'One of our fellows, while a German flare lit up his trench as it shot over it, saw half a dozen of our raw Irishmen on their knees, praying to the Virgin as if their last hour had come.' Captain Gerald Burgoyne, C Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles The Western Front tells the human story at the heart of a war that cost the lives of 35,000 Irishmen. Compiled by one of Ireland's leading military historians, it recounts the experiences of the many ordinary Irishmen from all religions...

Saturn is the showcase of the Solar System. It may not be the largest of the planets, nor the smallest, nor even the only planet with rings. But it is among the most stunningly beautiful objects in the sky, and is always breathtaking when seen in a telescope.This is a beautifully illustrated, authoritative overview of the entire history of humankind’s fascination with the ringed planet, from the first low-resolution views of Galileo, Huygens and other early observers with telescopes...

?Ireland's War of Independence generated a wealth of published material but very little from a British perspective. Yet many British servicemen left accounts of their time in Ireland from 1918 to 1921. They describe military operations, the IRA, the Irish, the actions of their own forces, morale and relationships with local communities. There is Brigadier Vinden's strange tale of a drinking session with Michael Collins and humour in the sending of Gaelic-speaking Highlanders into a public ...

Historian William Sheehan and astronomer and planetary scientist Jim Bell combine their talents to tell a unique story of what we've learned by studying Mars through evolving technologies. What the eye sees as a mysterious red dot wandering through the sky becomes a blurry mirage of apparent seas, continents, and canals as viewed through Earth-based telescopes. Beginning with the Mariner and Viking missions of the 1960s and 1970s, space-based instruments and monitoring systems have flooded...

The last of the five naked-eye planets discovered in ancient times, Mercury has long been an elusive, enigmatic world. As seen from the Earth, it never emerges far from the Sun, and astronomers in the telescopic era found it challenging to work out such basic data as its rotation period, the inclination of its axis, and whether or not it possessed an atmosphere.In this up-to-date and beautifully illustrated volume, William Sheehan brings our understanding of the planet into clear fo...

For millennia, solar eclipses have stirred awe and fear. Once seen as omens, they are now celebrated as rare spectacles that unite science and wonder. This accessible, richly illustrated book explores their cultural, emotional and scientific significance, from ancient myths to modern eclipse-chasing expeditions. It traces how eclipses helped unlock secrets of the Sun, and why witnessing one inspires powerful reactions and lifelong fascination. The book also offers practical guidance for pl...

As recently as the dawn of the Space Age, the solar system was still largely unknown. The first probes to the Moon, Venus and Mars ushered in a golden age of planetary science, transforming planets from distant mysteries into vividly realized worlds. This book provides a comprehensive, accessible survey of the entire solar system, covering all major planets from Mercury to Saturn, the outer solar system and asteroids. It includes insights from leading scientists through in-person interview...

During the 1960s and early 1970s, northern Arizona played a critical role in fulfilling President Kennedy's bold challenge of sending humans to the moon. From the rocky depths of the Grand Canyon to lofty cosmic views from Flagstaff's dark skies, northern Arizona was ideal for activities ranging from moon buggy testing and geology training to lunar mapping and mission simulation. Every astronaut who walked on the moon, from Neil Armstrong to Gene Cernan, prepared for his journey in norther...

Discovering Pluto is an authoritative account of the exploration of Pluto and its moons, from the first inklings of tentative knowledge through the exciting discoveries made during the flyby of the NASA New Horizons research spacecraft in July 2015. Co-author Dale P. Cruikshank was a co-investigator on the New Horizons mission, while co-author William Sheehan is a noted historian of the Solar System.Telling the tale of Pluto’s discovery, the authors recount the grand story...

In 1957 Sputnik launched toward the stars. President Kennedy then announced that the United States would send men to the Moon and then return them to Earth.These pivotal moments sparked an unequaled bound forward in human innovation and scientific exploration.At the heart of this momentous time were the men and women working behind the scenes. Scientists, historians, and astronomers share their memories and contributions from this unparalleled era in essays told in their own words....

In 1957 Sputnik launched toward the stars. President Kennedy then announced that the United States would send men to the Moon and then return them to Earth.These pivotal moments sparked an unequaled bound forward in human innovation and scientific exploration.At the heart of this momentous time were the men and women working behind the scenes. Scientists, historians, and astronomers share their memories and contributions from this unparalleled era in essays told in their own words....

The 1846 discovery of Neptune is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of science and astronomy. John Couch Adams and U.J. Le Verrier both investigated anomalies in the motion of Uranus and independently predicted the existence and location of this new planet. However, interpretations of the events surrounding this discovery have long been mired in controversy. Who first predicted the new planet? Was the discovery just a lucky fluke? The ensuing storm engaged astronomers across...