Anybody who has watched many movies or television shows has seen them—the ubiquitous silver suits worn by pilots as they explore the unknown. They are called pressure suits, and one can trace their lineage to Wiley Post or, perhaps, a bit earlier.
There are two kinds of pressure suits: partial pressure and full pressure. David Clark, the man, once pointed out that these were not very good names, but they are the ones that stuck. In a partial-pressure suit, the counter-pressure is not as complete as in a full-pressure suit, but it is placed so that shifts in body fluids are kept within reasonable limits. On the other hand, a full-pressure suit, which is an anthropomorphic pressure vessel, creates an artificial environment for the pilot.
One type of pressure suit is not necessarily "better" than the other, and both partial pressure and full pressure suits are still in limited use around the world. Both type of suits have benefits and limitations and, by and large, pilots dislike both, even while acknowledging their necessity. For the past 60 years, they have been an indispensible part of a small fragment of the aviation world.
Although space suits, which differ from pressure suits in subtle, but important ways, have been well covered in literature, pressure suits have gone unheralded except as introductions to the space suit histories. This e-book is an attempt to correct that, and covers pressure suits from the beginning through the end of the Space Shuttle Program.
Trembling in the Balance: The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal During the Civil War is the story of a canal company's struggle to operate a significant business enterprise in one of the nation's major theaters of war. Since the C&O Canal company was located on Maryland's southern border with Virginia, it experienced much of the war firsthand. Due to the proximity of the canal to so many conflicts, large and small, this book includes a great deal of military history in great detail. The canal played a role in major battles, like Antietam and Gettysburg, and in smaller conflicts, such as Ball's Bluff and Stonewall Jackson's raids on Dam Number 5 (the dam was owned by the canal company). A facinating account of this transportation artery during a time of great military upheval.
The 1944-1948 ethnic cleansing of East European Germans has long been shrouded in silence. Following the liberation of Hungary from the Ottoman Turks, the Habsburg Monarchy encouraged Swabians from Southwest Germany to settle in and rebuild the war-devastated province along the Danube River. With pioneer spirit and strength of will, the colonists turned the former wasteland into the "Breadbasket of Europe." For 300 years, the descendents of the original settlers lived peacefully among various ethnic groups while continuing to cherish and maintain the customs and traditions of their ancestors.
In the aftermath of World War II following the Nazi Holocaust, these German speaking Danube Swabians were perceived as Nazi collaborators and, out of retaliation for war crimes they didn't commit, became Hitler's last victims, targets of Tito’s barbarous genocide that resulted in the extermination and murder of some two million innocent men, women, and children and the displacement of another fifteen million. The historical narrative is enhanced by the remarkable testimony of survivor Katharina Karl, a young girl separated from her family during the carnage, hidden, and then placed in inhumane work camps.
Through careful, detailed consideration of a host of primary documents about the young activists who formed the Underground Railroad’s underappreciated operational workforce, this book offers fresh insight to the complex question, “Who ended slavery?”
The Underground Railroad consisted of a network of secret routes, safe houses, and coordinated assistance to fugitive slaves en route to the North and Canada. Many heroic children worked to support this historic grassroots effort, which both provided material aid to fugitives and formed the country’s first integrated civil rights movement.
Bound for the Future: Child Heroes of the Underground Railroad illuminates the vital contributions of specific, underappreciated child activists within the extremely local circumstances of their daily work. It also provides meaningful context to the actions of these young activists within the much broader social practice of resisting slavery, and offers fresh insight into the complicated question of who was responsible for ending slavery. Through a thorough examination of these subjects, author Jonathan Shectman proves his central thesis: in many specific cases, children were the essential lifeblood of the Underground Railroad’s operational workforce.
This text will appeal to wide range of readers, including young students, educators, scholars, and anyone seeking a fresh perspective on civil rights, anti-slavery activism, and U.S. history.
