To Arthur Fraser, a young Englishman, Sardinia in 1960 is perfect. It's an island filled with Roman ruins, exotic scenery, local customs, and morally traditional values-he loves everything. To assimilate into the strange and belong to a society different from his own has always been his desire. Arthur arrives in the resort town of Alghero to work as a representative for a tourist company. His ambition is to find a Sard girl for himself. He is quickly thwarted, though, by the orthodox beliefs of the inhabitants. Unmarried couples cannot meet without chaperones, and anyone with "continental" attitudes is immoral. Arthur quickly learns that dating is fraught with real dangers. When Arthur finally falls in love with Anna, a Sard girl, he discovers that she lives in Rome and is no longer accepted at home. But she then falls in love with one of his best friends, and Arthur becomes irrationally obsessed. He incessantly schemes about winning back her affections, despite her efforts to dissuade him. In Sardinian Silver, author Wright masterfully evokes a mysterious society, its flamboyant people, and the Island's beauty. Like Arthur, you'll never want to leave Sardinia, with its wide sands, low hills, sun, and blue sea and its superficial pleasantness of life.
When John Keats and Benjamin Robert Haydon were introduced in late 1816, the two men could hardly have been more different. Keats was a virtually unknown young apothecary who had a passion for poetry and a growing belief in his own abilities. Haydon was several years older and one of the most famous painters in London, a man who was certain that he was destined to create a new Renaissance in English art. Today, Haydon is almost forgotten but Keats is among the greatest poets in the English language. How did this incredible reversal of fortune come about? Colin Silver's book attempts to answer this question, and along the way we meet many of the characters who were central to the story of Haydon and Keats' relationship. Haydon was already famous when he met Keats but he had suffered some terrible trials and tribulations. He was lonely and seeking a "kindred spirit," someone who had a "high calling" (ostensibly a desire to achieve perfection in art, but also a desperate need for fame). Keats was that kindred spirit and Haydon took it upon himself to be his guide and mentor, to ensure that Keats' education as a poet paralleled Haydon's as an artist. William Hazlitt was a close friend of Haydon's who became a central figure in Keats' story. Hazlitt, the man whom the lawyer and diarist Henry Crabb Robinson described as "the cleverest man I know," was a published writer who had an ambition to be a painter, and as such he loved to spend time painting at his cottage in Winterslow near Salisbury. Realising he could never make a living as an artist, he decided to give up painting and return to London where he gave a series of lectures on the English Poets. When Keats attended Hazlitt's lectures at the Surrey Institution, he learned enough to ensure that his education was almost complete. The final part of Colin Silver's book brings all of these threads together and shows how Keats used Hazlitt's lectures and Haydon's theories to write some of his most beautiful poetry, and in particular what is perhaps his best known poem, the Ode on a Grecian Urn. This poem is famous for its enigmatic final statement: 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty' - that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Deep in a real estate fiasco nightmare and plagued with obstacles, Colin and Pam Rath managed to crawl to safety. It started with obtaining the right from the city to renovate a single-room occupancy rent-controlled "transient hotel" brownstone building and only got worse. From financial problems of a construction project gone haywire, to contractor woes, accidents on the construction site, the disaster of a fraudulently installed foundation, falsified reports, a corrupt and antiquated Department of Buildings, political interference, and numerous lawsuits, their real estate project and personal residence was foreclosed, leaving them in debt. They continued to hang on to their dreams of Manhattan real estate development and of a global sailing adventure with their children. In a surprising legal development in 2014, their foreclosure was dropped and their multi-million-dollar condo became theirs again.
