Both history and memoir, The Flight tells the story of Richard W. “Dick” Bridges’s heroic service in World War II. Bridges survived a German attack on his plane, the Fascinatin’ Witch, by parachuting out of the exploding B-24. He escaped detection in Austria, became the first American prisoner of war in Hungary, was sent to Yugoslavia, escaped from his POW camp there, was sheltered by the Partisans one step ahead of the Germans, and was finally airlifted to safety in Italy by the British. Bridges’s story, which seems almost too astonishing to be true, went untold until after his death in 2003, when his son, Tyler Bridges, pieced it together. The younger Bridges’s odyssey in search of his father’s wartime experiences connected him with the families of other crew members aboard the Fascinatin’ Witch and led him to retrace his father’s footsteps through Austria, Hungary, and the former Yugoslavia. With his findings, Bridges has woven a story not only about World War II and the bravery of this unique group of soldiers, but also about fathers and sons, what can get lost in the gulf between generations, and how patience and understanding can bridge that gap.
In conjunction with the 40th anniversary of The Play—a thrilling and nuanced chronicle of college football's most unforgettable ending The wildest finish ever to a college football game occurred when five laterals on the final kickoff ended with a sprint through the opposing team's marching band—prematurely in celebration on the field—for the winning touchdown. It was 21 seconds of action so unfathomable it has become known simply as The Play. Five Laterals and a Trombone captures the madcap story as it developed in November 1982, tracing the ups and downs, mood swings and hijinks surrounding the 85th Big Game between the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University. Journalist Tyler Bridges has deftly reconstructed the pivotal moments and resulting lore thanks to hundreds of interviews with all the key figures on both sides of the rivalry, including players, coaches, referees, and stadium personnel. Among the memorable characters are Stanford star quarterback John Elway, Cal linebacker Ron Rivera, the final lateral receiver Kevin Moen, and the immortalized Cardinal trombone player Gary Tyrrell. The Play was not televised live. There was no instant replay—let alone a viral video. In 1982, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, who had founded Apple Computer Company in a garage only 10 miles from the Stanford campus, were just developing the first personal computers. It took hours for news of the rivalry game's outcome to spread across the country, yet football fans would remain enthralled by the bizarre sequence for decades to come. Readers will be transported onto the field and inside the huddle in this definitive history of college football's ultimate oddity.
Louisiana is our most exotic state. It is religious and roguish, a place populated by Cajuns, Creoles, Rednecks, and Bible-thumpers. It is a state that loves good food, good music, and good times. Laissez les bons temps rouler -- let the good times roll -- is the unofficial motto. Louisiana is also excessively corrupt. In the 1990s, it plunged headlong into legalized gambling, authorizing more games of chance than any other state. Leading the charge was Governor Edwin Edwards, who for years had flaunted his fondness for cold cash and high-stakes gambling, and who had used his razor-sharp mind and catlike reflexes to stay one step ahead of the law. Gambling, Edwin Edwards, and Louisiana's political culture would prove to be a combustible mix. Bad Bet on the Bayou tells the story of what happened when the most corrupt industry came to our most corrupt state. It is a sweeping morality tale about commerce, politics, and what happens when the law catches up to our most basic human desires and frailties.
Inspired by the fierce divide amongst generations seen in American society today, this poignant and provocative exposé of such a divided culture sheds light onto everyday plights, wonders, and sufferings caused by this hostile divide. This thought-provoking collection of personal experiences, observations, and prospects of modern-day youth culture tackles aspects of generational identity and its affects on future generations. This unique collection provides questions as to its reader's identity in society, how they arrived there, and where they are headed. This collection of poetry is, in its self, a blurred line, attacking the notion of such a pretentious divide and also reinforces the reality of the hostility, and leaves the reader only looking towards the future.
Performance Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE) is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional bridge design practice. The PBEE framework enables engineers to predict the seismic performance of a structure at multiple levels, including: force and deformation demands, expected level of damage, and likely repair costs. For bridges, these performance levels can be predicted with numerically intensive nonlinear models of the soil, foundation and structure. However, it is preferable in practice to use simpler methods to model a bridge system.