In writing his 'one and only' book, George Elder, a proud Geordie, detailed many of his experiences endured whilst serving in the British Army during World War 1. Many of his tales would not have been appreciated by his peers, but they actually happened and would have been recognised by the common soldier. From Geordie Land to No Mans land was written to inform his family, friends and anyone buying his book of the real life events that occurred. How an ordinary man survived 4 years in the front line experiencing the horrors of war that most of us could not imagine, enduring many privations such as mud, cold, hunger, thirst and fear of imminent death all around him. George maintained his spirit by forming a close bond with his fellow Geordies even refusing to be transferred to Hospital in case he could not return to his original unit. His description of the intensity of shell fire that we have seen in pictures of the battlefields of Flanders and the Somme bring to life how men endured the unendurable, how men lived as animals, how men coped with all the privations of the battlefield. What he doesn't describe is how he coped with life immediately after the war, when he returned to civilian life. His post war diary did detail the problems his family faced with sickness and lack of money, but as we are now aware of the post Falklands and the Gulf wars the physiological effects on men is a story in itself. Coping with ordinary life after 4 years of war living on the edge in fear of imminent death would have been a major issue for George and his family.
A theory regarding the origin, development and conflicts of shepherd and farmer societies. The influence of a celestial being in the creation and evolution of the universe
FROM THE AUTHOR: "Although several authors like Jacques, Attali, Brian Fagan, J.P. Mallory, and Richard Rudgley have successfully discussed the history of ancient civilization and their writings have already attracted the attention not only of experts, but of the general public, I believe that the way of life of the Caucasian nomadic shepherded and their contrasts with the stationary farmers, the cultures that flourished during the time gap dividing the incoming of those two civilizations and the influence of the shepherd on the subsequent development of diverging culture have not received the attention they merit nor have been adequately explored or diffused. My study is important because the contemplative and theoretical shepherding approach to life, experienced while lingering waiting for their sheep to graze, led them to the understanding of the basic, religious, philosophical, and moral principles that evolved into our civilization. Concepts like the Ten Commandments, theoretical scientific principles like the Algorithms and monotheistic spirituality could have been conceived only by our Shepherd ancestors. During the long period when Homo Erectus, Neanderthals, Hunter and Gatherers, Shepherds, dominated the world, the farmers did not exist yet. Due to the slower expansion of the agricultural activity which developed only 2,000 years after the domestication of the first animals in the same Caucasus territory, the farmers trailed the shepherds by as much as 10,000 years in their reach of regions distant from the Golden Crescent. The violence, political and philosophical disagreements occurring at present between the descendants of Asian nomads and some Occidental nations (offspring of farming societies) can be construed to be rooted in those ancient divergences and related to their contrasting way of life. I believe that the contemporary public in his desire to understand the origin and development of those conflicts and to find a solution to the problems occurring in the Middle East and Central Asia is more interested than ever in reading events related to this ancient period of our history."
Two Destitutes is a novel based on real life characters. Ismael is a beggar, a homeless vagabond that lives on the margin of society, surviving by the mercy of his fellow-man. Sergio Fabricio, the protagonist, is an ARMY gunner that served two tours of duty in the front lines of Afghanistan. Upon his return, after suffering incredible tragedies in the horrors of war, the gunner realizes that society in this country is not prepared to receive its ex-combatants; the skills he learned in the battle field are of little use in civilian society despite the fact that soldiers sacrifice so much for her. When the two characters meet, they become daily partners in misery, they share misfortunes and united live in the lowest level of need. They have reached a critical point in their life, a raw and painful existence without pretensions, trusting only in the fate and the hand of God. What did it take for him to control his destiny one more time, what happened that gave him back his will to live?
While the story of the Negro Leagues has been well documented, few baseball fans know about the Japanese American Nisei Leagues, or of their most influential figure, Kenichi Zenimura (1900-1968). A talented player who excelled at all nine positions, Zenimura was also a respected manager and would become the Japanese American community’s baseball ambassador. He worked tirelessly to promote the game at home and abroad, leading goodwill trips to Asia, helping to negotiate tours of Japan by Negro League All-Stars and Babe Ruth, and establishing a 32-team league behind the barbed wire of Arizona’s Gila River Internment Camp during World War II. This first biography of the "Father of Japanese-American Baseball" delivers a thorough and fascinating account of Zenimura’s life.