The Forging of the Cosmic Race" challenges the widely held notion that Mexico's colonial period is the source of many of that country's ills. The authors contend that New Spain was neither feudal nor pre-capitalists as some Neo-Marxist authors have argued. Instead they advance two central themes: that only in New Spain did a true mestizo society emerge, integrating Indians, Europeans, Africans, and Asians into a unique cultural mix; and that colonial Mexico forged a complex, balanced, and integrated economy that transformed the area into the most important and dynamic part of the Spanish empire. The revisionist view is based on a careful examination of all the recent research done on colonial Mexican history. The study begins with a discussion of the area's rich pre-Columbian heritage. It traces the merging of two great cultural traditions—the Meso-american and the European—which occurred as a consequence of the Spanish conquest. The authors analyze the evolution of a new mestizo society through an examination of the colony's institutions, economy, and social organization. The role of women and of the family receive particular attention because they were critical to the development of colonial Mexico. The work concludes with an analysis of the 18th century reforms and the process of independence which ended the history of the most successful colony in the Western hemisphere. The role of silver mining emerges as a major factor of Mexico's great socio-economic achievement. The rich silver mines served as an engine of economic growth that stimulated agricultural expansion, pastoral activities, commerce, and manufacturing. The destruction of the silver mines during the wars of Independence was perhaps the most important factor in Mexico's prolonged 19th century economic decline. Without the great wealth from silver mining, economic recovery proved extremely difficult in the post-independence period. These reverses at the end of the colonial epoch are important in understanding why Mexicans came to view the era as a "burden" to be overcome rather than as a formative period upon which to build a new nation.
Colin Barnes traces the life of his father, Ronald Barnes, from his modest beginnings on a property about three miles west of a little town in New South Wales called Peak Hill, to a lovely coastal spot called Kings Point near Ulladulla, New South Wales. He also shares memories from his mother, Margaret Barnes. The book—filled with an assortment of family photos—is sad, happy, curious, and funny with a little adventure thrown in. As you read, you’ll learn what it was like growing up in the Australian outback from the 1930s to the 1960s. Eventually, the author’s parents left the bush and moved to the city. After a lifetime of hard work, they finally were able to enjoy a comfortable retirement. This family history will leave you reflecting on how a positive attitude, perseverance, and an attitude of gratitude can lead to living the life you always wanted.
Diversify your investments with today's fastest growing financial product Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer access to a range of investments in a single trade, are usually less volatile than individual stocks, cheaper than most managed funds and more tax-effective. But how do you pick the one that's right for you? This straightforward book helps you weigh up your options, build an effective portfolio and maximise your profits. Get to know the major players in Australia and New Zealand — find a broker, open an account and familiarise yourself with suppliers and indices Understand risk control and diversification — learn the importance of a diversified, lowly correlated portfolio, and how ETFs can help you achieve this Invest smartly in commodities and precious metals — tap into the returns offered by the Australian mining boom Manage small-cap, large-cap, sector and international investments — take advantage of returns in local markets and invest directly in US-listed ETFs Add bonds, REITs and other ETFs — secure consistent yields and add property to your investment portfolio Work non-ETFs into your investment mix — improve returns through careful selection of active managed funds Fund your retirement years — determine how much you need for retirement, and how ETFs can get you there Open the book and find: Advice on choosing ETFs over options, CFDs and warrants Sample portfolios Tips on revamping your portfolio based on life changes How to avoid mistakes that even experienced investors make Forecasts for the future of ETFs in Australia and New Zealand A complete listing of Australian and New Zealand ETFs Great online resources to help you invest in ETFs Learn to: Diversify your investment portfolio Lower your investment costs and reduce your tax liabilities Take advantage of Australia's mining boom by investing in commodities Invest in international markets
Providing an exceptional overview and analysis of the global economy, from the origins of Homo sapiens to the present day, Colin White explores our past to help understand our economic future. He veers away from traditional Eurocentric approaches, providing a truly global scope for readers. The main themes include the creative innovativeness of humans and how this generates economic progression, the common economic pathway trodden by all societies, and the complementary relationship between government and the market.
