The Rhine

The Rhine PDF

Author: Ben Coates

Publisher: Nicholas Brealey

Published: 2018-11-06

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1473683033

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From rowing the canals of Amsterdam to riding a cow through the Alps, via Cold War nuclear bunkers, raucous Gay Pride parades, tranquil Lake Constance and snowy mountain climbs, The Rhine blends travelogue and offbeat history to tell the fascinating story of how a great river helped shape a continent. SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD The Rhine is one of the world's greatest rivers. Once forming the outer frontier of the Roman Empire, it flows 800 miles from the social democratic playground of the Netherlands, through the industrial and political powerhouses of Germany and France, to the wealthy mountain fortresses of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. For five years, Ben Coates lived alongside a major channel of the river in Rotterdam, crossing it daily, swimming and sailing in its tributaries. In The Rhine, he sets out by bicycle from the Netherlands where it enters the North Sea, following it through Germany, France and Liechtenstein, to where its source in the icy Alps. He explores the impact that the Rhine has had on European culture and history and finds out how influences have flowed along and across the river, shaping the people who live alongside it.

The Rhine

The Rhine PDF

Author: Mark Cioc

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2009-11-17

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0295989785

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The Rhine River is Europe’s most important commercial waterway, channeling the flow of trade among Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. In this innovative study, Mark Cioc focuses on the river from the moment when the Congress of Vienna established a multinational commission charged with making the river more efficient for purposes of trade and commerce in 1815. He examines the engineering and administrative decisions of the next century and a half that resulted in rapid industrial growth as well as profound environmental degradation, and highlights the partially successful restoration efforts undertaken from the 1970s to the present. The Rhine is a classic example of a “multipurpose” river -- used simultaneously for transportation, for industry and agriculture, for urban drinking and sanitation needs, for hydroelectric production, and for recreation. It thus invites comparison with similarly over-burdened rivers such as the Mississippi, Hudson, Colorado, and Columbia. The Rhine’s environmental problems are, however, even greater than those of other rivers because it is so densely populated (50 million people live along its borders), so highly industrialized (10% of global chemical production), and so short (775 miles in length). Two centuries of nonstop hydraulic tinkering have resulted in a Rhine with a sleek and slender profile. In their quest for a perfect canal-like river, engineers have modified it more than any other large river in the world. As a consequence, between 1815 and 1975, the river lost most of its natural floodplain, riverside vegetation, migratory fish, and biodiversity. Recent efforts to restore that biodiversity, though heartening, can have only limited success because so many of the structural changes to the river are irreversible. The Rhine: An Eco-Biography, 1815-2000 makes clear just how central the river has been to all aspects of European political, economic, and environmental life for the past two hundred years.

Four Hours of Fury

Four Hours of Fury PDF

Author: James M. Fenelon

Publisher: Scribner

Published: 2019-05-21

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1501179373

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In this viscerally exciting account, a paratrooper-turned-historian reveals the details of World War II’s largest airborne operation—one that dropped 17,000 Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later. Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes. Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.

Transboundary Water Resources Management

Transboundary Water Resources Management PDF

Author: Jacques Ganoulis

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1996-02-19

Total Pages: 498

ISBN-13: 9783540607144

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In a world facing a growing water crisis, conflicts regarding water sharing and environmental issues are expected to grow, especially in transboundary river basins, where 40% of the world's population lives. This book represents one of the first attempts to bring together methodologies and analytical tools from socio-economic, international policy, engineering, and water management specialists dealing with transboundary water resources. The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces state--of-the-art concepts in institutional policy and conflict analysis. Part II presents engineering approaches and models for transboundary water management and conflict resolution. Part III analyzes cases in international river basins and enclosed seas.

Environmental History of the Rhine-Meuse Delta

Environmental History of the Rhine-Meuse Delta PDF

Author: P.H. Nienhuis

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-05-06

Total Pages: 637

ISBN-13: 1402082134

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This unique text presents the environmental history of the lowland delta of the rivers Rhine and Meuse. It is an ecological story of evolving human-environmental relations and how they cope with climate change and sea-level rise. The text offers a combination of in-depth ecology and environmental history. The synthesis presents a blueprint for future management and restoration, from progressive reclamation of land in the past, to adaptation of human needs to the forces of nature.

The Rhine River

The Rhine River PDF

Author: Amie Jane Leavitt

Publisher: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc.

Published: 2012-09-30

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 1612283705

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From the very beginning of human civilizations, rivers have provided people with ways to transport themselves and their goods easily and economically. Europe’s Rhine is no different. Thousands of barges, boats, and ships travel up and down the river every day, making this one of the busiest rivers in the world. In the pages of this book, you’ll join these travelers as you take a tour along the Rhine from its headwaters high up in the Swiss Alps all the way to its delta at the North Sea. Along the way, you’ll serpentine along the river’s winding course passing medieval villages, grand canal systems, historic castles, and quaint villages. You’ll also find out how the countries along the Rhine are working together to protect the river’s waters for future generations. Come on aboard! Our vessel is waiting to sail.

Crossing the Rhine

Crossing the Rhine PDF

Author: Lloyd Clark

Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 155584815X

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“The fighting spirit of Allied paratroopers comes through with exciting clarity” in this account of two separate invasions of Germany in World War II (Kirkus Reviews). A main selection of the Military Book Club In September 1944, as the Allies drove across Europe after Normandy, British field marshal Bernard Montgomery launched Operation Market Garden to secure the lower Rhine—Germany’s last great natural barrier in the west—and passage to Berlin. Though Allied soldiers outnumbered Germans two to one, they suffered devastating casualties and were forced to retreat. Then, in March 1945, Montgomery orchestrated another airborne attack on the Rhine, called Operation Plunder. This time the Allies overwhelmed the German defenses, secured the eastern bank, and began their final march into the heart of the Third Reich. Including detailed maps and personal accounts from those on both sides of the battle, this “vivid war story” examines Allied attempts to breach Germany’s borders, and illustrates how lessons learned from failure helped form the second plan of attack—and seal Germany’s defeat (Publishers Weekly).

The Rhine

The Rhine PDF

Author: Tony Allan

Publisher: World Almanac Library

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9780836854466

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The Rhine is Europe's best-known river. Running through the heart of Europe, it touches six countries as it flows from Switzerland to its mouth in the Netherlands. From Roman times onward, the Rhine was used for trade, and the cities along its banks became rich and powerful. Today, the river is still full of traffic, providing a lifeline for modern industries. Until the 1980s, the Rhine River suffered from flooding and pollution, but these problems have been largely overcome. Today, the Rhine annually attracts thousands of tourists who vacation on the river and visit its ancient cities and romantic castles. Book jacket.