“ZASU PITTS IS THE FEMALE CHARLIE CHAPLIN.” ~ Director Dean Goodman
“What a wonderful treasure of information and anecdotes about one of the most beloved actresses in films. I loved her unique comedy, and had the privilege of seeing her perform live. Many thanks to Gayle Haffner for her untiring love and work!” ~ Ann B. Davis, Actress
“An astonishing collection of material - a feast for ZaSu fans! Haffner shows us the real-life ZaSu Pitts -- a fascinating story!” ~ Mike Brotherton, Founder of the ZaSu Pitts Film Festival, Parsons, Kansas
“Haffner imparts the breath of life to a favorite and almost forgotten legend, bringing us ZaSu’s full career and the personal life she deftly kept private and away from the press. ZaSu’s humanity will touch all who renew their acquaintance with this great star.” ~ Edd Bayes, Co-founder of the Gale Storm Appreciation Society
“Gayle Haffner gives a fascinating look at the life and career of one of cinema’s great, versatile actresses -- the actress who could steal scenes with a flutter of her hands will steal your heart with her story. This authorized biography is well written and painstakingly researched to give the reader the inside story of one of our national treasures.” ~ Ron Baker, Co-founder of the Gale Storm Appreciation Society
Sixty-five years after the end of WWII, author Alice M. Flynn, uncovers the story of her father’s role in the Battle of the Bulge, the challenges and dangers he faced as a Nazi POW and the Unforgettable memories that he would never escape. This action packed story is filled with touching stories of a heroic, patriotic and humble man who touched the hearts of everyone he knew.
The Accidental Anarchist is the true story of Jacob Marateck, an Orthodox Jew who was sentenced to death three times in the early 1900s in Russia -- and lived to tell about it. He also happened to have been my grandfather. The book is based on the diaries my grandfather began keeping in 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War. That was when he decided that he needed to overthrow Czar Nicholas II...
The book is not only a first-person account of a period of time that changed history (The Russo-Japanese War, which resulted in Russia losing its superpower status, and Japan emerging as the first Asian nation to defeat a European nation; this was such a serious conflict that President Teddy Roosevelt won the first Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the War to an end), but it also illustrates what life was like for Jews in the Russian-occupied territories at a time when anti-Semitism was the official government policy. Yet despite circumstances that included poverty, starvation, the horrors of war and three death sentences, my grandfather recorded his experiences in a tone of remarkable humor and optimism, and those were what helped him survive.
From the Author: "Daddy's got AIDS". Those three words in a phone call from my brother devastated me. It was the worst news I could have ever imagined. Not Daddy. Not that loving 81 year old retired man out there on the farm.
"Doc" Montandon, a man of great character and the best man I have ever known, died from tainted HIV blood. In very good health, Doc was subjected to unnecessary exploratory surgery and was transfused with bad blood. To make matters worse, the incident was covered up and the gentle Texas farmer was not apprised of his condition. After he began suffering from the symptoms of AIDS, my father was refused admittance and help from the same community hospital where the evil deed was perpetrated.
Unlike most books on climate change, this one examines the current trends in climate—and predictions for the future—relative to similar events in Earth’s history. This history paints a picture of repeated cataclysms in which most life on Earth was lost. However, our planet now hosts a species potentially capable of mitigating, regulating, and/or moderating the factors affecting global climate. According to widely accepted data, we have a narrowing window of time to make the necessary changes before we become just another name on a long list of species wiped out through climate catastrophes. Trexler, a paleontologist in Montana, makes powerful and specific suggestions for how the challenges facing our planet can be lessened or avoided.
D-Day: The Campaign Across France, the second in the planned 10-volume collection WAR STORIES: World War II Firsthand, presents a perspective on the military campaigns and actions of World War II anchored on the stories told by the marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen and other front line personnel who experienced the conflict. What is particularly unique to these books is that each volume will present accounts from both sides, in some cases, from participants who were across the battle lines from each other.
Drawn from personal interviews conducted by the author, diaries, letters and reports, each volume in this collection will also contain archive photos, newly created maps and other visual materials. In some cases personal photographs and memorabilia of the interviewees are included. More than two hundred and fifty veterans have been identified and interviewed and others are coming forward as the project unfolds.
Supporting each topic, theater or campaign are historical facts to set the scene for the veterans’ commentaries. While details of experiences under fire are very compelling, camp life, leave and other similar activities are also included. Some interviews include stories of capture and POW camps, as these events are some of the most vivid memories the veterans have.
Relive some of the most notorious and long-forgotten historical crime stories of early California, from the Gold Rush to the mid-twentieth century. Told through shocking newspaper headlines of the time, these 52 stories include the exploits and dastardly deeds of infamous bandits, Joaquin Murrieta, Juan Flores, and Tiburcio Vasquez. Experience the poetic adventures of the most famous stagecoach robber, Black Bart, the murderous rampages of fiends, such as John Anschlag, Mose Gibson, Leon Soeder, Theodore Durrant, and the infamous Black Widow, Louise Peete. Also discussed are a treasure trove of unsolved murders including the notorious Black Dahlia slaying, the killing of mobster Bugsy Siegel, and the San Diego Slayer case. These true tales come to life with dozens of rare photographs. Sit back and relax as the darker side of the Golden State is explored.
