The beacon of the historic Cape St. George Lighthouse still guides mariners into Apalachicola Bay. Founded in 1831, the town of Apalachicola took its name from Creek Indians, to whom it signified a land of friendly people. Sheltered from the Gulf of Mexico by a string of barrier islands, the port flourished as the only site in Florida on a river that is navigable for over 300 miles to the fall line at Columbus, Georgia, Apalachicola’s sister city. Generations of lighthouse keepers were bound to St. George Island and its great bay by an intense sense of duty to sustain seagoing commerce and a love for a place where they could raise their families in freedom. When the foundation washed away in 2005 after a very active hurricane season and a final surge from Hurricane Wilma, residents took action to salvage and rebuild the historic lighthouse. Visitors may still climb the lighthouse tower, surrounded by bricks that were first laid in 1852.

The 13th edition of this bestselling book is proof of the success of Mary Blewitt's concise and clear style in explaining a particularly difficult skill, and it has been the bible for many generations of ocean navigators. Since this book was first published, the huge advances in electronic navigation have transported most offshore navigators to a world of press-button convenience. However, there is still a vital need for traditional skills when things go wrong: batteries can fail, aerials go overboard, and electronics have been known to get wet. A bestseller for over 65 years, Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen is a model of simplicity and clarity. The worked examples require only straightforward addition and subtraction, which explains why this book has truly earned its reputation for admirable conciseness and for making a tricky subject easy to understand. This edition has been thoroughly revised by Andy Du Port, the highly respected ex-editor of Reeds Almanacs.

A first-ever book on the worldwide history of the chainsaw, an invention that transformed the forest industry and eventually became the indispensable companion of every red-blooded country dweller.

LA FASCINANTE HISTORIA DE LAS IDEAS E INVENTOS QUE HAN REVOLUCIONADO LA ECONOMÍA Y EL MUNDO. Imagina que hoy se acabara el mundo y fueras uno de los pocos afortunados supervivientes. Sin móvil. Sin internet. Sin electricidad. Sin gasolina. Hace doce mil años, un invento tan simple como el arado transformó la vida de la humanidad y el curso de la Historia... ¿Qué necesitarías hoy para mantenerte con vida y salvar la civilización? A través de las fascinantes historias de cincuenta ideas e inventos, el autor de El economista camuflado explica cómo la innovación puede cambiar nuestras vidas y alterar el complejo sistema económico global. Algunos inventos, como el iPhone, han proporcionado pingües beneficios a sus creadores mientras otros fueron en sus inicios un fracaso comercial, como el motor diésel. Algunos son palpables, como el hormigón. Otros, como la responsabilidad limitada de una empresa, son invenciones abstractas. Pero todos -del papel a la inteligencia artificial, de la cadena de frío a los seguros, del gramófono a la píldora anticonceptiva- tienen una historia que contar y permiten comprender el mundo en el que vivimos. "Harford demuestra de nuevo su talento como analista económico y divulgador." - Times Literary Supplement Libro del año del Financial Times, Bloomberg Business Week y Amazon Top 20. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION A lively history seen through the fifty inventions that shaped it most profoundly, by the bestselling author of The Undercover Economist and Messy. Who thought up paper money? What was the secret element that made the Gutenberg printing press possible? And what is the connection between The Da Vinci Code and the collapse of Lehman Brothers? Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy paints an epic picture of change in an intimate way by telling the stories of the tools, people, and ideas that had far-reaching consequences for all of us. From the plough to artificial intelligence, from Gillette’s disposable razor to IKEA’s Billy bookcase, bestselling author and Financial Times columnist Tim Harford recounts each invention’s own curious, surprising, and memorable story. Invention by invention, Harford reflects on how we got here and where we might go next. He lays bare often unexpected connections: how the bar code undermined family corner stores, and why the gramophone widened inequality. In the process, he introduces characters who developed some of these inventions, profited from them, and were ruined by them, as he traces the principles that helped explain their transformative effects. The result is a wise and witty book of history, economics, and biography.

