Stuart Smith - Böcker

"Grasslands of Wales" provides a thorough account of the vegetation of species-rich grasslands in lowland Wales at the end of the 20th century. It sets out the findings of 18 years of research and survey of all significant stands of agriculturally unimproved lowland grasslands and their associated vegetation. Such wildlife-rich grasslands have been widely replaced by much less diverse rye-grass swards. The survey covered 1070 sites of varying size and pioneered the use of the National Vegetation Classification for identifying and mapping vegetation at a regional scale. Over 150 different vegetation types were recorded, and this book characterises their forms and relationships, and extent and distribution within species-rich grasslands in lowland Wales. "Grasslands of Wales" includes detailed phytosociological floristic descriptions, extent data and distribution maps of lowland grassland plant communities and sub-communities, with critical comments on how each differs from similar plant communities and what vegetation types each is typically associated with in the field. Quadrat records are summarised in synoptic tables. Technical analyses of the data are presented giving insights into community distribution patterns and associations. New information on the physical and environmental characteristics of lowland grassland communities within Wales is assembled, and data on soil characteristics of Welsh lowland grasslands and associated flush communities are given in detail. Also reviewed in this book are the rare and uncommon plant species associated with lowland grasslands in this part of western Britain. The authors have worked for most of their careers in applied conservation biology, and a strong conservation current runs through the book.

HORIZONS is a complete elementary French program that makes learning French easier through its step-by-step skill-building methodology, flexible and accessible approach to grammar and new vocabulary, and creative and sophisticated coverage of Francophone culture. Through varied interactive activities and clear grammar explanations, the text helps students communicate effectively in French while culturally connecting them to the Francophone world. HORIZONS features a clear, easy-to-follow structure that is ideal for instructors with any level of teaching experience. HORIZONS carefully guides students Compétence by Compétence, through their first year of elementary French.

This first book to reassess the myth and the realities of Otto Skorzeny, Hitler's favourite commando.SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny became a legend in his own time. ‘Hitler’s favourite commando’ acquired a reputation as a man of daring, renowned for his audacious 1943 mission to extricate Mussolini from a mountain-top prison.Skorzeny’s influence on special operations doctrine was far-reaching and long-lasting – in 2011, when US Navy SEALs infiltrated Pakistan to eliminate Osama Bin Laden, the operational planning was influenced by Skorzeny’s legacy. Yet he was also an egoist who stole other men’s credit (including for the seminal rescue of Mussolini), brave and resourceful but also an unrepentant Nazi and a self-aggrandizing hogger of the limelight. Stuart Smith draws on years of in-depth research to uncover the truth about Skorzeny’s career and complex personality. From his background as a student radical in Vienna, to his bloody service with the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, his surprise rebirth as a commando, and his intriguing post-war career and mysterious fortune, this book tells Otto Skorzeny’s story in full – warts and all – for the first time.