Bitter Springs

This book provides up-to-date coverage of fossil plants from Precambrian life to flowering plants, including fungi and algae. It begins with a discussion of geologic time, how organisms are preserved in the rock record, and how organisms are studied and interpreted and takes the student through all the relevant uses and interpretations of fossil plants. With new chapters on additional flowering plant families, paleoecology and the structure of ancient plant communities, fossil plants as proxy records for paleoclimate, new methodologies used in phylogenetic reconstruction and the addition of new fossil plant discoveries since 1993, this book provides the most comprehensive account of the geologic history and evolution of microbes, algae, fungi, and plants through time. Major revision of a 1993 classic reference Lavishly illustrated with 1,800 images and user friendly for use by paleobotanists, biologists, geologists and other related scientists Includes an expanded glossary with an extensive up-to-date bibliography and a comprehensive index Provides extensive coverage of fungi and other microbes, and major groups of land plants both living and extinct

He was on the hunt for a runaway beauty “Find her” is the only instruction that private detective Cobb Bridger receives from Richard Mackey. The scion of a wealthy Chicago family, Mackey is desperate to know the whereabouts of the woman who disappeared from his employ, taking with her something of great value. Intrigued as much by what Mackey won’t say about the missing item as he is by Mackey’s description of the missing woman, Cobb accepts the assignment. And the one true lie that could destroy them both Bitter Springs, Wyoming, has a new schoolteacher who may or may not be exactly what she seems. Upon making the acquaintance of Miss Tru Morrow, Cobb begins to question the guilt of this golden-haired lady—and the protective feelings she stirs in him. His investigation hinges on understanding where the truth lies. Can he believe in Tru? Or is she just another treacherous woman out to swindle this hardened detective’s heart?

One of the greatest mysteries in reconstructing the history of life on Earth has been the apparent absence of fossils dating back more than 550 million years. We have long known that fossils of sophisticated marine life-forms existed at the dawn of the Cambrian Period, but until recently scientists had found no traces of Precambrian fossils. The quest to find such traces began in earnest in the mid-1960s and culminated in one dramatic moment in 1993 when William Schopf identified fossilized microorganisms three and a half billion years old. This startling find opened up a vast period of time--some eighty-five percent of Earth's history--to new research and new ideas about life's beginnings. In this book, William Schopf, a pioneer of modern paleobiology, tells for the first time the exciting and fascinating story of the origins and earliest evolution of life and how that story has been unearthed. Gracefully blending his personal story of discovery with the basics needed to understand the astonishing science he describes, Schopf has produced an introduction to paleobiology for the interested reader as well as a primer for beginning students in the field. He considers such questions as how did primitive bacteria, pond scum, evolve into the complex life-forms found at the beginning of the Cambrian Period? How do scientists identify ancient microbes and what do these tiny creatures tell us about the environment of the early Earth? (And, in a related chapter, Schopf discusses his role in the controversy that swirls around recent claims of fossils in the famed meteorite from Mars.) Like all great teachers, Schopf teaches the non-specialist enough about his subject along the way that we can easily follow his descriptions of the geology, biology, and chemistry behind these discoveries. Anyone interested in the intriguing questions of the origins of life on Earth and how those origins have been discovered will find this story the best place to start.

This book seeks to examine the ways in which the cinema has defined, mythified and disseminated British national identity during the course of the twentieth century. It takes the form of a series of linked essays which examine chronologically, thematically and by specific case studies of films, stars and genres the complexities and ambiguities in the process of evolution and definition of the national identity. It argues for the creation of a distinctive British national identity both in cinema and the wider culture. But it also assesses the creation of alternative identities both ethnic and regional and examines the interaction of cinema and other cultural forms (music, literature and television).

Examining the four main single player games in the franchise and its related spinoff games, this book explores the world of the popular role-playing video game, Fallout. Kenton Taylor Howard examines the maps of the games, the design of their worlds, and how the franchise has been expanded through fan-created video game modifications and tabletop games. This book highlights the importance of worldbuilding in the Fallout franchise, examining the extensive alternate history the game creates – diverging from real-world history in the early 1900s and resulting in a world that is destroyed by nuclear apocalypse in 2077 – and exploring how the series builds this detailed world over the course of many games. The book also examines how the franchise has served as an extended commentary on American militarism and expansionism. The series is closely examined through the lens of critical media studies, as well as relying on theoretical frameworks relating to video game design and world design. This book will be of interest to students, scholars, and enthusiasts of video game studies, video game design, media fandom and fan studies, transmedia studies, and imaginary worlds.