All living things on earth-from individual species to entire ecosystems-have evolved through time, and evolution is the acknowledged framework of modern biology. Yet many areas of biology have moved from a focus on evolution to much narrower perspectives.Daniel R. Brooks and Deborah A. McLennan argue that it is impossible to comprehend the nature of life on earth unless evolution-the history of organisms-is restored to a central position in research. They demonstrate how the phylogenetic approach can be integrated with ecological and behavioral studies to produce a richer and more complete picture of evolution. Clearly setting out the conceptual, methodological, and empirical foundations of their research program, Brooks and McLennan show how scientists can use it to unravel the evolutionary history of virtually any characteristic of any living thing, from behaviors to ecosystems. They illustrate and test their approach with examples drawn from a wide variety of species and habitats.The Nature of Diversity provides a powerful new tool for understanding, documenting, and preserving the world's biodiversity. It is an essential book for biologists working in evolution, ecology, behavior, conservation, and systematics. The argument in The Nature of Diversity greatly expands upon and refines the arguments made in the authors' previous book Phylogeny, Ecology, and Behavior.

Who during the Renaissance could have dissented from the values of reason and restraint, patience and humility, rejection of the worldly and the physicalThese widely articulated values were part of the inherited Christian tradition and were reinforced by key elements in the Renaissance, especially the revival of Stoicism and Platonism. This book is devoted to those who did dissent from them.?Richard Strier reveals that many long-recognized major texts did question the most traditional values and uncovers a Renaissance far more bumptious and affirmative than much recent scholarship has allowed.The Unrepentant Renaissance counters the prevalent view of the period as dominated by the regulation of bodies and passions, aiming to reclaim the Renaissance as an era happily churning with surprising, worldly, and self-assertive energies. Reviving the perspective of Jacob Burckhardt and Nietzsche, Strier provides fresh and uninhibited readings of texts by Petrarch, More, Shakespeare, Ignatius Loyola, Montaigne, Descartes, and Milton. Strier's lively argument will stir debate throughout the field of Renaissance studies.

Opera often seems to arouse either irrational enthusiasm or visceral dislike. Such madness, as Goethe wrote, is indispensable in all theater, and yet in practice, sentiment and passion must be balanced by sense and reason. Exploring this tension between madness and reason, Not without Madness presents new analytical approaches to thinking about eighteenth- and nineteenth-century opera through the lenses of its historical and cultural contexts.?In these twelve essays, Fabrizio Della Seta explores the concept of opera as a dramatic event and an essential moment in the history of theater. Examining the meaning of opera and the devices that produce and transmit this meaning, he looks at the complex verbal, musical, and scenic mechanisms in parts of La sonnambula, Ernani, Aida, Le nozze di Figaro, Macbeth, and Il trovatore. He argues that approaches to the study of opera must address performance, interpretation, composition, reception, and cultural ramifications. Purely musical analysis does not make sense unless we take into account music's dramatic function. Containing many essays available for the first time in English, Not without Madness bridges recent divisions in opera studies and will attract musicologists, musicians, and opera lovers alike.

Develop programmatic functions to create powerful database applications About This Book Write complex SQL queries and design a robust database design that fits your application's need Improve database performance by indexing, partitioning tables, and query optimizing A comprehensive guide covering the advanced PostgreSQL concepts without any hassle Who This Book Is For If you are a PostgreSQL developer with a basic knowledge of PostgreSQL development and you’re want deeper knowledge to develop applications, then this book is for you. As this book does not cover basic installation and configurations, you should have PostgreSQL installed on your machine as a prerequisite. What You Will Learn Write more complex queries with advanced SQL queries Design a database that works with the application exactly the way you want Make the database work in extreme conditions by tuning, optimizing, partitioning, and indexing Develop applications in other programming languages such as Java and PHP Use extensions to get extra benefits in terms of functionality and performance Build an application that does not get locked by data manipulation Explore in-built db functions and data type conversions In Detail PostgreSQL is the most advanced open source database in the world. It is easy to install, configure, and maintain by following the documentation; however, it’s difficult to develop applications using programming languages and design databases accordingly. This book is what you need to get the most out of PostgreSQL You will begin with advanced SQL topics such as views, materialized views, and cursors, and learn about performing data type conversions. You will then perform trigger operations and use trigger functions in PostgreSQL. Next we walk through data modeling, normalization concepts, and the effect of transactions and locking on the database. The next half of the book covers the types of indexes, constrains, and the concepts of table partitioning, as well as the different mechanisms and approaches available to write efficient queries or code. Later, we explore PostgreSQL Extensions and Large Object Support in PostgreSQL. Finally, you will perform database operations in PostgreSQL using PHP and Java. By the end of this book, you will have mastered all the aspects of PostgreSQL development. You will be able to build efficient enterprise-grade applications with PostgreSQL by making use of these concepts Style and approach Every chapter follows a step by step approach that first explains the concept , then shows you how to execute it practically so that you can implement them in your application.

