I was Top Gear's script editor for 13 years and all 22 series. I basically used to check spelling and think of stupid gags about The Stig. I also got to hang around with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. It didn't feel like something you should get paid for. From the disastrous pilot show of 2002 to the sudden and unexpected ending in 2015, working on Top Gear was quite a rollercoaster ride. We crossed continents, we made space ships, we bobbed across the world's busiest shipping lane in a pick-up truck. We also got chased by an angry mob, repeatedly sparked fury in newspapers, and almost killed one of our presenters. I realised that I had quite a few stories to tell from behind the scenes on the show. I remembered whose daft idea it was to get a dog. I recalled the willfully stupid way in which we decorated our horrible office. I had a sudden flashback to the time a Bolivian drug lord threatened to kill us. I decided I should write down some of these stories. So I have. I hope you like them. And now, a quote from James May: 'Richard Porter has asked me to "write a quote" for his new book about the ancient history of Top Gear. But this is a ridiculous request. How can one "write a quote"? Surely, by definition, a quote must be extracted from a greater body of writing, for the purpose of illustrating or supporting a point in an unrelated work. I cannot "write a quote" any more than I could "film an out-take". 'Porter, like Athens, has lost his marbles.' - James May

The ultimate field guide to the birds of the Middle East, an indispensable companion for any traveller to the region The Middle East – the region stretching from Cyprus and the Levant to Iran, including Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula, plus Socotra – has a wonderfully broad and diverse avifauna, featuring a host of wintering and passage migrants, enigmatic breeders, and even a few endemics that occur nowhere else. This authoritative book covers more than 895 species recorded in the Middle East, including details of all regular visitors and breeding species, from the Purple Sunbird to the Northern Bald Ibis. Featuring 180 stunning colour plates by three of the world’s leading bird illustrators, this practical guide also includes concise species accounts describing key identification features, status, range, habitat and voice with fully updated distribution maps for each species. Written by three of the leading lights in regional ornithology and conservation, this fully revised and expanded guide is an essential reference for any birder living in or visiting the Middle East.

In "Power in the Blood, " Richard Porter shares a fresh perspective in conjunction with little-known and fascinating details, as he examines the connections that join science and spirituality. Porter integrates the latest findings in science with the ancient and traditional knowledge of faith and spirituality by exploring complicated biological realities drawn from extensive research. As he delves into the topics of biology, evolution, and the metaphysical aspect of nature, he offers ideas for the pursuit of inquisitive journeys into self-awareness, human consciousness, and the truth. Porter leaves no stone unturned as he carefully scrutinizes and provides personal insight into bio-existentialism, the cosmos, mind fields and X-factors, the magnum mysterium, post-Darwinian evolution, and axiomatic authenticity. Written for a broad audience with adventurous and open minds, "Power in the Blood" presents a unique exploration of biological evolution and provides fresh insight into what it means to be human.

A fully revised edition of the acclaimed field guide to the birds of the Middle East The Middle East is home to some of the most spectacular birdlife in the world. This field guide covers all species—including vagrants—found in the Arabian Peninsula (including Socotra), Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Cyprus. It features 176 superb color plates depicting some 900 species and subspecies as well as 820 color distribution maps that show the breeding range for almost every species. Maps and detailed species accounts are opposite the plates, making this marvelously illustrated guide ideal for easy reference in the field. Features fully revised and updated text, plates, and maps Covers more than 50 additional species and subspecies Includes more than 100 new illustrations as well as new information on the status and distribution of endemic species Now comes with QR codes of vocalizations

The definitive photographic guide to the amazing avifauna of the Middle East. The Middle East has a wonderfully broad and diverse avifauna, featuring a host of wintering and passage migrants, enigmatic and sometimes colourful breeders, and even a few endemics that occur nowhere else. The perfect companion for any wildlife-friendly visitor, Birds of the Middle East provides photographic coverage of more than 320 species that regularly occur in the region. Concise text for each species includes information on identification, songs and calls, behaviour, distribution and habitat, with each photo having been carefully selected to guide identification. A guide to the best birdwatching sites in the Middle East is also included. Portable yet authoritative, this is the perfect guide for travellers and birdwatchers visiting this spectacular and bird-rich slice of western Asia.