Offering a complete review of American history, civics, and culture, this unique collection provides both current and future citizens with the basics of the United States’ common traditions and values in order to properly exercise their duties and obligations to vote responsibly. Amply illustrated and containing material not found in other sources, this book features a complete historical timeline of the United States; details of each presidential election, including vote totals and short profiles of each president; color flags of all states; history and care of the United States flag; maps showing statehood dates, Native American tribe locations, major cities, and time zones; text of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Northwest Ordinance, and the United States Constitution, including all amendments; and explanations of the three branches of government, the electoral college, the federal budget, and presidential succession. Americana, such as important figures, popular cooking, national disasters, and colorful sayings, and the official United States Citizenship Test, with cross references to relevant material, are also featured.
In 1964, Edwin and Jean Armbruster left their home in the United States to raise their family in the Panama Canal Zone, a little known American territory in the Central America country of Panama. In Canal Zone Daughter, Judy (Armbruster) Haisten chronicles her unique childhood culminating to the crushing loss when former President Jimmy Carter signs treaties that effectively eliminates her –and fellow U.S. citizens’- former home. Charming, funny, and poignant, the author captures her remarkable American story in an exotic place and time.
Author Manny Pacheco’s faithful fascination with the Studio Era’s character actors is enjoying popular acclaim. Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History is about to sell out its First Edition. Book One has been added to prestigious shelves, including The Library of Congress, and the Main Branch of the Richard J. Riordan Los Angeles Public Library as a reference copy.
Vision4Media agreed to develop Pacheco’s series into a documentary. The Southern California production company is considering theatrical and television opportunities.
With 21 featured actors, and rarely-told uniquely American stories, this is the perfect holiday or celebration gift.
In 1895, members of the Caroline County Sunday School Union implemented a plan to build and operate a secondary school for Negro children in Caroline County, Virginia. The school, originally named Bowling Green Industrial Academy, then Caroline County Training School and finally Union High School, served as the only secondary school for Negro children in the county from 1903 to 1969.
Union High alumni speak fondly of their school. With church and home, it was an important institution in their community. The administration and faculty nurtured, supported, and encouraged the students. They held them to high standards and expected to them to excel. Parents and members of the community strove to support the school in every way possible. And the school served all members of the community, not just students. For many, Union High was an oasis that sheltered them from the hardships of growing up in a segregated society and provided them a solid foundation to become productive members of society.
The last group of students graduated from Union High School on June 5, 1969. At the start of the 1969-1970 school year, both Black and White students attended the school, renamed Bowling Green Senior High School, when the Caroline County School system became integrated.
Memories of Union High uses remembrances from alumni, faculty, family and friends; excerpts from school newspapers and yearbooks; and over 100 photographs and other memorabilia to preserve the history of a premier institution in the African American community of Caroline County.
Boston is a great city! It was made great by a fortunate combination of location, historic chance, and a steady stream of notable residents who helped influence United States history and culture.
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Edgar Allen Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Edison, John Singleton Copley, Samuel Morse, General Knox, and Charles Bulfinch are only a few of the names that come to mind when one thinks of “the Athens of America.” All these men have something else in common: the Boston houses in which they lived and worked have long been torn down and lost to posterity. And yet so many of the homes of the rich or famous – and infamous – have survived and can still be seen and/or visited.
This 350 page paperback book, which contains more than 200 photos and historic portraits, detailed maps of five suggested neighborhood tours and describes more than a hundred notable Bostonians, is not intended as an architectural guide. It's not the style of the homes that fascinated this author. The mystique of these homes comes not from the way they were built, but from the people who once occupied them. What were those people like? Did living at this particular location influence them and their work? If only the walls could talk, what tales could they tell?
In the 1980s, music defined the moment: "Video Killed the Radio Star" ushered in MTV, "Don't You (Forget about Me)" ruled The Breakfast Club, and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" became the anthem of a generation. The 1980s were also the most visually provocative era of the last millennium. Every new vinyl single hit the stands wrapped in eye-catching sleeves that reflected the latest trends.