Ensure your code is sleek, efficient and elegant by mastering powerful Python design patterns About This Book Learn all about abstract design patterns and how to implement them in Python 3 Understand the structural, creational, and behavioral Python design patterns Get to know the context and application of design patterns to solve real-world problems in software architecture, design, and application development Discover how to simplify Design Pattern implementation using the power of Python 3 Who This Book Is For If you have basic Python skills and wish to learn in depth how to correctly apply appropriate design patterns, this course is tailor made for you. What You Will Learn Discover what design patterns are and how to apply them to writing Python Implement objects in Python by creating classes and defining methods Separate related objects into a taxonomy of classes and describe the properties and behaviors of those objects via the class interface Understand when to use object-oriented features, and more importantly when not to use them Get to know proven solutions to common design issues Explore the design principles that form the basis of software design, such as loose coupling, the Hollywood principle, and the Open Close principle, among others Use Structural Design Patterns and find out how objects and classes interact to build larger applications Improve the productivity and code base of your application using Python design patterns Secure an interface using the Proxy pattern In Detail Python is an object-oriented *ing language that is used in everything from data science to web development. Known for its simplicity, Python increases productivity and minimizes development time. Through applying essential software engineering design patterns to Python, Python code becomes even more efficient and reusable from project to project. This learning path takes you through every traditional and advanced design pattern best applied to Python code, building your skills in writing exceptional Python. Divided into three distinct modules, you’ll go from foundational to advanced concepts by following a series of practical tutorials. Start with the bedrock of Python programming – the object-oriented paradigm. Rethink the way you work with Python as you work through the Python data structures and object-oriented techniques essential to modern Python programming. Build your confidence as you learn Python syntax, and how to use OOP principles with Python tools such as Django and Kivy. In the second module, run through the most common and most useful design patterns from a Python perspective. Progress through Singleton patterns, Factory patterns, Fa?ade patterns and more all with detailed hands-on guidance. Enhance your professional abilities in in software architecture, design, and development. In the final module, run through the more complex and less common design patterns, discovering how to apply them to Python coding with the help of real-world examples. Get to grips with the best practices of writing Python, as well as creating systems architecture and troubleshooting issues. This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: Python 3 Object-Oriented Programming - Second Edition by Dusty Phillips Learning Python Design Patterns - Second Edition by Chetan Giridhar Mastering Python Design Patterns by Sakis Kasampalis Style and approach Advance your Python code through three distinct modules that each build on preceding content. Get the complete coverage of Python design patterns you need to write elegant and efficient code that’s reusable and powerful.

