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Cutaneous Manifestations in Diabetes
by Klaus Fritz George-Sorin TiplicaPreserving good skin condition has significant quality of life implications for diabetic patients, especially for those suffering from related ulcers or diabetic foot syndrome. This timely work on the cutaneous manifestations of diabetes offers an interdisciplinary approach to help the practitioner’s differential diagnosis and choice of the best therapeutic options. Starting from the broader picture to focus successively on infections of the skin, problems resulting from reduced circulation, leg ulcers, it also includes parts on wound and skin care. Chapter topics include complications and imaging, dermatoses and (auto) inflammatory skin diseases. Richly illustrated and presented in a clear style, Cutaneous Manifestations in the Diabetic Patient is meant for clinical dermatologists, general practitioners, internal medicine practitioners but will be a valued companion to nursing personnel and health care professionals involved in the care of diabetic patients, enabling early detection and safe management.
Extracellular Vesicles as Matrix Messengers (Biology of Extracellular Matrix #15)
by Kirsi RillaThe cells in our body release a wide variety of factors into the extracellular space that help to signal, regulate and build the extracellular matrix. One of the most fascinating of these factors are extracellular vesicles (EVs). These lipid membrane-covered particles have now emerged as a new powerful method of near and distant intercellular communication. EVs facilitate communication between cells and their extracellular environment, which includes solid tissues and body fluids. This volume summarizes current knowledge on EVs as integral and active components of the extracellular matrix. It covers topics such as the interplay between EVs and ECM molecules and how cancer cells modify their microenvironment by releasing EVs. Additionally, it discusses how EVs can mediate tissue repair and regeneration by modulating matrix degradation, protein cross-linking, and matrix calcification. The book explores instances where EVs play a crucial role in conditions related to matrix biology, such as cancer and arthritis, and considers their potential as therapeutic agents for these medical conditions. Both experienced researchers and clinicians, as well as PhD students who wish to study the extracellular matrix and extracellular vesicles will find this book is an excellent introduction into the field of EV biology with applications in matrix research. The series Biology of Extracellular Matrix is published in collaboration with the American Society for Matrix Biology and the International Society for Matrix Biology.
AI Technology in Wealth Management: Leveraging Technology to Transform Financial Strategies (SpringerBriefs in Finance)
by Mahnoosh Mirghaemi Karen WendtThis book explores AI technology in wealth management, including what it is, how it changes the wealth management and private banking landscape, its advantages, and how it democratizes wealth management. Specifically, this book investigates topics such as Hyper-personalized investment strategies Combined quantitative analysis with sentiment analysis to create prescriptive and predictive scenarios Expandable and transparent AI algorithms in wealth management Customer experience and client engagement Tailored financial content Providing a clear and concise description of how AI driven wealth management differs from traditional investing, asset management, and wealth management offering new opportunities for investing, this book is ideal for students, scholars, researchers and professionals interested in accessible wealth management applications for investing in the 21st century.
Buckling of Beams, Plates and Shells
by Christian MittelstedtThis book contains an introduction to the fundamental principles of the theory of stability of elastic bodies and structures. Beginning with very basic explanations of stability problems, this book starts with the treatment of systems of rigid beams, before beams under normal force and bending as well as the classical field of beam buckling are treated. For the case of beam buckling, an energetic consideration then follows, which forms the basis for a series of approximation methods. In addition to beam buckling, the stability cases of lateral-torsional buckling and lateral buckling are also of fundamental importance, to each of which a separate chapter is dedicated. This is followed by a discussion of plate buckling, and the book concludes with an introduction to shell buckling. This book is aimed at students at technical colleges and universities, as well as engineers in practice and researchers in the engineering sciences.
Micro-Credit in Modern Japan: An Alternative Financial System for Sustainable Development (Studies in Economic History)
by Hikaru TanakaJapanese society believes they enjoy socio-economic equality. While industrialization tends to make gap between rich and poor, most of Japanese are proud of themselves as being middle class in the first Asian industrialized country. In fact, post WW2 Japanese economic miracle made Japan rich and equalized. High personal saving ratio supported the economic development in those days as if it’s a proof of Rostow’s take-off model. Japanese saving rate had jumped high level around the beginning of 20th century, which was the time of their industrialization taking place. This book shows the savings was not only rich’s accumulation of wealth but ordinary citizen’s daily spares. The spare money helped whole nation’s economic development, especially supported relatively small farmers and self-employed workers. The personal small savings became huge funds for the basis of modern Japanese micro-credit and emergency bailout loan. Postal Savings Bank and nationwide cooperatives played the role in managing. This financial network was independent from ordinary financial system composed of private banks and securities market, and complement its function. The personal small savings funds in Japanese economy saved its society from various type of calamity and supported economic equalization as alternative financial system which acted as Not-for-Profit enterprises.
