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The Holder of the World
by Bharati MukherjeeThis is the remarkable story of Hannah Easton, a unique woman born in the American colonies in 1670, "a person undreamed of in Puritan society." Inquisitive, vital and awake to her own possibilities, Hannah travels to Mughal, India, with her husband, an English trader. There, she sets her own course, "translating" herself into the Salem Bibi, the white lover of a Hindu Raja. It is also the story of Beigh Masters, born in New England in the mid-twentieth century, an "asset hunter" who stumbles on the scattered record of her distant relative's life while tracking a legendary diamond. As Beigh pieces together details of Hannah's journeys, she finds herself drawn into the most intimate and spellbinding fabric of that remote life, confirming her belief that with "sufficient passion and intelligence, we can deconstruct the barriers of time and geography..."
The Holder of the World
by Bharati Mukherjee"An amazing literary feat and a masterpiece of storytelling. Once again, Bharati Mukherjee proveshe is one of our foremost writers, with the literary muscles to weave both the future and the past into a tale that is singularly intelligent and provocative."--AMY TAN. This is the remarkable story of Hannah Easton, a unique woman born in the American colonies in 1670, "a person undreamed of in Puritan society." Inquisitive, vital and awake to her own possibilities, Hannah travels to Mughal, India, with her husband, and English trader. There, she sets her own course, "translating" herself into the Salem Bibi, the white lover of a Hindu raja. It is also the story of Beigh Masters, born in New England in the mid-twentieth century, an "asset hunter" who stumbles on the scattered record of her distant relative's life while tracking a legendary diamond. As Beigh pieces together details of Hannah's journeys, she finds herself drawn into the most intimate and spellbinding fabric of that remote life, confirming her belief that with "sufficient passion and intelligence, we can deconstruct the barriers of time and geography...".
Hölderlin and the Consequences: An Essay on the German 'Poet of Poets'
by Rüdiger Görner"A sign we are, uninterpreted. Painless we are and have almost / lost the language in a foreign country." Thus begins the second version of Friedrich Hölderlin's hymn dedicated to goddess of memory, Mnemosyne. "Hölderlin and the Consequences" wants to remember this 'poet of poets' and consider what his unmatched poems have stimulated, even triggered, in others. This scholarly essay examines the legacy of a poet who was, by and large, ostracized in his time, a master of language, who was declared a stranger by his contemporaries until he became a stranger to himself. Hölderlin's multiple experience of foreignness and alienation was later counteracted by often ideologically motivated attempts to appropriate him. Rüdiger Görner presents this complex context as a special case in recent literary history.This book is a translation of an original German 1st edition, "Hölderlin und die Folgen" by Rüdiger Görner, published by J.B. Metzler, imprint of Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2016. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). The author (with the support of Josh Torabi) has subsequently revised the text further in an endeavour to refine the work stylistically.
Holders of Extraordinary imperium under Augustus and Tiberius: A Study into the Beginnings of the Principate (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies)
by Paweł SawińskiThis volume focuses on special military and diplomatic missions in various provinces of the Empire that Augustus and Tiberius entrusted to selected members of the domus Augusta, granting them special prerogatives (imperia extraordinaria). Sawiński compares and analyses various primary and secondary sources exploring special powers and missions in the provinces of the domus Augusta during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, from 27 BC to AD 23, from border regions on the Rhine and the Danube to client states such as Judaea and Armenia. It explores the legal aspects of these powers wielded in the provinces and how these missions and the subsequent honours helped to solidify power within a new hereditary system of power. The reader will also find in it a critical discussion of the current state of research on this subject. Holders of Extraordinary Imperium under Augustus and Tiberius offers an important study of these powers and prerogatives of the imperial family that will be of interest to anyone working on the Augustan age, the early Empire and Principate, and the Roman imperial family. This volume should also prove useful to students of archaeology and art history.
