Blue Gray At Sea

All of science springs from the observation of nature. In this classic book, the late Professor Minnaert accompanies the reader on a tour of nature's light and color and reveals the myriad phenomena that may be observed outdoors with no more than a pair of eyes and an enquiring mind. From the intriguing shape of the dapples beneath a tree on a sunny day, via rainbows, mirages, and haloes, the colors of liquid, ice, and the sky, to the appearance of the sun, moon, planets, and stars - Minnaert describes and explains them all in a clear language accessible to laymen. This new English edition is supplemented by 80 plates, over half of them in color, taken by the acclaimed photographer Pekka Parviainen, illustrating many of the phenomena - ordinary and exotic - discussed in the book.

The story of the 58,000-mile, around-the-world cruise of the Confederacy's last ship afloat. Launched secretly from England in October, 1864, the CSS Shenandoah became the Confederacy's second most successful merchant raider, but--after rounding Africa's Cape of Good Hope, stopping long enough in Australia to cause a diplomatic crisis, and navigating the ice floes of Siberia's Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, and the Arctic Ocean--Captain Waddell learned that he had been fighting without cause or state, since the Civil War had ended four months earlier. In the eyes of the Union, he had gone from being an enemy combatant to a pirate, a hangable offense. Hunted by Union and British men-of-war, his polyglot crew rife with hints of mutiny, and with dwindling supplies, Waddell elected to camouflage the ship, circumnavigate the globe, and attempt to surrender on English soil.--From publisher description.

In Taylor Anderson’s acclaimed Destroyermen series, a parallel universe adds an extraordinary layer to the drama of World War II. Now, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, the crew of USS Walker, and their allies battle an ever-growing host of enemies across the globe in a desperate battle for freedom … War has engulfed the—other earth. With every hard-won victory and painful defeat, Matt Reddy and the Allies encounter more friends—and even more diabolical enemies. Even, at last, in the arms of the woman he loves, there is little peace for Reddy. The vast sea, and the scope of the conflict, have trapped him too far away to help on either front, but that doesn’t mean he and Walker can rest. Cutting short his “honeymoon,” Reddy sails off in pursuit of Hidoiame , a rogue Japanese destroyer that is wreaking havoc in Allied seas. Now that Walker is armed with the latest “new” technology, he hopes his battle-tested four-stacker has an even chance in a straight-up fight against the bigger ship—and he means to take her on. Elsewhere, the long-awaited invasion of Grik “Indiaa” has begun, and the Human-Lemurian Alliance is pushing back against the twisted might of the Dominion. The diplomatic waters seethe with treachery and a final, terrible plot explodes in the Empire of New Britain Isles. Worse, the savage Grik have also mastered “new” technologies and strategies. Their fleet of monstrous ironclads—and an army two years in the making—are finally massing to strike...

"McMurdo Station, Antarctica, is home to eighty-mile-per-hour winds, minus seventy degree temperatures, and months of near-total darkness. Sent to Antarctica as an observer, Gretchen Legler tells the story of her season spent at McMurdo Station. Populated by people from all walks of life - bankers, MBAs, therapists, carpenters, scientists, laborers, and military brass - the individuals that Legler meets have gone to Antarctica to escape everything from parking tickets to angry spouses. Hoping to get away from the complexities of her own life, Legler arrives at McMurdo Station with the intention of researching the landscape; what she finds, instead, is a zany population of people." "Part sociological study, part historiography, and part love story, On the Ice is an exploration of one of the most unexplored places on earth and the people who are drawn to it."--BOOK JACKET.