When was the last time you tried something truly new? The modern world is full of possibilities, adventures and excitement but also routines. The daily grind can make us forget about the former as we embrace the monotony of the latter. It can be hard to extract ourselves from the comforting embrace of our favourite TV programme, food or jumper. For one man, the boredom of this very modern life became too much to bear. And so he challenged himself to do something about it. Starting small, his project soon grew into one life-changing year. 52 New Things is the story of one man who decided to put down the Monster Munch, switch off the TV and do something different. He travelled, he danced, he flew, he drove across continents, but most significantly, he started saying yes to the hilarious and bewildering experiences that life has to offer. And he has the Christmas single, the tattoo and lack of body hair to prove it. 52 New Things is a book that is hard to define. Travelogue meets unconventional self-help book meets personal journey for ensuing hilarity. Nick J. Thorpe's journey to make his life more interesting has hilarious, surprising and often life-affirming consequences. He explores the dizzy array of opportunities that modern life offers with a guiding hand that is both motivational and hilarious. This is a frank, funny, full frontal account of a year's worth of new experiences. It might just inspire you to try some new things your own.* * Even if you don't want to, Nick's adventures and misadventures will have you laughing out of your seat - which could be a new thing in itself.
8 Men and a Duck charts the hilarious and unnerving Pacific voyage as it rolls between waves of high drama and high farce: from the five-day launch off a Chilean beach, to the bungled phone call that triggered a naval rescue alert, to the sad fate of Pedro the duck, to the constant race against the inexorable sinking of the soggy hull. On a fateful South American bus trip, journalist Nick Thorpe overheard some fellow passengers discussing an improbable plan to sail 2,500 miles from northern Chile to Easter Island on the Viracocha—a boat made of reeds. The crew's aim in reviving this pre-Incan boat-building technology was twofold: to reopen the controversial migration theories of Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed his boat the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, and to have one heck of an adventure in the process. Thorpe talked his way on board Captain Phil Buck's Viracocha only to find himself plagued by uncertainty. Why did the crew include a tree surgeon, a jewelry salesman, and two ducks? What happened to the navigator? Did anybody actually know how to sail? And, most important, where was the life raft? Despite the best efforts of storms and sharks and fast-moving freighters, an alarming lack of sailing qualifications, and a rival explorer dogging the adventure at every turn, the crew members of the Viracocha lived to tell their extraordinary tale right through to its wickedly unexpected conclusion. Nick Thorpe's account is by turns funny, touching, and thrilling—a story of friendship, fate, and the unlikely distances people will go for real adventure.
Many robotics researchers consider high-level vision algorithms (computational) too expensive for use in robot guidance. This book introduces the reader to an alternative approach to perception for autonomous, mobile robots. It explores how to apply methods of high-level computer vision and fuzzy logic to the guidance and control of the mobile robot. The book introduces a knowledge-based approach to vision modeling for robot guidance, where advantage is taken of constraints of the robot's physical structure, the tasks it performs, and the environments it works in. This facilitates high-level computer vision algorithms such as object recognition at a speed that is sufficient for real-time navigation. The texts presents algorithms that exploit these constraints at all levels of vision, from image processing to model construction and matching, as well as shape recovery. These algorithms are demonstrated in the navigation of a wheeled mobile robot.
World-wide maritime trade has been the essential driver of wealth-creation, economic progress and global human contact. Trade and exchange of ideas have been at the heart of economic, social, political, cultural and religious life and maritime international law. These claims are borne out by the history of maritime trade beginning in the Indian Ocean and connecting to Southeast Asia, Japan, the Americas, East Africa, the Middle East especially the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and Europe. This development predates the end of the Ice Age with worldwide flooding and stimulated the establishment of land-based civilizations in the above regions with particular effect on the Greek and Roman empires and even China's 'Celestial' empire. The Indian subcontinent was the original major player in maritime trade, linking oceans and regions. Global maritime trade declined with the fall of Mediterranean empires and the 'dark age' in Europe but revived with Indian Ocean and Asian maritime networks. Shipping and trade studies are hugely practical but can be technical, legalistic and even dull for non-specialists. But this history is a broadly based and exciting account of human interaction at multiple levels, for general readers, specialists and practitioners. It is based on huge reading and rare sources and with an attractive writing style, and full of fascinating sidelights illuminating the historical narrative - and from an author with lifelong experience in international shipping.
