Improve the performance of your PHP application to ensure the application users aren't left waiting About This Book · Make the optimum use of PHP coding to improve your programming productivity · Leverage the potential of PHP for server-side programming, memory management, and object-oriented programming · Packed with real-life examples to help the readers implement concepts as they learn Who This Book Is For This book is for those who have basic experience in PHP programming. If you are developing performance-critical applications, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn · Setup high performance development and production environment for PHP 7 · Discover new OOP features in PHP 7 to achieve high performance · Improve your PHP applications' performance · Attain improved database performance · Benchmark PHP applications to optimize them · Write quality code by learning to improve code reusability, simplicity, and expressiveness · Get rid of the bottlenecks in your PHP 7 applications by writing PHP code optimally · Tackle issues related to web applications, such as high user dependency and large datasets In Detail PHP is a great language for building web applications. It is essentially a server-side *ing language that is also used for general-purpose programming. PHP 7 is the latest version, providing major backward-compatibility breaks and focusing on high performance and speed. This fast-paced introduction to PHP 7 will improve your productivity and coding skills. The concepts covered will allow you, as a PHP programmer, to improve the performance standards of your applications. We will introduce you to the new features in PHP 7 and then will run through the concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP) in PHP 7. Next, we will shed some light on how to improve your PHP 7 applications' performance and database performance. Through this book, you will be able to improve the performance of your programs using the various benchmarking tools discussed. At the end, the book discusses some best practices in PHP programming to help you improve the quality of your code. Style and approach The book is a step-by-step guide to improve the quality of your code in PHP through real-time examples. The book takes a practical approach to improving the quality of your code.

Simplify and automate server administration tasks with PowerCLI About This Book Automate VMware’s VSphere environment by learning the essentials of PowerCLI Impress your peers by developing *s to perform administration tasks Discover the intricate workings of PowerCLI through simple and real-life examples Who This Book Is For PowerCLI Essentials is focused toward virtualization professionals and system administrators who want to discover and learn about the automation techniques associated with PowerCLI for complex virtual environments. What You Will Learn Download and install PowerCLI and its basics as well as the basics of PowerShell Enchance your scritping experience Build longer *s and simpler reports Relate a task in VMware administration to a PowerCLI * Discover methods to acquire and change information remotely Set up orchestrator to manage your workflow In Detail Have you ever wished you could automatically get a report with all the relevant information about your VMware environments in exactly the format you wantOr that you could automate a crucial task that needs to be performed on a regular basisPowerful Command Line Interface (PowerCLI) *s do all these things and much more for VMware environments. PowerCLI is a command-line interface tool used to automate VMware vSphere environments. It is used to handle complicated administration tasks through use of various cmdlets and *s, which are designed to handle certain aspects of VSphere servers and to help you manage them. This book will show you the intricacies of PowerCLI through real-life examples so that you can discover the art of PowerCLI *ing. At the start, you will be taught to download and install PowerCLI and will learn about the different versions of it. Moving further, you will be introduced to the GUI of PowerCLI and will find out how to develop single line *s to duplicate running tasks, produce simple reports, and simplify administration. Next, you will learn about the methods available to get information remotely. Towards the end, you will be taught to set up orchestrator and build workflows in PowerShell with update manager and SRM *s. Style and approach Each and every topic in this book is explained in a very easy-to-follow fashion with real-life, simple examples so you’ll get an idea not only about working with PowerCLI, but will also get an idea about *ing.

