Other books that might interest you

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  Milestones of Space - Eleven...

  Michael J. Neufeld

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  A history of exploration through eleven objects from the Air and Space Museum: “Takes you behind the scenes with firsthand stories and rare photos.” —William F. Readdy, former NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle commander 
   
  Throughout human history, across cultures and landscapes, countless individuals have gazed with wonder in the same direction: upward. Getting to space was no easy task, and our quest to further explore the universe, to understand the impossibly vast heavens, continues. 
   
  In Milestones of Space, Michael Neufeld and select curators of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum present a gorgeous photographic celebration of some of the most groundbreaking artifacts that played key parts in giving humanity its first steps into the cosmos. Focusing on the most iconic objects and technology—such as Friendship 7, the Lunar Module 2, Neil Armstrong’s Lunar Suit, the Hubble Space Telescope, and Space Shuttle Discovery—this book extensively profiles eleven of the NASM’s most important breakthroughs in space technology. 
   
  The NASM curators feature each object in incredible detail with compelling timelines, sidebars and captions, and over 150 archival images that provide new and little-known insights into their development and historical context. We are still a long way from grasping our universe—but for now, Milestones of Space magnificently commemorates the individuals and inventions that have taken us this far.

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  The Battle of Brandy Station -...

  Eric J. Wittenberg

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  This Civil War history and guide examines a major turning point in cavalry combat and includes a GPS guided tour of the battlefield.   Just before dawn on June 9, 1863, Union soldiers materialized from a thick fog near the banks of Virginia's Rappahannock River to ambush sleeping Confederates. The ensuing struggle, which lasted throughout the day, was to be known as the Battle of Brandy Station—the largest cavalry battle ever fought on North American soil. These events marked a major turning point in the Civil War: the waning era of Confederate cavalry dominance in the East gave way to a confident and powerful Union mounted arm.   Historian Eric J. Wittenberg meticulously captures the drama and significance of these events in this fascinating volume. The GPS guided tour of the battlefield is supplemented with illustrations and maps by master cartographer Steven Stanley.

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  Studies in Pessimism

  Arthur Schopenhauer

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  Arthur Schopenhauer, an early 19th century philosopher, made significant contributions to metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics. His work also informed theories of evolution and psychology, largely through his theory of the will to power – a concept which Nietzsche famously adopted and developed. Despite this, he is today, as he was during his life, overshadowed by his contemporary, Hegel. Schopenhauer's social/psychological views, put forth in this work and in others, are directly derived from his metaphysics, which was strongly influenced by Eastern thought. His pessimism forms an interesting and perhaps questionable contrast with his obvious joy in self-expression, both in the elegance of his prose and in his practice of playing the flute nightly.His brilliance, poetry, and crushing pessimism can be seen immediately in this work, as for example in this claim from the first chapter: "The pleasure in this world, it has been said, outweighs the pain; or, at any rate, there is an even balance between the two. If the reader wishes to see shortly whether this statement is true, let him compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is engaged in eating the other." We see also, in this work, his misogyny, as for example in his claim that "as lions are provided with claws and teeth, and elephants and boars with tusks, . . . so Nature has equipped woman, for her defence and protection, with the arts of dissimulation; and all the power which Nature has conferred upon man in the shape of physical strength and reason, has been bestowed upon women in this form." Given his opening comment, the translator, T.B. Saunders, seems to have been at least somewhat sympathetic to this perspective. - Summary by D.E. Wittkower

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  Lost in Adventureland

  Ronald Fox

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  Lost in Adventureland is an alternate universe story. Imagine walking through a portal at one of the most famous representations of Tiki and Polynesian culture in the world, the Mai Kai, and being transported to the heyday of Tiki and Pop Tiki culture, the 1950s. Here Walt Disney, Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Buffett, Kevin Costner, and Vic Bergeron rub elbows, share their insights, and swap stories. You have a front row seat to the magic taking place. This is being Lost in Adventureland.

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  California

  J. Tyrwhitt Brooks

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  Henry Vizetelly, writing under the pseudonym J. Tyrwhitt Brooks, recalls an expedition to California he took between 1847-1848 . Originally, he planned to enlist as a surgeon for the US Army during the Mexican war, but conflicts had ended by the time he applied. In a quick change of plans, he joined a group of prospectors on their way to the newly found gold fields of California. While he might not find service in the military, his training as a physician made him a valuable addition to the ragtag team of explorers.His training as a physician gives us an exacting perspective of the events and people who struck out from more sedate routines to prospect gold in the Californian wilderness. However, he is unprepared to find a cure for the gold fever that has depopulated the surrounding towns. Only one member of the group, an experienced fur-trapper, is able to resist the lustrous lure of nuggets, flakes and gold richly deposited in the dusty desert.Like the others who have left jobs to prospect for gold, he learns how to live on the land and struggle through hardship away from the security of city life. His motley group of changing characters ride through sudden fortunes and disasters while meeting Mormons, Indians and not least of all a bountiful harvest of gold. Before he returns to his home in England, another quick change of fortune undoes his plans for a comfortable retirement and shows us the extent of greed that has sprung up in the mining camps.

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  Haunted Martinsburg

  Justin Stevens

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  Civil War spirits and Appalachian “haints”—both benevolent and bloodcurdling—add to the spooky appeal of historic Martinsburg, West Virginia.    The quaint streets and mountain vistas of historic Martinsburg conceal specters lurking in its deepest shadows. Situated in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, the city is home to a wide variety of ghostly characters, from the famous spirit “George” of the Apollo Theater to a lantern-toting spectral soldier at Boydville Manor. The Lady in Black haunts St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, while the ghost of a lost girl tries faithfully to hitchhike her way to the former King’s Daughter’s Hospital. Many people believe that Confederate spy Belle Boyd continues to surveil the living who visit her former childhood home. Author and tour guide Justin Stevens spins dark tales of otherworldly Appalachian apparitions.   Includes photos! “For many in the Eastern Panhandle, the concept of embracing history and ghost stories is engrained in the culture . . . The historical relevance of Martinsburg has generated a plethora of stories to be told, some of which Stevens hopes to tell on his ghost tour and through his book.” —The Journal (West Virginia)  

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