This book is a comprehensive resource covering the principles and practice of the conservation and restoration of furniture, and other decorative art objects made wholly or partly of wood. It integrates theory with practice to show the principles which govern interaction between wooden objects, the environmental and conservation treatments and the factors which need to be taken into account to arrive at acceptable solutions to conservation problems. The practical knowledge and experience of a team of conservators active in the field are bought together with theoretical and reference material from diverse sources and unified within a systematic framework. Specialist conservators from related disciplines cover diverse materials often incorporated into furniture.
Featuring a broad range of contemporary British novelists from Iain Banks to Jeanette Winterson, Louis de Bernieres to Irvine Welsh and Salman Rushdie, this book offers an excellent introductory guide to the contemporary literary scene. Each entry includes concise biographical information on each of the key novelists and analysis of their major works and themes. Fully cross-referenced and containing extensive guides to further reading, Fifty Contemporary British Novelists is the ideal guide to modern British fiction for both the student and the contemporary fiction buff alike.
Anti-capitalist political struggle is a site of struggling psychologies. Conscious political action is never far from unconscious desire, and the fight for material justice is always also the fight for dignity and psychological well-being. Yet, how might community psychologists conceive of their discipline in a way that opposes the very capitalist political economy that, historically, most of the psy-disciplines have bolstered in return for disciplinary legitimacy? In its consideration of an anti-capitalist psychology of community, this book does not ignore or try to resolve the contradictory position of such a psychology. Instead, it draws on these contradictions to enliven psychology to the shifting demands - both creative and destructive - of a community-centred anti-capitalism. Using practical examples, the book deals with the psychological components of building community-centred social movements that challenge neoliberal capitalism as a political system, an ideology, and a mode of governing rationality. The book also offers several theoretical contributions that grapple with how an anti-capitalist psychology of community can remain attentive to the psychological elements of anti-capitalist struggle; what the psychological can tell us about anti-capitalist politics; and how these politics can shape the psychological.
Stafford in the Great War tells the fascinating story of a county town and its people between the catastrophic years of 1914–18 .The title was written as a companion volume to the author's earlier work, Stafford at War 1939-45, and adopts the same successful formula. The book examines the work of local men and women on the Home Front, before providing details of the towns contribution in every theatre of the war. Early chapters examine the role of Staffordians who served in the British Expeditionary Force, nicknamed The Contemptible Little Army by Kaiser Wilhelm II, and who took part in the Christmas Truce, 1914. The story of the Stafford Territorials of the Stafford Battery, the Staffordshire Yeomanry and the North and South Staffordshire Regiments is also explained, along with the fate of Kitcheners Volunteer Army.The events surrounding the service of a number of local men are recorded in some detail, along with the exploits of men who fought in all of the armed services and support units. Collectively, their stories help outline the course of the war.Staffordians won 120 gallantry awards during the conflict, and those that are not referred to in the main body of the text may be found in an appendix. Also listed are the names and service details of over 400 men whose names were omitted from the towns war memorial.
A guide to the hidden mysteries and secrets of the world from an established author and expert on conspiracies, the unexplained, and the paranormal! History is written by the winners—and the powerful—but how much of it is fiction? And who is really in control today? From the dawn of civilization to the 21st century, from ancient aliens to the New World Order, Secret History: Conspiracies from Ancient Aliens to the New World Order examines, explores, and uncovers the hidden, overlooked, and buried history of civilization. The book moves from biblical, Egyptian, Mayan, Greek, and early mysteries of antiquity to the clandestine doings of the Nazis and the Masons and assassination plots of the more recent past to the surveillance, monitoring, mind-control, and secret schemes of today. Researcher Nick Redfern investigates the stories, mythologies, lore behind incredible events and clandestine groups of yesterday and today. More than 60 entries dig deep into the manipulation of events by influential groups, including ... Historical riddles—revealing, alien visitations, space gods, human–alien crossbreeding, and more. Government cover ups—exposing, mind control, murders, scientists' research, secret agents' agendas, and more. Powerful groups and intended consequences—illuminating, 9-11, new world order, bird-flu, chemtrails, and more. Tracing the chilling and lasting effects of conspiracies, cabals, and plots, Secret History: Conspiracies from Ancient Aliens to the New World Order exposes their deep reach in shaping today's world! Truly an eye-opening read!
