Readers can't get enough of Science Comics, so we're delivering three fan-favorite titles in an attractive and affordable boxed set! This boxed set includes Science Comics: Dinosaurs, Science Comics: Volcanoes, and Science Comics: Rocks and Minerals. Also included is a full-color Science Comics poster perfect for the wall of a library, classroom, or a kid's bedroom!

Readers can't get enough of Science Comics, so we're delivering three fan-favourite titles in an attractive and affordable boxed set! This boxed set includes Science Comics: Coral Reefs, Science Comics: Sharks, and Science Comics: Whales. Also included is a full-colour Science Comics poster perfect for the wall of a library, classroom, or a kid's bedroom!

Spread your wings with Science Comics: Birds of Prey, a new and exciting volume of First Second's nonfiction graphic novel series! Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic--dinosaurs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, robots, and more. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty-year-old with a secret passion for airplanes, these graphic novels are for you! In this volume, you'll get up-close and personal with some of the world's most skilled hunters, from the majestic eagle to the oft-maligned scavenger vulture! Armed with razor-sharp claws, keen eyesight, powerful wings, and killer instincts, these stealthy predators can make a meal of rodents, fish, snakes, lizards, monkeys, and even kangaroos! Discover how these amazing birds who are often at the top of the food chain, play an integral role in many different ecosystems around the world.

For over 400 million years, sharks have been the ocean's top predator! They're vital to our ecosystem, but their importance is often overshadowed by our own fear--even though they hardly ever threaten humans. Dive in for an intimate look at the dynamic hammerhead, infamous great white, primordial megalodon, and the gentle nurse shark, the rare species that will let a scuba diver pet them! This book is filled to the gills with jaw-dropping illustrations and razor-sharp facts that shed light on these fascinating creatures of the deep, including their undersea terrain, cunning adaptability, and staggering variety. Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic--dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty year old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!

Every volume of Science Comics is a complete introduction to a particular topic - dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty-year-old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you! This volume: In Sharks, we explore one of the most unfairly villainised and Hollywood-famous underwater predators. With their 400-million year history, their vital role in maintaining the ecosystem, their incredible specialised adaptations, and their various unique species, there is a lot more to sharks than just their ferocious jaws.

A revealing account of the first time computer modeling met City Hall -- and the disaster that ensued
In 1968, New York City struck a deal with the RAND Corporation to use their computer models to establish more efficient public services and save millions of dollars, beginning their first civilian effort with the FDNY. Over the next decade a series of fires swept through New York, displacing more than 600,000 people, all thanks to the intentional withdrawal of fire protection from the city's poorest neighborhoods -- and all based on RAND's computer modeling systems.
In "The Fires," journalist Joe Flood provides an X-ray of the inner workings of New York City in the 1970s and of all modern cities, using the dramatic story of a pair of mayors, an ambitious Fire Commissioner, and an even more ambitious think tank to illuminate the patterns and formulas that are now inextricably woven into the very fabric of the modern urban experience.

When the world's most famous explorer is murdered at the Smithsonian, it's up to a cynical Washington detective to solve the case. Bob Fundwell dies in the Smithsonian's Ocean Hall when the life-size replica of a whale falls from the ceiling and crushes him. A veteran black investigator, Detective Thomas, is assigned the case. He's witnessed two decades of bloody mayhem on the streets of the nation's capital. The list of suspects is long, for the victim was arrogant and reviled. Fundwell discovered the Gigantic, a legendary ocean liner that sank in the Atlantic after hitting an iceberg. He became rich and famous by falsely claiming the work of his colleagues. As Thomas investigates the case, he is lied to by people at all levels - from housing projects to the Supreme Court. Deceit is the one constant in a Washington on the eve of the 2008 election. Yet, he presses on, determined to find justice and prove that Washington has changed since its days as the murder capital of the country. Murder in Ocean Hall is inspired by true events, including the real-life controversy over the discovery of the Titanic, as well as the author's two decades in Washington. This novel takes you behind the scenes of our nation's dysfunctional capital, revealing the real city beyond the monuments.

Telecommunications is vital to modern life, and the global telecommunication network that has developed is an essential part of the infrastructure of society. Although there is an extensive literature on many aspects of telecommunication technology, comparatively little has been published on the functioning and planning of complete telecommunication networks. The first edition of this book was intended to help fill that gap and this new edition has been thoroughly revised and includes much new material. The initial chapters describe the structure of local, national and international networks, and cover switching systems, transmission systems, signalling, numbering schemes, routeing ard call charging. The principles of traffic engineering, mobile networks, ISDN, ATM, intelligent networks, network management, investment appraisal and network planning are also explained. Although the book mainly deals with public telephone networks, there is also a chapter on private networks and data networks. Finally, the principles explained in the earlier chapters are illustrated by several case studies on network planning. The book is intended both to provide the young engineer with a general knowledge of telecommunications and to give the experienced specialist a deeper understanding of his/her own work against the background of the complete telecommunication network. The book evolved from IEE vacation schools at Aston University, and the chapters are mainly based on teaching contributions made by the authors at these schools.

FOREWORD -- A decidedly non-superhero "team book," Cellies is the fun and briskly paced story of six employees of a mobile phone retail store. Led by their gung-ho but slightly dim manager, Christian, the Jog Mobile crew attempt to manage their personal lives alongside their work commitments, which include dealing with difficult customers and managing the midnight launch of a new phone. Cellies collects the first five issues of Lion Forge's comic book series, whose central characters represent a variety of ethnicities, backgrounds, and personalities, providing fertile ground for story development. In a minor but inspired ongoing feature, the book offers short vignettes inspired by true-life retail experiences. In total, Cellies feels like a successful ensemble TV sitcom, and the book ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, as Reyhaab, a teenager from a strict religious family, faces punishment from her parents for lying to them, and Christian suffers from the effects of an overlong tanning session. Flood's clean, confident art style and practiced narrative abilities balance propelling the plot and delivering humor, while also choosing appropriate moments to hint at what's underneath the sometimes shallow exteriors of his characters; one gets the impression that there are plenty of stories left for Flood to tell in Cellies: Volume Two and beyond.