Frederick Douglass
“Examines the life of the 19th century spokesman and abolitionist. (Kerby) discusses the harsh conditions that constituted Douglass’s daily life as a slave, his daring escape to freedom, and his participation in the anti-slavery movement….The writing is smooth, and the chapters flow nicely.”
—School Library Journal

Samuel Morse
Samuel Morse was a famous painter, but he will always be remembered as the inventor of the telegraph. This lively biography discusses Morse’s childhood, his trips abroad, his years as a painter and, of course, his invention of the telegraph.

Born in 1939, Willingham grows up in Texas picking cotton, feeding chickens, and graduating at the bottom of his high school class. But he soon catapults to the big time, becoming a U.S. Air Force Cold War spy, nearly getting shot down by Russian MIGs, and landing in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall.

After the Cold War, Willingham creates hardware at Cal-Tech to measure the cosmic microwave fields emitted from the theoretical Big Bang, and then helps develop the country's first weather satellites at Ford Aerospace. But it is when he enters the relatively new field of computer technology that he eventually makes his fortune working for computer software magnate Bill Gates.

With a host of laugh-out-loud escapades, In My Time is a classic rags-to-riches story and a vivid chronicle of one man's life in the twentieth century. A rollicking rollercoaster ride around the world and back, it is also a tale of Willingham's rugged individualism and hard-earned wisdom.

Born in 1939, Willingham grows up in Texas picking cotton, feeding chickens, and graduating at the bottom of his high school class. But he soon catapults to the big time, becoming a U.S. Air Force Cold War spy, nearly getting shot down by Russian MIGs, and landing in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall.

After the Cold War, Willingham creates hardware at Cal-Tech to measure the cosmic microwave fields emitted from the theoretical Big Bang, and then helps develop the country's first weather satellites at Ford Aerospace. But it is when he enters the relatively new field of computer technology that he eventually makes his fortune working for computer software magnate Bill Gates.

With a host of laugh-out-loud escapades, In My Time is a classic rags-to-riches story and a vivid chronicle of one man's life in the twentieth century. A rollicking rollercoaster ride around the world and back, it is also a tale of Willingham's rugged individualism and hard-earned wisdom.

Born in 1939, Willingham grows up in Texas picking cotton, feeding chickens, and graduating at the bottom of his high school class. But he soon catapults to the big time, becoming a U.S. Air Force Cold War spy, nearly getting shot down by Russian MIGs, and landing in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall.

After the Cold War, Willingham creates hardware at Cal-Tech to measure the cosmic microwave fields emitted from the theoretical Big Bang, and then helps develop the country's first weather satellites at Ford Aerospace. But it is when he enters the relatively new field of computer technology that he eventually makes his fortune working for computer software magnate Bill Gates.

With a host of laugh-out-loud escapades, In My Time is a classic rags-to-riches story and a vivid chronicle of one man's life in the twentieth century. A rollicking rollercoaster ride around the world and back, it is also a tale of Willingham's rugged individualism and hard-earned wisdom.

There is a common passion for aviation that bonds EAA members and aviation buffs and draws them to the annual gathering in Oshkosh Wisconsin, known as AirVenture Oshkosh. In Oshkosh Memories, the reader shares in the experiences of celebrities and devoted attendees of the "World''s Greatest Fly-In". From the first-timer to the old-timer, airshow performer to homebuilder the thoroughly entertaining stories will touch all of your emotions as you become a part of the Experimental Aircraft Association''s "annual family reunion".

SYNOPSIS

A few decades ago mention of cancer emerged from hushed embarrassed silence into the brightness of the public arena. Previously the affliction had been referred to as little as possible; its victims were described as having died `after a long illness'. Once the disease was out of the shadows fear, hopelessness, pain, tragedy, bereavement and enforced loneliness came to be openly spoken and written about. The gigantic costs of modern treatments, sometimes causing homes to be mortgaged in the illusory hope of saving loved ones, bring commerce, politics and financial blackmail into noisy public collision.

In the world of books what began as a slender trickle of cancer experiences and biographies has become a flood. A similar phenomenon attends Alzheimer's disease today. Always victims and relatives occupy centre stage; doctors and scientists sensibly remain silent. One reason may be the poor record of success. One in three of the UK population will at some time be diagnosed with the disease; only a twelfth will survive. In cancer treatment there has not been a great deal to celebrate. The present autobiography grabs the vacant ground, and covers almost half the life of a scientist dedicated to finding a solution to the most difficult problem faced by medicine ancient and modern.

