Search results for ""Whittles Publishing""

Steel Structures: Analysis and Design for Vibrations and Earthquakes analyses the behaviour of two steel framed structures and their structural elements subjected to complex dynamic forces under the actions of earthquake motions and vibrations due to dynamic forces created by the effects of an unbalanced rotating mass of machines. Both the complete structures and the structural elements are analysed in compliance with Eurocode 8 and Eurocode 3. There are books available that consider the design of structural members and deal with isolated problems but in the main these emphasize the theory and do not consider the practical design and detailing which engineers face in the design office and within construction. This book considers the structure in its entirety providing a complete picture, guiding the engineer through the full process. The general principles and practices, design concepts, evaluation of seismic design parameters, calculations of design base shear force in elastic analysis, and vibration analysis are all considered before presentation of the calculations. The author takes the reader through the process in a simple and lucid way with a step-by-step approach stating the design philosophy, design considerations and clarifying the referred clauses of the code of practice, all complemented by design sketches and tables.

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Introduction by Dairmid Gunn Neil M Gunn (1892 - 1973), one of Scotland's most distinguished and highly regarded novelists of the 20th century, was a prolific writer. While he is best known for his fictional work Gunn was also a perceptive and meditative essayist who wrote extensively throughout his life on a wide range of subjects from landscape, nature and fishing to politics, nationalism and current affairs. Belief in Ourselves is a collection of essays that focuses on politics in the widest sense, embracing group activity in all its forms from nationalism to both communal work in a social sense and co-operation in crofting and fishing; the focus extends also to literature as a source of inspiration for a nation and a provider of national identity. That most of the essays were written between the two world wars - a period of political uncertainty and economic crisis - brings a sense of urgency to the writer in terms of the resolution of the problems and the exploration of the ideas aired by him. Many of the problems he identifies remain with us, albeit in different forms. Indeed, the imaginative and enlightened way in which Gunn looks at the events of his day have a strange relevance for today's world. This forms a sister volume to the earlier Landscape to Light, which concentrates on his native landscape and culture and the spiritual aspects of his life and thought. As with Landscape to Light, much of what Gunn writes informs his fictional work

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IPROMS 2009 is the fifth in the successful series of online, web-based conferences on Innovative Production Machines and Systems organised by the EU-funded I*PROMS Network of Excellence. It continues to build on the themes of the previous conferences, and attracted over 200 authors from some 20 countries across five continents. There were 6000 registered delegates and guests from 110 countries participated, making it a truly global phenomenon. While providing a timely overview of manufacturing developments, the volume focuses particularly on intelligent engineering and robotics, and also the growing interest expressed in bees algorithms. This volume of almost 70 papers provides an invaluable state of the technology review and assessment, enabling engineers and applied scientists to appreciate developments and potential in a number of exciting and emerging fields. It is a focal point for access to information from researchers and industrial practitioners in the field of intelligent systems and soft computing techniques and their application in diverse areas within manufacturing.

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National Service, Britain's name for conscription, existed between 1945 and 1963. In that time, two and a half million men were required to serve for two years with the armed forces. For some, it was a miserable penance. For the majority, it was just something that had to be done but for a lucky few, of whom the author was one, it was a time of travel and adventure. Following a six-year medical degree, with a further year of houseman posts, he chose to serve his conscription in the Royal Navy. However, the Navy required only a small number of doctors and selection was by interview in London. Being young, single and tired of the stultifying life of a student, the author opted for a posting in small ships abroad and was delighted to be accepted. The result was a mixture of travel and excitement with cheerful and lively companions in far-flung places including Borneo, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. As the time for his National Service drew nearer he was unsure of which of the many paths within medicine he was to take. As will be seen, the forthcoming months were to be useful in reaching a decision. This exuberant story is recounted from notes and letters and commences with the author's time at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. 'Put him up in modified Russell Traction,' said the senior surgical registrar, 'and I will pin him in the morning.' Modified Russell Traction? My fellow house surgeon and I had no idea what he meant...Thus began a medical adventure.

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The west coast of Scotland casts a spell on anyone with a taste for adventure, a feeling for the past or a love of the wild, uninhabited places. With tidal currents of awesome power running between fascinating patterns of islands, it is a challenging place for any type of small craft. Robin Lloyd-Jones has been exploring here in his sea kayak for more than forty years.In this enchanced new edition of Argonauts of the Western Isles he takes us on many a memorable epedition to wild and beautiful shores. Amongst magnificent scenery and ever-changing seas, we are transported to Jura, Scarba, the Garvellach Isles, Mull, Staffa, the Treshnish Isles, the Monack Isles, Iona, Lewis and the Utis, Skye, the Orkneys, the Shetland Isles to places with music in their names, like Tir Nan Og the land of the ever-young, places which, once visited, become part of you.Along the way the author tells us a great deal about kayaking, about the wildlife and the history of the area but, more than that, he makes us feel that we are with him on his kayak.We experience what it is like to set out with one's destination below the horizon and nothing but open sea ahead, to bivouac under the stars, to spend the night aboard a wreck, to be 'hunted' by the vortex of the Corryvreckan whirlpool, to paddle into dark, booming caves, to feel an Atlantic swell rolling beneath the kayak and to become part of its rhythm. Through the author's vivid descriptions we know the terror of a force nine gale, the tranquillity of moolit trips, and the lure of tiny bays and seal-meadows accessible only to a slim kayak. We encounter dolphins, otters, unidentified monsters and nuclear submarines. And when he writes of the magic of remote islands, the Robinson Crusoe in all of us is awakened.This is a book to set the imagination adrift, a book for those seeking wider horizons, be their vessel an armchair or a kayak.

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The Eponym Dictionary is a series of brief but concise biographies of all those people after whom fish have been named in both the vernacular and scientific names. It also covers names which seem to be eponyms but are not, such as toponyms, names of organisations, ethnic groups, etc. It also shows the networks of scientific collaboration, friendship or patronage. Each species named after an individual is listed with their authors and years for context and wherever possible it is shown how the authors and the eponym are linked. Every effort has been made to be accurate and meticulous, and the book is also a repository of biographical knowledge that will entertain as well as inform. In conjunction with the other books it forms a database of everyone named in a vertebrate. For ease of use, this volume is designed as a dictionary, making it easy to find the person behind the name and, in doing so, discover which fish commemorates them and learn something of their lives and background. For many obscure individuals, these vignettes may be as full a biography of the person as possible, but for the famous it is merely a starting point that shows the enquirer, with confidence, the right person. Some brief entries summarise whole volumes of biography, especially those honoured in a name because of their standing in society rather than their scientific behaviour. There is a vast range of derivations related not just to scientists, zoologists and scholars, but also pop stars, TV and film personalities and writers. There is a whole world of aquarists and fish hobbyists, many of whom have been immortalised for adding to our knowledge of tropical fish. Moreover, there are many people whose only claim to fame is that naming. The parents, spouses, sons and daughters of ichthyologists are well-represented, as are their teachers and even their lovers. The Eponym Dictionary of Fishes is a web of relationships and connections, icons and idols.

