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Jürgen Böttcher and Documentary Film: Documentaries, Contemporaries, History (Routledge Focus on Film Studies)
by Elizabeth Daggett MatarJürgen Böttcher and Documentary Film introduces the reader to this east-German filmmaker who, despite having made 40 films from the east side of the Berlin Wall, is practically unknown. Through the comparison of films made in the same year, one by an American and one by Böttcher, the author places him as ahead of his time in regards to technology, content, and style, and neck-and-neck with contemporary American filmmakers in cinéma vérité/direct cinema. The book moves beyond Böttcher’s dramatic biography to explore his role in the history of film. Was it actually the Germans who created sync sound for documentary? When and how were women featured? Offering a concise journey through the history of documentary film within this cultural context, but also a deep-dive into specific case-studies that show the nuances and complexities of classifying film texts, this volume will interest students and scholars of film studies, German cinema, cinéma vérité, film production, film theory, and world cinema.
K Blows Top: A Cold War Comic Interlude Starring Nikita Khrushchev, America's Most Unlikely Tourist
by Peter CarlsonKhrushchev’s 1959 trip across America was one of the strangest exercises in international diplomacy ever conducted-"a surreal extravaganza,” as historian John Lewis Gaddis called it. Khrushchev told jokes, threw tantrums, sparked a riot in a San Francisco supermarket, wowed the coeds in a home economics class in Iowa, and ogled Shirley MacLaine as she filmed a dance scene in Can-Can. He befriended and offended a cast of characters including Nelson Rockefeller, Richard Nixon, Eleanor Roosevelt, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe. Published for the fiftieth anniversary of the trip,K Blows Topis a work of history that reads like a Vonnegut novel. This cantankerous communist’s road trip took place against the backdrop of the fifties in capitalist America, with the shadow of the hydrogen bomb hanging over his visit like the Sword of Damocles. As Khrushchev kept reminding people, he was a hot-tempered man who possessed the power to incinerate America.
K Blows Top: A Cold War Comic Interlude, Starring Nikita Khrushchev, America's Most Unlikely Tourist
by Peter CarlsonThis hilarious account of Khrushchev's 1959 U. S. tour is also a supremely entertaining evocation of the history and atmosphere of Cold War America.
K Boat Catastrophe: Eight Ships & Five Collisions
by N. S. NashOn 31 January 1918 nine K Class steam-powered submarines sailed with the Grand Fleet to Exercise in the North Sea. The ships left the Firth of Forth at a speed of 21 knots on a cold winter night with the flagship HMS Courageous leading the way. Following in her wake was HMS Ithuriel and the K Class submarines of the 13th Submarine Flotilla and then 5 nautical miles astern of them, four more capital warships.As they approached The Isle of May navigational confusion broke out, caused by the misinterpretation of ship's steaming lights and mayhem followed. During the next couple of hours five collisions occurred involving eight ships and resulting in the death of 105 officers and ratings. This fiasco and the resulting naval investigation and court marshal were shielded from the general public and kept in secret files until the full details were released in 1994. From this official report, the author now tells the full story of that dreadful night and the proceedings that followed. Background information on the evolution of the ill-fated and much hated K Class submarines is also included together with the investigation and court marshal proceedings of the events surrounding that tragic night.
K letra bárbara: Periodismo sucio y público sublevado
by Orlando BaroneEl kirchnerismo ubicó el rol de los grandes medios de comunicación en elcentro de la escena. El panelista de «6, 7,8» se ocupa de ese debatefundamental en este libro. El kirchnerismo entendió cuál era en la Argentina el peso específico delos grandes medios de comunicación, y no le escapó a la posibilidad deponer el rol de los encargados de informar en el centro de la escena. Enla historia que aquí se cuenta no hay héroes ni quijotes, pero sí unoscuantos tahúres, algunos villanos y un autor que ama al oficio que hoydebe sentenciar. «Últimamente la única certidumbre del antiguoperiodismo argentino es que ya no volverá a ser lo que era», sostieneBarone apenas comienza, y de allí en más trabaja entretejiendo la miradasobre los medios y su propia, frondosa historia periodística, paraconcluir que una nueva forma de intervenir sobre la realidad impactó delleno en la vieja política y también en buena parte de la prensa,fundiendo ambas especies en una: el «Argentinosaurus». «Ese es el efectoaterrador -dice el autor- que causa en viejos modelos la militanciajoven, sea en la calle, en la facultad, en el trabajo o en Facebook. Yano se trata de la imaginación al poder, sino del poder de la imaginacióntraducido a la realidad».
