Michael Williams

SOMETIMES you come across a lofty railway viaduct, marooned in the middle of a remote country landscape. Or a crumbling platform from some once-bustling junction buried under the buddleia. If you are lucky you might be able to follow some rusting tracks, or explore an old tunnel leading to…well, who knows where? Listen hard. Is that the wind in the undergrowth? Or the spectre of a train from a golden era of the past panting up the embankment? These are the ghosts of The Trains Now Departed. They are the railway lines, and services that ran on them that have disappeared and gone forever. Our lost legacy includes lines prematurely axed, often with a gripping and colourful tale of their own, as well as marvels of locomotive engineering sent to the scrapyard, and grand termini felled by the wrecker's ball. Then there are the lost delights of train travel, such as haute cuisine in the dining car, the grand expresses with their evocative names, and continental boat trains to romantic far-off places. The Trains Now Departed tells the stories of some of the most fascinating lost trains of Britain, vividly evoking the glories of a bygone age. In his personal odyssey around Britain Michael Williams tells the tales of the pioneers who built the tracks, the yarns of the men and women who operated them and the colourful trains that ran on them. It is a journey into the soul of our railways, summoning up a magic which, although mired in time, is fortunately not lost for ever. THIS EDITION REVISED AND UPDATED TO INCLUDE MAPS.

Basics of Ancient Ugaritic Video Lectures provides 13 easy-to-follow lessons (on 2 DVDs) introducing this ancient language that is of vital importance for understanding the wider world and culture surrounding the biblical text. The video lectures are intended to be used alongside Michael Williams's introductory grammar Basics of Ancient Ugaritic.

"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened." - Lao Tzu Reject stress. Employ mindfulness. Accept peace. Do you find yourself often feeling run down and ragged? Are you overwhelmed by the everyday stressors of modern life? Are you all too often faced with anxiety and uncertainty-in lieu of serenity and security? Learn to let go of your worries and free yourself from anxiety in Mindfulness for Beginners, a new and refreshing guide for authentic living. Mindfulness employs focus and intent on one's own thoughts as a means of exorcising problems and pursuing happiness and peace. This ancient practice has deep roots in Buddhism and dates back over 2,500 years. Practicing mindfulness has the power to change your life through its ability to remove unhealthy and useless thoughts and replace them with openness and self-awareness. Focusing on the benefits of meditation, presence, and slowing down the pace of one's life, this guide seeks to uncover the secrets of living a life infused with compassion and gratitude. Here's what to expect in the Beginners' guide: A thorough understanding of what mindfulness is-and what it is NOT The art of meditation and its many benefits How to live in the present How eating and drinking slow can improve your life A guide to becoming stress and anxiety free How to make a meditation plan and stick to it Learn to let go of your past once and for all Applying mindfulness both in the home and the workplace And much, much more Outlined as a roadmap for connecting oneself to the present as opposed to an escape from reality, this book is full of practical recommendations for moving forward in life on the path to becoming whole. So if you're ready to transform your mind into a peaceful haven for positive thinking, then this guidebook is for you. Get your copy of Mindfulness for Beginners: How to Live in the Present, Stress, and Anxiety Free, today

My father says that a journey should always change your life in some way. Well, when you have nothing, I suppose a journey promises everything. "Diamonds for everyone." That's what fifteen-year-old Patson Moyo hears when his family arrives in the Marange diamond fields. Soon Patson is working in the mines along with four friends, pooling their profits for a chance at a better life. Each of them hopes to find a girazi, a priceless stone that could change their circumstances forever. But when the government's soldiers come to Marange, Patson's world is shattered. Set against the backdrop of Zimbabwe's brutal recent history, Diamond Boy is the story of a young man who succumbs to greed but finds his way out through a transformative journey to South Africa in search of his missing sister, in search of freedom, and in search of himself. A high-stakes, harrowing adventure in the blood-diamond fields of southern Africa, from the critically acclaimed author of Now Is the Time for Running.

Pioneering preservationist Richard Nickel lived and died to save America's architecture. He is remembered for the photographs he left behind. But he also left thousands of notes and letters--funny, angry, and always eloquent--that detail a life of passion and determination. This book is the closest you will ever come to knowing Richard Nickel. Collected here are his own writings, some yellowed with age, paired with never-before-seen photographs of the urban world he captured so well. We are finally catching up to Richard Nickel. He took risks, spoke his mind, and championed an over--size cause. His rebellion against the shortsighted disregard of great architecture appeals to a new generation interested in conservation--whether of old buildings or natural resources. This singular book tells a life story through evidence. It is a narrative built around the written and photographic documents in Nickel's life. What he left behind still inspires people to stop and look. He is more relevant today than ever before.

The Biblical Hebrew Companion for Bible Software Users helps users understand the exegetical significance of Hebrew grammatical terminology identified by the program. This resource provides students who utilize biblical language software the insight they need to make sense of the data provided by the program, giving them deeper insight into the biblical text that they could not get by solely reading an English translation. The Biblical Hebrew Companion for Bible Software Users is ideally suited for:Pastors and ministry leaders who may have learned Hebrew at one time but have experienced the loss of much of that learningCollege and seminary students who are learning Hebrew and need a guide to help understand the significance of the grammatical terminologyBible software users who never formally learned Hebrew in the classroom and need help understanding the meaning of the terms they encounterWith grammatical terms laid out and discussed in an intuitive and user-friendly format, readers can now spend time focusing on exegesis and applying their findings to their preaching, teachings, study, and writing instead of puzzling over the significance of grammatical terminology and how to apply it.

'Diamonds for everyone.' That's what fifteen-year-old Patson Moyo hears when his family arrives in the Marange diamond fields, leaving his previous life, school and friends behind with hopes for a better life.

To Pass On a Good Earth is the candid and compelling new biography of one of the twentieth century’s most distinctive and influential scholars. The legendary ""Great God beyond the Sierras,"" Carl Otwin Sauer is America’s most famed geographer, an inspiration to both conservators and poets, yet no book-length biography of him has existed until now. This Missouri-born son of German immigrants contributed to many fields, with a versatility rare in his time and virtually unknown today. Sauer explored plant and animal domestication, the entry of Native Americans into the continent, their transformation of the land into prairies and cultivated fields, and subsequent European enterprise that fuelled prosperity but also triggered environmental degradation and the loss of cultural diversity. Providing profound and invaluable insights into the human occupance, cultivation--and often ruination--of the earth, Sauer revolutionized our understanding of the impact of European conquest of the New World. Author and fellow geographer Michael Williams had access to Sauer’s voluminous correspondence in the Bancroft Library at Berkeley and in family collections. Enlivened by these intimate letters to family and colleagues, To Pass On a Good Earth reveals the rare qualities of mind and heart that made Sauer one of America’s most treasured--as well as troubled--intellectual pioneers. He brought both historical rigor and humanistic understanding to the burgeoning environmental movement and ceaselessly championed an ecumenical approach in an age of increasing specialization.

The railways mobilised troops, transported munitions, evacuated children from cities and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed.