From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have an enormous, dedicated following, as do his deeply researched answers to his fans' strangest questions. The queries he receives range from merely odd to downright diabolical: - What if I took a swim in a spent-nuclear-fuel pool? - Could you build a jetpack using downward-firing machine guns? - What if a Richter 15 earthquake hit New York City? - Are fire tornadoes possible? His responses are masterpieces of clarity and wit, gleefully and accurately explaining everything from the relativistic effects of a baseball pitched at near the speed of light to the many horrible ways you could die while building a periodic table out of all the actual elements. The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with the most popular answers from the xkcd website. What If? is an informative feast for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical.
Town and Country Childhood begins in the early 1960s in a small town in Southwest Iowa. Growing up in the ’60s was not an easy task. My dad owned several gas stations before taking over my uncle’s bar, Town and Country Tavern, after his death. The death of my grandpa, my uncle, the Vietnam War, the assassinations of President Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, and the riots made me question longevity. If life was going to be short, live it to the fullest regardless of the cost. Breaking the rules was considered a right, and nothing was going to stop me. Growing up in the tavern allowed me to become friends with my dad’s friends who survived the forties and World War II. I thought drinking and other bad habits were a way to have fun, but I learned too late that they were coping mechanisms that eventually destroyed you. Eventually, it all caught up.
This definitive volume contains every known fact about Marilyn Monroe's life and tragic death. Features more than 1,500 categories, thousands of never-before-published facts and figures in an easy-to-use, A-to-Z format. 150 photos.
The second edition of History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago is a tribute to Frank Randall's vision and resource to Chicago area architects, engineers, preservation specialists, and other members of the building industry."--BOOK JACKET.
A magisterial journey through the epic life and transformative times of John Quincy Adams In this masterful biography, historian Randall B. Woods peels back the many layers of John Quincy’s long life, exposing a rich and complicated family saga and a political legacy that transformed the American Republic. Born the first son of John and Abigail Adams, he was pressured to follow in his father’s footsteps in both law and politics. His boyhood was spent amid the furor of the American Revolution, and as a teen he assisted his father on diplomatic missions in Europe, hobnobbing with monarchs and statesmen, dining with Ben Franklin, sitting by Voltaire at the opera. He received a world-class education, becoming fluent in Latin, Greek, German, and French. His astonishing intellect and poise would lead to a diplomatic career of his own, in which he'd help solidify his fledgling nation’s standing in the world. He was intertwined with every famous American of his day, from Washington to Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, Jackson, Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. He was on stage, frequently front and center, during the Revolutionary Era, the fractious birth of American party politics, the War of 1812, the Era of Good Feelings, and the peak of Continental Expansion. It was against this backdrop that he served as an ambassador, senator, secretary of state, and, unhappily, as president. The driving force behind both the Transcontinental Treaty and the Monroe Doctrine, this champion of Manifest Destiny spent the last years of his life fighting against the annexation of Texas because it would facilitate the spread of slavery. This deeply researched, brilliantly written volume delves into John Quincy’s intellectual pursuits and political thought; his loving, yet at times strained, marriage to Louisa Catherine Johnson, whom he met in London; his troubling relationships with his three sons; and his fiery post-presidency rebirth in Congress as he became the chamber’s most vocal opponent of slavery.
Rachel Chance thinks she’s just visiting a site on the Underground Railroad as part of the inaugural Glen Falls Freedom Festival until her Greyhound Abby alerts her to a dead body. It’s Anthony Jenkins, a man Rachel had seen arguing with her friend just days earlier. Was Jenkins working on a manuscript that would unmask a criminal? Did his sudden marriage lead a greedy family member to kill for a share of an inheritance? Did a past mistake lead a revenge seeker to Glen Falls, Indiana? It soon becomes clear that there is no lack of motives for murder. Rachel’s romantic interest Will Keller is soon the target of a police detective who had once been involved with Rachel. As past collides with present, Will remains in the crosshairs of the persistent detective. When Angelica Jenkins, the estranged wife of Anthony Jenkins, arrives on the scene, the tension builds. The Jenkins family doesn’t trust her and accuses her of only being after the inheritance. Anthony’s brother Arthur cannot contain his temper and public scenes draw attention to the family. Rachel strives to find out more about the family whose arguments provide potential motives for murder. When the seductive Angelica starts to pay attention to Will, Rachel wonders about her motivation. Will’s office is broken into and Angelica appears along with Detective Garrett. A mystery person was searching looking for something, but what? Rachel and Will begin their own investigation but find more questions than answers. Rachel must put aside her questions about her relationship with Will and her hopes of adopting another Greyhound in order to find a killer. Issues from the past come to light and Rachel wonders if a tragedy from the past came back to haunt Anthony Jenkins. Will and Rachel continue to follow leads but realize that any of the suspects could be a murderer. Is the motive greed, jealousy, or revenge? When Rachel receives a mysterious note that threatens her Greyhound, she becomes more determined than ever to discover the truth behind the murder. Rachel and Will uncover one deception after another but realize that a risky plan that puts them in danger may be the only way to discover the truth. Their plan is thwarted when Rachel is captured by a killer. The danger mounts and at the last minute, an unexpected ally comes to Rachel’s aid. Rachel’s Greyhound Abby plays a vital role in a final confrontation. Will it be enough to solve the mystery and bring a killer to justice?
