Brian May

What exactly is the solar system? We've all learned the basics at school but do we really understand what we are seeing in the night sky? Expert astronomers Chris North and Paul Abel, provide a fascinating guided tour of our Solar System and explain its many wonders. They look at all the major players, including our more familiar cosmic neighbors--the Sun, the planets and their moons--as well as the occasional visitors to our planet--asteroids, meteors and comets--in addition to distant stars and what might lie beyond our Solar System, including the mysterious Earth Mark II? North and Abel recount the history of how our Solar System came to be, and the myths that once shaped astronomy. Through their cogent explanations of the latest scientific discoveries, they reveal how any amateur astronomer can view and interpret the Solar System and enrich their understanding of our universe.

First published in 1978, The Indonesian Tragedy is a controversial book that argues that Indonesia’s lack of economic development is due to the blind attempt to force a Western economic model on a population, whose culture and psychology are unsuited to it. The author demonstrates the ‘Indonesian Tragedy’ not so much by argument, as by depicting the country as he experienced it day to day. In developing his conclusion, he draws on history, and the works of sociologists, some of whom he disagrees with. In this way he sheds light on the predicament of Indonesia and helps to illuminate a problem common to much of the Third World. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, journalism, and Southeast Asian studies.

First published in 1984, Russia, America, the Bomb and the Fall of Western Europe offers a dual approach to unilateral nuclear disarmament. While it systematically analyzes and rejects stock arguments for retaining nuclear weapons, from the supposed threat of Soviet invasion to fears of Finlandization and the loss of mineral resources, it examines the issue within the context of Western Europe’s historic fall. This is described with the help from Arnold Toynbee, Plato and Marx. Brian May argues that, if West European civilization is to survive, it must find the moral strength to stand on its own feet, make its own accommodation with the USSR, and abandon dependence on its offshoot on the other side of the Atlantic, whose policies could lead to its destruction. This book will be of interest to students of geopolitics, international relations, security studies and history.

First published in 1981, The Third World Calamity is a controversial book on the social conditions, politics, economics and cultural barriers that have, according to the author, stagnated Western-style socio-economic development in the Third World. The book deals particularly with India, Iran and Nigeria, where the author has gathered a large part of the material. The content of the book and the language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this republication. This book will be of interest to students of history, political science, international relations, and geography.

Described as the most widely read and influential serious writer of the twentieth century, George Orwell remains relevant in our own era of contested media. He continues to attract a large readership. This book is about Orwell’s post-war cultural moment c. 1948. Taking his Diaries of the time as inspiration, together with his famous final novel, 1984 (published 1949), and treating them as contiguous texts, Brian May considers the gaps, equivocations, and contradictions in Orwell's message and asks what Orwell would have written next. But 1948 is more than a work of literary criticism: rather, it balances critical discussion with creative intervention, being one-half literary-critical commentary, and one-half fictional departure – a novella titled “From the Archives of Oceania,” which quotes, parodies and pastiches Orwell's Diaries, offering a possible prequel. Together these elements offer a resource for the reader to interrogate anew such difficult issues as Orwell's sexism and anti-Semitism; to explore the tensions between various intertwining strands of thought that cast Orwell as both realist and idealist, Puritan and individualist; and to better understand Orwell's curious affection for the natural world. 1948 will appeal to all readers and critics of Orwell, but also to students of dystopian fiction, "revisionary" fiction and "reception study," which highlights the audience’s contribution to an artwork's meaning.

The revered and authorized Queen biography, revised and updated. The original edition explored every aspect of the legendary group's career from inception to 1992. Revised and updated with cooperation and insight from Brian May and Roger Taylor - and drawing on exclusive interviews with the bandmembers - this book completes the story of the Mercury era and the immediate years after his death. With numerous extra photographs and a new foreword from Brian May, Queen - As It Began is an informative and authoritative portrait of Queen's most fundamental period.

First published in 1978, The Indonesian Tragedy is a controversial book that argues that Indonesia’s lack of economic development is due to the blind attempt to force a Western economic model on a population, whose culture and psychology are unsuited to it. The author demonstrates the ‘Indonesian Tragedy’ not so much by argument, as by depicting the country as he experienced it day to day. In developing his conclusion, he draws on history, and the works of sociologists, some of whom he disagrees with. In this way he sheds light on the predicament of Indonesia and helps to illuminate a problem common to much of the Third World. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, journalism, and Southeast Asian studies.

First published in 1984, Russia, America, the Bomb and the Fall of Western Europe offers a dual approach to unilateral nuclear disarmament. While it systematically analyzes and rejects stock arguments for retaining nuclear weapons, from the supposed threat of Soviet invasion to fears of Finlandization and the loss of mineral resources, it examines the issue within the context of Western Europe’s historic fall. This is described with the help from Arnold Toynbee, Plato and Marx. Brian May argues that, if West European civilization is to survive, it must find the moral strength to stand on its own feet, make its own accommodation with the USSR, and abandon dependence on its offshoot on the other side of the Atlantic, whose policies could lead to its destruction. This book will be of interest to students of geopolitics, international relations, security studies and history.

First published in 1981, The Third World Calamity is a controversial book on the social conditions, politics, economics and cultural barriers that have, according to the author, stagnated Western-style socio-economic development in the Third World. The book deals particularly with India, Iran and Nigeria, where the author has gathered a large part of the material. The content of the book and the language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this republication. This book will be of interest to students of history, political science, international relations, and geography.