This book provides a comprehensive introduction to integrated optical waveguides for information technology and data communications. Integrated coverage ranges from advanced materials, fabrication, and characterization techniques to guidelines for design and simulation. A concluding chapter offers perspectives on likely future trends and challenges. The dramatic scaling down of feature sizes has driven exponential improvements in semiconductor productivity and performance in the past several decades. However, with the potential of gigascale integration, size reduction is approaching a physical limitation due to the negative impact on resistance and inductance of metal interconnects with current copper-trace based technology. Integrated optics provides a potentially lower-cost, higher performance alternative to electronics in optical communication systems. Optical interconnects, in which light can be generated, guided, modulated, amplified, and detected, can provide greater bandwidth, lower power consumption, decreased interconnect delays, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and reduced crosstalk when integrated into standard electronic circuits. Integrated waveguide optics represents a truly multidisciplinary field of science and engineering, with continued growth requiring new developments in modeling, further advances in materials science, and innovations in integration platforms. In addition, the processing and fabrication of these new devices must be optimized in conjunction with the development of accurate and precise characterization and testing methods. Students and professionals in materials science and engineering will find Advanced Materials for Integrated Optical Waveguides to be an invaluable reference for meeting these research and development goals.
Mackenzie's Ten Thousand Receipts, published in 1865, aimed to provide the reader with all practical household recipes. As he notes,""In truth, the present volume has been compiled under the feeling, that if all other books of Science in the world were destroyed, this single volume would be found to embody the results of the useful experience, observations, and discoveries of mankind during the past ages of the world.
Selling the Family Silver is, moreover, the controversial 'warts and all' story of Britain's privatization programme, past and future. The chairmen, the cheats, the fanfares and the flops - from all sides of the political, social and economic coin, the author examines the contentious demise of nationalization and the real effectiveness of the private giants that have replaced it, finally posing the fundamental question: Has privatization worked?
Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is widely used particularly for pharmaceutical and food analysis. While there are a number of books on the qualitative identification of chemical substances by TLC, the unique focus here is on quantitative analysis. The authors describe all steps of the analytical procedure, beginning with the basics and equipment for quantitative TLC followed by sample pretreatment and sample application, development and staining, scanning, and finally statistical and chemometric data evaluation and validation. An important feature is the coverage of effect-directed biological detection methods. Chapters are organized in a modular fashion facilitating the easy location of information about individual procedural steps.
The Jewel That Was Ours is the ninth novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series. He looked overweight around the midriff, though nowhere else, and she wondered whether perhaps he drank too much. He looked weary, as if he had been up most of the night conducting his investigations . . . For Oxford, the arrival of twenty-seven American tourists is nothing out of the ordinary . . . until one of their number is found dead in Room 310 at the Randolph Hotel. It looks like a sudden – and tragic – accident. Only Chief Inspector Morse appears not to overlook the simultaneous theft of a jewel-encrusted antique from the victim's handbag . . . Then, two days later, a naked and battered corpse is dragged from the River Cherwell. A coincidence? Maybe. But this time Morse is determined to prove the link . . . The Jewel That Was Ours is followed by the tenth Inspector Morse book, The Way Through the Woods.
Over the past twenty years there has been a significant increase in underwater activities such as scuba diving which, coupled with the adventure andromance always associated with shipwrecks, has led to rapid developments in the discovery and excavation of shipwrecked material. These shipwrecks are invaluable archaeological 'time capsules', which in themajoriety of cases have come to an equilibrium with their environment. As soon as artefacts on the wreck site are moved, this equilibrium is disturbed, and the artefacts may commence to deteriorate, sometimes in a rapid and devastating fashion. In fact excavation without having conservation facilities available is vandalism--the artefacts are much safer being left on the sea bed. Such famous shipwrecks as the Mary Rose (1545), the Wasa (1628) and the Batabia (1629) have not only brought the world's attention to these unique finds, but have also produced tremendous conservation problems. The treatment of a 30 metre waterlogged wooden hull or large cast iron cannon is still causing headaches to conservators.
