Power of the powerless, Havel, Vaclav

Автор: Havel, Vaclav
Название: To the Castle and Back
ISBN: 030738845X ISBN-13(EAN): 9780307388452
Издательство: Random House (USA)
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Цена: 10390.00 T
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From the former president of the Czech Republic comes this first-hand account of his years in office and the transition to democracy following the fall of Communism.

A renowned playwright, Vaclav Havel became one of Czechoslovakia's most prominent dissidents under Communist rule - and the president after the Velvet Revolution, making him a key player in European politics. Here we see first-hand the challenges of creating a new government, tempered with Havel's revealing insights into the difficulties posed by an era of increased globalization and conflict. He discusses not only the situation in his own country, but also such pressing issues as the future of the European Union, the war in Iraq, and the role of the United States in contemporary affairs. Written with an eye towards both the political and the personal and a witty, well-honed eloquence, To the Castle and Back is a rare glimpse into the minds of one of the most important political figures of modern times.

Автор: Smil, Vaclav
Название: Enriching the earth
ISBN: 0262693135 ISBN-13(EAN): 9780262693134
Издательство: MIT Press
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Цена: 39500.00 T
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Dr. Smil is the world's authority on nitrogenous fertilizer.

The industrial synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen has been of greater fundamental importance to the modern world than the invention of the airplane, nuclear energy, space flight, or television. The expansion of the world's population from 1.6 billion people in 1900 to today's six billion would not have been possible without the synthesis of ammonia.

In Enriching the Earth, Vaclav Smil begins with a discussion of nitrogen's unique status in the biosphere, its role in crop production, and traditional means of supplying the nutrient. He then looks at various attempts to expand natural nitrogen flows through mineral and synthetic fertilizers. The core of the book is a detailed narrative of the discovery of ammonia synthesis by Fritz Haber -- a discovery scientists had sought for over one hundred years -- and its commercialization by Carl Bosch and the chemical company BASF. Smil also examines the emergence of the large-scale nitrogen fertilizer industry and analyzes the extent of global dependence on the Haber-Bosch process and its biospheric consequences. Finally, it looks at the role of nitrogen in civilization and, in a sad coda, describes the lives of Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch after the discovery of ammonia synthesis.