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149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Venice and Florence
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of Florence and Venice. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he discusses works by masters such as Tintoretto, Botticelli, Veronese, and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
1491: The Americas Before Columbus
by Charles MannIn this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man's first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this is a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.
1492: The Year the Four Corners of the Earth Collided
by Felipe Fernandez-ArmestoA study of events of 1492 and how they affect the global community of the world of today.The world would end in 1492—so the prophets, soothsayers and stargazers said. They were right. Their world did end. But ours began.In search of the origins of the modern world, 1492 takes readers on a journey around the globe of the time, in the company of real-life travellers, drawing together the threads that began to bind the planet: from the way power and wealth are distributed around the globe to the way major religions and civilizations divide the world. Events that began in 1492 even transformed the whole ecological system of the planet. Wars and witchcraft, plagues and persecutions, poetry and prophecy, science and magic, art and faith—all the glories and follies of the time are in this book.
1492
by Mary JohnstonIn the 15th century, a fabulous journey awaited those who could unlock the secrets of the Earth's geography. Beautifully written and emotionally compelling, 1492: Admiral of the Ocean-Sea tells of the famous adventures of Columbus and his men, who sailed into the almost mythical seas beyond the horizon in search of the "New World," in the hopes of attaining vast wealth and power. <P> <P> This brilliant book, by best-selling author Mary Johnston, traces the long route taken by explorers hoping to locate Asia. Based on their limited means and understanding of navigation, they struggle to find their position, while at the same time encountering many natural wonders and exotic peoples. Tensions build as they appear to become increasingly lost. Columbus and his crew begin to lose hope, until they finally receive the vindication of their bold vision. 1492: Admiral of the Ocean-Sea pays special attention to the conditions of the late 15th century period. It describes the competition between classes and ethnic groups in Spain, as well as the clashes that occurred when people from two very different cultures, native American and European, interact. These issues are not merely abstract, since we see them vividly through the eyes of a disenfranchised individual: a Christian sailor of Jewish background, who has been compelled to lead a secretive and solitary existence. The incidents of his life are brought to us in a handsome, elegant language, uncommon in the books of our day.
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
by Charles MannFrom the author of1491—the best-selling study of the pre-Columbian Americas—a deeply engaging new history of the most momentous biological event since the death of the dinosaurs. More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed radically different suites of plants and animals. When Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, he ended that separation at a stroke. Driven by the economic goal of establishing trade with China, he accidentally set off an ecological convulsion as European vessels carried thousands of species to new homes across the oceans. The Columbian Exchange, as researchers call it, is the reason there are tomatoes in Italy, oranges in Florida, chocolates in Switzerland, and chili peppers in Thailand. More important, creatures the colonists knew nothing about hitched along for the ride. Earthworms, mosquitoes, and cockroaches; honeybees, dandelions, and African grasses; bacteria, fungi, and viruses; rats of every description—all of them rushed like eager tourists into lands that had never seen their like before, changing lives and landscapes across the planet. Eight decades after Columbus, a Spaniard named Legazpi succeeded where Columbus had failed. He sailed west to establish continual trade with China, then the richest, most powerful country in the world. In Manila, a city Legazpi founded, silver from the Americas, mined by African and Indian slaves, was sold to Asians in return for silk for Europeans. It was the first time that goods and people from every corner of the globe were connected in a single worldwide exchange. Much as Columbus created a new world biologically, Legazpi and the Spanish empire he served created a new world economically. As Charles C. Mann shows, the Columbian Exchange underlies much of subsequent human history. Presenting the latest research by ecologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, Mann shows how the creation of this worldwide network of ecological and economic exchange fostered the rise of Europe, devastated imperial China, convulsed Africa, and for two centuries made Mexico City—where Asia, Europe, and the new frontier of the Americas dynamically interacted—the center of the world. In such encounters, he uncovers the germ of today’s fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars. In1493,Charles Mann gives us an eye-opening scientific interpretation of our past, unequaled in its authority and fascination.
