Books published by Melbourne Books

The water and the air in the Fisher Valley was pristine before the coal seam gas companies arrived with government endorsed gas exploration and development licences. Then they marched roughshod over the owners of privately owned highly productive farming and grazing land, paying them little in the way of compensation. After drilling they pumped water, sand and toxic chemicals at high pressure hundreds of metres into the ground in a process known as fracking that exploded the coal seams, releasing the methane while giving scant attention to the ground, air and water pollution they were creating. When little Charlie Paxton aged only six passes away with a mysterious form of cancer, his father, Charles, swears to have his revenge. He is determined to stop the gas companies even if it means blowing up their wells and blocking their access to agricultural properties. But big gas is powerful and backed by rapacious governments who won't hesitate to use their police and army to smash through blockades. Can a small group of farmers, greens and conservatives stand against the might of big gas and the governments complicit in helping it?

No Australian sport has had a more interesting or colourful history than jumping racing. John Adamss Over the Hurdles tells the remarkable story of jumping in Australia, from the first Sydney steeplechase in 1832 to the sports controversial battle for survival in recent years.

It takes vision and fortitude to transform 'wilderness' in the Murrumbidgee basin into something of the eminence of Deltroit, one of the finest grazing properties south of Sydney.

Who knows more about the performance impact of design changes in real time than the sailor and sail trimmer in an ocean race? Performance can be most influential on design decision-making when the performance response to design change is experienced in real time. In architecture and design dynamic feedback is the computational and analogue design challenge of the hour -- how to experience within dynamic digital and physical design models as those changes are actually happening. So, in this book, the challenge is first explored by looking beyond the design of the static built infrastructure of the city to the ultimate in reflexive action and high performance design: sailboat racing. Successful design decision-making relies on design team interaction between individuals of very diverse expertise and points of departure: generalists and specialists. Designing the Dynamic brings together leading researchers from architecture, boat design, industrial design, mathematics, aerospace, structural engineering, and computer science to explore the design and representation of dynamic systems. The authors expose diverse aspects of the subject ranging from the empirical science and sociology to the deep poetry of designing with dynamic phenomena. Major Selling Point: This is a cutting edge design book that will be of real interest to those involved in the dynamics of practical, super efficient design methods as well as those with an interest in sailing and maximising the efficiency of sails in racing conditions.