From dealing blackjack in the small-time gangster town of Steubenville, Ohio, to carousing with the famous "Rat Pack" in a Hollywood he called home, Dean Martin lived in a grandstand, guttering life of booze, broads, and big money. He rubbed shoulders with the mob, the Kennedys, and Hollywood's biggest stars. He was one of America's favorite entertainers. But no one really knew him. Now Nick Tosches reveals the man behind the image--the dark side of the American dream. It's a wild, illuminating, sometimes shocking tale of sex, ambition, heartaches--and a life lived hard, fast, and without apologies.
It’s January 1982, and Britain will soon be at war with Argentina. But that’s not why Terry’s life is falling apart. Forty-five and recently redundant from the only job he’s ever had, he and his wife Pat are forced to sell their home and move into a static caravan. The only chink of light is the unlikely success of the White Hart darts team, but Terry’s teammates face problems of their own: Phil suspects his wife is having an affair, while Tom’s is depressed about their inability to conceive. Then Terry’s son reveals some surprising news, and Terry makes a visit to the doctor that leaves him with no choice but to consider what matters most in his life. Slings and Arrows is a funny and moving novel about love, family, friendship – and darts.
True stories and hard-won lessons about a life of hockey, from a Stanley Cup champion and top analyst. As a child growing up in Toronto, Nick Kypreos lived for hockey and dreamed of following in his idols’ footsteps to play in the NHL. Hockey was an important part of the Kypreos household. It was largely through the game that his immigrant Greek parents acclimatized to their new lives in Canada, and from a young age “Kyper” proved he was more than good enough to move through the ranks. But he was never a top prospect—he didn’t even attend the NHL draft when he became eligible. And yet, through dedication and constant improvement, he made it to the show. Kypreos built a career on his tireless work ethic and made a name for himself for always having a positive influence on team morale. A medium-weight fighter, he squared off with the league’s toughest players, including Chris Simon, Joey Kocur, Tony Twist, and Scott Stevens—anything to give his team an edge. Ultimately, he was brought to the New York Rangers to help them win the Stanley Cup in 1994—their first in fifty-four years—with the legendary Mark Messier. And then he got to live his other dream: playing for his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. When a concussion forced him to retire early, it changed his life. But the lessons he’d learned on the ice over eight seasons helped him build a new career as a top hockey analyst and personality for Sportsnet. For twenty seasons he provided unique insight on the evolving game, and a player’s perspective on the biggest discussions of the day. Revealing, fun, and brutally honest, Undrafted shows the challenges of being a pro player. It’s a story of the resilience it takes to prove yourself every night, and how the right attitude can lead to the greatest success, not only in the arena, but in life.
The first account of the Allied navies’ vital contribution to the success of the D-Day landings and the Normandy campaign The Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe is one of the most widely recognised events of modern history. The assault phase, Operation Neptune, began with the D-Day landings in Normandy—one of the most complex amphibious operations in history, involving 7,000 ships and nearly 200,000 men. But despite this immense effort, the wider naval campaign has been broadly forgotten. Nick Hewitt draws on fascinating new material to describe the violent sea battle which mirrored the fighting on land, and the complex campaign at sea which enabled the Allied assault. Aboard ships ranging from frail plywood landing craft to sleek destroyers, sailors were active combatants in the operation of June 1944, and had worked tirelessly to secure the Seine Bay in the months preceding it. They fought battles against German submarines, aircraft, and warships, and maintained careful watch to keep control of the English Channel. Hewitt recounts these sailors’ stories for the first time—and shows how, without their efforts, D-Day would have failed.
‘A magisterial diary for bird lovers.’ Observer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Telegraph As seen on BBC Winterwatch 2023 ‘Honest, human and heart-grabbing. I loved this book so much.’ Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not ‘Delightful’ Stephen Moss, author of Ten Birds that Changed the World ‘Fascinating and thought-provoking’ Jake Fiennes, author of Land Healer ‘Awe-filled and absorbing’ Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down The Meaning of Geese is a book of thrilling encounters with wildlife, of tired legs, punctured tyres and inhospitable weather. Above all, it is the story of Nick Acheson’s love for the land in which he was born and raised, and for the wild geese that fill it with sound and spectacle every winter. Renowned naturalist and conservationist Nick Acheson spent countless hours observing and researching wild geese, transported through all weathers by his mother’s 40-year-old trusty red bicycle. He meticulously details the geese’s arrival, observing what they mean to his beloved Norfolk and the role they play in local people’s lives – and what role the birds could play in our changing world. During a time when many people faced the prospect of little work or human contact, Nick followed the pinkfeet and brent geese that filled the Norfolk skies and landscape as they flew in from Iceland and Siberia. In their flocks, Nick encountered rarer geese, including Russian white-fronts, barnacle geese and an extremely unusual grey-bellied brant, a bird he had dreamt of seeing since thumbing his mother’s copy of Peter Scott’s field guide as a child. To honour the geese’s great athletic migrations, Nick kept a diary of his sightings as well as the stories he discovered through the community of people, past and present, who loved them, too. Over seven months Nick cycles over 1,200 miles – the exact length of the pinkfeet’s migration to Iceland.
