Gunpowder Alchemy
Gunpowder Alchemy

Author: Jeannie Lin

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2014-11-18

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 0698135334

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In 1842, the gunpowder might of China’s Qing Dynasty fell to Britain’s steam engines. Furious, the Emperor ordered the death of his engineers—and killed China’s best chance of fighting back… Since her father’s execution eight years ago, Jin Soling kept her family from falling into poverty. But her meager savings are running out, leaving her with no choice but to sell the last of her father’s possessions—her last memento of him. Only, while attempting to find a buyer, Soling is caught and brought before the Crown Prince. Unlike his father, the Emperor, the Prince knows that the only chance of expelling the English invaders is to once again unite China’s cleverest minds to create fantastic weapons. He also realizes that Soling is the one person who could convince her father’s former allies—many who have turned rebel—to once again work for the Empire. He promises to restore her family name if she’ll help him in his cause. But after the betrayal of her family all those years ago, Soling is unsure if she can trust anyone in the Forbidden City—even if her heart is longing to believe in the engineer with a hidden past who was once meant to be her husband… Includes a preview of the second book in the Gunpowder Chronicles. Praise for Jeannie Lin and her novels “Tantalizing.”—Publishers Weekly “Compelling, memorable.”—Library Journal “[Lin] is an exceptional storyteller.”—RT Book Reviews USA Today bestselling author Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy, Eastern martial arts adventures, and romance novels. Formerly a high school teacher, Jeannie is now known for writing groundbreaking, award-winning historical romances set in Tang Dynasty China, including her Golden Heart award-winning debut, Butterfly Swords, as well as The Dragon and the Pearl, My Fair Concubine, and The Lotus Palace.

Gunpowder
Gunpowder

Author: Jack Kelly

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2009-04-27

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0786739002

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When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortez, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder
A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder

Author: James Riddick Partington

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 9780801859540

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For nearly 600 years, from battles of the early 14th century to the dropping of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, firearms derived from gunpowder and other chemicals defined the frightful extent of war. In this classic work, first published in 1960, distinguished historian James Riddick Partington provides a worldwide survey of the evolution of incendiary devices, Greek fire, and gunpowder. 21 illustrations.

Clockwork Samurai
Clockwork Samurai

Author: Jeannie Lin

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2015-12-01

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 0698135342

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National bestselling author Jeannie Lin’s Gunpowder Chronicles continue as a woman left adrift by the fall of a Dynasty attempts to reclaim her family’s honor... As a physician, Jin Soling can see that the Emperor is cracking, relying on Opium to drown his troubles. The Ch’ing Empire is failing, and war with the British is imminent, but the man to whom Soling was once engaged has a bold idea to save it. A leader within the Ministry of Engineering, Chang-wei suggests an alliance with Japan, whose scientists claim to have technical advancements that could turn the tide of the war. But Japan has kept itself in isolation for the last two hundred years, cutting all diplomatic ties with the Ch'ing Empire. Chang-wei must enter the island nation in disguise to seek an alliance—an alliance forbidden by the Japanese shogunate. Seeking to escape the politics of the imperial court, Soling arranges her own passage on the airship to Japan. But once they land, Chang-wei and Soling become targets of the shogunate's armored assassins. Caught between two empires, in a land distrustful of foreigners, the deadly war machines are the least of their worries... Includes an exclusive excerpt of Gunpowder Alchemy. Praise for Jeannie Lin and her novels “Tantalizing.”—Publishers Weekly “Compelling, memorable.”—Library Journal “[Lin] is an exceptional storyteller.”—RT Book Reviews

The Alchemy of Air
The Alchemy of Air

Author: Thomas Hager

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2009-08-18

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0307351793

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A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the Haber-Bosch discovery that changed billions of lives—including your own. At the dawn of the twentieth century, humanity was facing global disaster: Mass starvation was about to become a reality. A call went out to the world’ s scientists to find a solution. This is the story of the two men who found it: brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch. Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, and saved millions of lives. But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying. The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and explosives that killed millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both, disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically. The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary, previously untold story of a discovery that changed the way we grow food and the way we make war–and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and dramatic ways.