K-9 Korea: The Untold Story of America's War Dogs in the Korean War
by J. Rachel ReedThe men of the 8125th Sentry Dog Detachment had no idea what they would find when their ship docked at Incheon, Korea. The dogs in the unit seemed even more uncertain than the men: they could smell the terror in the place. Almost immediately, these soldiers came to rely on each other—man and dog alike—for safety, courage, and companionship.Yet in the end, the men of the 8125th could have never imagined the terrible and final sacrifice their canine companions would be forced to make. K-9 Korea is the heartrending story of American war dogs—the fearless, loyal, forgotten heroes of the Korean War.
K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television
by Grace JungFrom the Emmy Award-winning Squid Game to streaming sensations like The Glory and Crash Landing on You, Korean television has emerged onto the global pop culture scene as compelling television—but what exactly makes these shows so irresistibly bingeable? And what can we learn about our societies and ourselves from watching them? From stand-up comedian and media studies PhD Grace Jung comes a rollicking deep dive into the cultural significance of Korean television. K-Drama School analyzes everything from common tropes like amnesia and slapping to conspicuous product placements of Subway sandwiches and coffee; to representations of disability, race and gender; to what Korea's war-torn history says about South Korea&’s media output and the stories being told on screen. With chapters organized by "lessons," each one inquiring into a different theme of Korean television, K-Drama School offers a groundbreaking exploration into this singular form of entertainment, from an author who writes with humor and heart about shows that spur tears and laughter, keeping us glued to the TV while making fans of us all. Shows discussed include: Squid Game, SKY Castle, Crash Course in Romance, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, My Mister, Something in the Rain, One Spring Night, DP, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata, Our Blues, and more.
K.O. Auschwitz: La sobrecogedora historia de los presos que tuvieron que boxear para sobrevivir
by José Ignacio PérezLa sobrecogedora historia real de los presos que tuvieron que boxear para sobrevivir en el infierno nazi. K.O. Auschwitz es un libro magistral, escrito por José Ignacio Pérez, periodista del diario Marca que fue galardonado por partida doble por el reportaje Los púgiles de Auschwitz, un texto publicado en 2019 en el diario deportivo del que nació este libro inolvidable.** Premio online Journalism Awards en la categoría de deportes. ** Premio Nacional de periodismo deportivo Manuel Alcántara. En el mayor matadero de inocentes jamás conocido... Auschwitz. Cuentan que allí, al otro lado, detrás de la alambrada, justo ahí donde el hombre nunca fue hombre, sino bestia, una vez un nazi preguntó: ¿Quién sabe boxear? Unos dijeron que sí y otros dijeron que no; pero ya fuera sí o no... Allí no era vivir, sino morir. Cuentan que allí, donde el hombre por no tener no tenía ni nombre, sólo era número, triángulo o estrella y un color, un SS aburrido, cansado de matar, buscaba diversión; un rato de asueto para distraer el sopor de asesinar. Y entonces volvió a preguntar: ¿Quién sabe boxear? Y cuentan que allí, detrás de la alambrada, donde los presos no eran presos, sino carne de cañón; seres humanos, más de un millón, todos asesinados y convertidos en humo, ceniza y carbón; unos hombres buenos subieron al ring por obligación, para entretener al maldito SS que buscaba diversión. Y quizá esa fue su salvación, porque allí, entre mugre, hambruna, enfermedad y mucha mezquindad, en los combates de boxeo se ganaba un poco de sopa, mantequilla y pan. Así lo recuerdan Noah Klieger y los otros «boxeadores de Auschwitz». Sobrecogedores testimonios de los que se pusieron los guantes para sobrevivir en el campo de concentración nazi.Noah, aquel nonagenario con la mirada clara y la piel marcada por la desgracia. Manchada por ese tatuaje infame y añejo, desgastado, que empañaba su antebrazo. 