A deep dive into the tactics and technology used to defend against submarines—from the opening of the First World War through World War II and beyond.The submarine was undoubtedly the most potent purely naval weapon of the twentieth century. In two world wars, enemy underwater campaigns were very nearly successful in thwarting Allied hopes of victory—indeed, annihilation of Japanese shipping by US Navy submarines is an indicator of what might have been. That the su...

Innumerable books have been published on the two most famous fighter aircraft of all time, the Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt Bf109. But books setting out to tell the story of both aircraft are very much rarer - probably fewer than the fingers of one hand. Yet their joint story is one which bears retelling since both were essential to the air campaigns of World War Two.Incredibly, the men who designed them lacked any experience of designing a modern fighter. R J Mitchell had be...

The surprising science of hearing and the remarkable technologies that can help us hear betterOur sense of hearing makes it easy to connect with the world and the people around us. The human system for processing sound is a biological marvel, an intricate assembly of delicate membranes, bones, receptor cells, and neurons. Yet many people take their ears for granted, abusing them with loud restaurants, rock concerts, and Q-tips. And then, eventually, most of us star...

Darlinghurst, Sydney: these are the days of strange rumours. Talk you can catch the gay plague from kissing, or from a mosquito bite. Talk of the government building a wall around 'Darlo' to keep the plague contained. Talk of old quarantine stations around Australia being reopened, of the army being used to round up all the poofters. Bashings increase tenfold and you're dead meat if you don't have someone to watch your back. Kit, Ty, and Johnnie, three young gay men, just want to live the ...

Look out for David Owen's next book, Where the Water Goes.A challenging, controversial, and highly readable look at our lives, our world, and our future.Most Americans think of crowded cities as ecological nightmares, as wastelands of concrete and garbage and diesel fumes and traffic jams. Yet residents of compact urban centers, Owen shows, individually consume less oil, electricity, and water than other Americans. They live in sma...

**“Wonderfully written…Mr. Owen writes about water, but in these polarized times the lessons he shares spill into other arenas. The world of water rights and wrongs along the Colorado River offers hope for other problems.” —Wall Street JournalAn eye-opening account of where our water comes from and where it all goes.**The Colorado River is an essential resource for a surprisingly large part of the United States, and every gallon that flows down it is owned or claim...

This edited volume argues that democracy is broader and more diverse than the dominant state-centered, modern representative democracies, to which other modes of democracy are either presumed subordinate or ignored. The contributors seek to overcome the standard opposition of democracy from below (participatory) and democracy from above (representative). Rather, they argue that through differently situated participatory and representative practices, citizens and governments can develop dem...

'A rare duet, in which father and son rediscover a whole world through the redeeming power of art.' – Declan Kiberd In The Wellspring acclaimed novelist and dramatist Barney Norris conducts a conversation with father, the pianist and composer David Owen Norris – 'quite possibly the most interesting pianist in the world' (Toronto Globe and Mail) and 'a famous thinker/philosopher of the keyboard' (Seattle Times). Norris senior is also a television and radio broadcaster who has worked with a ...

Dockmanship, according to author Bell, is "the art, skill, and practice of safely berthing and unberthing a vessel." Anyone who has ever spent time observing the action at a marina or boat ramp will concede that the docking practiced by many recreational boaters today can hardly be considered an "art." Here is a book that provides the information to turn any skipper—even a novice—into a master of docking. Captains who feel they already perform well behind the helm will enjoy reviewing the ...

At a time of alarming global instability, amid shocking terrorist attacks in Europe and mounting tensions between the USA and North Korea, a clear and focused foreign and defence policy is now more critical than ever. Now that departure is under way, what happens next?Against this unpredictable geopolitical backdrop, Britain's position in the world needs to be recalibrated to take account of a range of new realities. Now is the time to move forward, to define a positive, outward-lo...

From the acclaimed New Yorker staff writer, a razor-sharp indictment of our efficiency-forward approach to sustainable living.Hybrid cars, fast trains, compact florescent light bulbs, solar panels, carbon offsets: Everything you've been told about living green is wrong. The quest for a breakthrough battery or a 100 mpg car are dangerous fantasies. We are consumers, and we like to consume green and efficiently. But David Owen argues that our best intentions...

Earl Woods, the father of young Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, was widely ridiculed in 1996 when, in an article anointing his son as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year, he likened Tiger's potential impact to that of a messiah. This unseemly proclamation appeared to embody all the worst elements of the dreaded sports-parent who seeks financial windfall and personal validation by pushing his child to excel on the diamond, the gridiron, the court, or the fairways. Bu...