1493 for Young People
by Rebecca Stefoff Charles Mann1493 for Young People by Charles C. Mann tells the gripping story of globalization through travel, trade, colonization, and migration from its beginnings in the fifteenth century to the present. How did the lowly potato plant feed the poor across Europe and then cause the deaths of millions? How did the rubber plant enable industrialization? What is the connection between malaria, slavery, and the outcome of the American Revolution? How did the fabled silver mountain of sixteenth-century Bolivia fund economic development in the flood-prone plains of rural China and the wars of the Spanish Empire? Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the greatest threats to human advancement.Mann's language is as plainspoken and clear as it is provocative, his research and erudition vast, his conclusions ones that will stimulate the critical thinking of young people. 1493 for Young People provides tools for wrestling with the most pressing issues of today, and will empower young people as they struggle with a changing world.From the Hardcover edition.
1494: How a Family Feud in Medieval Spain Divided the World in Half
by Stephen R. BownAn “exciting” account of the feud between monarchs, clergy, and explorers that split the globe between Spain and Portugal and made the oceans a battleground (Kirkus Reviews).When Columbus triumphantly returned to Spain in 1493, his discoveries inflamed an already-smoldering conflict between Spain’s monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and Portugal’s João II. Which nation was to control the world’s oceans? To quell the argument, Pope Alexander VI—the notorious Rodrigo Borgia—issued a proclamation laying the foundation for the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, an edict that created an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean dividing the entire known (and unknown) world between Spain and Portugal.Just as the world’s oceans were about to be opened by Columbus’s epochal voyage, the treaty sought to limit the seas to these two favored Catholic nations. The edict had a profound influence on world history: it propelled Spain and Portugal to superpower status, steered other European nations on a collision course, and became the central grievance in two centuries of international espionage, piracy, and warfare.It also began the fight for “the freedom of the seas”—the epic struggle to determine whether the oceans, and thus global commerce, would be controlled by an autocrat’s decree or open to the ships of any nation—a distinctly modern notion championed in the early seventeenth century by Dutch legal theorist Hugo Grotius, whose arguments became the foundation of international law.At the heart of one of the greatest international diplomatic and political agreements of the last five centuries were the strained relationships and passions of a handful of powerful individuals. They were linked by a shared history, mutual animosity, and personal obligations—quarrels, rivalries, and hatreds that dated back decades. Yet the struggle ultimately stemmed from a young woman’s determination to defy tradition and the king, and to choose her own husband.“Incorporates a sprawling cast of characters, including Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus, Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, and members of the ostentatious Borgia clan, into what is both a judicious synthesis of the surrounding scholarship and an entertaining look at the evolution of international law on the high seas.” —Booklist“A starry love story, a tale of seething jealousies and subterfuge, a political imbroglio, and religious cruelties. It sounds like Shakespeare and it could have very well been the plot of one of his plays.” —Toronto Star“An entertaining and elegantly written voyage into the treacherous seas of religious fanatics, greedy slavers, depraved autocrats, doomed indigenous peoples and desperately brave adventurers in search of fortune.” —Globe & Mail
1494
by Stephen R. BownWhen Columbus triumphantly returned from America to Spain in 1493, his discoveries inflamed an already-smouldering conflict between Spain's renowned monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and Portugal's João II. Which nation was to control the world's oceans? To quell the argument, Pope Alexander VI - the notorious Rodrigo Borgia - issued a proclamation laying the foundation for the Treaty of Tordesillas, an edict that created an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean dividing the entire known (and unknown) world between Spain and Portugal.Just as the world's oceans were about to be opened by Columbus's epochal voyage, the treaty sought to limit the seas to these two favoured Catholic nations. The edict was to have a profound influence on world history: it propelled Spain and Portugal to superpower status, steered many other European nations on a collision course and became the central grievance in two centuries of international espionage, piracy and warfare.At the heart of one of the greatest international diplomatic and political agreements of the last five centuries were the strained relationships and passions of a handful of powerful individuals. They were linked by a shared history, mutual animosity and personal obligations.