Build real-world applications for the Apple Watch platform using the WatchKit framework and Swift 2.0 About This Book Find out how to download and install the Xcode development tools before learning about Xcode playgrounds and the Swift programming language Discover everything you need to know about the WatchKit platform architecture, its classes, as well its limitations This book introduces you to the very latest mobile platform with hands-on instructions so you can build your very own Apple Watch apps Who This Book Is For This book is for developers who are interested in creating amazing apps for the Apple Watch platform. Readers are expected to have no prior experience of programming. What You Will Learn Navigate within the WatchKit interface using the page-based, modal, and hierarchical navigation techniques Work with context menus to allow your users to interact with the Apple Watch and respond to their actions to perform a task Use the MapKit framework to display a map within the WatchKit interface to track the user's current location Build effective user interfaces for the WatchKit platform and integrate iCloud capabilities to synchronize data between the iOS app and the WatchKit UI Design your apps for the Apple Watch platform by adhering to the set of User Interface design guidelines set out by Apple Reinforce image caching to display animations within the Apple Watch user interface Explore WatchKit tables, which allow your users to purchase groceries and pay for them using Apple Pay Analyze the new layout system to ensure that your Apple Watch apps work with various screen sizes In Detail Wearable are the next wave of mobile technology and with the release of Apple’s WatchKit SDK, a whole new world of exciting development possibilities has opened up. Apple Watch App Development introduces you to the architecture and possibilities of the Apple Watch platform, as well as an in-depth look at how to work with Xcode playgrounds. Benefit from a rapid introduction to the Swift programming language so you can quickly begin developing apps with the WatchKit framework and the Xcode Development IDE. Get to grips with advanced topics such as notifications, glances, iCloud, Apple pay, closures, tuples, protocols, delegates, concurrency, and using Swift Playgrounds, with each concept is backed up with example code that demonstrates how to properly execute it. Finally, discover how to package and deploy your Watch application to the Apple AppStore. By the end of this book, you will have a good understanding of how to develop apps for the Apple Watch platform, and synchronize data using iCloud between the wearable and the iOS device. Style and approach This book takes a step-by-step approach to developing applications for the Apple Watch using the Swift programming language and the WatchKit UI. Each topic is explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style.

Boost your scientific and analytic capabilities in no time at all by discovering how to build real-world applications with NumPy About This Book Optimize your Python *s with powerful NumPy modules Explore the vast opportunities to build outstanding scientific/ analytical modules by yourself Packed with rich examples to help you master NumPy arrays and universal functions Who This Book Is For If you are an experienced Python developer who intends to drive your numerical and scientific applications with NumPy, this book is for you. Prior experience or knowledge of working with the Python language is required. What You Will Learn Manipulate the key attributes and universal functions of NumPy Utilize matrix and mathematical computation using linear algebra modules Implement regression and curve fitting for models Perform time frequency / spectral density analysis using the Fourier Transform modules Collate with the distutils and setuptools modules used by other Python libraries Establish Cython with NumPy arrays Write extension modules for NumPy code using the C API Build sophisticated data structures using NumPy array with libraries such as Panda and Scikits In Detail In today’s world of science and technology, it’s all about speed and flexibility. When it comes to scientific computing, NumPy tops the list. NumPy gives you both the speed and high productivity you need. This book will walk you through NumPy using clear, step-by-step examples and just the right amount of theory. We will guide you through wider applications of NumPy in scientific computing and will then focus on the fundamentals of NumPy, including array objects, functions, and matrices, each of them explained with practical examples. You will then learn about different NumPy modules while performing mathematical operations such as calculating the Fourier Transform; solving linear systems of equations, interpolation, extrapolation, regression, and curve fitting; and evaluating integrals and derivatives. We will also introduce you to using Cython with NumPy arrays and writing extension modules for NumPy code using the C API. This book will give you exposure to the vast NumPy library and help you build efficient, high-speed programs using a wide range of mathematical features. Style and approach This quick guide will help you get to grips with the nitty-gritties of NumPy using with practical programming examples. Each topic is explained in both theoretical and practical ways with hands-on examples providing you efficient way of learning and adequate knowledge to support your professional work.