From War to Peace tells the story of the adaptation from White Ensign to Red Ensign, and to flags of other nations, of the numerous classes of naval ships mainly built during the two world wars and surplus to requirements with the advent of peace. It also describes ships sourced from the United States Navy and elsewhere that were converted for commercial use. The most successful classes to transfer to the merchant service were the Hunt-class minesweepers of the Great War, Landing Craft, Tank, the salvage tugs of World War Two, and the wooden-hulled Fairmile launches which became familiar at seaside resorts in the 1950s and ‘60s; and, of course, the MFV classes that helped the fishing industry in the postwar years. The story includes the successful commercial conversions of many of the Flower and Castle Class corvettes and River Class frigates, notably the 1954 conversion of HMCS Stormont to a luxury yacht for the Greek shipping magnate Onassis. It describes why HMS Charybdis became a passenger liner in the Great War, and how HMS Albatross nearly became a luxury liner after World War Two, but in fact was transformed into a very unpopular emigrant ship and ended her days as a floating casino based at Cape Town. The author reveals the military antecedents of numerous commercial vessels that many would have thought were built especially for the service that they later maintained, and it illustrates just how many Royal Navy vessels ended up in private ownership. And the question is asked: if the military had not built so many ships that were eminently suitable for commercial adaptation, would the technical development of merchant shipping have progressed at a faster rate than it did? The answer is a definite ‘no’, and is illustrated in several ways. It was former naval vessels that promoted the early development of the Ro-Ro ferry; former naval ships introduced numerous design innovations, for example, the raised foredeck common for so many years on salvage tugs, and, above all, stripped of their military hardware, ex naval ships provided opportunities for modest investment where otherwise there would have been none. Copiously illustrated throughout, the book tells a fascinating story of invention and ingenious ship conversion, and of pragmatic adaptation in the financially stringent years after two world wars.
Over 1,500 men played major league baseball during the golden era of the 1920s, and over 850 played in the Negro Leagues during the same decade. At the end of the 20th century only about 20 of those men were still alive. The author of this work tracked down all of those players, 14 of whom were able to grant an interview. In this unique book, those 14 players, a Cuban leaguer and five former sportswriters give first person accounts of baseball in the 1920s and early 1930s. They talk of the greatest players in the history of the game--Babe Ruth, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Walter Johnson and Martin Dihigo--and of their own memorable careers. The personal accounts are then complemented by historical analysis from the author. Those interviewed are major leaguers Bill Rogell, Willis Hudlin, Clyde Sukeforth, Ray Hayworth, Paul Hopkins, Bob Cremins, Frank Stewart, Karl Swanson, Mel Harder, Ben Sankey, Carl Sumner and Bill Werber; Negro leaguers Ted Radcliffe and Harold Tinker; Cuban leaguer Rodolfo Fernandez; and sportswriters Will Cloney, Fred Russell, Harold Rosenthal, Carl Lundquist and Will Grimsley.
