Download or read book Silvertown An East End family memoir written by Melanie McGrath and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Melanie McGrath’s critically acclaimed East End family memoir now in ebook format.

Download or read book Demons in Eden written by Jonathan Silvertown and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-11-15 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the heart of evolution lies a bewildering paradox. Natural selection favors above all the individual that leaves the most offspring—a superorganism of sorts that Jonathan Silvertown here calls the "Darwinian demon." But if such a demon existed, this highly successful organism would populate the entire world with its own kind, beating out other species and eventually extinguishing biodiversity as we know it. Why then, if evolution favors this demon, is the world filled with so many different life forms? What keeps this Darwinian demon in check? If humankind is now the greatest threat to biodiversity on the planet, have we become the Darwinian demon? Demons in Eden considers these questions using the latest scientific discoveries from the plant world. Readers join Silvertown as he explores the astonishing diversity of plant life in regions as spectacular as the verdant climes of Japan, the lush grounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, the shallow wetlands and teeming freshwaters of Florida, the tropical rainforests of southeast Mexico, and the Canary Islands archipelago, whose evolutionary novelties—and exotic plant life—have earned it the sobriquet "the Galapagos of botany." Along the way, Silvertown looks closely at the evolution of plant diversity in these locales and explains why such variety persists in light of ecological patterns and evolutionary processes. In novel and useful ways, he also investigates the current state of plant diversity on the planet to show the ever-challenging threats posed by invasive species and humans. Bringing the secret life of plants into more colorful and vivid focus than ever before, Demons in Eden is an empathic and impassioned exploration of modern plant ecology that unlocks evolutionary mysteries of the natural world.

Download or read book The Long and the Short of It written by Jonathan Silvertown and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[A] whimsical book on aging . . . the author mixes art, science, and humor to brew a highly readable concoction, presenting one aging theory after another.” —Publishers Weekly Everything that lives will die. That’s the fundamental fact of life. But not everyone dies at the same age: people vary wildly in their patterns of aging and their life spans—and that variation is nothing compared to what’s found in other animal and plant species. With The Long and the Short of It, biologist and writer Jonathan Silvertown offers readers a witty and fascinating tour through the scientific study of longevity and aging. Dividing his daunting subject by theme—death, life span, aging, heredity, evolution, and more—Silvertown draws on the latest scientific developments to paint a picture of what we know about how life span, senescence, and death vary within and across species. At every turn, he addresses fascinating questions that have far-reaching implications: What causes aging, and what determines the length of an individual life? What changes have caused the average human life span to increase so dramatically—fifteen minutes per hour—in the past two centuries? If evolution favors those who leave the most descendants, why haven’t we evolved to be immortal? The answers to these puzzles and more emerge from close examination of the whole natural history of life span and aging, from fruit flies, nematodes, redwoods, and much more. The Long and the Short of It pairs a perpetually fascinating topic with a wholly engaging writer, and the result is a supremely accessible book that will reward curious readers of all ages. “Captivating and enlightening.” —The New York Times Well Blog

Download or read book Silvertown written by John Tully and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1889, Samuel Winkworth SilverOCOs rubber and electrical factory was the site of a massive worker revolt that upended the London industrial district which bore his name: Silvertown. Once referred to as the OC AbyssOCO by Jack London, Silvertown was notorious for oppressive working conditions and the relentless grind of production suffered by its largely unorganized, unskilled workers. These workers, fed-up with their lot and long ignored by traditional craft unions, aligned themselves with the socialist-led OC New UnionismOCO movement. Their ensuing strike paralyzed Silvertown for three months. The strike leadersOCo including Tom Mann, Ben Tillett, Eleanor Marx, and Will ThorneOCoand many workers viewed the trade union struggle as part of a bigger fight for a OC co-operative commonwealth.OCO With this goal in mind, they shut down Silvertown and, in the process, helped to launch a more radical, modern labor movement. a Historian and novelist John Tully, author of the monumental social history of the rubber industry The DevilOCOs Milk, tells the story of the Silvertown strike in vivid prose. He rescues the uprisingOCo overshadowed by other strikes during this periodOCofrom relative obscurity and argues for its significance to both the labor and socialist movements. And, perhaps most importantly, Tully presents the Silvertown Strike as a source of inspiration for todayOCOs workers, in London and around the world, who continue to struggle for better workplaces and the vision of a OC co-operative commonwealth.OCO"