The Holding: A Novel
by Merilyn SimondsAn intoxicating debut novel that twines the lives of two women on the same land, a century apart. Alyson Thomson has left the city for a simpler life on an abandoned farm with her lover, Walker, a potter. Wandering there, she uncovers, in the ruins of a log cabin, the writings of a young woman who lived more than a hundred years before. Into Alyson's story Merilyn Simonds weaves the moving tale of Margaret MacBayne, who, with her family, left behind hardship in a seaside Scottish town in the hope of building a new home in the Canadian wilderness. Margaret, an expert on herbs, contemplates revenge when her brothers rob her of her happiness. When Alyson too suffers great loss, she must decide if retribution is worth the price. Taut and uplifting, sensuous and astute, The Holding is psychologically complex and beautifully rendered. Simonds brings us an intimate journey of discovery into the things we keep most guarded, whose truths often lie in unexpected places.
Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia: Caribbean Radicalism in Early-Twentieth Century America
by Winston JamesA major history of the impact of Caribbean migration to the United States. Marcus Garvey, Claude McKay, Claudia Jones, C.L.R. James, Stokely Carmichael, Louis Farakhan—the roster of immigrants from the Caribbean who have made a profound impact on the development of radical politics in the United States is extensive. In this magisterial and lavishly illustrated work, Winston James focuses on the twentieth century&’s first waves of immigrants from the Caribbean and their contribution to political dissidence in America. Examining the way in which the characteristics of the societies they left shaped their perceptions of the land to which they traveled, Winston James draws sharp differences between Hispanic and English-speaking arrivals. He explores the interconnections between the Cuban independence struggle, Puerto Rican nationalism, Afro-American feminism, and black communism in the first turbulent decades of the twentieth century. He also provides fascinating insights into the impact of Puerto Rican radicalism in New York City and recounts the remarkable story of Afro-Cuban radicalism in Florida.
Holding Back the River: The Struggle Against Nature on America's Waterways
by Tyler J. KelleyA revelatory work of reporting on the men and women wrestling to harness and preserve America&’s most vital natural resource: our rivers.The Mississippi. The Missouri. The Ohio. America&’s great rivers are the very lifeblood of our country. We need them for nourishing crops, for cheap bulk transportation, for hydroelectric power, for fresh drinking water. Rivers are also part of our mythology, our collective soul; they are Mark Twain, Led Zeppelin, and the Delta Blues. But as infrastructure across the nation fails and climate change pushes rivers and seas to new heights, we&’ve arrived at a critical moment in our battle to tame these often-destructive forces of nature. Tyler J. Kelley spent two years traveling the heartland, getting to know the men and women whose lives and livelihoods rely on these tenuously tamed streams. The result, Holding Back the River, is a deeply human exploration of how our centuries-long dream of conquering and shaping this vast network of waterways squares with the reality of an indomitable natural world. On the Illinois-Kentucky border, we encounter Luther Helland, master of the most important—and most decrepit—lock and dam in American. This old dam, at the tail end of the Ohio River, was scheduled to be replaced in 1998, but twenty years and $3 billion later, its replacement still isn&’t finished. As the old dam crumbles and commerce grinds to a halt, Helland and his team must risk their lives, using steam-powered equipment and sheer brawn, to raise and lower the dam as often as ten times a year. In Southeast Missouri, we meet Twan Robinson, who lives in the historically Black village of Pinhook. As a super-flood rises on the Mississippi, she learns from her sister that the US Army Corps of Engineers is going to blow up the levee that stands between her home and the river. With barely enough notice to evacuate her elderly mother and pack up a few of her own belongings, Robinson escapes to safety only to begin a nightmarish years-long battle to rebuild her lost community. Atop a floodgate in central Louisiana, we&’re beside Major General Richard Kaiser, the man responsible for keeping North America&’s greatest river under control. Kaiser stands above the spot where the Mississippi River wants to change course, abandoning Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and following the Atchafalaya River to the sea. The daily flow of water from one river to the other is carefully regulated, but something else is happening that may be out of Kaiser and the Corps&’ control. America&’s infrastructure is old and underfunded. While our economy, society, and climate have changed, our levees, locks, and dams have not. Yet to fix what&’s wrong will require more than money. It will require an act of imagination. Meticulously researched and as lively as it is informative, Holding Back the River brings us into the lives of the Americans who grapple with our mighty rivers and, through their stories, suggests solutions to some of the century&’s greatest challenges.
