Special Collections
Benetech’s Global Certified Accessible Titles
Description: Benetech’s GCA program is the first independent third-party EPUB certification to verify ebook accessibility. By creating content that is born accessible, publishers can meet the needs of all readers. Learn more: https://bornaccessible.benetech.org/
- Table View
- List View
Basic Spanish
by Irene Wilkie and Carmen ArnaizPresenting twenty individual grammar points in lively and realistic contexts, Basic Spanish is an accessible reference grammar with related exercises in one, easy to follow volume. Beginning with the simpler aspects of Spanish and progressing on to more complex areas, each chapter contains grammar points that are followed by examples and exercises selected to reinforce the topic. A first-class introduction to the language, features of this practical book include: * authentic reading texts to encourage an understanding of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries * reference to Latin American usage where appropriate * abundant exercises with full answer key * glossary of grammatical terms. Clearly presented and user-friendly, Basic Spanish provides readers with the basic tools to express themselves in a wide variety of situations, making it an ideal reference and practice resource for both beginners and students with some knowledge of the language.
Basics of Child Neuropsychology
by Stephen R. HooperWritten expressly for non-neuropsychologists, this book offers a concise, friendly introduction to the developing brain and its functions. Stephen R. Hooper renders complex concepts accessible as he describes the structure of the brain and the workings of the nervous system. The book explains how findings from neuropsychological assessments can help educators and clinicians to better understand and remediate children's difficulties. A range of neurodevelopmental and medical conditions that affect learning and behavior from early childhood through adolescence are explored through a neuropsychological lens. Helpful features include key Take-Home Points distilled from the chapters and recommended print and online resources.
Basic Russian
by John Murray and Sarah SmythDesigned for students with a basic knowledge of Russian, this book provides an accessible reference grammar and related exercises in a single volume.Across more than forty grammar topics it introduces the student to Russian people and culture through the medium of the language used today, covering the core material which the student would expect to encounter in their first year of learning Russian.Complete with a full key to exercises and glossary, Basic Russian is a user-friendly reference grammar suitable for both independent study and class use.
The Basic Practice of Statistics
by David S. Moore and William I. Notz and Michael A. FlignerThe Basic Practice of Statistics guides you through problem solving with its hallmark Four-Step Process guides you to the solution of statistical problems while emphasizing the importance of current, real data and the importance of using statistics to make decisions in the real world. The importance of interpreting data will prepare you for success in any field you pursue in your education or future career.
Basic Portuguese
by Cristina SousaBasic Portuguese: A Grammar and Workbook comprises an accessible reference grammar and related exercises in a single volume. Twenty units cover the core material which students can expect to encounter in their first year of learning Portuguese. Grammar points are followed by examples and exercises which allow students to reinforce and consolidate their learning. Clearly presented and user-friendly, Basic Portuguese provides readers with a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of Portuguese grammar.
Basic Molecular Quantum Mechanics
by Steven A. AdelmanQuantum mechanics is a general theory of the motions, structures, properties, and behaviors of particles of atomic and subatomic dimensions. While quantum mechanics was created in the first third of the twentieth century by a handful of theoretical physicists working on a limited number of problems, it has further developed and is now applied by a great number of people working on a vast range of problems in wide areas of science and technology. Basic Molecular Quantum Mechanics introduces quantum mechanics by covering the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and some of its most important chemical applications: vibrational and rotational spectroscopy and electronic structure of atoms and molecules. Thoughtfully organized, the author builds up quantum mechanics systematically with each chapter preparing the student for the more advanced chapters and complex applications. Additional features include the following: This book presents rigorous and precise explanations of quantum mechanics and mathematical proofs. It contains qualitative discussions of key concepts with mathematics presented in the appendices. It provides problems and solutions at the end of each chapter to encourage understanding and application. This book is carefully written to emphasize its applications to chemistry and is a valuable resource for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students specializing in chemistry, in related fields such as chemical engineering and materials science, and in some areas of biology.