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A social and historical narrative depicting life in the British Merchant Navy during the 1950s - the golden age of shipping. This story chronicles the growth of a youth, from naive 16-year-old to a mature young man, capable eventually of accepting the grave responsibilities entrusted to a watch-keeping officer on the bridge of an ocean-going ship. The reader follows his voyage escapades and sees him ambushed by pitfalls resulting largely from his innocence. Collectively these incidents capture the atmosphere of service as a navigating officer cadet in yesterday's Merchant Navy. Cargo handling and seafaring were then highly labour intensive. Ships were smaller in capacity and, with their forest of derricks, were constructed differently from today's clear-deck container and bulk carriers, but needed larger crews. Seamen nevertheless enjoyed a leisurely life, accepting as 'the norm' worldwide cargo delays and strikes, and having to invent their own unique brand of shipboard entertainment. With humorous touches, the author brings alive a lifestyle which epitomised excitement and adventure during this 'golden age' of international shipping, and where young people were expected to meet demanding everyday challenges.

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This is an in-depth appraisal of the 30-year post Second World War period that covered significant changes in the history of British Petroleum Shipping. These major changes were vital to the development of the company's fleet from modest 12,000 summer deadweight tonnage vessels to the Very Large Crude Oil (VLCC) class ships which ranged up to British Respect with her capacity of 277,746 sdwt. The author starts with a concise history of BP from its beginnings around 1915, including early developments in the design and construction of tankers. Losses during the Second World War were countered by developments in conversion of vessels for wartime duty and the ongoing construction of new vessels. Post-war, and after considerable losses, the drive to repair vessels and build new tankers was paramount and led to the growth of the 1950s. In many areas, BP was instrumental in designing and implementing safety rules long before they became international law and the effects of these changes are considered in detail. Also featured is the recovery of the fleet following the ravages of the Second World War which was influenced by an unprecedented international demand for oil. There were also numerous political upheavals that had a direct influence on ship routeing and fluctuations in the growth of the parent company, BP International, which affected the shipping arm, BPTC. This was a period of serious oil pollution that caused worldwide consternation. This concern led to the formation of the International Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO) which was ratified in 1948 and renamed the IMO in 1982. This organisation became a major innovator of a raft of consultative documents which eventually led to numerous protocols and conventions, leading the marine transport industry and the tanker industry in particular to becoming the most widely-regulated form of transport in the world. This brief was extended to encompass professional certification across all ranks of seafarers, helping to correct numerous problems which affected crews during this 30-year period. Tank construction and ship stability problems are discussed along with a major overhaul of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Other issues confronted during this period include preliminary work which would later be extended to include ballast water transference worldwide and air pollution, etc.

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The book provides a valuable guide to the evaluation and understanding of ground and environmental conditions of sites and their surrounds. This is done through a series of annotated block models and supporting photographs of common geological and geomorphological situations around the world, with basic text explanations and information on each principal block diagram and its annotated photographs. Ground conditions depend on the climatic, geological and geomorphological history of the site and its surrounding area. In ground investigation, ground engineering, design and construction, a preliminary study of the local environment (including climate), the landforms and the geomorphological processes creating and modifying the local landscape is thus required, as well as informed detailed knowledge of the soils and geology, their distribution, properties and engineering behaviour. Geomodels in Engineering Geology outlines the world's climatic and morphological zones and the changes such environments bring upon the ground.It deals with fundamental aspects of surface soils and geology in relation to their engineering behavior and guides the way that ground investigation can be developed to provide appropriate information needed for design and construction of a project - augmented by case histories and experience of practical problems.

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From Alexander the Great to Saddam Hussein, from Cardinal Richelieu and Howard Hughes to Martin Luther King and Pope Benedict, emperors and tycoons, presidents and popes, they have all had a right hand man - or woman - at their side advising, sometimes influencing and occasionally manipulating. The operating style of the 'fixer' or eminence grise has changed throughout history from one of absolute discretion as adviser to overt spinning with even a desire to share in some of the 'fame', but their presence has always been a constant theme. In The Shadow of Power throws a brief spotlight on some of the people who practised these dark arts hovering on the edges of history, lurking in the background, occasionally rising to positions of absolute authority while managing to remain behind the scenes. This selection reveals certain common traits - a devotion to their master, a ruthless determination to protect and serve regardless of the price, an ability to survive. Many of the individuals will be unknown to some readers although the masters they served will all be household names. Not all are men, of course, the strong woman behind the successful man is commonplace. They have worked for good and ill, some moving from the bedchamber to positions of absolute power; many just like their male counterparts seem to have been driven by their lowly backgrounds with their intelligence simply proving too much for their well-born masters. They come in all guises: diplomats and courtesans, concubines and clerics, politicians and journalists, and from many different countries in Europe and India, China, France and USA, but the role of the eminence grise is often a dangerous one and getting too close to the powerful can prove fatal.

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This is the first recent book to lift the lid off the crude oil tanker industry and to demonstrate that, contrary to general opinion, crude oil tankers are the safest and most regulated business/industry in the world. As an ex-supertanker navigating and deck officer, the author saw for himself during two recent voyages how ships were operated on a daily basis and everything was recorded exactly as it happened. These findings are important to all who wish to know what happens aboard the thousands of tankers that transport the vast quantities of unrefined oil used for the diverse essential commodities in our daily lives. Other issues are confronted such as the efforts made by the industry to deal with flag states and sub-standard operators that do not readily conform to international laws and conventions; the examination of double-hulled tanker construction; the protection of tanks against rusting and corrosion; water ballast transference; cutting greenhouse emissions and sea pollution prevention, including the environmentally-safe dispersal of marine growths on the hull. Light is cast upon a number of topical issues such as international piracy; concern with the worldwide fall in numbers of officers and ratings; up-to-date methods of securing their training; safety on board ship and the navigation of the tankers themselves, along with the latest efforts to regulate ship breaking on Asian beaches. The determined efforts of the crude oil tanker industry including its proactive initiatives to make each tanker safe and efficient at sea provide a fascinating account which is at times surprisingly dramatic.