The state of Wyoming has 13.1 million sq. ft of road bridges (FHWA 2009), and evaluations have become an important part of the Wyoming Department of Transportation's (WYDOT) management of bridge repairs. Nondestructive testing (NDT) methods developed in the past 20 years may provide an efficient, standardized, and accurate method for evaluating bridge deck conditions. This thesis presents the results of an exploratory study performed on three bridge decks in Wyoming: the First Street Bridge in Casper, the Douglas I-25 Bridge, and the Remount Bridge on I-80. The goal is to develop a practical solution that WYDOT can implement. In particular, the solution should capitalize on safety, efficiency and accuracy. The author evaluated each bridge using standard WYDOT practices for chain dragging and half cell potentials, along with newer technologies of impact echo, thermal imaging, and ground penetrating radar (GPR), which provides a comprehensive assessment of the NDT evaluation techniques. Cores removed from the bridges were compared to the results from the evaluation methods. Damage locations between impact echo, thermal imaging, and GPR generally correlated well and factors are presented in this thesis. This research suggests that a combination of impact echo with GPR testing provides the most accurate predictions of delamination, debonding, and active corrosion on bridge decks.
The Kingdome, John (“Jack”) Christiansen’s best-known work, was the largest freestanding concrete dome in the world. Built amid public controversy, the multipurpose arena was designed to stand for a thousand years but was demolished in a great cloud of dust after less than a quarter century. Many know the fate of Seattle’s iconic dome, but fewer are familiar with its innovative structural engineer, Jack Christensen (1927–2017), and his significant contribution to Pacific Northwest and modernist architecture. Christiansen designed more than a hundred projects in the region: public schools and gymnasiums, sculptural church spaces, many of the Seattle Center’s 1962 World’s Fair buildings, and the Museum of Flight’s vast glass roof all reflect his expressive ideas. Inspired by Northwest topography and drawn to the region’s mountains and profound natural landscapes, Christiansen employed hyperbolic paraboloid forms, barrel-vault structures, and efficient modular construction to echo and complement the forms he loved in nature. Notably, he became an enthusiastic proponent of using thin shell concrete—the Kingdome being the most prominent example—to create inexpensive, utilitarian space on a large scale. Tyler Sprague places Christiansen within a global cohort of thin shell engineer-designers, exploring the use of a remarkable structural medium known for its minimal use of material, architectually expressive forms, and long-span capability. Examining Christiansen’s creative design and engineering work, Sprague, who interviewed Christiansen extensively, illuminates his legacy of graceful, distinctive concrete architectural forms, highlighting their lasting imprint on the region’s built environment. A Michael J. Repass Book
Dippers are the world's only truly aquatic passerine birds, and their remarkable swimming and diving abilities have long attracted the interest of research biologists on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as elsewhere in Europe and Japan. For the birdwatcher and naturalist, the behavioural abilities of these attractive birds are only added to by the beauty of their preferred habitat, the fast-flowing streams of the wild uplands. The magic of the running water, moss-covered rocky banks, pools, riffles, cascades and waterfalls lend a majestic backdrop to the busy activity of Dippers as they bob and blink on an exposed rock before diving underwater to forage for caddis and mayfly nymphs amongst the submerged stones of the stream bed. The chance to watch Dippers is always worth the walk into such places. These are also habitats under pressure. Only in clean, base-rich waters can the Dipper's insect prey thrive. Current changes in land use threaten these conditions. Conifer plantations promote acidic run-off and contamination by common pesticides reduces the number of suitable waterways each year. The intrinsic value of Dippers is now supplemented by their role as indicators of the health of their upland habitats. The text is supported by numerous figures and photographs, and by the delightful drawings of Darren Rees. Jacket and text illustrations by Darren Rees.
Product safety begins with design or formulation whether it is for a complex engineering product or a simple household article. Those who suffer damage from a design defect can win compensation without having to prove negligence. Manufacturers, suppliers and importers can all be responsible for ensuring that their products are safe. To help protect them against prosecution, customer dissatisfaction and commercial loss requires a programme of risk reduction, which begins with the management of design. Design and product development require a balanced approach to the new realities of the legal situation, both for companies and individual designers. Part One reviews the strategy needed to manage design in the fresh legal climate and includes guidance on techniques that can be used. Part Two is a jargon-free guide through the difficult area of international product liability law. It has been entirely rewritten to reflect the many recent changes to influence European law and a designer's personal liability. Part Three brings home vividly the physical, legal and commercial risks of product defects and demonstrates ways in which they could be prevented. There are over 20 real life, fascinating and instructive case histories, many of them new, ranging from exploding office chairs to ro-ro ferries and from washing powder to aircraft. Safer by Design is exceptional in providing management and risk assessment advice, coupled with legal guidance and actual practical lessons.
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