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Most British birds of prey have largely recovered from historical
persecution, but the beleaguered Hen Harrier is still struggling
and remains far less common than it should be. This is a particular
shame, because it is one of our most inspiring raptors. Spectacular
sky-dancing displays and balletic food passes from male to female
brighten up the moors in summer. And in winter, communal roosts in
the lowlands attract birders from far and wide to catch sight of
this now-elusive species. This book follows the Hen Harrier
over a year: from rearing young hidden away in dense heather, to
the fight for survival in the harshest months of winter.
Interspersed among the monthly accounts are chapters on the history
and status of this iconic bird, as well as an overview of one of
the most intractable conflicts in modern conservation: the Hen
Harrier’s liking for grouse moors (and the Red Grouse that live
there) wins it few friends among shooters, and ongoing persecution
continues to hamper its recovery. There are tentative signs of
progress, but its fate as a breeding bird in England hangs in the
balance.  Evocative illustrations, in part based on
privileged access to the handful of breeding birds that remain on
England’s moors, showcase the Hen Harrier’s exploits through
the seasons. These will delight admirers of this species and
hopefully foster a greater interest in its wellbeing. The Hen
Harrier needs all the help it can get.
The campus novel is one of the best loved forms of fiction in the
post-war period. But what are its characteristic themes? What are
its prejudices? And what does it take for granted? Originally
published in 1990, this is the first study to connect literary,
historical, and sociological aspects of modern British
universities. It shows that the culture celebrated in British
university fiction represents a particular view of humane education
which has its origins in the values of Oxbridge. Threats are seen
to come from the 'redbrick' and 'new' universities, from
proletarians, scientists (including sociologists), women, and
foreigners. This exhilarating book makes a nonsense of sociology's
reputation for turgid and plodding analysis. Sharp-witted, shrewd,
and penetrating, it will be of interest to students of sociology,
literature, and for the same wide audience that appears to have an
insatiable appetite for stories about university life.
Time outdoors is always well spent. It raises the spirits, sparks
the imagination and, as research increasingly shows, measurably
improves our physical and mental wellbeing. Rhythms of Nature
celebrates this fundamental relationship with the natural world,
and considers some ways we might rediscover it. After a career in
conservation, Ian Carter moves to a secluded farmhouse tucked away
in the low hills of mid-Devon between Exmoor and
Dartmoor. Here he tries new approaches to exploring the local
countryside. He learns the edible species, follows streams
(wherever they may lead) and slips unseen through private estates.
He experiments with rewilding the garden, goes on night-time
rambles and watches the changing seasons in super high definition.
Following on from the author’s acclaimed Human, Nature, this
engaging and thought-provoking book offers simple suggestions for
how to enliven a sense of wonder in our surroundings. A paean to
the ‘neglected’ and untidy places that can enrich our lives, it
will appeal to anyone wishing to develop a deeper connection with
wildlife or who has a desire to seek out the wilder corners of our
landscape.
What does it mean to be a part of-rather than apart from-nature?
This book is about how we interact with wildlife and the ways in
which this can make our lives richer and more fulfilling. But it
also explores the conflicts and contradictions inevitable in a
world that is now so completely dominated by our own species.
Interest in wildlife and wild places, and their profound effects on
human wellbeing, have increased sharply as we face up to the
ongoing biodiversity extinction crisis and reassess our priorities
following a global pandemic. Ian Carter, lifelong naturalist and a
former bird specialist at Natural England, sets out to uncover the
intricacies of the relationship between humans and nature. In a
direct, down-to-earth style he explains some of the key practical,
ethical and philosophical problems we must navigate as we seek to
reconnect with nature. This wide-ranging and infectiously personal
account does not shy away from controversial subjects-such as how
we handle invasive species, reintroductions, culling or dog
ownership-and reveals in stark terms that properly addressing our
connection to the natural world is an imperative, not a luxury.
Short, pithy chapters make this book ideal for dipping into.
