Results by title

This challenging collection of problems is organized into seven carefully crafted, thoughtful chapters on the Sun and the nature of the solar system; the motion of the planets; the Sun, Earth, and Moon; the sky as observed from the rotating, revolving Earth; other planets, their satellites, their rings; asteroids, comets, and meteoroids; and the radiations and telescopes. From question 1, "List characteristics of the solar system that are major clues in devising a hypothesis of its origin and evolution," through question 924, "Give a brief list of the contributions of radio and radar technologies in lunar and planetary astronomy," the problems range in difficulty from ones requiring only simple knowledge to ones requiring significant understanding and analysis. Many of the answers, in turn, illuminate the questions by providing basic explanations of the concepts involved.

Pioneer 10 and 11 are now halfway to the edge of the solar system. All beginning and advanced students of astronomy and their instructors as well as all dedicated amateurs can join James Van Allen on this journey by exploring the questions and answers in this stimulating book.

In 1965, landmark legislation established the national Medicare system as a means of insuring access to medical care for all elderly citizens. Today, rocketing medical costs combined with a rapidly aging population have thrown the Medicare system off balance, moving it perilously close to financial crisis. Medicare already accounts for 2.65 percent of gross domestic product, and by the year 2030 that share is expected to more than double. Further, the trust fund dedicated to Medicare hospitalization coverage is expected to be depleted by 2008. Clearly, Medicare as we know it cannot endure much longer without either imposing a massive tax burden or dissolving altogether under its own financial strain.

Medicare Reform—the first volume in a new series sponsored by the George Bush School of Government and Public Policy at Texas A&M University—tackles the current Medicare predicament head-on, delving into the fundamental issues surrounding the reorganization of the system: whether to allocate Medicare's growing financial load to current workers in the form of higher taxes, shift the onus to future generations, or shortchange both the expectations and care of present recipients by substantially cutting benefits. This volume assembles a group of the most highly respected analysts of health issues to consider the economic forces impacting the surging health care market.

Written for the general reader and offering innovative ideas for policy revision along with critical new data on health care economics, this comprehensive volume provides a timely and thoughtful deliberation on the precarious future of Medicare.

"Because, as Richard Weaver once said, 'ideas have consequences,' this book is important. It will not end the debate on Medicare, but it will begin it."—Phil Gramm, from the foreword

Archaeologists have long encountered evidence of natural disasters through excavation and stratigraphy. In Surviving Sudden Environmental Change, case studies examine how eight different past human communities-ranging from Arctic to equatorial regi