**A complete history of the universe, spanning 13.8 billion years in an ultra-accessible, uncommonly illuminating, exhilarating chronicle of key events“Baker introduces us not only to the history of our species and our planet, but the history of our vast universe.”—from the foreword by John Green, author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our Stars**In this thrilling history, David Baker captures the longest-possible time span—from the Big Bang ...

**“The craft of Whale Fall defies. It asserts, for me, a definition of poetry: an unbearable gulf of feeling made indelible by form.”—Diane Seuss, Paris ReviewA masterful and moving new volume from a “peerless poet of the natural world” (New York Times Book Review).**Acclaimed as an essential voice of the American Midwest, David Baker expands both his environment and his form in his eleventh collection. Whale Fall is about time, measured ...

'Humorous and accessible but never trivial... full of entertainment and insight' SUSAN QUILLIAM, co-author of The Joy of SexHow did sex begin?How did it evolve to be so varied in humans?What might sex look like in the future?The Shortest History of Sex traces the long evolution of human sexuality from the first microscopic couplings two billion years ago to today's somewhat baffling array of passions, impulses and fetishes.

Bring to life America's most amazing space projects that never were, using highly illustrated step-by-step guides. The major American space programmes that carried crews are well known. From Mercury, Gemini and Apollo in the 1960s and into the 1970s, through to the 1980s Space Shuttle, which made its final flight in 2011, they have all made their mark – even the North American X-15 rocket plane that earned many of its pilots their Astronaut Wings, owing to its high-altitude capability. All...

A beloved nature poet reflects on environmental change, political transformation, and the ineluctable fact of aging.We are all human and nonhuman on the move. The poems in Transit emerge from just such a walk through the world. In keenly observed verse, David Baker carries us across physical and emotional geographies, moving seamlessly from deep woods, city streets, and creek beds to the contours of his psyche and the larger cultural circumstances that mar...

A wild—and satisfying!—ride through two billion years of sexual evolution. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.From the first microbial exchanges of DNA to Tinder and sexbots, how did sex begin, and how did it evolve to be so varied and complex in humans? What influence do our genetic ancestors have on our current love lives? And what might sex look like in the future?With acuity, humor, and resp...

The year is 1879. The prestigious post of Organist and Master of the Choristers at Hartley Parish Church, West Yorkshire, has become vacant because of the sudden death in suspicious circumstances of Dr Thomas Burchill. Burchill was renowned the length and breadth of Britain and the Empire for the choir; so much so that Queen Victoria summoned the singers to Windsor Castle on more than one occasion. Burchill’s position is now up for grabs, and there is a long list of contenders for the role...

This narrative chronicles pioneers who propelled aviation beyond limits through fearless rocket-powered flight.This is a tale of the generation of test pilots flying experimental aircraft powered by rocket motors during the period from 1945 to the mid-1970s. It is not a technical description of the aircraft they flew but the narrative of the men who built the machines and the pilots who took to the air to achieve unprecedented speeds and altitudes unequalled to the...

The citizens of Cancatia believed the war to be over.But evil never rests.A broken heart and a solitary throne are all that remain for Haldor. As if his plight could not worsen, he discovers Auden is not who he once seemed. A prophecy of doom shatters Haldor’s visions of peace. Can the inhabitants withstand what lies ahead?Monsters besiege Arkèzia as Phade struggles to redeem her fractured kingdom. Betrayal lurks around every corner, and perilous emotions threaten t...

How to live with difference—not necessarily in peace, but with resilience, engagement, and a lack of vitriol—is a defining worry in America at this moment. The poets, fiction writers, and essayists (plus one graphic novelist) who contributed to Welcome to the Neighborhood don’t necessarily offer roadmaps to harmonious neighboring. Some of their narrators don’t even want to be neighbors. Maybe they grieve, or rage. Maybe they briefly find resolution or community. But they do approa...

The full eBook version of Music Teaching for Special Educational Needs in fixed-layout format.Music Teaching for Special Educational Needs is comprehensive guide which provides a solid foundation for teachers wanting to understand and support music students with additional needs. It covers Dyslexia, Autism Spectrum Disorder and visual, auditory and physical disabilities, and is packed with up-to-date information, helpful pedagogical starting points...

Heresy and the Ideal is a powerful collection of essays and essay-reviews which David Baker wrote and published throughout the 1990s. He thoroughly discusses the work of more than fifty contemporary poets, including T. R. Hummer, Miller Williams, Albert Goldbarth, Jane Kenyon, Galway Kinnell, Charles Simic, Ted Kooser, David Wojahn, Alice Fulton, Louise Glück, and Charles Wright. He takes as his models some of the great critical books of the past three decades, especially Richard Howard's ...