Over 70 incredibly effective and practical recipes to get you up and running with Sitecore development About This Book Build enterprise-level rich websites quickly and deliver the best possible content management to your website Get maximum usage of functionalities like different user interfaces, workflow, publishing, search, analytics, etc and learn different rendering techniques using presentation components for data bindings, events, handlers, schedulers, media, etc. Add a surprising amount of functionality just by customizing the Sitecore architecture through the best practices contained in this book Who This Book Is For If you are a Sitecore developer or a programmer who wants to expand your Sitecore development skills, this book is ideal for you. You will need working knowledge of ASP.NET WebForms or MVC, as well as HTML, and a basic knowledge of Sitecore installation. What You Will Learn Create, access, and personalize your website content using different Sitecore presentation components Learn how to extend the presentation components to fulfill some real-life requiremnts such as improving the site’s performance, generating Rss feeds and so on Work with multiple websites on a single Sitecore instance and create multilingual websites Customize the Sitecore interfaces as per your business requirements to provide easier and error-free user interface to content authors to save time and improve accuracy Customize the Sitecore backend architecture as per your business needs Automate tasks and achieve scalability by altering the development and configuration settings Integrate external systems with Sitecore to import or export content and secure user interactions Integrate the advanced features of analytics and personalization, to get the best possible customer experience and generate its reports In Detail This book will get you started on building rich websites, and customizing user interfaces by creating content management applications quickly. It will give you an insight into web designs and how to customize the Sitecore architecture as per your website's requirements using best practices. Packed with over 70 recipes to help you achieve and solve real-world common tasks, requirements, and the problems of content management, content delivery, and publishing instance environments. It also presents recipes on Sitecore’s backend processes of customizing pipelines, creating custom event handler and media handler, setting hooks to interpret foreign language URL and more. Other topics covered include creating a workflow action, publishing sublayouts and media files, securing your environment by customizing user profiles and access rights, boosting search capabilities, optimising performance, scalability and high-availability of Sitecore instances and much more. By the end of this book, you will have be able to add virtually limitless features to your websites by developing and deploying Sitecore efficiently. Style and approach This easy-to-follow guide is full of hands-on recipes on real-world development tasks to improve your existing Sitecore system. Each topic is presented with its benefits and detailed steps to achieve it through well-explained code and images.

Learn how to design 3D-printed objects that work in the real world About This Book This book shows you how to design from a reference to physical objects that can be easily represented by simple basic objects in Blender (cube, cylinder, sphere, and so on) by measuring them This is the only book on the market that shows you how to take your first steps to create 3D printed objects that are able to interact with existing objects Learn how to utilize Blender's functionality to make your designs more precise and accurate Who This Book Is For Reader will have basic knowledge of Blender and 3D Printing, and will have probably already made something simple. They will be interested in printing their first object. What You Will Learn Gain techniques to accurately measure the objects with rules, manual calipers, and digital calipers Break down complex geometries into multiple simple shapes and model them in layers using Blender Scale and re-scale a model to fit based on volume or size constraints See how to multishell geometries and auto-intersections using the Boolean Modifier In Detail Want to model a 3D printed prototype of an object that needs to be replaced or brokenThis book will teach you how to accurately measure objects in the real world with a few basic measuring techniques and how to create an object for 3D printing around the objects measured. In this book, you'll learn to identify basic shapes from a given object, use Vernier and Digital calipers and grid paper tracing techniques to derive measurements for the objects. With the help of measurements, you'll see to model these objects using Blender, organize the parts into layers, and later combine them to create the desired object, which in this book is a 3D printable SD card holder ring that fits your finger. Style and approach This book will be an easy-to-follow guide to learn the methods of scaling, precise measurements, and accurate designing. Using a step-by-step approach, this book will guide you on your journey to model different parts of a complex object and later combine them to create 3D printed objects that work in the real world.