Let the reader not be put off by the word science in the title. In the experience of the author the dichotomy between science and the arts, eloquently described by CP Snow in his famous lecture The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, has taken on the form of resentment towards science. In a modern society, where so much of the ease of our existence is due to the advances made by science and technology, everybody has a social duty to keep him/herself informed. The benefits of science are everywhere around us. Cars, aeroplanes, Tvs, computers, medicine; the list is endless. Nobody can afford to ignore its myriad manifestations, and that includes stories of discovery and politics. Some individuals parade their ignorance of science as a badge of honour; their idle and insidious attitudes are dangerous for us all.

But all is not well. Anyone who believes that the conduct of research and administration in cancer is guided by decency, morality and integrity is in for a violent shock. The world of science is presented in the raw. Nothing is spared, not even the author himself. Intrigue, ruthless double-dealing, commercial pressures, jealousy, deceit, sabotage, corruption and betrayal, especially the irreversible professional damage caused by drug-induced psychosis in a senior colleague, enliven the narrative. The scientific content has been simplified with a predominantly lay readership in mind; for easy avoidance the more technical passages, comprising 3% of the text, are rendered in italics. A glossary and an index are appended.

The peculiar arrival in 1974 of a radical idea led to a discovery which opened up an entirely new perspective on cancer treatment. Seriously disadvantaged by already being in his early forties at the commencement of the project, about to be out of a job, and lacking a medical qualification, the author was beguiled into making the naive and foolish error that, once established, a concept which humanely revolutionised the field of cancer therapy could not but find acceptance. The idea was simple, original and elegant; namely, that disrupting energy metabolism within cancer cells might perhaps be the key to controlling the growth of malignant tumours. In fact the concept turned out to be a revolutionary discovery. Incredible as it may seem, it is still not generally recognised that this is the main mechanism whereby cancerous cells are selectively destroyed in the living body.

- 2 -

A few years after the project began isolated reports in the medical literature of cancer regression in patients treated with relatively innocuous well-known drugs long out of patent were traced. None of these lines of enquiry had been properly followed up. Much later a chance acquaintanceship revealed that a safe and long-established drug, promethazine, was for the moment the anti-cancer agent of choice. The outcome was a tangible, humane and inexpensive DIY therapy which began to prove successful in an encouraging number of cases. After it was published on the internet, the prototype treatment opened up valuable contacts in Australia. But in England no drug company, no cancer charity, no research council and not even a sympathetic clinician would look at it.

As writing about science goes the story is explosive. The public has been deceived into believing that the entire machinery of cancer, from fund raising and charities to scientists, clinicians and drug companies, is genuinely committed to defeating this monster of a disease. Although the majority of the personnel in cancer are convinced they are doing a solid, honest job, a manipulative clique arranges matters very differently. Does society really want a simple solution to the cancer problem? Is it acceptable to allow those with the power to stifle unconventional yet promising lines of enquiry to behave autocratically? Is financial gluttony on behalf of shareholders more important than genuinely helping the victims of cancer? Let it not be forgotten that at the end of the day the ultimate sacrifices are made by dying patients and relatives keenly feeling the sharp distressing shock of bereavement.

As the project progressed scientifically, professional support waned and fell away. Opposition mounted until peer communication broke down in an atmosphere increasingly charged with hostility. Demoralisation set in as a consequence of being shunned by the medical profession and an inability to persuade a sufficient number of patients in this country that the new treatment had anything to offer. No matter how closely a general solution to the cancer problem is neared, it is now largely for commercial reasons that advances in treatment are being deliberately restricted to small, highly costly steps.

James Watson's highly successful autobiography The Double Helix (1968) and June Goodfield's Cancer under Siege (1975) are the nearest examples of comparable works in the genre. Step by step an age-old enigma is seen to be logically unravelled, beginning with a premonition and leading to ultimate scientific, though not clinical or commercial, success. The story follows the central character across the switchbacks of success and failure in his isolated quest at the cutting edge of research, intimately sharing emotional highs and lows. Despite running into an occasional blind alley, the basic aim of developing a safe therapy for cancer was kept in steady focus throughout.

The covert role of the drug companies in thwarting the project has become more open. For example, the publication of this edition prompted the appearance on the web of a document, Promethazine - Teratogenic Agent, which is brought up by entering promethazine and cancer into Google. Not only is the drug not teratogenic, but several other sites recommend its use as the agent of choice for the treatment of morning sickness. Similar problems are anticipated in the future.

This is the kind of story which the reading public likes to read about decades after the event; but this situation could not be more different. Events at the interface between cancer and its human victims are happening now, every minute of every day all over the world. And that concerns each and every one of us. The narrative ends on an ambivalent note; had the effort of a lifetime had been foolishly squandered, or was the hope that one day vindication might be achieved genuine and not illusory? Let the reader judge.
August 2010.