More coin hoards have been recorded from Roman Britain than from any other province of the Empire. This comprehensive and lavishly illustrated volume provides a survey of over 3260 hoards of Iron Age and Roman coins found in England and Wales with a detailed analysis and discussion. Theories of hoarding and deposition and examined, national and regional patterns in the landscape settings of coin hoards presented, together with an analysis of those hoards whose findspots were surveyed and of those hoards found in archaeological excavations. It also includes an unprecedented examination of the containers in which coin hoards were buried and the objects found with them. The patterns of hoarding in Britain from the late 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD are discussed. The volume also provides a survey of Britain in the 3rd century AD, as a peak of over 700 hoards are known from the period from AD 253296. This has been a particular focus of the project which has been a collaborative research venture between the University of Leicester and the British Museum funded by the AHRC. The aim has been to understand the reasons behind the burial and non-recovery of these finds. A comprehensive online database (https://finds.org.uk/database) underpins the project, which also undertook a comprehensive GIS analysis of all the hoards and field surveys of a sample of them.
Popular television programmes highlight the satisfaction that can be gained from investigating the history of houses, and there is always plenty of interest in the subject, with archives becoming ever more accessible with access to the internet. As the subject covers a broad field, the authors have set out to include advice on those aspects that usually apply to a project and others that will be of particular use for beginners. The reader is guided through every stage of research, from the first exploration of the archives to the completion of the task. Suggestions are also included on how to present the findings – a house history makes a very attractive gift. The authors describe how to deduce the age of a property (it is very seldom directly recorded when a house was built) and characteristics of research on particular types of property – such as cottages, manor houses, inns, mills, former church properties, and farms – are discussed. In one example, research demonstrated that a farm was likely to have been a Domesday manor – a fascinating discovery achieved using records accessible to any beginner.
You do not leave school one day and win an Olympic gold medal the next. This book is about 50 sporting champions and how they got started. It contains a biography of each followed by their career records. It shows in detail their achievements from school, youth, under 20, under 30, to seminar level, from county, area, national and international honours. It is a multi-sport book that should appeal to multi-sport lovers.
In twenty-five years, Greeves produced around 25,000-30,000 machines - a number considered relatively modest when compared with some of their contemporaries, such as Triumph. However, Greeves was not small in ambition, or indeed achievement, which is resoundingly illustrated in this new book. From a tentative start in the early 1950s, Greeves expanded through the 1960s, producing scrambler, trials, road racing and road bikes. Founders Bert Greeves and Derry Preston Cobb produced machines from their factory at Thundersley in Essex, establishing a world-wide reputation in motorcycle sport, particularly off-road competition. Greeves - The Complete Story gives a detailed history from the early 1950s to the 1970s. With production histories and specification details for all the main models, and hundreds of photographs throughout, it is the ideal resource for anyone with an interest in these classic sporting motorcycles. The book covers: Bert Greeves, Derry Preston Cobb and the formative years - from invalid carriages to motorcycle production in 1953; model-by-model specification guides for the main roadsters, scramblers, trials bikes and road racing bikes; world-wide motorcycle sport success, including European Championship wins for Greeves scramblers in 1960 and 1961; the final years - 1972-1979; and advice on owning and restoring a Greeves model today. Superbly illustrated with 299 colour and black & white photographs.
The landscape of the north-east of Scotland ranges from wild mountains to undulating farmlands; from cosy, quaint fishing coves to long, sandy bays. This landscape witnessed the death of MacBeth, the final stand of the Comyns earls of Buchan against Robert the Bruce and the last victory, in Britain, of a catholic army at Glenlivet. But behind these momentous battles lie the quieter histories of ordinary folk farming the land - and supping their local malts. Colin Shepherd paints a picture of rural life within the landscapes of the north-east between the 13th and 18th centuries by using documentary, cartographic and archaeological evidence. He shows how the landscape was ordered by topographic and environmental constraints that resulted in great variation across the region and considers the evidence for the way late medieval lifestyles developed and blended sustainably within their environments to create a patchwork of cultural and agricultural diversity. However, these socio-economic developments subsequently led to a breakdown of this structure, resulting in what Adam Smith, in the 18th century, described as 'oppression'. The 12th-century Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation and the Industrial Revolution are used here to define a framework for considering the cultural changes that affected this region of Scotland. These include the dispossession of rights to land ownership that continue to haunt policy makers in the Scottish government today. While the story also shows how a regional cultural divergence, recognized here, can undermine 'big theories' of socio-political change when viewed across the wider stage of Europe and the Americas.
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