"The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was the worst environmental disaster in American history, a time when 'black blizzards' of dust, some hundreds of miles wide, swept across the southern plains. Hundreds of people were killed. Thousands of farms were buried. Millions of refugees fled starvation and sickness in the plains only to face hatred and prejudice in California. ... The thrilling story of an eleven-year-old boy who risks his life to save his family and friends during the worst dust storm of all, an event that would become known as 'Black Sunday.' Includes a section of nonfiction back matter with more facts and photos about the real-life event." -- Provided by publisher.

"Like the bestselling Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas, this book is a brilliant reinvention of the traditional atlas, one that provides a vivid, complex look at the multi-faceted nature of New Orleans, a city replete with contradictions. More than twenty essays assemble a chorus of vibrant voices, including geographers, scholars of sugar and bananas, the city's remarkable musicians, prison activists, environmentalists, Arab and Native voices, and local experts, as well as the coauthors' compelling contributions. Featuring 22 full-color two-page-spread maps, Unfathomable City plumbs the depths of this major tourist destination, pivotal scene of American history and culture and, most recently, site of monumental disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. The innovative maps' precision and specificity shift our notions of the Mississippi, the Caribbean, Mardi Gras, jazz, soils and trees, generational roots, and many other subjects, and expand our ideas of how any city is imagined and experienced. Together with the inspired texts, they show New Orleans as both an imperiled city-by erosion, crime, corruption, and sea level rise-and an ageless city that lives in music as a form of cultural resistance. Compact, lively, and completely original, Unfathomable City takes readers on a tour that will forever change the way they think about place. "--

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004, edited by Steven Pinker, is another "provocative and thoroughly enjoyable [collection] from start to finish" (Publishers Weekly). Here is the best and newest on science and nature: the psychology of suicide terrorism, desperate measures in surgery, the weird world of octopuses, Sex Week at Yale, the linguistics of click languages, the worst news about cloning, and much more.

The middle class black women who people Judith Weisenfeld's history were committed both to social action and to institutional expression of their religious convictions. Their story provides an illuminating perspective on the varied forces working to improve quality of life for African Americans in crucial times. When undertaking to help young women migrating to and living alone in New York, Weisenfeld's protagonists chose to work within a national evangelical institution. Their organization of a black chapter of the Young Women's Christian Association in 1905 was a clear step toward establishing a suitable environment for young working women; it was also an expression of their philosophy of social uplift. And predictably it was the beginning of an equal rights struggle--to work as equals with white women activists. Growing and adapting as New York's black community evolved over the decades, the black YWCA assumed a central role both in the community's religious life and as a training ground for social action. Weisenfeld's analysis of the setbacks and successes closes with the National YWCA's vote in 1946 to adopt an interracial charter and move toward integration of local chapters, thus opening the door to a different set of challenges for a new generation of black activists. Weisenfeld's account gives a vibrant picture of African American women as significant actors in the life of the city. And it bears telling witness to the religious, class, gender, and racial negotiations so often involved in American social reform movements.

Nestled high in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, Goose Pond is surrounded by a deeply forested tranquillity that belies the many murmuring voices eager to tell its stories - stories stretching back hundreds, thousands, and yes, even millions of years. This delightful volume reveals the stories behind the abandoned paper mills, the old cabins, the founding families, the dams, the floods, the Appalachian Trail, the teaming wildlife, the Mohican arrowheads, a storied fishing club, a shoreside resort, a Presidential fishing trip, and even the geological origins of the pond's crescent shape. Writing in his engaging and witty style, the author dives deeply into the timeless legends of an Indian grave, a stone throne, a mysterious U.S. Navy operation and a sunken car. While providing readers with the spoken memories of the lake's children, some interviewed while well into their 90s, a complete written memoir, over twenty simple recipes from Goose Pond's very own cookbook, hand-drawn maps from British colonial days, restored black and white photographs rescued from dusty attic shoeboxes, and clippings discovered in the digital archives of the last century's local newspapers, this generously illustrated book tells the saga of a quintessential, mountaintop New England millpond caught up in the sweeping arc of American history.

""Our Nuclear Future: Facts, Dangers And Opportunities"" is a book written by Edward Teller, a renowned physicist and one of the key figures in the development of the atomic bomb. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of nuclear energy, its potential benefits and risks, and the challenges that lie ahead.Teller explores the history of nuclear energy, from its origins in the Manhattan Project to the present day. He discusses the various uses of nuclear energy, including power generation, medical applications, and military uses, and examines the pros and cons of each.The book also delves into the dangers of nuclear energy, including accidents and the potential for nuclear weapons proliferation. Teller examines the safety measures that are in place to prevent accidents, as well as the challenges that arise from the disposal of nuclear waste.Despite these risks, Teller argues that nuclear energy has the potential to provide a safe, reliable, and sustainable source of power for the future. He explores the various technologies that are being developed to make nuclear energy safer and more efficient, including advanced reactors and fusion energy.""Our Nuclear Future"" is a thought-provoking and informative book that provides a balanced and insightful look at the complex issues surrounding nuclear energy. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of energy and the role that nuclear energy will play in it.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.