Lars Quickbreath has problems. He has awaken from one nightmare, into another. The world is a seething cauldron of madness, ruled by a demented despot, policed by privacy invading technologies, where terrorism and wars are an everyday occurrence, and militarism has all but overrun civilian population. Swept by circumstance, Lars finds himself on a bizarre odyssey through the world he thought he knew, plagued by questions. What is the Government's interest in Lars? Why does an omnipotent artificial intelligence seek him? And who, or what, has stolen Lars' dreams?
In 1979, with El Salvador growing ever more unstable and ripe for revolution, the United States undertook a counterinsurgency intervention that over the following decade would become Washington’s largest nation-building effort since Vietnam. In 2003, policymakers looked to this “successful” undertaking as a model for US intervention in Iraq. In fact, Brian D’Haeseleer argues in The Salvadoran Crucible, the US counterinsurgency in El Salvador produced no more than a stalemate, and in the process inflicted tremendous suffering on Salvadorans for a limited amount of foreign policy gains. D’Haeseleer’s book is a deeply informed, dispassionate account of how the Salvadoran venture took shape, what it actually accomplished, and what lessons it holds.A historical analysis of the origins of US counterinsurgency policy provides context for understanding how precedents informed US intervention in El Salvador. What follows is a detailed, in-depth view of how the counterinsurgency unfolded—the nature, logic, and effectiveness of the policies, initiatives, and operations promoted by American strategists. D’Haeseleer’s account disputes the “success” narrative by showing that El Salvador’s achievements, mainly the spread of democracy, occurred as a result not of the American intervention but of the insurgents’ war against the state. Most significantly, The Salvadoran Crucible contends that the reforms enacted during the war failed to address the underlying causes of the conflict, which today continue to reverberate in El Salvador. The book thus suggests a reassessment of the history of American counterinsurgency, and a course-correction for the future.
Many of us have wanted to write a life-story but have been unsure how to set about it or how to bring such a project to completion. Whether you are planning to write about your own family or research the life of a famous historical figure, this book will assist, advise and encourage you. The author looks at all aspects of writing biography and autobiography, including: the reasons for biographical writing; choosing your subject; identifying your audience; research methods; organising the information; and writing up your material. There are also sections on legal issues, copyright and finding a publisher.
Elegant dining rooms in the nineteenth century served an important role in the social discourse of the Victorian household. They tended to be "masculine" spaces and typically were filled with solid, heavily carved sideboards and tables, and draped with rich, velvet curtains. Sideboards "groaned" with the weight of opulent silver serving pieces, set off by the jewel-like tones of colored art glass vases and bowls. There could never be too many objects; after all, these were rooms that were meant to impress. So it was perfectly fine to have silver asparagus tongs or orange slicers, sitting beside the silver spoon warmer in the shape of a shell. This richly colorful book is a visual journey through the nineteenth century dining room. From the sideboard to the tea table, the serving pieces, silver, glass, and unusual Victorian oddities are presented. Through over 200 photographs, it becomes clear why the whimsical, beautiful, and sometimes bizarre products of that inventive and colorful time continue to astound and fascinate us. Also included is a facsimile of "How to Set the Table," a rare booklet from 1901, which will help the reader understand the variety and uses of the Victorian table setting. A Value Guide completes the work.
Armed with cutting-edge research and a barfly's thirst for the truth, cocktail instructor Brian D. Hoefling tackles the most burning questions and longest-held myths surrounding that most ancient of human pastimes-with the science to either back them up or knock them down. From the ins and outs of aging to the chemistry of a beer head and the science behind your hangover, Distilled Knowledge provides a complete and comical education that will put an end to any barroom dispute, once and for all.
As a senior at Yale, Brian Hoefling realised that his classmates were about to enter the real world with an imperfect knowledge of how to order, prepare, and enjoy cocktails. To remedy this dangerous deficiency, he devised and taught The Cocktail Seminars. In his subsequent career as a cocktail teacher and writer, Hoefling has developed and refined The Cocktail Seminars into the present book. Each of the five seminars herein (from beginner to advanced) covers 30 different drinks, which are arranged so as to progressively introduce the ingredients of mixology, as well as its history and its core principles - souring, bittering, sweetening, aromatising, drying, lengthening, and mouthfeel. Problem sets and exams challenge readers to apply what they’ve learned to the creation of new and variant drinks. Those who are less serious about their cocktail education may also consult The Cocktail Seminars for drink recipes as needed, or display it as a handsome accessory on their bar cart - but they are only robbing themselves of a brighter future through the gift of education. The Cocktail Seminars is handsomely bound in vegan leather and furnished with all the charts and photographs one would expect from a proper textbook. It will make an excellent gift for all but teetotalers.