Historical fiction is a hugely popular genre of fiction providing fictional accounts or dramatizations of historical figures or events. This latest guide in the highly successful Bloomsbury Must-Reads series depicts 100 of the finest novels published in this sector, with a further 500 recommendations. A wide range of classic works and key authors are covered: Peter Ackroyd, Margaret Attwood, Sarah Waters, Victor Hugo and Robert Louis Stevenson to name a few. If you want to expand your reading in this area, or gain a deeper understanding of the genre - this is the best place to start! Inside you'll find: - An extended Introduction to historical fiction - 100 titles highlighted A-Z by novel with 500 Read-on recommendations - Read-on-a-theme categories - Award winners and book club recommendations
The story of Ted Lewis carries historical and cultural resonances for our own troubled times Ted Lewis is one of the most important writers you've never heard of. Born in Manchester in 1940, he grew up in the tough environs of post-war Humberside, attending Hull College of Arts and Crafts before heading for London. His life described a cycle of obscurity to glamour and back to obscurity, followed by death at only 42. He sampled the bright temptations of sixties London while working in advertising, TV and films and he encountered excitement and danger in Soho drinking dens, rubbing shoulders with the 'East End boys' in gangland haunts. He wrote for Z Cars and had some nine books published. Alas, unable to repeat the commercial success of Get Carter, Lewis's life fell apart, his marriage ended and he returned to Humberside and an all too early demise. Getting Carter is a meticulously researched and riveting account of the career of a doomed genius. Long-time admirer Nick Triplow has fashioned a thorough, sympathetic and unsparing narrative. Required reading for noirists, this book will enthral and move anyone who finds irresistible the old cocktail of rags to riches to rags.
In a whirlwind demolition of dozens of misconceptions about crime, Nick Ross proposes what is arguably the most radical re-think of crime policy since the dawn of policing. Setting conventional thinking on its head, Crime challenges everything we take for granted, showing why the criminal justice system has little effect on crime rates, how policing has been hijacked to serve the needs of lawyers, and how 'facts' about crime are continually manipulated to serve the needs of politicians and the media. Crime is the result of twenty years' experience working with victims and police, and ten years' research to find out what makes crime rates ebb and flow. This is a major work that explodes fallacies and entreats us to be more sceptical. Crime will delight those who come to it with an open mind and infuriate ideologues from the left, right and centre.
The hotly anticipated sequel to Nick Alexander's bestseller The Half-Life of Hannah If finding true love meant giving up everything else, what would you do? When Hannah and Cliff's fifteen-year marriage falls apart, it seems almost impossible to start again. While Hannah tries to reconcile the warring factions of her heart, torn between a pre-teen son and a romantic love half a world away, Cliff struggles to face up to issues he has suppressed since adolescence in the hope of finding happiness in a confusing world. Amid the turmoil of separation, and with their son, Luke, caught in the crossfire, both Hannah and Cliff face the challenge of rebuilding their lives. To make the other halves of their lives count, they will need courage and determination. To build new relationships, they will need to dare to love again. Other Halves beautifully maps the break-up of a couple, with all the tough choices and heartache it entails, but above all it is a touching story of self-discovery, finding new love and beginning life afresh.
These two authors are always worth reading for their breadth and originality. Their new book offers a timely and stimulating analysis of modern children′s services" David Berridge, Professor of Child and Family Welfare, University of Bristol "Clear yet thorough; practical yet politically insightful; complicated yet coherent ... this book will appeal to those who want to get an overview of the territory, but also to those who wish to drill down deeper and understand the theoretical underpinning of government policies" Martin C Calder, Honorary Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam Univeristy This is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of children′s social care in England following the introduction of Every Child Matters and the 2007 Children′s Plan. Up-to-date and accessible, the book examines the key issues surrounding child care policy, politics and legislation, and the implications they have for practice. The book is organised into three sections: - From Children′s Departments to Departments of Children′s Services analyses the historical and political changes in the children′s service since 1948. - Different Service Areas provides a critical review of the main service areas, including safeguarding and child protection. - Current Issues and Future Prospects considers the main challenges and future prospects for children′s social care. Essential reading for those studying child social care on programmes in social work, childhood studies and social policy, the book will also interest postgraduates and practitioners in child care.
The fascination with tragedy and the subsequent theatre of voyeurism are part of human nature, especially when it involves our icons, celebrities and musicians. Knocking On Heaven's Door is the definitive book of rock 'n' roll, pop, R&B and blues deaths. Often, only the biggest selling artists are written about and sometimes it is the death of a personality that cements their iconic status. Knocking On Heaven's Door not only covers the rock legends who lived hard and died young, this detailed reference contains over 1,000 obituaries of music industry personalities, famous and obscure from mid-fifties to the present day. Alphabetical entries of all the important individuals, including: noteworthy producers, managers, songwriters, record company founders A&R men and even critics, puts all the information at your finger tips. Nick Talevski has spent a decade researching this comprehensive and authoritative reference book and it will be an indispensable and practical addition to every music library, full of irresistible and intriguing information.
