Ambitious but Rubbish reveals the off-camera secrets behind some of Top Gear’s most memorable creations. From the challenge of turning a Reliant Robin into a rocket and the genesis of the Hammerhead-i Eagle Thrust electric car to the complexities of building a caravan airship and the inspiration for destruction-testing a Toyota Hilux, this book is packed with the previously untold stories behind dozens of classic TV moments. Top Gear has never shied away from trying to answer questions no one has even thought to ask. Questions like ‘Can you make a convertible people carrier?’, ‘Can you cross the Channel in a pick-up?’ and ‘Can you turn a combine harvester into a snow plough?’. Ambitious but Rubbish reveals how those insane ideas came about with remarkable tales of ingenious invention and idiotic engineering. This book is essential reading for any Top Gear fan and a terrific insight into the creation of the world’s biggest car show. It’s also a terrifying window into the minds of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Don’t say you weren’t warned about that last one.

It has been argued that science fiction (SF) gives a kind of weather forecast – not the telling of a fortune but rather the rough feeling of what the future might be like. The intention in this book is to consider some of these bygone forecasts made by SF and to use this as a prism through which to view current developments in science and technology. In each of the ten main chapters - dealing in turn with antigravity, space travel, aliens, time travel, the nature of reality, invisibility, robots, means of transportation, augmentation of the human body, and, last but not least, mad scientists - common assumptions once made by the SF community about how the future would turn out are compared with our modern understanding of various scientific phenomena and, in some cases, with the industrial scaling of computational and technological breakthroughs. A further intention is to explain how the predictions and expectations of SF were rooted in the scientific orthodoxy of their day, and use this to explore how our scientific understanding of various topics has developed over time, as well as to demonstrate how the ideas popularized in SF subsequently influenced working scientists. Since gaining a BSc in physics from the University of Bristol and a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Manchester, Stephen Webb has worked in a variety of universities in the UK. He is a regular contributor to the Yearbook of Astronomy series and has published an undergraduate textbook on distance determination in astronomy and cosmology as well as several popular science books.

The implementation of waste-to-energy innovations is a shining example of advancement in sustainable tourism, characterized by the intertwining of environmental consciousness and hospitality. Through this transformational approach, businesses not only reduce their adverse effects on the environment by utilizing the potential of waste materials to generate energy, but they also open the way for a more sustainable and efficient operation model. Throughout history, managing this garbage has presented considerable issues, resulting in damage to the environment and the depletion of resources in several essential tourist destinations. These innovations seek to remedy this challenge. Application of Waste-to-Energy Innovations in Tourism offers a complete overview of waste-to-energy technologies that can be used in tourism facilities. It further assesses the environmental, economic, and social repercussions of implementing these technologies within the context of tourism facilities. Covering topics such as circular waste management, sustainability, and tourist experiences, this book is an excellent resource for industry professionals, policymakers, researchers, academicians, investors, non-governmental organizations, graduate and postgraduate students, educators, and more.

Crossing the channel in a battered pick-up truck. Cruising the streets in a convertible people-carrier. Firing up a snowbine harvester to clear a runway for a plane to (crash) land.

Every year, Top Gear dispatches correspondents to cover many serious stories around the world. Wherever they go, they ask tough questions and leave no stone unturned in search of the cold, hard truth. Questions such as: Is it possible to drive a Ferrari up a Scottish ski slope? Exactly how far can you drive a bulldozer across the Antarctic before it falls down a big crack? And what happens when you drive a small 4X4 up a volcano, during an earthquake, with a high chance of eruption? The answers to all of the above – and more – can be found in Top Gear Top Drives, a new book featuring Top Gear’s best adventures, neatly arranged in precise geographic order: top, middle and bottom. These are not Sunday drives to country pubs. You will not find any mentions of freshly cut grass and picnics under oak trees. In fact, you are more likely to encounter roadside landmines and a pack of Chilean llamas with a relaxed approach to personal hygiene. Of course you will also find supercars on winding mountain passes, but this book goes much further, bringing you the most unusual combinations of car and tarmac – or lack of it – from across our planet. All of which are accompanied by a surprisingly useful collection of travel tips, featuring such useful advice as when to go, what the weather’s like and where to find a reasonably priced beer. Like any classic travel guide, you really shouldn’t leave home without it. Unless you write down the really important bits, in which case you’ll probably be OK.

It is clear that the climate is changing and ecosystems are becoming severely degraded. Humans must mitigate the causes of, and adapt to, climate change and the loss of biodiversity, as the impacts of these changes become more apparent and demand urgent responses. These pressures, combined with rapid global urbanisation and population growth mean that new ways of designing, retrofitting and living in cities are critically needed. Incorporating an understanding of how the living world works and what ecosystems do into architectural and urban design is a step towards the creation and evolution of cities that are radically more sustainable and potentially regenerative. Can cities produce their own food, energy, and water? Can they be designed to regulate climate, provide habitat, cycle nutrients, and purify water, air and soil? This book examines and defines the field of biomimicry for sustainable built environment design and goes on to translate ecological knowledge into practical methodologies for architectural and urban design that can proactively respond to climate change and biodiversity loss. These methods are tested and exemplified through a series of case studies of existing cities in a variety of climates. Regenerative Urban Design and Ecosystem Biomimicry will be of great interest to students, professionals and researchers of architecture, urban design, ecology, and environmental studies, as well as those interested in the interdisciplinary study of sustainability, ecology and urbanism.

Live and let drive. This bespoke, collector's edition is presented in a slip case, and features an envelope of exclusive posters and documents from the EON Bond archives. Bond Cars: The Definitive History is a lavish celebration of the cars that also became the stars alongside the world's most famous fictional spy. Featuring exclusive and priceless assets such as the original call sheets, technical drawings and story-boards, accompanied by previously unpublished photography and exclusive interviews, we put you behind the wheel of every car driven by 007 on film. With insights from the producers and keepers of the Bond flame, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli as well as Daniel Craig and special effects and action vehicles supervisor and veteran of 15 Bond films, Chris Corbould, this is the story of cinema's greatest icon, told through the prism of the legendary cars he has driven.