Robert J. Davis – författare

Though food is supposed to be one of life''s simple pleasures, few things cause more angst and confusion. Every day we are bombarded with come-ons for the latest diet, promises for "clinically proven" miracle ingredients, and warnings about contaminants in our favorite foods. It''s enough to give anybody indigestion.

Packed with useful-and surprising-information, Coffee Is Good for You cuts through the clutter to reveal what''s believable and what''s not in a fun and easily digestible way.

You''ll find out:

Locally grown produce isn''t necessarily more healthful than fruits and vegetables from across the globe Alcohol does cause breast cancer You don''t need eight glasses of water a day for good health Milk isn''t necessary for strong bones Oatmeal really can lower cholesterol Sea salt isn''t more healthful than regular salt Low-fat cookies may be worse for you than high-fat cheese

Memories of Robert Davis’s fascinating life as a member of the leadership team at Westminster Council for nearly twenty years and a councillor for over thirty-six years. From dining at Buckingham Palace with Nelson Mandela to an A-list private dinner with Boris Johnson and the Mayor of New York, from an appearance in an Oscar-winning film to a private drink with Robert De Niro in New York, Robert Davis has led an amazing, eclectic, and exciting life. Robert became not only the longest-serving councillor in the city’s history but the youngest Lord Mayor of Westminster and the longest-serving Deputy Leader. He also accumulated nearly two decades leading the planning team of the most significant planning department in the country. With behind-the-scenes anecdotes of numerous leadership and other battles at the most important local authority in the country, this book also includes numerous amusing stories of incidents that have, until now, remained untold. His year as Lord Mayor of Westminster is told with fascinating insights into life in the Establishment. Added to this are the stories of how he met his husband, Sir Simon Milton, and how they were outed by a full front page of the Evening Standard. The book also deals with Simon’s battle with leukaemia and his rise to become the senior Deputy Mayor of London in Boris Johnson’s mayoralty and describes anecdotes of Simon’s close relationship with Boris Johnson. Amusing, interesting, revealing and absorbing, this book gives a colourful insight into the way central London is governed as well as Robert’s life in the fast lane.

The book describes the valorization of biomass-derived compounds over gold catalysts. Since biomass is a rich renewable feedstock for diverse platform molecules, including those currently derived from petroleum, the interest in various transformation routes has become intense. Catalytic conversion of biomass is one of the main approaches to improving the economic viability of biorefineries.  In addition, Gold catalysts were found to have outstanding activity and selectivity in many key reactions. This book collects information about transformations of the most promising and important compounds derived from cellulose, hemicelluloses, and woody biomass extractives. Since gold catalysts possess high stability under oxidative conditions, selective oxidation reactions were discussed more thoroughly than other critical reactions such as partial hydrogenation, acetalization, and isomerization. The influence of reaction conditions, the role of the catalyst, and the advantages and disadvantages of using gold are presented for all of the reactions mentioned above. This book provides an overview of the recent research results focusing on application of gold catalysts for synthesis of valuable chemicals using renewable feedstocks.