From English cricket's embarrassing failure at the 2015 World Cup to their heart-stopping victory four years later, Nick Hoult and Steve James vividly describe the team's dramatic journey from abject disappointment to finally lifting the trophy. Morgan's Men reveals how the team became the most aggressive limited-overs side in the world, led by their inspirational captain Eoin Morgan, whose vision and determination to succeed captured the imagination of the nation. Hoult and James follow England's journey from Bangladesh to Barbados, from Melbourne to Manchester, to present the inside story of the team's rebirth. They tell us how players dealt with the Ben Stokes court case, the sacking of Alex Hales for a drugs ban, and reveal the innovative new strategies and tactics that helped them become the best in the world, culminating in a World Cup final that was arguably the greatest one-day match of all time.
From the first pitch at the original Polo Grounds on May 1, 1883, to the night of August 9, 2002, at Pacific Bell Park, where Barry Bonds crushed his 600th career home run -- and beyond -- the New York and San Francisco Giants have been one of the most successful -- and popular -- franchises in Major League Baseball. They have won five World Series championships (plus three 19th-century titles) and 20 National League pennants. Some 50 Giants are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York (more than any other franchise). Now, all the highlights and the individuals who provided them are captured in this comprehensive history of the club. The Giants Encyclopedia is more than just a running narrative of the franchise's history. It chronicles all 120 seasons in minute detail (the world championships, pennant winners, near-misses and disappointments). The book features biographies of more than 100 players (from Hall of Famers like Willie Mays and Christy Mathewson to present-day stars like Barry Bonds and Robb Nen), plus prominent owners (such as John Day, Horace and Charles Stoneham, Bob Lurie and Peter Magowan); front office executives (like Chub Feeney, Al Rosen and Brian Sabean); managers (such as John McGraw, Leo Durocher, Roger Craig and Dusty Baker); and broadcasters (Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons and Hank Greenwald).
At the end of 1618, a blazing green star soared across the night sky over the northern hemisphere. From the Philippines to the Arctic, the comet became a sensation and a symbol, a warning of doom or a promise of salvation. Two years later, as the Pilgrims prepared to sail across the Atlantic on board the Mayflower, the atmosphere remained charged with fear and expectation. Men and women readied themselves for war, pestilence, or divine retribution. Against this background, and amid deep economic depression, the Pilgrims conceived their enterprise of exile. Within a decade, despite crisis and catastrophe, they built a thriving settlement at New Plymouth, based on beaver fur, corn, and cattle. In doing so, they laid the foundations for Massachusetts, New England, and a new nation. Using a wealth of new evidence from landscape, archaeology, and hundreds of overlooked or neglected documents, Nick Bunker gives a vivid and strikingly original account of the Mayflower project and the first decade of the Plymouth Colony. From mercantile London and the rural England of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I to the mountains and rivers of Maine, he weaves a rich narrative that combines religion, politics, money, science, and the sea. The Pilgrims were entrepreneurs as well as evangelicals, political radicals as well as Christian idealists. Making Haste from Babylon tells their story in unrivaled depth, from their roots in religious conflict and village strife at home to their final creation of a permanent foothold in America.
Here is the new, hip, high-tech military-industrial complex--an omnipresent, hidden-in-plain-sight system of systems that penetrates all our lives. From iPods to Starbucks to Oakley sunglasses, historian Nick Turse explores the Pentagon's little-noticed contacts (and contracts) with the products and companies that now form the fabric of America. Turse investigates the remarkable range of military incursions into the civilian world: the Pentagon's collaborations with Hollywood filmmakers; its outlandish schemes to weaponize the wild kingdom; its joint ventures with the World Wrestling Federation and NASCAR. He shows the inventive ways the military, desperate for new recruits, now targets children and young adults, tapping into the "culture of cool" by making "friends" on MySpace. We are a long way from Eisenhower's military-industrial complex: this is its twenty-first-century progeny.--From publisher description.
