In the early 1900s, the Olympic Games track and field throwing events were dominated by a group of Irish-born weight throwers representing the United States. Of immense size and with a larger-than-life presence, these athletes came to be known as the “Irish Whales.” In The Irish Whales: Olympians of Old New York, Kevin Martin shares the untold story of these Irish American athletes who competed with unparalleled distinction for the United States. James Mitchell, John Flanagan, Martin Sheridan, Pat McDonald, Paddy Ryan, and Con Walsh won a total of eighteen medals in the Olympic Games between 1900 and 1924 and completely dominated the world stage in their chosen athletic disciplines. They were lionized in the American and Irish press and became folk heroes among Irish-American immigrant communities. Almost all of these men were further distinguished by their membership in the fabled Irish American Athletic Club of New York and careers with the New York Police Department. The story of the Irish Whales is the very embodiment of the American Dream and exemplifies the triumph of many Irish emigrants in the New World. Featuring a wonderful collection of original photographs, The Irish Whales tells the dramatic stories of these international athletes and their extraordinary sporting successes.

"Here is a new Clay Sanskrit Library publication of the middle book of Valmiki's Ramayana, the source revered throughout South Asia as the original account of the career of Rama, the ideal man and the incarnation of the great god Vishnu." "After losing first his kingship and then his wife, Sita, Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishkindha to seek help in finding her, and meets Hanuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. The brothers Valin and Sugriva are both claimants for the monkey throne; in exchange for the assistance of monkey troops in discovering where Sita is held captive, Rama has to help Sugriva win the throne. The monkey hordes set out in every direction to scour the world, but they have no success until an old vulture tells them Sita is in Lanka. The book concludes with Hanuman's preparation to leap over the ocean to Lanka to pursue the search." "The tragic rivalry between the two monkey brothers is in sharp contrast to Rama's affectionate relationship with his own brothers, and forms a self-contained episode within the larger story of Rama's adventures. Rama's intervention in the struggle between Sugriva and Valin is the chief moral focus of the book." --Book Jacket.

The first edition of the widely praised Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, published in 2005, led to numerous new marine protected area proposals and a number of notable conservation successes around the world. In this completely revised and expanded second edition, new developments in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Pacific are described, as well as future directions for High Seas protection. New sections show how to design and manage MPAs in an ever noisier ocean subject to climate change, increased shipping and hydrocarbon exploration. The process of protected area creation for cetaceans has been accelerated and more than 200 exciting new places are detailed in this edition. This book provides a route map for MPA managers, as well as countries, to meet the ambitious targets for highly protected MPA networks by 2012 and 2020. This book is a key conservation tool and a springboard for worldwide change in human attitudes toward the world ocean where all life originated and where the majority of life on Earth still lives.

This volume outlines the major findings from the Norwegian research programme on whales and seals in Norwegian waters. A wide range of topics are covered, including physiological aspects, social organization, population dynamics, stock assessment and management. The book will be of great value to scientists and managers, as well as to members of the general public interested in environmental issues.

At the turn of the 20th century, track and field in the U.S. was the domain of the wealthy. While baseball and prize-fighting attracted athletes from the lower orders of society, athletic clubs generally recruited the top sporting graduates from private colleges--except one. New York's Irish-American Athletic Club was founded by and for immigrants. Membership was not exclusively Irish--Jews, African Americans, Scandinavians, Italians, and even a handful of Englishmen joined the club, which dominated local and national athletics for more than a decade. The I-AAC laid claim to the title of best athletic club in the world following the 1908 Olympic Games, bent the rules on amateurism and challenged the ban on Sunday entertainments before succumbing to aftereffects of World War I and Prohibition.