Digital Transformation in Higher Education. Empowering Teachers and Students for Tomorrow’s Challenges: First International Workshop, Back2Basics 2024, Thessaloniki, Greece, June 10, 2024, Proceedings (Communications in Computer and Information Science #2247)
by Maria Perifanou Anastasios A. EconomidesThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Workshop on Digital Transformation in Higher Education. Empowering Teachers and Students for Tomorrow’s Challenges, Back2Basics 2024, held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on June 10, 2024. This workshop was part of the 20th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS 2024), which took place in Thessaloniki on June 10–13, 2024. The 06 full papers here were thoroughly reviewed and selected from a total of 09 submissions. This interdisciplinary event brought together researchers and educators from various European higher education institutions to address the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in higher education (HE).
Blockchain and Web3.0 Technology Innovation and Application: First Conference, BWTAC 2024, Guangzhou, China, November 6–8, 2024, Proceedings (Communications in Computer and Information Science #2277)
by Gansen Zhao Jian Weng Zhihong Tian Liehuang Zhu Zibin ZhengThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First Conference on Blockchain and Web3 Technology Innovation and Application, BWTAC 2024, held in Guangzhou, China, during, November 6–8, 2024. The 36 full papers and 9 short papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 106 submissions. They were categorized in the following topica sections: Architectures and Technologies, Privacy Protection and Data Security, Artificial Intelligences, Security, Trading Systems, Cross Domains Applications and Emerging Technologies.
A Madman's Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom
by Gregory MayThe untold saga of John Randolph’s 383 slaves, freed in his much-contested will of 1821, finally comes to light. Few legal cases in American history are as riveting as the controversy surrounding the will of Virginia Senator John Randolph (1773–1833), which—almost inexplicably—freed all 383 of his slaves in one of the largest and most publicized manumissions in American history. So famous is the case that Ta-Nehisi Coates has used it to condemn Randolph’s cousin, Thomas Jefferson, for failing to free his own slaves. With this groundbreaking investigation, historian Gregory May now reveals a more surprising story, showing how madness and scandal shaped John Randolph’s wildly shifting attitudes toward his slaves—and how endemic prejudice in the North ultimately deprived the freedmen of the land Randolph had promised them. Sweeping from the legal spectacle of the contested will through the freedmen’s dramatic flight and horrific reception in Ohio, A Madman’s Will is an extraordinary saga about the alluring promise of freedom and its tragic limitations.
Merchants of the Right: Gun Sellers and the Crisis of American Democracy
by Jennifer CarlsonAn eye-opening portrait of the gun sellers who navigated the social turmoil leading up to the January 6 Capitol attackGun sellers sell more than just guns. They also sell politics. Merchants of the Right sheds light on the unparalleled surge in gun purchasing during one of the most dire moments in American history, revealing how conservative political culture was galvanized amid a once-in-a-century pandemic, racial unrest, and a U.S. presidential election that rocked the foundations of American democracy.Drawing on a wealth of in-depth interviews with gun sellers across the United States, Jennifer Carlson takes readers to the front lines of the culture war over gun rights. Even though the majority of gun owners are conservative, new gun buyers are more likely to be liberal than existing gun owners. This posed a dilemma to gun sellers in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election: embrace these liberal customers as part of a new, perhaps post-partisan chapter in the American gun saga or double down on gun politics as conservative terrain. Carlson describes how gun sellers mobilized mainstays of modern conservative culture—armed individualism, conspiracism, and partisanship—as they navigated the uncertainty and chaos unfolding around them, asserting gun politics as conservative politics and reworking and even rejecting liberal democracy in the process.Merchants of the Right offers crucial lessons about the dilemmas confronting us today, arguing that we must reckon with the everyday politics that divide us if we ever hope to restore American democracy to health.
