The Doomsday Vault

The Doomsday Vault PDF Author: Steven Piziks Harper
Publisher: Ace
ISBN: 9780451464293
Category : Airships
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Left a peculiar inheritance by her aunt, the honorable Alice B. Michaels, whose unladylike interest in automatons has made her a less than desirable marriage prospect, finds an ally in Gavin, a pilot stranded in London, who comes to her aid when she attracts the unwanted attention of the Third Ward"--Provided by publisher.

The Doomsday Vault

The Doomsday Vault PDF Author: Steven Piziks Harper
Publisher: Ace
ISBN: 9780451464293
Category : Airships
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Left a peculiar inheritance by her aunt, the honorable Alice B. Michaels, whose unladylike interest in automatons has made her a less than desirable marriage prospect, finds an ally in Gavin, a pilot stranded in London, who comes to her aid when she attracts the unwanted attention of the Third Ward"--Provided by publisher.

The Doomsday Vault

The Doomsday Vault PDF Author: Steven Harper
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504096843
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
A noblewoman and an airship pilot fight zombies, mad scientists, and more in this steampunk adventure series debut by the author of Iron Axe. A bizarre strain of zombies roam the streets of Victorian London, infecting all they touch with the Clockwork Plague. While most victims die painful deaths, a few become Clockworkers, geniuses who create the greatest inventions of the age—right before going insane. The plague has also taken its toll on the life of twenty-two-year-old Alice Michaels. After her mother and brother die from the disease because of her, she feels obligated to ensure her father’s happiness. Unfortunately, that means ignoring her passion for automatons and instead, pursuing the wealthiest man possible. But when zombies attack Alice’s cab, being tied down in a loveless marriage is the least of her worries. She is quickly swept up into a secret organization chasing down Clockworkers—and into the arms of Gavin Ennock, a former airship cabin boy and talented fiddle player. Together they will navigate a political conspiracy that threatens to consume their country and the world . . . “If you love your Victorian adventures filled with zombies, amazing automatons, steampunk flare, and an impeccable eye for detail, you’ll love the fascinating (and fantastical) Doomsday Vault!” —My Bookish Ways “Harper creates a fascinating world of devices, conspiracies, and personalities. . . . Alice and Gavin fight to survive and to find love in this steampunk coming-of-age story. Harper’s world building is well developed and offers an interesting combination of science and steam.” —SFRevu “A goofy excursion in a style reminiscent of Foglios’s Girl Genius graphic series. . . . A highly entertaining romp.” —Locus

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture PDF Author: Cary Fowler
Publisher: Bioversity International
ISBN: 9290435836
Category : Food supply
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description


Shattering

Shattering PDF Author: Cary Fowler
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816511815
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
It was through control of the shattering of wild seeds that humans first domesticated plants. Now control over those very plants threatens to shatter the world's food supply, as loss of genetic diversity sets the stage for widespread hunger. Large-scale agriculture has come to favor uniformity in food crops. More than 7,000 U.S. apple varieties once grew in American orchards; 6,000 of them are no longer available. Every broccoli variety offered through seed catalogs in 1900 has now disappeared. As the international genetics supply industry absorbs seed companies—with nearly one thousand takeovers since 1970—this trend toward uniformity seems likely to continue; and as third world agriculture is brought in line with international business interests, the gene pools of humanity's most basic foods are threatened. The consequences are more than culinary. Without the genetic diversity from which farmers traditionally breed for resistance to diseases, crops are more susceptible to the spread of pestilence. Tragedies like the Irish Potato Famine may be thought of today as ancient history; yet the U.S. corn blight of 1970 shows that technologically based agribusiness is a breeding ground for disaster. Shattering reviews the development of genetic diversity over 10,000 years of human agriculture, then exposes its loss in our lifetime at the hands of political and economic forces. The possibility of crisis is real; this book shows that it may not be too late to avert it.