Basic Laboratory Methods for Biotechnology
by Lisa A. Seidman and Cynthia J. Moore and Jeanette MoweryBasic Laboratory Methods for Biotechnology, Third Edition is a versatile textbook that provides students with a solid foundation to pursue employment in the biotech industry and can later serve as a practical reference to ensure success at each stage in their career. The authors focus on basic principles and methods while skillfully including recent innovations and industry trends throughout. Fundamental laboratory skills are emphasized, and boxed content provides step by step laboratory method instructions for ease of reference at any point in the students’ progress. Worked through examples and practice problems and solutions assist student comprehension. Coverage includes safety practices and instructions on using common laboratory instruments. Key Features: Provides a valuable reference for laboratory professionals at all stages of their careers. Focuses on basic principles and methods to provide students with the knowledge needed to begin a career in the Biotechnology industry. Describes fundamental laboratory skills. Includes laboratory scenario-based questions that require students to write or discuss their answers to ensure they have mastered the chapter content. Updates reflect recent innovations and regulatory requirements to ensure students stay up to date. Tables, a detailed glossary, practice problems and solutions, case studies and anecdotes provide students with the tools needed to master the content.
Basic German
by Heiner Schenke and Anna Miell and Karen SeagoBasic German: A Grammar and Workbook comprises an accessible reference grammar and related exercises in a single volume. The book introduces German people and culture through the medium of the language used today, covering the core material which students would expect to encounter in their first years of learning German. Each of the 29 units presents one or more related grammar topics, illustrated by examples which serve as models for the exercises that follow. These wide-ranging and varied exercises enable the student to master each grammar point thoroughly. Features include: • Clear grammatical explanations with examples in both English and German • Authentic language samples from a range of media • Checklists at the end of each unit to reinforce key points • Cross-referencing to other grammar chapters • Full exercise answer key • ‘Did you know?’ sections with extra learning tips on specific grammar points and insights into current usage of German • Glossary of grammatical terms The new edition has been thoroughly revised, including more varied exercises for practice, and grammar points have been reformulated to use a more learner-centred approach. Suitable for independent study and for class use, Basic German: A Grammar and Workbook is the ideal reference and practice book for beginners, as well as for students with some knowledge of the language. ?
Baseball and American Culture
by Frank Hoffmann and Martin J Manning and Edward J RiellyDiscover baseball's role in American society! Baseball and American Culture: Across the Diamond is a thoughtful look at baseball's impact on American society through the eyes of the game's foremost scholars, historians, and commentators. Edited by Dr. Edward J. Rielly, author of Baseball: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, the book examines how baseball and society intersect and interact, and how the quintessential American game reflects and affects American culture. Enlightening and entertaining, Baseball and American Culture presents a multidisciplinary perspective on baseball's involvement in virtually every important social development in the United Statespast and present. Baseball and American Culture examines baseball&’s unique role as a sociological touchstone, presenting scholarly essays that explore the game as a microcosm for American societygood and bad. Topics include the struggle for racial equality, women&’s role in society, immigration, management-labor conflicts, advertising, patriotism, religion, the limitations of baseball as a metaphor, and suicide. Contributing authors include Larry Moffi, author of This Side of Cooperstown: An Oral History of Major League Baseball in the 1950s and Crossing the Line: Black Major Leaguers, 1947-1959, and a host of presenters to the 2001 Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, including Thomas Altherr, George Grella, Dave Ogden, Roberta Newman, Brian Carroll, Richard Puerzer, and the editor himself. Baseball and American Culture features 23 essays on this fascinating subject, including: On Fenway, Faith, and Fandom: A Red Sox Fan Reflects Baseball and Blacks: A Loss of Affinity, A Loss of Community The Hall of Fame and the American Mythology Writing Their Way Home: American Writers and Baseball God and the Diamond: The Born-Again Baseball Autobiography Baseball and American Culture: Across the Diamond is an essential read for baseball fans and historians, academics involved in sports literature and popular culture, and students of American society.