"It amazes me that after all these years and countless books, the scope of subject matter on The Beatles is so amazingly large that writers always find a new angle. This book does that in a very unique and clever way. It's a must for every Beatles fan." -Billy J. Kramer "...It's a magical mystery tour through the band's life and times." -Yahoo Entertainment The It-List "Part biography and part map to the stars, The Beatles: Fab Four Cities is your "Ticket to Ride" and walk in the footsteps of John, Paul, George and Ringo. It's the next best thing to actually driving their car..."-Nina Violi, Capitol File. and Gotham magazine "While the book can be used as a handy tour guide filled with addresses, maps and photos, it also makes for great reading." -Steve Matteo, The Vinyl District "But now comes a "magic carpet volume" for Beatles fans that blends travel guide with historical reference in an expanded study of The Beatles' homes, schools, pubs, venues, and important historic sites..." -Jude Southerland Kessler, Culture Sonar John Lennon said: "We were born in Liverpool, but we grew up in Hamburg." To paraphrase Lennon, we could say that: "The Beatles were born in Liverpool, grew up in Hamburg, reached maturity in London, and immortality in New York." Four cities. Four stars. The Fab Four - the Beatles - are revered the world over, but it is in these urban centres that their legacy shines brightest. Liverpool: where the band graduated from church halls, leaving their initial line-up as 'The Quarrymen' far behind. Hamburg: where their raucous stage act was honed; where arrests earned them a more notorious celebrity reputation, but they became a true emblem of rock 'n' roll. London: where The Beatles produced Sgt Pepper, and home to the iconic album cover for Abbey Road. And New York: the city that became John Lennon's home, where their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show announced them to 73 million Americans. The Beatles: Fab Four Cities invites the reader on a cosmopolitan trek across continents, tracing the Beatles' rise to fame from one metropolis to the next. Flush with timelines, stories, trivia, the numerous links and connections between the cities and both pop cultural and local history, this is a travel guide like no other.

An authoritative guide to the birds of Cyprus Cyprus is a great place for birding, and one of the most popular places for birders to visit in Europe. It holds populations of a number of regional scarcities that are very hard to see elsewhere, plus a number of endemic subspecies, and the jewels in the crown - three full endemics, Cyprus Wheatear, Cyprus Scops Owl and Cyprus Warbler, the latter of which graces the jacket of this new Helm field guide to the island. Detailed plates are allied to concise identification text, with accurate maps stemming from Colin Richardson's decades-long programme of population-mapping on the island. Together, these elements make this the definitive guide to Cyprus's birds, one that no visitor to this beautiful island can be without.

Emphasizing the roles that family, religion, and history play in intercultural communication, COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CULTURES, 9E helps you increase your understanding and appreciation of different cultures while developing practical skills for improving your communication with people from other cultures. Bringing chapter concepts to life, the text is packed with the latest research and compelling examples that help you take a look at your own assumptions, perceptions, and cultural biases so you can see the subtle and profound ways culture affects communication. The ninth edition also includes insightful discussions of the impact of globalization, a new chapter on intercultural communication competence, and extensive coverage of new technology.

I was Top Gear's script editor for 13 years and all 22 series. I basically used to check spelling and think of stupid gags about The Stig. I also got to hang around with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. It didn't feel like something you should get paid for. From the disastrous pilot show of 2002 to the sudden and unexpected ending in 2015, working on Top Gear was quite a rollercoaster ride. We crossed continents, we made space ships, we bobbed across the world's busiest shipping lane in a pick-up truck. We also got chased by an angry mob, repeatedly sparked fury in newspapers, and almost killed one of our presenters. I realised that I had quite a few stories to tell from behind the scenes on the show. I remembered whose daft idea it was to get a dog. I recalled the willfully stupid way in which we decorated our horrible office. I had a sudden flashback to the time a Bolivian drug lord threatened to kill us. I decided I should write down some of these stories. So I have. I hope you like them. And now, a quote from James May: 'Richard Porter has asked me to "write a quote" for his new book about the ancient history of Top Gear. But this is a ridiculous request. How can one "write a quote"? Surely, by definition, a quote must be extracted from a greater body of writing, for the purpose of illustrating or supporting a point in an unrelated work. I cannot "write a quote" any more than I could "film an out-take". 'Porter, like Athens, has lost his marbles.'