The Doomsday Key LP

The Doomsday Key LP PDF Author: James Rollins
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061774758
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 676

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Book Description
James Rollins, the New York Times bestselling master of nail-biting suspense and historical mystery, combines cutting-edge biotechnology with a centuries-old secret in an apocalyptic story that reveals where humankind is truly headed The Doomsday Key At Princeton University, a famed geneticist dies inside a biohazard lab. In Rome, a Vatican archaeologist is found dead in St. Peter's Basilica. In Africa, a U.S. senator's son is slain outside a Red Cross camp. The three murders on three continents bear a horrifying connection: all the victims are marked by a Druidic pagan cross burned into their fl esh. The bizarre murders thrust Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force into a race against time to solve a riddle going back centuries, to a ghastly crime against humanity hidden within a cryptic medieval codex. The fi rst clue is discovered inside a mummifi ed corpse buried in an English peat bog—a gruesome secret that threatens America and the world. Aided by two women from his past—one his exlover, the other his new partner—Gray must piece together the horrifying truth. But the revelations come at a high cost, and to save the future, Gray will have to sacrifi ce one of the women at his side. That alone might not be enough, as the true path to salvation is revealed in a dark prophecy of doom. Sigma Force confronts humankind's greatest threat in an adventure that races from the Roman Coliseum to the icy peaks of Norway, from the ruins of medieval abbeys to the lost tombs of Celtic kings. The ultimate nightmare is locked within a talisman buried by a dead saint—an ancient artifact known as the Doomsday Key.

Uncertain Peril

Uncertain Peril PDF Author: Claire Hope Cummings
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 9780807085806
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Life on earth is facing unprecedented challenges from global warming, war, and mass extinctions. The plight of seeds is a less visible but no less fundamental threat to our survival. Seeds are at the heart of the planet's life-support systems. Their power to regenerate and adapt are essential to maintaining our food supply and our ability to cope with a changing climate. In Uncertain Peril, environmental journalist Claire Hope Cummings exposes the stories behind the rise of industrial agriculture and plant biotechnology, the fall of public interest science, and the folly of patenting seeds. She examines how farming communities are coping with declining water, soil, and fossil fuels, as well as with new commercial technologies. Will genetically engineered and "terminator" seeds lead to certain promise, as some have hoped, or are we embarking on a path of uncertain peril? Will the "doomsday vault" under construction in the Arctic, designed to store millions of seeds, save the genetic diversity of the world's agriculture? To answer these questions and others, Cummings takes readers from the Fertile Crescent in Iraq to the island of Kaua'i in Hawai'i; from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. She examines the plight of farmers who have planted transgenic seeds and scientists who have been persecuted for revealing the dangers of modified genes. At each turn, Cummings looks deeply into the relationship between people and plants. She examines the possibilities for both scarcity and abundance and tells the stories of local communities that are producing food and fuel sustainably and providing for the future. The choices we make about how we feed ourselves now will determine whether or not seeds will continue as a generous source of sustenance and remain the common heritage of all humanity. It comes down to this: whoever controls the future of seeds controls the future of life on earth. Uncertain Peril is a powerful reminder that what's at stake right now is nothing less than the nature of the future. "With Uncertain Peril, Claire Hope Cummings offers an indispensable contribution to the debate over biotechnology. She rightly focuses our attention on the seed, and what its privatization and manipulation may mean for the future of food." -Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma "Our current approach to industrial agriculture will someday seem so bizarre that our descendants won't understand what we were thinking. This fine volume provides the details of the way we do things now-and the keys to getting towards a farming future that might actually work." -Bill McKibben, author Deep Economy "As agriculture continues to industrialize and globalize, more and more of the seeds farmers plant every year are owned by multinational corporations. And with the corporate focus on effeciency and rational product lines, monocultures continue to grow. Our society has not thought hard enough about whether this is the kind of agricultural system we want. Fortunately, along comes Claire Cummings with this timely and valuable book, to do a lot of important thinking for us. I hope everyone reads it." -John Seabrook, The New Yorker "Claire Hope Cummings has written the clearest analysis and overview of the biotech seeds debate I've ever encountered. Writing with passion, she tells the story of seeds as not only the first link in the food chain but also as our only hope for food security in the midst of global warming. I commend Uncertain Peril to anybody who wants to understand who owns, controls, and is directing the fate of our seeds." -Pat Mooney, author of Shattering and Executive Director of the ETC Group "Uncertain Peril gives us passionate and persuasive reasons why we need more public disc