Meanwhile, it builds into a compelling whole as the story moves
from considering the wildlife close to home through to conflicts
and, finally, the joy and sense of escape that can be had in the
wildest corners of our landscapes, where there is still so much to
discover.
Throughout the English-speaking world, and in the many other
countries where analytic philosophy is studied, Hillel Steiner is
esteemed as one of the foremost contemporary political
philosophers. This volume is designed as a festschrift for Steiner
and as an important collection of philosophical essays in its own
right. The editors have assembled a roster of highly distinguished
international contributors, all of whom are eager to pay tribute to
Steiner by focusing on topics on which he himself has concentrated.
Some of the contributors engage directly with Steiner's work,
whereas others focus not directly on his writings but instead
grapple with issues that have figured prominently therein. Each
essay seeks to advance the debates in which Steiner himself has so
notably participated. The study concludes with a response by
Steiner himself.
Throughout the English-speaking world, and in the many other
countries where analytic philosophy is studied, Hillel Steiner is
esteemed as one of the foremost contemporary political
philosophers. This volume is designed as a festschrift for Steiner
and as an important collection of philosophical essays in its own
right. The editors have assembled a roster of highly distinguished
international contributors, all of whom are eager to pay tribute to
Steiner by focusing on topics on which he himself has concentrated.
Some of the contributors engage directly with Steiner's work,
whereas others focus not directly on his writings but instead
grapple with issues that have figured prominently therein. Each
essay seeks to advance the debates in which Steiner himself has so
notably participated. The study concludes with a response by
Steiner himself.
The campus novel is one of the best loved forms of fiction in the
post-war period. But what are its characteristic themes? What are
its prejudices? And what does it take for granted? Originally
published in 1990, this is the first study to connect literary,
historical, and sociological aspects of modern British
universities. It shows that the culture celebrated in British
university fiction represents a particular view of humane education
which has its origins in the values of Oxbridge. Threats are seen
to come from the 'redbrick' and 'new' universities, from
proletarians, scientists (including sociologists), women, and
foreigners. This exhilarating book makes a nonsense of sociology's
reputation for turgid and plodding analysis. Sharp-witted, shrewd,
and penetrating, it will be of interest to students of sociology,
literature, and for the same wide audience that appears to have an
insatiable appetite for stories about university life.
'thoroughly recommended' -Country-side magazine The Red Kite
(Milvus milvus) - one of our most elegant and impressive birds of
prey - has a varied and dramatic history in Britain. Having been
driven perilously close to extinction, it has now made a welcome
comeback, in part through one of the most successful reintroduction
projects ever undertaken. This beautifully illustrated book follows
the birds through the ups and downs of the year, from the rigours
of raising young during the warm summer months to the struggle for
survival in the depths of winter. Interspersed with the monthly
accounts, are chapters on the history of the Red Kite in Britain,
the reintroduction programme, the threats it still faces, and its
status elsewhere in Europe. Red Kite biology is explored from nest
construction, egg laying and nest defence, through to juveniles
leaving the nest and learning to live independently. The book
concludes with an overview of Red Kite status throughout their
range. With a foreword by Mark Avery.
Reproductions of one hundred rare, full-color images from the
archives of the Imperial War Museums bring new life to World War II
Britain Britain at War in Colour showcases one hundred of the best
rare and original color images from the Imperial War Museums'
unparalleled collection. Bringing together the most striking
photographs from Ian Carter's bestselling War in the Air and The
Second World War in Colour, alongside new and
never-before-published images, this powerful visual collection
shows us a new-or at least long-forgotten-World War II.
The nineteenth-century's steam railway epitomised modernity's
relentlessly onrushing advance. In Railways and culture in Britain
Ian Carter delves into the cultural impact of train technology, and
how this was represented in British society. Why, for example, did
Britain possess no great railway novel? The book's first half tests
that assertion by comparing fiction and images by some canonical
British figures (Turner, Dickens, Arnold Bennett) with selected
French and Russian competitors: Tolstoy, Zola, Monet, Manet. The
second half proposes that if high cultural work on the British
steam railway is thin, then this does not mean that all British
culture ignored this revolutionary artefact. Detailed discussions
of comic fiction, crime fiction and cartoons reveal a popular
fascination with railways tumbling from vast (and hitherto
unexplored) stores of critically overlooked genres. A final chapter
contemplates cultural correlations of the steam railway's eclipse.