The definitive, official illustrated book on the U.S. Coast Guard, published in a fully updated and revised edition. Since September 11, the Coast Guard’s motto—Semper Paratus, "Always Ready"—has taken on new meaning. From protecting our coastlines to drug interdiction, combat missions, and guarding against terrorism as part of the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Coast Guard maintains a constant vigil in the safeguarding of Americans. Written by an outstanding team of historians and distinguished officers, including the current Commandant USCG Admiral Thad Allen, The Coast Guard has more than 350 pages that tell the story from its origins as both the Revenue Cutter Service and U.S. Lifesaving Service to lighthouses, ice breakers, and the heroes of Hurricane Katrina. Essays on history, search and rescue, and aviation all have one common focus: the incredibly trained and highly motivated people that make up the Coast Guard.

Comprehensive guide offering both theory and concise how-to explanations of sailing, seamanship, navigation, ocean weather, sailboat stability, and coping with emergencies. Required reading for all sailors.

Explores the accidents of time, place, and circumstance that culminated in the twentieth century's technological achievements: the computer, the telephone, the production line, the airplane, the atomic bomb, the guided missile, plastics, and television. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

Finalist, 2008 Henry Paolucci / Walter Bagehot Book Award given by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Why does technology change over time, how does it change, and what difference does it make? In this sweeping, ambitious look at a thousand years of Western experience, Robert Friedel argues that technological change comes largely through the pursuit of improvement—the deep-rooted belief that things could be done in a better way. What Friedel calls the "culture of improvement" is manifested every day in the ways people carry out their tasks in life—from tilling fields and raising children to waging war. Improvements can be ephemeral or lasting, and one person’s improvement may not always be viewed as such by others. Friedel stresses the social processes by which we define what improvements are and decide which improvements will last and which will not. These processes, he emphasizes, have created both winners and losers in history. Friedel presents a series of narratives of Western technology that begin in the eleventh century and stretch into the twenty-first. Familiar figures from the history of invention are joined by others—the Italian preacher who described the first eyeglasses, the dairywomen displaced from their control over cheesemaking, and the little-known engineer who first suggested a grand tower to Gustav Eiffel. Friedel traces technology from the plow and the printing press to the internal combustion engine, the transistor, and the space shuttle. Friedel also reminds us that faith in improvement can sometimes have horrific consequences: improved weaponry makes warfare ever more deadly and the drive for improving human beings can lead to eugenics and even genocide. The most comprehensive attempt to tell the story of Western technology in many years, engagingly written and lavishly illustrated, A Culture of Improvement documents the ways in which the drive for improvement has shaped our modern world.

Named one of the best books of 2017 by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, & Vox The father of virtual reality explains its dazzling possibilities by reflecting on his own lifelong relationship with technology Bridging the gap between tech mania and the experience of being inside the human body, Dawn of the New Everything is a look at what it means to be human at a moment of unprecedented technological possibility. Through a fascinating look back over his life in technology, Jaron Lanier, an interdisciplinary scientist and father of the term “virtual reality,

Day Skipper for Sail and Power is a major reference book for anyone following the RYA Day Skipper course. Brought thoroughly up-to-date with new developments and covering all the theory and practical aspects of the RYA Day Skipper Certificate with full colour photography, helpful diagrams and worked examples, it is also a clear and comprehensive manual for anyone intending to make coastal passages in a small boat, covering: - seamanship - safety equipment - preventing collisions at sea - navigation and chart work - tides and tidal streams - pilotage - passage planning - weather - engine operation and maintenance - the most up-to-date VHF radio procedures With its refreshingly practical approach and by the same author as the highly successful Yachtmaster for Sail and Power, no one intending to follow an RYA Day Skipper course whether for sail or power can afford to be without this lively, helpful guide to complement the course and assist with exam preparation.