The Templar Vault

The Templar Vault PDF Author: Scott Chapman
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1291596194
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
The last surviving Templar outpost must protect their Order's greatest secret. As their world is torn apart by the jealous fury of kings, their only duty is to a sacred oath of allegiance to the Order and to each other. Step-by-step they eradicate their footsteps, knowing that only their own obliteration will guarantee that their duty will be fulfilled. Eight hundred years later and an international expert in disaster management sets out to prove that the Templars had a last ditch Doomsday plan. Peter Sparke aims at nothing less than to uncover the last refuge of the Order and the secrets they took to their graves.

The Last Forever

The Last Forever PDF Author: Deb Caletti
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1442450010
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Beginnings and endings overlap in this soaring novel of love and grief from Printz Honor medal winner and National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti. Nothing lasts forever, and no one gets that more than Tessa. After her mother died, it’s all Tessa can do to keep her friends, her boyfriend, and her happiness from slipping away. And then there’s her dad. He’s stuck in his own daze, and it’s so hard to feel like a family when their house no longer seems like a home. Her father’s solution? An impromptu road trip that lands them in Tessa’s grandmother’s small coastal town. Despite all the warmth and beauty there, Tessa can’t help but feel even more lost. Enter Henry Lark. He understands the relationships that matter. And more importantly, he understands her. A secret stands between them, but Tessa’s willing to do anything to bring them together—because Henry may just be her one chance at forever.

The Havoc Machine

The Havoc Machine PDF Author: Steven Harper
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 150409686X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
In this steampunk adventure by the author of The Dragon Men, a femme fatale offers a vengeful vigilante a simple job that becomes deadly. The Clockwork Plague continues to incite destruction throughout the world. For Thaddeus Sharpe, the only solution for the disease is death. That is why he has dedicated his life to hunting and killing Clockworkers, and his mission brings him to the streets of St. Petersburg. There he meets a mysterious young woman named Sofiya Ekk, who offers him a proposition from her powerful employer, Mr. Griffin. Thad has his suspicions, but it’s an offer he cannot refuse. In a nearby village, a mad Clockwork scientist named Mr. Havoc has taken residence in a castle. His dreadful experiments on men and machine terrify the locals. He has created a dangerous machine, a ten-legged robotic spider. Griffin doesn’t care what happens to Havoc; he only wants the invention. Simple enough . . . But when Thad arrives at the castle with Sofiya, they make a startling discovery. Not only is Havoc hiding the machine, but he has also been experimenting on a little boy. Now Thad finds himself caught in a mystery he must quickly unravel before havoc reigns . . . Praise for the Novels of the Clockwork Empire “Action, adventure, dirigibles, and mad scientists, oh my!” —Night Owl Reviews on The Impossible Cube “Harper creates a fascinating world of devices, conspiracies, and personalities. . . . Harper’s world building is well developed and offers an interesting combination of science and steam.” —SFRevu on The Doomsday Vault “My favorite book in the series yet. I’m not sure whether that’s because I’ve become so enamored with the world of the Clockwork Empire as a whole, or that the action sequences are nearly relentless, which a definite plus in this case.” —That’s What I’m Talking About on The Dragon Men

The Triumph of Seeds

The Triumph of Seeds PDF Author: Thor Hanson
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465048722
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of Buzz and Feathers presents a natural and human history of seeds, the marvels of the plant kingdom. "The genius of Hanson's fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining book stems from the fact that it is not about how all kinds of things grow from seeds; it is about the seeds themselves." -- Mark Kurlansky, New York Times Book Review We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life: supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment and cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, and simple fascinations. Yet, despite their importance, seeds are often seen as commonplace, their extraordinary natural and human histories overlooked. Thanks to this stunning new book, they can be overlooked no more. This is a book of knowledge, adventure, and wonder, spun by an award-winning writer with both the charm of a fireside story-teller and the hard-won expertise of a field biologist. A fascinating scientific adventure, it is essential reading for anyone who loves to see a plant grow.