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Seton Gordon really created himself as naturalist, photographer and writer, the first such in the country, his first book appearing when he was eighteen. In all he wrote 27 books, two specifically about the Cairngorms where he grew up and first explored and returned to many times throughout his long life. He wrote with a revelational wonder and freshness, writing in poetic prose descriptions only possible by someone intimately at home in the hills with their interacting, connected features: birds, plants, trees, geology, weather, Gaelic culture, place names, history, folklore - an ecologist before the word was coined. Hamish Brown selected passages for "Seton Gordon's Scotland" and has now made a fascinating choice from Seton Gordon's extensive writings about the Cairngorms. There are descriptions of hill days throughout the seasons and intimate descriptions of wildlife. Seton Gordon lived to a great age but the Cairngorms were his first, young man's enthusiasm. Hamish Brown, no mean mountaineer and lover of the outdoors, has garnered biographical material and archive pictures for a book which everyone with an interest in the Scottish hills will welcome.

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This groundbreaking book contains a broad yet detailed coverage of the major aspects of fire engineering. As would be expected, such matters as fire extinguishers, flame-retardants and fire-fighting feature centrally, with descriptions, from the functional point of view, of fire appliances from selected manufacturers around the world. There is coverage of selected accidental fires, both recent ones and those which have been on record for many years as being amongst the most serious in terms of loss of life. Social and political aspects of fire engineering also feature in the book, for example in accounts of fires in countries where buildings are sub-standard in safety terms and fire services are unreliable. Fire safety products are an integral part of the subject and improvements in fire safety have to a considerable degree been due to development work by manufacturers and trade names therefore feature in the book where applicable. Scientific and engineering details of the products have been obtained and re-expressed in broad terms. The author has paid close attention to the underlying physics and chemistry and some of the topics are complemented by calculations.

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Read all about - his early life and struggle to support the family after his father's death - his move to Britain and the establishment of his first UK business - his company Noon Products and the catastrophic fire that became his finest hour - the recent 'cash for honours' scandal which embroiled Tony Blair, Lord Levy and many others - his dealings with premiers and world statesmen, royalty and business leaders - his views on the issues of immigration and nationality - not to mention his love of cricket!This is a candid story from a man who values his family, friends and country - both his birthplace and his adopted home. Despite many setbacks his indomitable spirit enabled him to meet challenges and succeed. Throughout his life he has made many friends and helped innumerable people, and when he needed help, particularly when his Noon Products factory was destroyed by fire, both friends and clients were there to help him recover. After selling the business to WT Foods, his own charitable company, the Noon Foundation was established and for his many efforts in this sector he was awarded an MBE.Increasingly, his time was spent working with many different charities and the Queen honoured him with a knighthood. Sir Gulam accepted nomination for a peerage but the 'cash for honours' storm erupted. He relates the incident from his personal perspective - his anger, humiliation, frustration and depression. He considers his relations with the police, the media, the Government, Tony Blair and other senior members of the Labour Party. He also reflects upon the tough questions facing Britain today, such as education, immigration, terrorism, and the role of the government and private citizens. He pulls no punches but his story demands respect - it deamds to be read.

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"The Lost Glen" vividly portrays a clash of cultures and personalities against a background of a landscape in visible decay. The cultural collision and its effects are explored through Ewan, a young local man recently returned from university in disgrace, and a retired English colonel staying at the village hotel. Both men in a sense are alienated from the community, the younger because of a haunting sense of failure, and the older through an unwillingness to understand the local culture. They have a mutual antipathy. The Colonel's self-imposed cultural isolation leads to aggressive bullying and an openly lascivious attitude towards local young women. His unworthiness as a representative of Anglo-Saxon culture is largely compensated for by his young niece, who behaves with sensitivity and integrity. She is clearly attracted to Ewan whose sense of failure is complex and does not only concern his enforced withdrawal from university and his involvement in an incident at sea that cost his father his life; it concerns the feeling he has of himself as a spiritual exile - a man who had intended to emigrate but who had remained as an outsider in the land that meant so much to him. He is fascinated by the experience of a local piper, whose finding of a lost glen that had a strange beauty and primordial freshness had been translated into a pibroch. The haunting tune acts as a stimulant to Ewan's Hamlet-like musings on the possibility of a rejuvenation of the landscape or a final disappearance of its life and meaning. The antipathy between the two main protagonists leads to a physical struggle between them that brings to an end a novel, layered with meanings, that is more a symbolic drama than a novel of realism. One of the earliest novels to appear in the Scottish Literary Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, "The Lost Glen" turns its back on the form of writing that had depicted Scotland as a rural paradise in favour of describing Highland life as it really was at that time.

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After giving up a hectic life as a journalist in Europe and Hollywood in the late 1960s to return to his boyhood love of nature, Mike Tomkies found Eilean Shona, a remote island 'between earth and paradise' off the west coast of Scotland. There he rebuilt a rotting wooden crofthouse which sheep had used for shelter from the bitter Atlantic winds and began a new way of life, observing nature, that was to last to the present day. He tracked wildlife, stags, foxes, made friends with the seals, and taught a young injured sparrowhawk to hunt for itself. It was the indomitable spirit of this tiny hawk that taught Tomkies what it takes for any of us to be truly free. Whether he was fishing, growing his own food or battling through stormy seas in a small boat, he learned that he could survive in the harsh environment. This book, the beginning of a remarkable Scottish odyssey, has long been out of print until now - but one which has long been demanded by Tomkies' loyal readers. "Between Earth and Paradise" tells of an astonishing story - of daring to take the first step away from urban routines, which many of us only dream about - which led in turn to an even more remote location and his unrivalled series of books on the golden eagle, the wildcats he reared, and his faithful dog, Moobli. "Between Earth and Paradise" will be of immense interest, not only to Mike Tomkies' fans, but also to anyone with an interest in wildlife, the natural world and those with an interest in living self-sufficiently. Between Earth and Paradise is also an engrossing story which will transport the reader to share Mike's lonely but rewarding lifestyle.

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After joining the Australian Merchant Navy at the age of sixteen, Dick Jolly trained as an engineer before joining the Australian National Line as a cadet. After a four-year apprenticeship, he gradually gained promotion while travelling around the Australian coast. Fascinated by the world of commercial deep-sea tugs and salvage, his first real break came in Portsmouth in 1963 when he landed a job on RFA Typhoon. Relocating to Singapore and with a Foreign Going tugmaster's qualification under his belt, he went on to travel the oceans of the world, hauling derelict ships, dredgers, floating cranes and all manner of other craft. For four years he left the sea, trying to earn a living as an opal-miner in Andamooka in the Australian Outback where the vast majority of miners go bankrupt! It was an advert for the post of tugmaster in the Port of Eden which brought him to his senses, and he returned to the world of salvage. After further work in the Far East, his no-nonsense attitude was appreciated by the managing director of a new salvage company and the author was sent to Germany to purchase the company's tug, the Intergulf. Many contracts followed, until the Intergulf was sold from underneath his feet. Captain Jolly relates many fascinating stories from the hard-bitten world of commercial salvage: dragging blazing ships off rocky shorelines, rescuing crews from the middle of the ocean and avoiding hostile natives. On one occasion, he had to drive through the jungle at break-neck speed to avoid being taken hostage! These and many other gripping adventures are recounted in this exciting, true-life and humorous story, which is complemented by stunning colour and black and white photographs.

