The release of a report by the Modern Language Association, “Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World,” focused renewed attention on college foreign language instruction at the introductory level. Frequently, the report finds, these beginning courses are taught by part-time and untenured instructors, many of whom remain on the fringes of the department, with little access to ongoing support, pedagogical training, or faculty development. When students with ...

Mysterious nighttime lights near Brown Mountain in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest have intrigued locals and visitors for more than a century. The result of a three year investigation, this book identifies both manmade and natural light sources--including some unexpected ones--behind North Carolina's most famous ghost story. History, science and human nature are each found to play a role in the understanding and interpretation of the lights people see.

An ordinary construction project uncovers an extraordinary archaeological discovery.Imagine you're watching a backhoe dig up the ground for a construction project when a round object rolls down a pile of dirt and stops at your feet. You pick it up, brush off some dirt, and realize you're holding a skull!This is exactly what happened in Albany, New York, in 2005. Workers were putting in new sewer line when a backhoe driver dug up a skull. After police declar...

Bestselling author and noted cryptozoologist Loren Coleman set out on the ultimate mission: to uncover the fun and intriguing phenomena that exist right here in the United States. In Mysterious America, a fun and compulsively readable guidebook to America's most popular local legends, he prepares readers for their own adventure -- where to find the unbelievable spectacles on their journey, including:Phantom panthers haunting eastern North America

Washington Post • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2020Finalist • Kirkus Prize for NonfictionKirkus Reviews • Best Nonfiction Books of 2020Library Journal • Best Science & Technology Books of 2020Booklist • 10 Top Sci-Tech Books of 2020New York Times Book Review • Editor's ChoiceWith A Furious Sky, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin tells the history of America itself ...

A "gripping" **look at the massive disasters that could strike at any moment, from a New York Times–bestselling author ( San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle).Far beneath the earth's surface, great tectonic plates grind against one another with incredible pressure that must—inevitably—be released. Earthquakes manifest with little warning, upending buildings, shattering infrastructure, and unleashing devastating tsunamis. In ...

Still unsolved, still baffling, still claiming new victims. Here are the untold stories.A pilot reports a strange haze enveloping his plane, then disappears; eleven hours after fuel starvation, as if calling from a void, he is heard 600 miles away. He requests permission to land, then vanishes forever. A freighter steaming over placid seas disappears without a trace. A pleasure yacht ghosts past without a soul on board. A pilot calls for help because a "weird objec...

Weird stuff happens! The mysteries of the unexplained examined with a critical eye of a highly-respected, prize-winning paranormal investigator.An authoritative, intelligent, and well-reasoned examination of strange artifacts and events that have long perplexed scientists, Unexplained! Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena is an award-winning exposition of the strange and mysterious. Journey to the oute...

Twenty-two years before Technology of the Gods…Seventeen years before Fingerprints of the Gods…Fifteen years before Forbidden Archaeology...There was... Worlds Before Our Own, Brad Steiger’s groundbreaking argument for the existence of a global prehistoric civilization. The evidence Steiger had amassed for such a claim was based primarily upon finds of “erratics” mysterious “man-made” artifacts found in the deepes...

In this acclaimed volume, prizewinning poet and nature writer Christopher Cokinos takes us on an epic journey from Antarctica to outer space, weaving together natural history, memoir, and in-depth profiles of amateur researchers, rogue scientists, and stargazing dreamers to tell the riveting tale of how the study of meteorites became a modern science.

The secrets of mystical and legendary places—revealed!Have you ever wondered about mythical and legendary worlds such as the lost continent of Atlantis? Have you ever heard of Mu and the Lemurians, who some say still exist among us? Respected researcher of unexplained phenomena, Jerome Clark, provides a comprehensive and trustworthy look at ancient mysteries, fictional fantasy lands, and extraterrestrial civilizations in his book, Hidden Realms, Lost Ci...

New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester looks at which way the wind blows in this exciting book about giant storms.Simon Winchester is an avid weather watcher. He’s scanned the skies in Oklahoma, waiting for the ominous “finger” of a tornado to touch the Earth. He’s hunkered down in Hong Kong when typhoon warning signals went up. He’s visited the world’s hottest and wettest places, reported on fierce whirlpools, and sailed around South Africa lo...