Strategically located at the gateway to the South American continent, Colombia has long been a key player in shaping the United States' involvement with its Latin American neighbors. In this book Stephen J. Randall examines the course of U.S.-Colombian relations over two centuries, taking into account the broad spectrum of political, social, cultural, and economic contacts that have figured in the interaction. A leader in the movement for independence from Spain in the early nineteenth century, Colombia shared with the United States the aspiration of becoming a leader for the entire hemisphere. Its early efforts in this direction--notably its initiation in the 1820s of the first Pan-American Conference--soon languished, however, as the unequal growth between the two countries took its toll. By the turn of the century, after years of destructive civil war, Colombia had slipped far behind its northern neighbor militarily, economically, and politically. The United States, meanwhile, had emerged as a great power, and the first major manifestation of the two countries' divergence came with the U.S.-supported secession of Panama in 1903--an event that deeply shocked Colombians and tainted their view of the United States for subsequent generations. During the twentieth century, Randall explains, a tension in Colombian politics and culture has persisted between those who advocate an independent, even antagonistic, stance toward the United States and those who propound a policy of realism that accepts Colombia's place as a middle, regional power within the U.S. orbit. For its part, the United States has continually failed to realize that Colombians, with their European intellectual heritage stretching back four hundred years, do not see themselves as an insignificant Third World nation. The result has been an often strained relationship, which Randall traces through two world wars, economic booms and depressions, the Cold War, and, finally, the present-day guerrilla conflicts and drug trade controversies. Drawing on archival sources in both countries, many previously unused, this book is the first comprehensive overview in more than fifty years of the U.S.-Colombian relationship.
It's a scandal--the misguided government policies and overzealous enforcement that have victimized ordinary Americas. That is the story Randall Fitzgerald tells in this book.
Rachel Chance is happy with her life in Glen Falls, Indiana with her retired racing Greyhound Abby and her gray cat Dancer. She left a high stress job in social work and is still stinging from the betrayal that led her to divorce a husband she realized she did not know after all. Now Rachel is managing rental properties for her stepfather and selling real estate. Rachel’s life is predictable. Daily walks take her past her neighbors including Charley and his Greyhound Gooch. Every Saturday is a trip to the dog park so Abby can play with her Greyhound friends. Most Sundays involve helping her friend Stephen with his kennel business. A year after her divorce, Rachel appreciates the way her life has settled into comfortable patterns. Then a murder occurs in her neighborhood. The victim is Gerald Price, the brother- in-law of her neighbor Carol. He is killed in a house that Rachel manages for her stepfather, a house just a few doors from Rachel’s. When Carol comes under suspicion, Rachel vows to help her. When a friend needs help, Rachel doesn’t even need to think about it. She commits to assist in any way needed. She’s joined by Will, a new love interest who has recently moved back to Glen Falls. Together, Rachel and Will come up with a plan to find out who might have killed Gerald. Rachel finds that Carol’s family has lots of money but lots of secrets as well. Carol’s father Donald Morris amassed a fortune before he died that included both inherited family money and the proceeds from a lucrative car dealership. Carol has been estranged from her brother William and her sister Jackie, but knows she must confront them when she is accused of stealing family money. Rachel and Will strive to uncover secrets about the family and the family business. Rachel finds that the victim, Carol’s brother-in-law Gerald, was involved in schemes that may hold the key to solving the mystery. However, uncovering the truth about the schemes is not easy. Rachel and Will know some people are lying, but who and about what? Finding who had a motive to kill Gerald is hidden in a web of lies. When Carol’s niece Allison disappears, Rachel and Will suspect it has something to do with the murder. Allison’s father, William, doesn’t seem concerned and Rachel wonders why not. The mystery becomes more complex, and the stakes are even higher as Allison’s life may be in danger. As they search for clues about who killed Gerald, Rachel and Will hear a story about lost treasure belonging to George Rogers Clark that may be hidden on property owned by Carol’s family. They rely on Rachel’s friend Charley, an expert in local history, to help them discover whether the story about a lost treasure could be true. And a motive for murder. Although Rachel and Will find out more details about Gerald’s life, they are no closer to finding out who killed him. Plenty of people had a motive for killing Gerald, but each new lead comes to a dead end. When Rachel and Will are summoned to the police department, they are warned to stop investigating, but Rachel will not stop as long as her friend Carol is under suspicion. As Rachel and Will continue to seek answers, Rachel is faced with a new danger. A cunning killer had been hiding in plain sight all along. In a dramatic confrontation, Rachel’s life is on the line. Her beloved Greyhound Abby may be Rachel’s last hope of escaping from the killer.
