Detail in contemporary timber architecture

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Deanna MacDonald

Japan is equally as well known for its ecologically-sensitive traditional homes as it is for cutting-edge, green technology. "Eco Living Japan" presents 19 contemporary Japanese houses which exemplify the most recent trends in sustainable design in Japan. This is wabi-sabi for the 21st century! With over 250 photos, drawings, plans and lively, informative text, this sustainable architecture book offers a picture of green living in contemporary Japan and provides inspiration and practical ideas for those creating homes in North America and other 4 season climates. Each project presents different aspects of Japan's current movement toward a more sustainable living environment as well as its focus on fine craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology. The book's content is informative and enjoyable for both professional architects and forward-thinking homeowners. Anyone with an interest in Japanese design and trends in sustainable living will find fresh ideas for their own home projects. These homes work in harmony with their environments and with the people who inhabit them "green design" at its best!"

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Bob Giddings and Margaret Horne

Artists' Impressions in Architectural Design analyses the ways in which architects have presented their designs for clients and the public, both historically and contemporarily. It spans a period from the 15th to the 21st century.

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V.K. Triandafillov

This edition of V.K. Triandafillov's classic contribution to Soviet military theory makes accessible to Western military historians and analysts one of the most important works from the interwar period. Triandafillov was an outstanding commander who helped to shape the military art, theory and doctrine of the Red Army as it sought to come to grips with the problem of future war. A conscript who rose through the ranks to become an officer in the Tsarist Army, Triandafillov saw combat in both the First World War and the Russian Civil War. As one of that first generation of young Red Commanders taught by some of the finest military specialists, he sought to link the theory and practice of war, to use past experience to comprehend future conflict. Triandafillov's contribution to the theories of deep battle, successive operations and deep operations, and to the study of 'future war', is historically significant and his methodology still merits serious reflection and study. First published in 1929, his book offers key insights into the professional military's assessment of the need for the industrialization and militarization of the Soviet economy and society in the light of the prevailing assumptions about probable opponents in a future war.

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Walter J. Karplus

Each day we are bombarded with news of a new catastrophe of worldwide proportions promising to obliterate a part, if not all, of humankind. Confronted with these warnings of impending doom, our best defense is to understand how valid--or invalid--these predictions of calamity are. By perceiving these threats in a wise and sagacious way, we can best meet future challenges by not earmarking precious resources for wrong or misleading reasons. Walter Karplus, a professor of computer sciences at UCLA, in his 35 years of experience has made predictions for all kinds of phenomena by generating models and computer simulations. His decades of experience have taught him what we can and cannot predict with any accuracy. Dr. Karplus surveys the most hotly debated catastrophes that many scientists have predicted will imminently endanger the lives of countless people all over the globe.^ These catastrophes include the depletion of the ozone layer, the Greenhouse Effect, nuclear radiation, acid rain, the AIDS epidemic, the population explosion, another Great Depression, and earthquakes. Drawing on his superb background, he assesses the strengths and weaknesses of arguments propounding the seriousness of these calamities. All the while, he never allows us to lose sight of the profound shortcomings of scientific prediction. In his singularly engaging manner, Dr. Karplus traces the fascinating art of prediction from our earliest ancestors to today. He pronounces at what point prediction, even within science, becomes a black art. He elucidates the problems that computer simulations have in predicting events and goes on to pinpoint when and where these models lapse into the area of pure conjecture. Through reason and wit, Walter Karplus teaches us how to bring a trained eye to the predictions of disaster that unceasingly assault us.^ The Heavens Are Falling is an illuminating and entertaining work that bestows on us the wisdom to make informed judgments before taking arms against a sea of troubles.