**The little-known history of the wristwatch—and how it was a proving ground for consumer products in the shift from a mechanical to a microelectronic world.A beautifully illustrated volume from a former curator at the Smithsonian, perfect for young and old fans of wristwatches.**Today, new watches are mostly electronic. They give everyone access to the split-second accuracy once available to only scientists and technicians. But when the first electronic watches appeared in...

If you want to know where you are, you need a good clock. The surprising connection between time and place is explored in Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There, the companion book to the National Air and Space Museum exhibition of the same name.Today we use smartphones and GPS, but navigating has not always been so easy. The oldest "clock" is Earth itself, and the oldest means of keeping time came from observing changes in the sky. Early marin...

This official U.S. government guide to piloting aircraft-created by the Federal Aviation Administration-is the essential resource for finding the knowledge and skills to fly all types of planes. It includes an introduction to flight training and official information on ground operations, basic flight maneuvers, slow flight, stalls and spins, takeoff and departure climbs, ground reference maneuvers, airport traffic patterns, approaches and landings, performance maneuvers, and night operatio...

When the members of Canada’s First Arctic Expedition set out from Victoria aboard HMCS Karluk in the summer of 1913, it was a moment of great optimism. The three-year mission would chart unexplored landmasses of the Western Arctic and secure Canada’s place in the international geographic community. Little did the team of distinguished scholars and scientists realize, however, how their hopes would soon be brought to ruin. Just a few months into the journey, the vessel became lodge...

You’re no idiot, of course. The battle scenes in Gladiator had you on the edge of your seat and wondering where you could find more information on the rise and fall of ancient Rome. But so far, your search has left you feeling like a blundering barbarian.Pick yourself up off the coliseum floor! Consult The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to the Roman Empire—a fun–to–read introduction to the fascinating history, people, and culture of ancient Rome. In this Complete Idi...

Designed by illusionist Jasper Maskelyne, RAF Tempsford was constructed to give overflying enemy aircraft the impression it was disused. Nothing could be further from the truth - just after dusk on moonlit nights either side of the full moon, planes from the 138 and 161 Squadrons would take off on top secret missions to the heart of the war-torn Continent. They had to fly low and without lights in order to identify drop zones and deliver the supplies and secret agents that would help the r...

Expert authors demonstrate the topic using pilot drawn from an FAA/NASA sponsored database. A post-mortem of real-life, real-pilot accidents are examined to explain what went wrong and why. An action agenda is drawn of preventive techniques pilots can effect to avoid the same risks.

Detailing the Lancaster's history from 1942–45, this study brings everything together to tell a concise history of the world's most famous aircraft of all time and undoubtedly the finest bomber of the Second World War. A superlative and unique colour section of over fifty contemporary photographs of the Lancaster is featured, while the text is complemented by over 150 rare and seldom seen black and white images. Well researched and expertly written, this account is a must ...

2016 Heritage Toronto Book Award — NominatedBuried beneath Toronto’s streets is a centuries-old trail that was once the road to wealth, adventure, or violent death for thousands of travellers. Now its route lies hidden and forgotten under sidewalks and farmland, though its influence can still be seen.The Toronto Carrying Place brings Southern Ontario’s most important First Nations trail back to life. Retracing the ancient portage from Lake...

In War Crimes Kenyan journalist Rasna Warah exposes how foreign governments and humanitarian agencies conspired to keep Somalia in a permanent state of under-development and conflict and how Somali politicians, warlords, clan-based fiefdoms and terrorists benefited from the ensuing chaos and anarchy. The book is about the many war crimes that have taken place in Somalia in the name of peace, development, religion and reconciliation. It reveals who gained from the spoils of war and who paid...

We live in an age of globalization on every conceivable level, but globalization has a deeper history than politicians and pundits often allow, and nothing is more significant to its history than exploration. Wherever trade or faith or empire followed, explorers usually led. Their motives were as many-sided and various as their actions; their legacies are contested and mixed. But none can doubt the significance of explorers to the making of the modern world. For as long as human societies ...

For humans the sea is, and always has been, an alien environment. Ever moving and ever changing in mood, it is a place without time, in contrast to the land which is fixed and scarred by human activity giving it a visible history. While the land is familiar, even reassuring, the sea is unknown and threatening. By taking to the sea humans put themselves at its mercy. It has often been perceived to be an alien power teasing and cajoling. The sea may give but it takes. Why, then, did humans b...