In this thrilling history, David Baker captures the longest-possible time span--from the Big Bang to the present day--in an astonishingly concise retelling. His impressive timeline includes the rise of complexity in the cosmos and the creation of the first atoms; the origin of all galaxies, stars, and our solar system; and the evolution of life on Earth, from tiny single-celled organisms to human beings.

Weaving together insights across the sciences--including chemistry, physics, biology, archaeology, and anthropology--Baker answers the fundamental questions: How did time begin? Why does matter exist? What made life on Earth the way it is? He also argues that never before has life on Earth been forced to adjust to a changing climate so rapidly, nor has one species ever been responsible for such sudden change. Baker's grand view offers the clearest picture of what may come next--and the role we can still play in our planet's fate.

A concise introduction to all the key tenets of electrical and mechanical engineering degree course, written by former NASA engineer Dr David Baker.

A Degree in a Book: Electrical and Mechanical Engineering is presented in an attractive landscape format in full-color. With flow charts, infographics, timelines, feature spreads and information boxes, this highly visual guide will help readers quickly get to grips with the fundamentals of electrical and mechanical engineering and their practical applications.

Covering Newtonian mechanics, nuclear engineering, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and more, this essential guide brings clarity to complex ideas. David Baker delves into the history and development of this far-reaching subject as well as the challenges of the future such as environmental responsibility.

Complete with a useful glossary of key terms, this holistic introduction will equip students and laypeople alike with the knowledge of an engineering graduate.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Get the knowledge of a degree for the price of a book in Arcturus Publishing's A Degree in a Book series. Featuring handy timelines, information boxes, feature spreads and margin annotations, these illustrated books are perfect for anyone wishing to master seemingly complex subject with ease and enjoyment..

Written by former NASA engineer Dr David Baker, this highly-visual hardback guide provides a rich overview of electrical and mechanical engineering, perfect for students and enthusiasts alike.

Covering Newtonian mechanics, nuclear engineering, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and more, this essential guide brings clarity to complex ideas. Inside you will discover the history of this far-reaching subject as well as the new developments and challenges of the future. The accessible text is accompanied by helpful diagrams, photographs, further reading, and easily digestible features, making getting to grips with the subject as easy as possible.

By the time you finish reading this book, you will be able to answer questions such as:
- How do materials affect function?
- What is reliability?
- How did we get to the Moon?
- What is nuclear engineering?

ABOUT THE SERIES: Knowledge 101 brings together highly visual, hardback introductions to many intriguing disciplines, featuring reader-friendly text, spectacular images, and informative diagrams to make the learning experience easier than ever.

Acclaimed as an essential voice of the American Midwest, David Baker expands both his environment and his form in his eleventh collection. Whale Fall is about time, measured in the wingbeats of a hummingbird or the epochs of geological change, and about place, whether a backyard in Ohio or the slopes of a melting glacier.

In the exquisite, musical title poem, a deft hybrid of eco-poetic alarm and intimate narrative, Baker transports us to the deep sea as a single gray whale carcass falls, decays, and is reinhabited by a cosmos of teeming lives. Among the strands of ocean health, microplastics, and related calamities of human disregard, the poet weaves in a personal story of chronic illness. The result is a stirring, confident work, astonishing in its emotional acuity and lyric range.

Each poem in Whale Fall is an echolocation, emitting its music to situate itself among others in the vastness of the world. Amidst climate change and catastrophe, as amidst a blooming viburnum or a viral disease, these poems send their songs across empty spaces of a line, a page, or a continent, to see who is out there, moving in the depths of being.

Details the development, political maneuvering, and operational history of US bomber aircraft from 1945-1949, with rich illustrations and technical details.

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the air forces of the United States faced unprecedented challenges. Demobilization had stripped the armed forces of millions of personnel, while the rapid transition from a wartime economy strained the aviation industry at the same time as the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) was re-established as the independent US Air Force (USAF). US Air Power 1945-1990 Volume 2: Bombers 1945-1949 Part 1: Policy, War Plans, Strategic Air Command and Manufacturers examines this pivotal period, analysing the first steps the USAF took to re-establish its dominance in the skies during the early Cold War era.

