Utilizing a wealth of British diplomatic records and other sources this study offers fresh insights into the whole period of US political and economic domination in Cuba from 1898 until the eventful early period of the Cuban Revolution after 1959, when the hitherto close USa "Cuban relationship fell apart. It investigates two British attempts to agree a commercial treaty with Cuba, and the contentious sales of arms and Leyland buses before and after the Fidel Castro-led Revolution. The book outlines Britain's economic decline through two world wars, but also the country's importance as a second market for Cuban sugar and cigar exports. It demonstrates how British governments and diplomats in Havana sought to protect their interests in Cuba, including railway and insurance companies, always sensitive to the reactions of the United States a " a vital transatlantic ally with a significant stake in the Caribbean island.

Boxing Day 1962: Sunderland's star striker Brian Clough suffers a career-ending knee injury when he collides with an outrushing goalkeeper. After a forlorn battle to regain fitness, he retires early and sinks into deep despair. October 1965: Clough persuades ex-'Boro teammate Peter Taylor to join him in managing perennial North-East strugglers Hartlepools United, lying next to bottom of the Fourth Division. A magical football odyssey has begun. Alchemy reveals the bittersweet reality of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor's first management job together. Lower-league Hartlepools United are penniless, with a meddling chairman, a ramshackle ground and want-away players. Yet the management pair tackle every challenge head-on, forging a winning blueprint that later transforms unfashionable Derby County and Nottingham Forest into League and European Cup champions. Exploiting a wealth of archive newspapers, plus interviews with those present at the creation, Alchemy exposes the humble origins of Clough & Taylor's meteoric rise to the top of the football tree.

An analysis of Cuba's history from a British diplomatic perspective during the period of US political and economic domination, from 1898 to 1964. It investigates how Britain attempted to protect its trade and other interests in the island, whilst always sensitive to the reactions of its most important ally, the United States.

When U.S. immigration authorities deported Graham Greene from Puerto Rico in 1954, the British author made an unplanned visit to Havana and discovered that "every vice was permissible and every trade possible" in a Caribbean fleshpot of mafia-run casinos and nude revues. The former MI6 officer had stumbled upon the ideal setting for a comic espionage story. Three years later, he returned in the midst of Fidel Castro's guerrilla insurgency against a U.S.-backed dictator to begin writing his iconic novel Our Man in Havana. Twelve weeks after its publication, the Cuban Revolution triumphed in January 1959, soon transforming a capitalist playground into a communist stronghold. Combining biography, history and politics, Our Man Down in Havana investigates the real story behind Greene's fictional one. This includes his many visits to a pleasure island that became a revolutionary island, turning his chance involvement into a political commitment. His Cuban novel describes an amateur agent who dupes his intelligence chiefs with invented reports about "concrete platforms and unidentifiable pieces of giant machinery". With eerie prescience, Greene's satirical tale had foretold the Cold War's most perilous episode, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Exploiting a wealth of archival material and interviews with key protagonists, Our Man Down in Havana delves into the story behind and beyond the author's prophetic Cuban tale, focusing on one slice of Greene's manic life: a single novel and its complex history.

An understanding of the fundamental principles of geometrical and physical optics is essential for any student engaged in the study of the visual sciences, but the non-physicist needs a text which clearly explains these notoriously difficult concepts in order to apply them to the practical and clinical aspects of vision. Optics by Freeman and Hull fulfils this requirement admirably. Comprehensive information on optics makes this book the definitive source on the subject. A bright, two-color design enhances the text and aids the reader's understanding. Completely updated and revised to present the latest information in the field. All illustrations are now highlighted with a second color to aid understanding. A new color plate section provides clear, excellent-quality photographs to vividly illustrate important concepts. More information is included on aspheric lenses, with a new chapter on aspheric lenses. Many new questions and exercises reinforce important points and help readers understand the material. The contents have been entirely reorganized for a more logical, easy-to-follow approach. A new glossary defines all key terms from the chapters for convenient reference.