Long Distance Voyagers

The Moody Blues have sold over 80 million records, and scored Top 20 hits in four different decades. They hit the top in 1965, with a No. 1 single, "Go Now!", and toured with the Beatles (both bands managed by Brian Epstein). But their true breakthrough came in November 1967 with the release of the classic Days of Future Passed, the first LP to combine the rock album format with orchestral music, and spawning another No. 1 single: "Nights in White Satin." Overnight, the new genre of "symphonic rock" was born. Advancing this further, Moody Blues founding member Mike Pinder helped develop the Mellotron, a keyboard instrument which could simulate the sound of a string orchestra. This innovation not only gave the Moodies their unique sound, but enabled them to reproduce their epic albums in concert. The Moodies were also the first rock group to champion the "concept album," following Days of Future Passed with other thematic classics, such as In Search of the Lost Chord; On the Threshold of a Dream; To Our Children's Children's Children; A Question of Balance; and Long Distance Voyager. This in-depth biography covers the magnificent 50-plus-year career of the Moody Blues (in two volumes). Exhaustively researched and featuring thousands of vintage interviews, reviews, and record chart statistics, as well as hundreds of photos. Long Distance Voyagers: The Story of the Moody Blue will whisk you back in time and put you on the very threshold of a dream.

The Moody Blues have sold over 80 million records, and scored Top 20 hits in four different decades. Their 1965 single "Go Now!" became a No. 1 single, and they toured with the Beatles. In November 1967 came their now-classic Days of Future Passed, the first LP to combine rock and orchestral interludes, and another No. 1 single: "Nights in White Satin." Overnight, the genre of "symphonic rock" was born. Founding member Mike Pinder helped develop the Mellotron, an early synthesizer which could simulate the sound of a string orchestra. This innovation enabled the Moodies to reproduce their epic albums in concert. The Moody Blues were also the first rock group to champion the "concept album," following Days of Future Passed with the thematic classics In Search of the Lost Chord; On the Threshold of a Dream; To Our Children's Children's Children; A Question of Balance; and Long Distance Voyager.Volume 1 of this set covered the formation of the group, their breakthroughs in the 1960s, and the continuing 1970s success of the classic lineup of Hayward, Pinder, Lodge, Thomas, and Edge. Volume 2 begins at the dawn of the 1980s, when Mellotron guru and spiritual guide Mike Pinder exited the group, replaced by former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz. We follow The Moodies onward through four decades, climaxing with their heralded 2017 tour celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Days of Future Passed, featuring the entire album performed on stage with symphonic orchestras. Soon after came their 2018 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Extensively researched and featuring dozens of vintage interviews, reviews, and record-chart statistics, as well as hundreds of photos, Long Distance Voyagers: The Story of the Moody Blues Volume 2 (1980 - 2018) brings you to the threshold of a reality wilder than any dream.

The Moody Blues have sold over 80 million records, and scored Top 20 hits in four different decades. They hit the top in 1965, with a No. 1 single, "Go Now!", and toured with the Beatles (both bands managed by Brian Epstein). But their true breakthrough came in November 1967 with the release of the classic Days of Future Passed, the first LP to combine the rock album format with orchestral music, and spawning another No. 1 single: :"Nights in White Satin." Overnight, the new genre of "symphonic rock" was born. Advancing this further, Moody Blues founding member Mike Pinder helped develop the Mellotron, a keyboard instrument which could simulate the sound of a string orchestra. This innovation not only gave the Moodies their unique sound, but enabled them to reproduce their epic albums in concert. The Moodies were also the first rock group to champion the "concept album,:" following Days of Future Passed with other thematic classics, such as In Search of the Lost Chord; On the Threshold of a Dream; To Our Children's Children's Children; A Question of Balance; and Long Distance Voyager. This in-depth biography covers the magnificent 50-plus-year career of the Moody Blues (in two volumes). Exhaustively researched and featuring thousands of vintage interviews, reviews, and record chart statistics, as well as hundreds of photos. Long Distance Voyagers: The Story of the Moody Blue will whisk you back in time and put you on the very threshold of a dream.

Although there is a chance that certain planets may be habitable for life, the moons of planets might have even more to offer. The icy moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have taught us important lessons about new volcanic forms—cryovolcanism—and the bizarre landscapes sculpted by those erupting geysers. Glaciers, ice mountains, and vast canyons mold the faces of these worlds of ice and thunder. Yet, many ice moons and dwarf planets, including Ceres and Pluto, are in fact sea worlds, hiding deep oceans beneath their ice crusts. This book explores the frozen worlds beyond Mars, delving into the interior forces of migrating ice diapirs, seafloor volcanism and tidal friction, which help form the landscapes found above and biologically friendly environs buried below. It covers the latest research in the field and includes interviews with today’s foremost authorities, including astrobiologists Chris McKay (NASA Ames), Ralph Lorenz (Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory) and Karl Mitchell (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Original art by the author enhances the concepts explored in the text, recreating some of the most remarkable landscapes on icy planets and moons.

Through case studies, opposing viewpoints, and primary documents, this reference work examines the environmental and sustainability issues regarding water as well as how water is an intrinsic part of human culture. Every culture and ecosystem on earth depends on water. As the world's climate changes, human culture is increasingly threatened by the seemingly opposite problems of having too little clean, potable water and "having too much water"—e.g., flooding, melting polar ice caps, and rising sea levels. What are the solutions that humanity must collectively pursue to protect our ability to flourish on planet earth? Water Planet: The Culture, Politics, Economics, and Sustainability of Water on Earth offers an unprecedented examination of the critical subject of water sustainability. Its essays, viewpoints, case studies, and documents show how this vital resource that many in first-world countries take for granted is intricately woven into not only basic human survival but also cultural, political, and economic stability. Readers will learn about topics such as flooding and drought; the growing problem of water pollution; the connections between water and gender, including gender equity and gender aspects of water ownership; the effects of global temperature changes on the water supply; concerns regarding fishing and overfishing; water security; and sustainable water management.

With contributions from historians, literary critics, and geographers, Curious Encounters uncovers a rich history of global voyaging, collecting, and scientific exploration in the long eighteenth century. Leaving behind grand narratives of discovery, these essays collectively restore a degree of symmetry and contingency to our understanding of encounters between European and Indigenous people. To do this the essays consider diverse agents of historical change, both human and inanimate: commodities, curiosities, texts, animals, and specimens moved through their own global circuits of knowledge and power. The voyages and collections rediscovered here do not move from a European center to a distant periphery, nor do they position European authorities as the central agents of this early era of globalization. Long distance voyagers from Greenland to the Ottoman Empire crossed paths with French, British, Polynesian, and Spanish travelers across the world, trading objects and knowledge for diverse ends. The dynamic contact zones of these curious encounters include the ice floes of the Arctic, the sociable spaces of the tea table, the hybrid material texts and objects in imperial archives, and the collections belonging to key figures of the Enlightenment, including Sir Hans Sloane and James Petiver.