A “well-organized and interesting” overview of science in the Muslim world in the seventh through seventeenth centuries, with over 100 illustrations (The Middle East Journal). During the Golden Age of Islam, in the seventh through seventeenth centuries A. D., Muslim philosophers and poets, artists and scientists, princes and laborers created a unique culture that has influenced societies on every continent. This book offers a fully illustrated, highly accessible introduction to an important aspect of that culture: the scientific achievements of medieval Islam. Howard Turner, who curated the subject for a major traveling exhibition, opens with a historical overview of the spread of Islamic civilization from the Arabian peninsula eastward to India and westward across northern Africa into Spain. He describes how a passion for knowledge led the Muslims during their centuries of empire-building to assimilate and expand the scientific knowledge of older cultures, including those of Greece, India, and China. He explores medieval Islamic accomplishments in cosmology, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, geography, medicine, natural sciences, alchemy, and optics. He also indicates the ways in which Muslim scientific achievement influenced the advance of science in the Western world from the Renaissance to the modern era. This survey of historic Muslim scientific achievements offers students and other readers a window into one of the world’s great cultures, one which is experiencing a remarkable resurgence as a religious, political, and social force in our own time.

Diverse perspectives on Lincoln’s assassination, its aftermath, and its place in national memory from some of today’s leading Lincoln scholars. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most significant events in US history. It continues to attract the interest of scholars, writers, and armchair historians, ranging from painstaking new research to wild-eyed speculation. Now leading scholars of Lincoln and his murder offer in one volume their most salient studies and arguments about the assassination, its aftermath, the extraordinary—and complicated—public reaction, and the iconography that Lincoln’s murder and deification inspired. Contributors also offer the latest accounts of the pursuit, prosecution, and punishment of the conspirators. Everything from graphic tributes to religious sermons, to spontaneous outbursts on the nation’s city streets, to emotional mass-mourning at carefully organized funerals, as well as the imposition of military jurisprudence to try the conspirators, is examined in the light of fresh evidence and insightful analysis. Contributing to this volume are some of the finest scholars specializing in Lincoln’s assassination. All have earned well-deserved reputations for the quality of their research, their originality, and their writing. In addition to the editors, contributors include Thomas R. Turner, Edward Steers Jr., Michael W. Kauffman, Thomas P. Lowry, Richard E. Sloan, Elizabeth D. Leonard, and Richard Nelson Current.

A mysterious clue in an ancient Egyptian tomb leads the adventurous comicstrip youth and his canine friend into an international search for drug smugglers and gangsters

These 680 detailed drawings depict the history of fur garments, from their practical use in cold climates to their display as a badge of royalty. Chronological entries include introductions for each era and range from panther skins worn by ancient Egyptian priests to high fashion designs by Dior. Glossary.

Transcripts from the trial of John Wilkes Booth’s co-conspirators, plus commentary:“Unquestionably the world-class expert on . . . Lincoln’s assassination.” ―Civil War News On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in what he envisioned part of a scheme to plunge the federal government into chaos and gain a reprieve for the struggling Confederacy. The plan failed. By April 26, Booth was killed resisting capture and eight of the nine conspirators eventually charged in Lincoln's murder were in custody. Their trial would become one of the most famous and most controversial in US history. New president Andrew Johnson’s executive order on May 1 directed that persons charged with Lincoln’s murder stand trial before a military tribunal. The trial lasted more than fifty days, and 366 witnesses gave testimony. Benn Pitman, an expert in phonography—an early form of shorthand—was awarded a government contract to produce a transcription of each day’s testimony. Pitman made these transcripts available to the prosecution and defense, as well as select members of the press. Although three versions of the testimony were published, Pitman’s edited collection was the most accessible. He skillfully winnowed the 4,300 pages of transcription into one volume, collated the testimony by defendant, indexed it by name and date, and added summaries. In The Trial, assassination scholars guide readers through all 421 pages of testimony, illuminating Pitman’s record. By drawing together the evidence that resulted in the conspirators’ convictions, The Trial leaves no doubt as to the events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, making this book a fascinating account of the trial as well as an essential resource. “Steers’s lineup is truly expert—readers will be able to distinguish between fact and fancy and come away with a far better understanding of Lincoln’s assassination.” —William Hanchett, author of The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies

The boy hero comes to the United States and triumphs over gangsters in Chicago of the 1930's and the pitfalls of the wild West.

Supramolecular chemistry and nanochemistry are two strongly interrelated cutting edge frontiers in research in the chemical sciences. The results of recent work in the area are now an increasing part of modern degree courses and hugely important to researchers. Core Concepts in Supramolecular Chemistry and Nanochemistry clearly outlines the fundamentals that underlie supramolecular chemistry and nanochemistry and takes an umbrella view of the whole area. This concise textbook traces the fascinating modern practice of the chemistry of the non-covalent bond from its fundamental origins through to it expression in the emergence of nanochemistry. Fusing synthetic materials and supramolecular chemistry with crystal engineering and the emerging principles of nanotechnology, the book is an ideal introduction to current chemical thought for researchers and a superb resource for students entering these exciting areas for the first time. The book builds from first principles rather than adopting a review style and includes key references to guide the reader through influential work. supplementary website featuring powerpoint slides of the figures in the book further references in each chapter builds from first principles rather than adopting a review style includes chapter on nanochemistry clear diagrams to highlight basic principles

Someday computers will be artists. They'll be able to write amusing and original stories, invent and play games of unsurpassed complexity and inventiveness, tell jokes and suffer writer's block. But these things will require computers that can both achieve artistic goals and be creative. Both capabilities are far from accomplished. This book presents a theory of creativity that addresses some of the many hard problems which must be solved to build a creative computer. It also presents an exploration of the kinds of goals and plans needed to write simple short stories. These theories have been implemented in a computer program called MINSTREL which tells stories about King Arthur and his knights. While far from being the silicon author of the future, MINSTREL does illuminate many of the interesting and difficult issues involved in constructing a creative computer. The results presented here should be of interest to at least three different groups of people. Artificial intelligence researchers should find this work an interesting application of symbolic AI to the problems of story-telling and creativity. Psychologists interested in creativity and imagination should benefit from the attempt to build a detailed, explicit model of the creative process. Finally, authors and others interested in how people write should find MINSTREL's model of the author-level writing process thought-provoking.

This stunningly comprehensive survey of hats and headgear from ancient Egypt to mid-20th century illustrates an astonishing range of styles — plumed turbans to modern homburgs, plus images of hairstyles, jewelry, and cosmetics.