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A great, rhapsodic, urgent book full of joy, grief, rage and love . . . A must-read' Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk Nature has many gifts for us, but perhaps the greatest of them all is joy; the intense delight we can take in the natural world, in its beauty, in the wonder it can offer us, in the peace it can provide - feelings stemming ultimately from our own unbreakable links to nature, which mean that we cannot be fully human if we are separate from it. In The Moth Snowstorm Michael McCarthy, one of Britain's leading writers on the environment, proposes this joy as a defence of a natural world which is ever more threatened, and which, he argues, is inadequately served by the two...
Why has old-age security become less solidaristic and increasingly tied to risky capitalist markets? Drawing on rich archival data that covers more than fifty years of American history, Michael A. McCarthy argues that the critical driver was policymakers' reactions to capitalist crises and their political imperative to promote capitalist growth.Pension development has followed three paths of marketization in America since the New Deal, each distinct but converging: occupational pension plans were adopted as an alternative to real increases in Social Security benefits after World War II, private pension assets were then financialized and invested into the stock market, and, since the 1970s, t...
ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BEST NATURE BOOKS OF 2020 SHORTLISTED FOR THE RICHARD JEFFERIES SOCIETY & WHITE HORSE BOOKSHOP LITERARY PRIZE 'Lovely: full of fascinating detail and anecdote, but the undertow of the virus moving in real time beneath its sunlit surface gives it a unique emotional heft.' -The Times 'A literary window into the wonderful wild world during lockdown... a charming book.' -Daily Mail 'An entrancing testament to nature's power to restore us to ourselves.' -Ruth Padel Nature took on a new importance for many people when the coronavirus pandemic arrived, providing solace in a time of great anxiety - not least because the crisis struck at the beginning of spring, the season of light, growth, rebirth and renewal. Three writers, close friends but living in widely separated, contrasting parts of the country, resolved to record their experiences of this extraordinary spring in intimate detail, to share with others their sense of the wonder, inspiration and delight the natural world can offer. The Consolation of Nature is the story of what they discovered by literally walking out from their front doors.
If we could see it as a whole, if they all arrived in a single flock, say, we would be truly amazed: sixteen million birds. Swallows, martins, swifts, warblers, wagtails, wheatears, cuckoos, chats, nightingales, nightjars, thrushes, pipits and flycatchers pouring into Britain from sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of the enduring wonders of the natural world. Each bird faces the most daunting of journeys -navigating epic distances, dependent on bodily fuel reserves. Yet none can refuse. Since pterodactyls flew, twice-yearly odysseys have been the lot of migrant birds. For us, for millennia, the Great Arrival has been celebrated. From The Song of Solomon, through Keats' Ode To a Nightingale, to our thrill at hearing the first cuckoo call each year, the spring-bringers are timeless heralds of shared seasonal joy. Yet, migrant birds are finding it increasingly hard to make the perilous journeys across the African desert. Say Goodbye to the Cuckoo is a moving call to arms by an impassioned expert: get outside, teach your children about these birds, don't let them disappear from our shores and hearts.
Improve your understanding of idioms in English. Explanations and practice of English idioms, written for intermediate-level (B1 to B2) learners of English. Perfect for both self-study and classroom activities. Learn idioms in context, with lots of different topics, including 'Clothes', 'Music and theatre' and 'Work'. Be confident about what you are learning, thanks to Cambridge research into how English is really spoken and written, and get better at studying by yourself, with study tips, follow-up tasks and an easy to use answer key.
English Grammar: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduction to English grammar and its place in society. Rather than taking a prescriptive approach, this book helps the reader become aware of the social implications of choices they make to use standard or non-standard (regional/dialect) forms. Readers will consider: • what grammar is and how it fits into the structure of language; • how grammar functions in the school curriculum, the press, broadcasting and social media, as well as how these outlets reflect and reinforce our attitudes towards grammar; • differences between speech and writing, as well as between formality and informality; • major different approaches to theorising and describing grammar from important grammarians, including Noam Chomsky and Michael Halliday. Featuring a glossary of key terms and practical tips and insights from the author's 50+ years of language teaching experience around the world, this book is for anyone who has ever found themselves questioning the ‘rules’ of the English language.
As featured in 'The Times' (18 Feb 2017). Professor Michael McCarthy, internationally renowned applied linguist, co-author of the 900-page 'Cambridge Grammar of English', author, co-author and editor of more than 50 books and 100 articles on the English language and the teaching of English, winner of an English-Speaking Union prize for one of his dictionaries, answers the awkward questions that regularly bother us all about English grammar. Most of us only vaguely remember what we were taught at school and are put off by long, tedious, dense and pedantic grammar manuals. This book is written in a concise, chatty, humorous and informal style. The A to Z format makes it easy to access and to f...
The discovery of his grandfather's journal drags David Strachan into a world of secrets and lies that stretches from Germany's early victories on the battlefields of France to the rubble and slaughter of Stalingrad and onto the desperate, dying days of the Third Reich. Strachan struggles to come to terms with his grandfather's true identity and his life is changed forever as he tries to settle old debts and make amends for past sins.
How are words and idioms organized in a language? How are they learnt and stored? Vocabulary explains the ways in which the various theories relating to these questions have been applied in both teaching and reference materials. A wide range of examples illustrate the text, and will help readers to evaluate and adapt the vocabulary materials they use in their own classrooms.
You ain't gonna like it: bad grammar's not so bad. - The Times Remember all those grammar rules from school? No? Most of us don't. Mike McCarthy, renowned corpus linguist and co-author of the 900-page Cambridge Grammar of English answers the awkward questions that regularly bother us about English grammar. In this helpful A-Z field guide, McCarthy tells us what the conventional rules are as well as shows us what people are writing or saying now and gives simple reasons why you might choose one or the other so that you can speak and write with confidence. Through witty and entertaining examples pulled from 50 years of teaching, 40 years of field notes picked from books, newspapers, letters, r...