For most of his adult life, Bryson has made his home in the U.K, yet he actually entered the world in 1951 as part of America's postwar baby boom and spent his formative years in Des Moines, Iowa. Bryson wistfully recounts a childhood of innocence and optimism, a magical point in time when a distinct sense of regional and community identity briefly—but blissfully—coexisted with fledgling technology and modern convenience. Narrating, Bryson skillfully wields his amorphous accent—somehow neither fully British nor Midwestern—to project a genial and entertaining tour guide of lost Americana.
The Diamond is a brilliant, dazzling historical novel about a famous diamond — one of the biggest in the world — that passed from the hands of William Pitt's grandfather to the French kings and Napoleon, linking many of the most famous personalities of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and serving as the centerpiece for a novel in every way as fascinating as Susan Sontag's The Volcano Lover or Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.
Of the billions of stars in the night sky, no two are exactly alike. Discover how they are classified according to size, surface temperature, and brightness. Then peer through the most advanced telescopes. Includes three feature segments.
Characteristics of Stars — Examines how we measure the differences between stars
Understanding Stars — Looks at how stars are formed and the lifespan of stars.
Studying the Stars — Shows how advanced telescopes have expanded our view of the universe.
Jeff Corwin journeys to Peru to help save the rare and elusive spectacled bear. South America's largest carnivore — its only bear species — is on the edge of extinction. Hoping to learn how to protect this bear species, Jeff and researchers trap and radio collar a bear to track it in the wild.
Course No. 8280 (36 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture) Taught by Dorsey Armstrong Purdue University Ph.D, Duke University 1. The Medieval World 2. The Legacy of the Roman World 3. The Christianization of Europe 4. After the Roman Empire—Hybrid Cultures 5. Early Monasticism 6. From Merovingian Gaul to Carolingian France...