Put the Needle on the Record is pop culture historian Matthew Chojnacki's definitive guide to 7- and 12-inch vinyl single artwork from the '80s. He presents and compares more than 250 vinyl single covers, representing nearly every prominent musician of the decade. Read the previously untold stories behind the 1980s' most iconic images from the designers and visual talent behind Madonna, Prince, Adam Ant, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Kate Bush, and more.
Coupled with exclusive commentary from more than 100 of the '80s biggest musicians, including Annie Lennox, Duran Duran, Run-DMC, Gary Numan, The B-52's, Erasure, OMD, Scorpions, The Knack, and Yoko Ono, this is an authoritative journey back to the songs and images that continue to influence our culture.
Contains a foreword by Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters and an afterword by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran.
The dramatic history of the “War Between the States” comes alive in Great Civil War Heroes and their Battles. In this beautifully produced compilation are the biographies of fifty famed commanders from both the Union and the Confederacy, accompanied by lifelike portraits and more than seventy full-page battle scenes, including images from Currier & Ives and the treasured Kurz and Allison series.
The highly anticipated new edition of Great Civil War Heroes and Their Battles brings a classic American history book back in stock in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War on April 12, 1861. This anniversary edition features an engaging new Preface from author Walton Rawls.
Each general’s section, in addition to a biography and exciting descriptions of his exploits in the war, lists his major battles, his dates of promotion, his independent field commands, etc. Written when many of these figures were still alive, the biographies are peppered with fascinating first-person anecdotes and recollections that may not otherwise have survived. Supplementing the text and battle scenes are ordnance drawings identifying the major types of artillery, muskets, rifles, and pistols used by both sides— as well as full-color spreads showing the standard uniforms and insignia of Union and Confederate armies. Scattered throughout are colorful vignettes of a soldier’s life and patriotic drawings taken from writing paper and envelopes distributed to the Union troops. Full-page maps and a detailed chronology of the war complete this enriching volume—a must-have for history buffs on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.
"One of the most unusual and insightful stories of a young American at war, and it has a particular significance for today." — from the Foreword by Walter J. Boyne.
Paul Eastman was one of thousands of fighter pilots who served honorably, bravely, and with little fanfare during World War II. He did not end the war as a celebrated national hero. No air base was ever named for him. He never became an ace. He never became famous. Paul spent 20 months flying daily combat sorties in one of the most difficult environments of the war — the China-Burma-India Theater.
Paul Eastman maintained a daily diary throughout the war, covering his life in the air and on the ground. Rough War is based on those diaries and the many letters he wrote to his wife. His letters professed his love, expressed his post-war hopes, documented his ongoing fears, and voiced his concerns for his wife and family stateside. Would he survive the war? What would he do afterward?
Although the CBI has been labeled the "forgotten theater" of WW II, Paul Eastman's story helps ensure that the men who fought the air war over its unforgiving jungles and mountains will never be forgotten.
Rough War is an important story that makes an equally important connection to the effects of war on the members of the US military today.
Everything you really need to know about the American West happened in Gaston, Oregon. OK, that’s an exaggeration, of course. Some of it happened as much as 10 miles outside of town. The Oregon Trail, unquenchable thirst for water, federal land giveaways, the railroads, Native Americans, the timber industry, farming, grandiose goals of visionaries … it all happened in Gaston. Wild West shootouts? Got ’em. Ghost stories, too. Bootleggers and brawls, dastardly deeds and Utopian dreams. Of course we had a gold rush, too. But where you find winners you’ll find losers. The Indians, of course, but also the Chinese and Japanese. Most of the visionaries eventually saw their dreams die, sometimes in spectacular disaster. Nature has taken a beating, and so has the working man. In the Great Depression, Gaston watched as the Tillamook Burn threatened its very existence and then was the battleground for class warfare waged by a rich, out-of-control former Army General. In World War II, internment ripped apart Gaston’s rich Japanese culture and the Japanese military placed a bulls-eye on the town. After the war a hometown “spy” touched off an international incident and a former Nazi leader moved to town. Oh, and we also have monsters and psychic ghosts and salacious love triangles and UFOs. Even cannibals. Peel away the humble façade and you’ll discover the secrets of how the West was really won and lost, all right here in Gaston Oregon. It's all told by Ken Bilderback, winner of honorable mention at the 2011 New York Book Festival for Wheels on the Bus: Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll and Life in 1974.