The 14th... and Forever
by Merline LovelaceANGELA PARETTI, CALL YOUR MOTHER! Which is what Angie meant to do, except she wasn't quite sure how to explain how a simple chauffeuring assignment had trapped her in a mountain cabin, on Valentine's Day, with handsome CEO Jack Merritt. JACK MERRITT, CALL YOUR OFFICE! He wanted to, but since bullets were suddenly bouncing off his limo, he had little time for amenities--or even for his very enticing driver. Was their secluded hideout a safe haven--or the beginning of another sort of danger altogether? Holiday Honeymoons. Because when you combine holidays with weddings, something magical happens!
The 14th Colony (Cotton Malone #11)
by Steve Berry<P>What happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office? The answer is far from certain. In fact, what follows would be nothing short of total political chaos. Shot down over Siberia, ex-Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is forced into a fight for survival against Aleksandr Zorin, a man whose loyalty to the former Soviet Union has festered for decades into an intense hatred of the United States. <P> Before escaping, Malone learns that Zorin and another ex-KGB officer, this one a sleeper still embedded in the West, are headed overseas to Washington D. C. Noon on January 20th, "Inauguration Day" is only hours away. A flaw in the Constitution, and an even more flawed presidential succession act, have opened the door to disaster and Zorin intends to exploit both weaknesses to their fullest. <P>Armed with a weapon leftover from the Cold War, one long thought to be just a myth, Zorin plans to attack. He's aided by a shocking secret hidden in the archives of America's oldest fraternal organization, "the Society of Cincinnati," a group that once lent out its military savvy to presidents, including helping to formulate three invasion plans of what was intended to be America's "14th colony," Canada. <P>In a race against the clock that starts in the frozen extremes of Russia and ultimately ends at the White House itself, Malone must not only battle Zorin, he must also confront a crippling fear that he's long denied, but which now jeopardizes everything. Steve Berry's trademark mix of history and speculation is all here in this provocative new thriller. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The 14th Colony: Book 11 (Cotton Malone #11)
by Steve BerryThe electrifying new Cotton Malone thriller by international bestseller Steve Berry.People say the Cold War is coming back.For some, it never went away.Shot down over Siberia in what was to be a simple meet-and-greet mission, ex-Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is forced into a fight for survival against Aleksandr Zorin, whose loyalty to the former Soviet Union has festered for decades into an intense hatred of the United States.Before escaping, Malone learns that Zorin is headed for North America to join another long-term sleeper embedded in the West. Armed with a Soviet weapon long thought to be just a myth, Zorin is aided by a shocking secret hidden in the archives of America's oldest fraternal organization, the Society of Cincinnati. Past presidents used this group's military offensive - including advice on the invasion of what was to be America's 14th Colony - Canada.Inauguration Day for a new President of the U.S.A. is only hours away. Zorin's deadly plan is timed to bring about political chaos.In a race against the clock from Russia to the White House itself, Malone must not only battle Zorin, he must also confront his deepest fear, a crippling weakness that he's long denied but one that now jeopardizes everything. Steve Berry's trademark mix of fact, fiction, history and speculation is all here in this fast-paced and utterly compelling new thriller.
