Fifteen interviews in which David Langford -- winner of 29 Hugo Awards -- questions other science fiction and fantasy notables: Stephen Baxter, Kristen Britain, John Clute and John Grant, John Clute solo, George Hay, Tom Holt, Terry Pratchett with Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart, Terry Pratchett solo (twice), Christopher Priest, Alastair Reynolds, John Sladek, Bob Shaw, Kevin Smith, and Ian Watson. CROSSTALK collects all these conversations for the first time in book form.
A collection of Langford parodies and pastiches incorporating the whole of The Dragonhiker's Guide to Battlefield Covenant at Dune's Edge: Odyssey Two (1988, long out of print) plus some 40,000 words of additional material.
The publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, is probably the most eagerly anticipated event in the history of publishing. Even the smallest hints from author J. K. Rowling about what may happen to Harry and his friends have been major news stories. In The End of Harry Potter?, David Langford—Potter fan and award-winning writer—delves into the many mysteries which remain unsolved. Is Albus Dumbledore really dead? Whose side is Severus Snape really on? What are the remaining horcruxes, where He Who Shall Not Be Named has stashed his soul? Does Harry bear a part of the Dark Lord's soul in his scar, and is this why he understands Parseltongue? J. K. Rowling is the only person who knows the answers to these questions. But in this highly entertaining book, Langford uses his deep knowledge of the six published Harry Potter novels to explore these and other mysteries, and to present a selection of possible outcomes. Only the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will lay these questions to rest, but in the meantime, fans of the series will find David Langford's book entertaining and thought-provoking, and a perfect way to refresh their memory of the first six books in readiness for the last. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
About the Book Shipwrecked in Plain Sight: Life of a Choir Boy is part courtroom drama, part autobiography, part spiritual awakening. What does it mean to be shipwrecked? According to David Langford, a shipwreck is an experience of tribulation, a storm at sea, a catastrophe in life that alters one’s goals and plans for the future. Anyone who has gone through a period of uncertainty and tumult will recognize a part of themselves in Langford’s struggle and see the wisdom in his words. About the Author David Langford is an author and former choir boy who has lived a fascinating life full of ups and downs. Through it all his faith in God has sustained him. He has learned through experience that in life God always gives an answer, though it is not always the answer we want or expect.
A major fiction collection from multiple Hugo Award winner David Langford, Different Kinds of Darkness complements his parody assortment He Do the Time Police in Different Voices. Besides the acclaimed, Hugo-winning title piece and its influential prequels, the 36 stories include the British SF Association Award winner "Cube Root," and eight "Year's Best" and "Best Of" anthology choices. SF, fantasy, horror, and unclassifiable Langford weirdness ranging from 1975 to 2003.
A follow-up to the highly successful Discworld Unseen University Quizbook, The Wyrdest Link will present itself as qualifying tests for various levels of mastery in Ankh-Morpork City's Guilds and other organisations - from the dignified Thieves' Guild to illicit outfits like the feared Breccia (the trolls' Mafia) or the wholly reprehensive Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night (see Guards! Guards!). As before, the straight Discworld general knowledge inquisition - presented with offbeat twists and linking themes - will be varied with trick questions, outrageous bogglers, and the occasional near-impossible poser to suit all levels of Discworld fans.
First came THE UNSEEN UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE, the Discworld Quizbook that left a trail of exploded minds from London to Ankh-Morpork. now THE WYRDEST LINK takes trivia to strange new heights, with hundreds more Discworld posers, questions iin the merciless tradition of the Star Chamber, the Spanish Inquisition and Anne Robinson . . . So is it a good thing or a bad thing to be THE WYRDEST LINK?
Starcombing contains eighty-five newly collected pieces of David Langford's witty commentary on the SF/fantasy scene - columns, articles, reviews, essays, even a few short-short stories from the famous 'Futures' page in Nature. Compulsive reading, crammed with insights and laughs.
A large selection of of David Langford's finest and funniest (and in a few cases most esoteric) reports on science fiction and fantasy conventions. The 79,000 words of reportage or misreportage cover British and occasionally North American or (once) Australian SF conventions, from Mancon 5 (the infamous 1976 Eastercon in Manchester) to Loncon 3 (the 2014 World SF Convention in London Docklands). There are thirty-two articles in all - chiefly from fanzines but a few professionally published by unwary editors - which between them tackle thirty-five conventions plus a few bonus events such as a very strange launch party held underground in the Chislehurst Caves. By way of bookends to the collection the management has also included a brief introduction and an index of coverage by convention name.
