Ресерч: историческое, морское, эпидемическое и другое интересное — 9 книг

Никто не хотел, чтобы эта война началась, но в результате сплетения обстоятельств, которые могут показаться случайными, она оказалась неотвратимой. Участники разгоравшегося конфликта верили, что война не продлится долго и к Рождеству 1914 года завершится их полной победой, но перемирие было подписано только четыре с лишним года спустя, в ноябре 1918-го.

Первая мировая война привела к неисчислимым страданиям и жертвам на фронтах и в тылу, к эпидемиям, геноциду, распаду великих империй и революциям. Она изменила судьбы мира и перекроила его карты. Многие надеялись, что эта война, которую назвали Великой, станет последней в истории, но она оказалась предтечей еще более разрушительной Второй мировой.

Всемирно известный британский историк сэр Мартин Гилберт написал полную историю Первой мировой войны, основываясь на документальных источниках, установленных фактах и рассказах очевидцев, и сумел убедительно раскрыть ее причины и изложить следствия. Ему удалось показать человеческую цену этой войны, унесшей и искалечившей миллионы жизней, сквозь призму историй отдельных ее участников, среди которых были и герои, и дезертиры.

Никто не хотел, чтобы эта война началась, но в результате сплетения обстоятельств, которые могут показаться случайными, она оказалась неотвратимой. Участники разгоравшегося…

FULL REVELATIONS OF A PROFESSIONAL RAT-CATCHER AFTER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE. By Ike Matthews Originally published in Manchester 1898, this rare early work on rat catching and control is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS have now republished it in an affordable, high quality, modern edition, using the original text. Ike Matthews was a well known pest controller in his home town of Manchester over 100 years ago. His services were much in demand by local corporations, railway companies and merchants. This book details his extermination methods acquired over some twenty five years as a full time rat catcher. During this period he not only studied the different and the best methods of catching rats, but also took great interest in their ways and habits. The book's sixty four pages contain ten detailed chapters:- How to Clear Rats from Warehouses, Offices, Store Rooms etc. - Trapping. - Ferreting. - Drugs and Chemicals. - How to Keep and Work Ferrets. - Distemper in Ferrets. - Working Ferrets. - Suitable Dogs. - The Habits and Natural History of Rats. - Life of the Rat Catcher. - Hints on Rabbit Shooting. This is a fascinating read for all with an interest in the countryside and its wildlife. The pest controller and gamekeeper, both amateur and professional, will also find much of the information contained in these pages still useful and practical, even today. Many of the earliest sporting books, particularly those dating back to the 1800s, are now extremely scarce and very expensive. READ COUNTRY BOOKS are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

FULL REVELATIONS OF A PROFESSIONAL RAT-CATCHER AFTER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE. By Ike Matthews Originally published in Manchester 1898, this rare early work on rat catching and control…

Battlefield Gas was first employed in April 1915 at the village of Langemarck near Ypres. At 1700 hours the Germans released a five mile-wide cloud of 168 tons of chlorine gas from 520 cylinders, causing panic and death in the French and Algerian trenches. Despite initial widespread condemnation and disgust, its use rapidly spread with all the armies entering into the race to produce gases, new ways to use them, and protective measures including masks and warning systems.
For the first time in detail, this book charts the development of gas as a battlefield weapon and the steps taken to counter it. Delivery methods, including the use of artillery, the consequences of changing wind direction, and infantry advancing into an area just gassed, are all covered alongside key milestones in its introduction and usage.
With an abundant array of artwork and photographs illustrating the gas masks, insignia, and protective clothing of the protagonists, this book conveys the horror of the gas attack and reveals the practical challenges for soldiers struggling to cope with this new form of warfare.
Conveying the reality behind the iconic Sargent painting of a column of blindfolded gas casualties, it is a fascinating survey of one of the darkest facets of 20th century warfare.

Battlefield Gas was first employed in April 1915 at the village of Langemarck near Ypres. At 1700 hours the Germans released a five mile-wide cloud of 168 tons of chlorine gas…

The classic chronicle of the impact disease and plagues have had on history and society over the past half-millennium. Intriguingly fascinating and entertaining reading for anyone who is interested in how society copes with catastrophe and pain. Relevant today in face of the worldwide medical calamity of AIDS. Continuously in print since its first publication in 1934, with over 75 printings.

