Offering a sweeping tour of fantastic physics and cosmic history, a view of the most fearsome places in the universe that finally asks what it will take to see the event horizon of a black hole.

A Study Guide for Lord Alfred Tennyson's "The Eagle," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.

Through its engagement with different kinds of texts, Exploring the Limits of the Human through Science Fiction represents a new way of approaching both science fiction and critical theory, and its uses both to question what it means to be human in digital era.

Bertolt Brecht once worried that our sympathy for the victims of a social problem can make the problem’s “beauty and attraction” invisible. In The Beauty of a Social Problem, Walter Benn Michaels explores the effort to overcome this difficulty through a study of several contemporary artist-photographers whose work speaks to questions of political economy. Although he discusses well-known figures like Walker Evans and Jeff Wall, Michaels’s focus is on a group of younger artists, including Viktoria Binschtok, Phil Chang, Liz Deschenes, and Arthur Ou. All born after 1965, they have always lived in a world where, on the one hand, artistic ambition has been synonymous with the critique of autonomous form and intentional meaning, while, on the other, the struggle between capital and labor has essentially been won by capital. Contending that the aesthetic and political conditions are connected, Michaels argues that these artists’ new commitment to form and meaning is a way for them to depict the conditions that have taken US economic inequality from its lowest level, in 1968, to its highest level today. As Michaels demonstrates, these works of art, unimaginable without the postmodern critique of autonomy and intentionality, end up departing and dissenting from that critique in continually interesting and innovative ways.

This book is your key to unlocking the mysteries and complexities of bird behavior. Written in an informal, conversational style, with technical jargon kept to a minimum, John Kricher takes the "observation-explanation" approach. After noting particular behaviors that you might easily observe in the field, he explains the science and adaptation underlying those actions. Birds think; their actions are purposeful, not random. Why is that bird doing what it is doing? After a brief primer on how to watch behavior in birds and an overview of their biology, the remainder of the book highlights the most distinctive behaviors you will likely observe as you encounter and watch birds of various families. Many of these behaviors are shown in the nearly 400 color photographs throughout the book. Once you have learned how to have birds tell you about their lives by carefully observing and thinking about their actions, birds will become far more compelling than merely names to be marked on a checklist. Peterson Reference Guides offer authoritative, comprehensive information, including detailed text, maps, and superior illustrations. Written by expert authors, the guides are an unparalleled resource for understanding specific groups of animals. Book jacket.

Composition for the 21st 1⁄2 century: Characters in Animation focuses on characters and their application in animation, illustration, games, and films. It covers various technical aspects of character design and their artistic applicability. This book analyzes in detail the purpose of these character design features and provides examples of their impact. Emphasis is placed on each aspect and how it affects and is affected by the narrative. Additionally, complex case studies that assist in explaining the successful use of these concepts in films and animation are included. This book is geared toward students; however, it is also reader-friendly for professionals. Composition for the 21st 1⁄2 century: Characters in Animation’s goal is to comprehend composition as an artistic tool and as a significant part of the professional character design process. Key Features: Teaches the complexity of composition in the professional character design process. Closes the gap between praxis and theory in character design. Explains how to produce believable characters that express their narrative in the visuals. Discusses the need for artistic reasoning in character design. Presents case studies to assist readers in understanding the process as they progress through this book. Author Bio: For more than twenty years, Thomas Paul Thesen’s career has been about learning and understanding the complexities of art, animation, and image-making, both in still illustration, drawing, and photography and in the moving image. He has worked in the industry as a character animator and visual development artist for companies such as Pixar, DreamWorks, and Sprite Animation Studios. He has also taught for many years at universities across Asia, the USA, and the UK.

Inhabitants of two moons orbiting a gas giant realise they have a common past. Their search for their roots reveals more than they had bargained for and the truth they find 'out there' illuminates a side to human nature that is probably best left in the dark. "Absorbing storytelling, sprinkled with humour and surprises." "A remarkable debut SF novella filled with thought provoking ideas."

This Handbook examines the study of failure in social sciences, its manifestations in the contemporary world, and the modalities of dealing with it – both in theory and in practice. It draws together a comprehensive approach to failing, and invisible forms of cancelling out and denial of future perspectives. Underlining critical mechanisms for challenging and reimagining norms of success in contemporary society, it allows readers to understand how contemporary regimes of failure are being formed and institutionalized in relation to policy and economic models, such as neo-liberalism. While capturing the diversity of approaches in framing failure, it assesses the conflations and shifts which have occurred in the study of failure over time. Intended for scholars who research processes of inequality and invisibility, this Handbook aims to formulate a critical manifesto and activism agenda for contemporary society. Presenting an integrated view about failure, the Handbook will be an essential reading for students in sociology, social theory, anthropology, international relations and development research, organization theory, public policy, management studies, queer theory, disability studies, sports, and performance research.

Three original novels set in the universe of Star Trek: The Original Series! This ebook bundle includes: The Rings of Time That Which Divides Department of Temporal Investigations: Forgotten History