https://arab.news/4ybke
Author: Lucas Bessir
The Ogallala aquifer has nourished life on the American Great Plains for millennia. But less than a century of unsustainable irrigation farming has taxed much of the aquifer beyond repair.
The imminent depletion of the Ogallala and other aquifers around the world is a defining planetary crisis of our times. “Running Out” offers a uniquely personal account of aquifer depletion and the deeper layers through which it gains meaning and force.
This is the first book to really make sense of the dizzying array of information that has emerged in recent decades about earthquakes.
Susan Hough, a research seismologist in one of North America’s most active earthquake zones and an expert at communicating this complex science to the public, separates fact from fiction.
She fills in many of the blanks that remained after plate tectonics theory, in the 1960s, first gave us a rough idea of just what earthquakes are about.
“Of Mice and Men” is a novella written by the late John Steinbeck and published in 1937.
The book explores themes of friendship, dreams, loneliness, the human condition, and the inherent cruelty of society.
Set during the Great Depression in the US, the story revolves around two displaced ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, who are seeking employment and a place to call their own.
They form a close friendship, and Milton serves as Small’s guardian, protecting him from the dangers and complexities of the world.
The duo finds work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, where they meet other characters such as Candy, an aging ranch-employee with a missing hand, and Slim, a skilled and respected worker. They also encounter Curley, the boss’ aggressive and insecure son, and his flirtatious wife, who remains unnamed throughout the story.
Small’s mental disability creates tension and conflict throughout the narrative and leads to a tragic incident where ranch workers decide to seek revenge on him. That is when the story really takes off.
“Of Mice and Men” remains a poignant and widely studied work, highlighting the struggles faced by marginalized individuals during the Great Depression era and raising questions about the nature of compassion and the pursuit of happiness.
While Steinbeck’s formal education was not extensive, his experiences, self-study, and immersion in various environments played a significant role in shaping his perspective and informing his writing.
He wrote several other notable novels, including “East of Eden,” “Cannery Row,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” and nonfiction book “Travels with Charley: In Search of America.”
His observations of people, their struggles, and the landscapes they inhabited became integral to his storytelling and contributed to his reputation as one of America’s most influential writers.
This is a sweeping and provocative work of aesthetic theory: a trenchant critique of the philosophy of art as it developed from the 18th century to the early 20th century, combined with a carefully reasoned plea for a new and more flexible approach to art.
Jean-Marie Schaeffer, one of France’s leading aestheticians, explores the writings of Kant, Schlegel, Novalis, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Heidegger to show that these diverse thinkers shared a common approach to art, which he calls the “speculative theory.”
Author: World Bank Group
Indonesia has achieved remarkable success over the years in stimulating rapid economic growth and reducing widespread poverty. The pace and pattern of development, however, have given rise to increasing concern about the sustainable use of natural resources and the social and economic costs of urban and industrial pollution.
It says that growth and development over the medium term will depend increasingly on Indonesia’s key natural resources and ecosystems, and the care and efficiency with which they are managed, according to a review on goodreads.com.
The book claims that the growing volume of urban and industrial pollution in the country poses a serious threat both to the improvements in health and human welfare that are central to the long-term goals of development.
A result of increasing competition for scarce natural resources and growing levels of pollution, environment-related issues of equity and burden sharing will become increasingly important in the years ahead.
In some portraits of Henry VIII there appears another, striking figure — a gaunt and morose-looking man with a shaved head and, in one case, a monkey on his shoulder. This is William or “Will” Somer, the king’s fool, a celebrated wit who reportedly could raise Henry’s spirits and spent many hours with him, often alone.
Was Somer an “artificial fool,” a cunning comic who could speak freely in front of the king, or a “natural fool,” someone with intellectual disabilities, like many other members of the profession?
And what role did he play in the tumultuous and violent Tudor era? Fool is the first biography of Somer — and perhaps the first of a Renaissance fool.
After his death, Somer disappeared behind his legend, and historians struggled to separate myth from reality.
Unearthing as many facts as possible, Peter K. Andersson pieces together the fullest picture yet of an enigmatic and unusual man with a very strange job. Somer’s story provides new insights into how fools lived.
