Four-film collection featuring Marvel Comics superheroes.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Hugh Jackman reprises his role as clawed mutant Wolverine (formerly James Logan) in this blockbuster superhero action prequel based on the Marvel comic strip. The film, set over the years leading up to the action of the 2003 'X-Men' movie, follows the young Logan from the first awakenings of his mutant powers in childhood up to his amnesiac rebirth as Wolverine, and recounts his tumultuous relationship with his ferocious half-brother Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) and the events that lead him to sign up to the ominous Weapon X programme.

Daredevil
For Daredevil, justice is blind, and for the guilty there's hell to pay. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner ignite dangerous sparks and nonstop thrills in this "dazzling action-adventure" (The Film Journal) about the newest breed of superhero. By day, blind attorney Matt Murdock (Affleck) toils for justice in Hell's Kitchen. By night, he's Daredevil, The Man Without Fear--a powerful, masked vigilante stalking the dark streets with an uncanny "radar sense" that allows him to "see" with superhuman capabilities. But when the love of his life, fiery Elektra Natchios (Garner), is targeted by New York City's ruthless Kingpin of crime (Michael Clarke Duncan) and his deadly assassin Bullseye (Colin Farrell), Daredevil may be about to meet his match.

Elektra
Jennifer Garner proves that looks can kill as the sexiest action hero to burst from the pages of Marvel Comics. Restored to life after sustaining mortal wounds in Daredevil, an icy, solitary Elektra (Garner) now lives only for death as the world's most lethal assassin. Using her bone-crunching martial arts skills and Kimagure (the ability to see into the future), Elektra is on a collision course with darkness until her latest assignment forces her to make a choice that will lead either to her redemption or destruction in the ultimate battle between good and evil.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Marvel's first family of superheroes, The Fantastic Four, meets their greatest challenge yet in Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer comes to Earth to prepare it for its destruction. As he races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy Dr. Doom before all hope is lost.

In this nationally bestselling, compulsively readable account of what makes brain science a vital component of people's quest to know themselves, acclaimed science writer Steven Johnson subjects his own brain to a battery of tests to find out what's really going on inside. He asks:

• How do we "read" other people?
• 
  
• What is the neurochemistry behind love and sex?
• 
  
• What does it mean that the brain is teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs?
• 
  
• Why does music move us to tears?
• 
  
• Where do breakthrough ideas come from?

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Mistletoe therapy is becoming more recognised as a viable treatment for cancer. The mistletoe plant contains several compounds including lectins which improve immune defences and can decrease the negative effects of cancer treatments. As a therapy, mistletoe represents a rediscovery of ancient wisdom and shows us how the science of modern medicine might expand its reach and reconnect with a more human-centred medicine. This book condenses the information shared at a three-day practitioner training course hosted by the Physicians' Association for Anthroposophic Medicine, highlighting several key lectures. This book serves as a bridge between conventional oncology and the development of Integrative Medicine as an effective path in the treatment of cancer. This book is a valuable resource for medical practitioners who want to expand cancer treatment options for their patients, as well as informative background reading for anyone interested in alternative medicine.

Advances in photonics and nanotechnology have the potential to revolutionize humanity's ability to communicate and compute. To pursue these advances, it is mandatory to understand and properly model interactions of light with materials such as silicon and gold at the nanoscale, i.e., the span of a few tens of atoms laid side by side. These interactions are governed by the fundamental Maxwell's equations of classical electrodynamics, supplemented by quantum electrodynamics. This book presents the current state-of-the-art in formulating and implementing computational models of these interactions. Maxwell's equations are solved using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique, pioneered by the senior editor, whose prior Artech House books in this area are among the top ten most-cited in the history of engineering. This cutting-edge resource helps readers understand the latest developments in computational modeling of nanoscale optical microscopy and microchip lithography, as well as nanoscale plasmonics and biophotonics.

Based on the ancient Chinese concept of the unity of Heaven and Man (天人�一, ‘tian ren he yi’), guided by principles governing the connections and interdependencies between Heaven, Earth, Man, and the media, and in accord with the coexistence of these four elements in balance and in harmony, this monograph outlines the scope of the study, fundamental concepts and theories, and future directions of research in the interdisciplinary field of the geography of media. The author delves deeply into the themes of time, space, place, landscape, and scale to introduce readers to a wide array of intriguing concepts that add new dimensions to this relatively new academic field. In addition, this monograph presents a history of media geography as it has evolved in the West and in China over the past several decades, and introduces principles and values from traditional Chinese culture that shed light on the nature, direction, and significance of media studies and communication research now being conducted around the globe.    Intended readership: professional scholars, graduates, and general readers. 

While existing approaches to monitoring environmental contaminants tend to focus on a small suite of contaminant types and often involve monitoring at fixed points and at fixed times, Monitoring Environmental Contaminants focuses on a wide range of new technologies and approaches available for monitoring chemical and biological contaminants in air, water, soil and food. These new methods allow the ability to monitor a wider range of contaminants at much greater and temporal resolutions. Adoption of these methods could result in a change in our understanding of how humans and ecosystems are exposed to contaminants in different environmental media. This volume in the Environmental Contaminants Series provides an overview of a wide range of monitoring approaches ranging from citizen science networks to the use of robotics and sensor networks. Monitoring Environmental Contaminants describes challenges in the adoption of some of these new approaches and methods for dealing with these challenges such as the use of mining techniques for large data. The case studies within will provide a thorough illustration for researchers, academics, and scientists involved in ecology and environmental sciences.

