Poetry is intimate and deep, revealing the thoughts and intents of the poet's heart and soul. Life is an interesting journey. The world is as engaging as it is sometimes unforgiving. The intersection of both through the creative mind of Birdman '313' is revealed in his latest work, offering another unique perspective . . . according to him.

When five-year-old Robert Crouse saw a 1910 Curtis pusher biplane fly over his hometown in Tennessee, he was immediately mesmerized. After he watched the plane gently land behind the trees a short distance from his house, he informed anyone who would listen that one day he would fly a plane just like that one. In his memoir There I Was ..., Crouse chronicles how his fascination with airplanes grew throughout his childhood and eventually led him on an unforgettable journey as a young airman during World War II. When Crouse was a seventeen-year-old high school senior, the United States became firmly embroiled in World War II. Although he was too young and suffered from a congenital heart condition, Crouse could hardly wait to get into uniform. As Crouse recounts the details of how he was eventually drafted in 1943 despite his medical challenges and later flew thirty-one missions in B-25s, he provides a real-life glimpse into what it was like for thousands of young men to serve their country in perilous times. There I Was ... couples historical photographs with personal anecdotes and provides a captivating narrative sure to entertain World War II and airplane buffs alike.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, engagement with science was commonly used as an emblem of modernity. This phenomenon is now attracting increasing attention in different historical specialties. Being Modern builds on this recent scholarly interest to explore engagement with science across culture from the end of the nineteenth century to approximately 1940. Addressing the breadth of cultural forms in Britain and the western world from the architecture of Le Corbusier to working class British science fiction, Being Modern paints a rich picture. Seventeen distinguished contributors from a range of fields including the cultural study of science and technology, art and architecture, English culture and literature examine the issues involved. The book will be a valuable resource for students, and a spur to scholars to further examination of culture as an interconnected web of which science is a critical part, and to supersede such tired formulations as 'Science and culture'.