In the heart of a towering city rises a dream born of struggle, resilience, and unstoppable ambition. Gilgamesh Tower: I Can, Why Can't? is the stirring journey of five young visionaries who turn adversity into invention and pain into purpose.Bound by friendship and driven by hope, they face betrayals, failures, love, and impossible odds, but what unites them is their refusal to give up.This isn't just a story. It's a mirror held up to every reader who's ever doubted themselves. It's a cal...

Embark on a mesmerizing journey into the captivating world of The Heir of Meridian, a fantasy novel that unveils a universe of unparalleled wonder. At its core lies Meridian, an ethereal realm nestled at the center of the universe, where deep blue skies and mythical creatures thrive under the reign of immortal rulers. Shrouded from other worlds for three millennia, Meridian's inhabitants entrusted mystically empowered Guardians to maintain peace in the face of human greed. As a new era daw...

Laser surface texturing (LST) is a process that uses lasers to modify or prepare a material’s surface for improved performance. This book examines laser surface texturing techniques for various materials and applications. It also explores the microstructural, tribological, anti-corrosion, and mechanical behaviors of laser-textured component surfaces to understand the mechanisms for improving lifecycle and reducing frictional losses.This book:• Considers LST of metals, ceram...

From 2013 to 2015, over 11,000 people across West Africa lost their lives to the deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus in history. Crucially, this epidemic marked the first time the virus was able to spread beyond rural areas to major cities, overturning conventional assumptions about its epidemiology.With backgrounds ranging from development to disease control, the contributors to this volume - some of them based in countries affected by the Ebola epidemic - consider the underlyin...

This anthology reflects the complex processes in the production of historical knowledge and memory about Sierra Leone and its diaspora since the 1960s. The processes, while emblematic of experiences in other parts of Africa, contain their own distinctive features. The fragments of these memories are etched in the psyche, bodies, and practices of Africans in Africa and other global landscapes; and, on the other hand, are embedded in the various discourses and historical narratives about the...

The story of a microbiologist’s remarkable career, from identifying ?the Ebola virus to pioneering AIDS research and policy.When Peter Piot was in medical school, a professor warned, “There’s no future in infectious diseases. They’ve all been solved.” Fortunately, Piot ignored him, and the result has been an exceptional, adventure-filled career. In the 1970s, as a young man, Piot was sent to Central Africa as part of a team tasked with identifying a grisly new virus. Crossing into ...

In these four incisive and keenly perceptive essays, one of out most celebrated and respected historians of modern Europe looks at the world situation and some of the major political problems confronting us at the start of the third millennium.With his usual measured and brilliant historical perspective, Eric Hobsbawm traces the rise of American hegemony in the twenty-first century. He examines the state of steadily increasing world disorder in the context of rapidly growing inequa...

Today it is usually not long before a problem gets expressed as a human rights issue. An appeal to human rights in the face of injustice can be a heartfelt and morally justified demand for some, while for others it remains merely an empty slogan. Taking an international perspective and focusing on highly topical issues such as torture, arbitrary detention, privacy, health and discrimination, this Very Short Introduction will help readers to understand for themselves the controversies and comp...

In the first book to distill the entire history of the United Nations into one accessible volume, Maggie Black explains how this complex organization works and explores its successes, failings, and current limitations. The book includes the creation of the UN and its early history, how it is structured, and whether it is well constituted in its functions. Black also considers possibilities for reform to make it more democratic, effective, and fit for its purpose.Maggie Blac...

An intimate portrait of the renowned international humanitarian organization.Winner of the PROSE Award for Excellence, Sociology and Social Work of the Association of American PublishersThis study of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) casts new light on the organization’s founding principles, distinctive culture, and inner struggles to realize more fully its “without borders” transnational vision.Pioneering medical sociologist ...

Interest in international law has increased greatly over the past decade, largely because of its central place in discussions such as the Iraq War and Guantanamo, the World Trade Organisation, the anti-capitalist movement, the Kyoto Convention on climate change, and the apparent failure of the international system to deal with the situations in Palestine and Darfur, and the plights of refugees and illegal immigrants around the world. This Very Short Introduction explains what inte...

From Reefer Madness to legal purchase at the corner store.With long-time legal and social barriers to marijuana falling across much of the United States, the time has come for an accessible and informative look at attitudes toward the dried byproduct of Cannabis sativa. Marijuana: A Short History profiles the politics and policies concerning the five-leaf plant in the United States and around the world.Millions of Americans have used marijuana at ...