American Journey: On The Road With Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, And John Burroughs
by Wes Davis“Jaunty.… Davis excels in making his characters come alive on the page.” —Christoph Irmscher, Wall Street Journal The epic road trips—and surprising friendship—of John Burroughs, nineteenth-century naturalist, and Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, inventors of the modern age. In 1913, an unlikely friendship blossomed between Henry Ford and famed naturalist John Burroughs. When their mutual interest in Ralph Waldo Emerson led them to set out in one of Ford’s Model Ts to explore the Transcendentalist’s New England, the trip would prove to be the first of many excursions that would take Ford and Burroughs, together with an enthusiastic Thomas Edison, across America. Their road trips—increasingly ambitious in scope—transported members of the group to the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the Adirondacks of New York, and the Green Mountains of Vermont, finally paving the way for a grand 1918 expedition through southern Appalachia. In many ways, their timing could not have been worse. With war raging in Europe and an influenza pandemic that had already claimed thousands of lives abroad beginning to plague the United States, it was an inopportune moment for travel. Nevertheless, each of the men who embarked on the 1918 journey would subsequently point to it as the most memorable vacation of their lives. These travels profoundly influenced the way Ford, Edison, and Burroughs viewed the world, nudging their work in new directions through a transformative decade in American history. In American Journey, Wes Davis re-creates these landmark adventures, through which one of the great naturalists of the nineteenth century helped the men who invented the modern age reconnect with the natural world—and reimagine the world they were creating.
Research in History and Philosophy of Mathematics: The CSHPM 2022 Volume (Annals of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics/ Société canadienne d’histoire et de philosophie des mathématiques)
by Maria Zack David WaszekThis volume contains 8 papers that have been collected by the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics. It showcases rigorously reviewed contemporary scholarship on an interesting variety of topics in the history and philosophy of mathematics.Some of the topics explored include:A way to rethink how logic is taught to philosophy students by using a rejuvenated version of the Aristotelian idea of an argument schemaA quantitative approach using data from Wikipedia to study collaboration between nineteenth-century British mathematiciansThe depiction and perception of Émilie Du Châtelet’s scientific contributions as viewed through the frontispieces designed for books written by or connected to herA study of the Cambridge Women’s Research Club, a place where British women were able to participate in scholarly scientific discourse in the middle of the twentieth centuryAn examination of the researchand writing process of mathematicians by looking at their drafts and other preparatory notesA global history of al-Khwārāzmī’s Kitāb al-jabr wa-l-muqābala as obtained by tracing its reception through numerous translations and commentariesWritten by leading scholars in the field, these papers are accessible not only to mathematicians and students of the history and philosophy of mathematics, but also to anyone with a general interest in mathematics.
Integrative STEM and STEAM Education for Real-Life Learning (Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development)
by David J. ShernoffThis book illustrates that real-life learning in which students conduct scientific investigations and make new innovations to solve real-world problems is an integral part of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) education. It provides examples of student and teacher work from projects of the Rutgers University Center of Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education. The book examines how new K to 12 education standards and innovative teacher professional development programs – which emphasize transdisciplinary approaches to STEM and STEAM – lead to the emergence of real-life education in schools. In addition, the book references related research to identify key advances in STEM and STEAM education. Special topics include the uses of makerspaces, educational video games, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning to fuel project-based, real-life learning. Key areas of coverage include: the role of new K-12 standards in science, design thinking, computer science, and climate change in stimulating integrative STEM/STEAM education; obstacles and supports for teaching integrative STEM programs; modes of collaboration in STEM, STEAM, and maker-based education; and the importance of teacher professional development to promote transdisciplinary learning. Integrative STEM and STEAM Education for Real-Life Learning is an essential resource for researchers, professors, college students, as well as educational leaders and policy makers with interests in the STEM and STEAM disciplines, psychology, teaching and teacher education, library science, and multimedia. “A must-read for anyone committed to the future of education. This book is not only thought-provoking; it is a guide to action, offering a compelling approach that empowers youth and educators alike.” Dr. Margaret Honey, President and CEO, Scratch Foundation “David J. Shernoff, a leading expert in the field, explores how integrative approaches in STEM and STEAM are not just about preparing students for the future, but engaging them in solving real-world problems today…this book demonstrates how education can empower students to become active, innovative contributors to society.” Cassie Quigley, author of Educator’s Guide to STEAM Education
The Jurisprudence of the Caribbean Court of Justice and Regional Integration
by Indira Rampersad Anthony GafoorThe book is a joint publication with equal contributions by Dr. Indira Rampersad and Justice Dr. Anthony Gafoor. It presents the first comprehensive analysis of the jurisprudence of the Caribbean Court of Justice in both its original and appellate jurisdictions from 2005 to 2020. It seeks to address the central issue of whether the jurisprudence of the CCJ has the capacity to foster regional integration. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, primary and secondary sources, the book harnesses the dynamic interplay between the disciplines of International Relations and Law. It claims that by attempting to uphold the rule of law and promote both economic and non-economic forms of the second generation regional integration, the CCJ aims to inculcate a sense of obligation among member states to uphold both economic agreements and non-economic community rights and values.