This first part of Volume 2 provides a detailed examination of the development of the US bomber force in the years immediately following the Second World War. A new era of weapon and aircraft technologies demanded new aircraft capable of delivering atomic weapons deep into the heart of the USSR. This work examines the evolving concept of war as the USAAF evolved into the USAF and Strategic Air Command was established.

In addition, Volume 2 Part 1 looks at the role played by the major manufacturers of bomber aircraft as they transitioned from producing huge numbers of war-time bombers to smaller numbers of post-war designs incorporating new technologies for still-evolving concepts for atomic warfare.

This volume is richly illustrated throughout with original photographs from the period, along with specially commissioned colour artworks.

Examines the early Cold War development of the USAF's jet fighters and fighter-bombers, detailing political, industrial, and technological challenges and innovations.

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the air forces of the United States faced unprecedented challenges. Demobilization had stripped the armed forces of millions of personnel, while the rapid transition from a wartime economy strained the aviation industry at the same time as the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) was re-established as the independent US Air Force (USAF). US Air Power 1945-1990 Volume 1: US Fighters and Fighter-Bombers 1945-1949 examines this pivotal period, analyzing the first steps the USAF took to re-establish its dominance in the skies during the early Cold War era.

This volume meticulously documents the political, industrial, and technical decisions that shaped the development of the USAF's early jet fighters and fighter-bombers. It covers the transition from propeller-driven aircraft to first-generation jet designs, showcasing the radical innovations and experimental prototypes that laid the foundation for future air power. Readers will find detailed descriptions of key aircraft such as the P-80 Shooting Star, the F-86 Sabre, and the F-84 Thunderjet, which became operational despite the severe budget constraints and strategic uncertainties of the time.

Author David Baker brings to light the untold stories behind these aircraft. He provides an integrated narrative that goes beyond mere type histories, weaving together the political backdrop, industrial struggles, and technological advancements that influenced the design and deployment of these pioneering jets. This approach offers a comprehensive view of how the USAF navigated the post-war landscape to emerge as a formidable force by 1949.

The book also includes an appendix detailing speculative projects that never reached production, such as the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin 'parasite fighter', Convair XF-92 delta-wing interceptor and many others, alongside tables listing the performance characteristics of both operational and experimental aircraft from this era. These sections offer invaluable insights into the 'what ifs' of aviation history, showing how alternative designs might have shaped air combat strategies differently.

The first in an extensive series of volumes, each exploring different facets of US air power during the Cold War, subsequent titles will cover bombers, naval aviation, and the evolving roles of fighters and bombers through conflicts such as the Korean and Vietnam wars. Each volume will maintain a focus on the technical and engineering aspects that defined these aircraft, rather than operational histories alone.

Extensively illustrated, including rare photographs and specially-commissioned color artwork, this book provides a thorough and engaging exploration of a transformative period in US air power history.

...intrigued with war plans that tried to put atomic bombs within the context of policy. -Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

This second part Volume 2 continues the detailed examination of the development of the US bomber force in the years immediately following the Second World War. A new era of weapon and aircraft technologies demanded new aircraft capable of delivering atomic weapons deep into the heart of the USSR. This volume examines the development of the new engines needed for a fleet of aircraft ever-growing in size and complexity and constantly pushing the development envelope.

This volume also provides a detailed type history of the aircraft that would enter full production, along with those that while only progressing to the design or prototype stages nevertheless proved important in the overall progress of this new post-war generation of land-based bomber aircraft designed for the independent USAF.

This volume is richly illustrated throughout with original photographs from the period, along with specially commissioned colour artworks.