Gain essential knowledge and keep your NetScaler environment in top form About This Book Learn how the main features - Load Balancing, Content Switching, GSLB, SSL offloading, AAA, AppFirewall, and Gateway work under the hood using vividly explained flows and traces Explore the NetScaler layout and the various logs, tools and methods available to help you when it’s time to debug An easy-to-follow guide, which will walk you through troubleshooting common issues in your NetScaler environment Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at NetScaler administrators who have a basic understanding of the product but are looking for deeper exposure and guidance in identifying and fixing issues to keep their application environment performing optimally. What You Will Learn Troubleshoot traffic management features such as load balancing, SSL, GSLB and content switching Identify issues with caching and compression Deal with authentication issues when using LDAP, RADIUS, certificates, Kerberos and SAML Diagnose NetScaler high availability and networking issues Explore how application firewall protections work and how to avoid false positives Learn about NetScaler Gateway integration issues with XenApp, XenDesktop, and XenMobile Deal with NetScaler system-level issues Discover the NetScaler troubleshooting tools In Detail NetScaler is a high performance Application Delivery Controller (ADC). Making the most of it requires knowledge that straddles the application and networking worlds. As an ADC owner you will also likely be the first person to be solicited when your business applications fail. You will need to be quick in identifying if the problem is with the application, the server, the network, or NetScaler itself. This book provides you with the vital troubleshooting knowledge needed to act fast when issues happen. It gives you a thorough understanding of the NetScaler layout, how it integrates with the network, and what issues to expect when working with the traffic management, authentication, NetScaler Gateway and application firewall features. We will also look at what information to seek out in the logs, how to use tracing, and explore utilities that exist on NetScaler to help you find the root cause of your issues. Style and approach This helpful guide to troubleshooting NetScaler is delivered in a comprehensive and easy-to-follow manner. The topics in the book adopt a step-by-step approach.

Take your Android applications to the next level of interactivity by exploring the wide variety of Android sensors About This Book Get a thorough understanding of the fundamentals and framework of Android sensors. Acquire knowledge of advance sensor programming, and learn how to connect and use sensors in external devices such as the Android Watch, Polar heart rate monitors, Adidas speed cells, and so on. Learn from real-world sensor-based applications such as the Pedometer app to detect daily steps, the Driving app to detect driving events, and the Professional Fitness tracker app to track heart rate, weight, daily steps, calories burned, and so on. Who This Book Is For This book is targeted at Android developers who want to get a good understanding of sensors and write sensor-based applications, or who want to enhance their existing applications with additional sensor functionality. A basic knowledge of Android development is required What You Will Learn Learn about sensor fundamentals, different types of sensors, and the sensor co-ordinate system Understand the various classes, callbacks, and APIs of the Android Sensor framework Check all the available sensors on an Android device and know their individual capabilities—for example, their range of values, power consumption, and so on. Implement sensor fusion using two or more sensors together and learn to compensate for the weakness of one sensor by using the strength of another Build a variety of sensor based, real-world applications such as Weather, Pedometer, Compass, Driving Events Detection, Fitness Tracker, and so on. Get to know about wake up and non-wake up sensors, wake locks, and how to use sensor batch processing along with the sensor hardware FIFO queue Develop efficient battery and processor algorithms using raw sensor data to solve real-world problems Connect to a variety of remote sensors such as body weight measurement and body fat percentage measurement using the Google Fit platform from your Android app In Detail Android phones available in today’s market have a wide variety of powerful and highly precise sensors. Interesting applications can be built with them such as a local weather app using weather sensors, analyzing risky driving behavior using motion sensors, a fitness tracker using step-counter sensors, and so on. Sensors in external devices such as Android Watch, Body Analyzer & Weight Machine, Running Speed Cell, and so on can also be connected and used from your Android app running on your phone. Moving further, this book will provide the skills required to use sensors in your Android applications. It will walk you through all the fundamentals of sensors and will provide a thorough understanding of the Android Sensor Framework. You will also get to learn how to write code for the supportive infrastructure such as background services, scheduled and long running background threads, and databases for saving sensor data. Additionally, you will learn how to connect and use sensors in external devices from your Android app using the Google Fit platform. By the end of the book, you will be well versed in the use of Android sensors and programming to build interactive applications. Style and approach A step-by-step and easy-to-follow guide that focuses on utilizing sensors to perform certain tasks. After covering the fundamentals in the first chapter, the book develops the concepts by building a real-world, sensor-based application in subsequent chapters.