This book provides a thorough analysis of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), from a variety of perspectives including its factions, party presidential elections, the distribution of posts, national elections, local organisations, the policy making process and partner organisations. Drawing on comprehensive and up-to-date data, as well as a large number of interviews, internal party documents and quantitative data, The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan explains the machinery of the Japanese government and ruling party, exploring how policies are made. In so doing, the chapters also analyse the strengths and weaknesses of today's LDP through a comparison of Koizumi Juni'ichiro and Abe Shinzo, both having established long-lasting administrations through their strong leadership. Demonstrating how the LDP has changed significantly over recent years, particularly since the political reforms of 1994, this book will be extremely useful to students and scholars of Japanese and Asian politics.

In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart" (The Village Voice), takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications. Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web?

In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging, Emergence puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.

Later Roman Britain, first published in 1980, charts the end of Roman rule in Britain and gives an overall impression of the beginning of the so-called 'Dark Ages' of British history, the transitional period which saw the breakdown of Roman administration and the beginnings of Saxon settlement. Stephen Johnson traces the flourishing of Romano-British society and the pressures upon it which produced its eventual fragmentation, examining the province's barbarian neighbours and the way the defence was organised against the many threats to its security. The final chapters, using mainly the findings of recent archaeology, assess the initial arrival of the Saxon settlers, and indicate the continuity of life between late Roman and early Saxon England. Later Roman Britain gives a fascinating glimpse of a period scarce with historical sources, but during which changes fundamental to the formation of modern Britain began to take place.

The legacy of Rome is still very much with us in Europe. It forms part of our cultural backdrop, and is enshrined in the European mind, whether through classical literature, education and jurisprudence, or spectacular ruins. In Rome and Its Empire, first published in 1989, Stephen Johnson examines our understanding of the archaeological aspects of Roman civilisation, and traces the development of archaeology from the earliest post-Roman times, through to its real discovery in the eighteenth century, and its burgeoning in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Various areas of modern archaeological thought and practice are examined with regard to the study of Roman archaeology. The emphasis is on how archaeologists examine and classify material, and the various ways in which valid historical conclusions are deduced from that evidence. Johnson concludes by exploring how techniques from other disciplines are now being applied to archaeological study, and indicates what we may yet learn from this.

'Thrilling.' John Banville, Guardian The Eighth Symphony was going to be different from anything Mahler had ever done before: it would speak in different tones, and of a different kind of experience. The world premiere in Munich in the summer of 1910 was the artistic breakthrough for which the composer had yearned all his adult life. Stephen Johnson recounts the symphony's far-reaching effect on composers, conductors and writers of the time. Placing Mahler within his world, The Eighth reassesses Mahler's work in the context of the prevailing thought of his age, but also against the backdrop of that tumultuous summer, when Mahler worked desperately on his Tenth Symphony, was betrayed by his wife, and consulted Sigmund Freud. It is a story like no other.

At the beginning of 2011, security defined the U.S.-Mexico relationship, and it was the issue that most observers thought would shape Mexico's 2012 presidential, state, and local elections. Only two of Mexico's three main parties, the National Action Party (PAN) and Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), had well-known positions on security and on themes such as economic liberalization, rule of law, and reform of the energy sector. After the election, changes began to occur. A labor bill that Calderon introduced in the new Congress passed both chambers largely intact with the new president-elect's support, setting the stage for multipartisan cooperation. Similarly, in December, Congress enacted a constitutional change in education, and a supermajority of states seems destined to approve it. It remains to be seen whether that sense of compromise among Mexico's three dominant parties will prevail for other key initiatives, including telecommunications, taxes, energy reform, and public safety. Yet, where there was uncertainty about the course Mexico would take leading up to the 2012 elections, the new administration has committed itself to the principles of effective government, with public opinion playing a supporting role.

"A Report of the CSIS Americas Program In cooperation with The Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies National Defense University."

To the extent that the security and stability of close hemispheric neighbors impinge on the security and well-being of U.S. citizens, the United States is obliged to promote regional law enforcement reforms. If not, other countries such as China and Iran may be willing to do that, perhaps in ways the United States might not like, potentially putting American interests and lives at risk. Police reform is a hugely complicated undertaking, in which there are no easily transferable formulas for success. This report examines police reform in the Americas and suggests a strategic approach--considering trends, the threat environment, available resources, institutional strengths and weaknesses, and leadership--that will permit U.S. assistance to be successful.

This book provides a thorough analysis of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), from a variety of perspectives including its factions, party presidential elections, the distribution of posts, national elections, local organisations, the policy making process and partner organisations. Drawing on comprehensive and up-to-date data, as well as a large number of interviews, internal party documents and quantitative data, The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan explains the machinery of the Japanese government and ruling party, exploring how policies are made. In so doing, the chapters also analyse the strengths and weaknesses of today's LDP through a comparison of Koizumi Juni'ichiro and Abe Shinzo, both having established long-lasting administrations through their strong leadership. Demonstrating how the LDP has changed significantly over recent years, particularly since the political reforms of 1994, this book will be extremely useful to students and scholars of Japanese and Asian politics.

As John Cage once recalled, there were four musicians in the early '50s who, because of their deep interest in art, associated closely with the New York School of painters: Edgard Varèse, Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman, and Cage himself. This book explores the interaction and influences of the visual arts on these four seminal composers. Even though each composer stressed that his aesthetic derived mainly from the visual arts, the actual transference of an aesthetic form from one medium to another took many forms, reflecting the individual sensibilities and concerns of the artists involved. The theories of performance and composition that they evolved are still controversial; taking a new and unique perspective, Johnson and his collaborators give fresh insights into the music of our time.