Bøger af Stephen Budiansky

What does it mean to be a horse? The definitive and bestselling book explaining the mysteries of the horse using insights of modern science.

The Battle of Antietam, which took place on September 17, 1862, remains the single bloodiest day in America's history. As a turning point in the Civil War, the narrow Union victory was the key catalyst for Lincoln to issue his Emancipation Proclamation.Yet Antietam was not only a battle that dramatically changed the fortunes and meaning of the war; it also changed America in ways we feel today. Antietam ushered in a new beginning in politics, military strategy, gender roles, battlefield medicine, war photography, and the values and worldview of the postwar generation.A masterful and fine-grained account of the battle and the intimate experiences of those who were there, Stephen Budiansky's A Day in September expands this view to encompass Antietam's enduring legacy in American society and culture.

Animal rights extremists argue that eating meat is murder and that pets are slaves. This compelling reappraisal of the human-animal bond, however, shows that domestication of animals is not an act of exploitation but a brilliantly successful evolutionary strategy that has benefited humans and animals alike. "Budiansky's slim, elegant discourse is a persuasive counterweight to the pastoral delusions of sentimentalists intent on seeing humans as malevolently at odds with the noble animal kingdom."-Manuela Hoelterhoff, Wall Street Journal "Forcefully argued and eloquent."-Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times "A subtle look at the mysteries of evolution and a stinging response to animal-rights extremists. . . . Ambrosia for anyone-whether in agreement with Budiansky or not-who appreciates the beauty of an argument that combines careful scholarship with common sense."-Kirkus Reviews "Budiansky argues his thesis clearly and cogently."-Daily Telegraph

The Evander Lawless College of North Ohio has two problems. One is the arrival of a new vice president determined to "make the college more businesslike." Drawing on his years of executive experience in a multinational breakfast cereal company (where he earned the nickname "The Frosted Flake"), the vice president has launched a "branding initiative" and a plan to sell naming rights to individual courses. The other problem is that members of the faculty keep turning up dead. It falls to Ted Gilpin, earnest professor of Cognitive and Deconstructivist Studies, to follow a trail of clues that bizarrely begin to echo not only the classic plots of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers murder mysteries, but also his own impenetrable papers on the "deconstruction" of texts. Gilpin finds himself involved with a cool blonde physicist, a yellow-highlighter-wielding cop, a mysterious missing manuscript--and enough venom-fueled jealousies among his fellow academics to fill a cemetery.

No single human invention has transformed war more than the airplane-not even the atomic bomb. Even before the Wright Brothers' first flight, predictions abounded of the devastating and terrible consequences this new invention would have as an engine of war. Soaring over the battlefield, the airplane became an unstoppable force that left no spot on earth safe from attack. Drawing on combat memoirs, letters, diaries, archival records, museum collections, and eyewitness accounts by the men who fought-and the men who developed the breakthrough inventions and concepts-acclaimed author Stephen Budiansky weaves a vivid and dramatic account of the airplane's revolutionary transformation of modern warfare.On the web: http://www.budiansky.com/

Oliver Wendell Holmes escaped death twice as a young Union officer in the Civil War. He lived ever after with unwavering moral courage, unremitting scorn for dogma, and an insatiable intellectual curiosity. During his nearly three decades on the Supreme Court, he wrote a series of opinions that would prove prophetic in securing freedom of speech, protecting the rights of criminal defendants, and ending the Court's reactionary resistance to social and economic reforms.As a pioneering legal scholar, Holmes revolutionized the understanding of common law. As an enthusiastic friend, he wrote thousands of letters brimming with an abiding joy in fighting the good fight. Drawing on many previously unpublished letters and records, Stephen Budiansky offers the fullest portrait yet of this pivotal American figure.

Horses have a shared history with man going back millennia to their domestication around 4000 B.C. Yet only in very recent years have scientists begun to turn the tools of modem science on this remarkable animal that has been so wrapped up in human dreams and legends. Now modern scientific research is beginning to explain long-standing mysteries about the true nature of the horse. How well can horses really see? What causes breakdowns in racehorses? How intelligent are they compared to other animals, and are some breeds smarter than others? Does nature or nurture matter more in creating a great sport horse? What causes cribbing and other vices? In this beautifully illustrated, compelling narrative, Budiansky tells the story of the origins, behavior, intelligence and language of the horse. For the first time, horse lovers will have access to cutting-edge research on topics of interest including new information on horse vision, horse biology and movement. Introducing the latest archeological findings, Budiansky presents a fascinating discussion of how the horse evolved as well as a dramatic and provocative history of man's use and abuse of the horse from prehistoric times to today. In a revealing chapter on horse intelligence, he debunks the commonly held belief that horses are stupid and also presents compelling new scientific information on horse language which will greatly benefit the horse rider and trainer. Finally, drawing together the latest research on horse physiology, genetics and biomechanics, Budiansky asks the million dollar question -- what makes for a winning racehorse? Anyone who loves horses will find this an invaluable resource as well as a fascinating read.