Explore the powers of Raspberry Pi and build your very own projects right out of the box About This Book From robotics to gaming, this Learning Path will unlock your creativity! Build your own impressive IoT projects to transform your home Featuring some of Packt’s very best Raspberry Pi content, this Learning Path doesn’t just get you to your destination – it opens up a whole horizon of possibilities! Who This Book Is For Want new ideas for your next Raspberry Pi projectGot one lying around gathering dustThis Learning Path gets you straight into the creative dirty work of programming and playing with your pi. Whether your new to Raspberry Pi, or an experienced maker, we think this Learning Path will inspire you and get your creative juices flowing! What You Will Learn Discover an aweome range of Raspberry Pi projects Bridge the gap between software and hardware through your Pi and find out how to make an operating system interact with cameras and other hardware Find out how to use your Raspberry Pi for gaming Secure your home with this tiny computer! Make science fiction a reality – build a walking robot In Detail Looking for inspiration for your next Raspberry Pi projectNot sure where to beginThis Learning Path is the perfect place to begin, providing you with an accessible yet comprehensive journey through Raspberry Pi. Following three modules, you’ll soon be confident and prepared to get creative with your microcomputer. Raspberry Pi by Example is the first module in this Learning Path – and it does exactly what it says. It doesn’t just teach, it shows you how to go and build some awesome Raspberry Pi projects immediately. Build and play your own games with the Pi, build a complete Internet of Things home automation system that controls your house through Twitter… let your imagination run wild! In the next module we’ll look in more depth at building a home security system. You’ll be using some of the skills you devoped through the first module, but apply them to something more intricate and impressive. Using a Linux based operating system as the foundations, you’ll gradually build up an entire security infrastructure adding cameras, remote controls, and even intrusion alerts! In the final module, we’ll take you into the world of Raspberry Pi robotics. By the end of it, you’ll have built a biped robot that can interact with its environment! This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: Raspberry Pi By Example by Ashwin Pajankar and Arush Kakkar Building a Home Security System with Raspberry Pi by Matthew Pole Raspberry Pi Robotics Essentials by Richard Grimmett Style and approach It’s not every day you build a home automation system. It’s not every day you build a walking robot. But with this Learning Path you’ll do just that. So get started and let this tiny computer expand your imagination.

Enhance your JavaScript skills by venturing into the domain of developing mobile applications About This Book .Extend your JavaScript skillset to build, test, and launch mobile apps with confidence .Follow three sample projects to experience Ionic’s impressive capabilities .Extend the power of Apache Cordova by creating your own Apache Cordova cross-platform mobile plugins Who This Book Is For This Learning Path is for JavaScript web developers looking to develop mobile applications using various JavaScript descendent technologies. It is for anyone who wants to learn how to build fast and stylish native mobile app using the skills they already have. If you are already using React on the web, we’re confident you’ll be able to quickly get up and running with React Native for iOS and Android. See Ionic in action, and find out how it can transform the way you build mobile apps. What You Will Learn .Develop, build, run, and deploy great cross-platform mobile applications using Apache Cordova .Create complete mobile apps using Apache Cordova that runs on Apple iOS, Google Android, and Windows Phone .Create a neat user interface for your mobile application using jQuery Mobile .Gain an in-depth understanding of how React Native works behind the scenes .Write your own custom native UI components .Develop native modules in Objective-C and Java that interact with JavaScript .Get to know Ionic by creating three complete mobile applications In Detail A great mobile app is rapidly becoming crucial for a huge range of businesses. With a great app, your customers or your readers don’t come to you – you go with them, just a few clicks and swipes away. This Learning Path shows you how to build awesome mobile apps with some of the best tools currently being used by some of the smartest developers in the industry. Taking you through JavaScript impressive development ecosystem – from jQuery Mobile to React, through to Ionic – we’ll show you how to put your skills into practice so you can build your next mobile apps with confidence and style. In this Learning Path, from jQuery to React, to Ionic, we’ll cover everything you need to start In the first module you’ll learn how to get stuck into Apache Cordova and find out how to use it as the key platform for developing your mobile app. It offers an efficient way to develop hybrid apps, which means you won’t have to connect to platform specific APIs or use their UI framework, and can instead harness your JavaScript web development skills. Make sure you have your HTML, CSS and jQuery skills at the ready. In Module 2 we’ll show you how to take advantage of React Native. It has a reputation for having a steep learning curve, but we’ll make it easy for you, making sure you make full use of your existing knowledge and getting you up and running with a sample application. You’ll also learn how to create components, how to create multiple screens, as well as using native UI components and accessing native APIs. In the third and final module you’ll get started with Ionic. With three practical projects you can build yourself, we’ve made sure that you’ll be learning by doing – which means you’ll not only develop new skills much more quickly, but you’ll have produced something tangible at the end of it! This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: .JavaScript Mobile Application Development by Hazem Saleh .Getting Started with React Native by Ethan Holmes and Tom Bray .Ionic Framework By Example by Sani Yusuf Style and approach This Learning Path course provides a simple and easy way to build mobile applications in JavaScript descendent technologies such as jQuery, ReactJS, and Ionic.