Download or read book Silvertown written by John Tully and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2014-01-03 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1889, Samuel Winkworth Silver’s rubber and electrical factory was the site of a massive worker revolt that upended the London industrial district which bore his name: Silvertown. Once referred to as the “Abyss” by Jack London, Silvertown was notorious for oppressive working conditions and the relentless grind of production suffered by its largely unorganized, unskilled workers. These workers, fed-up with their lot and long ignored by traditional craft unions, aligned themselves with the socialist-led “New Unionism” movement. Their ensuing strike paralyzed Silvertown for three months. The strike leaders— including Tom Mann, Ben Tillett, Eleanor Marx, and Will Thorne—and many workers viewed the trade union struggle as part of a bigger fight for a “co-operative commonwealth.” With this goal in mind, they shut down Silvertown and, in the process, helped to launch a more radical, modern labor movement. Historian and novelist John Tully, author of the monumental social history of the rubber industry The Devil’s Milk, tells the story of the Silvertown strike in vivid prose. He rescues the uprising— overshadowed by other strikes during this period—from relative obscurity and argues for its significance to both the labor and socialist movements. And, perhaps most importantly, Tully presents the Silvertown Strike as a source of inspiration for today’s workers, in London and around the world, who continue to struggle for better workplaces and the vision of a “co-operative commonwealth.”

Download or read book Dinner with Darwin written by Jonathan Silvertown and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do eggs, flour, and milk have in common? They form the basis of crepes of course, but they also each have an evolutionary purpose. Eggs, seeds (from which flour is derived by grinding) and milk are each designed by evolution to nourish offspring. Everything we eat has an evolutionary history. Grocery shelves and restaurant menus are bounteous evidence of evolution at work, though the label on the poultry will not remind us of this with a Jurassic sell-by date, nor will the signs in the produce aisle betray the fact that corn has a 5,000 year history of artificial selection by pre-Colombian Americans. Any shopping list, each recipe, every menu and all ingredients can be used to create culinary and gastronomic magic, but can also each tell a story about natural selection, and its influence on our plates--and palates. Join in for multiple courses, for a tour of evolutionary gastronomy that helps us understand the shape of our diets, and the trajectories of the foods that have been central to them over centuries--from spirits to spices. This literary repast also looks at the science of our interaction with foods and cooking--the sights, the smells, the tastes. The menu has its eclectic components, just as any chef is entitled. But while it is not a comprehensive work which might risk gluttony, this is more than an amuse bouche, and will leave every reader hungry for more.

Download or read book An Orchard Invisible written by Jonathan Silvertown and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of seeds, in a nutshell, is a tale of evolution. From the tiny sesame that we sprinkle on our bagels to the forty-five-pound double coconut borne by the coco de mer tree, seeds are a perpetual reminder of the complexity and diversity of life on earth. With An Orchard Invisible, Jonathan Silvertown presents the oft-ignored seed with the natural history it deserves, one nearly as varied and surprising as the earth’s flora itself. Beginning with the evolution of the first seed plant from fernlike ancestors more than 360 million years ago, Silvertown carries his tale through epochs and around the globe. In a clear and engaging style, he delves into the science of seeds: How and why do some lie dormant for years on end? How did seeds evolve? The wide variety of uses that humans have developed for seeds of all sorts also receives a fascinating look, studded with examples, including foods, oils, perfumes, and pharmaceuticals. An able guide with an eye for the unusual, Silvertown is happy to take readers on unexpected—but always interesting—tangents, from Lyme disease to human color vision to the Salem witch trials. But he never lets us forget that the driving force behind the story of seeds—its theme, even—is evolution, with its irrepressible habit of stumbling upon new solutions to the challenges of life. "I have great faith in a seed," Thoreau wrote. "Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." Written with a scientist’s knowledge and a gardener’s delight, An Orchard Invisible offers those wonders in a package that will be irresistible to science buffs and green thumbs alike.

Download or read book 99 Ape written by Jonathan W. Silvertown and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Darwin was mocked for suggesting that humans have apes for ancestors, but every scientific advance in the study of life in the last 150 years has confirmed the reality of evolution. In 99% Ape: How Evolution Adds Up leading experts explain this fundamental yet often complex subject and guide the general reader through the latest evidence."--Back cover.