Entomopathogenic Fungi: Prospects and Challenges
by Sunil Kumar Deshmukh Kandikere Ramaiah SridharThis book brings together the molecular aspects of the pathogenesis of entomopathogenic fungi, various aspects of mycoinsecticide development, and regulatory aspects to highlight the immense contribution of the agricultural sector. The chapters address aspects of entomopathogenic fungi, including host-pathogen interactions (susceptibility and resistance), fungus-insect and fungus-fungus dual interactions, phylogeny and taxonomy, biochemistry, and molecular basis of enteropathogenesis, market potential of entomopathogens, regulatory aspects, bioprospecting of fungi, fungi as crop bodyguards and in disease suppression, and consortia for the control of insect pests and pathogens in single crop systems. Written by experts in academia and industry from Algeria, Brazil, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, and the United States, the book overviews entomopathogenic fungi used as biological control agents against insect pests and other arthropods, their mode of action, pathogenesis, bioactive metabolites, mycotoxins involved, their mass production, limitations, and agricultural- and environment-related issues. It also includes developing various biopesticide products, with special references to formulations and prospects. In agriculture, crop protection and production depend on insect pests controlled by entomopathogenic fungi. Understanding the pathogenicity, mechanism of action, formulations, and applications of a wide array of entomopathogenic fungi as biopesticides is a valid eco-friendly approach. The book provides advances in pathogenicity, biochemistry, virulence, and interaction that facilitate the application of Beauveria, Metarhizium, and other entomopathogens as potential biopesticides against major insect pests. Developments in bioactive compounds, secondary metabolites, enzymes, and toxins of entomopathogenic fungi have facilitated precise applications and management to target insect pests. Further advances in molecular aspects, the formulation of nanobiopesticides, and biofabricated technology paved the way for insect pest control. This book will be a helpful resource for students, teachers, researchers, scientists, and professionals in the industry working on biological sciences, applied entomology, mycology, zoology, forestry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and nanotechnology.
Computer Vision – ACCV 2024: 17th Asian Conference on Computer Vision, Hanoi, Vietnam, December 8–12, 2024, Proceedings, Part VIII (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15479)
by Minsu Cho Ivan Laptev Du Tran Angela Yao Hongbin ZhaThis 10-volume LNCS conference set constitutes the proceedings of the 17th Asian Conference on Computer Vision, in Hanoi, Vietnam, held during December 8–12, 2024. The 270 full papers together included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 839 submissions. The conference presents and discusses new problems, solutions, and technologies in computer vision, machine learning, and related areas in artificial intelligence.
An Introduction to Naïve Set Theory and Its Applications (University Texts in the Mathematical Sciences)
by Shashi Mohan SrivastavaPrimarily designed for graduate students of mathematics, this textbook delves into Naïve set theory, offering valuable insights for senior undergraduate students and researchers specializing in set theory. Commencing with a comprehensive exploration of functions and relations, the book extends its coverage to various applications of Naïve set theory across multiple mathematical branches, including real analysis, linear and abstract algebra, general topology, and introductory aspects of complex analysis and measure theory. The text meticulously introduces cardinal and ordinal numbers, along with transfinite induction, following the natural progression discovered by Cantor during his examination of trigonometric series. While this book provides a solid foundation, students intrigued by set theory for its intrinsic value should recognize that the subject extends far beyond the scope of this text.
Development Ethics: Political Economy and Morality
by Nikos Astroulakis Nikolaos KaragiannisThis book provides a fresh perspective on international development. By integrating ethical concepts and moral philosophy with political economy, Nikos Astroulakis and Nikolaos Karagiannis explore three levels of ethical analysis: meta-ethical, normative ethical, and applied ethical. This approach underscores the importance of ethics in shaping development goals and strategies tailored to an individual society. The book uses a framework rooted in heterodox political economy to redefine what it means to be a “good society.” It challenges conventional economic models and proposes development ethics as a compelling alternative. Readers will discover new ways to understand the purpose of development and innovative methods to evaluate its success. Development Ethics explains how ethical principles can transform development policies, making it an essential read for those committed to building a more just and equitable world.