Explore the features of Unity 5 for 2D game development by building three amazing game projects About This Book Explore the 2D architecture of Unity 5, and the tools and techniques for developing 2D games Discover how to use Unity’s 2D tools, including Sprites, physics, and maps, to create different genres of games Practical tutorial on the intermediate and advanced development concepts in Unity 5 to create three interesting and fully functional games Who This Book Is For If you've got the basics of 2D development down, push your skills with the projects in this hands-on guide.Diversify your portfolio and learn the skills needed to build a range of awesome 2D game genres. What You Will Learn Explore and understand the vital role of sprites in 2D games Move, animate, and integrate sprites into a 2D platform game Set up User Interfaces (UIs) to keep track of the progress through the games Apply 2D Physics to improve gameplay believability Learn the foundation of Level Design and how to quickly create 2D Maps Discover NPC design, event triggers, and AI programming Create an epic strategy game, challenging all the skills acquired in the book In Detail Flexible, powerful, and full of rich features, Unity 5 is the engine of choice for AAA 2D and 3D game development. With comprehensive support for over 20 different platforms, Unity boasts a host of great new functions for making 2D games. Learn how to leverage these new options into awesome 2D games by building three complete game projects with the Unity game tutorials in this hands-on book. Get started with a quick overview of the principle concepts and techniques needed for making 2D games with Unity, then dive straight in to practical development. Build your own version of Super Mario Brothers as you learn how to animate sprites, work with physics, and construct brilliant UIs in order to create a platformer game. Go on a quest to create a RPG game discovering NPC design, event triggers, and AI programming. Finally, put your skills to the test against a real challenge - designing and constructing a complex strategy game that will draw on and develop all your previously learned skills. Style and approach This is a practical and easy-to-follow guide that starts with the basics and gradually delves into the process of creating 2D games. With step-by-step instructions on how to build three games, followed by a detailed explanation of each example, you will understand the concepts not just in theory, but also by applying the knowledge you gain in practice.

Combine the power of ASP.NET Core with Bootstrap 4 to build elegant, responsive web apps About This Book Updated for Bootstrap 4 and ASP.Net MVC 6, this book shows how to take advantage of the latest new features introduced in both of these industry-leading frameworks Build responsive, mobile-ready apps by combining the power of ASP.NET MVC with Bootstrap Grasp the intricacies of Bootstrap and how to use it with ASP.NET MVC Build your own tools and helpers to assist you in creating ASP.NET MVC Bootstrap sites easily and quickly Master the use of Bootstrap components and plugins with ASP.NET MVC Who This Book Is For If you are an ASP.NET MVC developer and would like to know how to incorporate Bootstrap into your projects, then this book is invaluable to you. Developers with entry-level experience of ASP.NET MVC development and limited experience with Bootstrap will also benefit from this book. What You Will Learn Create a new ASP.NET MVC project that uses Bootstrap for its styling and learn how to include external libraries using the new package managers Learn to use the various Bootstrap CSS and HTML elements, and how to use the new Bootstrap 4 grid layout system Explore the different input groups and implement alerts, progress bars, and badges Explore JavaScript components by illustrating and walking through the process of using JavaScript/jQuery to add interactivity to Twitter Bootstrap components Build your own ASP.NET MVC helpers and tag helpers to reduce the amount of HTML needed to generate Bootstrap elements Convert a Bootstrap HTML template into a usable ASP.NET MVC project Use the jQuery DataTables plugin with Bootstrap and ASP.NET MVC In Detail One of the leading open source frontend frameworks, Bootstrap has undergone a significant change and introduced several features that make designing compelling, next-generation UIs much simpler. Integrating Bootstrap with ASP.NET's powerful components can further enhance its capabilities. This book guides you through the process of creating an ASP.NET MVC website from scratch using Bootstrap. After a primer on the fundamentals of Bootstrap, you will learn your way around and create a new ASP.NET MVC project in Visual Studio. You will move on to learn about the various Bootstrap components as well as techniques to include them in your own projects. The book includes practical examples to show you how to use open-source plugins with Bootstrap and ASP.NET MVC and guides you through building an ASP.NET MVC website using Bootstrap, utilizing layout and user-interface components. At the end of this book, you will find some valuable tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your Bootstrap-integrated and ASP.NET MVC-integrated website. Style and approach This is a compact, step-by-step guide that focuses on combining the power of Bootstrap with ASP.Net MVC to build next-generation web apps. With clear instructions, this book will show how to build a complete ASP.Net MVC-integrated web app from scratch using Bootstrap. It will also cover several tricks for integrating Bootstrap and ASP.Net MVC, and getting the most out of both frameworks.

