Kirjahaku

MANY aspects of physiology are best understood in terms of bodily reactions to environmental stress, and temperature is one of the most often encountered stress factors in the environment. The responses to temperature can involve practically all of the organ systems of the body and it is for this reason that the study of the regulation of body temperatures represents one of the finest examples of complex reaction integrated by the nervous and endocrine systems, and hence of the principles of biological control. Thus, while thermoregulation offers an abundance of opportunities for the individual who likes to specialize in depth, it is an ideal type of physiology for those who prefer to think of the functioning of the body as whole. This book is written primarily for the undergraduate, but I hope also that some students may find time to read it, before embarking on a university course, as an introduction to some of the ideas that will be encountered in the more detailed study of the biological sciences, including medicine. I have tried to discuss the evidence for important ideas, since this is fundamental to the scientific method, and have been particularly concerned to avoid the use of the sort of technical jargon that gives a spurious impression of authority while in reality creating confusion out of what is in essence simple.

She was the most powerful woman in the world. Victoria had ruled through more than six decades, watching her kingdom spread to become the world’s biggest empire and witnessing massive change in society and leaps forward in technology. Many of her people had known no other monarch. It is little surprise, then, that her death resulted in chaos, shock and mass outpourings of grief across the world. Here author and researcher Stewart Richards has delved through the archives to put together the definitive view of Victoria in her drawn-out final days of illness, through the immediate reaction to and aftermath of her death, to the state funeral on 2 February 1901. Based entirely on fascinating first-hand accounts, Curtain Down at Her Majesty’s offers a remarkable insight into the events of those tumultuous few days, and a truly unique perspective on the life and impact of one of history’s great monarchs.