Cuá ndo empezó el discurrir del tiempo? Qué hizo que apareciera la vida humana en la Tierra? Y la vida en general? Es cierto que estamos hechos de polvo de estrellas ? Todo esto tiene un final? Breve historia del mundo viene a dar respuesta a todas estas preguntas, pues aborda el cambio histó rico en el cosmos, desde el Big Bang -- pasando por la evolució n de la vida y los acontecimientos fundamentales de la historia humana--, hasta el momento actual y má s allá . En estas pocas pá ginas, David Baker nos ofrece una panorá mica de 13.800 millones de añ os. De su mano, el lector descubrirá có mo meros á tomos de hidró geno han acabado dando lugar a complejas sociedades humanas. Una narrativa convincente e informada que combina los conocimientos de la quí mica, la biologí a y la fí sica con los de las humanidades y las ciencias sociales. Un enfoque Big History que nos lleva ver má s allá del desconcierto de los asuntos humanos y que, al adoptar un punto de vista planetario, nos permite asimismo intuir có mo será el futuro.

The Marketing of Academic, National and Public Libraries Worldwide: Marketing, Branding, Community Engagement enables readers to learn about the most up-to-date trends, as well as hands-on practices and marketing tactics taken directly from 48 highly seasoned marketing and community engagement librarians around the world, namely in Africa, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Hong Kong, Latvia and Qatar. Via a series of in-depth and semi-structured interviews, this book provides insights into successful marketing strategies librarians can use to encourage donors and patrons to understand that their libraries are a great choice for fulfilling information needs, recreational interests, intellectual pursuits, and more.

This book contains 45 interviews with academic, national and public librarians from 19 different countries and territories. So many voices! The focus is on the librarians themselves who have played an important role in the marketing and branding of libraries and have designed the processes to engage communities. What is intriguing to the reader is just how far the attitudes and perceptions of librarians affect the salience and achievements of any marketing practice in the library. These attitudes and perceptions fall out of the interview conversation and onto the page. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies

Acclaimed as an essential voice of the American Midwest, David Baker expands both his environment and his form in his eleventh collection. Whale Fall is about time, measured in the wingbeats of a hummingbird or the epochs of geological change, and about place, whether a backyard in Ohio or the slopes of a melting glacier.

In the exquisite, musical title poem, a deft hybrid of eco-poetic alarm and intimate narrative, Baker transports us to the deep sea as a single gray whale carcass falls, decays, and is reinhabited by a cosmos of teeming lives. Among the strands of ocean health, microplastics, and related calamities of human disregard, the poet weaves in a personal story of chronic illness. The result is a stirring, confident work, astonishing in its emotional acuity and lyric range.

Each poem in Whale Fall is an echolocation, emitting its music to situate itself among others in the vastness of the world. Amidst climate change and catastrophe, as amidst a blooming viburnum or a viral disease, these poems send their songs across empty spaces of a line, a page, or a continent, to see who is out there, moving in the depths of being.

...truly an outstanding reference book on this North American design. -- Large Scale Planes

Developed in the mid-1950s by the US military and operated by NASA between 1959 and 1968, the X-15s were the first rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft. They made 199 flights and reached speeds in excess of 4,000 mph and altitudes above 270,000 ft, considered to be beyond the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space.

The book begins with a description of the X-series aircraft research programme started in the latter stages of the Second World War, successfully pushing through the sound barrier for the first time in 1947. The X-15 was a great leap forward from the early X-series research aircraft and brought forward many new technologies, pioneering the use of attitude control thrusters, telemetry for real-time data transmission from sensors on the airframe and examining the optimum ways to re-enter the atmosphere. The X-15 did much to explore this design and applications of winged vehicles as future spacecraft, introducing science and engineering to the problems associated with reusable space vehicles capable of putting down on land rather than water as ballistic capsules did. It partnered research into 'Lifting Bodies', optimally shaped airframes which were the precursors to the Space Shuttle.

Three X-15s were built and one was lost following re-entry from high altitude but the other two continued flying. A second airframe was severely damaged but rebuilt for exploring flight close to Mach 7. Several famous pilots flew the X-15, including Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11 and the first man to walk on the moon.