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Ospreys are one of our best known and best loved birds and the name Roy Dennis is not only synonymous with the successful return of the osprey to Scotland, but is also renowned for his international work with a variety of species. From the time he saw his first osprey, back in 1960, Roy has worked to help this magnificent raptor establish itself once more in a country where it had been hounded and persecuted to near-extinction over hundreds of years. This book tells the story not only of the osprey, but of the osprey watcher, following the bird's fortunes in Scotland, seeing its numbers rise from that single pair in the 1950s to close to 200 pairs today. From a look at its history in Scotland and the rest of the UK including the bad old days of egg thieves and the shooting of birds as specimens, it moves to the present day, with satellite radios allowing us to follow the every move of the osprey on its migration to Africa and back.Roy has pioneered the building of artificial nests for ospreys, which had been instrumental in increasing their numbers and range, as well as starting the first European trans-location taking chicks from their nests in the Highlands and releasing them at Rutland Water Nature Reserve in the Midlands. The book also covers the ecology of the osprey with many personal anecdotes and insights. Diary entries give a more immediate feel to the chapters, and the worldwide distribution of ospreys is enlivened by that sense of immediacy. Roy's writings, at a time when no one knew whether or not his lifetime's work would succeed, add a sense of history to this personal tale.

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Living with the sea evokes a need to write about it, whether in poems, songs or prose. This book records a life spent upon the sea, from junior cadet to captain, and some of the reflections which at lonely times in the ocean's vastness seemed to have sprung from its depth. At first attracted by the escape from grammar school and the lure of visiting places with exotic names, it soon became apparent that the young cadet was no swashbuckler and would take some time to come to terms with the sea. But come to terms with it he did, albeit in a love/hate relationship, in which love ultimately won out.

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A boyhood visit to the battleship HMS Nelson left the author with the ambition to be a midshipman in the Royal Navy and to be in charge of a steam picket-boat with a brass funnel. The author relates how he went to sea, his adventures and experiences ashore and afloat during his 35 years service under the White Ensign and the Red Ensign. Starting as a Merchant Navy cadet in the British India Steam Navigation Company at the start of World War II, he subsequently joined the Royal Navy and progressed from midshipman to lieutenant during ten years of service. Captain Stewart's story includes details of his first ship, the SS Mulbera; coming home to the Clyde and later sailing around the Cape. During the war years he experienced life in a minesweeper and a corvette, and escorted convoys in the Arctic and the Mediterranean. Leaving the Navy after the war, he spent several years ashore before returning to seafaring in the Merchant Navy. He joined the fleet of a major oil company as a junior officer and quickly progressed through the ranks until he reached the rank of master, spending many years in command of large crude oil tankers. Although Captain stewart served in eight classes of warship and many more types of tanker, he never did command a picket boat with a brass funnel!

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A novel based on the life of Bob Crumley, member of Dundee FC's 1910 Scottish Cup-winning team. The story is told through the eyes of his grandson as a series of snapshots in a family album - except the shots were never taken, for the popular goalie was an outcast from his own family.

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The Joy of Climbing is the result of a search through Britain, Europe and America for the esoteric gems at the easier end of climbing. This special selection demonstrates the sheer fun and enjoyment of climbing. The articles have been especially chosen to provide a stimulating but achievable challenge, whether on a climb itself or appreciating the moves from the comfort of an armchair. In his writing, Terry adopts a variety of styles, resulting in a blend that enhances the dramatic nature of the subject and provides the reader with both the lyrical and the unexpected.

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Land is a finite resource and is the basis for 90 per cent of all human food, livestock feed, fibre, and fuel - and we are running out of it. Even worse, large amounts are degraded with only a third showing no signs of degradation, and a quarter being severely or very severely degraded. The economic implications of land degradation are vast and closer investigation of the costs involved in remediating degraded and contaminated industrial wasteland may reveal significantly higher costs, especially since large areas of industrial degradation have not yet been assessed. This book addresses the fundamental science and engineering of land degradation and rehabilitation from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The first part of the book discusses natural ground profiles dealing with soil science and the underlying geology, the functions of natural ground and ground engineering properties. In the second part, three basic mechanisms of ground degradation are introduced: erosion, chemical degradation and physical degradation. The third part addresses remediation, including strategies and techniques to investigate the ground and remediation measures.Finally, issues of land protection are outlined and a general strategy of sustainable land management are discussed. With a firm basis in soil science and allied subjects, this book provides an eminently readable and thoughtful introduction for anyone in the area of land remediation, whether as a professional seeking an overview or a student requiring a broad perspective.

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One of the most eminent engineers of the 20th century, both on the national anand international stage, Professor Sir Alec Skempton was truly an influential figure in the discipline of soil mechanics. In the late 1940s he was instrumental in developing the subject, and formed the first university department of soil mechanics at Imperial College, London. Over the years the research, papers and books flowed, as did the accolades and recognition. But this is not a book about soil mechanics alone - it relates much more, about the man and how he really viewed life, how he approached challenges and how he would be content only with a job well done. Written by his daughter, the book illustrates Skem's contribution to engineering knowledge, what influences formed him, and how his ideas developed. It reveals the private man behind the public image and, in doing so, also sets in context a dynamic age in engineering.

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Over the past decade, advances in the field of close-range photogrammetry have been rapid and the era of digital photogrammetry is well on its way. This book provides a complete account of the subject with contributions from international experts. The methodology, algorithms, techniques and equipment necessary to achieve real-time digital photogrammetric solutions are presented, together with contemporary aspects of close-range photogrammetry. Advances in the theory are presented as are a range of important applications of photogrammetry which illustrate the flexibility and comprehensive nature of these techniques of three-dimensional measurement.

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Small-format aerial photography provides a cheap alternative to conventional large-format aeiral survey. This book forms a complete guide to aerial photography operations using small cameras. From the basics of mapping, measurement and photography to all technical details of planning a survey to numerous applications and case studies, the book enables readers to understand all aspects of the subject. The readership catered for includes: professional and reference - practising engineers and applied scientists in geology geomorphology, surveying, civil engineering, forestry, urban planning, soil science, ecology, agriculture, hydrology and cartography; education - university and polytechnic libraries, advanced students and researchers in departments of civil engineering, earth sciences, remote sensing, photogrammetry and surveying; military and related - many Army and Air Forces employ light aircraft and helicopters for surveillance and the technique can be usd to some benefit in military and paramilitary applications.