Discover how to build your own smart Internet of Things projects and bring a new degree of interconnectivity to your world About This Book Learn how to extract and analyse data from physical devices and build smart IoT projects Master the skills of building enticing projects such as a neural network autonomous car, computer vision through a camera, and cloud-based IoT applications This project-based guide leverages revolutionary computing chips such as Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and so on Who This Book Is For If you are hobbyist who is keen on making smart IoT projects, then this book is for you. You should have a basic knowledge of Python. What You Will Learn Implement data science in your IoT projects and build a smart temperature controller Create a simple machine learning application and implement decision system concepts Develop a vision machine using OpenCV Build a robot car with manual and automatic control Implement speech modules with your own voice commands for IoT projects Connect IoT to a cloud-based server In Detail Internet of Things (IoT) is a groundbreaking technology that involves connecting numerous physical devices to the Internet and controlling them. Creating basic IoT projects is common, but imagine building smart IoT projects that can extract data from physical devices, thereby making decisions by themselves. Our book overcomes the challenge of analyzing data from physical devices and accomplishes all that your imagination can dream up by teaching you how to build smart IoT projects. Basic statistics and various applied algorithms in data science and machine learning are introduced to accelerate your knowledge of how to integrate a decision system into a physical device. This book contains IoT projects such as building a smart temperature controller, creating your own vision machine project, building an autonomous mobile robot car, controlling IoT projects through voice commands, building IoT applications utilizing cloud technology and data science, and many more. We will also leverage a small yet powerful IoT chip, Raspberry Pi with Arduino, in order to integrate a smart decision-making system in the IoT projects. Style and approach The book follows a project-based approach to building smart IoT projects using powerful boards such as the Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and the IoT chip.

In the years since the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit and Opportunity first began transmitting images from the surface of Mars, we have become familiar with the harsh, rocky, rusty-red Martian landscape. But those images are much less straightforward than they may seem to a layperson: each one is the result of a complicated set of decisions and processes involving the large team behind the Rovers.With Seeing Like a Rover, Janet Vertesi takes us behind the scenes to reveal the work that goes into creating our knowledge of Mars. Every photograph that the Rovers take, she shows, must be processed, manipulated, and interpreted-and all that comes after team members negotiate with each other about what they should even be taking photographs of in the first place. Vertesi's account of the inspiringly successful Rover project reveals science in action, a world where digital processing uncovers scientific truths, where images are used to craft consensus, and where team members develop an uncanny intimacy with the sensory apparatus of a robot that is millions of miles away. Ultimately, Vertesi shows, every image taken by the Mars Rovers is not merely a picture of Mars-it's a portrait of the whole Rover team, as well.

In the digital age, photography confronts its future under the competing signs of ubiquity and obsolescence. While technology has allowed amateurs and experts alike to create high-quality photographs in the blink of an eye, new electronic formats have severed the original photochemical link between image and subject. At the same time, recent cinematic photography has stretched the concept of photography and raised questions about its truth value as a documentary medium. Despite this situation, photography remains a stubbornly substantive form of evidence: referenced by artists, filmmakers, and writers as a powerful emblem of truth, photography has found its home in other media at precisely the moment of its own material demise.By examining this idea of photography as articulated in literature, film, and the graphic novel, Daguerreotypes demonstrates how photography secures identity for figures with an otherwise unstable sense of self. Lisa Saltzman argues that in many modern works, the photograph asserts itself as a guarantor of identity, whether genuine or fabricated. From Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, W. G. Sebald's Austerlitz to Alison Bechdel's Fun Home-we find traces of photography's "e;fugitive subjects"e; throughout contemporary culture. Ultimately, Daguerreotypes reveals how the photograph, at once personal memento and material witness, has inspired a range of modern artistic and critical practices.