Download or read book Derelict London All New Edition written by Paul Talling and published by Random House. This book was released on 2019-07-11 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ______________________________ The huge word-of-mouth bestseller – completely updated for 2019 THE LONDON THAT TOURISTS DON’T SEE Look beyond Big Ben and past the skyscrapers of the Square Mile, and you will find another London. This is the land of long-forgotten tube stations, burnt-out mansions and gently decaying factories. Welcome to DERELICT LONDON: a realm whose secrets are all around us, visible to anyone who cares to look . . . Paul Talling – our best-loved investigator of London’s underbelly – has spent over fifteen years uncovering the stories of this hidden world. Now, he brings together 100 of his favourite abandoned places from across the capital: many of them more magnificent, more beautiful and more evocative than you can imagine. Covering everything from the overgrown stands of Leyton Stadium to the windswept alleys of the Aylesbury Estate, DERELICT LONDON reveals a side of the city you never knew existed. It will change the way you see London. ______________________________ PRAISE FOR THE DERELICT LONDON PROJECT ‘Fascinating images showing some of London’s eeriest derelict sites show another side to the busy, built-up capital.’ Daily Mail ‘Talling has managed to show another side to the capital, one of abandoned buildings that somehow retain a sense of beauty.’ Metro ‘Excellent . . . As much as it is an inadvertent vision of how London might look after a catastrophe, DERELICT LONDON is valuable as a document of the one going on right in front of us.’ New Statesman ‘From the iconic empty shell of Battersea Power Station to the buried ‘ghost’ stations of the London Underground, the city is peppered with decaying buildings. Paul Talling knows these places better than anyone in the capital.’ Daily Express ‘[London has an] unusual (and deplorable) number of abandoned buildings. Paul Talling’s surprise bestseller, DERELICT LONDON, is their shabby Pevsner.’ Daily Telegraph ______________________________

Download or read book The Comedy of Error written by Jonathan Silvertown and published by Scribe Us. This book was released on 2022-09-06 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is humor? Why do we laugh? And why is the root of a good joke almost always error? Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes--the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? Why does explaining a joke make it less amusing rather than more so? Why is laughter contagious, and why did it evolve in the first place? Using the oldest jokes and the latest science, in The Comedy of Error, Professor Jonathan Silvertown investigates why we laugh: from laughter's evolutionary origins, to similarities and differences in humor across cultures, and even why being funny makes us sexier. As this unique book demonstrates, understanding how humor really works can provide endless entertainment.

Download or read book Destiny of the Wolf written by Terry Spear and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2009-03-01 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the author of Heart of the Wolf, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year "This delicious alpha hero will leave you wild for more." - Nicole North, author of Devil in a Kilt All she wants is the truth... Lelandi Wildhaven is determined to discover the truth about her beloved sister's mysterious death. But everyone thinks she's out to make a bid for her sister's widowed mate... He's a pack leader tormented by memories... Darien Silver blames himself for his mate's death. When her twin arrives in his town, he finds himself bewitched, and when someone attempts to silence her, he realizes that protecting the beautiful stranger might be the only way to protect his pack-and himself... PRAISE FOR TERRY SPEAR'S HEART OF THE WOLF: A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year "The vulpine couple's chemistry crackles off the page." - Publishers Weekly "Centers on pack problems in a refreshingly straightforward way. The characters are well drawn and believable, which makes the contemporary plotline of love and life among the lupus garou seem, well, realistic." - Romantic Times "A sensual, action-packed read that you won't want to miss." - Shape Shifter Romance "Full of action, adventure, suspense, and romance- one of the best werewolf stories I've read!" - Fallen Angel Reviews "A lively read that keeps the reader on their feet, and an excellent addition to the serious wolf-lover's library. When it comes to authenticity, this novel truly embodies the 'heart of the wolf'."- Jennifer L. James, Montestruc, Book Fetish

Download or read book Fragile Web written by Jonathan W. Silvertown and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jonathan Silvertown is professor of ecology at the Open University, Milton Keynes, and the author of An Orchard Invisible and Demons in Eden and editor of 99% Ape, all published by the University of Chicago Press. --Book Jacket.