1-7-2-3-4-5, el número de la muerte. Noah, el superviviente que durante su visita a Madrid, un día del mes de enero de 2018, vestía todo de gris, claro, oscuro y marengo, quizá como un recuerdo de lo que le tocó vivir. Tiempos color ceniza. Su cuerpo de nonagenario estaba encogido, encorvado por la edad, pero su mente despejada. Dispuesta para recordar. Noah, el que cuenta que allí, al otro lado, detrás de la alambrada, un día escuchó: O sabes boxear o vas a la cámara de gas. En este libro se narra la desgarradora historia de los presos que tuvieron que boxear para sobrevivir en Auschwitz, un relato concebido con los recuerdos de Noah Klieger, Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, Jacko Razon, Judah Vandervelde, Solomon Roth, Salamo Arouch, Andrzej Rablin... y muchos más. La crítica ha dicho...«Un libro inolvidable. Corran a comprarlo.»Alberto R. Barbero, Marca «Una maravilla.»José Félix Díaz, periodista «Un relato duro, que nació como un reportaje periodístico, pero con entidadsuficiente para extenderse por las más de 300 páginas de este libro que habla de víctimas y del deporte como salvación.»La Razón «Es una auténtica maravilla. Gran trabajo de José Ignacio Pérez. Enhorabuena, Córner. No todo es futbol.»Angel Cárceles, periodista en TeleDeporte«Magistral libro.»Jesús Elorza, Reportero 24 «Con una excelente ambientación, bien escrito, el autor logra transportarnos a ese infierno de humo, carbón y ceniza al que quedó reducido la vida de miles de personas.»Más Leer
K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain
by David Roberts Ed ViestursA thrilling chronicle of the tragedy-ridden history of climbing K2, the world's most difficult and unpredictable mountain, by the bestselling authors of No Shortcuts to the Top. At 28,251 feet, the world's second-tallest mountain, K2 thrusts skyward out of the Karakoram Range of northern Pakistan. Climbers regard it as the ultimate achievement in mountaineering, with good reason. Four times as deadly as Everest, K2 has claimed the lives of seventy-seven climbers since 1954. In August 2008 eleven climbers died in a single thirty-six-hour period on K2-the worst single-event tragedy in the mountain's history and the second-worst in the long chronicle of mountaineering in the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges. Yet summiting K2 remains a cherished goal for climbers from all over the globe. Before he faced the challenge of K2 himself, Ed Viesturs, one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers, thought of it as "the holy grail of mountaineering."In K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain, Viesturs explores the remarkable history of the mountain and of those who have attempted to conquer it. At the same time he probes K2's most memorable sagas in an attempt to illustrate the lessons learned by confronting the fundamental questions raised by mountaineering-questions of risk, ambition, loyalty to one's teammates, self-sacrifice, and the price of glory. Viesturs knows the mountain firsthand. He and renowned alpinist Scott Fischer climbed it in 1992 and were nearly killed in an avalanche that sent them sliding to almost certain death. Fortunately, Ed managed to get into a self-arrest position with his ice ax and stop both his fall and Scott's. Focusing on seven of the mountain's most dramatic campaigns, from his own troubled ascent to the 2008 tragedy, Viesturs and Roberts crafts an edge-of-your-seat narrative that climbers and armchair travelers alike will find unforgettably compelling. With photographs from Viesturs's personal collection and from historical sources, this is the definitive account of the world's ultimate mountain, and of the lessons that can be gleaned from struggling toward its elusive summit.
K2: The Story Of The Savage Mountain
by Jim CurranK2 is the world's second highest mountain, but its savage reputation is second to none. The loss of Alison Hargreaves and six companions in 1995 was a grim echo of the multiple deaths in 1986 and of earlier disasters which have become part of climbing legend. K2 has always attracted the greatest names in mountaineering. Wiessner, Houston, Bonatti, Diemberger and Bonington are among those whose lives have been permanently scarred by their experiences on it. At the same time some inspiring new routes have been achieved on the world's most difficult 8000-metre peak.Jim Curran, himself a survivor of 1986, has traced the history of the mountain from the nineteenth-century pioneer explorers down to the present, and sees a repeating pattern of naked ambition, rivalry, misjudgement and recrimination. He has also found selfless heroism and impressive route-making on the mountain that top climbers will always covet as the ultimate prize.
