Search results for ""Author Joel Greenberg""
The University of Chicago Press Of Prairie, Woods, and Water: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing
In the literary imagination, Chicago evokes images of industry and unbridled urban growth. But the tallgrass prairie and deep forests that once made up Chicago's landscape also inspired musings from residents and visitors alike. In "Of Prairie, Woods, and Water", naturalist Joel Greenberg gathers these unique voices from the land to present an unexpected portrait of Chicago in this often charming, sometimes heart-wrenching anthology of nature writing.These writings tell the tale of a land in transition - one with abundant, unique, and incredibly lush flora and fauna, a natural history quite elusive today. Drawing on archives he uncovered while writing his acclaimed "A Natural History of the Chicago Region", Greenberg hand-selected these first-person narratives, all written between 1721 and 1959. Not every author is familiar, but every contribution is distinctive. From a pioneer's hilarious notes on life in the Kankakee marsh to Theodore Dreiser's poignant plea for conservation of the Tippecanoe River to infamous murderer Nathan Leopold's charming description of a pet robin he kept in prison, the sources included are as diverse as the nature they describe.The excerpts conclude with insightful biographical essays and traverse a wide area of greater Chicagoland, from the Illinois River to southwest Michigan, from southern Wisconsin to the Limberlost swamp of northeastern Indiana. A fascinating record of Chicago's changing environmental history, "Of Prairie, Woods, and Water" captures the natural world in a way that will inspire its continued conservation.
£22.25
The University of Chicago Press A Natural History of the Chicago Region
Interweaving historical anecdotes and modern-day scientific data, a definitive study of the natural history of Chicago describes the various forces that shaped the region's environment, from Ice Age glaciation to the human settlement of the Midwest, and discusses the various habitats of the region, environmental destruction, conservation efforts, a
£31.49
Greenhill Books The Bletchley Park Codebreakers in Their Own Words
A fascinating anthology which sheds new light on the Bletchley Park story and shows that there is still more to tell.' - Tony Comer OBE, formerly Departmental Historian at GCHQ This important volume tells the story of Bletchley Park through countless letters written by key players to former colleagues and loved ones as the war unfolded. Having intercepted millions of German communications, the codebreakers had felt bound by the Official Secrets Act and said little about their wartime activities. Some who had stayed on at GCHQ after the war, were concerned that speaking out could jeopardise their pensions.Over one hundred letters have been included in this volume and have either been recovered from family members or declassified by GCHQ. They reveal fresh information about the clandestine operation and disclose the true feelings of the participants at Bletchley.Park. In contrast to early accounts, which lacked detail and were occasionally inaccurate, this book thoroughly lays bare the day-to-day experiences at Bletchley Park and uncovers the operational and technical reasons behind the organisation's successes and failures. Simultaneously intimate and comprehensive, it will interest historians, World War II researchers, and anyone who wants to learn the secrets of Britain's signal intelligence effort.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Alastair Denniston: Code-breaking From Room 40 to Berkeley Street and the Birth of GCHQ
Some of the individuals who played key roles in the success of Bletchley Park in reading the secret communications of Britain's enemies during the Second World War have become well-known figures. However, the man who created and led the organisation based there, from its inception in 1919 until 1942, has, surprisingly, been overlooked - until now. In 1914 Alastair Denniston, who had been teaching French and German at Osborne Royal Navy College, was one of the first recruits into the Admiralty's fledgling codebreaking section which became known as Room 40. There a team drawn from a wide range of professions successfully decrypted intercepted German communications throughout the First World War. After the Armistice, Room 40 was merged with the British Army's equivalent section - MI.1 - to form the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). Initially based in London, from August 1939 GC&CS was largely located at Bletchley Park, with Alastair Denniston as its Operational Director. Denniston was moved in 1942 from military to civilian intelligence at Berkeley Street, London. Small at first, as Enigma traffic diminished towards the end of the Second World War, diplomatic and commercial codebreaking became of increasing importance and a vital part of Britain's signal intelligence effort. GC&CS was renamed the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in June 1946, and moved to the outskirts of Cheltenham. It continues to be the UK's signal intelligence gathering organisation. With the support and assistance of the both the Denniston family and GCHQ, Joel Greenberg, author of Gordon Welchman, Bletchley Park's Architect of Ultra Intelligence, has produced this absorbing story of Commander Alexander Alastair' Guthrie Denniston OBE, CBE, CMG, RNVR, a man whose death in 1961 was ignored by major newspapers and the very British intelligence organisation that was his legacy. [Denniston was a] great man in whose debt all English-speaking people will remain for a very long time, if not for ever. That so few of them should know exactly what he did towards achievement of victory in World War I and II is the sad part of the untold story of his life and of his great contribution to that victory.' -William Friedman, The doyen of American cryptography One of the reasons for the success of Bletchley Park, and something that I and Alastair Denniston's other successors have striven to maintain in GCHQ, is the organisation's ability to make space to allow individuals to flourish, both in isolation, and within teams. He had already worked out that the forthcoming war and the profusion of mechanical encryption devices needed a new sort of cryptanalyst to complement the existing staff.' -Sir Ian Lobban, Director of GCHQ 2008 to 2014
£21.81
Cornell University Press A Birder's Guide to the Chicago Region
Identifying more than 250 top sites for birding within a 65-mile radius from downtown Chicago, this useful guide provides maps, directions, and other information essential for discovering the birds of the area in their natural habitats. The most thorough guide of its kind, it covers nineteen counties of the greater Chicago area. A Birder's Guide to the Chicago Region includes detailed descriptions of local habitats and maps that show where to find birds in nearby Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan, as well as Illinois. While providing a wealth of practical information, the guide is enriched with insightful accounts of the natural history and ecology of particular areas. An essential guide for either beginning or experienced birders, this book will appeal to anyone who appreciates nature and wants to learn more about the natural history, ecology, and especially the birds of the Chicago area.
£25.19