Barrack Buddies and Soldier Lovers
by Steven ZeelandAmong all the literature published on gays in the military, Steven Zeeland’s first book remains one of a kind. Barrack Buddies and Soldier Lovers is a raw, unsanitized personal record of conversations the author had with young soldiers and airmen stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. Zeeland’s intimate involvement with these men enabled him to document in honest, visceral terms the day-to-day reality of gay military men’s lives and how they work, play, and, in many instances, how the military actually helped them come out. Ironically, despite the military’s antigay policies, these men found that military service placed them in environments where they had to come to terms with their erotic feelings for other men, and sent them overseas to places where they found greater freedom to explore their sexuality than they could have back home. While a few of Zeeland’s buddies were targeted for discharge, most portray an atmosphere of sexually tense tolerance and reveal a surprising degree of openness with straight co-workers and roommates.The 16 fascinating interviews in Barrack Buddies and Soldier Lovers challenge popular assumptions and stereotypes about gay men in the military and provide significant information on: gay military sexual networks male sexual fluidity in barracks life strategies for survival as a gay or bisexual male in the U.S. military German-American relations attitudes toward the gay banThe casual, conversational structure of Barrack Buddies and Soldier Lovers makes it a richly entertaining read. No other book provides such a warm and intimate portrait of the lives of young gay soldiers and airmen.Visit Steven Zeeland at his home page: http://www.stevenzeeland.com
The Barbarian Temperament
by Stejpan MestrovicThis scintillating book by one of the most interesting young sociologists currently working in the USA is a provocative and timely contribution to the debate on civilization, modernity and postmodernity. The author argues that modernity never jettisoned barbarism. Instead barbarism was repackaged in modern and postmodern traditions and cultures.
The Barbarian North in Medieval Imagination
by Robert RixThis book examines the sustained interest in legends of the pagan and peripheral North, tracing and analyzing the use of an ‘out-of-Scandinavia’ legend (Scandinavia as an ancestral homeland) in a wide range of medieval texts from all over Europe, with a focus on the Anglo-Saxon tradition. The pagan North was an imaginative region, which attracted a number of conflicting interpretations. To Christian Europe, the pagan North was an abject Other, but it also symbolized a place from which ancestral strength and energy derived. Rix maps how these discourses informed ‘national’ legends of ancestral origins, showing how an ‘out-of-Scandinavia’ legend can be found in works by several familiar writers including Jordanes, Bede, ‘Fredegar’, Paul the Deacon, Freculph, and Æthelweard. The book investigates how legends of northern warriors were first created in classical texts and since re-calibrated to fit different medieval understandings of identity and ethnicity. Among other things, the ‘out-of-Scandinavia’ tale was exploited to promote a legacy of ‘barbarian’ vigor that could withstand the negative cultural effects of Roman civilization. This volume employs a variety of perspectives cutting across the disciplines of poetry, history, rhetoric, linguistics, and archaeology. After years of intense critical interest in medieval attitudes towards the classical world, Africa, and the East, this first book-length study of ‘the North’ will inspire new debates and repositionings in medieval studies.
Barack Obama and the Politics of Redemption
by Stanley A. RenshonEvery new president raises many questions in the public mind. Because Barack Obama was a relative newcomer to the national political scene, he raised more questions than most. Would he prove to be a pragmatic centrist or would his politics of hope ultimately flounder on the rocky shoals of America’s deep political divisions? What of his leadership style? How would the uncommonly calm character he demonstrated on the campaign trail shape Obama’s political style as commander-in-chief? Based on extensive biographical, psychological, and political research and analysis, noted political psychologist Stanley Renshon follows Obama’s presidency through the first two years. He digs into the question of who is the real Obama and assesses the advantages and limitations that he brings to the presidency. These questions cannot be answered without recourse to psychological analysis. And they cannot be answered without psychological knowledge of presidential leadership and the presidency itself. Renshon explains that Obama’s ambition has been fueled by a desire for redemption—his own, that of his parents, and ultimately for the country he now leads, which has enormous consequences for his choices as president of a politically divided America.
