Other books that might interest you

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  Madeira - A Botanical Melting Pot

  Susanne Lipps

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  Madeira definitely deserves its cognomen “Flower Island”. You will find plants from all regions of the earth growing in a very confined space. Wherever you go you will be surrounded by numerous familiar and unfamiliar plants. The botanical guide “Madeira - A Botanical Melting Pot!” contains plant descriptions that are organized in six typical groups: plants in gardens and parks, vegetation in coastal areas, flora of cultivated land and along the levadas, vegetation of the laurisilva forest, flora of the mountains and typical useful plants - altogether descriptions of 166 species, accompanied by colour photographs. You get to know interesting pieces of information that are directly or indirectly linked with the plant in question. Moreover there are enumerated these sites on Madeira where you may surely find them. The last chapter is dedicated to the island’s most beautiful gardens and parks; there you find information about the history of each garden, a detailed description and supplementary facts about opening hours, prices and how to get there by bus or by rented car.

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  The Dangers of Automation in...

  Jack J. Hersch

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  The award-winning journalist delves “into the confluence of modern airplane technology and pilot behavior to probe how and why flight disasters happen” (BookTrib). 
   
  Aviation automation has been pushed to its limits, with pilots increasingly relying on it. Autopilot, autothrottle, autoland, flight management systems, air data systems, inertial guidance systems. All these systems are only as good as their inputs which, incredibly, can go rogue. Even the automation itself is subject to unpredictable failure.  
   
  And what of the pilots? They began flight training with their hands on the throttle and yoke, and feet on the rudder pedals. Then they reached the pinnacle of their careers—airline pilot—and suddenly they were going hours without touching the controls other than for a few minutes on takeoff and landing. Are their skills eroding? Is their training sufficient to meet the demands of today’s planes? 
   
  The Dangers of Automation in Airliners delves deeply into these questions. You’ll be in the cockpits of the two doomed Boeing 737 MAXs, the Airbus A330 lost over the South Atlantic, and the Bombardier Q400 that stalled over Buffalo. You’ll discover exactly why a Boeing 777 smacked into a seawall, missing the runway on a beautiful summer morning. And you’ll watch pilots battling—sometimes winning and sometimes not—against automation run amok. This book also investigates the human factors at work. You’ll learn why pilots might overlook warnings or ignore cockpit alarms. You’ll observe automation failing to alert aircrews of what they crucially need to know while fighting to save their planes and their passengers. 
   
  The future of safe air travel depends on automation. This book tells its story.

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  Attracting Hummingbirds - How to...

  Daniel I Stein

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  You’ve decided to make a hobby of supporting these miniature marvels. Way to go! We all benefit from strengthening our connection with nature. 
  Whether you are designing a hummingbird haven in your backyard, bringing some life to your apartment window, or just learning about the wild world around you, Attracting Hummingbirds will help you in the first days of planning, and as your experience and curiosity grows. 
  In this book you will discover...The best flowers, plants, and trees to attract and support hummingbirdsThe three things you should never put in your hummingbird feederWhy hummingbird feathers seem to sparkle and shimmer in the sunlightJust how fast are they moving anyway?How to make your space safe for hummingbirds, avoiding predators and unwanted pestsThe different species of hummingbirds that live and visit your areaHow to make sure your feeders or flowers won't interfere with hummingbird migration or nestingFacts and secrets of hummingbird behavior to try and spot for yourself, and to share with friends and neighbors 
  Even if you have no gardening skills, minimal outdoor space, or have never bird-watched before, anyone can welcome hummingbirds into their life with a little help. 
  So if you're ready to Attract Hummingbirds to your backyard (or balcony), have a listen today.

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  Summary: The Untethered Soul -...

  Brooks Bryant

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  Disclaimer: This is not the official book, but a summary & it does not accompany the official. 
  The book operates as both a spiritual guide and a self-help book, offering practical insights grounded in the principles of mindfulness and meditation. It encourages individuals to let go of painful past experiences and apprehensive futures, advocating for a life lived fully in the present moment. The potent exercises in the book guide individuals in releasing themselves from the clutches of their fears, compulsions, and insecurities. 
  Michael A. Singer employs a writing style that is both accessible and profound, making profound spiritual concepts understandable for readers at all levels of spiritual exploration. He draws from various spiritual traditions, blending them seamlessly with modern psychological insights to offer a contemporary roadmap to inner peace and self-realization. 
  As you detail the summary, consider emphasizing the transformative journey the book proposes, highlighting the step-by-step process Singer lays out for achieving mental clarity and emotional freedom. Showcase how the lessons in "The Untethered Soul" not only guide readers to a deeper understanding of themselves but also foster a newfound harmony with the world around them.

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  Vaquita - Science Politics &...

  Brooke Bessesen

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  In 2006, vaquita, a diminutive porpoise making its home in the Upper Gulf of California, inherited the dubious title of world's most endangered marine mammal. Nicknamed "panda of the sea" for their small size and beguiling facial markings, vaquitas have been in decline for decades, dying by the hundreds in gillnets intended for commercially valuable fish, as well as for an endangered fish called totoaba. When international crime cartels discovered a lucrative trade in the swim bladders of totoaba, illegal gillnetting went rampant, and now the lives of the few remaining vaquitas hang in the balance. 
  Author Brooke Bessesen takes us on a journey to Mexico's Upper Gulf region to uncover the story. She interviewed townspeople, fishermen, scientists, and activists, teasing apart a complex story filled with villains and heroes, a story whose outcome is unclear. When diplomatic and political efforts to save the little porpoise failed, Bessesen followed a team of veterinary experts in a binational effort to capture the last remaining vaquitas and breed them in captivity—the best hope for their survival. In this fast-paced, soul-searing tale, she learned that there are no easy answers when extinction is profitable. 
  Whether the rescue attempt succeeds or fails, the world must ask itself hard questions. When vaquita and the totoaba are gone, the black market will turn to the next vulnerable species. What will we do then?

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  A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean...

  David Goodrich

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  Recently recovered from his epic bicycle journey that took him from the Delaware shore to the Oregon coast, distinguished climate scientist David Goodrich sets out on his bike again to traverse the Western Interior Seaway-an ancient ocean that once spread across half of North America. When the waters cleared a geologic age ago, what was left behind was vast flat prairie, otherworldly rock formations, and oil shale deposits. As Goodrich journeys through the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park and across the prairies of the upper Midwest and Canada, we get a raw and ground-level view of where the tar sands and oil reserves are being opened up at an incredible and unprecedented pace. Extraordinary and unregulated, this “black goldrush” is boom and bust in every sense. In a manner reminiscent of John McPhee and Rachel Carson, combined with Goodrich’s wry self-deprecation and scientific expertise, A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean is a galvanizing and adventure-filled listen that gets to the heart of drilling on our continent.

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