The first-ever book on an emerging category of spirits poised to shake up the cocktail world. Includes recipes! Spirits are typically grouped by their source materials: whiskeys are distilled from grains, rum from sugarcane, brandies from fruits, and so forth. Now another category of spirits, ancient but under-recognised, is emerging in the global marketplace: those distilled from tree saps, which this book christens dryads. Dryads range from arrack, distilled from coconut palm sap in Sri Lanka; to ogorogo, distilled from raffia palm sap in Nigeria; to acerum, distilled from maple sap in Quebec. Each dryad has its own distinctive flavour profile and tradition; together, they are expanding the horizons of cocktail culture. In this abundantly illustrated volume, Brian D. Hoefling—the critically acclaimed author of The Cocktail Seminars—explores the history, culture, and production of each of the major types of dryad. Through his extensive on-the-ground research, Hoefling also shows us how to enjoy these spirits, assembling some 60 outstanding cocktail recipes, each accompanied by a photo. Many of the recipes employ ingredients that the home bartender will have at hand, while others highlight unique local ingredients that serious mixologists will be eager to add to their repertoire. A companion website details which dryad brands are available for purchase in each U.S. state. Bringing together the strands of a cultural tradition that stretch from Sweden to Sri Lanka, from Bali to Benin, and from Manila to Montreal, this groundbreaking book will be an essential resource for cocktail enthusiasts and professionals alike.
In this fresh study Brian Schoen views the Deep South and its cotton industry from a global perspective, revisiting old assumptions and providing new insights into the region, the political history of the United States, and the causes of the Civil War. Schoen takes a unique and broad approach. Rather than seeing the Deep South and its planters as isolated from larger intellectual, economic, and political developments, he places the region firmly within them. In doing so, he demonstrates that the region's prominence within the modern world-and not its opposition to it-indelibly shaped Southern history. The place of "King Cotton" in the sectional thinking and budding nationalism of the Lower South seems obvious enough, but Schoen reexamines the ever-shifting landscape of international trade from the 1780s through the eve of the Civil War. He argues that the Southern cotton trade was essential to the European economy, seemingly worth any price for Europeans to protect and maintain, and something to defend aggressively in the halls of Congress. This powerful association gave the Deep South the confidence to ultimately secede from the Union. By integrating the history of the region with global events, Schoen reveals how white farmers, planters, and merchants created a "Cotton South," preserved its profitability for many years, and ensured its dominance in the international raw cotton markets. The story he tells reveals the opportunities and costs of cotton production for the Lower South and the United States.
Is there a pill for love? What about an "anti-love drug", to help us get over an ex? This book argues that certain psychoactive substances, including MDMA—the active ingredient in Ecstasy—may help ordinary couples work through relationship difficulties and strengthen their connection. Others may help sever an emotional connection during a breakup. These substances already exist, and they have transformative implications for how we think about love. This book builds a case for conducting research into "love drugs" and "anti-love drugs" and explores their ethical implications for individuals and society. Scandalously, Western medicine tends to ignore the interpersonal effects of drug-based interventions. Why are we still in the dark about the effects of these drugs on romantic partnerships? And how can we overhaul scientific research norms to take relationships more fully into account? Ethicists Brian D. Earp and Julian Savulescu say that the time to think through such questions is now. Biochemical interventions into love and relationships are not some far-off speculation. Our most intimate connections are already being influenced by drugs we ingest for other purposes. Controlled studies are underway to see whether artificial brain chemicals can enhance couples therapy. And conservative religious groups are experimenting with certain medications to quash romantic desires—and even the urge to masturbate—among children and vulnerable sexual minorities. Simply put, the horse has bolted. Where it runs is up to us. Love Drugs arms us with the latest scientific knowledge and a set of ethical tools that we can use to decide if these sorts of medications should be a part of our society. Or whether a chemical romance will be right for us.
The story of the United States Air Force (USAF) stretches back to aerial operations prior to the First World War—well before the USAF became a separate service—and looks forward to a new era of airpower in space. Fighting from Above presents a concise account of this expansive history, offering a new perspective on how the air forces of the United States created an independent way of warfare over time. From the earliest battles of the USAF’s predecessor organizations to its modern incarnation, Brian D. Laslie identifies four distinct and observable ways of war that developed over four distinct epochs. Beginning with the development of early air power (1906–1941), he highlights the creation of roles and missions, with bombardment theory and practice ascendant. An era of strategic dominance (1942–1975) followed in which the ideas of strategic bombardment ruled the air force; when such notions were unceremoniously proven false during the Vietnam-era conflicts, a period of tactical ascendancy (1975–2019) began. Finally, Laslie considers the current environment, where much of the story of the USAF remains unwritten as it grapples with the prospects and challenges posed by drones and the U.S. Space Force. While detailing combat operations, Fighting from Above also pays close attention to technology, politics, rivalries, logistics, policy, organization, equipping, and training. Thorough, concise, and innovative in its approach, it is an authoritative, exceptionally readable history of the development of American airpower.