While most construction management books are project based, this book looks at management principles and techniques applied to the day-to-day problems facing a business in the construction industry. It covers: Business strategy Industrial relations Health and safety Managing people Financial management Quantitative methods The text includes end of chapter review questions and a range of illustrative examples. Since the book was first written in 1982 much has changed. The Second Edition has been thoroughly revised and takes account of the increased globalisation of construction, the move from public to private sector work, the drive for productivity, changing procurement methods, new emphasis on life cycle costing and much more. It will provide a valuable text for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in construction management, surveying and civil engineering as well as offering useful insights for practitioners undertaking CPD activities.
University Challenge is one of the world's top quiz shows, enjoyed by millions, both participants and observers. But Discworld fans may feel that not many questions cover the real questions in Life, for example, Who or what could be seen as the inspiration for the near-tragic accident from which nanny Ogg is saved only be a special willow-reinforced hat made for her by Mr Vernissage of Slice? And give a plausible origin for Mrs Rosie Palm, proprietor of the famous House of Negotiable Affection in the Shades. Each Faculty at the Unseen University has provided a set of questions, and answers are included for those who are not sure how the poisonous effects of quicksilver fumes are an occupational hazard of magic-users. The questions have been compiled by Mr David Langford, who knows quite as much - and arguably more - about the Discworld as its Creator, and Terry Pratchett has provided an Introduction.
In 1985, when all the world was young and dot-matrix printers stalked the primeval swamps of computing, David Langford won his Hugo Award and began a long-running column for 8000 Plus magazine (later PCW Plus). This notoriously became the page readers turned to first. The magazine was devoted to the Amstrad PCW, a bestselling home computer that pioneered affordable word processing in Britain. Langford's popular column used this official subject as a launch pad for witty coverage of life, the universe and everything. Freelancing writing and how to survive it; science fiction (especially that); secrets of editors, manuscripts, indexes, submission letters and padding; serious and spoof advice columns; parodies of Adventure games, legal proceedings, noir fiction and more; causes, scams and literary horror stories; timeless satire on shabby practice in the computer industry; awful "Thog's Masterclass" lines from SF . . . Langford shows all the wit and skill that brought him 28 Hugo Awards.
_The Leaky Establishment_ is an atomic farce whose author David Langford once worked in the gentle radioactive glow of Britain's nuclear weapons industry, and hilariously satirizes its ghastly bureaucracy from the inside. Black comedy overtakes the unfortunate defence-scientist hero Roy Tappen when a "harmless" theft of office furniture lands him with his very own doomsday nuclear stockpile at home. Chain reactions of insanely comic escapades follow, with disaster piled on disaster, leading the increasingly desperate Tappen to the borders of science fiction as he seeks a way out of the mess.
This new collection of essays, commissioned from a range of scholars across the world, takes as its theme the reception of Rome's greatest poet in a time of profound cultural change. Amid the rise of Christianity, the changing status of the city of Rome, and the emergence of new governing classes, Vergil remained a bedrock of Roman education and identity. This volume considers the different ways in which Vergil was read, understood and appropriated; by poets, commentators, Church fathers, orators and historians. The introduction outlines the cultural and historical contexts. Twelve chapters dedicated to individual writers or genres, and the contributors make use of a wide range of approaches from contemporary reception theory. An epilogue concludes the volume.
The book offers a step-by-step approach to the task of describing what is systematic in conversational behaviour. The book is organised as a series of practical exercises, teaching skills such as transcribing verbal interaction and identifying and describing 'special events'. An investigation is made into how participants show awareness of patterns of speech structure (eg taking turns and interrupting).