Filled with drama and action, here is the story of the ninth-century life and times of Alfred-warrior, conqueror, lawmaker, scholar, and the only king whom England has ever called "e;The Great."e; Based on up-to-date information on ninth-century history, geography, philosophy, literature, and social life, it vividly presents exciting views of Alfred in every stage of his long career and leaves the reader with a sharply-etched picture of the world of the Middle Ages.

The right-to-die debate has gone on for centuries, playing out most recently as a spectacle of protest surrounding figures such as Terry Schiavo. In?Deconstructing Dignity, Scott Cutler Shershow offers a powerful new way of thinking about it philosophically. Focusing on the concepts of human dignity and the sanctity of life, he employs Derridean deconstruction to uncover self-contradictory and damaging assumptions that underlie both sides of the debate.Shershow examines texts from Cicero's?De Officiis?to Kant's?Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals?to court decisions and religious declarations. Through them he reveals how arguments both supporting and denying the right to die undermine their own unconditional concepts of human dignity and the sanctity of life with a hidden conditional logic, one often tied to practical economic concerns and the scarcity or unequal distribution of medical resources. He goes on to examine the exceptional case of self-sacrifice, closing with a vision of a society-one whose conditions we are far from meeting-in which the debate can finally be resolved. A sophisticated analysis of a heated topic,?Deconstructing Dignity?is also a masterful example of deconstructionist methods at work.?

Coevolution-reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting species driven by natural selection-is one of the most important ecological and genetic processes organizing the earth's biodiversity: most plants and animals require coevolved interactions with other species to survive and reproduce. The Geographic Mosaic of Coevolution analyzes how the biology of species provides the raw material for long-term coevolution, evaluates how local coadaptation forms the basic module of coevolutionary change, and explores how the coevolutionary process reshapes locally coevolving interactions across the earth's constantly changing landscapes.Picking up where his influential The Coevolutionary Process left off, John N. Thompsonsynthesizes the state of a rapidly developing science that integrates approaches from evolutionary ecology, population genetics, phylogeography, systematics, evolutionary biochemistry and physiology, and molecular biology. Using models, data, and hypotheses to develop a complete conceptual framework, Thompson also draws on examples from a wide range of taxa and environments, illustrating the expanding breadth and depth of research in coevolutionary biology.

The term "e;community organizer"e; was deployed repeatedly against Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign as a way to paint him as an inexperienced politician unfit for the presidency. The implication was that the job of a community organizer wasn't a serious one, and that it certainly wasn't on the list of credentials needed for a presidential?resume.?In reality, community organizers have played key roles in the political lives of American cities for decades, perhaps never more so than during the 1970s in Chicago, where African Americans laid the groundwork for further empowerment as they organized against segregation, discrimination, and lack of equal access to schools, housing, and jobs.In?Crucibles of Black Empowerment, Jeffrey Helgeson recounts the rise of African American political power and activism from the 1930s onward, revealing how it was achieved through community building. His book tells stories of the housewives who organized their neighbors, building tradesmen who used connections with federal officials to create opportunities in a deeply discriminatory employment sector, and the social workers, personnel managers, and journalists who carved out positions in the white-collar workforce. ?Looking closely at black liberal politics at the neighborhood level in Chicago, Helgeson explains how black Chicagoans built the networks that eventually would overthrow the city's seemingly invincible political machine.

In a cemetery on the southern outskirts of Paris lie the bodies of nearly a hundred of what some have called the first casualties of global climate change. They were the so-called abandoned victims of the worst natural disaster in French history, the devastating heat wave that struck in August 2003, leaving 15,000 dead. They died alone in Paris and its suburbs, and were then buried at public expense, their bodies unclaimed. They died, and to a great extent lived, unnoticed by their neighbors--their bodies undiscovered in some cases until weeks after their deaths.Fatal Isolation tells the stories of these victims and the catastrophe that took their lives. It explores the multiple narratives of disaster--the official story of the crisis and its aftermath, as presented by the media and the state; the life stories of the individual victims, which both illuminate and challenge the ways we typically perceive natural disasters; and the scientific understandings of disaster and its management. Fatal Isolation is both a social history of risk and vulnerability in the urban landscape and a story of how a city copes with emerging threats and sudden, dramatic change.

