Going To Extremes

"In Going to Extremes, renowned legal scholar and best-selling author Cass R. Sunstein offers startling insights into why and when people gravitate toward extremism."--Inside jacket.

From a drunken housewife who barely escapes being caught in adultery to the author's soul-stirring encounter with one of the earth's last scenes of natural splendor, Going to Extremes succeeds in encompassing the surreal qualities and mind-bending contradictions of Alaska today. What Joe McGinniss found on his extraordinary odyssey was a world of stark contrasts. He introduces us to the people-from pot-smoking high-school principals to TV-watching Eskimos-and their problems: rampant drinking, divorce, human disintegration, and the oil-inspired greed and waste. And he recaptures both the power and the beauty of a land still untamed and undefiled, and the endurance of a spirit of independence and adventure that finds Alaska its natural home. A deeply moving, personal book, in turns wry, witty, cutting and bedazzling, Going to Extremes is, quite simply, a thoroughly rewarding experience.

In Going to Extremes writer, presenter and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton visits Oymyakon in Siberia, where the average winter temperature is -47 degrees and 40% of the population have lost their fingers to frostbite while changing the car wheel. Next he travels to Arica Chile where there have been fourteen consecutive years without a drop of rain and so fog is people's only source of water. Going from the driest to the wettest, he visits Mawsynram in India which annually competes for the title with its neighbour Cherrapunji. However, Nick discovers even here, that during the dry season, there is water shortage and one entrepreneur has started selling it bottled. Finally his journey takes him to Dalol in Ethiopia known as the 'hell hole of creation' where the temperature remains at 94 degrees year round. Here Nick will join miners who work all day with no shade, limited water and no protective clothing. The book and series consider how and why people lives in these harsh environments. How does Nick's body react to these contrasting extremes? He looks at the geographical and meteorological conditions. He meets local characters and discovers the history of these settlements to find out how they ever became populated. He looks at the way both the population, and the flora and fauna, have adapted physically to the climate, and also considers the psychological impact of living under such conditions.

Harry de Windt (1856–1933) was a man who, by any standards, was a personality, a marked presence in the world of Victorian and Edwardian literature and social life. He was a member of the literary circle around Oscar Wilde and his friend and lover, Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas); he was active in the world of the turf; and he travelled – he took on dangerous journeys with relish, crossing vast tracts of the British and Russian empires for the sheer thrill of it. This book traces his life and adventures, at home and abroad, and also gives an account of his early work on military service in Sarawak, Malaysia, his expert knowledge of the Russian prison system, and his later Great War role running a POW camp. Many of his books reflect epic journeys against the odds: From Paris to New York by Land, Savage Europe, Siberia As It Is and others. His autobiographical work, My Restless Life, perhaps sums up his nature. Interesting facts: * Harry de Windt was brother to the Ranee of Sarawak and fought against rebels there in his early career * He visited the penal colony on the Russian island of Sakhalin close to the same time that Anton Chekhov went there * He appeared as a witness in the trial for libel of Lord Alfred Douglas, as he blamed Winston Churchill for the heavy losses in the Battle of Jutland * On his travels he met a host of interesting people – from murderers to statesmen

Advanced polymer matrix composites (PMC) have many advantages such as light weight and high specific strength that make them useful for many aerospace applications. Enormous uncertainty exists, however, in predicting long-term changes in properties of PMCs under extreme environmental conditions, which has limited their use. To help address this issue, the Department of Defense requested a study from the NRC to identify the barriers and limitations to the use of PMCs in extreme environments. The study was to focus on issues surrounding methodologies for predicting long-term performance. This report provides a review of the challenges facing application of PMCs in extreme environments, the current understanding of PMC properties and behavior, an analysis of the importance of data in developing effective models, and recommendations for improving long-term predictive methodologies.

Going To Extremes Can you ever really have too much of a good thing? Once you’ve seen the biggest tree, largest glacier, and deepest canyon, nothing else compares. The Ten Most Dangerous Trails Do you value your life and limbs? Then you’d better get skilled mentally and physcially before tempting the reaper on these hikes. Are You Tough Enough? Every backpacker dreams of a glory job in the outdoors. The author heads to Mt. Rainier—and a grueling tryout with premier guide operation RMI--to find out what it takes to make the grade. The Toughest Outdoor Jobs Every backpacker dreams of a glory job in the outdoors. Here’s what it takes to make the grade for 8 of the toughest ones out there. The Hardest Dayhikes in the United States Push yourself from dawn to dusk on these challenging hikes. America’s Worst Trail: A Love Story Is the reward always equal to the effort? Uh...maybe, says this bloodied, bruised, and bandaged reader. How to Survive Desert Extreme Triple-digit temps by noon. Freezing at night. Scarce water. The desert is dangerous for unprepared hikers. Give yourself an edge and learn to survive this hostile territory. The Hardest Miles Survivors of the Bataan death march overcame one of history’s most grueling walks. What kept them on their feet? and could you do the same? Every year, more than 4,000 people hike through the New Mexico desert to find out. The Unlikeliest Mountaineer Take a fatherless herd boy from poverty-wracked Swaziland, endow him with an indomitable will and a few wealthy friends, give him the lungs of Ed Viesturs, and you have Sibusiso Emmanuel Vilane. The Long Way Home When Karl Bushby set out to hike 36,000 miles across four continents, he vowed he would only return to his native England on foot. Which could be a real problem if he ever wants to get there

This book sets out to provide a matrix for surveying the literary treatment of biblical tropes. It supplies an overview of the literary reception of the Bible from the earliest times right through to contemporary writers such as Jeanette Winterson and Colm Tóibín, traces the literary reception and treatment of the Book of Job; the figure of Uriah in the narrative of David and Bathsheba; the figure of Lilith; and Angels of Death and of Mercy. These are all handled as specimen histories. This is followed by an examination of the output of several specific early and later Twentieth-Century rewriters of the Bible. In the last chapters, three sets of other writers under particular headings ("the Great Disrupters" etc.) are grouped together with a view to finding common characteristics as well as unique features in their approach to biblical tropes and provide conclusions and suggestions for further research.