audiences and invites present-day readers to both reflect on the era’s technological advancements and look to the future for what discoveries may still be on the horizon.

Read more less

Despite meticulous attention to details and expert technique, complications resulting from rhinologic procedures can occur during one's professional career. This book discusses real-life complications and why these unfortunate events occur, as well as how best to manage the consequent issues. The text also provides thoughtful strategies to prevent such situations going forward. The book is organized as a series of case-based chapters, each illustrating a complication involving the orbit, the skull base, unexpected bleeding, poor healing, or those relating to intraoperative decision making, and how each was managed by the authors. Each chapter begins with bullet points highlighting key clinical pearls illustrated by that particular case. Written by leaders in the field with decades of experience in sino-nasal procedures, the analysis complements expert opinions with evidence-based published literature and shares experiences related to the most current techniques, devices, and instrumentation. Every otolaryngologist practicing rhinologic procedures will appreciate the candid nature of the discussion and will find enrichment in this shared wisdom. Lessons Learned from Rhinologic Procedure Complications: A Case-Based Review serves practitioners of general otolaryngology as well as resident trainees in this field, explaining how best to identify, diagnose, and resolve a complication during rhinology procedures.

Read more less

"We choose to go to the Moon, not because it is easy but because it is hard." President John F. Kennedy's words spoke of an American enterprise that rivalled, and echoed, that of the discovery and settling of his own country a century before. At the height of the Cold War between America and Russia, hundreds of spacecraft, both manned and robotic, travelled into outer space - the New Frontier. They sent back awe-inspiring images and sounds from Earth orbit, the Moon, and the planets of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus; they also overturned our preconceptions about our own planet. "Live from the Moon" is the exploratory story of this remarkable cultural and political phenomenon. Expert and enthusiast Mike Allen examines these images sent back from space, their use as propaganda, their value as drama and entertainment, and their spiritual role in shaping humanity's changing view of itself across the second half of the twentieth century. He looks at the complex relationship between space exploration, film and television during these decades to show the synergy between them in pushing forward the frontiers not only of our knowledge of the Universe, but of our need to visualise the furthest reaches of our imaginations in order to fully know what it is to be human.

Read more less

Here comes the future! The world’s coolest technology comes to life with fun, hands-on experiments for kids. • Test solar power with milk jugs and balloons • Understand genome technology with food coloring • Launch your own “microsatellites” into orbit These 27 terrific experiments use basic stuff from around the house and will help you understand the fascinating and potentially scary world of driverless cars, artificial intelligence, robots and androids, 3-D printing, test-tube meat, smart clothing, and more. Through cool illustrations, photos, and Sean Connolly’s clear and always-lively writing, you’ll learn what each breakthrough means, how it can improve our lives, and what its downside might be. An elevator leading into outer space? A robot that learns to think for itself? What could possibly go wrong? Attention, parents: It’s time to put the “T” in STEM! You’ve probably heard that acronym, which stands for the core subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. And though technology can get pretty scary in our imaginations, these experiments give your kids a hands-on understanding of the principles behind the innovations—so no, they won’t be performing laser surgery on their siblings or reprogramming the GPS in your car. (But they’ll still have fun!)

Read more less

Aisha is a thirteen-year-old refugee living in London. Happy for the first time since leaving her war-torn home, she is devastated when her foster mother announces that a new family has been found for her and she will be moving on. Feeling rejected and abandoned, Aisha packs her bags and runs away, seeking shelter in the nearby woods.Meanwhile, a few doors down, twelve-year-old Zak is trying to cope with his parents' divorce. Living in a near-building site while the new house is being refurbished, he feels unsettled and alone. Discovering a piece of rubble with the original builder's signature set into it, he starts researching the history behind his home - and in doing so finds a connection with a young soldier from the past, which leads him to an old air-raid shelter in the same woods.Both children, previously unknown to each other, meet in the heart of the ancient city woodland as they come into the orbit of Elder, a strange homeless woman who lives amongst the trees - and, as helicopters hover overhead and newspapers fill with pictures of the two lost children, unexpected bonds are formed and lives changed forever . . .

Read more less

President Hugo Chavez openly defies the ruling class in the United States, daring to advance universal access to health care and education, to remove itself from the economic orbit dominated by the United States, to diversify its production to meet human needs and promote human development, and to forge an economic coalition between Latin American countries. But as "Bush Versus Chavez" reveals, Venezuela's revolutionary process has drawn more than simply the ire of Washington. It has precipitated an ongoing campaign to contain and cripple the democratically elected government of Latin America's leading oil power. "Bush Versus Chavez" details how millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are used to fund groups - such as the National Endowment for Democracy, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Office for Transition - with the express purpose to support counter-revolutionary groups in Venezuela. It describes how Washington is attempting to impose endless sanctions, justified by fabricated evidence, to cause economic distress. And it illuminates the build up of U.S. military troops, operations, and exercises in the Caribbean, that specifically threaten the Venezuelan people and government. "Bush Versus Chavez" exposes the imperialist machinations of Washington as it tries to thwart a socialist revolution for the twenty-first century.

Read more less