Holding Fast the Inner Lines: Democracy, Nationalism, and the Committee on Public Information (Supplementary Volumes to The Papers of Woodrow Wilson)
by Stephen L. VaughnThe Committee on Public Information, the major American propaganda agency during World War I, attracted a wide range of reform-oriented men and women who tried to generate enthusiasm for Wilson's international and domestic ideals. Vaughn shows that the CPI encouraged an imperial presidency, urged limits on free speech and called for an almost mystical attachment to the nation, but it also tried to present dispassionately the causes of American intervention in the war.Originally published in 1980.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Holding Fast to an Image of the Past
by Neil DavidsonDavidson explores classic themes in historical materialism as he explains: the moments of transition from the dominance of one mode of production to another; the process of social revolution which accompany these transitions; and the problem of nationalism, both as a theoretical challenge to Marxism's capacity for historical explanation and as a practical obstacle to socialist consciousness.
Holding Fire: A Reckoning with the American West
by Bryce AndrewsFrom the award-winning author of Down from the Mountain, a memoir of inheritance, history, and one gun’s role in the violence that shaped the American West—and an impassioned call to forge a new way forwardBryce Andrews was raised to do no harm. The son of a pacifist and conscientious objector, he moved from Seattle to Montana to tend livestock and the land as a cowboy. For a decade, he was happy. Yet, when Andrews inherited his grandfather’s Smith & Wesson revolver, he felt the weight of the violence braided into his chosen life. Other white men who’d come before him had turned firearms like this one against wildlife, wilderness, and the Indigenous peoples who had lived in these landscapes for millennia. This was how the West was “won.” Now, the losses were all around him and a weapon was in his hand.In precise, elegiac prose, Andrews chronicles his journey to forge a new path for himself, and to reshape one handgun into a tool for good work. As waves of gun violence swept the country and wildfires burned across his beloved valley, he began asking questions—of ranchers, his Native neighbors, his family, and a blacksmith who taught him to shape steel—in search of a new way to live with the land and with one another. In laying down his arms, he transformed an inherited weapon, his ranch, and the arc of his life.Holding Fire is a deeply felt memoir of one Western heart’s wild growth, and a personal testament to how things that seem permanent—inheritance, legacies of violence, forged steel—can change.
Holding Heaven
by Jerry B. JenkinsFrom the book jacket: Only the expert storytelling of world-famous Left Behind author Jerry B. Jenkins could take history's best-known account and retell it in a way that rivets our attention and grips our hearts. From his pen, and the brush of artist Ron DiCianni, comes this touching two-part novella featuring dual cameos of Joseph and Jesus--early and late in the years they shared as father and son. Holding Heaven offers a fresh perspective on the mysteries of the Incarnation-what it must have been like for the Son of God to walk this earth as a man, and for Joseph to raise ,this son he knew belonged first to Heaven. As you turn these pages, you will relish Jenkins' fresh telling of this beloved relationship. And when you savor the poignancy of the love that linked this father and son, you will be filled with a renewed appreciation for what your heavenly Father has done to His one and only Son, Jesus.
Holding Juno
by Mark ZuehlkeFollowing his national best-seller, Juno Beach, and with his usual verve and narrative skill, historian Mark Zuehlke chronicles the crucial six days when Canadians saved the vulnerable beachheads they had won during the D-Day landings. D-Day ended with the Canadians six miles inland - the deepest penetration achieved by Allied forces during this longest day in history. But for all the horror endured on June 6 every soldier knew the worst was yet to come. The Germans began probing the Canadian lines early in the morning of June 7 and shortly after dawn counter attacked in force. The ensuing six days of battle was to prove bloodier than D-Day itself. Although battered and bloody, the Canadians had held their ground and made it possible for the slow advance toward Germany and eventual Allied victory to begin.Holding Juno recreates this pivotal battle through the eyes of the soldiers who fought it, with the same dramatic intensity and factual detail that made Juno Beach, in the words of Quill & Quire reviewer Michael Clark, "the defining popular history of Canada's D-Day battle."
Holding On and Holding Out: Jewish Diaries from Wartime France
by Anne FreadmanExamining the diary as a particular form of expression, Holding On and Holding Out provides unique insight into the experiences of Jews in France during the Second World War. Unlike memoirs and autobiographies that reconstruct particular life stories or events, diaries record daily events without the benefit of retrospect, describing events as they unfold. Holding On and Holding Out assesses how individuals used diaries to record their daily life under persecution, each waiting for some end with a mix of hope and despair. Some used the diary to bear witness not only to the terror of their own lives, but also to the lives and suffering of others. Others used their writing as a memorial to people who were killed. All used their writing to assert: "I live, I will have lived." Holding On and Holding Out follows the diaries of two specific individuals, Raymond-Raoul Lambert and Benjamin Schatzman, from their first entry to the last one they wrote before they disappeared into the Nazi extermination camps. The author concludes the book by considering how reflections on their experience are informed by the times in which they lived, before the advent of persecution.
