Hashima, JapanÕs sea walls give it the appearance of a ship lost at sea. This look is the reason for the Battleship Island nickname. In this title, reluctant readers will also see Battleship Island as a time capsule. Pieces from the past will point to the deserted islandÕs coal-mining boom time.

"Engaging images accompany information about Battleship Island. The combination of high-interest subject matter and light text is intended for students in grades 3 through 7"--

In July 2015, MAKIKO was granted rare permission to photograph the restricted zone of Battleship Island, shortly after it was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ringed by a seawall, and covered in tightly packed buildings, the tiny fortress-like island was once the most densely populated place on Earth. Now it is a ghost town - completely uninhabited for more than forty years. In the book, archive photographs break the eerie silence of the island's contemporary landscape and, through the memories of a former resident of the island, MAKIKO brings it back to life.

Hashima is a small island located off the extreme southwest coast of Japan, about ten miles from Nagasaki. Its dark warship-like silhouette earned it the nickname of Gunkanjima ("battleship island"). During the wave of industrialisation in the nineteenth century, a coal seam was discovered on the island and the Mitsubishi corporation opened a mine there. Workers settled on the island and the population increased, the small mining town quickly becoming a modern and autonomous settlement. During the 1950s, Gunkanjima became one of the most densely populated places in the world with over 5,000 inhabitants. But after an accident and the restructuring of the Mitsubishi mining project, the mine closed in January 1974. The last inhabitants deserted the island, the connection by boat was suspended, and since then Gunkanjima has become a ghost town. Marchand and Meffre photographed the island between 2008 and 2012. Born in 1981 and 1987 in the Parisian suburbs, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre began to photograph separately in 2001. They began working together for their project on the urban decay of Detroit in 2005, which Steidl published to acclaim as The Ruins of Detroit in 2010.

The spatial turn in the Humanities and Social Sciences has produced a considerable body of work which re-assesses space beyond the fixed Cartesian co-ordinates of Modernity and the nation state. In the process, space has been revealed as a productively contested concept with methodological implications across and between disciplines. The resulting understandings of space as fluid, changeable and responsive to the situation of bodies, both human and non-human has prepared the ground for radical concepts and uses of space with implications for how we conceive of contemporary lived reality. Rather than conceiving of bodies as constantly rendered docile within the spaces of the post-industrial nation state, Radical Space reveals how activists and artists have deployed these theoretical tools to examine and contest spatial practice.. Bringing together contributions from academics across the humanities and social sciences together with creative artists this dynamically multidisciplinary collection demonstrates this radicalization of space through explorations of environmental camps, new explorations of psychogeography, creative interventions in city space and mapping the extra-terrestrial onto the mundane spaces of everyday existence.

Some cities that once thrived have now disappeared, the sites sometimes turning into empty, ominous ruins. What dark secrets are hidden in these vanished cities? In this book, readers will explore the mysteries of the world’s most famous lost cities and learn how these intriguing places were rediscovered. Among the 11 spooky places highlighted are the abandoned remains of a futuristic vacation town that was said to be cursed, and the crumbling ruins of an industrial town on an eerily deserted island. Fascinating histories and haunting photographs will keep kids turning the pages for more. Lost Cities is part of Bearport’s Scary Places series.

The arrival of those twenty Africans, though they were not the first Africans in America, represented the vanguard of an institution and an industry that would, for 246 years, survive in the unkempt median lying between the merging lanes of the sociopolitical practices of the past and the oncoming traffic of advancing sociopolitical concepts of the future. Unlike the simple annotation in Rolfe's diary announcing the arrival of the 1619 Africans, the concept of advanced sociopolitical thinking arrived on the scene with the proverbial bang. Whereas Rolfe's announcement was a precursor to the institution of slavery, the new concept of natural individual rights was a precursor of its demise. Entering the sociopolitical spectrum from the lanes of evolving religious freedom, the notion of the natural rights of the individual was ultimately destined to clash with slavery's abject denial of such rights. The convergence of these two events, as though engaged in a turf war over morality, would, years later, crash into each other with the sound of cannon fire.

A charming collection of quirky insights into Japanese culture. The Magic of Japan is writer Hector Garcia's intensely personal account of his fifteen years in Japan. A self-professed "otaku" or Japanese anime geek since childhood, Garcia has worked for a Japanese software company, mastered the language, and become one of Japan's most popular bloggers. This book is the culmination of his experiences and showcases Garcia's unique ability to delve beneath the surface of Japanese culture to describe its quirky and deep spiritual underpinnings. This collection of essays and beautiful photographs will appeal to his worldwide fan base--including those who devoured his previous bestsellers, A Geek in Japan and Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life--Japanophiles, armchair travelers and anyone with an interest in cultural and travel memoirs. The Magic of Japan features Garcia's keen observations on a wide variety of cultural topics: Japanese behavioral traits, including non-verbal communication, hansei (self-reflection), heijoshin (a calm mind) and shoshin (childlike openness) How Japan's geography and history have shaped its culture--its natural disasters, scarce resources, centuries of isolation and its feudal past Japanese idiosyncrasies, ranging from food traditions and absurd jobs to a love of queues The Japanese spirit, as evidenced in traditional art, manga and attitudes to women Shintoism and Buddhism, looking at temples, festivals, rituals and how religious beliefs pervade popular culture, as seen for example in Studio Ghibli's movie Spirited Away Japan's dark side, including crime, the yakuza, adultery, bullying and suicide The book ends with a gloriously random selection of all things Garcia considers especially magical about Japan--from izakaya to shiitake mushrooms, summer fireworks and green tea!

The Rough Guide Snapshot to Kyushu includes Fukuoka, Aso-san and Yakushima The Rough Guide Snapshot to Kyushu is the ultimate travel guide to this part of Japan. It leads you through the region with reliable information and comprehensive coverage of all the sights and attractions, from Fukuoka to Takachiho and Usuki to Yakushima. Detailed maps and up-to-date listings pinpoint the best cafés, restaurants, hotels, shops, bars and nightlife, ensuring you make the most of your trip, whether passing through, staying for the weekend or longer. Also included is the Basics section from the Rough Guide to Japan, with all the practical information you need for travelling in and around Kyushu, including transport, food, drink, costs, health, festivals and culture and etiquette. Also published as part of the Rough Guide to Japan. Full coverage: Fukuoka Dazaifu Futsukaichi Onsen Takeo Huis Ten Bosch Nagasaki Shimbara Hanto Kumamoto Aso and the central highlands Beppu Yufuin Usuki Miyazaki Around Miyazaki Kirishima National Park Kagoshima Ibusuki and around Chiran Yakushima