SYNOPSIS

A few decades ago mention of cancer emerged from hushed embarrassed silence into the brightness of the public arena. Previously the affliction had been referred to as little as possible; its victims were described as having died `after a long illness'. Once the disease was out of the shadows fear, hopelessness, pain, tragedy, bereavement and enforced loneliness came to be openly spoken and written about. The gigantic costs of modern treatments, sometimes causing homes to be mortgaged in the illusory hope of saving loved ones, bring commerce, politics and financial blackmail into noisy public collision.

In the world of books what began as a slender trickle of cancer experiences and biographies has become a flood. A similar phenomenon attends Alzheimer's disease today. Always victims and relatives occupy centre stage; doctors and scientists sensibly remain silent. One reason may be the poor record of success. One in three of the UK population will at some time be diagnosed with the disease; only a twelfth will survive. In cancer treatment there has not been a great deal to celebrate. The present autobiography grabs the vacant ground, and covers almost half the life of a scientist dedicated to finding a solution to the most difficult problem faced by medicine ancient and modern.

Let the reader not be put off by the word science in the title. In the experience of the author the dichotomy between science and the arts, eloquently described by CP Snow in his famous lecture The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, has taken on the form of resentment towards science. In a modern society, where so much of the ease of our existence is due to the advances made by science and technology, everybody has a social duty to keep him/herself informed. The benefits of science are everywhere around us. Cars, aeroplanes, Tvs, computers, medicine; the list is endless. Nobody can afford to ignore its myriad manifestations, and that includes stories of discovery and politics. Some individuals parade their ignorance of science as a badge of honour; their idle and insidious attitudes are dangerous for us all.

But all is not well. Anyone who believes that the conduct of research and administration in cancer is guided by decency, morality and integrity is in for a violent shock. The world of science is presented in the raw. Nothing is spared, not even the author himself. Intrigue, ruthless double-dealing, commercial pressures, jealousy, deceit, sabotage, corruption and betrayal, especially the irreversible professional damage caused by drug-induced psychosis in a senior colleague, enliven the narrative. The scientific content has been simplified with a predominantly lay readership in mind; for easy avoidance the more technical passages, comprising 3% of the text, are rendered in italics. A glossary and an index are appended.

The peculiar arrival in 1974 of a radical idea led to a discovery which opened up an entirely new perspective on cancer treatment. Seriously disadvantaged by already being in his early forties at the commencement of the project, about to be out of a job, and lacking a medical qualification, the author was beguiled into making the naive and foolish error that, once established, a concept which humanely revolutionised the field of cancer therapy could not but find acceptance. The idea was simple, original and elegant; namely, that disrupting energy metabolism within cancer cells might perhaps be the key to controlling the growth of malignant tumours. In fact the concept turned out to be a revolutionary discovery. Incredible as it may seem, it is still not generally recognised that this is the main mechanism whereby cancerous cells are selectively destroyed in the living body.

- 2 -

A few years after the project began isolated reports in the medical literature of cancer regression in patients treated with relatively innocuous well-known drugs long out of patent were traced. None of these lines of enquiry had been properly followed up. Much later a chance acquaintanceship revealed that a safe and long-established drug, promethazine, was for the moment the anti-cancer agent of choice. The outcome was a tangible, humane and inexpensive DIY therapy which began to prove successful in an encouraging number of cases. After it was published on the internet, the prototype treatment opened up valuable contacts in Australia. But in England no drug company, no cancer charity, no research council and not even a sympathetic clinician would look at it.

As writing about science goes the story is explosive. The public has been deceived into believing that the entire machinery of cancer, from fund raising and charities to scientists, clinicians and drug companies, is genuinely committed to defeating this monster of a disease. Although the majority of the personnel in cancer are convinced they are doing a solid, honest job, a manipulative clique arranges matters very differently. Does society really want a simple solution to the cancer problem? Is it acceptable to allow those with the power to stifle unconventional yet promising lines of enquiry to behave autocratically? Is financial gluttony on behalf of shareholders more important than genuinely helping the victims of cancer? Let it not be forgotten that at the end of the day the ultimate sacrifices are made by dying patients and relatives keenly feeling the sharp distressing shock of bereavement.

As the project progressed scientifically, professional support waned and fell away. Opposition mounted until peer communication broke down in an atmosphere increasingly charged with hostility. Demoralisation set in as a consequence of being shunned by the medical profession and an inability to persuade a sufficient number of patients in this country that the new treatment had anything to offer. No matter how closely a general solution to the cancer problem is neared, it is now largely for commercial reasons that advances in treatment are being deliberately restricted to small, highly costly steps.