The Holding On Night
by Sheila Kelly WelchThe McNaughton family is living during the influenza pandemic of 1918. The family sees how the disease affects other families in their neighborhoods and community until their own family begins to fall ill. As each family member comes down with the flu, they all must take care of one another and fight to stay alive. One child, Anna, takes comfort in her father’s arms one night after she takes a turn for the worse.
Holding Our World Together: Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community
by Brenda J. ChildA groundbreaking exploration of the remarkable women in Native American communities. Too often ignored or underemphasized in favor of their male warrior counterparts, Native American women have played a more central role in guiding their nations than has ever been understood. Many Native communities were, in fact, organized around women's labor, the sanctity of mothers, and the wisdom of female elders. In this well-researched and deeply felt account of the Ojibwe of Lake Superior and the Mississippi River, Brenda J. Child details the ways in which women have shaped Native American life from the days of early trade with Europeans through the reservation era and beyond. The latest volume in the Penguin Library of American Indian History, Holding Our World Together illuminates the lives of women such as Madeleine Cadotte, who became a powerful mediator between her people and European fur traders, and Gertrude Buckanaga, whose postwar community activism in Minneapolis helped bring many Indian families out of poverty. Drawing on these stories and others, Child offers a powerful tribute to the many courageous women who sustained Native communities through the darkest challenges of the last three centuries. .
Holding Out for a Hero
by LeighThe fifth charming historical romance in bestselling author Ana Leigh's Frasers series set in the Old West "filled with biting repartee, charming characters, and the love of family" (Romantic Times). After his mother is brutally attacked, Rico Fraser seeks vengeance. In hot pursuit of Ben Slatter and his gang, he heads to Arizona, where he learns that Slatter has raided a ranch and kidnapped the owner's daughter, Jennifer. Rico follows a trail deep into the mountains, finds Slatter's camp, and rescues Jennifer. When Slatter escapes in the confusion, Rico accepts a job protecting Jennifer. But instead of drawing Slatter out of hiding, Rico finds himself unexpectedly drawn to Jennifer, putting his mission of revenge--as well as his own heart--in jeopardyow at all costs find room in his heart for love?
Holding Serve: Persevering On and Off the Court
by Michael Chang Mike YorkeyOften characterized as David facing Goliath on the tennis court, at 5'9" and 150 pounds Michael Chang is used to playing with the big hitters. What he lacks in stature, he makes up for in determination. A serious contender at any Grand Slam event, his bold statement of faith in God makes him a role model we can all look up to. "What's nice," Michael says, "is that, as long as my priorities are straight, I'm able to go out with the mentality to really leave the winning and losing up to the Lord." In Holding Serve readers get a unique glimpse at Team Chang, Michael's powerful family unit that he credits with much of his success. Michael also shares the story of how he became a Christian and the central role his faith has played in his achievements.
