EARTH’S FURY Natural disasters are any catastrophic loss of life and/or property caused by a natural event or situation. This definition could include biologic issues such as contagion, injurious bacterial colonization, invasion of dangerous plants and infestations of insects and other vermin. However, the popular understanding of what constitutes a natural disaster still focuses on disasters involving the physical properties of the earth and its atmosphere: earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, avalanches, tropical storms, tornadoes, floods and wildfires. Earth’s Fury: The Science of Natural Disasters attempts to combine the best features of a scientific textbook and an encyclopedia. It retains the organization of a textbook and adopts the highly illustrative graphics of some of the newer and more effective textbooks. The book’s unique approach is evident in its plethora of case studies: short, self-contained and well-illustrated stories of specific natural disasters that are highly engaging for both science and non-science majors. The stories incorporate the science into the event so students appreciate and remember it as part of the story. By relating the event to the impact on society and human lives, the science is placed in the context of the student’s real life. Boasting a number of striking and highly detailed double-page illustrations of disaster-producing features, including volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes, this book is as much a visual resource as a textbook. For students who are probably most familiar with natural disasters through Hollywood movies, this book’s own “widescreen presentation” is coupled with exciting stories which will enhance their interest as well as their understanding. Whether they are science or non-science majors, Earth’s Fury: The Science of Natural Disasters will appeal to all students, with its fresh approach and engaging style.

Earth’s Fury. A gun to shatter a god ship. The human Confederation has provided unexpected resistance to the Vraxar invading forces, but now the price must be paid. The mighty enemy warship Ix-Gorghal has discovered the location of humanity’s populated worlds and its arrival in New Earth orbit promises death for the billions living there. At first, it seems the invaders will have everything their own way. They send in troops and deploy a ring of satellites to isolate the planet from the main comms network. After that, it should all be plain sailing…. On the New Earth Tucson military base, there are personnel who will never accept defeat – men and women who will keep fighting even when the cause seems lost. Lieutenant Eric McKinney is one of them. An unexpected message from a lone fleet warship high above the planet sends him on a mission to rescue the only man on New Earth with the activation codes for two unfinished warships on the Tucson base – the battleship Ulterior-2 and an experimental gun called Earth’s Fury. Fleet Admiral John Duggan is the man with the keys. He’s got a mission of his own and if it succeeds, it will ensure total annihilation for both sides. Duggan can see no other way out. Meanwhile, Captain Charlie Blake has other problems. In order to help the people of New Earth, he’s forced to defy orders, putting his life and his future in jeopardy. He’s one of the few men with the skill and audacity to get Earth’s Fury into orbit – assuming it will even fly. It won’t be easy. The Vraxar are a cruel and unpredictable foe, and at the first sign of a threat, they will surely destroy New Earth without hesitation. Earth’s Fury is a high-action science fiction adventure and the fourth book in the Obsidiar Fleet series.

In Furies of Calderon, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher introduced readers to a world where the forces of nature take physical form. But now, it is human nature that threatens to throw the realm into chaos… For centuries, the people of Alera have harnessed the furies—elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal—to protect their land from aggressors. But no fury can save them from the dangers they face within. A mysterious attack from across the sea has weakened the First Lord. Should he fall, a bloody civil war is inevitable. The responsibility of fending off assassination attempts and treachery within the First Lord’s circle of spies falls on Tavi, the one man with no fury to call...