James Watson's highly successful autobiography The Double Helix (1968) and June Goodfield's Cancer under Siege (1975) are the nearest examples of comparable works in the genre. Step by step an age-old enigma is seen to be logically unravelled, beginning with a premonition and leading to ultimate scientific, though not clinical or commercial, success. The story follows the central character across the switchbacks of success and failure in his isolated quest at the cutting edge of research, intimately sharing emotional highs and lows. Despite running into an occasional blind alley, the basic aim of developing a safe therapy for cancer was kept in steady focus throughout.

The covert role of the drug companies in thwarting the project has become more open. For example, the publication of this edition prompted the appearance on the web of a document, Promethazine - Teratogenic Agent, which is brought up by entering promethazine and cancer into Google. Not only is the drug not teratogenic, but several other sites recommend its use as the agent of choice for the treatment of morning sickness. Similar problems are anticipated in the future.

This is the kind of story which the reading public likes to read about decades after the event; but this situation could not be more different. Events at the interface between cancer and its human victims are happening now, every minute of every day all over the world. And that concerns each and every one of us. The narrative ends on an ambivalent note; had the effort of a lifetime had been foolishly squandered, or was the hope that one day vindication might be achieved genuine and not illusory? Let the reader judge.
August 2010.

Confidential letters written by Galileo's illegitimate daughter Maria Celeste to her father during the most difficult period of his life. Respectful and chiding, entertaining and suspenseful, oftentimes emotionally wrenching, these letters reveal the dynamics of a tense father/daughter relationship played against the lively backdrop of Maria Celest's convent enclosure, Galileo's domestic life, and the not too distant background of contemporary intellectual milieus and of Florentine middle-class society. As the correspondence develops, a drama of cross-purposes comes to the fore: those of Maria Celeste, unwittingly pinning her reason for living on her father's prestige and her love of him, of Galileo, ready to wager his future on the approval of the religious authorities, and of the Roman clergy, determined to uphold the letter of Catholic dogma. Translated into modern American English in a style faithful to the spirit of the author by a scholar of Italian literature and culture, with an introduction and extensive notes on the Renaissance world, on religious women's writing, and on Sister Maria Celeste's life.

The laser is one of the remarkable inventions of all time, with virtually endless uses in communications, technology, and medicine. Even more remarkable is how it was invented-by an obscure Columbia University graduate student who had already spent years unsuccessfully working on his Ph.D. This is the story of Gordon Gould, who invented the laser and gave it its name, and then had to fight a prominent, Noble Prize-winning physicist to claim the rights to his invention, a fight that lasted thirty years.

"A riveting account of genius, rivalry, and greed."-Choice

Leonhard Rauwolf, a Bavarian physician after whom the genus of tropical plants Rauwolfia is named, was the first modern botanist to collect and describe the flora of the Near East. His own account of his travels in the Levant from 1573 to 1575, published in 1582, provides a fascinating illustration of the difficulties and dangers of early scientific field trips.

Rauwolf’s three-year journey took him to Tripoli, Aleppo, Raqqa, Baghdad, and Jerusalem. In addition to his botanical investigations, he observed and recorded his impressions of the people, customs, and sights of these Levantine trading centers. For example, he was the first European to describe the preparation and drinking of coffee, and the first European of modern times to travel the newly opened route from Baghdad to Mosul. Written from the point of view of an early Protestant pilgrim, his depictions of Jerusalem and of religious life in the Near East, both Christian and Muslim, are of particular historical value.

Dannenfeldt follows Rauwolf on his journey, presenting the observations and comments of this sixteenth-century pioneer. Wherever Rauwolf has little to say, or when contrast is needed, Dannenfeldt introduces the accounts of other Renaissance travelers, providing important background material and a more complete record of European impressions of the Muslim world during the period.

The stories are light reading and mostly humorous. An underlying theme expressed throughout the book is Mickey's belief that "neurosis can be a good thing after all." This refers to the fact that his childhood obsessions became the foundation for his career in the space program, as well as a lifetime of meaningful experiences and happy memories.

The stories are light reading and mostly humorous. An underlying theme expressed throughout the book is Mickey's belief that "neurosis can be a good thing after all." This refers to the fact that his childhood obsessions became the foundation for his career in the space program, as well as a lifetime of meaningful experiences and happy memories.

The stories are light reading and mostly humorous. An underlying theme expressed throughout the book is Mickey's belief that "neurosis can be a good thing after all." This refers to the fact that his childhood obsessions became the foundation for his career in the space program, as well as a lifetime of meaningful experiences and happy memories.