Barack Obama and the Myth of a Post-Racial America
by Inderjeet Parmar and Kevern Verney and Mark LedwidgeThe 2008 presidential election was celebrated around the world as a seminal moment in U.S. political and racial history. White liberals and other progressives framed the election through the prism of change, while previously acknowledged demographic changes were hastily heralded as the dawn of a "post-racial" America. However, by 2011, much of the post-election idealism had dissipated in the wake of an on-going economic and financial crisis, escalating wars in Afghanistan and Libya, and the rise of the right-wing Tea Party movement. By placing Obama in the historical context of U.S. race relations, this volume interrogates the idealized and progressive view of American society advanced by much of the mainstream literature on Obama. Barack Obama and the Myth of a Post-Racial America takes a careful look at the historical, cultural and political dimensions of race in the United States, using an interdisciplinary analysis that incorporates approaches from history, political science, and sociology. Each chapter addresses controversial issues such as whether Obama can be considered an African-American president, whether his presidency actually delivered the kind of deep-rooted changes that were initially prophesised, and whether Obama has abandoned his core African-American constituency in favour of projecting a race-neutral approach designed to maintain centrist support. Through cutting edge, critically informed, and cross-disciplinary analyses, this collection directly addresses the dimensions of race in American society through the lens of Obama’s election and presidency.
Banks and Politics During the Progressive Era
by Richard T McCulleyDespite the political potency of money and banking issues, historians have largely dismissed the Progressive Era political debate over banking as irrelevant and have been preoccupied with explaining the shortcomings, limitations and inadequacies of the Federal Reserve Act. The picture that has emerged is one of bankers controlling the course of financial reform with the assistance of political leaders who were either subservient, hopelessly naive or insincere in their public opposition to bankers. This book places their exertions in a larger, unfolding political context and traces in an analytical narrative the interplay of sectional and economic interests, political ideologies and partisan clashes that shaped the course of banking reform.
Banking Secrecy and Offshore Financial Centers
by Mary Alice YoungThis book brings together the issues surrounding banking secrecy and confiscation of criminal proceeds. The book examines the existing legal agreements at the international, regional and national levels and their interaction in the substantive areas of confiscation, anti-money laundering and banking confidentiality laws. It looks at how these agreements have been applied in offshore financial centers and demonstrates that despite a number of legally binding UN Conventions as well as global anti-money laundering recommendations, the implementation of them is often lukewarm by those Parties who have ratified the Convention and adopted obligations, because of this the confiscation legislation is incompatible with strict banking confidentiality laws. The work draws on the experience of criminologists to offer critical insight into the legislative frameworks designed to deal with banking secrecy and confiscation in offshore financial centers. It goes on to offer suggestions for measures that may be taken by major economies to circumvent the lack of cooperation by offshore financial centers as intolerance towards money laundering grows in light of recent political and economic events. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Law, Finance and Criminology.
The Banking Crisis
by Marcus Nadler and Jules BogenThis volume presents a clear and concise explanation of why the American banking crisis of 1933 occurred. The bulk of the book analyses the actual events of the final major panic which was ushered in by the closing down of the banks in the State of Michigan on February 14, 1933. The following three weeks made history and events happened so fast that years of banking history seemed to be compressed into as many days. The events are set within an historical context which enables the reader to see the panic in relation to what came before it.
Banishment in the Later Roman Empire, 284-476 CE
by Daniel WashburnThis book offers a reconstruction and interpretation of banishment in the final era of a unified Roman Empire, 284-476 CE. Author Daniel Washburn argues that exile was both a penalty and a symbol. It applied to those who committed a misstep or crossed the wrong person; it also stood as a marker of affliction or failure. Like other punishments, it articulated and cemented the power asymmetry between the punisher and the punished. Distinctively, it maneuvered the body of the banished in order to tell that tale. The process of banishment also operated as a form of negotiation between the party that exiled and the one banished. In so doing, the punishment offered the possibility for pardon, an event that glorified the pardoner and signaled submissiveness on the part of the restored. In its sources, this work employs evidence from legal as well as literary materials to forge a complete picture of exile. To harvest all possible information from the period, it considers elements from the arenas of the early church and the Roman Empire. Methodologically, it situates ancient Christianity within the Roman world, while remaining sensitive to the distinct views and roles held by late antique bishops. While banishment played a major role in the history of the Later Empire, no work of scholarship has treated it as a topic in its own right.
