An illustrated study of the oft-overlooked engagements between the iconic F4F Wildcat and Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force's 6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane during the Solomon Islands campaign.A number of unique confrontations took place between floatplanes and land-based fighters during the fierce aerial battles fought above the Solomon Islands throughout 1942–43. Whilst the most famous Battle of Guadalcanal "slugfests" saw US Marine Corps/US Navy F4F Wildcats engage the...

The standard history of vaccines presents a linear narrative of scientific progress: from Edward Jenner’s cowpox experiment through germ theory’s triumph over infectious disease. The actual history proves far more complex.The History of Vaccination: Separating Fact from Fiction examines vaccination’s development from eighteenth-century smallpox inoculation through the 1940s consolidation of medical authority. Drawing on primary sources, parliamentary records, and contempor...

"An uncompromising look at his younger self and the Nicaraguan revolution . . . that compels readers to question their own motivations and beliefs." — The AmericasWhen Michael Johns joined a Sandinista militia in 1983, a fellow revolutionary dubbed him a rábano, a radish: red on the outside but white on the inside. Now, more than twenty-five years later, Johns appreciates the wisdom of that label as he revisits the questions of identity he...

Thai cuisine is known for its balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavours, as well as its use of fresh herbs and fragrant spices. In this book, you'll find a variety of dishes ranging from classic stir-fries and curries to refreshing salads and drinks. Each recipe includes easy-to-follow instructions and a list of ingredients, so you can recreate these dishes at home and experience the flavours of Thailand in your own kitchen. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just starting out, thes...

Once a promising young pilot in the Air Force, John had always dreamed of soaring through the skies and pushing the limits of what was possible in an aircraft. However, his dreams were nearly shattered when he was brought down by a rogue missile during a mission, crashing and losing his left foot in the process. He worked for many years to gain the trust of any customers who might be sceptical of a pilot with a prosthetic foot.Over the years, he was able to allay these fears and hi...

The New Minorities of Europe: Social Cohesion in the European Unionargues that while the EU currently faces economic issues, it is pressed with larger questions and potential problems due to the backlash against those who move freely inside the union. It uses the intra-EU migrants, particularly the Polish community who moved post-2004 into Britain and to a lesser extent Ireland, as the case through which to examine these issues. The book argues that the traditional definitions of minoritie...

The new world order as it stood after the apparent end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR was greeted with enthusiasm and optimism almost everywhere, but especially in the West. Less than a quarter century later that optimism has faded dramatically, with the rise of populism, nationalism, religious extremism and civil discord disrupting political and social norms around the world. This book reveals the extent to which events that began as internal political crises in Europe, the ...

March With the Muse is a collection of poems on various subjects, written in the 31 day month of March 2012 by Michael N. Johns. Perhaps creativity, perhaps a childlike spirit, or perhaps unmedicated attention deficit disorder, inspires friends to occasionally remark, "You're so random." In this random collection look for honesty, heart, humor and hope, in, and between the lines of verse.

A local rock star once said, ‘San Francisco is 49 square miles surrounded by reality.’ Michael Johns's San Francisco: Instant City, Promised Land portrays the sensibilities of this small city with an outsized personality.No American city has such a broad sweep of staggering views – of the ocean, of a huge bay, of surrounding hills – or such a high opinion of its own worth. San Francisco has always been rich, too: the city’s great wealth underwrites the broadmindedness so v...

Mexico City assumed its current character around the turn of the twentieth century, during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911). In those years, wealthy Mexicans moved away from the Zócalo, the city's traditional center, to western suburbs where they sought to imitate European and American ways of life. At the same time, poorer Mexicans, many of whom were peasants, crowded into eastern suburbs that lacked such basic amenities as schools, potable water, and adequate sewerage. These...

Ottomar's Tail is a very short allegorical story about discovering who you are, believing in yourself, dreaming, and becoming who you were meant to be. Everyone has a purpose and we all need to find it. Everyone has a dream, although many have lost sight of it in the drudgery of life, or set it aside in the urgency of performing tasks we have to perform. But we need dreams or we become something we're not supposed to be, someone we weren't designed to be. We may not even like ourselves. Bu...

Can we ‘save the Planet’? For a resilient, durable and sustainable future for human society, we need to repurpose, reinvent, redesign, remake and recover our human-made world so that our built environment is benignly and seamlessly biointegrated with Nature to function synergistically with it. These are the multiple tasks that humanity must carry out imminently if there is to be a future for human society and all lifeforms and their environments on the Planet. Addressing this is the most c...