At the end of the Eighteenth century, British writers began to celebrate work in a strangely indirect way. Instead of describing diligence as an attribute of character, poets and novelists increasingly identified work with impersonal 'energies' akin to natural force. Chemists traced mental and muscular work back to its source in sunlight, giving rise to the claim (beloved by Nineteenth-century journalists) that 'all the labour done under the sun is really done by it'. The Work of The Sun traces the emergence of this model of work, exploring its sources in middle-class consciousness and its implications for British literature and science.
Like Divakaruni's much-loved and bestselling short story collection Arranged Marriage, this collection of poetry deals with India and the Indian experience in America, from the adventures of going to a convent school in India run by Irish nuns (Growing up in Darjeeling) to the history of the earliest Indian immigrants in the U.S. (Yuba City Poems). Groups of interlinked poems divided into six sections are peopled by many of the same characters and explore varying themes. Here, Divakaruni is particularly interested in how different art forms can influence and inspire each other. One section, entitled Indian Miniatures, is based on and named after a series of paintings by Francesco Clemente. Another, called Moving Pictures, is based on Indian films, including Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" and Satyajit Ray's "Ghare Baire." Photographs by Raghubir Singh inspired the section entitled Rajasthani. The trials and tribulations of growing up and immigration are also considered here and, as with all of Divakaruni's writing, these poems deal with the experience of women and their struggle to find identities for themselves. This collection is touched with the same magic and universal appeal that excited readers of Arranged Marriage. In Leaving Yuba City, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni proves once again her remarkable literary talents.
From their ability to use energy from sunlight to make their own food, to combating attacks from diseases and predators, plants have evolved an amazing range of life-sustaining strategies. Written with the non-specialist in mind, John King's lively natural history explains how plants function, from how they gain energy and nutrition to how they grow, develop and ultimately die. New to this edition is a section devoted to plants and the environment, exploring how problems created by human activities, such as global warming, pollution of land, water and air, and increasing ocean acidity, are impacting on the lives of plants. King's narrative provides a simple, highly readable introduction, with boxes in each chapter offering additional or more advanced material for readers seeking more detail. He concludes that despite the challenges posed by growing environmental perils, plants will continue to dominate our planet.
The treacherous Princess Diaspad wields the sacred stone of Caer Cadwy as a weapon in her struggle for the throne of Celydonn, and the Queen's sorceress must battle to save the kingdom
Dennis Tedlock presents startling new methods for transcribing, translating, and interpreting oral performance that carry wide implications for all areas of the spoken arts. Moreover, he reveals how the categories and concepts of poetics and hermeneutics based in Western literary traditions cannot be carried over in their entirety to the spoken arts of other cultures but require extensive reevaluation.
For over 35 years I have searched books and the past trying to solve Alchemy! The magic of the Philosophers Stone. Turn lead to gold! A cure all medicine! The fountain of youth! Was it just wishful thinking, or is there a basis of fact? I soon learned the subject had lasted as a rumor, mythology, or perhaps just as an idea. Something I believed had to be there, something was overlooked. Now, it seems that the something had not been overlooked, instead was hidden from the masses for many reasons. That something will astound you, will surprise you yet you will know it is truth. Who would have thought that Genesis was really about the yearly cycle? That the process of making the stone is really about the understanding of the creation. Also that the stone is about how nature can and does handle matter. Now with art (man and nature), I found more can be done with matter and so perfect it. You will see that matter handled correctly is purified over time and within shape. That shape is a glass pyramid oven. You may know of it as 'the firmament.' This is the magic, and produces a substance that convinced man of God! You will see that this power of generation is the God of early man, and finding the purified matter led to several things. First the process of Genesis, though I am not sure what it originally was called. That process led to astrology, and the naming and defined understanding of those constellations passing overhead. Finally it led to a religion, which was that of Isis and Osiris. When understood you will see that those are the religions of today, and little has changed. You will then know why all of this was hidden from you! Lastly you will know the All and want to make this substance. You will understand that you're a part of, and maintained by this system. That we need to maintain it before we cause it to destroys us! This is then Alchemy understood, the enchanting power of transformation.
In 1970 a small group of physicists at The Australian National University decided to veer away from the accepted and expected directions in energy research and pursued the emerging discipline of solar energy. Over the next decade ANU joined a small cluster of research institutions, including the CSIRO, UNSW and the University of Sydney, to emerge as a world leader in solar energy technology. This book traces the history of solar energy research at ANU over 35 years from its origin, its sometimes controversial early stages, through its flagship projects to its current status as one of the world’s best known solar energy research establishments. It is as much a story of the future as it is a history: Following the sun is the story of how an idea to pursue what was in 1970 a new and unpopular research path has come to underpin sustainable development in the 21st Century.
