The Global Casino is an introduction to environmental issues which deals both with the workings of the physical environment and with the political, economic and social frameworks in which the issues occur. Using examples from all over the world, the book highlights the underlying causes behind environmental problems, the human actions which have made them issues, and the hopes for solutions. It is a book about the human impact on the environment and the ways in which the natural environment impacts human society. The sixth edition has been fully revised and updated throughout, with new case studies, figures, and online resources including a complete lecture course for tutors and multiple-choice questions for students. New concepts and topics covered for the first time in this edition include the green economy, the forest transition model, marine microplastic pollution, urban disasters, decommissioning of big dams, and the start of the Anthropocene. Recent international initiatives covered include the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the Sendai Framework for managing disaster risk. New case studies include Morocco's Noor concentrated solar power plant, desert recovery in Kuwait, and river management on the Huang Ho. Eighteen chapters on key issues follow three initial chapters which outline the background contexts of the physical and human environments and the concept of sustainable development. Each chapter provides historical context for key issues, outlines why they have arisen, and highlights areas of controversy and uncertainty to appraise how issues can be resolved both technically and in political and economic frameworks. Each chapter also contains an updated critical guide to further reading - many of them open access - and websites, as well as discussion points and essay questions. The text can be read in its entirety or individual chapters adopted as standalone reading. This book is an essential resource for students of the environment, geography, earth sciences and development studies. It provides comprehensive and inspirational coverage of all the major global environmental issues of the day in a style that is clear and critical.

The Global Casino is an introduction to environmental issues which deals both with the workings of the physical environment and with the political, economic and social frameworks in which the issues occur. Using examples from all over the world, the book highlights the underlying causes behind environmental problems, the human actions which have made them issues, and the hopes for solutions. It is a book about the human impact on the environment and the ways in which the natural environment impacts human society. The sixth edition has been fully revised and updated throughout, with new case studies, figures, and online resources including a complete lecture course for tutors and multiple-choice questions for students. New concepts and topics covered for the first time in this edition include the green economy, the forest transition model, marine microplastic pollution, urban disasters, decommissioning of big dams, and the start of the Anthropocene. Recent international initiatives covered include the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the Sendai Framework for managing disaster risk. New case studies include Morocco's Noor concentrated solar power plant, desert recovery in Kuwait, and river management on the Huang Ho. Eighteen chapters on key issues follow three initial chapters which outline the background contexts of the physical and human environments and the concept of sustainable development. Each chapter provides historical context for key issues, outlines why they have arisen, and highlights areas of controversy and uncertainty to appraise how issues can be resolved both technically and in political and economic frameworks. Each chapter also contains an updated critical guide to further reading - many of them open access - and websites, as well as discussion points and essay questions. The text can be read in its entirety or individual chapters adopted as standalone reading. This book is an essential resource for students of the environment, geography, earth sciences and development studies. It provides comprehensive and inspirational coverage of all the major global environmental issues of the day in a style that is clear and critical.

Rivers have played an extraordinarily important role in creating the world in which we live. They create landscapes and provide water to people, plants and animals, nourishing both town and country. The flow of rivers has enthused poets and painters, explorers and pilgrims. Rivers have acted as cradles for civilization and agents of disaster; a river may be a barrier or a highway, it can bear trade and sediment, culture and conflict. A river may inspire or it may terrify. This Very Short Introduction is a celebration of rivers in all their diversity. Nick Middleton covers a wide and eclectic range of river-based themes, from physical geography to mythology, to industrial history and literary criticism. Worshipped and revered, respected and feared, rivers reflect both the natural and social history of our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Deserts make up a third of the planet's land surface, but if you picture a desert, what comes to mind? A wasteland? A drought? A place devoid of all life forms? Deserts are remarkable places. Typified by drought and extremes of temperature, they can be harsh and hostile; but many deserts are also spectacularly beautiful, and on occasion teem with life. Nick Middleton explores how each desert is unique: through fantastic life forms, extraordinary scenery, and ingenious human adaptations. He demonstrates a desert's immense natural beauty, its rich biodiversity, and uncovers a long history of successful human occupation. This Very Short Introduction tells you everything you ever wanted to know about these extraordinary places and captures their importance in the working of our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

It is 1921, and post-revolutionary Russia is being torn apart by civil war. Out of the wreckage rises a crazy, eagle-eyed Baron, who plans to conquer the largest empire the world has ever known... When he fails to get his hands on Russia, the Bloody Baron, Baron von Ungern-Sternberg, sets his sights on Mongolia... Ages 10+.

Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton takes us on a magical tour of countries that, lacking diplomatic recognition or UN membership, inhabit a world of shifting borders, visionary leaders and forgotten peoples. Most of us think we know what a country is, but in truth the concept is rather slippery. From Catalonia to the Crimea, and from Africa's last colony to the European republic that enjoyed just a solitary day of independence, the places in this book may lie on the margins of legitimacy, but all can be visited in the real world. Beautifully illustrated by fifty regional maps, each shadowy country is literally cut out of the page of this book. Alongside stories, facts and figures, An Atlas of Countries That Don't Exist brings to life a dreamlike world of nations that exist only in the minds of the people who live there.

This text follows a trail of modern-day sights and experiences that every well-rounded, late-20th century Eurocitizen should encounter. This latter-day "Grand Tour" takes in the musts of modern Europe, from the Channel Tunnel to the casino at Frankfurt Airport, from Eurodisney to the Parthenon, and from Legoland to the Vatican City. Travelling on Eurocheques and speaking only English, Nick Middleton is the stereotypical Englishman abroad.

The Southern States of America, as seen through the eyes of a typical Brit. From the imported sands of Miami Beach to the antebellum mansions of Savannah, the Southern States are a breeding ground of miscegenation, racial hatred, great movies and political giants.

This is the dramatic story of the mutiny on the Bounty, and the subsequent events on Pitcairn Island - the tiny speck of land in the Pacific where the mutineers settled.

It is 1921 and post-revolutionary Russia is being torn apart by civil war. Out of the wreckage rises a crazy, eagle-eyed Baron, who plans to conquer the largest empire the world has ever known. When he fails to get his hands on Russia, the Bloody Baron sets his sights on Mongolia. There, ably assisted by his two demented bodyguards, 'Teapot' and Colonel 'Dead Fish' Sepailoff, he establishes a bizarre and brutal regime, which promises success - only to backfire spectacularly in his face.

When Nick Middleton decided to visit Outer Mongolia, it took him five years to get a visa. And when he finally reached Ulan Bator - with no guide book, no map and no Mongolian - he found more than a few surprises.;One of the first Western travellers to visit some areas of this country, Nick Middleton made two trips, before and after the liberalization that began in the late 1980s. He discovered a society slowly changing, but still unlike any other, where pastimes range from traditional yak-dung throwing to the excitements of the country's only disco. Meals include tadpoles and yak's curd with matchsticks, and the twin national sports seem to be queing and throwing stones.;From Mongolia's last surviving Buddhist monastery to a secret communist party hideaway, from the Gobi to the concrete Metropolis of Ulan Bator, the author paints a fascinating picture of the land the hordes forgot.

The Silk Road is the fabled route that cuts through one of the most extraordinary tracts of land on this planet. A vast region separating China from the Mediterranean, it rates as one of the least hospitable on Earth - a succession of hostile deserts and towering mountain ranges, a harsh terrain of howling winds, searing heat and blistering cold. No stranger to unforgiving territory, Nick Middleton follows in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and Marco Polo overland from China to Istanbul, surviving as they did the life-sapping Gobi desert, the icy passes of high altitude Tibet, and the great Steppes of Turkmenistan, and encounters those who eke out existences there today. Nick's great gift as an adventure writer is to weave together the personal experience of ridiculous endurance - from sleeping on steaming rocks in the middle of a sub-zero desert to eating the most dubiously-cooked local delicacies - with the bigger picture of our planet and its peoples.

What is a country? Acclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton brings to life the origins and histories of 50 states that, lacking international recognition and United Nations membership, exist on the margins of legitimacy in the global order. From long-contested lands like Crimea and Tibet to lesser-known territories such as Africa's last colony and a European republic that enjoyed independence for a single day, Middleton presents fascinating stories of shifting borders, visionary leaders, and "forgotten" peoples. Beautifully illustrated with 50 regional maps, each country is literally die-cut out of the page, offering a distinctive tactile experience while exploring these remarkable places.