K: A History Of Baseball In Ten Pitches
by Tyler KepnerFrom the New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than three hundred people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today <P><P>The baseball is an amazing plaything. We can grip it and hold it so many different ways, and even the slightest calibration can turn an ordinary pitch into a weapon to thwart the greatest hitters in the world. Each pitch has its own history, evolving through the decades as the masters pass it down to the next generation. From the earliest days of the game, when Candy Cummings dreamed up the curveball while flinging clamshells on a Brooklyn beach, pitchers have never stopped innovating. <P><P>In K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, Tyler Kepner traces the colorful stories and fascinating folklore behind the ten major pitches. Each chapter highlights a different pitch, from the blazing fastball to the fluttering knuckleball to the slippery spitball. Infusing every page with infectious passion for the game, Kepner brings readers inside the minds of combatants sixty feet, six inches apart. <P><P>Filled with priceless insights from many of the best pitchers in baseball history including twenty-two Hall of Famers--from Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Nolan Ryan to Greg Maddux, Mariano Rivera, and Clayton Kershaw--K will be the definitive book on pitching and join such works as The Glory of Their Times and Moneyball as a classic of the genre.
K: The Art Of Love
by Hong YingChina, 1930s. Julian Bell, son of the Bloomsbury set's Vanessa, is newly arrived in Peking. In search of fresh experiences, he encounters the beautiful, intelligent and deeply erotic Lin Cheng. Though Lin is wife to a university professor, their passionate assignations blossom into an affair. Schooled in the ancient Taoist arts of love, Lin instructs Julian in the ways of the East. But if society won't tolerate this union between Occidental and Oriental can their love possibly survive?Based on a true story this is a tragic tale of romance, betrayal and sexual desire set against a backdrop of conflict and war.
KANT Political Writings
by Hans ReissThis edition includes two important texts illustrating Kants's view of history along with notes and a comprehensive bibliography.
KGB Lexicon: The Soviet Intelligence Officers Handbook
by Vasili MitrokhinIn this volume Mitrokhin presents two dictionaries produced by the KGB itself to define their activities in both offensive and defensive intelligence work. The translated documents tell the story of the KGB's methods and targets and should interest the general public as well as the specialist.
KGB Operations against the USA and Canada in Soviet Ukraine, 1953-1991 (Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe)
by Sergei I. ZhukOriented for a general reading audience, this book gives a unique and rare perspective on the KGB "special operations" in Soviet Ukraine, which targeted especially the USA and Canada, using issues related to Soviet Ukrainian identity and cultural diplomacy of Soviet Ukraine after Stalin’s death in 1953 until the perestroika of the 1980s. Concentrating on the period of the Cold War after Stalin and combining the counterintelligence documents from the KGB archive in Kyiv, Ukraine, with the official KGB correspondence and reports to the political leadership of Soviet Ukraine, this book offers an experimental view of the political and cultural history of relations between Soviet Ukraine and "capitalist America" through the prism of KGB operations against the US and Canada. Written from a "hidden" perspective of KGB operations from 1953 to the end of the 1980s, this book covers intelligence and counter-intelligence operations and the active measures of the KGB, but also various problems of anti-American cultural campaigns in Soviet Ukraine, sponsored by the KGB, involving the issues of cultural consumption, knowledge production, youth culture, and national identity. Using carefully researched archive materials, this is an invaluable resource for scholars and advanced students of KGB operations, the Cold War, counterintelligence, and political and cultural history.
KGB: Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents
by John BarronJohn Barron catalogs the actions and methods of the KGB, the Soviet secret police, as they tried to foment revolution throughout the world.
KGB: The Inside Story of Its Foreign Operations from Lenin to Gorbachev
by Christopher Andrew Oleg GordievskyThis book tells the history of the KGB from Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev. It's a collaboration between a veteran of the CIA and a journalist. They uncover the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars.