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Timber is probably man's oldest building material, with a huge variety of form, and it remains an important material both in domestic and commercial construction. This manual provides a step-by-step approach to the detailing of timber, and deals with codes of practice from the UK, Europe, America and Russia. The manual provides practical and up-to-date information on various aspects of timber construction and covers the fundamentals of drawing and drafting practices, connections and fastening and structural detailing of various timber elements. The types of structures covered represent the bulk of the typical fabricator's work in timber structures such as buildings, bridges, grid-works, shells, folded plates etc. Some examples of timber detailing in CAD form are also included. The book is liberally illustrated with line drawings and many detailing sheets, the latter linked to international codes of practice.

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How many of us have a desire to make a home of a neglected building that is begging to be restored to its former splendour? This is just such a story - the renovation of a derelict windmill and in the process the discovery of a fascinating history. It charts the realization of a young boy's dream and, despite the numerous obstacles and problems, the successful culmination of many hopes and plans. The reader is invited to share with the author his hopes, worries, triumphs and setbacks as he strives to make the dream a reality. The saying "to throw one's cap over the windmill" means to act recklessly and provides an apt title for the book, reflecting Kenneth's impetuous pursuit of the propety which he secured and restored, seemingly against the odds.

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'Like many a Highland glen, the Fathan Ghlinne should be wooded but isn't. But I have sat long and often and listened to the ancient river speech, to the windsong of three birches and a rowan, the rowan above a meeting of waterfalls which should be a portentous place. And the word on the wind and in the speech of the river is that the trees and wolves and the people will be back.' Thus Jim Crumley concludes this remarkable book of nature writing. The setting is largely Highland Perthshire (there are startling asides to Mull and Alaska), the author's home for several years, and where, having 'chased a rainbow' that faded early he stayed on and put down a root that nourished his nature writer's instincts. Something Out There is Jim Crumley's account of his quest to rediscover something of the ancient bond between man and nature. It is told in prose that is three-quarters of the way to poetry, and in the process gives the art of nature writing a bold new standard bearer for the 21st century.

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Features histories of some great ships, including the two largest and most powerful ocean-going salvage tugs of the day. Includes the decline of the last shipbuilder at Leith and accounts of the industrial unrest and strife.

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The borderers - people forged and hardened by endemic warfare over generations, whether by raids and skirmishes or set piece battles - are marked even today as a distinct group. For three savage centuries England and Scotland, both dynamic races, slogged it out upon this arena of nations. Scott might have reinvented the border as a sweep of chivalric romance, but the reality was very different. John Sadler knows this ground and its people; he is one of them. For half a century he has traversed the borderland, and has taught, enacted and written about them. In this book he offers a uniquely personal but highly informed view. He neither praises nor condemns them, but seeks to understand and, perverse as it may seem, admires them. History leaves its imprint and like the proverbial stone cast into still waters, it sends out ripples through time that never quite abate. The feuds were pursued with increasing savagery and even when not in outright conflict, the names on both sides continued their 'feids' or vendettas in crazy bloodletting for decades, with cycles of escalating violence creating a dizzying maze of interlocking enmities that was beyond all reason. The late, great George Macdonald Fraser once remarked that the borderers were free in a way we can never imagine. And they were. Here is a book that weighs the evidence from a plethora of sources to provide a compelling history of this border conflict. In the modern political scene, with the issue of a second referendum pending, the theme of a cultural identity, forged in the fury of those Border wars, forms a pivotal theme in the debate.

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A revealing picture of a time when Britain was losing its empire. It draws on letters written at the period by an airman, his vivid memories and experiences from the Canal Zone, Kenya during Mau Mau times, Cyprus and Jerusalem. His time encompassed conducting church services, being shipwrecked, numerous wildlife encounters and the formation of many lifelong friendships. The Canal Zone was no easy life and 50 years later a medal was awarded when the government was forced to admit it was deserved and to confess its own political chicanery in the events. Hamish paints a picture of the highs and lows of RAF life, a station being run down in Egypt, working in oppressive heat and now and then being shot at! He saw the Windrush a week before it exploded and sank in the Mediterranean; both the Windrush story and that of building the Suez Canal are detailed in an appendix. There is much to find in this story including background histories to events and the politics of the time. As a whole it provides a fascinating account of the era.

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The story of Leith-built ships continues in this third volume from just after the conclusion of World War Two to 1965. However, the world was different; the men came back from the front and those women who had been working in the shipyards lost their jobs. All shipyards were experiencing full order books, replacing, or repairing ships lost or damaged in the conflict, but the industry was changing albeit slowly at first. The advent of electric welding would eventually change the way ships were built leading to the demise of the Rivet Squad, which was replaced as a cost cutting exercise as it became the accepted method of ship construction. Henry Robb Shipyard participated in the massive new shipbuilding programme with a great many vessels being ordered from two of the largest customers of the yard. Many orders came from the giant Ellerman Lines, while a great many more were ordered by other customers, such as the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand. The Admiralty also remained a customer and a few large supply ships would be built in this time. In this volume the author has not forgotten the people who were the very fabric of the yard and community. Personal accounts are included from those who built or sailed on these vessels. This is the story of a mighty industry, but one which nonetheless had begun its decline. In the century from 1893, this nation went from producing 80% of all the worlds' commercial ships to producing no commercial ships at all. It is a sad fact, but this volume keeps alive the story of the Leith-built ships and the vibrant industry that once existed.

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Most birders keep lists of the species birds they have seen, but do any keep a list of pub birds, that is birds on pub signs and in pub names? This book is about these pub birds, their natural histories, folk-histories and those of the pubs that bear their names, some of the people involved in the story, and the memories that pub birds have evoked over a birding lifetime. This may appear to be a niche aspect of birding but before the advent of modern technology, pubs in 'good birding spots' were often the best place to find out from other birders "What's about?", preferably over a pint. On the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Dales at the entrance to Wensleydale, are four pubs all named after Black Swans within a five-mile radius. Intriguing, but why there? They sparked John Lawton's interest in pub birds and the list that began then spans eleven years, based on a sample of 711 pubs named after birds or things that are 'bird-related'. There are 117 identifiable species of birds, 17 non-specific birds (for example duck), and four mythical species, plus 35 pubs named after bird-related things. Technical stuff aside, pub birds are fun. Whilst being as accurate and informative as possible, this book is not meant to be too serious. Whilst 'plain vanilla' swans get boring, the 'Swan and Cemetery' (in Bury), the 'Swan and Railway' (in Wigan) and three pubs called 'The Swan with Two Necks' (in Bristol, Clitheroe and Wakefield) cry out for an explanation. As do two Welsh pubs both called 'The Goose and Cuckoo' in Llanover (Monmouthshire) and Llangadog (Carmarthenshire). The resulting aviary of 117 species doesn't quite range from A to Z, but the list does run from 'The Blackbird' on Earls Court Road in London to a 'Yellow Wagtail' in Yeovil. The book covers the commonest pub birds, why they are so named, their geography and history, and also pub birds in art, literature and music. There is even a short chapter on nests, babies, feathers and bird paraphernalia. Throughout, the author has woven some of his fondest memories of pub birds into the story and from time-to-time he may even have gone into the pub for a pint.

