"Washing Dishes at Mikines" consists of two novellas. The title story tells of a young, disaffected American man who in 1972 finds himself stranded in a rather odd Greek village, and what he learns of life there. "Sarah Leaving" is the story of a love affair on an idyllic Greek island and of its failure. Alan Fish has lived in many places in North America and in Europe, and spent many years in Greece. He now lives in a small city in Northern New England. He drinks whiskey in the winter because he finds beer chills him in the cold, and beer in the summer because whiskey affects him badly in the heat.

Dear Alan, You described yourself as the least successful writer in the Western World. Going through the box of material you left here I have to say you sure as hell ain't that. You have a real body of work written and rejection hasn't stopped you from doing what you love. What you say about your reasons for writing sound pretty right to me. I'm so glad you've kept writing and hope you never stop. Who knows. Neither one of us is dead yet. Anything is possible. Yours, Paul

As sports have become more competitive over recent years researchers and trainers have been searching for new and innovative ways of improving performance. Ironically, an area as mundane as what an athlete eats can have profound effects on fitness, health and ultimately, performance in competition. Sports have also gained widespread acceptance in the therapeutic management of athletes with disorders associated with nutritional status. In addition, exercise has been one of the tools used for studying the control of metabolism, creating a wealth of scientific information that needs to be placed in the context of sports medicine and science. Nutrition in Sport provides an exhaustive review of the biochemistry and physiology of eating. The text is divided into three sections and commences with a discussion of the essential elements of diet, including sections on carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and trace elements, and drugs associated with nutrition. It also discusses athletes requiring special consideration, including vegetarians and diabetics. The second section considers the practical aspects of sports nutrition and discusses weight control (essential for sports with weight categories and athletes with eating disorders), the travelling athlete (where travel either disrupts established feeding patterns or introduces new hazards), environmental aspects of nutrition (including altitude and heat), and the role of sports nutritional products.

Diabetes and cardiovascular disease together account for the largest portion of health care spending compared to all other diseases in Western society. This work seeks to provide an understanding of the causes of diabetes and its cardiovascular complications. As this understanding becomes more widely appreciated, it will serve as a foundation for evidence-based care and wider acceptance of sound science. The International Conference on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, held in Winnipeg, in June 1999, was organized to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers dedicated to further knowledge amongst researchers, care givers, and the managers of the health system. The invited speakers submitted their works for publication, which serves as the basis for this book. Major themes include: epidemiology of diabetes mellitus, metabolic risk factors in diabetes and cardiovascular disease, hypertension in diabetes mellitus, cardiac function in diabetes, glycemic control and improved cardiovascular function, diabetes management, and endothelial function in diabetes.

This valuable new addition to the Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine series provides a comprehensive and logical look at the principles and mechanisms of endocrinology as related to sports and exercise. It looks at growth hormone factors involved in exercise and the endocrinology of sport competition. It considers various factors and stresses on the body that may alter sporting performance. It covers topics from the acute responses and chronic adaptations of the human endocrine system to the muscular activity involved in conditioning exercise, physical labor, and sport activities. This book is an essential reference for helping to plan better programs of physical fitness, to prepare for sports competitions, and to manage the medical care of athletes.

Fifty million years ago, the Arctic Ocean was a warm sea, bounded by lush vegetation of the warm-temperate shores of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska and the Northwest Territories. Wind and storms were rare because Atlantic weather systems had not developed but, as today, polar day length added a hostile element to this otherwise tranquil climate. With the aid of scientists from all the countries close to the Arctic Circle, this book describes the palaeontology, the statistical analysis of vegetational features, comparisons with atmospheric, marine, and geological features and some of the first models of plant migration developed from newly constructed databases.