When was the last time you tried something truly new? The modern world is full of possibilities, adventures and excitement but also routines. The daily grind can make us forget about the former as we embrace the monotony of the latter. It can be hard to extract ourselves from the comforting embrace of our favourite TV programme, food or jumper. For one man, the boredom of this very modern life became too much to bear. And so he challenged himself to do something about it. Starting small, his project soon grew into one life-changing year. 52 New Things is the story of one man who decided to put down the Monster Munch, switch off the TV and do something different. He travelled, he danced, he flew, he drove across continents, but most significantly, he started saying yes to the hilarious and bewildering experiences that life has to offer. And he has the Christmas single, the tattoo and lack of body hair to prove it. 52 New Things is a book that is hard to define. Travelogue meets unconventional self-help book meets personal journey for ensuing hilarity. Nick J. Thorpe's journey to make his life more interesting has hilarious, surprising and often life-affirming consequences. He explores the dizzy array of opportunities that modern life offers with a guiding hand that is both motivational and hilarious. This is a frank, funny, full frontal account of a year's worth of new experiences. It might just inspire you to try some new things your own.* * Even if you don't want to, Nick's adventures and misadventures will have you laughing out of your seat - which could be a new thing in itself.
This publication sets out a comprehensive review of tree root biology and covers a broad range of practical issues that need to be considered in order to grow trees successfully in our towns and cities and to realise the significant benefits they provide in built environments. Topics covered include: soil condition and roots; improving tree root growth in urban soils; water supply and drought amelioration for amenity trees; coping with soil contamination; protecting trees during excavation and good trenching practice; control of damage to tree roots on construction sites; tree root damage to buildings and pavements, sewers, drains and pipes; research needs and sustainability issues.
Deciding what to read next when you've just finished an unputdownable novel can be a daunting task. The Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide features hundreds of authors and thousands of titles, with navigation features to lead you on a rich journey through some the best literature to grace our shelves. This greatly expanded edition includes the latest contemporary authors and landmark novels, an expanded non-fiction section, a timeline setting historical events against literary milestones, prize-winner and book club lists. An accessible and easy-to-read guide that no serious book lover should be without. "The essential guide to the wild uncharted world of contemporary and 20th century writing." Robert McCrum, The Observer
Even with the wind on our side and all eight of us pulling, we had never yet managed to change the complex sails....Now we had to pull against the full force of the wind, in a storm, in the middle of the night.... So begins Nick Thorpe's unlikely journey to sail 2,500 miles from northern Chile to Easter Island on the Viracocha -- a boat made of reeds. Captain Phil Buck's desire to test the waters in this pre-Incan boat was twofold: to reopen the controversial migration theories of Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed his boat the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, and to have one heck of a time in the process. With a crew that includes a tree surgeon, a jewelry salesman, and two ducks, Thorpe embarks on an unnerving Pacific voyage that is by turns fierce and farce: from the bungled phone call that triggered a naval rescue alert to the constant race against the inexorable sinking of the soggy hull. A story of high tides and even higher stakes, 8 Men and a Duck is a tale of friendship, fate, and the unlikely distances people will travel for true adventure.
A comprehensive category killer, with over 6,000 varied questions on every topic imaginable - as well as some you might not imagine. The 400 quizzes are a mixture of general knowledge and specialist rounds all aimed at the popular pub or society quiz market on science and technology; nature and the universe; human geography; history; life as we know it; arts and culture; sports and games; popular culture; celebrities and trivia. The questions are up-to-date, interesting and, unlike much of the competition, accurate.
Analysis on Lie Groups with Polynomial Growth is the first book to present a method for examining the surprising connection between invariant differential operators and almost periodic operators on a suitable nilpotent Lie group. It deals with the theory of second-order, right invariant, elliptic operators on a large class of manifolds: Lie groups with polynomial growth. In systematically developing the analytic and algebraic background on Lie groups with polynomial growth, it is possible to describe the large time behavior for the semigroup generated by a complex second-order operator with the aid of homogenization theory and to present an asymptotic expansion. Further, the text goes beyond the classical homogenization theory by converting an analytical problem into an algebraic one. This work is aimed at graduate students as well as researchers in the above areas. Prerequisites include knowledge of basic results from semigroup theory and Lie group theory.
The Children Act is a major piece of legislation that affects all professionals working with children. Since the third edition of this book was published in 1996, there have been some important developments. This Fourth Edition takes these developments into consideration. Topics discussed include case law in the superior courts; the establishment of CAFCASS; and the Fostering Services Regulations of 2002; and much more.
BBC Radio 6 Music is the place for alternative music – and this is the quiz for its fans. From indie pop and iconic rock to trip hop, electronica and dance, these questions will test your knowledge of the last 60 years of floor-fillers, cult classics and the best B-sides to the limit. Including dedicated quizzes on your favourite 6 Music shows, like Lauren Laverne's People's Playlist, Guy Garvey's Finest Hour, Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service and more, find out how much you can really call yourself the king of rock n' roll.
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