BEAT THE DRUM SLOWLY is the story of war, parenthetically and unfortunately, it is also unavoidably, the story of man's history. From our earliest days, conflict has been the single most common characteristic of humanity. Man has fought man and men have fought men on every continent, every ocean and every island from the moment one set eyes on the other. Be this xenophobia or be this a form of insanity is difficult to tell. In any case, the difference is lost amid the bombastic sounds of war. The weapons themselves are of little consequence, be they bare hands, clubs, knives, swords, spears, arrows, muskets, machine guns or atomic bombs. The end remains the same- lives are lost....like a sputtering candle, guttering in the wind, with darkness having the final word. We can easily enough research each of the thousands of battles between one group on this sad earth and another. Countries have fought countries and people, people, since before we began keeping count. We don't need this book, or any like it, to recount the history of these terrible conflicts. Beat The Drum Slowly instead delves into the underlying nature and motivations driving human-kind toward war and murder. We look beneath the facile explanations and histories offered by conquerors. (the losers seldom get a say) and attempt to peal away the layers of rationalization, lies and hypocrisy. The question is- what is it in humanity compelling us to engage in wholesale murder of our fellow man? Of course, it does superficially seem to be a "blood sport" engaged in mostly by men. Perhaps the culprit is testosterone? Women don't seem to be driven to dress up in silly uniforms, parade around to martial music and then run out screaming for blood... do they? From what we have observed, this seems a valid point. Those women who do go in for this kind of thing often have as much hair on their chins as the men they emulate... Of course, unless every country in the world placed women into every possible governmental position giving the female of the species complete and total power over everything, we will never know. Such is about as unlikely to happen as a vegan 'snarfing' up a bloody steak, the world will have to wait until some time in the future to see how that would work out. In the real world, men are stronger than women and men are highly competitive and combative. Men fight for power and never willingly give it up. Seeing things in this light, it is completely understandable as to why the world is governed by men. Men fight for survival, dominance, money, religion, race, patriotism, real estate and revenge. This book examines each of these motivating factors with the purpose being to explain to ourselves and our readers exactly what in holy hell is wrong with us. If the best way we have devised over thousands of years to settle differences is warfare then it does seem that mankind is doomed. Sooner or later, one side or another will design and field the ultimate weapon and, with our historical inability to foresee the future consequences of our actions, it is entirely likely that we will have finally managed to destroy all human life. Probably, the animals and other creatures of the earth will be rejoice over this. Is it at all possible that we can learn to settle our differences using our intellect and common sense or are we a doomed species? This is the question we examine and try to answer in this book. Regardless of the means one uses to bring death, war is by man's hand, whether driven by, religion, murder, etc. To study the countless wars throughout history trying to ascertain a cumulative total of deaths caused by war would take days, weeks or even months. Outside of war, murder and other direct causes of death, we are our own worst enemy. With the ability to annihilate the earth with "the press of a button," man's potential to end the lives o

The second novel in a brilliant new Napoleonic series from acclaimed historian Adrian Goldsworthy. Second in the series begun by TRUE SOLDIER GENTLEMEN, the story takes our heroes through the winter snows as Sir John Moore is forced to retreat to Corunna. Faced with appalling weather, and pursued by an overwhelming French army led by Napoleon himself, the very survival of Britain's army is at stake. But while the 106th Foot fights a desperate rearguard action, for the newly promoted Hamish Williams, the retreat turns into an unexpectedly personal drama. Separated from the rest of the army in the initial chaos, he chances upon another fugitive, Jane MacAndrews, the daughter of his commanding officer, and the woman he is desperately and hopelessly in love with. As the pair battle the elements and the pursuing French, picking up a rag-tag band of fellow stragglers along the way - as well as an abandoned newborn - the strict boundaries of their social relationship are tested to the limit, with surprising results. But Williams soon finds he must do more than simply evade capture and deliver Jane safe and sound to her father. A specially tasked unit of French cavalry is threatening to turn the retreat into a massacre, and Williams and his little band are the only thing standing between them and their goal.

A poignant portrayal of professional ballplayers' lives on and off the field during the sport's golden years in the 1950's.

Now in a revised and updated second edition, Early Listening Skills is a practical manual for use with children and young people with underdeveloped listening skills related to hearing loss. Thirteen clear and easy to follow sections focus on skills such as auditory detection, discrimination, recognition, sequencing and memory. Each one is filled with a series of carefully designed activities to stimulate and develop auditory awareness and discrimination skills in children with a range of developmental levels and abilities. Features include: A wide range of activities suited to both the early years and home settings Links to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and topics reflecting the EYFS and Key Stage 1 curriculum Photocopiable material designed to document the child’s development over time As most of the activities are non-verbal, they are well suited for children with limited spoken language as well as children with special educational needs and disability and English as an additional language (EAL) learners. Whilst primarily designed for early years practitioners, special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs), specialist teachers, therapists and other professionals, the activity sheets and guidance also make it an invaluable tool for parents and caregivers looking to stimulate listening skills at home.

A fresh and timely approach to understanding the profound impact of motor development on children of all ages and stages. Based on the authors' more than seventy combined years of professional success working with children of all abilities, Growing an In-Sync Child provides parents, teachers, and other professionals with the tools to give every child a head start and a leg up. Because early motor development is one of the most important factors in a child's physical, emotional, academic, and overall success, the In- Sync Program of sixty adaptable, easy, and fun activities will enhance your child's development, in just minutes a day. Discover how simple movements such as skipping, rolling, balancing, and jumping can make a world of difference for your child—a difference that will last a lifetime.

Originally published in 1977. The Travellers, from those living in bow-tents and horse-drawn caravans to those dwelling in motor caravans and permanent homes, are an important source of traditional music. Their society means that songs that have died out in more settled communities are preserved among them. Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, widely known as two of the founding singers of the British and American folk revivals, here display a vast fund of folklore scholarship around the songs of British travelling people. Resulting from extensive collecting in southern and southeastern England and central and northeastern Scotland in the 1960s and 70s, this book contains 130 songs with music and comprehensive notes relating them to folkloristic and historical points of interest. It includes traditional ballads and ballads of broadside origin, bawdy, tragic and humorous songs about love, work and death. Most are in English or in Scots dialect with four in Anglo-Romani.

Featuring Field of Dreams, The Bad News Bears, A League of Their Own, and more: a probing and entertaining work at the intersection of pop culture and sports Baseball has always been a symbol as much as a sport. With a blend of individual confrontation and team play, a luxurious pace, and an immaculate urban parkland setting, it offers a sunny rendering of the American Dream, both the hard work that underpins it and the rewards it promises. Film, America's other national pastime, which magnifies and mythologizes all it touches, has long been the ideal medium to canonize this aspirational idea. Baseball: The Movie is the first definitive history of this film genre that was born in 1915 and remains artistically and culturally vital more than a century later. Writer and critic Noah Gittell sheds light on well-known classics and overlooked gems, exploring how baseball cinema creates a stage upon which the American ideal is born, performed, and repeatedly redefined. Traversing history and mythmaking, cynicism and nostalgia, this thoroughly researched book takes readers on a multifaceted tour of baseball on film.

Includes an access code for online materials.