The story of the United States Air Force (USAF) stretches back to aerial operations prior to the First World War—well before the USAF became a separate service—and looks forward to a new era of airpower in space. Fighting from Above presents a concise account of this expansive history, offering a new perspective on how the air forces of the United States created an independent way of warfare over time. From the earliest battles of the USAF’s predecessor organizations to its modern incarnation, Brian D. Laslie identifies four distinct and observable ways of war that developed over four distinct epochs. Beginning with the development of early air power (1906–1941), he highlights the creation of roles and missions, with bombardment theory and practice ascendant. An era of strategic dominance (1942–1975) followed in which the ideas of strategic bombardment ruled the air force; when such notions were unceremoniously proven false during the Vietnam-era conflicts, a period of tactical ascendancy (1975–2019) began. Finally, Laslie considers the current environment, where much of the story of the USAF remains unwritten as it grapples with the prospects and challenges posed by drones and the U.S. Space Force. While detailing combat operations, Fighting from Above also pays close attention to technology, politics, rivalries, logistics, policy, organization, equipping, and training. Thorough, concise, and innovative in its approach, it is an authoritative, exceptionally readable history of the development of American airpower.
In the fall of 1865, the United States Army executed Confederate guerrilla Champ Ferguson for his role in murdering fifty-three loyal citizens of Kentucky and Tennessee during the Civil War. Long remembered as the most unforgiving and inglorious warrior of the Confederacy, Ferguson has often been dismissed by historians as a cold-blooded killer. In Confederate Outlaw: Champ Ferguson and the Civil War in Appalachia, biographer Brian D. McKnight demonstrates how such a simple judgment ignores the complexity of this legendary character.In his analysis, McKnight maintains that Ferguson fought the war on personal terms and with an Old Testament mentality regarding the righteousness of his cause. He believed that friends were friends and enemies were enemies, no middle ground existed. As a result, he killed prewar comrades as well as longtime adversaries without regret, all the while knowing that he might one day face his own brother, who served as a Union scout.Ferguson's continued popularity demonstrates that his bloody legend did not die on the gallows. Widespread rumors endured of his last-minute escape from justice, and over time, the borderland terrorist emerged as a folk hero for many southerners. Numerous authors resurrected and romanticized his story for popular audiences, and even Hollywood used Ferguson's life to create the composite role played by Clint Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales. McKnight's study deftly separates the myths from reality and weaves a thoughtful, captivating, and accurate portrait of the Confederacy's most celebrated guerrilla.An impeccably researched biography, Confederate Outlaw offers an abundance of insight into Ferguson's wartime motivations, actions, and tactics, and also describes borderland loyalties, guerrilla operations, and military retribution. McKnight concludes that Ferguson, and other irregular warriors operating during the Civil War, saw the conflict as far more of a personal battle than a political one.
In the fall of 1865, the United States Army executed Confederate guerrilla Champ Ferguson for his role in murdering fifty-three loyal citizens of Kentucky and Tennessee during the Civil War. Long remembered as the most unforgiving and inglorious warrior of the Confederacy, Ferguson has often been dismissed by historians as a cold-blooded killer. In Confederate Outlaw: Champ Ferguson and the Civil War in Appalachia, biographer Brian D. McKnight demonstrates how such a simple judgment ignores the complexity of this legendary character.In his analysis, McKnight maintains that Ferguson fought the war on personal terms and with an Old Testament mentality regarding the righteousness of his cause. He believed that friends were friends and enemies were enemies—no middle ground existed. As a result, he killed prewar comrades as well as longtime adversaries without regret, all the while knowing that he might one day face his own brother, who served as a Union scout.Ferguson's continued popularity demonstrates that his bloody legend did not die on the gallows. Widespread rumors endured of his last-minute escape from justice, and over time, the borderland terrorist emerged as a folk hero for many southerners. Numerous authors resurrected and romanticized his story for popular audiences, and even Hollywood used Ferguson's life to create the composite role played by Clint Eastwood in The Outlaw Josey Wales. McKnight's study deftly separates the myths from reality and weaves a thoughtful, captivating, and accurate portrait of the Confederacy's most celebrated guerrilla.An impeccably researched biography, Confederate Outlaw offers an abundance of insight into Ferguson's wartime motivations, actions, and tactics, and also describes borderland loyalties, guerrilla operations, and military retribution. McKnight concludes that Ferguson, and other irregular warriors operating during the Civil War, saw the conflict as far more of a personal battle than a political one.
This engaging book shows how teachers and schools are creating emergent, democratic, progressive education amidst the current context of high stakes accountability. In this follow-up to his bestseller, Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way, Schultz explores how today’s rhetoric and restrictive mandates result in curriculum that fails to capture the attention of students. For meaningful learning that develops transferable skills and engages students, teachers and sometimes whole schools need to find spaces to “teach in the cracks” so that students can connect with issues relevant to their lives. Teaching in the Cracks provides both a theoretical and practical foundation for incorporating an action-focused curriculum that meets academic standards and provides students with opportunities for agency and to use their voices in their own learning.
This celebrated narrative captured the attention of educators and the media by depicting the journey of one teacher and his students juxtaposed against the entrenched bureaucracy of Chicago’s public education system. This second edition examines how school reform continues to fail students in urban contexts and offers compelling updates on students.