The Chinese Invent Gunpowder
The Chinese Invent Gunpowder

Author: John Murphy

Publisher: 'The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc'

Published: 2021-07-15

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 1499469187

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Few inventions have changed the world as much as gunpowder has. But did you know that its creation may date back nearly 2,000 years? It’s one of the so-called Four Great Inventions of China, and it likely all started with an accident. In this in-depth book, readers will learn more about the long and intricate background of gunpowder, from its unlikely beginnings to its use in old Chinese weapons and fireworks and its spread throughout the world. Photos give more background to the text, while extra features such as sidebars encourage further curiosity.

The Rebellion Engines
The Rebellion Engines

Author: Jeannie Lin

Publisher:

Published: 2021-07

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9780990946298

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War looms on the horizon. Can a young woman caught between family and country keep her loved ones alive? China, 1853. Jin Soling's divided loyalties rest on a knife's edge. Paired with Chen Chang-wei, her former betrothed, Soling works as a physician in a secret factory building automatons to march on the empire's battleground cities. Though Soling and Chang-wei's bond has grown stronger, the strain of serving a country in turmoil threatens to tear them apart. From a dangerous smuggling run in pirate-infested waters to a dramatic confrontation in the winding streets of Shanghai, Soling learns that the greatest danger might not come from foreign invaders, but from forces inside their borders. Will Soling sacrifice her life and love to an empire that has forgotten its own people? The Rebellion Engines is the mind-blowing conclusion to the Gunpowder Chronicles steampunk fantasy trilogy.

Spy Handler
Spy Handler

Author: Victor Cherkashin

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2008-08-05

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0786724404

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Victor Cherkashin's incredible career in the KGB spanned thirty-eight years, from Stalin's death in 1953 to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. In this riveting memoir, Cherkashin provides a remarkable insider's view of the KGB's prolonged conflict with the United States, from his recruitment through his rising career in counterintelligence to his prime spot as the KGB's number- two man at the Soviet Embassy in Washington. Victor Cherkashin's story will shed stark new light on the KGB's inner workings over four decades and reveal new details about its major cases. Cherkashin's story is rich in episode and drama. He took part in some of the highest-profile Cold War cases, including tracking down U.S. and British spies around the world. He was posted to stations in the U.S., Australia, India, and Lebanon and traveled the globe for operations in England, Europe, and the Middle East. But it was in 1985, known as "the Year of the Spy," that Cherkashin scored two of the biggest coups of the Cold War. In April of that year, he recruited disgruntled CIA officer Aldrich Ames, becoming his principal handler. Refuting and clarifying other published versions, Cherkashin will offer the most complete account on how and why Ames turned against his country. Cherkashin will also reveal new details about Robert Hanssen's recruitment and later exposure, as only he can. And he will address whether there is an undiscovered KGB spy-another Hanssen or Ames-still at large. Spy Handler will be a major addition to Cold War history, told by one of its key participants.

Science in Traditional China
Science in Traditional China

Author: Joseph Needham

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1981

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9780674794399

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The world's preeminent authority on Chinese science explores the philosophy, social structure, arts, crafts, and even military strategies that form our understanding of Chinese science, making instructive comparisons along the way to similar elements of Indian, Hellenistic, and Arabic cultures. A major portion of the book concentrates on Taoist alchemy that led not only to the invention of gunpowder and firearms, but also, through the search for macrobiotic life-elixirs, to the rise of modern medical chemistry.

The Anarchist Cookbook
The Anarchist Cookbook

Author: William Powell

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-02-05

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1387570226

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The Anarchist Cookbook will shock, it will disturb, it will provoke. It places in historical perspective an era when "Turn on, Burn down, Blow up" are revolutionary slogans of the day. Says the author" "This book... is not written for the members of fringe political groups, such as the Weatherman, or The Minutemen. Those radical groups don't need this book. They already know everything that's in here. If the real people of America, the silent majority, are going to survive, they must educate themselves. That is the purpose of this book." In what the author considers a survival guide, there is explicit information on the uses and effects of drugs, ranging from pot to heroin to peanuts. There i detailed advice concerning electronics, sabotage, and surveillance, with data on everything from bugs to scramblers. There is a comprehensive chapter on natural, non-lethal, and lethal weapons, running the gamut from cattle prods to sub-machine guns to bows and arrows.