Barbara Cartland was the world’s most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages. As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation. Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world. She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven. Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed. Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone’s life. Beautiful young Claudia Anderson is all alone in the family home in Chelsea without a penny to her name after both her mother and her father, the celebrated actor Walter Wilton, are burned to death when the theatre where Walter is performing collapses in flames. Reeling from the most terrible shock of her life, little does Claudia realise that Fate has another two mortifying shocks in store for her. First, Lady Bressley arrives at her house, the Godmother she has never known, and announces that Walter Wilton was not her real father at all! As Claudia struggles with this earth-shattering news, Lady Bressley generously takes her under her wing on a trip to Spain. But again Fate steps in when Lady Bressley is killed in a coach crash, leaving Claudia penniless and stranded alone in Seville. Finally, though, Fate takes a turn for the better when the dashing Marquis of Datchford asks her to pose as his new bride in order to avoid being matched with a plain-looking Spanish Princess. With one thousand pounds in her pocket as her reward, the Marquis has given her the moon And now, as love blossoms in her heart, can she ask him for the stars as well?

Barbara Cartland was the world’s most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages. As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation. Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world. She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven. Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed. Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone’s life. Since the loss of her parents, the beautiful young Filipa Seymour runs the family’s ancient Manor House alone with very little money and only her beloved dogs and horses and ageing housekeeper, Mrs. Smeaton, for company. So she looks forward with excitement to every visit from her brother, Sir Mark Seymour, except that invariably he is looking for yet another heirloom in the house to sell in order to finance his extravagent Society lifestyle in London. So when Mark suggests a crazy plan for Filipa secretly to take the place of the glamorous ‘Pretty Horse-Breaker’ with whom he is due to ride at the Marquis of Kilne’s prestigious horse race meeting, she reluctantly agrees. Introduced to the Marquis and the other house guests as ‘Fifi’, Filipa is intimidated yet strangely enthralled by his dismissive attitude. But, even as she realises that she is falling in love with him, the Marquis seems oblivious to her and convinced that she is just another gold digger – until she foils a dastardly plot to poison his beloved stallion, saving its life and probably that of its rider as well and in the process opening the Marquis’s eyes to love.

The little boy in this illustrated book can’t decide what he wants to be when he grows up. Based in Stow, Ohio, Twin Sisters Productions has been dedicated to producing quality educational and inspirational music resources for over 25 years. Fraternal twins Karen Mitzo Hilderbrand and Kim Mitzo Thompson founded the company when they realized Kim’s success teaching third grade math through her catchy multiplication song could help children beyond her classroom. From there, Twin Sisters expanded its product line to include e-books, digital music, CDs, read-along and sing-along books, floor puzzles and educational workbooks, all with the purpose of learning through music. These internationally sold products have received nearly 170 awards, including nine Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Gold albums and one Platinum albu, over the years for excellence, creativity and amusement. With thousands of songs and 35 million albums sold, Twin Sisters positions itself as the leader in children’s educational music.

Papa Cardinal and his chicks huddled in a rose bush. Raindrops splish-sploshed all around them.

"Hello. How are you?" "I am fine. How are you?"

This old man, he played one . He played knick knack on my thumb .

After living in the Midwest most of my fifty-plus years, I moved to the beautiful northwest state of Washington. My son and his wife lived in the Seattle area, and they were expecting my first grandchild. Despite the fact that I left my friends in Colorado by choice, it was no less difficult making new friends in the town in which I was residing.

Learn basic, family-related English words through this interactive book. Based in Stow, Ohio, Twin Sisters Productions has been dedicated to producing quality educational and inspirational music resources for over 25 years. Fraternal twins Karen Mitzo Hilderbrand and Kim Mitzo Thompson founded the company when they realized Kim’s success teaching third grade math through her catchy multiplication song could help children beyond her classroom. From there, Twin Sisters expanded its product line to include e-books, digital music, CDs, read-along and sing-along books, floor puzzles and educational workbooks, all with the purpose of learning through music. These internationally sold products have received nearly 170 awards, including nine Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Gold albums and one Platinum albu, over the years for excellence, creativity and amusement. With thousands of songs and 35 million albums sold, Twin Sisters positions itself as the leader in children’s educational music.

There are so many different types of weather. Based in Stow, Ohio, Twin Sisters Productions has been dedicated to producing quality educational and inspirational music resources for over 25 years. Fraternal twins Karen Mitzo Hilderbrand and Kim Mitzo Thompson founded the company when they realized Kim’s success teaching third grade math through her catchy multiplication song could help children beyond her classroom. From there, Twin Sisters expanded its product line to include e-books, digital music, CDs, read-along and sing-along books, floor puzzles and educational workbooks, all with the purpose of learning through music. These internationally sold products have received nearly 170 awards, including nine Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Gold albums and one Platinum albu, over the years for excellence, creativity and amusement. With thousands of songs and 35 million albums sold, Twin Sisters positions itself as the leader in children’s educational music.