The 14th Colony: Book 11 (Cotton Malone #11)
by Steve BerryThe explosive new Cotton Malone thriller by the international bestseller Steve Berry.People say the Cold War is coming back.For some, it never went away.Shot down over Siberia in what was to be a simple meet-and-greet mission, ex-Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is forced into a fight for survival against Aleksandr Zorin, whose loyalty to the former Soviet Union has festered for decades into an intense hatred of the United States.Before escaping, Malone learns that Zorin is headed for North America to join another long-term sleeper embedded in the West. Armed with a Soviet weapon long thought to be just a myth, Zorin is aided by a shocking secret hidden in the archives of America's oldest fraternal organization, the Society of Cincinnati. Past presidents used this group's military offensive - including advice on the invasion of what was to be America's 14th Colony - Canada.Inauguration Day for a new President of the U.S.A. is only hours away. Zorin's deadly plan is timed to bring about political chaos.In a race against the clock from Russia to the White House itself, Malone must not only battle Zorin, he must also confront his deepest fear, a crippling weakness that he's long denied but one that now jeopardizes everything. Steve Berry's trademark mix of fact, fiction, history and speculation is all here in this fast-paced and utterly compelling new thriller.(P)2016 Macmillan Audio
The 14th Dalai Lama: Peacekeeping and Universal Responsibility (Peacemakers)
by Mario I. AguilarThis book outlines the life of spiritual diplomacy of the 14th Dalai Lama and his emergence as a global peace icon. It traces his evolution as a Tibetan Buddhist monk rooted in the Geluk tradition, as a Nobel laureate, and as an internationally recognized peacemaker. The volume brings to the fore the Dalai Lama’s monastic life grounded in the compassion and ethical responsibility of a bodhisattva, somebody who is willing to renounce samsara for the benefit of others, as well as that of a political leader of Tibet. It examines the deep impact of his ideas of peacekeeping and universal responsibility on world politics, which draw on acceptance, inclusion, and respect as their central pillars. Further, this book highlights his departure from the practices of the earlier Dalai Lamas, and how the Chinese invasion and his exile in India transformed him into a universal figure of peace, rather than solely being the leader of Tibet. An introspective read, this book will be of much interest to readers interested in spiritual diplomacy and political philosophy. It will also be of interest to scholars and researchers of peace and conflict studies, international relations, politics, and religion, especially Buddhism.
The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography
by Tetsu SaiwaiA new way of getting to know one of the world's most beloved spiritual leaders. Featuring a charmingly illustrated format that will appeal to readers of all ages, this unique biography is an ideal introduction to the leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Born in 1935 to a peasant family in a small village, Tenzin Gyatso was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. In 1950, His Holiness assumed full political power when China invade Tibet-a tragedy that forever changed him and shaped his efforts on behalf of world peace, for which he was award the Nobel Peace Prize. This graphic novel is an appealing and approachable depiction of the life and personality of an iconic figure. <P><P> <i>Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.</i>
The 14th Day
by K. C. FrederickA Kafkaesque novel set in an unnamed Eastern European country, centers around Petir, a clerk in a state-run banking/insurance business, whose job it is to prevent handicapped people from collecting disability or insurance payments by tying them up in bureaucratic doubletalk and red tape. One of his claimants, a psychotic dwarf who Petir uncharacteristically tries to help, sees him, unfairly, as an enemy and begins to stalk him.
14th Deadly Sin (Women's Murder Club Ser. #Bk. 14)
by James Patterson Maxine PaetroWith San Francisco under siege and every cop a suspect, the Women's Murder Club must risk their lives to save the city-and each other. With a beautiful baby daughter and a devoted husband, Detective Lindsay Boxer can safely say that her life has never been better. In fact (for a change), things seem to be going well for all the members of the Women's Murder Club as they gather to celebrate San Francisco Medical Examiner Claire Washburn's birthday. But the party is cut short when Lindsay is called to a gruesome crime scene, where a woman has been murdered in broad daylight. As Lindsay investigates, shocking video footage of another crime surfaces. A video so horrific that it shakes the city to its core. Their faces obscured by masks, the cold blooded criminals on the tape could be anyone-and now all of Lindsay's co-workers are suspects. As a rash of violence sweeps through San Francisco, and public fear and anger grows, Lindsay and her friends must risk their lives in the name of justice-before it's too late. With shocking twists and riveting suspense, 14TH DEADLY SIN, proves yet again that when it comes to suspense fiction, in the words of Jeffrey Deaver: "nobody does it better" than James Patterson.