Holding the Home Front: The Women's Land Army in the First World War
by Caroline ScottAn &“insightful and extensive&” history of the women who took over agricultural duties in England during World War I (Sussex Living Magazine). One could be forgiven for supposing that the story of the Women&’s Land Army starts in 1939 during World War II. But it&’s a much older and more complicated history . . . British agricultural policy during the First World War was held up as a success story; domestic food production was higher at the end of the war than at the start, the average calorific value of the British diet barely changed, and bread never had to be rationed. As the press reported starvation and food riots overseas, the 1918 harvest was held up as &“one of the great achievements of the War.&” In 1917, at the darkest hour, when Britain&’s food security looked most precarious, it was said that, &“if it were not for the women agriculture would be absolutely at a standstill on many farms.&” Using previously unpublished accounts and photographs, this book is an attempt to understand how the return of women to the fields and farmyards impacted agriculture—and, in turn, an examination of how that experience affected them. &“Caroline&’s wonderful book sets the record straight with beautiful illustrations and witting testimony from people who were there and saw how hard these wonderful women worked to keep Britain going during their darkest hours. Superb.&” —Books Monthly &“This is a well-researched history of the British Women&’s Land Army in WW1 and how it paved the way for the success of the WLA in the Second World War.&” —World War One Illustrated
Holding the Line: A Lifetime of Defending Democracy and American Values
by Ronny JacksonA behind-the-scenes political memoir written by a prominent White House physician.I would talk to the president before the chief of staff even saw the president in the morning. I walked into work, and I was already in the Oval Office talking to President Trump. It was rarely medical, to be honest with you; it was whatever was going on in the news. I&’d be the first person he&’d see in the morning. The president was completing tasks two to three hours before anybody else showed up in the West Wing to work. He&’d get up at five o&’clock in the morning and would be watching TV, tweeting, making phone calls, and doing all types of other tasks. President Trump would poke his head into my office or I&’d walk out, and we would say, &“Good morning. Did you see this or that?&” He was always asking me about things on TV and what was going on, from Iran to Stormy Daniels. He&’d say, &“Walk with me.&” So I&’d walk him to the Oval Office, and we&’d talk about everything. I&’d walk out through the outer Oval Office and the chief of staff, national security advisor, and even the CIA briefer would be standing there, waiting to get in and talk to him. I&’d walk out, they&’d walk in, and his day would start. I was the first person he saw every morning and the last person he saw every evening when he went to bed.
Holding the Line on the River of Death: Union Mounted Forces at Chickamauga, September 18, 1863
by Eric J. WittenbergThe award-winning Civil War historian examines the actions of Union Cavalry on the first day of the Battle of Chickamauga in this history and tour guide.This volume provides an in-depth study of the two important delaying actions conducted by mounted Union soldiers at Reed’s and Alexander’s bridges on the first day of Chickamauga. Much like Eric J, Wittenberg’s “The Devil’s to Pay”: John Buford at Gettysburg—which won the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable’s 2015 Book Award—this volume combines engaging military history with a detailed walking and driving tour complete with the GPS coordinates.On September, 18, 1863, a cavalry brigade under Col. Robert H. G. Minty and Col. John T. Wilder’s legendary “Lightning Brigade” of mounted infantry made stout stands at a pair of chokepoints crossing Chickamauga Creek. Minty’s small cavalry brigade held off nearly ten times its number by designing and implementing a textbook example of a delaying action. Their efforts thwarted Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg’s entire battle plan by delaying his army’s advance for an entire day. The appendices of this book include two orders of battle, a discussion of the tactics employed by the Union mounted force, and an epilogue on how the War Department and National Park Service have remembered these events. Complete with more than 60 photos and 15 maps by master cartographer Mark Anderson Moore, Holding the Line on the River of Death is a valuable addition to the burgeoning Chickamauga historiography.
Holding the Note: Profiles in Popular Music
by David RemnickThe Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and editor of The New Yorker gathers his writing on some of the essential musicians of our time—intimate portraits of Leonard Cohen, Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, and more.The greatest popular songs, whether it&’s Aretha Franklin singing &“Respect&” or Bob Dylan performing &“Blind Willie McTell,&” have a way of embedding themselves in our memories. You remember a time and a place and a feeling when you hear that song again. In Holding the Note, David Remnick writes about the lives and work of some of the greatest musicians, songwriters, and performers of the past fifty years.He portrays a series of musical lives and their unique encounters with the passing of that essential element of music: time. From Cohen&’s performing debut, when his stage fright was so debilitating he couldn&’t get through &“Suzanne,&” to Franklin&’s iconic mink-drop at the Kennedy Center, Holding the Note delivers a view of some of the greatest creative minds of our time written with a lifetime&’s passionate attachment to music that has shaped us all.
