With the increase in computing speed & due to the high quality of the optical effects it achieves ray tracing is becoming a popular choice for interactive & animated rendering. This book takes readers through the whole process of building a modern ray tracer from scratch in C++. All concepts & processes are explained in detail with the aid of hundreds of diagrams ray-traced images & sample code. It is suitable for undergraduate & graduate computer graphics courses & for individual programmers who would like to learn ray tracing. ...

Theres so much more to Rays on-screen tough-guy image & his path to the top has been anything but plain sailing. He was every inch the rebel in his youth & was even a London schoolboy boxing champion; but he always had an affinity for acting. Deciding to pursue his dream through drama school he soon found himself an outsider & was expelled. But he managed to blag his way into an audition for what would prove to be his big break
- his cocky aggressive boxers gait making him perfect for the lead in Alan Clarkes Scum. Going on to both small
- & big-screen success as well as in the theatre Ray really cemented his place in the pantheon of British acting greats with his breathtaking performance in Nil By Mouth which earned him a BAFTA nomination. His subsequent roles in the likes of Sexy Beast The War Zone & Last Orders won him plaudits & continued his tradition of portraying tough uncompromising men. But every tough guy has a heart & Ray has tempered these roles with those in more light-hearted romantic comedies such as Fanny & Elvis & Theres Only One Jimmy Grimble. With roles in Indiana Jones 4 Beowulf (with Angelina Jolie) & London Boulevard & with such great British telefilms as Henry VIII Sweeny Todd & Vincent under his belt Ray Winstone continues to go from strength to strength.

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Ray Campbell Smith shares his years of experience in this book packed full of tips for watercolour painters. Learn all you need to know from the the tools of the trade choosing what to paint & avoiding & correcting mistakes to how to paint skies water foliage & more. The tips are clearly presented & explained & illustrated by many beautiful & accomplished paintings. They will help unravel the mysteries of the watercolour medium for those new to painting & also for more experienced watercolourists on the lookout for tips from a true master. ...

US Marshal Raylan Givens star of the series JUSTIFIED & protagonist of RIDING THE RAP PRONTO & the story FIRE IN THE HOLE is back in action this time with a federal warrant to serve on a dope dealer named Angel Arenas a man born in the U.S. but a hundred percent of him Hispanic. The state troopers are impressed when the marshal struts into the convicts hotel room without drawing his gun but Raylan soon finds that Angels already been the victim of another crime one thats way bigger than a few pot plants & clearly the work of a professional.. .RAYLAN shows Elmore Leonard at the height of his powers as we follow one of his favourite protagonists through a series of adventures with unlikely villains. As ever the work is filled with unexpected twists & the most vibrant crackling dialogue currently available in the English language. ...

The ancient market town of Rayleigh is rich in both its history & in the historians who have told the tale. Limelight Lantern lectures were first shown in 1884 when the population was just over 1 000 the railway had not yet arrived & the roads were at best comprised of compacted earth with granite chippings & had no drainage. That tradition continues today as historians continue to explore Rayleigh through slideshows lectures & books. During the ensuing 128 years the stories of the motte & bailey castle the martyrs burnt at the stake the windmills & the rapid development once the railway arrived in 1889 have not lost their fascination. The photographs in this book most of which have not been seen in print before present Rayleighs rich & varied heritage in vivid detail from its origins as a small agricultural village to the thriving town of today. ...

A major new biography of the writer who more than any other has defined modern crime fiction What we know of Raymond Chandler is shrouded in secrets & half-truths as deceptive as anything in his magisterial novel The Long Goodbye. Now drawing on new interviews previously unpublished letters & archives on both sides of the Atlantic literary gumshoe Tom Williams casts light on this most mysterious of writers. The Raymond Chandler revealed is a man troubled by loneliness & desertion from an early age
- experiences that fuelled his writing as much as they scarred his life. Born in Chicago in 1888 his childhood was overshadowed by the cruel collapse of his parents marriage his fathers alcohol-fuelled violence eventually forcing the boy & his doting mother to leave for Ireland & later London. As a young man eager to forge a new life unconstrained by the stuffy English class system he returned to the US where
- in corruption-ridden Los Angeles
- he met his one great love: Cissy Pascal a married woman 18 years his senior. It was only during middle age after his own alcoholism wrecked a lucrative career as an oilman that Chandler seriously turned to crime fiction although his success was to prove bittersweet. An obsessive attitude towards his craft unrealised literary ambitions & a suicidal turn after Cissys death combined to prevent him from recapturing the verve of his earlier writing. However his legacy
- the lonely ambiguous world of Philip Marlowe
- endures compelling generation after generation of crime writers to go down mean streets. In this long-awaited new biography the most thorough & comprehensive yet written Tom Williams shadows one of the twentieth centurys true literary giants & considers how crime was raised to the level of art.




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For five years before the Falklands War Hugh Bicheno was one of the top British spies in Argentina. As such he gathered hard corroborated intelligence on Argentine intentions over the Falklands
- which the British establishment then chose to ignore. The reasons behind this British decision & its disastrous & inevitable consequences in the South Atlantic are the main story of this book. There were three main players in the war each of them trying to overcome their own cultural baggage. The Argentines were riddled with guilt: after years of fighting a morally repugnant campaign against its own people the Argentine military saw a war for the Malvinas islands as a perfect opportunity to win back their self-respect. The hands of the Americans were also bloody from the likewise dirty wars they had sponsored & abetted in Central America. For Britain it was simply the last straw after decades of humiliation.
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Larry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of this spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham's most brillant characters
- his fiancee Isabel whose choice between love & wealth have lifelong repercussions & Elliot Templeton her uncle a classic expatriate American snob. The most ambitious of Maugham's novels this is also one in which Maugham himself plays a considerable part as he wanders in & out of the story to observe his characters struggling with their fates.
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Designed for those studying history at Key Stage 3 this comprehensive text covers Britain from 1500-1750. Updating the text has made the material more usable in mixed ability classes whilst retaining an emphasis on challenging students to think deeply. ...

This fully comprehensive book guides the reader through the process of acquiring & subsequently re-training a racehorse. It provides an in-depth look at what life was like for the horse at the racing yard & how through correct training & education you can train your horse to become a happy adjusted athlete ready for everyday equestrian activities. ...