14th International Conference on Asphalt Pavements ISAP2024 Montreal
by Alan Carter Kamilla Vasconcelos Eshan DaveThe conference proceeding presents state of the art papers related to asphalt materials and asphalt pavements. The different thematic areas of the conference are: Accelerated pavement testing, Advanced Pavement Materials and Technologies, Effect of environmental changes on materials properties, In-situ property evaluation using non-destructive techniques, Instrumentation and monitoring of asphalt pavements, Interaction of the material with the environment during production, construction, use and demolition, Life cycle analysis (LCA) in asphalt pavements, Numerical modeling of materials and pavement structures, Pavement Management System, Pavement roughness and friction measurement, Pavement sustainability, Performance testing and performance - based specifications, Perpetual pavements, and Recycling and Use of marginal materials in asphalt.
14th International Conference on Computational Intelligence in Security for Information Systems and 12th International Conference on European Transnational Educational (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing #1400)
by Héctor Quintián Emilio Corchado Pablo García Bringas Juan José Gude Prego José Gaviria de la PuertaThis book of Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing contains accepted papers presented at CISIS 2021 and ICEUTE 2021, all conferences held in the beautiful and historic city of Bilbao (Spain), in September 2021.The aim of the 14th CISIS 20121 conference is to offer a meeting opportunity for academic and industry-related researchers belonging to the various, vast communities of computational intelligence, information security, and data mining. The need for intelligent, flexible behavior by large, complex systems, especially in mission-critical domains, is intended to be the catalyst and the aggregation stimulus for the overall event.After a through peer-review process, the CISIS 2021 International Program Committee selected 23 papers which are published in these conference proceedings achieving an acceptance rate of 40%. In this relevant edition, a special emphasis was put on the organization of special sessions. One special session is organized related to relevant topics as follows: building trust in ecosystems and ecosystem components.In the case of 12th ICEUTE 2021, the International Program Committee selected 17 papers, which are published in these conference proceedings. One special session is organized related to relevant topics as follows: sustainable personal goals: engaging students in their learning process.The selection of papers is extremely rigorous in order to maintain the high quality of the conference, and we would like to thank the members of the program committees for their hard work in the reviewing process. This is a crucial process to the creation of a high standard conference, and the CISIS and ICEUTE conferences would not exist without their help.
14th International Conference on Environmental Science and Development (Environmental Science and Engineering)
by Gordon Huang Yongping Li Changping Chen Peng ZhangThis book is proposed to be a collection of excellently peer-reviewed research from the 2023 14th International Conference on Environmental Science and Development (ICESD 2023), which will be held during May 25-27, 2023, in Xiamen, China. ICESD 2023 will gather innovative academics and industrial experts to a common forum to facilitate the exchange of scientific information and its application in the field of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development. Particularly, a large amount of the research is related to the Water Governance Programme which is an initiative as developed by the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges, United Nations Development Programme, and Coca-Cola China. Recently, effects of energy crisis, water scarcity, environmental pollution, climate change, COVID-19 pandemic, and their interactions on eco-environment and health have caused extraordinary risks in socio-economic and environmental systems (SEE). Such risks feature dynamic, uncertain, and interactive characteristics. In order to tackle these risks, cutting-edge technologies, including both experimental approaches and modeling ones, are desired urgently. Particularly, nature-based solutions will be developed to help achieve net-zero emission and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, data-driven and AI-based methodologies will be developed to facilitate policy analysis of SEE under New Normal scenarios. Furthermore, the combinations of multiple approaches are expected to support the enhancement of SEE resilience in a post-pandemic future. Consequently, ICESD 2023 will include presentations in the field of Water Resources Management, Wastewater Treatment, Drinking Water Safety, Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis, Air Pollution Control, Solid Waste Management, Sustainable Development, Ecosystem Restoration, Climate Change Adaptation, and Socio-economic and Environmental Management. Excellent papers related to these topics would be enclosed in this proposed book.