Designing and making cars is an expensive thing to do. So is racing them. All told, the car business spends billions every year and with such vast sums at stake you'd think the people involved wouldn't give desk space to Captain Cockup. Sadly, you would be wrong. Every department in every car firm and motorsport operation is capable of complete and abject failure, and on a surprisingly regular basis. Which is what this book is about. You see, Top Gear knows a thing or two about embarrassing mistakes, as anyone who watched our India special will know. The truth is, for many years Top Gear has also regarded failure as funny. Where other television programmes edit out the moment where the presenter falls over or slams their hand in a door, Top Gear gleefully leaves it in. So who better to take you on a gentle canter through 50 of the car world's biggest and most glorious failures? That's right, it's Top Gear. Who else did you think? If you want this sort of stuff from Countryfile you might be in for a wait.

Oman is a truly amazing place. In terms of avifauna it lies at the crossroads between Asian and African species - Arabian desert species to the north, and a host of Afrotropical species occurring in the monsoon-swept south that don't occur anywhere else in the Western Palaearctic. With much of the Middle East now effectively off-limits to birders, people are increasingly turning to Oman and its avian riches. And what riches they are - highlights include the incredible Omani Owl, discovered just a couple of years ago in the Al Hajar mountains, a suite of regionally scarce wheatears, exotic pigeons, shearwaters and storm-petrels that can be seen from the beach, a host of wintering eagles plus impressive residents such as Verreaux's, the only accessible sites for Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak and Yemen Serin ... the list goes on and on. This book is the perfect guide to this wonderful country's birdlife. Written by the world's leading expert on Middle Eastern birds, Richard Porter, along with Oman bird specialist Jen Eriksen, with colour plates opposite concise species text and accurate maps, it is indispensible for any naturalist visiting this jewel of the Arabian peninsula.

Jesus taught us to pray for God's kingdom to come. But do we understand what we are praying for and what the kingdom of God really looks like? Using the analogy of God as the director of the greatest show on earth, Richard Porter shows how the kingdom of God is the overarching story line throughout the Bible. Each scene, from the people of Israel to Jesus and the early church, reveals kingdom truths that impact the church today. As the story unfolds, you can understand why Jesus proclaimed the message of the kingdom. It is indeed good news for our towns, our cities, our homes and families. Content Benefits: This book explores the central theme of the kingdom of God throughout the Bible and will encourage you to proclaim this good news to the world today. Analogy of God as the director of the greatest show on earth creates an accessible way into the subject Biblical teaching on the kingdom of God Includes personal stories from the author making this an accessible rather than academic read Will encourage you to fall more in love with God and proclaim the gospel Encourages us to live out the kingdom of God today Suitable for anyone who wants to understand the Lord's prayer 'Your kingdom come' Helpful for anyone who wants to preach about the kingdom of God Ideal for anyone who loves to see how themes develop through the Bible Perfect for anyone who wants to understand the Old Testament better

This new special, anniversary edition of INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION: A READER, celebrates 40 years of publication. In compiling this Fortieth Anniversary Edition, the editors reviewed over 600 articles from the previous 13 editions and selected those essays that educators, both in the United States and abroad, have considered foundational to intercultural communication teaching and research. These essays also illustrate the growth and direction of the field since the early 1970s. This edition offers a series of essays that enables students to gain an appreciation and understanding of intercultural communication. Material is presented in a context that assists students in comprehending and then applying course concepts to their lives. These core readings also demonstrate the historical development and philosophical evolution of the field. As with prior editions, the Reader continues to convey the idea that successful intercultural communication is a matter of highest importance in this globalized, interconnected world. The concluding chapter, "New Perspectives: Prospects for the Future," contains five new essays by leading intercultural communication scholars. These original works offer insight into new directions for intercultural communication in the coming decades.