The classic chronicle of the impact disease and plagues have had on history and society over the past half-millennium. Intriguingly fascinating and entertaining reading for anyone…

Within months of the start of the First World War, Germany began to run out of the raw materials it needed to make explosives. As Germany faced imminent defeat, chemists such as Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch came to the rescue with Nobel Prize winning discoveries that overcame the shortages and enabled the country to continue in the war. Similarly, Britain could not have sustained its war effort for four years had it not been for chemists like Chaim Weizmann who was later to become the first president of the State of Israel. Michael Freemantle tells the stories of these and many other chemists and explains how their work underpinned and shaped what became known as The Chemists' War. He reveals: * how chemistry contributed to the care of the sick and wounded and to the health and safety of troops; * how coal not only powered the war but was also an important source of the chemicals needed for the manufacture of explosives, dyes, medicines and antiseptics; * how Britain's production of propellants relied on the slaughter of tens of thousands of whales; * how a precious metal played a critical role in the war; * how poisonous chemicals were used as weapons of mass destruction for the first time in the history of warfare and how chemists developed gas masks for protection against these weapons; * how the British naval blockade of Germany imperilled agricultural production in the United States. The book will appeal to the general reader as well as the many scientists and historians interested in the Great War. Michael Freemantle is a science writer who has written numerous books and articles on chemistry, the history of science and related topics.

Within months of the start of the First World War, Germany began to run out of the raw materials it needed to make explosives. As Germany faced imminent defeat, chemists such as…

Chemistry was not only a destructive instrument of World War I, but also protected troops and healed the sick and wounded. From bombs to bullets, gas to anesthetic, khaki to camouflage, chemistry was truly the alchemy of the war. This history explores its dangers and its healing potential, revealing how the arms race was also a race for chemistry, to the extent that Germany's thirst for fertilizer to feed the creation of their shells nearly starved the nation. It answers question such as: What is cordite? What is lyddite? What is mustard gas? What is phosgene? What is gunmetal? This is a true picture of the horrors of the "Chemists' War."

Chemistry was not only a destructive instrument of World War I, but also protected troops and healed the sick and wounded. From bombs to bullets, gas to anesthetic, khaki to…

Love them or loathe them, rats are here to stay-they are city dwellers as much as (or more than) we are, surviving on the effluvia of our society. In "Rats," the critically acclaimed bestseller, Robert Sullivan spends a year investigating a rat-infested alley just a few blocks away from Wall Street. Sullivan gets to know not just the beast but its friends and foes: the exterminators, the sanitation workers, the agitators and activists who have played their part in the centuries-old war between human city dweller and wild city rat. Sullivan looks deep into the largely unrecorded history of the city and its masses-its herds-of-rats-like mob. Funny, wise, sometimes disgusting but always compulsively readable, "Rats" earns its unlikely place alongside the great classics of nature writing.

Love them or loathe them, rats are here to stay-they are city dwellers as much as (or more than) we are, surviving on the effluvia of our society. In "Rats," the critically…

They were sometimes the butt of jokes, the 'comical chemical corporals.' Officially they were the British Special Brigade, sent to retaliate against German chemical warfare, selected, as one of their members said, almost willy-nilly. "They wanted chemists," a young recruit recalled, "so I looked up the formula for water and told them it was H2O and I was in." Although the Brigade has received little attention since its disbandment following the war, chemical warfare in World War I has been mythologized, sentimentalized and vilified. Its image has been distorted by legends and sensationalized by half-truths. Taking a new look at the reality of poison gas warfare in World War I and the role of the Brigade, Donald Richter exposes the myths perpetuated over the years by novelists and misinformed sentimentalists and challenges prevailing views. He weaves data from official military records with personal anecdotes from diaries, letters and memoirs to create a real-life account of the formation of the Brigade and the frustration, fear, boredom, pain and day-to-day life that followed. To make the story complete, Richter takes a critical look at the Brigade's leader, Charles Foulkes, revealing a forceful and capable but stubbornly obstinate commander.

They were sometimes the butt of jokes, the 'comical chemical corporals.' Officially they were the British Special Brigade, sent to retaliate against German chemical warfare,…