A Stellar Life


Book Description

Helmut Abt opted for astronomy as a vocation because... well, it was fun. Dr. Abt will delight readers with this light-hearted memoir of a career in 20th century astrophysics, its challenges, its participants, and the fascinating places in the world he visited. With humor and insight he takes readers on the journey of a lifetime filled with stars and exciting adventures. Among other stories, he tells how he located the site of the first national observatory at Kitt Peak in the Arizona desert, and about the joys of being the chief editor of the Astrophysical Journal for 29 years, plus how he helped the Chinese get started in astrophysics, and about his work on double stars that led to the discovery of exoplanets, all interspersed with tales of his travels to dozens of interesting places.




The Life History of a Star


Book Description

When Donald Justice wrote in "On a Picture by Burchfield" that "art keeps long hours," he might have been describing his own life. Although he early on struggled to find a balance between his life and art, the latter became a way of experiencing his life more deeply. He found meaning in human experience by applying traditional religious language to his artistic vocation. Central to his work was the translation of the language of devotion to a learned American vernacular. Art not only provided him with a wealth of intrinsically worthwhile experiences but also granted rich and nuanced ways of experiencing, understanding, and being in the world. For Donald Justice--recipient of some of poetry's highest laurels, including the Pulitzer Prize, the Bollingen Prize, and the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry--art was a way of life. Because Jerry Harp was Justice's student, his personal knowledge of his subject--combined with his deep understanding of Justice's oeuvre--works to remarkable advantage in For Us, What Music? Harp reads with keen intelligence, placing each poem within the precise historical moment it was written and locating it in the context of the literary tradition within which Justice worked. Throughout the text runs the narrative of Justice's life, tying together the poems and informing Harp's interpretation of them. For Us, What Music? grants readers a remarkable understanding of one of America's greatest poets.




5-Star Life


Book Description

Allow Adversity to Refine You, Not Define You "[Britney Ruby Miller] is a change agent who brings the possibility of transformation to all those she leads and influences. From hostess to CEO, Britney leads with courage and humility and impacts the lives of her employees, family members, community, and beyond." —Ford Taylor, Founder, Transformational Leadership Crisis rarely comes with a warning. When blindsided by trauma, betrayal, or soul-crushing news, it’s natural to want to give up. Is it possible to rise above calamity and even thrive despite the turmoil? Britney Ruby Miller, entrepreneur and CEO of a nationally ranked, family-owned restaurant group, says yes, it absolutely is. Having faced family tragedy, peer rejection, infidelity, infertility, and a pandemic that threatened not only to close her family’s business but also to decimate the restaurant industry, Britney battled back with the winning combination of faith and fight that has led to her five-star life. Britney demonstrates what it means to live authentically and effectively as a strong woman in leadership. With captivating stories and practical applications to lead you deeper into principles for success, this book will show you how to increase your faith and hope in the midst of challenges, setbacks, and even tragedy as you persevere to attain your own Five-Star Life. “Every battle [Britney] has faced has been hard won. The scars she has received have become the stars she has earned…. Sit down. Relax. Enjoy. Savor. You’re about to experience a delicious meal.” —Kathie Lee Gifford




This Star Won't Go Out


Book Description

New York Times Bestseller! “This moving read will have you reaching for the tissues and smiling with delight….Stunningly alive on the page, Esther shows that sometimes the true meaning of life—helping and loving others—can be found even when bravely facing death.” –People Magazine, 4 stars In full color and illustrated with art and photographs, this is a collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Essays by family and friends help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her. Learn more about Esther at tswgobook.tumblr.com.




Star of the Sea


Book Description

Learn about what life is like for a starfish, also called a sea star.




The Star of Life


Book Description

Kirk Hammond was a man alone. He had been chosen to ride in the first manned satellite to go out around the Moon and back to Earth. But when the satellite failed to orbit properly, it went on past the Moon into the vastness of outer space, and a whole world watched helplessly as he was borne toward an unthinkably lonely death. Yet destiny decreed that Kirk Hammond should suffer, not death but a pseudo-death. And he awoke from it to find that a hundred centuries had passed and that the space age which had begun in the 20th Century had now grown into a vast galactic civilization that had carried the sons of Earth to countless stars and worlds. But, unexpectedly, the conquest of space had changed Man himself, and the human race had become not one but several species. Hammond was plunged into the climactic struggle between the new races. And in his quest with a desperate band for the mysterious Star of Life that was the key to the struggle, in his relations with the strange and beautiful Thayn Marden who was not a human woman, in his odyssey through the mighty suns and earthly worlds of the galaxy, a man of the 20th Century found himself facing the dangers of the great space age which he himself helped pioneer.