Described as the most widely read and influential serious writer of the twentieth century, George Orwell remains relevant in our own era of contested media. He continues to attract a large readership. This book is about Orwell’s post-war cultural moment c. 1948. Taking his Diaries of the time as inspiration, together with his famous final novel, 1984 (published 1949), and treating them as contiguous texts, Brian May considers the gaps, equivocations, and contradictions in Orwell's message and asks what Orwell would have written next. But 1948 is more than a work of literary criticism: rather, it balances critical discussion with creative intervention, being one-half literary-critical commentary, and one-half fictional departure – a novella titled “From the Archives of Oceania,” which quotes, parodies and pastiches Orwell's Diaries, offering a possible prequel. Together these elements offer a resource for the reader to interrogate anew such difficult issues as Orwell's sexism and anti-Semitism; to explore the tensions between various intertwining strands of thought that cast Orwell as both realist and idealist, Puritan and individualist; and to better understand Orwell's curious affection for the natural world. 1948 will appeal to all readers and critics of Orwell, but also to students of dystopian fiction, "revisionary" fiction and "reception study," which highlights the audience’s contribution to an artwork's meaning.

Bennu, named for the ancient Egyptian phoenix, was the chosen destination of OSIRIS-REx, NASA’s premier mission of asteroid exploration, launched in 2016. Study of the asteroid is important in safeguarding the future of planet Earth, but Bennu is also a time capsule from the dawn of our Solar System, holding secrets over four-and-a-half billion years old about the origin of life and Earth as a habitable planet. In 2020 the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Bennu and collected pristine asteroid material for delivery to Earth in September 2023. Scientific studies of the samples, along with data collected during the rendezvous, promise to help find answers to some of humanity’s deepest questions: Where did we come from? What is our destiny in space? This book, the world’s first complete (and stereoscopic) atlas of an asteroid, is the result of a unique collaboration between OSIRIS-REx mission leader Dante Lauretta and Brian May’s London Stereoscopic Company. Lauretta’s colleagues include Carina Bennett, Kenneth Coles, and Cat Wolner, as well as Brian May and Claudia Manzoni, who became part of the ultimately successful effort to find a safe landing site for sampling. The text details the data collected by the mission so far, and the stereo images have been meticulously created by Manzoni and May from original images collected by the OSIRIS-REx cameras.

In Brian May's own words and more than 300 previously unseen 3-D photographs, Queen in 3-D is an insider's look at life with the rock band Queen, told for the first time. The pictures and self-penned text tell the story of Brian's discovery of the world of stereoscopy as a boy, and chronicles Queen from the early 1970s to the present day. The images, from Brian's personal archives, were taken using the various stereo cameras which Brian carried throughout his life. Viewed in May's patented ULTRALITE OWL viewer (included), they leap into stunning three-dimensional realism, giving uniquely vivid impressions of life with Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Brian himself, alongside the people who helped to shape Queen's amazing global adventure. Originally published in 2017 in a deluxe slip-cased edition, and then reprinted in 2019 in hardcover, Queen in 3-D has received glowing reviews from the press and broadcast media, as well as from countless music fans around the world who posted their kind comments online. This new paperback contains everything included in the previous edition: Brian May's 3-D photos and text - scrupulously honest, emotional, beautiful and inspiringFeaturing Queen on and off stage from the 1970s to the present dayMore than 300 previously unseen stereo imagesBrian May's glimpses of life in the studio and on the roadBonus sections including 21st century-Queen + Adam LambertIncludes an ULTRALITE OWL 3-D viewer, an ingenious new development of the design, in the back flap of the paperbackMore than 17 stereo images from the Bohemian Rhapsody movie Queen have touched us all. Their music provides a soundtrack to our lives, their rock anthems elevating our spirits through the highs and lows of our time on this planet. This book provides the perfect visual context to the ever-powerful Queen sonic experience - stereoscopy to match the stereophony

In 2004 a rock star, a TV astronomer and a young research astronomer sat down to write the story of the Universe in the order in which it happened, from its birth at the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, through to its ultimate demise in the infinitely far future. The aim of this book is to explain the Big Bang and everything that followed in a way that made sense, in the strict order in which events occurred, and without using maths, so it would be understandable to everyone, regardless of educational background. The original edition of Bang! was a bestseller, and a go-to for anyone wanting to understand the story of the origins and evolution of our Universe that did not duck the science. Since the first edition, thousands of planets have been discovered, the 'habitable zone' has expanded and a flotilla of new satellites has explored our own solar system, bringing back fresh images and new science. In this book all the latest findings about the evolution of stars and galaxies are included, and the current thinking about our ultimate origins. The latest ideas about Dark Matter and Dark Energy are explained, all illustrated with new images from the world's largest telescopes and space missions. This is the new, updated, popular guide to 'Life, the Universe, and Everything' – The Complete History of the Universe.

In Brian May's Red Special you will discover everything about Brian May's unique, home-made guitar. Brian reveals all, from the guitar's origins to playing on the roof of Buckingham Palace, from Live Aid to the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, from the set of Bohemian Rhapsody to opening the Academy Awards in 2019 where the film scooped four Oscars. All of this is accompanied by original diagrams, sketches and notes from the building of the guitar, as well as a selection of classic photographs including Brian on stage with his guitar, close-ups and even an X-ray. Rare images are included throughout, as the entire guitar was dismantled and photographed for the book.

Featuring over 150 of the world's greatest guitar superstars, this updated edition of our successful Rock Guitar Heroes is a definitive guide to those guitarists whose talents helped change the face of music forever and touched the lives of millions. From the heroes of classic blues rock with the likes of Hendrix, Clapton, Page and Beck to modern artists such as Jack White and Muse's Matt Bellamy, this comprehensive catalogue of guitarists covers a wide range of musical styles. Learn what inspired them to create the music that led to their legendary status, how they achieved such greatness and the tools they used to get to the top. Supported by over 200 superb images that bring each page to life and capture the power and emotion behind the music, this is the ideal book for any aspiring guitar hero, and will satisfy even the most die-hard of music fans.