Ballistic Missile Defence and US National Security Policy
by Andrew FutterThis book examines the transformation in US thinking about the role of Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) in national security policy since the end of the Cold War. The evolution of the BMD debate after the Cold War has been complex, complicated and punctuated. As this book shows, the debate and subsequent policy choices would often appear to reflect neither the particular requirements of the international system for US security at any given time, nor indeed the current capabilities of BMD technology. Ballistic Missile Defence and US National Security Policy traces the evolution of policy from the zero-sum debates that surrounded the Strategic Defense Initiative as Ronald Reagan left office, up to the relative political consensus that exists around a limited BMD deployment in 2012. The book shows how and why policy evolved in such a complex manner during this period, and explains the strategic reasoning and political pressures shaping BMD policy under each of the presidents who have held office since 1989. Ultimately, this volume demonstrates how relative advancements in technology, combined with growth in the perceived missile threat, gradually shifted the contours and rhythm of the domestic missile defence debate in the US towards acceptance and normalisation. This book will be of much interest to students of missile defence and arms control, US national security policy, strategic studies and international relations in general.
A Ballad of Love and Glory
by Reyna GrandeA Long Petal of the Sea meets Cold Mountain in this sweeping historical saga following a Mexican army nurse and an Irish soldier who must fight, at first for their survival and then for their love, amidst the atrocity of the Mexican-American War—from the author of the &“timely and riveting&” (People) Across a Hundred Mountains and The Distance Between Us.A forgotten war. An unforgettable romance. The year is 1846. After the controversial annexation of Texas, the US Army marches south to provoke war with México over the disputed Río Grande boundary. Ximena Salomé is a gifted Mexican healer who dreams of building a family with the man she loves on the coveted land she calls home. But when Texas Rangers storm her ranch and shoot her husband dead, her dreams are burned to ashes. Vowing to honor her husband&’s memory and defend her country, Ximena uses her healing skills as an army nurse on the frontlines of the ravaging war. Meanwhile, John Riley, an Irish immigrant in the Yankee army desperate to help his family escape the famine devastating his homeland, is sickened by the unjust war and the unspeakable atrocities against his countrymen by nativist officers. In a bold act of defiance, he swims across the Río Grande and joins the Mexican Army—a desertion punishable by execution. He forms the St. Patrick&’s Battalion, a band of Irish soldiers willing to fight to the death for México&’s freedom. When Ximena and John meet, a dangerous attraction blooms between them. As the war intensifies, so does their passion. Swept up by forces with the power to change history, they fight not only for the fate of a nation but for their future together. Heartbreaking and lyrical, Reyna Grande&’s spellbinding saga, inspired by true events and historical figures, brings these two unforgettable characters to life and illuminates a largely forgotten moment in history that impacts the US-México border to this day. Will Ximena and John survive the chaos of this bitter war, or will their love be devoured along with the land they strive to defend?
The Ballad of Laurel Springs
by Janet BeardFrom the internationally bestselling author of The Atomic City Girls, a provocative novel set in eastern Tennessee that &“explores the legacies—of passion and violence, music and faith—that haunt one family across the generations&” (Jillian Medoff, author of This Could Hurt). Ten-year-old Grace is in search of a subject for her fifth-grade history project when she learns that her four times-great grandfather once stabbed his lover to death. His grisly act was memorialized in a murder ballad, her aunt tells her, so it must be true. But the lessons of that revelation—to be careful of men and desire—are not just Grace&’s to learn. Her family&’s tangled past is part of a dark legacy in which the lives of generations of women are affected by the violence immortalized in folksongs like &“Knoxville Girl&” and &“Pretty Polly&” reminding them always to know their place—or risk the wages of sin. Janet Beard&’s stirring novel, informed by her love of these haunting ballads, vividly imagines these women, defined by the secrets they keep, the surprises they uncover, and the lurking sense of menace that follows them throughout their lives even as they try to make a safe place in the world for themselves. &“This inspired story of Appalachian folklore&” (Publishers Weekly) will move and rouse you.
