Going back over a period of 100 years, Mine in the Sky tells of the events leading up to the discovery and development of the great tungsten ore bodies at Pine Creek, California. Mine in the Sky recounts a history shaped by world politics, the ups and downs of metals demand, and economic survival through technological innovations. Using personal recollections, the book portrays the lives of the people who made the place what it was and found a home and sense of community in dramatic Pine Creek Canyon. This account is invaluable for mining historians as well as those interested in the history of the Eastern Sierra and the Owens Valley of California.
Shortlisted for the Bristol Teen Book Award 2020 Longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2021 Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2021 ‘Izzy is my hero, and her voice deserves to be heard around the world. Stunning.’ Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places ‘Amy Beashel holds nothing back when confronting rape culture and toxicity; this beautiful book will floor you and deserves to be on every shelf, everywhere.’ Kathleen Glasgow, author of Girl in Pieces Izzy feels invisible. Trapped under the weight of expectation and censored by shame. Her mum Steph and best friend Grace have always been there to save her. But with one under the control of her stepfather and the other caught in the throes of new love, Izzy is falling between the cracks. As threats to her safety grow, Izzy wants to scream. But first she must find her voice. And if the sky is the limit, then the sky is hers. [This book contains material which some readers may find distressing, including discussions of rape, coercive behaviour, domestic violence and abuse.]
Sometime in the future the author predicts that either humans, and/or robotic vehicles will exploit mineral resources outside the planet Earth. This is an apocalyptic vision for anyone with an interest in the future of our species
Homer Hickam won the praise of critics and the devotion of readers with his first two memoirs set in the hardscrabble mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia. The New York Times crowned his first book, the #1 national bestseller October Sky, “an eloquent evocation ... a thoroughly charming memoir.” And People called The Coalwood Way, Hickam’s follow-up to October Sky, “a heartwarmer ... truly beautiful and haunting.” Now Homer Hickam continues his extraordinary story with Sky of Stone, dazzling us with exquisite storytelling as he takes us back to that remarkable small town we first came to know and love in October Sky. In the summer of ‘61, Homer “Sonny” Hickam, a year of college behind him, was dreaming of sandy beaches and rocket ships. But before Sonny could reach the seaside fixer-upper where his mother was spending the summer, a telephone call sends him back to the place he thought he had escaped, the gritty coal-mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia. There, Sonny’s father, the mine’s superintendent, has been accused of negligence in a man’s death — and the townspeople are in conflict over the future of the town. Sonny’s mother, Elsie, has commanded her son to spend the summer in Coalwood to support his father. But within hours, Sonny realizes two things: His father, always cool and distant with his second son, doesn’t want him there ... and his parents’ marriage has begun to unravel. For Sonny, so begins a summer of discovery — of love, betrayal, and most of all, of a brooding mystery that threatens to destroy his father and his town. Cut off from his college funds by his father, Sonny finds himself doing the unimaginable: taking a job as a “track-laying man,” the toughest in the mine. Moving out to live among the miners, Sonny is soon dazzled by a beautiful older woman who wants to be the mine’s first female engineer. And as the days of summer grow shorter, Sonny finds himself changing in surprising ways, taking the first real steps toward adulthood. But it’s a journey he can make only by peering into the mysterious heart of Coalwood itself, and most of all, by unraveling the story of a man’s death and a father’s secret. In Sky of Stone, Homer Hickam looks down the corridors of his past with love, humor, and forgiveness, brilliantly evoking a close-knit community where everyone knows everything about each other’s lives — except the things that matter most. Sky of Stone is a memoir that reads like a novel, mesmerizing us with rich language, narrative drive, and sheer storytelling genius.
The complete four-book series! Enter the world of the Entire in this first book of the celebrated four-volume epic. In a land-locked galaxy that tunnels through our own, the Entire gathers both human and alien beings under a sky of fire, called the bright. A land of wonders, the Entire is sustained by monumental storm walls and a never-ending river. Over all, the elegant and cruel Tarig rule supreme. Into this rich milieu is thrust Titus Quinn, former star pilot, bereft of his beloved wife and daughter who are assumed dead by everyone on earth except Quinn. Believing them trapped in a parallel universe—one where he himself may have been imprisoned—he returns to the Entire to free them. Thus begins a tale of high adventure and vast concept, replete with alien cultures, an exotic bureaucracy, and a man with nothing left to lose. He may not find what he seeks, but he’ll be offered a view of the multiverse, the power of princes, an unthinkable revenge—and unexpectedly, love. "A riveting launch." ––Publisher's Weekly starred review [A] fascinating and gratifying feat of world building. . . . promises to be a grand epic, indeed.”—Booklist “[A] star-maker, a magnificent book that should establish its author's reputation as among the very best in the field today.”—SFSite.com
Bitty is a canary whose courage more than makes up for his diminutive size. Of course, as a miner bird who detects deadly gas leaks in a West Virginia coal mine during the Depression, he is used to facing danger. Tired of perilous working conditions, he escapes and hops a coal train to the state capital to seek help in improving the plights of miners and their canaries. In the tradition of E.B. White, George Selden, and Beverly Cleary's Ralph S. Mouse, Madelyn Rosenberg has written a singular novel full of unforgettable characters.
Mine warfare, in its various forms, is a favoured weapon used by insurgents against government forces. By June 1966, when the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) arrived in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, the Viet Cong and People’s Army of Vietnam forces were well entrenched in the province and used mines extensively. The mine campaign risked few enemy lives and was a powerful statement to everyone, including civilians, that the Viet Cong were still in the war and not a spent force. The intense patrolling practised by 1ATF inevitably put its men in close contact with enemy mines. Indeed, 1ATF suffered more casualties from the Viet Cong mine warfare campaign than from any other single cause, yet enemy casualties were minimal. So why did the enemy mine campaign collapse in the period July to December 1970 and continue its rapid decline until 1ATF ended combat operations in September 1971? Counterinsurgency has been described as a competition in learning and, facing a well-organised mine campaign against them, 1ATF learned and adapted to the enemy’s mine warfare techniques. Supported by statistical analyses of operational research data, this book details the complex tactics adopted by 1ATF to eventually defeat the Viet Cong mine campaign, and how enemy forces were reduced to a negligible military presence in Phuoc Tuy Province.
An action-packed story of love, duty and destiny, by global sensation Wilbur Smith. 'A master storyteller' - Sunday Times 'Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared' - The Times 'No one does adventure quite like Smith' - Daily Mirror The higher you fly, the harder you fall . . . From a young age it's clear that David Morgan is a 'bird', a natural pilot, most at home in the air. His family want him to take over the family business, but David is determined to follow his destiny, and joins the South African Air Force, where he is commended for his skills. When he meets Debra, a beautiful young Israeli writer, David once again feels the pull of destiny. He joins the Israeli Defence Force and finds himself caught up in the country's struggles. But when the war separates him from Debra, David feels his two destinies pulling him apart. Can he become the man he always dreamed of being, without losing the woman he's fighting for?
