Born in West Germany but raised in East Germany, Angela Merkel has known both repression and freedom. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Merkel started her meteoric rise to become Germany's first female chancellor and one of the world's most powerful women. A scientist by training, Merkel possesses analytical skills seldom seen in a world leader, and she confronts not only German problems but European and world issues with diplomacy and tact. Enhanced by a chronology, bibliography, and suggestions for further reading, this new full-color biography is the inspiring account of an intriguing leader who's a tireless force for progress.
One way to understand the world is to look at its most basic building blocks. All the substances in the world are made up of atoms, which interact with each other by exchanging or sharing electrons. All atoms can be organized into the periodic table of the elements, which groups atoms by their chemical properties. Deep within the atom lies the nucleus, which itself contains the elementary particles called quarks. By building powerful particle accelerators and enormous detectors, physicists are able to probe the most fundamental constituents of matter. The Nature of Matter is a compelling guide that identifies the essential qualities and characteristics by which matter is recognized.
Raging for over four years across the tortured landscapes of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the First World War changed the face of warfare forever. Characterised by slow, costly advances and fierce attrition, the great battles of the Somme, Verdun and Ypres incurred human loss on a scale never previously imagined. This book, with a foreword by Professor Hew Strachan, covers the fighting on all fronts, from Flanders to Tannenberg and from Italy to Palestine. A series of moving extracts from personal letters, diaries and journals bring to life the experiences of soldiers and civilians caught up in the war.
One of the leading poets and cultural icons of the 20th century, Stephen Spender was a prominent writer, literary critic, and social commentator--and close friend of some of the best-know creative talents of his day. Now, in this penetrating biography, John Sutherland paints a vivid portrait of Spender and of the glittering literary world of which he was a part, drawing on exclusive access to Spender's private papers.
The higher up a mountain you go, the colder it gets. Discover how mountain animals and plants survive in the snow and thin air, and where the highest mountains in the world are and how they got there.