Balance and Refinement
by Michael R. DePaulWe all have moral beliefs. But what if one beleif conflicts with another? DePaul argues that we have to make our beliefs cohere, but that the current coherence methods are seriously flawed. It is not just the arguments that need to be considered in moral enquiry. DePaul asserts that the ability to make sensitive moral judgements is vital to any philosophical inquiry into morality. The inquirer must consider how her life experiences and experiences with literature, film and theatre have influenced her capacity for making moral judgments and attempt to ensure that this capacity is neither naive nor corrupted.
Bad Vibes Only
by Nora McInernyFrom the host of the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking—called &“a gift&” by The New York Times—a raw and humorous essay collection in the spirit of Jenny Lawson and Samantha Irby.Nora McInerny does not dance like no one is watching. In fact, she dances like everyone is watching, which is to say, she does not dance at all. A bestselling author and host of the beloved podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking, which the New York Times called &“a gift,&” she has captured the hearts of millions with her disarming and earnest approach to discussing grief and loss. Now, with Bad Vibes Only, she turns her eye on our aggressively, oppressively optimistic culture, our obsession with self-improvement, and what it really means to live authentically in the online age. In essays that revisit her cringey past and anticipate her rapidly approaching, early middle-aged future, McInerny lays bare her own chaos, inviting us to drop the facade of perfection and embrace the truth: that we are all—at best—slightly unhinged. Socrates claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living. Bad Vibes Only is for the people who have taken that dictum a bit too far—the overthinkers, the analyzers, the recovering Girl Bosses, and the burned-out personal brand—reminding us that a life worth living is about more than just &“good vibes.&”
Bad Things Happen Here
by Rebecca BarrowI Killed Zoe Spanos meets The Cheerleaders in this &“atmospheric and multi-layered mystery&” (Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders) about an island town with a history of unsolved deaths—and a girl desperate to uncover the mystery behind it all.Luca Laine Thomas lives on a cursed island. To the outside world, Parris is an exclusive, idyllic escape accessible only to the one percent. There&’s nothing idyllic about its history, though, scattered with the unsolved deaths of young women—deaths Parris society happily ignores to maintain its polished veneer. But Luca can&’t ignore them. Not when the curse that took them killed her best friend, Polly, three years ago. Not when she feels the curse lingering nearby, ready to take her next. When Luca comes home to police cars outside her house, she knows the curse has visited once again. Except this time, it came for Whitney, her sister. Luca decides to take the investigation of Whitney&’s death into her own hands. But as a shocking betrayal rocks Luca&’s world, the identity of Whitney&’s killer isn&’t the only truth Luca seeks. And by the time she finds what she&’s looking for, Luca will come face to face with the curse she&’s been running from her whole life.
Badiou's Deleuze
by Jon RoffeBadiou's Deleuze presents the first thorough analysis of one of the most significant encounters in contemporary thought: Alain Badiou's summary interpretation and rejection of the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. Badiou's reading of Deleuze is largely laid out in his provocative book, Deleuze: The Clamor of Being, a highly influential work of considerable power. Badiou's Deleuze presents a detailed examination of Badiou's reading and argues that, whilst it fails to do justice to the Deleuzean project, it invites us to reconsider what Deleuze's philosophy amounts to, to reassess Deleuze's power to address the ultimate concerns of philosophy. Badiou's Deleuze analyses the differing metaphysics of two of the most influential of recent continental philosophers, whose divergent views have helped to shape much contemporary thought.