Look at all of the different types of animals there are! Young readers will discover what noises different farm animals make in this fun book. Based in Stow, Ohio, Twin Sisters Productions has been dedicated to producing quality educational and inspirational music resources for over 25 years. Fraternal twins Karen Mitzo Hilderbrand and Kim Mitzo Thompson founded the company when they realized Kim’s success teaching third grade math through her catchy multiplication song could help children beyond her classroom. From there, Twin Sisters expanded its product line to include e-books, digital music, CDs, read-along and sing-along books, floor puzzles and educational workbooks, all with the purpose of learning through music. These internationally sold products have received nearly 170 awards, including nine Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Gold albums and one Platinum albu, over the years for excellence, creativity and amusement. With thousands of songs and 35 million albums sold, Twin Sisters positions itself as the leader in children’s educational music.

Along with reproduction, balancing energy expenditure with the limits of resource acquisition is essential for both a species and a population to survive. But energy is a limited resource, as we know well, so birds and mammals-the most energy-intensive fauna on the planet-must reduce energy expenditures to maintain this balance, some taking small steps, and others extreme measures.Here Brian K. McNab draws on his over sixty years in the field to provide a comprehensive account of the energetics of birds and mammals, one fully integrated with their natural history. McNab begins with an overview of thermal rates-much of our own energy is spent maintaining our 98.6?F temperature-and explains how the basal rate of metabolism drives energy use, especially in extreme environments. He then explores those variables that interact with the basal rate of metabolism, like body size and scale and environments, highlighting their influence on behavior, distribution, and even reproductive output. Successive chapters take up energy and population dynamics and evolution. A critical central theme that runs through the book is how the energetic needs of birds and mammals come up against rapid environmental change and how this is hastening the pace of extinction.

For far too long humans have been ignoring nature. As the most dominant, overproducing, overconsuming, big-brained, big-footed, arrogant, and invasive species ever known, we are wrecking the planet at an unprecedented rate. And while science is important to our understanding of the impact we have on our environment, it alone does not hold the answers to the current crisis, nor does it get people to act. In Ignoring Nature No More, Marc Bekoff and a host of renowned contributors argue that we need a new mind-set about nature, one that centers on empathy, compassion, and being proactive.?This collection of diverse essays is the first book devoted to compassionate conservation, a growing global movement that translates discussions and concerns about the well-being of individuals, species, populations, and ecosystems into action. Written by leading scholars in a host of disciplines, including biology, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, political science, and philosophy, as well as by locals doing fieldwork in their own countries, the essays combine the most creative aspects of the current science of animal conservation with analyses of important psychological and sociocultural issues that encourage or vex stewardship. The contributors tackle topics including the costs and benefits of conservation, behavioral biology, media coverage of animal welfare, conservation psychology, and scales of conservation from the local to the global. Taken together, the essays make a strong case for why we must replace our habits of domination and exploitation with compassionate conservation if we are to make the world a better place for nonhuman and human animals alike.

Galileo's telescopic discoveries, and especially his observation of sunspots, caused great debate in an age when the heavens were thought to be perfect and unchanging. Christoph Scheiner, a Jesuit mathematician, argued that sunspots were planets or moons crossing in front of the Sun. Galileo, on the other hand, countered that the spots were on or near the surface of the Sun itself, and he supported his position with a series of meticulous observations and mathematical demonstrations that eventually convinced even his rival.?On Sunspots collects the correspondence that constituted the public debate, including the first English translation of Scheiner's two tracts as well as Galileo's three letters, which have previously appeared only in abridged form. In addition, Albert Van Helden and Eileen Reeves have supplemented the correspondence with lengthy introductions, extensive notes, and a bibliography. The result will become the standard work on the subject, essential for students and historians of astronomy, the telescope, and early modern Catholicism.