One of the main features of the contemporary environmental crisis is that no one has a clear idea of what is going on. The author uses an extension of Marx's theory of alienation to explain why people find it so difficult to relate their different knowledges of the natural and social world. He argues that nevertheless it is possible to relate these to the abstractions of ecological discourse. Emancipation can come only through embracing science and rationality rather than rejecting them an...

Charles Dickens started his literary career as a journalist reporting for ‘The Morning Chronicle,’ a profession which encouraged his observing eye. This collection of essays and short stories was first published in that journal and anticipates, and frequently demonstrates, the genius that was to come. The Sketches ‘Illustrative of Everyday Life and Everyday People’ are a valuable documentary account of existence in the great metropolis during the early part of the nineteenth century and ex...

Did you know that in Victoriam England, a part of the Christmas celebration was the telling of ghost stories? And the greatest and most beloved of all Christams ghost stories is A Christmas Carol by the great Charles Dickens. Sit back and be prepared to be just a little scared but in the end you will be very much into the holiday spirit (or spirits) while listening to this wonderful rendering of this most classic of all Christmas GHOST stories.

In 1843 the material that Dickens had gathered on his trip to America was published with the title American Notes [also produced by Assembled Stories]. The book was viewed with disdain from both sides of the Atlantic and in some quarters strong disapproval, his criticism having done little for Anglo-American relations.It was no coincidence then, perhaps, that Dickens and his wife, sister in law, five children and assorted servants left England for Italy soon after, in June 1844, for an ext...

Charles Dickens is known not only for his novels but also for his shorter works. Particularly notable are his five Christmas novellas, especially A Christmas Carol. In this genre, Dickens's stories had a powerful commercial impulse, for it became an annual tradition for the author to publish one in time for the holiday season between 1843 and 1847. Three Short Stories brings together a trio of the celebrated author's Christmas stories: The Cricket on the Hearth, ...

In this adaptation of Dicken's classic story Ebeneezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley who warns Scrooge of a visit he will be paid by three ghosts—”Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. Through these visits Scrooge realized what he has been missing and what he will miss in the future if he doesn't change his ways. He ends up at the home of Bob Cratchit, one of Scrooge's employees and enjoys a wonderful Christmas with the Cratchit family...

Global Shift is - quite simply - the definitive work on economic globalization. The extensive use of graphics, lack of jargon, and clear definition of terms has made it the standard work for the social sciences.The Seventh Edition has been completely updated using the latest available sources. It maps the changing centres of gravity of the global economy and explains the global financial crisis. Each chapter has been extensively rewritten and new material introduce...

From 1963 to 1966 Britain successfully waged a secret war to keep the Federation of Malaysia free from domination by Soekarno's Indonesia and by Chinese Communists. At the forefront of this campaign were the men of the Special Air Service the SAS an elite branch of the British military whose essence is secrecy and whose tools are boldness, initiative, surprise, and high skill.Working in four-man patrols, the SAS teams first made friends with the head-hunting border tribes and even trained ...

A continual problem in modern societies is how housing of a good standard can be provided for all those who need it. Some countries, and some local areas within any one country, have clearly succeeded better than others. Originally published in 1985, Housing, States and Localities shows how and why success and failure in housing provision come about. It does this using comparative analysis of two countries – Britain and Sweden – and four localities within Britain – Sheffield, rura...

This book offers a new understanding of society’s relations with the cosmos. Entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk receive a great deal of publicity, but offer unlikely and implausible visions of space tourism for the general public. Meanwhile, asteroids are seen as ‘rare materials’ which will be extracted and used to produce untold riches for earthbound citizens.The reality is rather different. First, there is no evidence that owners of capital are attempting to extract ‘...

Jack Mezirow, a leader in education theory, suggests that all transformative learning begins with a 'disorienting dilemma': an idea or experience that challenges or shifts fundamental values and assumptions. Gary Nelson and Peter Dickens, pastors and teachers with vast experience working with congregations and organizations, believe it is time for Christian leaders to be 'disoriented,' for the fundamental values and assumptions of Christian leadership to be reframed and broken down so they...

Sociological Theory and the Environment is a comprehensive survey and assessment of sociological theories of the relations between societies and their 'natural' biophysical environment. This book touches on and addresses virtually all of the major perspectives, focal points, and debates in environmental sociology today-classical and twentieth century social theories, macro-micro linkage issues, globalization and development, reflexive modernization, ecological modernization vs. 'limits' vi...