The presidency of Barack Obama seeks a major transformation of American politics and policy. This new collection, edited by Steven E. Schier, examines the unusual combination of risk and ambition in Obama's presidency concerning popular politics, Washington politics, and economic and foreign policy. It also places the Obama presidency in historical perspective, noting the unusual circumstances of his election and the similarities and differences between presidential politics today and thos...

With a plot to grace any comic opera, the 1859-72 'Pig War' broke out when an American living on a quietly disputed small island in the Gulf of Georgia shot a British pig he found rooting up his garden produce. The authorities on nearby Vancouver Island and the military leadership of the adjacent Washington Territory both felt they had good reasons to escalate a trivial incident into a full-blown war between the United States and Great Britain. Soon, American soldiers foun...

Many thousands of Royal Naval seamen and Royal Marines fought in the trenches of the Great War alongside soldiers from across the Empire. Their graves may be found around Antwerp, on the Gallipoli peninsula, and all along the Western Front. The seamen and marines, supported by Army battalions, fought at Anzac Cove, on the Somme, and at Passchendale. They suffered giant siege mortars whilst delaying the enemy in Belgium, flies and the stench of widespread carnage on Turkish shores, and gas ...

This is the story of a plain silver chalice from the first century AD that now rests in the heart of England. From its momentous beginnings as the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper, and as the vessel used to catch His blood at the Crucifixion, to its unrecognised discovery in the late nineteenth century, the chalice has passed through the hands of saints, crusaders, kings, queens, Templar knights and 'Guardians.' This account revisits the beginnings of the Knights Temp...

Ernest Coleman has led or participated in four expeditions to find out the fate of the Franklin expedition. 129 men were lost from the two ships the Erebus and the Terror, looking for the North-West Passage. Many theories have been put forward – and some of them, in the author’s opinion, have been shaped by political bias. ‘The whole subject has been taken over by academics and politicians, both for questions of Canadian sovereignty and academic advancement – all at the cost of Franklin’s ...

Published on the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Dominion of Canada and the 70th anniversary of Canadian citizenship. In 1862, Viscount Milton and Dr Cheadle set off west across North America to find a route that could be used to transport the riches of the British Columbia goldfields back to British territory in the east, thus avoiding the ‘middle man’ – the US. Behind that simple description lies one of the great nineteenth-century adventures. The expedition was ludicrously...

‘This is the history of that most sacred vessel that is named by men the Holy Grail, wherein the precious blood of Our Saviour was received on the day that He was crucified that He might redeem His followers from the pains of Hell.’ It is not known when The Book of the Grail was first written, or by whom. In this version of Percival’s quest for the Holy Grail, the world of Arthurian legend is brought alive. Predating the popular tales of Mallory and Tennyson, this forgotten account – reviv...

While soil ecologists continue to be on the forefront of research on biodiversity and ecosystem function, there are few interdisciplinary studies that incorporate ecological knowledge into sustainable land management practices. Conventional, high fossil-fuel input-based agricultural systems can reduce soil biodiversity, alter soil community structure and nutrient cycling, and lead to greater dependence on energy-intensive practices.Microbial Ecology in Sustainable Agroecosy...

With the growing interest in undergraduate research as a high-impact practice, and the recognition that college education is increasingly moving online, this book – the first to do so – provides a framework, guidance from pioneering practitioners, and a range of examples across disciplines on how to engage remote students in research.Two foundational chapters set the scene. For those new to incorporating undergraduate research in their courses, the opening chapter provides an intro...

This is the eighth annual edition of the Long List Anthology. Every year, supporting members of WorldCon nominate their favorite stories first published during the selected year to determine the top five in each category for the final Hugo Award ballot. This is an anthology collecting more of the stories from that nomination list to reach more readers.The Long List Anthology volume 8 collects 21 science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories from that nomination list, totaling over 4...

Tracing the roots of earth science before the Civil War.Geological Sciences in the Antebellum South by James Corgan offers a rich and revealing examination of the origins and development of geological inquiry in the American South during the decades (1796-1850s) leading up to the Civil War. At a time when scientific disciplines in the United States were still taking shape, Southern scholars, educators, and naturalists played a critical—if often ov...

Dashing tales of heroics and everyday life abound in the second System Apocalypse short story anthology. Competing alien and human settlements clash, and a simple party planner is caught between in After Party. A New York trashman and his friend fight off loan sharks and exploit the System for gain, finding treasure among others garbage in Completely Trashed and a prisoner must decide between his humanity and humanity itself in WWMRD?With over ten stories from exciting new...