A heated debate is raging over our nation's public schools and how they should be reformed, with proposals ranging from imposing national standards to replacing public education?altogether with a voucher system for private schools. Combining decades of experience in education, the authors propose an innovative approach to solving the problems of our school system and find a middle ground between these extremes.Reinventing Public Education shows how contracting would radically change the way we operate our schools, while keeping them public and accessible to all, and making them better able to meet standards of achievement and equity. Using public funds, local school boards would select private providers to operate individual schools under formal contracts specifying the type and quality of instruction.In a hands-on, concrete fashion, the authors provide a thorough explanation of the pros and cons of school contracting and how it would work in practice. They show how contracting would free local school boards from operating schools so they can focus on improving educational policy; how it would allow parents to choose the best school for their children; and, finally, how it would ensure that schools are held accountable and academic standards are met.While retaining a strong public role in education, contracting enables schools to be more imaginative, adaptable, and suited to the needs of children and families. In presenting an alternative vision for America's schools, Reinventing Public Education is too important to be ignored.

How does globalization workFocusing on Latin America, Yves Dezalay and Bryant G. Garth show that exports of expertise and ideals from the United States to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico have played a crucial role in transforming their state forms and economies since World War II.Based on more than 300 extensive interviews with major players in governments, foundations, law firms, universities, and think tanks, Dezalay and Garth examine both the production of northern exports such as neoliberal economics and international human rights law and the ways they are received south of the United States. They find that the content of what is exported and how it fares are profoundly shaped by domestic struggles for power and influence-"e;palace wars"e;-in the nations involved. For instance, challenges to the eastern intellectual establishment influenced the Reagan-era export of University of Chicago-style neoliberal economics to Chile, where it enjoyed a warm reception from Pinochet and his allies because they could use it to discredit the previous regime.Innovative and sophisticated, The Internationalization of Palace Wars offers much needed concrete information about the transnational processes that shape our world.

Frozen mammals of the Ice Age, preserved for millennia in the tundra, have been a source of fascination and mystery since their first discovery over two centuries ago. These mummies, their ecology, and their preservation are the subject of this compelling book by paleontologist Dale Guthrie. The 1979 find of a frozen, extinct steppe bison in an Alaskan gold mine allowed him to undertake the first scientific excavation of an Ice Age mummy in North America and to test theories about these enigmatic frozen fauna.The 36,000-year-old bison mummy, coated with blue mineral crystals, was dubbed "e;Blue Babe."e; Guthrie conveys the excitement of its excavation and shows how he made use of evidence from living animals, other Pleistocene mummies, Paleolithic art, and geological data. With photographs and scores?of detailed drawings, he takes the reader through the excavation and subsequent detective work, analyzing the animal's carcass and its surroundings, the circumstances of its death, its appearance in life, the landscape it inhabited, and the processes of preservation by freezing. His examination shows that Blue Babe died in early winter, falling prey to lions that inhabited the Arctic during the Pleistocene era.Guthrie uses information gleaned from his study of Blue Babe to provide a broad picture of bison evolutionary history and ecology, including speculations on the interactions of bison and Ice Age peoples. His de*ion of the Mammoth Steppe as a cold, dry, grassy plain is based on an entirely new way of reading the fossil record.

"e;It is hard to put this profound book into a category. Despite the author's criticisms of Thoreau, it is more like Walden than any other book I have read. . . . The book makes great strides toward bringing the best insights from medieval philosophy and from contemporary environmental ethics together. Anyone interested in both of these areas must read this book."e;-Daniel A. Dombrowski, The Thomist"e;Those who share Kohk's concern to understand nature as other than a mere resource or matter in motion will find his temporally oriented interpretation of nature instructive. It is here in particular that Kohk turns moments of experience to account philosophically, turning what we habitually overlook or avoid into an opportunity and basis for self-knowledge. This is an impassioned attempt to see the vital order of nature and the moral order of our humanity as one."e;-Ethics