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This new book reveals the part played by the eight Bustler Class Rescue Tugs built at the Henry Robb Shipyard during the Second World War and will shed more light on the almost-forgotten part played by this country's mariners. The men and women who were rescued under the most trying of times and dreadful weather conditions would no doubt have felt immense gratitude to the brave souls who formed part of the huge maritime effort, both in war and peacetime. This is the story of the small force of much-needed rescue tugs that were built during the dark forbidding days of the Second World War, when Great Britain had only the ships and men to bring in the raw materials that were required to fight against the might of Nazi Germany and its Allies. This compelling story shines a spotlight on the small, but very significant work done over many years by His and Her Majesty's Rescue Tugs in defence of the realm, and which benefited seafarers all over the world. The author's very detailed account of the contribution made by HMRT in general, and the Bustler Class in particular, is an excellent read, and has brought to life the immense impact that these rescue tugs have had over many years, usually in dire circumstances, and especially during the Second World War. Many of these ships also served with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and this story recognises the part played by these heroic rescue tugs in accounts of many convoys that crossed the seas and were attacked by hostile forces. This fine volume will help to raise the profile of these magnificent small and immensely powerful vessels, and of course their highly-skilled crews without whom these heroic achievements would not have been possible.

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As a ten-year-old, the author contracted TB and was sent to an isolated sanatorium, deep in the Cheshire coun-tryside. There he was bedridden for six months. On fine days, nurses would push the young patients, in their beds, out onto a large veranda and it was there that his love of birdwatching developed. On leaving hospital, he shared his passion with three schoolmates and over the next five years this small band of birders explored wildlife locations on and nearby the Wirral. Their travels and love of nature was epitomised when, aged 16, they spent part of their summer on Bardsey, a remote island off North Wales as part of a small, professional team of naturalists. As a young birdwatcher, the author is fascinated when he observed nature first-hand and began to grasp the basics of the science of evolution. This is a 'rites of passage' story of one lad's journey through those early formative teenage years during 1957 to 1962 when birdwatching sat easily in his life alongside football, girls, radical politics and rock bands. Each chapter traces the boy's expanding world of nature and then, in later life, he reflects on those times. A passion for nature has stayed with him throughout his life and as an adult, he explores the way views are formed and become a base reference framework to work out his personal ethics and morality. On revisiting all his old haunts each visit triggers further questions, reflections and musings. How does nature manage, over all those years, to continue to inspire and stimulate him? What does it mean to be part of nature? How does nature manage to heal? An Eye for Birds is a series of reflections of an individual, trained in the sciences, revisiting his teenage wildlife haunts and looking back to those times with mature perspective and sentiment that add their own colours to the story.

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William Balfour Baikie was a surgeon, naturalist, linguist, writer, explorer and government consul who played a key role in opening Africa to the Europeans. As an explorer he mapped and charted large sections of the Niger River system as well as the overland routes from Lagos and Lokoja to the major trading centres of Kano, Timbuctu and Sokoto. As a naturalist, major beneficiaries of his work included Kew Gardens and the British Museum for the rare and undiscovered plant and animal species and yet today he remains largely unknown. On 10th December, 1864 Baikie was on his way back to London and was living in his temporary quarters in Sierra Leone. There he worked to regain his health and to complete the various reports and publications expected by the Colonial and Foreign Offices. He had been away from England for seven years and living conditions in West Africa had caused his health to suffer. While his wife and children waited for his return 600 miles away in Lokoja, the city in Nige-ria he had founded, his father waited for his return to Kirkwall, Orkney. Baikie would never return to his wife, nor ever see his father again. In two days, he would be dead and buried at Sierra Leone before his fortieth birthday. In his short life Baikie became such a hero among the Nigerian people 150 years ago that white visitors to the region today are still greeted warmly as 'Baikie'. After studying at University of Edinburgh he was assigned to the Royal Hospital Haslar where he worked with the noted explorers Sir John Richardson and Sir Edward Perry. Baikie's reputation as a naturalist, and the sphere of influence provided by Richardson and Perry, allowed him to enter the elite British scientific community where he also worked alongside the most famous naturalist of the time, Charles Darwin. During his time at Haslar, Baikie made two voyages exploring the Niger and Benue Rivers to establish trading centres for the Liverpool merchant Macgregor Laird. The first was a resounding success. He conducted the first clinical trial using quinine as a preventative for malaria. For the first time in history, his initial exploration of these rivers was conducted without the loss of a single life to fever. Returning to London to a hero's welcome, he was nominated for one of the Royal Geographic Society's prestigious awards. His second voyage was a pure disaster. His ship was wrecked; members of the expedition died and he was stranded for over a year in the vast remote territory known as the Sokoto Caliphate. Following his rescue, he elected to remain alone in Africa for what would be his final years in order to complete his personal mission. Although he was born 4,000 miles away in Orkney, Baikie was designated the King of Lokoja by the ruler of the Sokoto Caliphate. This book defines the man and his accomplishments and reveals how he is so fondly remembered by the Nigerians and yet apparently so totally forgotten by the rest of the world.

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In their 112-year history, the many special characteristics of Calcium Aluminate Cements have led to their use in all kinds of applications that are beyond the capabilities of other cements, such as Portland cements. This encompasses characteristics such as chemical resistance, rapid hardening properties, high temperature resistance, and an ideal component for blended systems and many more. The first International conference on calcium aluminate cements was held in London in 1990 and since then there have been further events in Edinburgh (2001) and twice in Avignon, France (2008 and 2014). This volume presents the fifth conference in this series and once again provides essential reading for anyone interested in the subject. This volume contains over 50 international contributions with the most up to date information about calcium aluminates and their unique properties. Topics covered include new types, hydration and durability studies including blended systems, the latter are now widely used and some of these have significantly different hydration chemistry to the pure calcium aluminates. A variety of applications of these interesting cements is covered, including traditional applications such as concretes for contrasting marine situations (seabed and coastal), temperature-resistant refractory applications, formulated blended systems within the building chemistry sector along with the necessary admixtures and the many uses in corrosive biogenic situations that give sewage system infrastructure a considerably longer lifespan. Other new applications are also explored including 3D printing, thermochemical storage encapsulation, oil well cements, and ettringite-based repair systems. The peer-reviewed papers presented in these proceedings include a wide variety of techniques used by the authors to deliver new understanding of aspects of these cements and will undoubtedly drive future research into the various aspects of these cements.