Holding Their Breath: How the Allies Confronted the Threat of Chemical Warfare in World War II (Battlegrounds: Cornell Studies in Military History)
by M. Girard DorseyHolding Their Breath uncovers just how close Britain, the United States, and Canada came to crossing the red line that restrained chemical weapon use during World War II. Unlike in World War I, belligerents did not release poison gas regularly during the Second World War. Yet, the looming threat of chemical warfare significantly affected the actions and attitudes of these three nations as they prepared their populations for war, mediated their diplomatic and military alliances, and attempted to defend their national identities and sovereignty.The story of chemical weapons and World War II begins in the interwar period as politicians and citizens alike advocated to ban, to resist, and eventually to prepare for gas use in the next war. M. Girard Dorsey reveals, through extensive research in multinational archives and historical literature, that although poison gas was rarely released on the battlefield in World War II, experts as well as lay people dedicated significant time and energy to the weapon's potential use; they did not view chemical warfare as obsolete or taboo. Poison gas was an influential weapon in World War II, even if not deployed in a traditional way, and arms control, for various reasons, worked. Thus, what did not happen is just as important as what did. Holding Their Breath provides insight into these potentialities by untangling World War II diplomacy and chemical weapons use in a new way.
Holding Up More Than Half the Sky: Chinese Women Garment Workers in New York City, 1948-92
by Xiaolan BaoIn 1982, twenty thousand Chinese American garment workers--mostly women--went on strike in New York's Chinatown and forced Chinese garment industry employers in the city to sign a union contract. In this pioneering study, Xiaolan Bao penetrates to the heart of Chinese American society to explain how this militancy and organized protest, seemingly so at odds with traditional Chinese female behavior, came about. Blending poignant and dramatic personal stories culled from over a hundred interviews with a detailed history of the garment industry, Chinese immigrant labor, and the Chinese community in New York, Bao shows how the participation of married women in wage-earning labor outside the home profoundly transformed their image and relationships.
Holding Up More Than Half the Sky: Chinese Women Garment Workers in New York City, 1948-92 (Asian American Experience)
by Xiaolan BaoIn 1982, 20,000 Chinese-American garment workers—most of them women—went on strike in New York City. Every Chinese garment industry employer in the city soon signed a union contract. The successful action reflected the ways women's changing positions within their families and within the workplace galvanized them to stand up for themselves. Xiaolan Bao's now-classic study penetrates to the heart of Chinese American society to explain how this militancy and organized protest, seemingly so at odds with traditional Chinese female behavior, came about. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews, Bao blends the poignant personal stories of Chinese immigrant workers with the interwoven history of the garment industry and the city's Chinese community. Bao shows how the high rate of married women employed outside the home profoundly transformed family culture and with it the image and empowerment of Chinese American women. At the same time, she offers a complex and subtle discussion of the interplay of ethnic and class factors within New York's garment industry. Passionately told and prodigiously documented, Holding Up More Than Half the Sky examines the journey of a community's women through an era of change in the home, on the shop floor, and walking the picket line.
A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea: The Race to Kill the BP Oil Gusher
by Joel AchenbachIt was a technological crisis in an alien realm: a blown-out oil well in mile-deep water in the Gulf of Mexico. For the engineers who had to kill the well, this was like Apollo 13, a crisis no one saw coming, and one of untold danger and challenge. A suspense story, a mystery, a technological thriller: This is Joel Achenbach's groundbreaking account of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and what came after. The tragic explosion on the huge drilling rig in April 2010 killed eleven men and triggered an environmental disaster. As a gusher of crude surged into the Gulf's waters, BP engineers and government scientists--awkwardly teamed in Houston--raced to devise ways to plug the Macondo well. Achenbach, a veteran reporter for The Washington Post and acclaimed science writer for National Geographic, moves beyond the blame game to tell the gripping story of what it was like, behind the scenes, moment by moment, in the struggle to kill Macondo. Here are the controversies, the miscalculations, the frustrations, and ultimately the technical triumphs of men and women who worked out of sight and around the clock for months to find a way to plug the well. The Deepwater Horizon disaster was an environmental 9/11. The government did not have the means to solve the problem; only the private sector had the tools, and it didn't have the right ones as the country became haunted by Macondo's black plume, which was omnipresent on TV and the Internet. Remotely operated vehicles, the spaceships of the deep, had to perform the challenging technical ma-neuvers on the seafloor. Engineers choreographed this robotic ballet and crammed years of innovation into a single summer. As he describes the drama in Houston, Achenbach probes the government investigation into what went wrong in the deep sea. This was a confounding mystery, an engineering whodunit. The lessons of this tragedy can be applied broadly to all complex enterprises and should make us look more closely at the highly engineered society that surrounds us. Achenbach has written a cautionary tale that doubles as a technological thriller.