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  The Frontier Below

  Jeff Maynard

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  Triumphs and disasters in the deep sea 
  This is a journey through time and water, to the bottom of the ocean and the future of our planet. 
  We do not see the ocean when we look at the water that blankets more than two thirds of our planet. We only see the entrance to it. Beyond that entrance is a world hostile to humans, yet critical to our survival. The first divers to enter that world held their breath and splashed beneath the surface, often clutching rocks to pull them down. Over centuries, they invented wooden diving bells, clumsy diving suits, and unwieldy contraptions in attempts to go deeper and stay longer. But each advance was fraught with danger, as the intruders had to survive the crushing weight of water, or the deadly physiological effects of breathing compressed air. The vertical odyssey continued when explorers squeezed into heavy steel balls dangling on cables, or slung beneath floats filled with flammable gasoline. Plunging into the narrow trenches between the tectonic plates of the Earth’s crust, they eventually reached the bottom of the ocean in the same decade that men first walked on the moon. 
  Today, as nations scramble to exploit the resources of the ocean floor, The Frontier Below recalls a story of human endeavour that took 2,000 years to travel seven miles, then investigates how we will explore the ocean in the future. 
  Meticulously researched and drawing extensively on unpublished sources and personal interviews, The Frontier Below is the untold story of the pioneers who had the right stuff, but were forgotten because they went in the wrong direction. 
  The Frontier Below by Jeff Maynard is a captivating journey through the history of maritime expeditions, the science of physiology, and the economics of resource extraction. It is a testament to human endeavour and the indomitable spirit of exploration, offering a glimpse into the future of our oceans. 
  For fans of Buddy Levy (Realm of Ice and Sky), Julian Sancton (Madhouse at the End of the Earth), Rachel Lance (In the Waves), James Bradley (Ghost Species), and Helen Czerski (Blue Machine). 
  HarperCollins 2023

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  The Future - A Very Short...

  Jennifer M. Gidley

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  From the beginning of time, humans have been driven by both a fear of the unknown and a curiosity to know. We have always yearned to know what lies ahead, whether threat or safety, scarcity or abundance. Throughout human history, our forebears tried to create certainty in the unknown, by seeking to influence outcomes with sacrifices to gods, preparing for the unexpected with advice from oracles, and by reading the stars through astrology. As scientific methods improve and computer technology develops we become ever more confident of our capacity to predict and quantify the future by accumulating and interpreting patterns from the past, yet the truth is there is still no certainty to be had.In this Very Short Introduction Jennifer Gidley considers some of our most burning questions: What is "the future?" Is the future a time yet to come? Or is it a utopian place? Does the future have a history? Is there only one future or are there many possible futures? She asks if the future can ever be truly predicted or if we create our own futures—both hoped for and feared—by our thoughts, feelings, and actions, and concludes by analyzing how we can learn to study the future.

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  Foreign Invaders of Ancient...

  Editors Charles River

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  From approximately 3100 BCE until around 1075 BCE, ancient Egypt was ruled by 20 different dynasties. The length of the dynasties varied: some, such as those during the First and Second Intermediate periods could be quite short, while the Thirteenth and 18th Dynasties each contained more a one dozen kings and ruled over the Nile Valley for around 200 years each. Although the first 20 Egyptian dynasties varied in number of rulers and length, most shared one important attribute: they were all native Egyptian dynasties. The one important exception came during Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period, when a mysterious foreign group of people, known as the Hyksos, conquered Egypt and established the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties some time shortly after 1700 BCE. For centuries, the Hyksos rule over Egypt was an enigma shrouded in half-truths and myth. It was only in the mid-20th century that Egyptologists, using newly discovered and translated texts, shed fresh light on the Hyksos to reveal details about their origins and rule in Egypt. 
  The transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age during the late 13th and early 12th centuries BCE arguably changed the structure and course of world history more fundamentally than any period before or since. During this period, numerous wealthy and enduring kingdoms of the eastern Mediterranean Sea region collapsed, and new ones rose in their places. At the center of this period of turmoil was a group of people known today as the Sea Peoples, the English translation of the name given to them by the Egyptians. Despite their prominent role in history, however, the Sea Peoples remain as mysterious as they were influential; while the Egyptians documented their presence and the wars against them, it has never been clear exactly where the Sea Peoples originated from, or what compelled them to invade various parts of the region with massive numbers.

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  The Artisan Author - The...

  Johnny B. Truant

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  Less rush. More freedom. A way to love writing again.  
  If modern indie publishing feels like a high-stress race to the bottom, the good news is there’s another way. 
  Most authors start writing for the love of it, but in recent years the reality of “writing for a living” has soured. Now, for a lot of us, it no longer looks fun — or creatively fulfilling — at all. 
  You have to obey genres exactly or your books won’t sell. If you step outside your lane and try something new, the kinds of readers most authors court will never buy it. And then there’s the SPEED of it all: The rules of “Rapid Release” say you have to publish a book every month — at least — or you’ll never survive. Forget about taking a vacation. Time off will let the algorithms forget you. 
  In The Artisan Author, industry veteran Johnny B. Truant offers an alternative to Rapid Release: a new way to succeed as an author without sacrificing your freedom, worrying about competition or AI, or fearing you’ll lose everything when the winds — or the algorithms — inevitably change. 
  The way of the Artisan Author is the opposite of Rapid Release. Instead of rushing to churn out the same-old same-old, Artisans follow their muse and write whatever they want. Instead of stressing out, Artisans take their time, putting as much care and beauty into their work as they desire. It’s a way to build a substantial, sustainable, bulletproof income based on Kevin Kelly’s idea of “1000 True Fans”: readers who are loyal to you, not any platform. True Fans are all you need to earn as much as you want as an author. They’re people with whom you build genuine human connections … and who therefore love you enough to spend far more than ordinary readers will ever spend.

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  Underground Railroad - in...

  William J Switala

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  A revised and expanded history of Pennsylvania’s role in the Underground Railroad, featuring escape route maps and eyewitness accounts. Organized in antebellum America to help enslaved people escape to freedom, the Underground Railroad was cloaked in secrecy and operated at great peril to everyone involved. The system was extremely active in Pennsylvania, with routes running through cities and towns in all parts of the state.  This revised second edition of Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania retraces the routes with detailed maps, discusses the large city networks, identifies the houses and sites where escapees found refuge, and records the names of the people who risked their lives to support the operation.

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  The Boer Invasion of The Zulu...

  John Laband

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  The battle of Blood River, or Ncome, on 16 December 1838 has long been regarded as a critical moment in the history of South Africa. It is the culminating victory by the land-hungry Boers who had migrated out of the British-ruled Cape and invaded the Zulu kingdom in 1837.
  Many Afrikaners long acclaimed their triumph as the God-given justification for their subsequent dominion over Africans. By contrast, Africans celebrate the war with pride for its significance in their valiant struggle against colonial aggression.
  In this account, John Laband deals as even-handedly as possible with the warring sides in the conflict. In contrasting their military systems, he explains both victory and defeat in the many battles that marked the war. Crucially, he also presents the less familiar Zulu perspective explaining the political motivation, strategic military objectives and fissures in the royal house.
  This is the first book in English that engages with the war between the Boers and the Zulu in its entire context or takes the Zulu evidence into proper account.

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