If this was the epitome of modernity, then does the triumph of
diesel and electric trains, of cars and planes, signal a decisive
shift to postmodernity? -- .
Now available in paperback, this is the first academic book to
study railway enthusiasts in Britain. Far from a trivial topic, the
post-war train spotting craze swept most boys and some girls into a
passion for railways, and for many, ignited a lifetime's interest.
British railway enthusiasm traces this post-war cohort, and those
which followed, as they invigorated different sectors in the world
of railway enthusiasm - train spotting, railway modelling,
collecting railway relics - and then, in response to the demise of
main line steam traction, Britain's now-huge preserved railway
industry. Today this industry finds itself riven by tensions
between preserving a loved past which ever fewer people can
remember and earning money from tourist visitors. The widespread
and enduring significance of railway enthusiasm will ensure that
this groundbreaking text remains a key work in transport studies,
and will appeal to enthusiasts as much as to students and scholars
of transport and cultural history. -- .
Struggling with his identity as an Army officer, Captain Peter
Fleming returns to Vietnam to prove something to himself. After
taking command of his new unit he quickly finds himself immersed in
a deadly intelligence chess match with a masterful Viet Cong
adversary. Actionpacked, this military thriller gives the inside
perspective, never before told, of how ELINT- Electronic
Intelligence was used leading up to TET, the major battle of the
Vietnam War. In the secretive world of the Army Security Agency,
Fleming and his crack team devise a new method for interpreting
intelligence. Fleming and his Viet Cong counterpart lead their
units in an epic life and death struggle. This cat and mouse saga
takes one unexpected turn after another as each side fights to
outwit the other. Fleming and his fellow American soldiers had to
not only fight the enemy but also the incompetence and meddling by
senior Washington politicians and the disgraceful propaganda of a
liberal press, supported by dissidents, who made it appear the war
was lost. Fleming understands the Vietnam War is a military
victory, won by combat troops, on the ground, spilling their own
blood. He is conflicted and questions what this victory means to
the heroic men and women who tried to survive this war with honor.
History, Espionage, Intrigue, Adventure, Suspense - The Deadliest
Weapon has it all.
Allied victory in the Second World War owed much to air power. The
success of military and naval operations invariably hinged on
control of the skies, and the rise to dominance of the Allied air
forces meant that the Nazi war machine was effectively doomed.
Following the success of The Second World War in Colour, this book
presents a further selection of original colour photographs from
the IWM collection, focusing on Allied aircraft and airmen.
Alongside these striking images, War in the Air examines how
crucial aviation was to winning the war, from the defence of
Britain’s skies and maritime trade, to battlefield support in
North Africa and Europe and the strategic bombing offensive over
Germany. Shot from the ground and from the air, these powerful
images bring a vital aspect of the Second World War to life.
It is often said that one person or society is 'freer' than
another, or that people have a right to equal freedom, or that
freedom should be increased or even maximized. Such quantitative
claims about freedom are of great importance to us, forming an
essential part of our political discourse and theorizing. Yet their
meaning has been surprisingly neglected by political philosophers
until now. Ian Carter provides the first systematic account of the
nature and importance of our judgements about degrees of freedom.
He begins with an analysis of the normative assumptions behind the
claim that individuals are entitled to a measure of freedom, and
then goes on to ask whether it is indeed conceptually possible to
measure freedom. Adopting a coherentist approach, the author argues
for a conception of freedom that not only reflects commonly held
intuitions about who is freer than whom but is also compatible with
a liberal or freedom-based theory of justice.
How do we know when one person or society is `freer' than another? Can freedom be measured? Is more freedom better than less? This book provides the first full-length treatment of these fundamental yet neglected issues, throwing new light both on the notion of freedom and on contemporary liberalism.
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