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In the early hours of 26th June 1942, six airmen from 102 Squadron return from Bremen in their Halifax, Q for Queenie, having taken part in the third Thousand Bomber Raid. These airmen formed a truly international crew, each one having an interesting back story that had led to their being together, including Len Starbuck, the Wireless Operator and Air Gunner on his 26th operation who is close to the end of his tour. As operations continue, events on the squadron are recounted such as the inevitable toll of losses. German defences develop from uncoordinated concentrations around major towns and cities into a coherent barrier known as the Kammhuber Line. More new crewmen arrive on the squadron as the year progresses and with the arrival of winter, the ageing Whitley is phased out, replaced by the Halifax. As the squadron became familiar with the Halifax, they exchanged six of their new aircraft for six from 35 Squadron who were about to mount an attack on the Tirpitz in a fjord near Drontheim. These aircraft were equipped with the revolutionary new navigational aid known as GEE, which was of no use to crews flying to Norway, but suddenly gave 102 Squadron an accurate blind-bombing capability they had not previously enjoyed. On 25 May 1942, American air gunner Jack Fernie arrived on the squadron. Five days later he was on his first operation, caught up in the demand for maximum effort to support the first of Arthur Harris' Thousand Bomber Raids to Cologne who believed that Bomber Command could win the war from the air. Two days later, 102 Squadron again provided maximum effort for another massed attack on Essen, followed three weeks later by the third and final Thousand Bomber Raid to Bremen. Beginning the journey home at the tail end of the bomber stream, a night fighter was guided to an intercept position by a ground-based radar station that resulted in a fight to the death. This is an incisive look at the RAF's bombing campaign during 1941-42 through the prism of a multinational crew which faced mounting risks from an increasingly organised and integrated German air defence capability.

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For many, birds represent freedom and spirituality since they are created to be free. Although this may be true for people as well, we are of course not able to be as truly free as our winged friends. Looking out of his office window and seeing the birds flying, emphasising his confinement indoors and the unnecessary complexities of life in general, the author regrets his lost freedom. Life tends to be over-complicated and many would advocate following a simpler life. Birds, on the other hand, live the life they are destined for and this book shows how a common love of birds bridges cultures and distance. The Birds are our Friends is a wonderful and enlightening collection of essential information, curiosities, myths and folklore of birds and people. The author has discovered the role that birds play in people’s imagination, and their significance for various cultures. People’s accounts of birds give an insight to themselves – what they strive for, what they are afraid of and what they find important. Some birds predict the weather and construct unbelievably sophisticated nests or engage in elegant mating rituals. The author provides new insights on these facts and myths which confound some widely-held assumptions of their activities. Yessengali has a deeply personal connection and relationship with some birds. His fondest memories from childhood or young adulthood are associated with cuckoos, storks, and other birds that remind him of love and friendship. He hopes that these stories will interest readers, remind them of their spirituality and also evoke fine memories. In any event, it is a book that illuminates the world of birds from a slightly different viewpoint.

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Based upon the author's wide experience in a broad range of projects, this invaluable book sets the scene and places rock installation in the context of the offshore industry today. This is an industry where health, safety and environmental considerations are factored in to a project with the same level of professionalism as regulatory compliance and good design. Full information is provided about planning, preparation, execution and reporting of a rock installation project. Brief but key information is provided about rock types, the nature of the seabed and the relationship between the quarry and the receiving vessel, which together form a system of turning a terrestrial geological formation into a rock berm offshore. Rock installation vessels, their characteristics, equipment and capabilities are examined in outline. This book is based upon personal experience offshore in a series of rock installation projects over the last 16 years. It covers the oil and gas sector, coastal engineering, power and telecom cable projects and draws on practice in the UK, Norwegian and Danish Exclusive Economic Zones where much rock installation takes place. The range in scale is significant, from large oil field development projects to those of a much more specialised nature such as the preparation of sites from which a jackup rig can safely operate. The marine environment is examined in some detail. The author believes that all personnel working in the offshore industry, whether at sea or in onshore positions, need to understand the harsh but majestic, hostile and often unforgiving marine environment. With a number of new operators developing both end of life and new fields, knowledge concerning SRI has been diluted or even lost. This book is a useful enabler for project staff and new client representatives offshore to have a productive rock installation experience from the initial discussions with a contractor to the final results and verification.

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Foreword by Admiral Lord West Whilst living in Liverpool, Britain's second most heavily bombed city during World War II, the author experienced at first-hand the terrible effects of the war on the civilian population and when studying at Cambridge he witnessed the American heavy bombers and their fighter escorts flying to attack targets in Germany and occupied Europe. Serving as an engineering officer in the Royal Navy in HMS Sheffield provided first-hand realisation of the importance of engineering and emphasised that victories achieved in the Battle of Britain and other campaigns were made possible by newly-developed machines, equipment or techniques. These innovations gave the Allied forces a significant advantage and helped ensure eventual victory. Engineering Hitler's Downfall features numerous inventions such as the decoding machines developed at Bletchley Park; the hand-held mine detectors that cleared pathways through enemy minefields, firstly at the Battle of el Alamein but also in most subsequent actions; the newly-located factories and tanks that enabled the Russians to repulse the German invasion; the escort carriers and long range aircraft that enabled U-boats to be attacked in the mid-Atlantic; the 4000 plus Bailey bridges that allowed narrow ravines and rivers as wide as the Rhine to be crossed; the Mulberry harbours through which the D-Day bridgehead was reinforced and supplied and the pipelines under the ocean that supplied fuel for invading troops. These and many other examples illustrate what was achieved under such immense pressure. The book includes timelines to set it all in context with respect to the course of the war.

