A New York Times-bestselling author explains how the physical world shaped the history of our species When we talk about human history, we often focus on great leaders, population forces, and decisive wars. But how has the earth itself determined our destiny? Our planet wobbles, driving changes in climate that forced the transition from nomadism to farming. Mountainous terrain led to the development of democracy in Greece. Atmospheric circulation patterns later on shaped the progression of global exploration, colonization, and trade. Even today, voting behavior in the south-east United States ultimately follows the underlying pattern of 75 million-year-old sediments from an ancient sea. Everywhere is the deep imprint of the planetary on the human. From the cultivation of the first crops to the founding of modern states, Origins reveals the breathtaking impact of the earth beneath our feet on the shape of our human civilizations.

"From previous attempts you may have concluded that drawing the figure is difficult. This book will show you how to reduce complex figures into a variety of basic shapes that are easy to master, helping you to reach your goal of producing lifelike drawings. Tested through years of classroom use, the principles stressed here bring clear insights into drawing the human form. You'll find a logical, step-by-step method for mastering the construction and proportions of all figure types. First the basic forms are analyzed - the proportions of the various parts and their relations to the total figure. You'll then learn how these parts are connected and how they move and find exercises in drawing the complete figure in any position, engaged in a variety of activities. Also included are detailed studies of anatomy - examining bone and muscle structure - plus special instructions for drawing such intricate parts of the body as the head, hands and feet."--Publisher description.

A textbook on computer science

Microsoft Office is the most widely used productivity software in the world, but most people just know the basics. This helpful guide gets you started with the programs in Office 2013, and provides lots of power-user tips and tricks when you’re ready for more. You’ll learn about Office’s new templates and themes, touchscreen features, and other advances, including Excel’s Quick Analysis tool. The important stuff you need to know: Create professional-looking documents. Use Word to craft reports, newsletters, and brochures for the Web and desktop. Stay organized. Set up Outlook to track your email, contacts, appointments, and tasks. Work faster with Excel. Determine the best way to present your data with the new Quick Analysis tool. Make inspiring presentations. Build PowerPoint slideshows with video and audio clips, charts and graphs, and animations. Share your Access database. Design a custom database and let other people view it in their web browsers. Get to know the whole suite. Use other handy Office tools: Publisher, OneNote, and a full range of Office Web Apps. Create and share documents in the cloud. Upload and work with your Office files in Microsoft’s SkyDrive.

Start modeling right away with this hands-on guide to learning Autodesk Maya 2016 Introducing Autodesk Maya 2016 is the official guide to the most popular and complex 3D application on the market. Building from the ground up, this book combines straightforward text with practical examples that make it easy to absorb the basics and start designing and animating your own digital models and scenes. The tutorials offer realistic challenges and clear explanations, laid out in fun, step-by-step lessons that help you gain confidence and learn by doing. You'll delve into CG and 3D core concepts and production workflows, then get right to work designing an animation of the solar system as you learn the interface and basic tools. As your modeling skills grow, you'll build a steam locomotive, a starfish, a table lamp, and much more as you learn to rig your model for animation, create fabric motion with nCloth, and add the lighting and effects that bring your scenes to life. The companion website features downloadable project files that help you see how the pros do it, and the book includes real-world examples from talented users who were beginners just like you. Master the Maya 2016 interface, menus, and plug-ins Begin building simple animations right away Explore modeling, rendering, animation, and cloth motion Add lighting, rendering, dynamics, simulations, and effects If you want to work like the pros, Introducing Autodesk Maya 2016 is the perfect primer for getting started.

By providing the most radiography practice and placing it within a unique Q&A format with detailed answers and rationales to ensure comprehension, Exercises in Oral Radiology and Interpretation, 5th Edition, is specifically designed to complement radiography instruction throughout the continuum of dental professions. For more than 35 years, this go-to supplement has bridged the gap between the classroom and the clinic, providing hundreds of opportunities to practice and master image interpretation. It serves as a valuable adjunct to the core content presentation, with more than 600 images with case scenarios, plus examples, questions, and tips to fill in the gap in textbook coverage and prepare you for clinical experiences and classroom and board exams. - UNIQUE! Hybrid atlas/question-and-answer format focuses your energies on applying core text content within hundreds of practice opportunities — both knowledge-based and critical thinking — to better prepare you for clinical experiences. - Hundreds of clinical photos and radiographs allow you to see not only how images should be obtained, but also how to identify normal and abnormal findings on radiographs. - 525 test questions, organized by radiation science and assessment/interpretation, offer board review practice. - A back-of-book answer key contains detailed answers and rationales for each Q&A set within each chapter, in addition to simple answers for the board review questions. - Comprehensive coverage of all dental imaging techniques and errors, as well as normal and abnormal findings, makes this supplement a must-have throughout your radiography courses, as a board study tool, and as a clinical reference. - Emphasis on application through case-based items that encourage you to read, comprehend, and assimilate content to formulate a well-reasoned answer. - Approachable, straightforward writing style keeps the focus on simply stated, succinct questions and answers, leaving out extraneous details that may confuse you. - Chapter Goals and Learning Objectives serve as checkpoints to ensure content comprehension and mastery. - Written by two highly trusted, longtime opinion leaders, educators, and clinicians in oral medicine and oral radiology, Bob Langlais and Craig Miller, this valuable instructional and study aid promotes classroom and clinical success.