Finding Your Own North Star


Book Description

New York Times bestselling author and Life Designs, Inc. creator Martha Beck shares her step-by-step program that will guide you to fulfill your own potential and create a joyful life. In this book, you'll start by learning how to read the internal compasses already built into your brain and body--and why you may have spent your life ignoring their signals. As you become reacquainted with your own deepest desires, you'll identify and repair any unconscious beliefs or unhealed emotional wounds that may be blocking your progress. This will change your life, but don't worry--although every life is unique, major transformations have common elements, and Beck provides a map that will guide you through your own life changes. You'll learn how to navigate every stage, from the first flickering appearance of a new dream to the planning and implementation of your own ideal life. Based on Dr. Beck's work as a Harvard-trained sociologist, research associate at Harvard Business School, instructor at Thunderbird Business School, and especially on her experiences with her clients over the last six years, Finding Your Own North Star offers thoroughly tested case studies, questionnaires, and exercises to help you articulate your core desires and act on them to build a more satisfying life. “Explorers depend on the North Star when there are no other landmarks in sight. The same relationship exists between you and your right life, the ultimate realization of your potential for happiness. I believe that a knowledge of that perfect life sits inside you just as the North Star sits in its unaltering spot.” -- Martha Beck




Mendelssohn is on the Roof


Book Description

Julius Schlesinger, aspiring SS officer, has received orders to remove from the roof of Prague's concert hall the statue of the Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn. But which of the figures adorning the roof is the Jew? Remembering his course on racial science, Schlesinger instructs his men to pull down the statue with the biggest nose. Only as the statue they have carefully chosen begins to topple does he recognize that it is not Mendelssohn; it is Richard Wagner. Thus begins a story of disarming simplicity that traces the transformation of ordinary lives in Nazi-occupied Prague. Death abetted by the petty malevolence of Nazi functionaries wins all the battles but ultimately loses the war, defeated by the fragile flowering of courage and defiance.




Twitch Upon a Star


Book Description

Based on author Herbie J Pilato’s exclusive interviews with Elizabeth Montgomery prior to her death in 1995, Twitch Upon a Star includes insider material and commentary from several individuals associated with her remarkable life and career before, during, and after Bewitched, including her classic feature films The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed? (1963), and Johnny Cool (1963). Two of Montgomery’s many popular TV movies, A Case of Rape (which remains one of the highest-rated TV-movies of all time) and The Legend of Lizzie Borden (which will soon be remade as a feature film), were groundbreaking and remain classics. But Twitch Upon a Star also goes behind the scenes to explore Montgomery’s political activism, including her early advocacy for AIDS sufferers and the peace movement; her support for all minorities, including the gay community and the disabled; and her controversial participation as narrator of the1988 feature film documentary Cover-Up and its 1991 Oscar-winning sequel, The Panama Deception (both of which chronicled the Iran/Contra scandal of the 1980s). The book also explores Montgomery's tumultuous relationships with her father, screen legend Robert Montgomery (she was a liberal; he was a staunch conservative), and her four husbands (including actor Gig Young, who later died in a murder/suicide). Through it all—and to family and friends such as fellow performers Ronny Cox, Sally Kemp, and Florence Henderson—she was just Lizzie: down-to-earth and unaffected, just like Samantha, the "witch-with-a-twitch" Stephens, her most famous role.




Observer’s Guide to Stellar Evolution


Book Description

Stellar evolution - the birth, development and death of stars - is central to our current understanding of astronomy, but surprisingly the majority of amateur astronomers lack a full understanding of the physics of stars. Current books on the market tend to be highly theoretical and off-putting, in Observer's Guide to Stellar Evolution, Mike Inglis brings this subject to life in a unique way. By combining a step-by-step introduction with suggestions for practical observations of stars at different stages in their evolution, amateur astronomers regardless of their current level of knowledge, will find this book fascinating and informative. -Accessible to every amateur astronomer, regardless of background knowledge. -Step-by-step introduction to the theory of stellar evolution. -Includes many examples of stars at different stages in their evolution, that the reader can observe for him/herself. -Mathematics is made accessible by being presented in 'boxes'that readers can skip over if they prefer!