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Documentation of our cultural heritage is experiencing an explosion of innovation. New tools have appeared in recent decades including laser scanning, rapid prototyping, high dynamic range spherical and infrared imagery, drone photography, augmented and virtual reality and computer rendering in multiple dimensions. These give us visualisations and data that are at once interesting, intriguing and yet sometimes deceptive. This text provides an objective and integrated approach to the subject, bringing together the techniques of conservation with management, photographic methods, various modelling techniques and the use of unmanned aerial systems. This interdisciplinary approach addresses the need for knowledge about deploying advanced digital technologies and the materials and methods for the assessment, conservation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the sustainability of existing structures and designated historic buildings. Furthermore, this book actively provides the knowhow to facilitate the creation of heritage inventories, assessing risk, and addressing the need for sustainability.In so doing it becomes more feasible to mitigate the threats from inherent and external causes, not only for the built heritage but also for moveable objects and intangible heritage that suffer abandonment and negligence as well as looting and illegal trafficking. The book is written by a team of international experts based upon their practical experience and expertise. It therefore creates a unique book that encapsulates the knowledge of this discipline required by anyone working in this field.

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This book surveys decision-making inthe energy field, especially electricity in the UK and Western Europe, andprovides a critique of the various claims that are made for different ways ofapproaching the critical need for vast amounts of new investment. It explores reasons for the paralysis indecision-making, which is contrasted with past periods of rapid change,including the growth of electricity and renewables in the late 19th century,the development of centralised grids in the 1920s and 1930s and the rapiddeployment of nuclear power in the 1970s and 1980s. It briefly reviews the history of each major fuel then considers thereasons for the decision sclerosis and suggests possible ways out of it. Itreviews the difficulties of investing in long-term electricity generatingcapacity in competitive marketplaces; the problems caused by a lack ofunderstanding of basic physics among elected representatives coupled with adegree of short-term political opportunism; the fundamentally dishonestapproach of the Big Green industry; a naive approach to communication on the partof the energy industry itself and a lax approach to scientific rigour amongthose advocating action against climate change which has bred disillusionmentand suspicion. Comparisons with recent experience in Germany and Japan areoffered to illustrate the issues.

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Fully automated interpretation and understanding of remotely sensed data by a computer has been a challenge for many decades, and many approaches have been developed over the years. Significant advances in knowledge-based image understanding, machine learning and artificial intelligence has led to this topic being the focus of much research in recent years. This book highlights the different theoretical and application-oriented aspects and potential solutions to the topic of automated remote sensing data analysis. Thereby, both classical knowledge-based as well as modern machine learning-oriented concepts are described. A field such as this is specialized and dynamic and also interdisciplinary and multilayered. Written by an international team of experts, the book has therefore been split into parts dealing with the concepts and applications, and the focus is on elucidating the complementarity of different lines of research rather than providing the complete set of scientific approaches.Part A of this book gives insight into the basic theories and concepts of feature extraction, image understanding and the respective assessment strategies as well as into geometric, radiometric and sensor-related fundamentals of remote sensing technology. Part B focuses on various scientific and practical applications of remote sensing data analysis. These range from the automatic detailed reconstruction of complex 3D environments to visual tracking of objects in image sequences as well as monitoring natural and anthropogenic long-term processes on a regional scale. Part C sketches recent trends in automatic analysis of remote sensing data.

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This book contributes to the transformative and revolutionary use of small, unmanned vehicle systems for three-dimensional geospatial data acquisition and mapping, which is considered to be a paradigm shift in the science and technology of geomatics. The book presents a systematic and comprehensive approach for the use of small mobile unmanned systems for robotic geomatics research and applications. Emphasis is placed on aerial unmanned mapping systems as aerial data collection provides better perspective and coverage of an area, and offers the ability for targeted coverage.

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In November 1943, four years into World War II, Corporal Sid Wade, a conscripted and reluctant soldier in the British Army, was uprooted from a cold English winter and transported to the tropical coast of West Africa. Sid Wade was the author's father and, nearly 70 years after his two-year stint in Sierra Leone, he discovered the scrapbooks and diaries he had compiled during his time there. These were filled and overflowing with letters to and from home, his army paybook, post cards, snapshots, drawings, paintings, newspaper clippings, maps, government pamphlets, amateur dramatics and music concert programmes, poetry written by army buddies and newsletters written by the soldiers. These scrapbooks and diaries told more than his father had ever spoken about - they told a story that had little to do with the big picture of the war, but rather the smaller picture of day-to-day life for young soldiers suddenly transplanted into an alien and often frightening environment. Battling a harsh climate and tropical diseases as they trained members of the Royal West African Frontier Force, the soldiers found time to write and produce newsletters, paint and draw pictures, write poetry, put on music concerts and even organise amateur dramatics productions, all in a region that was something of a forgotten front, and known to all as 'The White Man's Grave'. Thanks to these scrapbooks and the associated ephemera, plus the author's own research, at least some part of Corporal Wade's African experiences, and that of his fellow soldiers, has been uncovered, shedding light on a less well-known aspect of WWII.

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Neil M. Gunn (1891 - 1973) has been widely recognized as the most important novelist of the twentieth-century Scottish Literary Renaissance. Most of his novels are still in print and they continue to find in each generation an enthusiastic popular and academic readership. His novels have been adopted for cinema, television and radio and they have had an important influence on contemporary Scottish writers such as James Robertson. What is perhaps less well known is Gunn's role in the development of contemporary Scottish nationalism as both activist and thinker. Not that he would have agreed to such a division as he believed in a seamless commitment to the goal of a fairer and more equitable Scotland through the delivery of election leaflets and the setting out of the intellectual case for independence. Gunn was instrumental in the foundation of the contemporary SNP, through the bringing together of disparate groups in favour of independence, and continued to play a part in its development and in the development of the Highlands and Islands throughout his life.This collection of essays on Gunn's involvement in politics and his ideas about nation and nationalism represents a guide to both for the reader of his novels and those interested in contemporary political developments in Scotland. Alistair McCleery draws parallels between the situation in 1931, using Gunn's account of it in his diary, and the present day. Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, examines Gunn's debt to Ireland, the role of the writer in nationalism, and the need for Scottish literature within the Scottish curriculum. Ewen Cameron, now Professor of History at Edinburgh University, considers the gaps in his own school education in the Highlands and how he was led to fill them through an enthusiastic teacher leading him to Gunn's novels and thereby to the history and culture of his own locality. Dairmid Gunn draws on his intimate knowledge of his uncle to provide an account of his home in Inverness as a centre for lively company and stimulating discussion of art and politics. This picture is reinforced in the late Neil MacCormick's memoir of Gunn and the influence he had on John MacCormick, his father.The collection also contains two of Gunn's essays on writing and politics as well as a complete bibliography of his political writings by Christopher Stokoe.The collection as a whole is timely in its contribution to understanding of Scottish nationalism just under a year before the Scottish people come to decide, as Gunn hoped they would have the opportunity to, on Scotland's future as an independent state or not.

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