By 1858, construction on a new railroad from Mobile, Alabama, to Cairo, Illinois, had intersected the Fulton/Pontotoc Road near an area called Gum Pond. That location contained large numbers of tupelo gum trees, and the intersection became known as Tupelo. Many merchants in surrounding communities, like Harrisburg and Richmond, realized that the intersection was going to be a prime area for commerce and began disassembling buildings that housed places of business and relocating them to Tupelo. By the beginning of the Civil War, there were two stores, two hotels, two saloons, and a temporary depot fronting the railroad just south of present-day Main Street. During the Civil War, Tupelo became a major location for shipping grain and livestock to the Confederate army. It also served as headquarters for the Confederate Army of the West and a rest and recreation area for Confederate armies.

Examines ways to clarify and simplify methods of studying poetry.

A spellbinding debut and a feast for all readers (Library Journal, starred review) about a food journalist's desperate attempt to save his career--and possibly, his marriage--through an epic quest that leads him from Burgundy through Russia, tracking an infamous bottle of wine.

Ex-food journalist and nearly destitute wine connoisseur Bruno Tannenbaum has hit rock bottom. So when he stumbles on a clue hinting at a lost wine vintage, the 1943 Trevallier--stolen from France during WWII and now worth a fortune--Bruno is convinced that finding this wine could be the key to restoring his journalism career, and perhaps even his failing marriage. But as word spreads about his search for the Trevallier, Bruno finds himself in a desperate treasure hunt, racing from lush Burgundy vineyards through German inns and a Russian prison in this positively delightful (The Seattle Times) culinary expedition about second chances and the power of food and wine to heal (BookPage).

An unsnobby wine thriller and] an excellent pairing with just about any book club. --Portland Tribune

In this masterful new work by the most moving and expansive poet to come out of the American Midwest since James Wright (Marilyn Hacker), David Baker constructs a layered natural history of his beloved Midwest and traces the complex story of human habitation from family and village life to the evolving nature of work and the mysterious habitats of the heart.

At the center of Scavenger Loop is a sustained investigation of cycles and the natural recycling of things, and a discovery that even out of the discarded and the lost may come rebirth and renewal. In the process Baker reveals how everything bears the potential to be both invasive and life-giving: plants that beautify and conquer, chemicals that heal and destroy, words that mislead and instruct.

Widely praised for his impeccable formalism (Booklist), Baker pushes to new stylistic methods, moving fluidly between unity and disorder, working at times in sustained narratives and intricate syllabics, at other times in fragments, cross-outs, and erasures. These poems praise and sing but are also clear-eyed in their documentation of destruction, the loss of human livelihood and natural habitat, the spreading threat of agri-business and unchecked development. From eco-poetics to the erotic, Scavenger Loop measures the dimensions of the pastoral and the elegy in contemporary lyric poetry.

A leading member of the British Union of Fascists, and later the first leader of the National Front, this account of A.K. Chesterton's career succeeds as a biography, as well as a significant contribution to the history of British fascism and to the scholarly understanding of generic fascism.

Part map, part travelogue, part chronicle, part autobiography, Never-Ending Birds explores a variety of landscapes from Midwestern villages to the boroughs of big cities. Steeped in story--divorce, loss, raising a child, uncovering old worlds and new loves--these poems are gracefully lived in, lived through, with mystery and beauty.

from Never-Ending Birds
That's us pointing to the clouds. Those are clouds
of birds, now we see, one whole cloud of birds.
There we are, pointing out the car windows.
October. Gray-blue-white olio of birds.
Never-ending birds, you called the first time--
years we say it, the three of us, any
two of us, one of those just endearments.
Apt clarities. Kiss on the lips of hope.

In The Spirit Garden, David Baker carries you through his rough and unusual life of psychic experiences and failure to understand them. Faced with an amazing world of auras, ghosts, angels and spirits, Baker is still unable to ignore a fear that there is something severely wrong with him. From an elevated existence the seer crashes down to a loss of everything. From that point, about to give up, a vision comes that saves his life and forces him in a new direction. Now inspired by spirit and held together by faith, Baker slowly begins to take his life back in this touching and inspiring story.