Download or read book Modern Buildings in Britain written by Owen Hatherley and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2022-04-07 with total page 992 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive illustrated guide to modern British architecture, from one of the most acclaimed critics at work today Modernism is now a century old, and its consequences are all around us, built into our everyday lived environments. Its place in Britain's history is fiercely contested, and its role in our future is the subject of ongoing controversy - but modernist buildings have undoubtedly changed our cities, politics and identity forever. In Modern Buildings in Britain, Owen Hatherley applauds the ambition and explores the significance of this most divisive of architectures, travelling from Aberystwyth to Aberdeen, from St Ives to Shetland, in search of our most important and distinctive modern buildings. Drawing on hundreds of examples, we learn how the concrete of Brutalism embodies post-war civic principles, how corporate values were expressed in the glass façades of the International Style, and why Ecomodernist experimentation is often consigned to the geographic fringes. As Hatherley considers the social, political and cultural value of these structures - a number of which are threatened by demolition - two linked questions emerge: what happens to a building after it has been lived in, and what becomes of an idea when its time has passed? With more than six hundred pages of trenchantly opinionated, often witty analysis, and with three hundred photographs in duotone and colour, Modern Buildings in Britain is a landmark contribution to the history of British architecture.

Download or read book London s Lost Rivers written by Paul Talling and published by Random House. This book was released on 2020-04-02 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Packed with surprising and fascinating information, London's Lost Rivers uncovers a very different side to London - showing how waterways shaped our principal city and exploring the legacy they leave today. With individual maps to show the course of each river and over 100 colour photographs, it's essential browsing for any Londoner and the perfect gift for anyone who loves exploring the past... 'An amazing book' -- BBC Radio London 'Talling's highly visual, fact-packed, waffle-free account is the freshest take we've yet seen. A must-buy for anyone who enjoys the "hidden" side of London -- Londonist 'A fascinating and stylish guide to exploring the capital's forgotten brooks, waterways, canals and ditches ... it's a terrific book' - Walk 'Pocket-sized, beautifully designed, illustrated and informative - in short a joy to read, handle and use' -- ***** Reader review 'Delightful, informative and beautifully produced' -- ***** Reader review 'A small gem. A really great book. I can't put it down' -- ***** Reader review 'Fascinating from start to finish' -- ***** Reader review ************************************************************************************************ From the sources of the Fleet in Hampstead's ponds to the mouth of the Effra in Vauxhall, via the meander of the Westbourne through 'Knight's Bridge' and the Tyburn's curve along Marylebone Lane, London's Lost Rivers unearths the hidden waterways that flow beneath the streets of the capital. Paul Talling investigates how these rivers shaped the city - forming borough boundaries and transport networks, fashionable spas and stagnant slums - and how they all eventually gave way to railways, roads and sewers. Armed with his camera, he traces their routes and reveals their often overlooked remains: riverside pubs on the Old Kent Road, healing wells in King's Cross, 'stink pipes' in Hammersmith and gurgling gutters on streets across the city. Packed with maps and over 100 colour photographs, London's Lost Rivers uncovers the watery history of the city's most famous sights, bringing to life the very different London that lies beneath our feet.

Download or read book The Silvertown Explosion written by Graham Hill and published by Tempus Pub Limited. This book was released on 2003 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Silvertown explosion

Download or read book Automotive Industries written by and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 1376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Instinct written by Jason M. Hough and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-02-15 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Welcome to Silvertown, Washington. Population: 602. (For now.) Officer Mary Whittaker is the lone cop in a small, bizarre mountain town that has yet to fully welcome her. With the chief of police on leave, she is left to uncover the truth behind a sudden spate of abnormal incidents. An exemplary, beloved teenager has died tragically after eating wild mushrooms from his lawn. A hiker was found dead on a trail, smiling serenely after being mauled by a bear. And other residents seem to have lost all sense of self-preservation as they walk out in front of her moving cruiser or sit placidly in the middle of a sharp bend in a mountain road. As she witnesses increasingly odd behavior and more bodies are discovered in baffling-and completely avoidable-circumstances, Officer Whittaker is dismayed to find no two cases are the same, except in their bizarreness. Though every possible explanation and conspiracy theory is considered, from mental breakdowns to aliens, it turns out to be something much more unsettling. The townsfolk are all losing their instincts, one by one. As the town descends into panic, and Mary's own instincts begin to fail, she must figure out what is happening, who is behind it, and how to prevent the quirky mountain village from turning into a ghost town"--