KJV, Paragraph-style Large Print Thinline Bible
by Thomas NelsonThe KJV Paragraph-style Large Print Thinline Bible features the timeless beauty of the trustworthy King James Version Bible. While the traditional design of the King James text starts each verse on its own line, this edition improves the reading experience and comprehension by keeping the writers&’ thoughts together in paragraph format. And with Thomas Nelson&’s exclusive KJV Comfort Print®, you&’ll enjoy typography designed to be exceptionally easy-to-read and honoring the legacy of the King James Version.In 1611 the King James Bible was published and authorized by the monarch of England and Scotland. Today, more than 400 years since its initial publication, the KJV is considered one of the most influential and beautiful works of the English language and continues to be the favorite translation for millions of Christians worldwide.Features include:Clear and readable 10-point KJV Comfort PrintLine-matched double column textBible book introductionsWords of Christ in redOver 22,000 translator notesOver 43,000 cross-referenced passagesConcordanceOne-year Bible Reading PlanThe Parables of Jesus Christ chartThe Miracles of Jesus Christ chart
KKK: The Story of the Klu Klux Klan
by Ben HaasKKK: The Story of the Ku Klux Klan, first published in 1963, sets out to answer three questions about the KKK: what it is, why was it so hard to eradicate from American society, especially in the southern states; and how powerful is the Klan (at the time of the book’s publication). Through his extensive research and interviews with Klan leaders as well as knowledgeable outsiders, author Ben Haas attempts to answer these questions and provide insight into the origins, beliefs, and activities of this secret society.AS LONG AS THERE’S HATEKLANSMEN WILL RIDEThis is the frightening conclusion suggested by Ben Haas’ study of the Ku Klux Klan, yesterday, today, and until... Even as the House Committee on Un-American Activities, spurred on by the anger of President Johnson, investigates the midnight tyranny of the Klan’s “enforcers,” doubt is justified whether the whole monstrous picture of the Klan’s stubborn vitality can be dragged into the day light...and whether its flaming crosses will ever be doused. Avid “Americanism” and pious “old-time religion” bolster the vicious, fear-driven bigotry that may even today be spreading and solidifying its cruel grip on the nation. Here is the story of the hooded hate-mongers and their......INVISIBLE EMPIRE OF TERRORROUGHSHOD BIGOTRY..,THE MEN, THE MINDS, THE TRADITIONFrom its birth in the ashes of the Civil War to its resurgence in the heat of today’s civil rights struggle, here is the story of the Klan. It is a horror story told with scathing humor; a non-fiction nightmare detailed by a journalist who has interviewed present Klan leaders and dug for the truth behind their claims. Here is the face and the shape of the sprawling white monster that seemingly will not die.
KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps
by Nikolaus WachsmannIn March of 1933, a disused factory surrounded by barbed wire held 223 prisoners in the town of Dachau. By the end of 1945, the SS concentration camp system had become an overwhelming landscape of terror. Twenty-two large camps and over one thousand satellite camps throughout Germany and Europe were at the heart of the Nazi campaign of repression and intimidation. The importance of the camps in terms of Nazi history and our modern world cannot be questioned. Dr Nikolaus Wachsmann is the first historian to write a complete history of the camps. Combining the political and the personal, Wachsmann examines the organisation of such an immense genocidal machine, whilst drawing a vivid picture of life inside the camps for the individual prisoner. The book gives voice to those typically forgotten in Nazi history: the 'social deviants', criminals and unwanted ethnicities that all faced the terror of the camps. Wachsmann explores the practice of institutionalised murder and inmate collaboration with the SS selectively ignored by many historians. Pulling together a wealth of in-depth research, official documents, contemporary studies and the evidence of survivors themselves, KL is a complete but accessible narrative.
KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps
by Nikolaus WachsmannThe “deeply researched, groundbreaking” first comprehensive history of the Nazi concentration camps (Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker).In a landmark work of history, Nikolaus Wachsmann offers an unprecedented, integrated account of the Nazi concentration camps from their inception in 1933 through their demise, seventy years ago, in the spring of 1945. The Third Reich has been studied in more depth than virtually any other period in history, and yet until now there has been no history of the camp system that tells the full story of its broad development and the everyday experiences of its inhabitants, both perpetrators and victims, and all those living in what Primo Levi called “the gray zone.”In KL, Wachsmann fills this glaring gap in our understanding. He not only synthesizes a new generation of scholarly work, much of it untranslated and unknown outside of Germany, but also presents startling revelations, based on many years of archival research, about the functioning and scope of the camp system. Closely examining life and death inside the camps, and adopting a wider lens to show how the camp system was shaped by changing political, legal, social, economic, and military forces, Wachsmann produces a unified picture of the Nazi regime and its camps that we have never seen before.A boldly ambitious work of deep importance, KL is destined to be a classic in the history of the twentieth century.Praise for KLA Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2015A Kirkus Reviews Best History Book of 2015Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust category“[A] monumental study . . . a work of prodigious scholarship . . . with agonizing human texture and extraordinary detail . . . Wachsmann makes the unimaginable palpable. That is his great achievement.” —Roger Cohen, The New York Times Book Review“Wachsmann’s meticulously detailed history is essential for many reasons, not the least of which is his careful documentation of Nazi Germany’s descent from greater to even greater madness. To the persistent question, “How did it happen?,” Wachsmann supplies voluminous answers.” —Earl Pike, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