Systemic Racism in South Africa: Humanity Lost
by Rupert TaylorThis book takes a critical macro-level political sociological perspective to understanding South African politics and society. Applying systemic racism theory to South Africa, the author argues that South African society through its exclusionary social mechanisms has assumed a systemically racist form that deeply compromises questions of truth and justice. Constitutive of, and embedded in, the structure of South African society, racism has a reach and a durability that runs deep through the successive stages of segregationism, apartheid, and liberal democracy. Showing the limits of the rule of law in a racist society, the author offers a theoretically-informed interpretation as to why the national liberation struggle has fallen short of its promise to deliver a &“better life for all,&” and as to why truth and justice remain so deeply compromised in South Africa today. The arguments advanced are supported by over thirty semi-structured interviews conducted by the author with high-profile South African politicians, jurists, and intellectuals; as well as by using Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing transcripts – both public and &“top-secret.&” This thought-provoking book is driven by the imperative to offer a compelling and sustained argument for taking a systemic racism approach to interpreting South Africa for scholars and students of sociology, political science, race and ethnic studies, law, and South African history.
Computer Vision – ACCV 2024: 17th Asian Conference on Computer Vision, Hanoi, Vietnam, December 8–12, 2024, Proceedings, Part I (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15472)
by Minsu Cho Ivan Laptev Du Tran Angela Yao Hongbin ZhaThis 10-volume LNCS conference set constitutes the proceedings of the 17th Asian Conference on Computer Vision, in Hanoi, Vietnam, held during December 8–12, 2024. The 270 full papers together included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 839 submissions. The conference presents and discusses new problems, solutions, and technologies in computer vision, machine learning, and related areas in artificial intelligence.
The Contemporary German Navy as an Instrument of Foreign Policy: The Federal Republic and its Naval Deployments after the Cold War (Sicherheit, Strategie & Innovation)
by Moritz BrakeSince the Cold War and beyond the Zeitenwende, Germany has increasingly come to rely on its navy as an instrument of foreign policy. The German Navy supports comprehensive maritime security and ocean governance, and its missions not only reflect its own evolution, but also change within Germany. This is a marked shift for the ‘continental power’ Germany and forms a substantial component of its much broader ‘maritime turn’ in the 21st century. Changes in strategic context, new security challenges and Germany’s evolving international role after reunification have altered the perception of the navy’s utility. Its share in the Bundeswehr’s personnel has grown and the navy has seen proportionally higher investment – or relatively less cuts owing to the post-Cold War 'peace dividend' – than either army or airforce. The author shows, that the navy has markedly changed and become increasingly useful for Germany’s foreign policy – something which, in the stormy seas of geopolitical escalation of the Zeitenwende, has already paid dividends.
Atlas of Limb Deformity: Etiological Classification
by Sihe Qin Wen Tian Qianyu Zhuang Baofeng GuoThis book focuses on classification and category of etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and orthopedic principles of different types of limb deformities in China. The relativity of the definition of limb deformity, the cognitive history of human beings on limb deformity and disability for thousands of years, and the characteristics and classification methods of the diseases category of limb deformity in Chinese population are covered in the chapters, in which the dynamic nature of the occurrence and development of limb deformity from the perspective of biological evolution and auxology, is analyzed too. Written by experts with wealthy of experience, it will be an ideal reference for physicians involved in the diagnosis and treatment of limb deformity.
The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom #3)
by Danielle L. JensenIn the third novel of the iconic Bridge Kingdom series, forbidden romance blooms between two sworn enemies who must choose between their thirst for vengeance and their love for one another—from the New York Times bestselling author of A Fate Inked in Blood.A soldier raised as heir to an empire, Zarrah is motivated by two truths. The first is that the Veliant family murdered her mother. And the second is that her pursuit of vengeance will put every last one of them in their graves.The Endless War between Maridrina and Valcotta has raged for generations, leaving thousands of Zarrah&’s people dead and countless more orphaned. So when she&’s given command of the contested city of Nerastis, Zarrah is prepared to do whatever it takes to destroy the Maridrinian forces who oppose her. And to kill the Veliant prince who leads them.Yet a chance encounter with an anonymous, and handsome, Maridrinian causes Zarrah to question whether the violence she&’s perpetrated is justice or a crime. And as she continues to meet the nameless man each night, she finds common ground—and fiery passion—in his arms.But when identities are revealed, Zarrah must decide whether to embrace a chance at peace . . . or march to the drums of war.Don&’t miss any of Danielle L. Jensen's Bridge Kingdom series:THE BRIDGE KINGDOM • THE TRAITOR QUEEN • THE INADEQUATE HEIR • THE ENDLESS WAR • THE TWISTED THRONE (April 8, 2025)
Trapped In the Present Tense: Meditations on American Memory
by Colette BrooksFor readers of Rebecca Solnit and Jenny Odell, this poetic and inventive blend of history, memoir, and visual essay reflects on how we can resist the erasure of our collective memory in this American century.Our sense of our history requires us to recall the details of time, of experiences that help us find our place in the world together and encourage us in the search for our individual identities. When we lose sight of the past, our ability to see ourselves and to understand one another is diminished. In this book, Colette Brooks explores how some of the more forgotten aspects of recent American experiences explain our challenging and often puzzling present. Through intimate and meticulously researched retellings of individual stories of violence, misfortune, chaos, and persistence—from the first mass shooting in America from the tower at the University of Texas, the televised assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, life with nuclear bombs and the Doomsday Clock, obsessive diarists and round-the-clock surveillance, to pandemics and COVID-19—Brooks is able to reframe our country&’s narratives with new insight to create a prismatic account of how efforts to reclaim the past can be redemptive, freeing us from the tyranny of the present moment.
