Alan J. Porter

Open any book on strange or abandoned aircraft projects, and you will probably find the Bristol Brabazon featured. Over the years, this huge piston-engine powered, propeller-driven airliner, designed for the vital trans-Atlantic routes, has been referred to as the ‘white elephant of the skies’, or even ‘one of the world’s worst aircraft’. But, as the author reveals, such sentiments may well be undeserved. With a wingspan and size larger than the jumbo jets we are familiar with today, the Brabazon was designed to fly just sixty or so passengers in supreme luxury from London to New York. During their flight, these lucky individuals could while away the hours at the cocktail bar, enjoy the onboard movie theatre, or have a rest in the fully furnished sleeping compartments. Born during the Second World War, the Brabazon first flew in 1949. Maybe, the author asks, it was just ahead of its time. The twin-deck design, for example, is mirrored today in the Airbus A380 airliner, and several of the world’s airlines have begun to express interest in using large aircraft configured to provide comfort and style for a limited number of passengers who would pay for such as experience. This book is more than just a technical review. Using a combination of existing documentation, archive material and original research, the author sets out to place the whole story of the Brabazon firmly in its cultural social and political context. How and why was this giant aircraft conceived? What led to it being cancelled in 1952, and the one flying prototype being sold for scrap after millions had been invested in its design, construction and marketing. Who were the people behind the revolutionary technical advances made during its creation? Why was a whole village demolished to accommodate this giant of the skies, and how did that lead to the eventual development of the Concorde SST? Whether you are an aviation enthusiast, interested in engineering history, political sciences or just the history of aviation industry, this study of the Brabazon will help you decide whether it was an engineering masterpiece or a great white elephant.

CX Trinity explores three key facets of customer experience (CX): how we talk to customers, the content we provide to them, and the contexts in which they consume our content.Any good customer experience is driven by a combination of three critical elements: Meeting the customer's needsDelivering the right content to help the customerUnderstanding the context of where, when, and how the customer interacts with youThis book pulls together 52 essays that originally appeared as blog posts on Alan's Content Pool blog, LinkedIn, and the CMS Wire website. They reflect Alan's years of experience writing, designing, and managing content for both large and small corporations. These essays have been collected, updated, and edited for this volume.

ALL FOR ONE-From the pages of Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure novels come the Three Musketeers. The King of France's personal guard will pledge their loyalty to their country and themselves in their boisterous cry, "All for one and one for all " Now these colorful characters are back. First we have Athos, the veteran soldier who lives with a broken heart. Then we have Aramis, the priest turned swordsman. Finally there is Porthos, the larger than life rascal with a giant appetite for food, women and adventure. All of them watching over their young prot g , the handsome and daring D'Artagnan.-In two fast-paced action tales and one thrill-packed novella, these four famous heroes are back to thrill and excite new readers. From Italy, to Spain and then the new world of Canada, these men will take on any and all villainy as only they can. New Pulp scribes Joel Jenkins, Paul Beale and Alan J. Porter deliver three amazing tales continuing the exploits of Dumas' cavalier musketeers.

In January 2010, the author had a continuing vision of a medieval square he'd neither seen nor visited before in BANSKA BYSTRICA, SLOVAKIA. Later that year, events unfolded whereby the author and two friends embarked on a 4,000 mile journey across Europe. This vision would later see him staying for over four years in Banska Bystrica to paint an enormous (6 metres wide by 4 metres high) painting, showing over 500 children from around the world, which will bring peace to the conflict between Palestine and Israel. The painting is called 'Children Are the Future' and encoded within it is a message for peace between Palestine and Israel. The prophecy he had received twenty years before, that the world was getting ever closer to a theatre of crisis, makes him believe that a Divine Intervention is taking place, using him as a vehicle to bring peace and to give the message of the meaning and purpose of life. This is part of the journey that has led to the present day of November 1st, 2016.

AN EPIC ADVENTURE THAT REVEALS MANY ANSWERS FOR THE YOUNG AND THE YOUNG-AT-HEART. Joshua the Polar Bear with his wife, Josey, and their children, Fred and Flo, find themselves in two theatres of conflict that could threaten the balance of world peace. Crazy villains and master criminals are active throughout this humorous, yet poignant and profound, story. Joshua and his family have developed extraordinary magnetic powers, including the ability to see into the future. Russia becomes the beneficiary of their abilities, and President Rockov's prodigy son, Ivan, enlists the help of the young English genius, Ethan the Enlightened One. The two boys find themselves in confrontation with Grigory Metimovich, the richest oligarch in the world, who is based in Moscow. Further help comes from another galaxy, as Joshua is able to harness energy and help from that source, along with assistance from the wealthy English entrepreneur, Rich Pickens.

Adventures in AfricaH. Rider Haggard's classic hero, Allan Quatermain, returns in three brand new adventures all set on the Dark Continent. Thomas Kent Miller's novella has the big-game hunter traveling to Ethiopia to search for the fabled Library of Alexandria. Erik Franlin pits him against an ancient cult of assassins while Alan J. Porter has the skilled tracker stuck in the middle of the Boer War trying to find the source of a diamond smuggling operation.Three fast-paced, original tales that capture the mystery and adventure of a wild, untamed land and the man who loved it above all else. Journey with him and embrace the magic that was and remains Africa.

A true story of a man with a psychic gift since childhood of seeing the future and receiving the answers that many seek. One such vision took the author to the homeland of a famous Native American leader, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe. This journey involved synchronicity and the belief that there is a pre-destined path that we can follow if we understand and accept the meaning and purpose of our lives. The author has continued to receive powerful visions and predictions that, in 2010, led him to Banska Bystrica in Slovakia, where he spent four years creating a very large painting of children that he believes will bring peace to Palestine and Israel within two years of the painting being shown there. The author's spiritual journey continues, as do his predictions that all eventually come true.