KOR: A History of the Workers' Defense Committee in Poland 1976–1981
by Jan Józef LipskiThe signing of the Gdansk Agreements in August 1980 signaled the birth of the Solidarity independent trae union movement. The sixteen months that followed until the December 1981 declaration of martial law remain one of the most fascinating chapter in the history of communist states. But the events of August 1980 did not materialize from thin air. The groundwork for Solidarity was prepared five years before when a group of dissident intellectuals gathered to boldly proclaim their solidarity with persecuted workers at Random and Ursus. This group called itself the Komitet Obrony Robotnikow (KOR) or the Worker's Defense Committee. What was KOR? What were the social and political circumstances that lead to its formation? And how did it presage a movement that would come to symbolize the hopes of a whole generation of Poles? The answers to these questions lie in the rare insights provided by one of Poland's most respected historians, Jan Jozef Lipski, who was also a found and active member of KOR. His book, translated from the Polish, is a meticulously detailed, insider's account of KOR from its formation in 1976 to its dissolution of 1981 when it was subsumed by the more powerful movement of mass, organized protest, Solidarity. The history of KOR is painted on the broad canvass of Polish society, in a manner which sheds light on the roles of other actors--workers, peasants, government officials, the Catholic Church, the Soviet Union--who also had a hand in shaping events during this period. KOR: A History of the Workers' Defense Committee in Poland is a work of first-rate importance unlike any other published in the West. It provides a deep insight into the origins of events in Poland, and will also inform those intersted in the process of liberation elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Although written with a historian's attention to detail and objectivity, it is a riveting work of sustained dramatic tension. For Lipski is a dissident who writes about Poland from Poland and the history he writes about is till in the making. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1985.
KV-1 & 2 Heavy Tanks 1939-45
by Steven Zaloga Peter SarsonNamed after Klimenti Voroshilov, the People's Commissar for Defence, the KVs proved a nasty surprise for German tank crews during the early days of Operation Barbarossa. Although slow, they were extremely heavily armoured. This volume examines the transition from multi-turreted tanks to heavy single-turret vehicles, consisting of the KV-1 and 2, and the increased favour given to the heavy single-turret after the Germans began to develop ammunition capable of penetrating even the thickest armour, whilst detailing the design, development and operational history of the Soviet Union's monstrous KV series of tanks.
Ka'u District
by Marge Elwell Cindy Orlando Dennis ElwellKa'u is the largest district in Hawai'i and the southernmost. Historically, it is important as the most likely landing area for the first Hawaiians and the location of the first settlement. It was the location of some of the last battles for control of Hawai'i island, and the decision of Ka'u's last ali'i, Keoua Ku'ahu'ula, to agree to a meeting with Kamehameha, which he believed would lead to his death, was a crucial event in the creation of a unified Hawaiian kingdom. After Western contact, the sugar industry dominated the economy of Ka'u, and ranching was also important. Although the sugar industry closed in 1996, the rural character has been maintained, and Ka'u now enjoys some of the longest stretches of undeveloped highway and coastline in the state. The appeal of the district's natural beauty owes much to the Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, and Ka'u has a unique location between the two segments of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
Ka-boom!: The Science of Extremes
by David DarlingWhat&’s the brightest light on Earth? The coldest corner of the universe? The blackest material ever made? The most poisonous substance in nature? &‘You will learn something new in every chapter, on every page and probably in every paragraph. Hugely entertaining.&’ Kit Yates, author of The Maths of Life and Death Ka-boom! probes extremes of size and speed, depth and density, and reveals the stickiest, sweetest, smelliest and nastiest substances known to science. In an unabashed celebration of the exceptional, David Darling takes an enlightening journey through the universe&’s weirdest and most wonderful extremes. Travel to far-flung galaxies in pursuit of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life. Journey to the rainforests of South America and discover the top-speed of the notoriously sluggish sloth. Find out how Earth&’s hardiest creatures – tardigrades or &‘water bears&’ – ended up living on the moon. And meet the scientists and engineers using these quirks of nature to design faster computers, produce greener energy and revolutionise space travel.