Focusing on ethical decision making, this compelling book shows how to develop a deeper personal understanding of cultural differences and strengthen equitable practices in schools and districts.
In 1831, Rev. Allen Tibbits and Joseph Hanchett arrived in the area that would become Coldwater. Together, they platted out a village and named it Lyons after their hometown in New York. Potawatomi Indians called the area "chuck-sey-ya-bish," which translated to "cold water," and within two years the settlers followed the Indians' example in naming the village. Many pioneers traveled on the Historic Sauk Trail (now US Route 12), which connects Detroit to Chicago, putting Coldwater on the map. The introduction of the Erie Canal in 1825--and railroad transit in 1850--revolutionized travel and spawned rapid growth. By 1861, Coldwater was recognized as a city. As a result of this growth, cottages at Coldwater Lake started showing up in the late 1870s as "summer getaways," enticing tourists to the area. In addition, cultural outlets like the Tibbits Opera House, built in 1882 and boasting Second Empire architecture, graced the downtown area.
When the Grace Commission on government waste issued its final report, it accused Congress of blocking attempts to cut billions of dollars from federal spending. Members of Congress, it said, tried to bring water projects and military bases to their districts and keep them there when they weren't needed. In addition, it charged Congress with interfering in administrative decisions on pay scales and employee reorganization. But the Grace Commission lost its nerve and published its final volume with all the names deleted. Now the complete, unexpurgated report is available in this volume -- containing every name in the original report along with a new introduction by the authors. Pork-barreling respects no partisan or ideological boundaries. The members of Congress cited in this book range from big spenders to fiscal conservatives. If you want to know what your congressman is really doing about waste in government -- and what we can do about it -- you need to read this book.
Unshackling America challenges the persistent fallacy that Americans fought two separate wars of independence. Williard Sterne Randall documents an unremitting fifty-year-long struggle for economic independence from Britain overlapping two armed conflicts linked by an unacknowledged global struggle. Throughout this perilous period, the struggle was all about free trade. Neither Jefferson nor any other Founding Father could divine that the Revolutionary Period of 1763 to 1783 had concluded only one part, the first phase of their ordeal. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 at the end of the Revolutionary War halted overt combat but had achieved only partial political autonomy from Britain. By not guaranteeing American economic independence and agency, Britain continued to deny American sovereignty. Randall details the fifty years and persistent attempts by the British to control American trade waters, but he also shows how, despite the outrageous restrictions, the United States asserted the doctrine of neutral rights and developed the world’s second largest merchant fleet as it absorbed the French Caribbean trade. American ships carrying trade increased five-fold between 1790 and 1800, its tonnage nearly doubling again between 1800 and 1812, ultimately making the United States the world’s largest independent maritime power.
A unique catalog of historic civil rights events, This Day in Civil Rights History details the struggles, sacrifices, and triumphs on the road to equal rights for all U.S. citizens. From the Quakers' 17th-century antislavery resolution, to slave uprisings during the Civil War, to the infamous Orangeburg Massacre in 1968, and beyond, authors Horace Randall Williams and Ben Beard present a vivid collection of 366 events--one for every day of the year plus Leap Day--chronicling African Americans' battle for human dignity and self-determination. Every day of the year has witnessed significant events in the struggle for civil rights. This Day in Civil Rights History is an illuminating collection of these cultural turning points.
How do you define rockabilly? Who were the original "outlaws" of Country music? Where can you go to hear great music in Austin, Texas? My Country Roots answers all these questions and hundreds more! It is a resource that will help you fill your mp3 player with the essential Country songs, while impressing your friends with your knowledge of the ultimate outsider art. Containing 100 recommended playlists for downloading, this book is the best and most unique way to explore the Country music genre in a modern easy, convenient way. Each playlist walks you through the history, culture, and relevance of Country music, revealing the authenticity and raw truth that represents Country. Whether you are a long-time lover of Country music or just discovering the genre, this book will help you not only organize your music, but explore, evaluate, and critique the music while learning about the basics of Country?what we sound like, what we believe in, where we've come from, and where we're goin'. This guide also provides a behind the scenes look at some of the cities that have spawned the greatest music of the genre and films that have contributed to the mystique which defines Country. For all you music lovers, mp3 users, or folks who are interested in discovering or rediscovering your country roots, this is a book you can't live without!
Delivered at Princeton University in 1951 and 1952, Jarrell's lectures reflect a passionate appreciation of Auden's work, a witty attack from an informed opponent, and an important document of a major poet's reception."--Jacket.
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