Kirjahaku

Minerals existed long before any forms of life, playing a key role in the origin and evolution of life; an interaction with biological systems that we are only now beginning to understand. Exploring the traditional strand of mineralogy, which emphasises the important mineral families, the well-established analytical methods (optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction) and the dramatic developments made in techniques over recent decades, David Vaughan also introduces the modern strand of mineralogy, which explores the role minerals play in the plate tectonic cycle and how they interact with the living world. Demonstrating how minerals can be critical for human health and illness by providing essential nutrients and releasing poisons, Vaughan explores the multitude of ways in which minerals have aided our understanding of the world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Saxons of Old Sarum buried alive! The plague pits of Salisbury! Cathedral organist intent on murder! The book bound in human skin! Locked in a cage with criminal lunatics! A monocled killer! Salisbury has one of the most gruesome histories on record. Human remains filled its barrows, its nobles were tortured, its witches hanged and a deadly disease once lurked in its murky waters. There was no safety in its inns either, for one was plagued with suicides and another hid a severed hand. Even the introduction of the railways led to death and destruction. With more than sixty illustrations, hundreds of years of terrible true history are waiting for you inside this book!

The Little Book of Herefordshire is a compendium full of information which will make you say, ‘I never knew that!’ Contained within is a plethora of entertaining facts about Herefordshire’s famous and occasionally infamous men and women, its literary, artistic and sporting achievements, customs ancient and modern, transport, battles and ghostly appearances. A reliable reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage, the secrets and the enduring fascination of the county. A remarkably engaging little book, this is essential reading for visitors and locals alike.

International diplomacy has stopped working. A new breed of authoritarian ruler has emerged, contemptuous of the rules of diplomacy and collective security, and willing to lie and bully to build power and influence. Europe’s democracies are confused and defensive. It is 1938 and Germany is putting pressure on Czechoslovakia.

The Fourth Quadrant tells the tale of Anil Patel. A series of professional disasters force Anil (24, single and luckless) to swallow his pride and join the family business. But this is not the usual sort of family business. Not only is murder casually dropped into the job description, but our hero continually finds himself in situations that would have lesser men running for an easier line of work. Driven by financial necessity and the institutional lunacy of a multinational corporation, he leaves his home in Manchester and embarks on a trip to India, a return to his roots that will change his life forever. But there is more to life than business. Anil is also driven by the love of a girl. A love that grows stronger with each day of absence. The Fourth Quadrant describes a road trip in which the outer limits of love, stress and companion animal welfare are seen through the shimmering heat of Rajasthan. The people and events described will bring smiles of recognition to all.

Harry Heal is Sport Town's best footballer, healing everyone with his football skills, KINDNESS and FRIENDSHIP. When an ANXIOUS and SHY Jesse Proudfoot joins their school, Harry takes him on a journey of self-discovery, learning from different teams, players and cultures across the world. A heart-warming story about the benefits of EMPATHY, MINDFULNESS and COLLABORATION. And some geography thrown in to boot.

Sir Frederick Ashton (1904 - 1988) remains one of the great figures of twentieth-century ballet, whose place in British ballet is comparable to Balanchine's in America. Ashton's choreographic career began in 1926, when his first ballet was presented as part of a London revue. In this book, David Vaughan traces that entire career, during which Ashton became first a leading dancer and choreographer, and later Director of the Royal Ballet.Ashton created more than eighty ballets, as well as innumerable smaller works, including dances for operas, musical comedies, and films. Vaughan follows Ashton's development through this immensely creative life, from early works such as Facade and Les Rendezvous, to such masterpieces of his maturity as Symphonic Variations, Scenes de ballet, Daphnis and Chloe, La Fille mal gard e, The Dream, Enigma Variations, and A Month in the Country. Each of his important ballets is described and analysed in detail, and most are illustrated, with over 260 drawings and photographs.As a parallel theme to the accomplishments of this one master, the history of British ballet is presented, from its humble beginnings in the 1920s and 1930s through to the late twentieth century - a story in which Ashton played a crucial part as the choreographer whose works have formed and defined what has come to be recognised as the English style of classical ballet.Finally, though the book is not a biography in the conventional sense, a picture emerges of a wise and witty man, the most modest of geniuses, beloved by all who worked with him.David Vaughan's Frederick Ashton and his Ballets, originally published in 1977 and long unavailable, remains the definitive chronicle of Ashton's choreographic career. This revised edition of Vaughan's seminal work includes a new final chapter and an updated chronology of work, and is an essential book both for historians of twentieth-century ballet and for lover of Ashton's work.