14th International Conference on Soft Computing Models in Industrial and Environmental Applications: Seville, Spain, May 13th-15th, 2019 Proceedings (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing #950)
by Francisco Martínez Álvarez Alicia Troncoso Lora José António Sáez Muñoz Héctor Quintián Emilio CorchadoThis book includes 57 papers presented at the SOCO 2019 conference held in the historic city of Seville (Spain), in May 2019. <P><P> Soft computing represents a set of computational techniques in machine learning, computer science and various engineering disciplines, which investigate, simulate, and analyze very complex issues and phenomena. <P><P> The selection of papers was extremely rigorous in order to maintain the high quality of the conference, which featured a number of special sessions, including sessions on: Soft Computing Methods in Manufacturing and Management Systems; Soft Computing Applications in the Field of Industrial and Environmental Enterprises; Optimization, Modeling and Control by Soft Computing Techniques; and Soft Computing in Aerospace, Mechanical and Civil Engineering: New methods and Industrial Applications.
14th International Conference on Theory and Application of Fuzzy Systems and Soft Computing – ICAFS-2020 (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing #1306)
by Rafik A. Aliev Janusz Kacprzyk Witold Pedrycz Mo Jamshidi Mustafa Babanli Fahreddin M. SadikogluThis book presents the proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Applications of Fuzzy Systems, Soft Computing, and Artificial Intelligence Tools, ICAFS-2020, held in Budva, Montenegro, on August 27–28, 2020. It includes contributions from diverse areas of fuzzy systems, soft computing, AI tools such as uncertain computation, decision making under imperfect information, deep learning and others. The topics of the papers include theory and application of soft computing, neuro-fuzzy technology, intelligent control, deep learning–machine learning, fuzzy logic in data analytics, evolutionary computing, fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence in engineering, social sciences, business, economics, material sciences and others.
14th International Congress for Applied Mineralogy: Belgorod State Technological University named after V. G. Shukhov, 23–27 September 2019, Belgorod, Russia (Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences)
by Sergey GlagolevThis open access proceedings of the 14th International Council for Applied Mineralogy Congress (ICAM) in Belgorod, Russia cover a wide range of topics including applied mineralogy, advanced and construction materials, ore and industrial minerals, mineral exploration, cultural heritage, etc. It includes contributions to geometallurgy, industrial minerals, oil and gas reservoirs as well as stone artifacts and their preservation. The International Congress on Applied Mineralogy strengthens the relation between the research on applied mineralogy and the industry.
14th International Probabilistic Workshop
by Robby Caspeele, Luc Taerwe and Dirk ProskeThis book presents the proceedings of the 14th International Probabilistic Workshop that was held in Ghent, Belgium in December 2016. Probabilistic methods are currently of crucial importance for research and developments in the field of engineering, which face challenges presented by new materials and technologies and rapidly changing societal needs and values. Contemporary needs related to, for example, performance-based design, service-life design, life-cycle analysis, product optimization, assessment of existing structures and structural robustness give rise to new developments as well as accurate and practically applicable probabilistic and statistical engineering methods to support these developments. These proceedings are a valuable resource for anyone interested in contemporary developments in the field of probabilistic engineering applications.
14th WCEAM Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering)
by Adolfo Crespo Márquez Dragan Komljenovic Joe Amadi-EchenduThis book gathers selected peer-reviewed papers from the 14th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM), which was held in Singapore on 28–31 July 2019, as well as papers presented during the 1st WCEAMOnline event which focused on the ramifications of Covid-19 on infrastructure systems.This book covers a wide range of topics in engineering asset management, including:asset management services provisioning;servitization;decision-making;asset management systems;industrial Internet of things; andvulnerability and resilience of infrastructure systems. The breadth and depth of these state-of-the-art, comprehensive proceedings make them an excellent resource for asset management practitioners, researchers and academics, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The 15: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes
by Alek Skarlatos Anthony Sadler Jeffrey E. Stern Spencer StoneAn ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear.On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was about to begin.Khazzani wasn't expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National Guard, and all three were fearless. But their decision-to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone-depended on a lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith.Their friendship was forged as they came of age together in California: going to church, playing paintball, teaching each other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the courage to stand in the path of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations.The 15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of friendship and bravery, of near tragedy averted by three young men who found the heroic unity and strength inside themselves at the moment when they, and 500 other innocent travelers, needed it most.