At last, _Up Through an Empty House of Stars_ brings together the best of the never before collected SF reviews and articles that helped build David Langford's towering reputation since 1980. Complementing the review columns collected in _The Complete Critical Assembly_ and the knockabout essays and squibs in _The Silence of the Langford_, this volume's 100 glittering selections mix serious critical insight with the inimitable Langford wit. In 2002 David Langford won his sixteenth Hugo award as Best Fan Writer, for critical and humorous commentary on SF. In the same year his occasionally scandalous SF newsletter _Ansible_ won its fifth Hugo. Langford also received the 2001 Hugo for best short story, and the 2002 Skylark Award. Here he shines a unique light on classics like Ernest Bramah, G.K. Chesterton, Robert Heinlein and Jack Vance, and analyses major SF -- and major clunkers, and minor eccentrics -- of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, continuing to the latest by such current stars as Gene Wolfe and China Mi, ville. Plus witty asides on crime fiction and its SF links, gleeful examination of writing so bad it's almost good, and (even at his most serious) turns of phrase to make you laugh aloud
This book reviews the general theory of strategy, relates it to the particular circumstances of the construction industry, and shows how it can be applied in practice. It brings together ideas from economics, marketing, management, business and politics to develop strategic management for both contractors' firms and the associated professions. Substantial changes have occurred in the industry since the book was first published in 1991. This Second Edition reflects the major developments that have followed the Latham and Egan reports, and includes new chapters on international strategy and marketing, showing how they can contribute to the strategic planning of construction organizations. The book will provide a valuable tool for the strategic development of construction firms. "Ten years separate the editions during which period a significant number of British, (and other), construction firms which had survived generations of proprietors merged, changed beyond recognition or ceased trading. One can not but wonder if publication of a work on strategic planning some twenty year earlier might have saved some of them." Construction Manager "The book presents the essential elements for managing at this higher level and should be a must for any construction professional who aspires to an executive position in industry as well as any student for construction management, project management and organizational management in construction. It comes highly recommended" Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
Deaf and hard of hearing authors from around the world bring you this fun-sometimes disturbing-collection of short fiction that explore haunted Civil War battlefields, severed ears, lab-grown dinosaurs, forest creatures that steal away children, and deadly bio-engineered fleas.
THE MOTHERSHIP OF DISASTERS HAS ARRIVED! As the Earth tilts on its axis, precipitating a new Ice Age, hordes of rabid lemmings race towards Europe. Meanwhile a time-travelling Hitler emerges in sleepy Devonshire and proceeds to clone himself in preparation for the march on London. Will a Fourth Reich rise to strangle the Mother of Parliaments? Or will London be devastated by a nuclear accident on the Bakerloo line? The luckless crew of Spaceship Earth have no time to pose such questions as an epidemic of demonic possession and prophetic visions erupts in the USA and an approaching envoy from a distant galaxy broadcasts the following message: YOU EARTHLING SCUM ARE THE DREGS OF THE UNIVERSE. WE COME TO ANNIHILATE YOU PAINFULLY AND RAPE YOUR PLANET. Can things get any worse? Sure they can. The disasters are just getting started! About Earthdoom!: “. . . two of the funniest writers around in the SF world.” —Vector “After Earthdoom! You won't, of course, be able to read another Disaster Novel without giggling (but don't you, anyway?)” —Paperback Inferno “David Langford and John Grant . . . form a compounded humour which is hard to beat.” —Mid-Devon Advertiser
While fog does not come easily or frequently to Central Texas, when it does, it inspires moments of quiet and reflection. David K. Langford captures those moments here in stirring images of the comings and goings of fog on Hillingdon Ranch, family land that has benefited from the stewardship of six generations. These photographs in turn inspired an essay by writer Rick Bass that takes him back to his own memories of fog—in the Texas Hill Country and elsewhere. Fog at Hillingdon includes a personal note by Langford on his techniques and camera equipment. Apt historic or contemporary quotations selected by Myrna Langford accompany many of the photographs and reflect the moods and sentiments fog often evokes. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.
In 1885, San Antonio architect Alfred Giles began buying the land that would become Hillingdon Ranch, eventually accumulating 13,000 acres near the town of Comfort in Kendall County. As the property passed to succeeding generations, the holdings got smaller, and more family members shared a stake in the ranch. Today, dozens of Giles descendants own pieces of it, ranging in size from ten to several hundred acres. Yet Hillingdon remains a working ranch, with day-to-day operations managed by Robin Giles, grandson of Alfred Giles; his wife, Carol; their son, Grant; and Grant’s wife, Misty. The cattle, sheep, and goat business they built has become a model of stewardship and sustainability. While managing family relationships can often be as complicated as managing livestock and forage, the ranch would not exist without the commitment of the large extended family, now in its sixth generation on the ranch. Hillingdon Ranch: Four Seasons, Six Generations chronicles how one family has worked together over many years to keep their ranch intact. It is also a beautifully photographed portrait of a ranching family and their life in the Texas Hill Country, where work is guided by the seasons, increasingly influenced by technology, and inevitably affected by drought. In learning about the family’s successes and challenges, readers will gain a greater appreciation of what the Giles family’s efforts mean to the rest of us: food, fiber, clean air, wildlife, healthy land, peace and quiet, and, perhaps most important of all, clean and plentiful water.
Human Resources Management in Construction fills an important gap in current management literature by applying general principles of human resources management specifically to the construction industry. It discusses and explores findings from research to supplement the theoretical and practical procedures used. It explores issues such as the technology used and the pattern of social and political relationships within which people are managed.
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