Unquestionably, this is one of the most important books about understanding the Middle East written during the last half-century.Jerusalem Post

Broadcasting touches almost every person in the United States every day. But like the air we breathe, we seldom give it a second thought. Towers in the Sand is the only comprehensive history of Florida's broadcasting industry, 1922-2016, the people who brought the stations to life, and the events that saw the state grow from boom to bust and back again to now the nation's third most populous. Over a decade in the making and fully referenced and indexed, Towers in the Sand tells stories from over eighty Florida broadcasting pioneers and current leaders, from the Keys to the Panhandle. A celebration of broadcasting's proudest moments through hard-hitting journalism and editorials, lifesaving moments through decades of hurricanes, and lighthearted moments with favorite personalities and promotions. Towers in the Sand also laments the loss of a national treasure as most stations were transformed from local community partners to lines on corporate balance sheets. As broadcasting sits at the precipice of a very uncertain future, the author hopes through this work to engage thought, conversation, and action to ensure its continued relevance in society.

An account of the life and work of the architect Minoru Yamasaki that leads the author to consider how (and for whom) architectural history is written. Sandfuture is a book about the life of the architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986), who remains on the margins of history despite the enormous influence of his work on American architecture and society. That Yamasaki’s most famous projects—the Pruitt-Igoe apartments in St. Louis and the original World Trade Center in New York—were both destroyed on national television, thirty years apart, makes his relative obscurity all the more remarkable. Sandfuture is also a book about an artist interrogating art and architecture’s role in culture as New York changes drastically after a decade bracketed by terrorism and natural disaster. From the central thread of Yamasaki’s life, Sandfuture spirals outward to include reflections on a wide range of subjects, from the figure of the architect in literature and film and transformations in the contemporary art market to the perils of sick buildings and the broader social and political implications of how, and for whom, cities are built. The result is at once sophisticated in its understanding of material culture and novelistic in its telling of a good story.

A modern, summery spin on the classic The House That Jack Built, in which Lola's day at the beach leads to new friends and a giant sandcastle. Lola is building her dream sandcastle--one with a tall, tall tower and sea glass that sends signals to mermaids. But the beach is crowded, and soon enough, a boy steps on her castle. Not to worry! Lola recruits him to build a wall. When a toddler with a bulldozer starts digging too close the walls, Lola decides he can be in charge of digging the moat. As the sandcastle grows, so does Lola's friendly group of helpers. There's only one thing that Lola doesn't want near the sandcastle: a wave! Will the new friends be able to salvage the mermaids' castle when their hard work is washed away?

When driving south along the Delaware Atlantic Coast between Rehoboth and Bethany, several concrete towers, weathered by the ocean, can be seen on the beach. They are symbols of a nation at war, built to safeguard the Atlantic Coast from a German sea invasion during World War II. When the towers were built, there were soldiers stationed along the coast and even a German POW camp. McKenna is a young woman living with her family in Ocean View, Delaware during World War II. Her lifeand the lives of the people she lovesis turned upside down by the arrival of a young man named Kurt. Kurt grew up in Germany. With the rise of Hitler, his father moved quickly up the military ranks, so Kurt was eventually expected to do the same. He begrudgingly became a German spy. Undercover in America, Kurts loyalties wander, especially when he meets McKenna. Fighting the darkness of war, they find light in each other, but how can Kurt love her while living a lie? Its time to make a choice: will he forsake the woman he loves or the country he serves? The horrors of war are wrought with difficult decisions as Kurt and McKenna struggle through tragedy, patriotism, and the power of self-discovery.

A step-by-step guide to building elaborate and impressive sandcastles with a basic understanding of sand and a few simple tools. A crenellated turret here, a winding, arched staircase there, maybe even a giant turtle—fairy tale ideas are at the heart of every sandcastle. Summer after summer, children and adults alike make valiant efforts to infuse their sandy structures with such inspiration, but the results are generally disappointing. With Sandcastles Made Simple, Lucinda “sandy feet” Wierenga, a renowned sand sculptor, puts a permanent end to less-than-perfect beach creations. She provides the ultimate step-by-step guide to building impressive sandcastles, and shows that with a few simple tools and a basic understanding of sand, building dream castles can be easy. The book features instructions for each of the architectural elements—base, staircase, roof, balcony, and more—that can be combined to fashion one-of-a-kind castles. Also included are two projects designed specifically for younger children. Like a shovel and pail, Sandcastles Made Simple is an on-the-beach necessity.

A finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award The gripping story of the most important overlooked commodity in the world--sand--and the crucial role it plays in our lives. After water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume more than any other--even more than oil. Every concrete building and paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip, is made from sand. From Egypt's pyramids to the Hubble telescope, from the world's tallest skyscraper to the sidewalk below it, from Chartres' stained-glass windows to your iPhone, sand shelters us, empowers us, engages us, and inspires us. It's the ingredient that makes possible our cities, our science, our lives--and our future. And, incredibly, we're running out of it. The World in a Grain is the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing natural resource that grows more essential every day, and of the people who mine it, sell it, build with it--and sometimes, even kill for it. It's also a provocative examination of the serious human and environmental costs incurred by our dependence on sand, which has received little public attention. Not all sand is created equal: Some of the easiest sand to get to is the least useful. Award-winning journalist Vince Beiser delves deep into this world, taking readers on a journey across the globe, from the United States to remote corners of India, China, and Dubai to explain why sand is so crucial to modern life. Along the way, readers encounter world-changing innovators, island-building entrepreneurs, desert fighters, and murderous sand pirates. The result is an entertaining and eye-opening work, one that is both unexpected and involving, rippling with fascinating detail and filled with surprising characters.