Stretching from the ancient Chinese capital of Xian across the expanses of Central Asia to Rome, the Silk Road was, for 1,500 years, a vibrant network of arteries that carried the lifeblood of nations across the world. Along a multitude of routes everything was exchanged: exotic goods, art, knowledge, religion, philosophy, disease and war. From the East came silk, precious stones, tea, jade, paper, porcelain, spices and cotton; from the West, horses, weapons, wool and linen, aromatics, entertainers and exotic animals. From its earliest beginnings in the days of Alexander the Great and the Han dynasty, the Silk Road expanded and evolved, reaching its peak during the Tang dynasty and the Byzantine Empire and gradually withering away with the decline of the Mongol Empire. In this beautifully illustrated book, which covers the China section of the Silk Road - from Xian through Loulan, Korla, Turfan and Khotan to Kashgar and onwards to India - Jonathan Tucker uses travellers' anecdotes and a wealth of literary and historical sources to celebrate the cultural heritage of the countries that lie along the Silk Road and illuminate the lives of those who once travelled through the very heart of the world.

Stretching from the ancient Chinese capital of Xian across the expanses of Central Asia to Rome, the Silk Road was, for 1,500 years, a vibrant network of arteries that carried the lifeblood of nations across the world. Along a multitude of routes everything was exchanged: exotic goods, art, knowledge, religion, philosophy, disease and war. From the East came silk, precious stones, tea, jade, paper, porcelain, spices and cotton; from the West, horses, weapons, wool and linen, aromatics, entertainers and exotic animals. From its earliest beginnings in the days of Alexander the Great and the Han dynasty, the Silk Road expanded and evolved, reaching its peak during the Tang dynasty and the Byzantine Empire and gradually withering away with the decline of the Mongol Empire. In this beautifully illustrated book, which covers the Central Asian section of the Silk Road - from Lake Issyk-kul through Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, the Kyzyl Kum Desert, Khiva and Merv to Herat, Kabul and Iran - Jonathan Tucker uses travellers' anecdotes and a wealth of literary and historical sources to celebrate the cultural heritage of the countries that lie along the Silk Road and illuminate the lives of those who once travelled through the very heart of the world.

All ten episodes from the first season of the American drama starring Frank Grillo. Retired MMA fighter and trainer Alvey Kulina (Grillo) runs the Navy St. Gym in Venice, California with his girlfriend Lisa (Kiele Sanchez). Struggling to keep their business afloat, it seems their only hopes of making money lie with Alvey's two fighting sons, promising youngster Nate (Nick Jonas) and troubled Jay (Jonathan Tucker), as well as the talented ex-convict, and Lisa's ex, Ryan (Matt Lauria). As Alvey schools his fighters in mixed martial arts, his life is further thrown into disarray by the arrival of his ex-wife Christina (Joanna Going). The episodes are: 'Set Yourself On Fire', 'Glass Eye', 'Piece of Plastic', 'Flowers', 'Eat Your Own Cooking', 'Please Refrain from Crying', 'Animator/Annihilator', 'The Gentle Slope', 'Cut Day' and 'King Beast'.

Indie crime thriller starring Nick Stahl as Noah Cordin, a young small-town detective investigating the accidental murder of an eight-year-old boy during a house robbery. Along with his partner, Leslie Spencer (Rachel Nichols), Noah must overcome the obstacles posed by small-town loyalties and deep-rooted suspicions to track down the perpetrators. Meryl Streep's daughter Grace Gummer co-stars as Nat Collins, a local barmaid who appears to be implicated in the crime.

The first ten episodes from the second season of the American drama starring Frank Grillo. Retired MMA fighter and trainer Alvey Kulina (Grillo) runs the Navy St. Gym in Venice, California with his girlfriend Lisa (Kiele Sanchez). Struggling to keep their business afloat, it seems their only hopes of making money lie with Alvey's two fighting sons, promising youngster Nate (Nick Jonas) and troubled Jay (Jonathan Tucker), as well as the talented ex-convict, and Lisa's ex, Ryan (Matt Lauria). As Alvey schools his fighters in mixed martial arts, his life is further thrown into disarray by the arrival of his ex-wife Christina (Joanna Going). The episodes are: 'New Money', 'Simulations', 'Broken Or Missing', 'Be First', 'Happy Hour', 'Pink at Night', 'The Demon Had a Spell', 'Smoker', 'Living Down' and 'Traveling Alone'.

In this important and revelatory book, Jonathan Tucker, a leading expert on chemical and biological weapons, chronicles the lethal history of chemical warfare from World War I to the present.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the rise of synthetic chemistry made the large-scale use of toxic chemicals on the battlefield both feasible and cheap. Tucker explores the long debate over the military utility and morality of chemical warfare, from the first chlorine gas attack at Ypres in 1915 to Hitler's reluctance to use nerve agents (he believed, incorrectly, that the U.S. could retaliate in kind) to Saddam Hussein's gassing of his own people, and concludes with the emergent threat of chemical terrorism. Moving beyond history to the twenty-first century, "War of Nerves" makes clear that we are at a crossroads that could lead either to the further spread of these weapons or to their ultimate abolition.