Charles W. Johnson

Nominated for Mountbatten Maritime Award 2015 In the golden age of polar exploration (from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s), many an expedition set out to answer the big question—was the Arctic a continent, an open ocean beyond a barrier of ice, or an ocean covered with ice? No one knew, for the ice had kept its secret well; ships trying to penetrate it all failed, often catastrophically. Norway's charismatic scientist-explorer Fridtjof Nansen, convinced that it was a frozen ocean, intended to prove it in a novel if risky way: by building a ship capable of withstanding the ice, joining others on an expedition, then drifting wherever it took them, on a relentless one-way journey into discovery and fame . . . or oblivion. Ice Ship is the story of that extraordinary ship, the Fram, from conception to construction, through twenty years of three epic expeditions, to its final resting place as a museum. It is also the story of the extraordinary men who steered the Fram over the course of 84,000 miles: on a three-year, ice-bound drift, finding out what the Arctic really was; in a remarkable four-year exploration of unmapped lands in the vast Canadian Arctic; and on a two-year voyage to Antarctica, where another famous Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, claimed the South Pole. Ice Ship will appeal to all those fascinated with polar exploration, maritime adventure, and wooden ships, and will captivate readers of such books asThe Endurance, In the Heart of the Sea, andThe Last Place on Earth. With more than 100 original photographs, the book brings the Fram to life and light.

"I Am Sam" 10 Keys for success from "Green Eggs & Ham" will help leaders discover the value of being different and how to offer that differences to a waiting world. Author Charles Johnson takes you on a journey of his personal discover using the well-known children's story by Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and gives helpful nuggets for success to leaders in the secular and spiritual arena. In the book you will discover*What is your Green Eggs & Ham* The Power of Focus* The Value of Making the Offer* What is IEEO? After reading Charles's insight gained from this childhood favorite you will know what your Green Eggs & Ham are and how to offer it to the world. Keep it Green

The constitutional background of both legislatures and their procedures are described and where possible compared. Currently unsolved problems often have much in common, in vexed areas such as ethics requirements or how procedural rules permit minorities fair access to legislative time before majorities prevail. British successes include the enhanced authority and effectiveness of select committees and the acquisition of more debating time by the creation of a parallel Chamber. Unsolved problems at Westminster begin with the powers and status of the Lords, and go on through the search for more effective review of EU activities, adapting parliamentary scrutiny to more sophisticated government financial information, and making better use of legislative time without diminishing back-bench rights. The accelerated pace and extent of procedural changes in Congress is problematic. Constant pursuit of campaign funds, increased party exploitation of Members' ethical shortcomings, and partisan reapportionments, have diminished collegiality and compromise. Business is conducted with greater predictability, with fewer quorum calls, postponement and clustering of votes, and by utilization of ad hoc special orders, often in derogation of openness and minority rights in the House. Minority complaints have been frequent and occasionally extreme. Conversely constant filibuster threats in the Senate have enhanced minority party power there. An 'inverse ratio' between the greater complexity, importance, and urgency of pending legislation on the one hand, and diminution of deliberative capacity, fairness. and transparency on the other, has been repeatedly demonstrated, especially at the stage of final compromises between the Houses.

The constitutional background of both legislatures and their procedures are described and where possible compared. Currently unsolved problems often have much in common, in vexed areas such as ethics requirements or how procedural rules permit minorities fair access to legislative time before majorities prevail. British successes include the enhanced authority and effectiveness of select committees and the acquisition of more debating time by the creation of a parallel Chamber. Unsolved problems at Westminster begin with the powers and status of the Lords, and go on through the search for more effective review of EU activities, adapting parliamentary scrutiny to more sophisticated government financial information, and making better use of legislative time without diminishing back-bench rights. The accelerated pace and extent of procedural changes in Congress is problematic. Constant pursuit of campaign funds, increased party exploitation of Members' ethical shortcomings, and partisan reapportionments, have diminished collegiality and compromise. Business is conducted with greater predictability, with fewer quorum calls, postponement and clustering of votes, and by utilization of ad hoc special orders, often in derogation of openness and minority rights in the House. Minority complaints have been frequent and occasionally extreme. Conversely constant filibuster threats in the Senate have enhanced minority party power there. An 'inverse ratio' between the greater complexity, importance, and urgency of pending legislation on the one hand, and diminution of deliberative capacity, fairness. and transparency on the other, has been repeatedly demonstrated, especially at the stage of final compromises between the Houses.

"We live with a myth about New England," write naturalists Nona Bell Estrin and Charles W. Johnson: "that we have four distinct seasons here." As careful and experienced observers of the natural world, Estrin and Johnson know that nature's progressions are gradual, continuous, and interconnected. And as they demonstrate in their remarkable book, the close examination of nature-even unassuming landscapes close at hand-yields rich rewards on a daily basis. In Season combines the immediacy of direct field observations with broader perspectives on natural cycles. An accomplished field artist as well as a naturalist, Nona Estrin selects extracts from her rich journals to trace the sequences of natural events over the course of a year. From Toothaker Island, Maine to Kettle Pond, Vermont to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, her precise, lively observations, along with her lovely drawings and watercolors, reveal the lives of warblers and butterflies, deer and grouse, frogs and fiddlehead ferns. Occasionally, her records of the natural world are punctuated by charming asides about the difficulty of drawing bees or the rescue of a fledgling kingbird caught in a fishing line. In alternating chapters, Charles Johnson's essays tell the"stories behind her scenes," exploring such seasonal cycles as mating, migration, and winter survival. His wide-ranging knowledge of the natural world clarifies the continuity of life and the interconnections among species. Rather than focus on categorization and identification, Johnson explores the dynamics which shape the natural world in New England, not only for plants and wildlife, but for people as well. With its mix of detailed observation and overarching explanation, as well as the stunning color reproductions of Estrin's on-the-spot watercolors, In Season offers an appreciation of the natural world in New England that is rooted in the specific experience of its ceaseless alternations.

What makes bogs so interesting yet so misunderstood? This generously illustrated book presents many of the exciting, almost enthralling, facets of bogs--unusual plants, intricate ecological relationships, animals, myths and folklore, and the myriad history recorded in the peats. Despite the fascinating bogs hold, until now there has been no popular book that deals with them in a comprehensive yet authoritative manner. The Northeastern United States has a wonderful diversity of bogs: some are southern in nature, others are very arctic, and still others maritime. And although this is a book primarily about peatlands in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the six New England states, it will interest a much wider audience seeking an exciting and attractive approach to these often-neglected areas of our natural heritage.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was created by the U. S. government during World War II to aid in the construction of the first atomic bomb. Drawing on oral history and previously classified material, this book portrays the patterns of daily life in this unique setting.