This book was created as a result of much frustration, while attempting to read and understand navigation HOW-TO books. While attempting to decipher the material, I would become lost, unable to comprehend what the author was describing and how I got there. Eventually I was able to create drawings which brought all the confusing details into focus. The result, everything finally made sense. You could think of this as a primer, once you have grasped my simplifications, you are equipped to comprehend the more detailed writings of the experts While working through the details it became clear that NAVIGATION HISTORY would not only be interesting and helpful, but would also tie everything together. I have been obsessed with the early Portuguese navigators and how their pilots managed obtain positions, ever since I sat alone in the cockpit, out on the high seas. Inside this manuscript are revealed the secret methods, “STATE SECRETS”, that they used to locate themselves, far beyond any reference from land. As an additional topic of interest, I have provided the reader with detailed instructions, that describe how to create a sundial, which mounts on a birdbath. This amazing device is not only able to keep accurate time, but also allows the builder to track and record the annual figure 8 ANALEEMA.

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Secret World of Weather and The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs, learn to tap into nature and notice the hidden clues all around you Before GPS, before the compass, and even before cartography, humankind was navigating. Now this singular guide helps us rediscover what our ancestors long understood—that a windswept tree, the depth of a puddle, or a trill of birdsong can help us find our way, if we know what to look and listen for. Adventurer and navigation expert Tristan Gooley unlocks the directional clues hidden in the sun, moon, stars, clouds, weather patterns, lengthening shadows, changing tides, plant growth, and the habits of wildlife. Rich with navigational anecdotes collected across ages, continents, and cultures, The Natural Navigator will help keep you on course and open your eyes to the wonders, large and small, of the natural world.

People all over the globe know Las Vegas as gambling's Mecca, Sin City, the Entertainment Capital of the World, a resort destination that attracts more than 35 million visitors per year. But that's just one piece of the story of this fascinating metropolis of 1.5 million people - and counting. With more than 6,000 people rushing to the valley each month, Las Vegas responded to the influx with enthusiasm and a can-do attitude, all while coping with enormous economic, social and political challenges. This carefully documented history focuses on the most exciting and chaotic decade in Las Vegas history: the 1990s. Veteran journalist Geoff Schumacher captures the true essence of Las Vegas, seeing past the neon and discovering the multi-faceted communities beyond.

*Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award* *A New York Times Notable Book* *Winner of the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award* This New York Times bestseller and stunning historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West “is nothing short of a revelation…will leave dust and blood on your jeans” (The New York Times Book Review). Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches. Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads, and the amazing story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah—a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being. Hailed by critics, S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.

Chronicles the last half century's haphazard attempt to harness fusion energy, describing how governments and research teams throughout the world have employed measures ranging from the controversial to the humorous.

John Kretschmer is sailing's practical philosopher – as much a doer as a thinker. And that is the overarching theme of this chronicle of a sailing life. Often amusing, sometimes poignant, occasionally terrifying but always inspiring, his deeply personal account is a welcome reminder of the good life waiting at sea. With hundreds of thousands of nautical miles under his keel, John's adventures have taken him several times around the world, with challenging crossings of the Atlantic and the Pacific, a narrow escape from a coup in Yemen, an unlikely deliverance from a coral reef off Belize as well as more serene, introspective passages where trade winds are blowing and stories are flowing. His crew has included CEOs, actors, writers, teachers, kids – in essence, everyone. John's narrative is interwoven with practical tips and advice in seamanship, but also, and just as importantly, his hard-won insights about making the most of our lives. He truly believes we find out who we really are, and what we are capable of, far from the shackles of land, when we find a place where time changes shape – days may merge into one another, but minutes are memorable. To live adventurously is to live more fully, and that is the life John Kretschmer continues to live. In this book he shares his simple profundities that will inspire those who live to sail, and those seeking something more rewarding from life.