In July 1969 the ‘amiable strangers’ that made up the crew of the historic Apollo 11 flight successfully achieved the first manned lunar landing. Several months later, three close friends set off on an even more challenging mission. Free of the burden of making history, the Apollo 12 astronauts were determined to really enjoy their experience while taking care of business. This is the story of their mission, told largely in their own words. Their exploits and accomplishments showed how conservative the inaugural mission had been. With its two moonwalks, deployment of the first geophysical station on the Moon, and geological sampling, Apollo 12 did what many had hoped would be achieved by the first men to land on the Moon. The Apollo 12 mission also spectacularly demonstrated the precision landing capability required for success in future lunar surface explorations. In addition to official documents, published prior to and after the mission, APOLLO 12 – ON THE OCEAN OF STORMS draws on the flight transcript and post-mission debriefing to recreate the drama.

In the near future, political tensions between the United States and China are at an all-time high. Then a catastrophic explosion on the moon cleaves a vast gash in the lunar surface, and the massive electromagnetic pulse it unleashes obliterates Earth's electrical infrastructure. To plumb the depths of the newly created lunar fissure and excavate the source of the power surge, the feuding nations are forced to cooperate on a high-risk mission to return mankind to the moon. Now, a diverse, highly skilled ensemble of astronauts--and a pair of maverick archaeologists plucked from the Peruvian jungle--will brave conspiracy on Earth and disaster in space to make a shocking discovery. Ocean of Storms is an epic adventure that spans space and time as its heroes race to fulfill an ancient mission that may change the course of humanity's future.

A panoramic social history of hurricanes in the Caribbean The diverse cultures of the Caribbean have been shaped as much by hurricanes as they have by diplomacy, commerce, or the legacy of colonial rule. In this panoramic work of social history, Stuart Schwartz examines how Caribbean societies have responded to the dangers of hurricanes, and how these destructive storms have influenced the region's history, from the rise of plantations, to slavery and its abolition, to migrations, racial conflict, and war. Taking readers from the voyages of Columbus to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Schwartz looks at the ethical, political, and economic challenges that hurricanes posed to the Caribbean’s indigenous populations and the different European peoples who ventured to the New World to exploit its riches. He describes how the United States provided the model for responding to environmental threats when it emerged as a major power and began to exert its influence over the Caribbean in the nineteenth century, and how the region’s governments came to assume greater responsibilities for prevention and relief, efforts that by the end of the twentieth century were being questioned by free-market neoliberals. Schwartz sheds light on catastrophes like Katrina by framing them within a long and contentious history of human interaction with the natural world. Spanning more than five centuries and drawing on extensive archival research in Europe and the Americas, Sea of Storms emphasizes the continuing role of race, social inequality, and economic ideology in the shaping of our responses to natural disaster.

Over the oceans, no one is safe from the surging power of ocean storms. Ocean Storm Alert! looks at how whirlpools, tidal waves, and tsunamis start, and their effect on people at sea and in coastal areas.

Ocean of Storms is a short-story collection featuring a literary triptych of related stories: "The Age of Rockets" tells a mysterious tale of the 4th of July storm of 1969; "Moonnight Laika" offers a different perspective on the first manned lunar mission; and "The Wreck" brings the story full-circle as a fisherman happens upon an alarming discovery. The Expanded Edition includes three new stories: "Day Game" recounts a magical baseball experience at the end of the daylight era; In "Bittersweet Gypsum," an aging man's walk in the woods brings him face-to-face with a past he'd rather forget; and the Anson award-winning "'Esque" is a surreal trip into the anxious mind of a young college student.