How do you like your weirdness? A subtle nudge towards the untoward? A quick zap of zany? Or a full-on assault of aberration? Whatever your taste, you'll find it here, and many more strains of strange that you didn't suspect existed. From magic rain to a talking (severed) head, extraordinary eggs to belligerent birds, the stories in this collection enter the rabbit hole to explore its hidden corners and winding ways. Through all the variety, what they have in common is originality, creativ...

The writers behind New Scientist explore the baffling concept of nothingness from the fringes of the universe to our minds' inner workings.It turns out that nothing is as curious or as enlightening as nothingness itself. What is nothing? Where can it be found? The writers of the world's top-selling science magazine investigate—from the big bang, dark energy, and the void, to superconductors, vestigial organs, hypnosis, and the placebo effect. And they disco...

Social Support and Health in the Digital Age discusses how theinformation age has revolutionized nearly every facet of human communication—from the ways in which people purchase products to how they meet and fall in love. These exciting new communication technologies can both unite and divide us. People who are separated by great distances can now communicate with each other in real time, whereas parents often find themselves competing with smartphones and tablets for their children’s atte...

The story of the world's largest, longest, and best financed scientific expedition of all time, triumphantly successful, gruesomely tragic, and never before fully toldThe immense 18th-century scientific journey, variously known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition or the Great Northern Expedition, from St. Petersburg across Siberia to the coast of North America, involved over 3,000 people and cost Peter the Great over one-sixth of his empire's annual revenue. Until no...

An epic social history of steamship travel from the 19th-century to the ‘Lusitania’, the ‘Mauretania’ and the ‘Titanic’.The great transatlantic steamships became emblems of an age, of a Victorian audacity of spirit-cathedrals to man's harnessing of new technology. Through the innovations and designs of key engineers and shipping magnates – Samuel Cunard, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Edward Knights Collins – ‘the largest movable objects in human history' were created. To the wealthy,...

What are angels? Many people believe in angels, but few can define these enigmatic spirits. Now visionary theologian Matthew Fox and acclaimed biologist Rupert Sheldrake—pioneers in modern religious thinking and scientific theory—launch a groundbreaking exploration into the ancient concept of the angel and restore dignity, meaning, and joy to the time-honored belief in these heavenly beings.Angels constitute one of the most fundamental themes in human spiritual and religious experi...

Birdsall P. Briscoe (1876–1971) practiced architecture from 1912 to 1956, the span of years during which Houston was transformed from an ambitious town on Buffalo Bayou into an international city, its economy powered by cotton, trade, and oil. The country houses Briscoe designed for three generations of affluent clients, sited in such Houston neighborhoods as Courtlandt Place, Shadyside, Broadacres, and River Oaks, display his exceptional skill in formulating stylistic and social identitie...

Examples of sexual violence and mentions of it appear with a disturbing level of frequency in the literature of early Christianity. This collection of essays explores these occurrences in canonical and noncanonical Christian texts from the first until the fifth centuries CE. Drawing from a range of interpretive lenses, scholars of early Christianity approach these writings with the goal of identifying how their authors employ the language of sexual assault, rape, and violence in order to f...

Prepare for—and excel on—the Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) certification examination offered by the ARDMS! Traci B. Fox and Steven M. Penny’s Examination Review for Ultrasound: Sonographic Principles & Instrumentation, 3rd Edition, focuses only on the content you’ll encounter on the exam, saving you valuable study time. Now in full color throughout, it uses a concise, narrative approach, aligns with the SPI revised content outline and format, and features an online exam s...

16 stories. 16 Australian authors. One theme. Beginnings.Esmeralda is trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake and escape from the darkness.A simple bus trip turns into a fight for survival.Alone in a strange place with no memories of who she is or how she got there, Alora's world changes forever.These are just some of the stories that you will find in this thrilling collection of speculative tales.

In July 1862, Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes took command of a secret new warship. At the helm of the Alabama, he became the most hated and feared man along the Union coast, as well as a Confederate legend. Now, with unparalleled authority, depth, and a vivid sense of the excitement and danger of the time, Stephen Fox describes Captain Semmes’ remarkable wartime exploits.Burning one Union ship after another, he eluded capture time and again, ravaging Union commerce. But when th...

In this retelling of the Buffalo and Field Mouse, a psionicist is employed to find collusion within a tribal casino. Kateri Redfox must walk a fine line between truth and history as AI and quantum processing collide with legend to send her on a journey of self discovery.