Murder by GaslightA thick fog envelopes the streets of London and nefarious agents set about their evil plots and schemes. Murder most foul rears its ugly head and baffling mysteries confound the good men of Scotland Yard until they've no recourse by to call upon the greatest Consulting Detective of them all, Sherlock Holmes of 221 B Baker Street.In this seventh volume of Airship 27 Productions' best-selling series, Sherlock Holmes and his steadfast companion, Dr. Watson, set out to solve four brand new mysteries, each a unique puzzle unlike any they've encountered before. From confronting the legendary Spring-Heel Jack to battling a fictional foe become real, Holmes and Watson will have to employ all their considerable talents to unravel these complex and insidious crimes.Writers I.A. Watson, Aaron Smith, Alan J. Porter and Greg Hatcher have offered up a quartet of intriguing mysteries that will challenge even the most ardent readers as they attempt to match wits with Arthur Conan Doyle's ageless hero, Sherlock Holmes

Gaslight MysteriesSherlock Holmes, arguably the greatest fictional character ever created, returns along with his faithful friend, Dr. Watson, in five new stories pitting his deductive skills against all manner of gaslight villainy.A man awakens in a sanitarium claiming to be Dr. John Watson. A young student is charged with the murder of his famous professor. A Paris gang of jewel thieves brings the Great Detective to the City of Lights. Murder in a London opium den unlocks the evil lurking within the estate of a prestigious British family and the ghost of Dr. Moriarty may have risen from the grave to challenge his Baker Street rival one final time.These are the baffling cases documented here by writers I.A. Watson, Michael A. Black, Alan J. Porter and Greg Hatcher; all guaranteed to keep Holmes fans intrigued and entertained from the first tale to the last. The fog rolls in off the Thames, the clip-clop of hansom cabs rolls by and shrill screams cut through the night. Once more the game is afoot

A CLASSIC HERO REBORNBritish adventure writer, H. Rider Haggard's most popular fictional character was Alan Quatermain, the irascible African big game hunter. As the hero of the classic KING SOLOMON'S MINES, Quatermain immediately fired the imagination of readers across the world and created an instant demand for more of his adventures.Now Airship 27 Productions answers that on-going demand by presenting two brand new Alan Quatermain novellas each filled with a host of suspense, action and exotic African locales. When a French river boat pilot discovers elephant ivory suffused with gold, it sends the expert guide on a quest find a fable elephant's graveyard to learn answer to the "GOLDEN IVORY" by Alan J. Porter. Next a na ve American lad follows Quatermain deep into the jungle to find eight missing white women only to uncover an ancient evil capable of possessing the bodies of its victim's in Aaron Smith's chilling "TEMPLE OF LOST SOULS."Here are complete tales that will thrill pulp fans and introduce a whole new generation to one of the most famous adventure heroes of all time; H. Rider Haggard's Alan Quatermain.

All companies, no matter what industry they are in, or what product or service they create, do four basic things. Offer something for sale, sell it, collect money for it, and create content about what they do. Product development, Marketing, Sales, and Finance are all essential to the organization and are typically managed at the VP or CXO level, yet a company's content, which contains all of its intellectual property, is often overlooked. "The Content Pool: Leveraging Your Company's Largest Hidden Asset" makes the case for placing content creation, management, and distribution on a par with other core strategic business activities. Inside the Book Identifying Your Content Organizing Your Content Managing Your Content Leveraging Your Content The Case for a Chief Content Officer Bibliography and Index

"WIKI: Grow Your Own for Fun and Profit" introduces the concept of wikis, and shows why they are becoming the must-have communications and collaboration technology for businesses of any size. Using a garden as a metaphor, Alan J. Porter shows you step-by-step how to select wiki software, get started, overcome resistance to wikis, maintain your wiki, and use your wiki for internal collaboration, project planning, communication with your customers, and more. Includes five case studies that highlight the ways companies are using wikis to solve business and communication problems, increase efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction. Inside the Book A Brief History of Collaboration Defining the Wiki Planting the Seed First Growth Maintaining the Garden Landscaping Harvesting the Information A Wiki Checklist Notes on Popular Wiki Software Resources and Index

Boldly goes where no book has gone before! Now for the first time the complete history of the Star Trek universe in comic books and newspaper strips all over the world. Written by pop-culture historian Alan J. Porter, author of the bestselling James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007, Star Trek: A Comic Book History features nine information-packed chapters detailing the history of Star Trek in comic books and newspaper strips from the first Gold Key comic books and English newspaper strip, to Marvel and DC's titles, and up to the present day.Exhaustively covers all publications of the entire Star Trek universe. Includes creator interviews, unpublished artwork, and a detailed checklist. Published to coincide with the release of the new Star Trek movie this book is the perfect companion for all fans of Star Trek and its various incarnations.

Now for the first time, the complete history of the illustrated James Bond is chronicled by pop-culture historian Alan J. Porter in James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007. Before Bond became world famous with his movie series, the character was the subject of successful English newspaper strips and later in comic books. James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 examines it all, covering Bond's newspaper strip and comic book appearances from the 1950s to the present.

Liverpool, England, October 1956. Schoolboy John Lennon and his best friend, Peter Shotton, decide to start a skiffle group as

With over 6000 items listed, this is the most comprehensive guide to Batman® collectibles ever assembled between two covers. Nearly 300 color photographs accompany the informative articles and detailed price guide listings. Highlights include a Comics section which lists every comic book in which Batman has appeared from his debut in 1939 through to the end of 1997, plus a Figures section which lists all of the various Batman action figures. Covering everything from Artwork to Videos, and price ranges from 15› to $150,000, this book is a must for any Batfan or student of popular culture.