The Mills Kept Grinding

The book tells the story of two young people from Gdansk, parted by the outbreak of war. It is a record of their journey, which saw them on opposite sides of the conflict. Yet, there are many characters in the novel, whose stories are introduced to the reader through the adventures of the book's main characters. It is also, if not primarily, a testimony to the past, told in the language of those who survived the war. Many of the events quoted in the book really happened, and these are the actual accounts of the author's parents (who lived through the war) and other family members, these are also testimonials of soldiers of the past interviewed by the author and all this has been braided into a story woven in the writer's imagination.

An epic tale of wartime. The book tells the story of two young people from Gdansk, parted by the outbreak of war. It is a record of their journey, which saw them on opposite sides of the conflict. Yet, there are many characters in the novel, whose stories are introduced to the reader through the adventures of the book's main characters. It is also, if not primarily, a testimony to the past, told in the language of those who survived the war. Many of the events quoted in the book really happened, and these are the actual accounts of the author's parents (who lived through the war) and other family members, these are also testimonials of soldiers of the past interviewed by the author and all this has been braided into a story woven in the writer's imagination.

In the cold dawn of Christmas Day 1897, Gilbert Rice, 85 years old and with failing health, recounts his journey into manhood in a city on the cusp of great change. Belfast in the 1830s was a city in flux. Industrialisation had led to an increase in commerce and the rapid swell of the population as workers flocked to the newly created jobs. Gilbert, a young man with prospects, begins work with the Ballast Office, looking after Belfast Port. Beneath the shadow of the Harland & Wolff shipyard Gilbert explores this ever expanding and exciting city whilst becoming aware of the political undertones and the sectarian tensions that still brew beneath its respectable veneer. In a city that still resonates with the legacy of the 1798 Rebellion Gilbert begins to question the injustices that he sees. When he meets Maria, a Polish barmaid, he is drawn into a love affair that will drive him to make a stand against those he sees as harming the city that he loves.

An in-depth examination of the oldest engineering process, The History of Grinding begins at the start of agriculture and outlines how size reduction developed over the centuries(without completely immersing the reader in technical detail). Great technical achievements have led to the machines of today, which can grind solid particles at the rate of tens of thousands of tons per day. One certainty is the existence of the continuing need for size reduction to develop and fit the lifestyles of people both today and in the future. Photos and illustrations gleaned from numerous sources, a glossary, reference list, and index enhance the text. Chapters include Size Reduction from the Stone Age to the Space Age; The Science and the Scientists; Hand Stones; Water Wheels, Windmills, and Beyond; Stamp Mills and Crushers; Roller Mills; Tumbling Mills; Fine-Grinding Mills; Classifiers; Explosive Rock Breakage; and Size Reduction in the 21st Century.