Books with author Michael Portman

An asteroid plummeting to Earth seems extremely unlikely, no wonder several movies have used it as a plot. But asteroids, comets, and meteorites do fall to Earth every day. In recent years, none have been of a significant enough size to cause great damage. However, it is theorized that a space object was responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Readers will explore whether or not such an event could threaten life on Earth again, learn how scientists monitor asteroids and other space objects, and learn some theoretical plans to avoid a global catastrophe.

The image of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon in his spacesuit is a familiar one to most people. Few stop to think what an amazing invention the spacesuit is. Without it and similar ones of today, astronauts couldn't have accomplished the breathtaking feats they have. This book explores the many features of spacesuits, no ordinary uniforms. Photographs of astronauts performing spacewalks and other remarkable achievements show off the spacesuit in action.

"An indispensable guide for introverts and extroverts alike." —Inc. Every interaction is a performance, and much of our success—professional and personal—hinges on being able to inspire an audience. And while some people seem to be naturals in the spotlight, this ability very rarely derives from talent alone; confident communication is a skill, and anyone can learn how to do it. In Steal the Show, New York Times bestselling author, top-rated corporate speaker, and former professional actor Michael Port teaches you how to make the most of your own moments in the spotlight. A Wall Street Journal bestseller, this actionable guide breaks down how to give your presentations a clear focus, engage your listeners, manage your nerves, play the right role in every situation to give your message maximum impact, and much more. Drawing on his MFA training at the prestigious Graduate Acting Program at New York University, Port’s engineered a system that the non-actor can use to ensure his or her voice is heard when it matters most.

"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't-which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance. The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is bestselling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.Pollan has divided The Omnivore's Dilemma into three parts, one for each of the food chains that sustain us: industrialized food, alternative or "organic" food, and food people obtain by dint of their own hunting, gathering, or gardening. Pollan follows each food chain literally from the ground up to the table, emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the species we depend on. He concludes each section by sitting down to a meal—at McDonald's, at home with his family sharing a dinner from Whole Foods, and in a revolutionary "beyond organic" farm in Virginia. For each meal he traces the provenance of everything consumed, revealing the hidden components we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods reflects our environmental and biological inheritance.We are indeed what we eat-and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as What shall we have for dinner?A few facts and figures from The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four MealsOf the 38 ingredients it takes to make a McNugget, there are at least 13 that are derived from corn. 45 different menu items at Mcdonald’s are made from corn.One in every three American children eats fast food every day.One in every five American meals today is eaten in the car.The food industry burns nearly a fifth of all the petroleum consumed in the United States¯more than we burn with our cars and more than any other industry consumes.It takes ten calories of fossil fuel energy to deliver one calorie of food energy to an American plate.A single strawberry contains about five calories. To get that strawberry from a field in California to a plate on the east coast requires 435 calories of energy.Industrial fertilizer and industrial pesticides both owe their existence to the conversion of the World War II munitions industry to civilian uses—nerve gases became pesticides, and ammonium nitrate explosives became nitrogen fertilizers.Because of the obesity epidemic, today’s generation of children will be the first generation of Americans whose life expectancy will actually be shorter than their parents’ life expectancy.In 2000 the UN reported that the number of people in the world suffering from o...

Cute and playful creatures, pandas are one of the most beloved animals in the world. The only wild pandas live deep in the forests of China. That countrys growing population is a great threat to the small number of remaining pandas. Deforestation, food shortages, and illegal hunting all play roles in endangering pandas today. Readers will learn about pandas, cubs, and what they need to survive in their habitats through a thoughtful narrative supported by fact boxes and graphic organizers. Colorful photographs reveal the beauty of the unique creatures that desperately need our help.