Action!: A Novel
by Robert CortWhat do you do when your oldest friend, Steve McQueen, pulls out his Smith & Wesson and blows your defenseless dining-room chair to smithereens? Or when your hottest client, sex goddess Romy Schneider, demands you leave your wife for her? Those are just a couple of the dilemmas faced by AJ Jastrow, the fictional protagonist of Action!, Robert Cort’s page-turning saga about a legendary Hollywood family. When we first meet AJ in 1948, a few weeks shy of his thirteenth birthday, he ranks as minor Hollywood royalty—Dad is the movie industry’s most prominent attorney, Mom is a retired actress whose uncle is Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount. But this year will prove to be the end of the movie industry’s Golden Age and the beginning of exile for the Jastrow family.When AJ returns to Tinseltown after a decade’s absence, he realizes that fulfilling his father’s legacy of creating a movie empire will prove a life’s work. Along the way, AJ’s soldiers-in-arms include the Machiavellian producer Ray Stark, who teaches him how to win at Monopoly and studio politics; Wall Street genius Charlie Bluhdorn, who coaxes AJ to fly under the radar on a secret mission; AJ’s wife, Stephanie, who reminds him that a conscience isn’t a luxury; and his daughter and protégée, Jessica, who refuses to leave his side despite irresistible temptation.His enemies are formidable: studio president Paul Herzog, who seeks to destroy the son as he did the father; the wily agent Mike Ovitz, who intuits the weaknesses of any rival; AJ’s mother, Hollywood’s wealthiest woman, who cannot abide disloyalty; and AJ’s son, Ricky, an actor of uncommon ability, who holds a devastating grudge against his dad.By blending and transforming fact into fiction, by introducing real characters to fictional ones, Robert Cort gives the reader an inside account of Hollywood’s path (and drift) from the end of World War II to the present. And utilizing his insider’s knowledge, gained as one of the town’s premier producers, he provides an intimate chronicle of how movies are really made, how producers work, and how the industry has evolved, often at the cost of its collective soul. Provocative and vastly entertaining, Action! is popular fiction at its best, a story that is both enlightening and great fun to read.
The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with our Wild Neighbors
by Erika HowsareA masterful hybrid of nature writing and cultural studies that investigates our connection with deer—from mythology to biology, from forests to cities, from coexistence to control and extermination—and invites readers to contemplate the paradoxes of how humans interact with and shape the natural worldDeer have been an important part of the world that humans occupy for millennia. They&’re one of the only large animals that can thrive in our presence. In the 21st century, our relationship is full of contradictions: We hunt and protect them, we cull them from suburbs while making them an icon of wilderness, we see them both as victims and as pests. But there is no doubt that we have a connection to deer: in mythology and story, in ecosystems biological and digital, in cities and in forests. Delving into the historical roots of these tangled attitudes and how they play out in the present, Erika Howsare observes scientists capture and collar fawns, hunters show off their trophies, a museum interpreter teaching American history while tanning a deer hide, an animal-control officer collecting the carcasses of deer killed by sharpshooters, and a woman bottle-raising orphaned fawns in her backyard. As she reports these stories, Howsare&’s eye is always on the bigger picture: Why do we look at deer in the ways we do, and what do these animals reveal about human involvement in the natural world? For readers of H is for Hawk and Fox & I, The Age of Deer offers a unique and intimate perspective on a very human relationship.