Search results for ""Author Sam"

Rodney Stark's provocative new book argues that, whether we like it or not, people acting for the glory of God have formed our modern culture. Continuing his project of identifying the widespread consequences of monotheism, Stark shows that the Christian conception of God resulted--almost inevitably and for the same reasons--in the Protestant Reformation, the rise of modern science, the European witch-hunts, and the Western abolition of slavery. In the process, he explains why Christian and Islamic images of God yielded such different cultural results, leading Christians but not Muslims to foster science, burn "witches," and denounce slavery. With his usual clarity and skepticism toward the received wisdom, Stark finds the origins of these disparate phenomena within monotheistic religious organizations. Endemic in such organizations are pressures to maintain religious intensity, which lead to intense conflicts and schisms that have far-reaching social results. Along the way, Stark debunks many commonly accepted ideas. He interprets the sixteenth-century flowering of science not as a sudden revolution that burst religious barriers, but as the normal, gradual, and direct outgrowth of medieval theology. He also shows that the very ideas about God that sustained the rise of science led also to intense witch-hunting by otherwise clear-headed Europeans, including some celebrated scientists. This conception of God likewise yielded the Christian denunciation of slavery as an abomination--and some of the fiercest witch-hunters were devoted participants in successful abolitionist movements on both sides of the Atlantic. For the Glory of God is an engrossing narrative that accounts for the very different histories of the Christian and Muslim worlds. It fundamentally changes our understanding of religion's role in history and the forces behind much of what we point to as secular progress.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLEREscape into a world of magic and danger with THE DARK STAR TRILOGY. Drawing on a rich tradition of African mythology, fantasy and history, this is the story of a lost child, an extraordinary hunter, and a mystery with many answers . . .*Perfect for fans of Pratchett, George R. R. Martin and Octavia Butler*'The kind of novel I never realized I was missing until I read it. A dangerous, hallucinatory, ancient Africa, which becomes a fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made' Neil Gaiman*****Tracker is a hunter. Known throughout the thirteen kingdoms as one who has a nose, he always works alone. But he breaks his own rule when, hired to find a lost child, he finds himself part of a group of hunters, each stranger and more dangerous than the last.As the mismatched gang follow the boy's scent from perfumed citadels to enchanted darklands, Tracker starts to wonder:Who really is this mysterious boy? Why do so many people want to stop him from being found? And, most important of all, who is telling the truth and who is lying?Marlon James weaves a breathtaking tapestry - at once ancient and startlingly modern - exploring the fundamentals of truth, limits of power, excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all.Chronicling the same events but telling a very different story - who will you believe? Read THE DARK STAR TRILOGY in any order! Book two, MOON WITCH, SPIDER KING, is available now.*****'Complex, lyrical, moving and furiously gripping . . . This new book will propel James into a new galaxy of literary stardom' Observer'A game-changing modern fantasy classic' Financial Times'James has thrown African cultures, mythologies, religions, histories, world-views and topographies into the mighty cauldron of his imagination to create a work of literary magic' New Statesman

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On the afternoon of August 15, 1969, Richie Havens took the stage at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, welcoming a crowd of several hundred thousand to the green fields of Max Yasgur's farm. Havens was the first act - the legendary festival, years in the making, was finally beginning. Nothing would be the same after. But the story of the legendary festival begins with Michael Lang, a kid out of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, who liked to smoke a joint and listen to jazz and who eventually found his way to Florida, where he opened a head shop and produced his first festival - Miami Pop, featuring Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and others. In the late '60s, after settling in Woodstock, he began to envision a music and arts festival where folks could come and stay for a few days amid the rural beauty of upstate New York. The idea crystallized when Lang talked it over with Artie Kornfeld, a songwriter and A and R man, and with two other young men they formed Woodstock Ventures. They booked talent, from Janis Joplin and the Who to the virtually unknown Santana and Crosby, Stills and Nash; won over agents and promoters; brought in the Hog Farm commune to set up campgrounds; hired a peacekeeping force; took on fleets of volunteers; appeased the Yippies; and, were run out of one town and found another site weeks before the festival. On the ground with the talent, the townspeople, and his handpicked crew, Lang had a unique and panoramic perspective of the festival. Enhanced by interviews with others who were central to the making of the festival, "The Road to Woodstock" tells the story from inspiration to celebration, capturing all the magic, mayhem, and mud in between.

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'Inspiring and very moving. A hero on so many levels' Bear Grylls'The astonishing journey ... and the service dog that helped him recover ... A tale that will inspire and amaze' Waterstones.comWhen special forces soldier Jason Morgan awoke from a months-long coma, he was told he'd never walk again. Discovered face-down in a Central American swamp after a jungle mission gone wrong, he had a smashed spine,collapsed lungs and countless broken bones. It was a miracle he'd even survived.Months of painful surgery followed, with Jason's life balanced on a knife-edge. Released from hospital in a wheelchair and plagued by memory loss, Jason's life fell apart. Left alone to raise his three infant sons, all hope seemed gone,until Jason met Napal, a handsome-as-hell black Labrador provided by a very special charity. With this one incredible dog at their side, Jason's life and that of his family would never be the same again. With Napal's help Jason was able to conquer his paralysis, eventually completing a marathon and winning numerous medals in the Wounded Warrior Games. More than that, this amazing service dog helped heal a family and taught Jason to be the father his kids needed him to be. A Dog Called Hope is the moving and heart-warming story of how Jason rediscovered his life's mission, his strength as a father and, through his beloved dog, his hope. It's the story of the closeness between one man and one dog like no other, and how this mesmerizing duo changed countless lives. Inspirational, tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud uplifting, this is a story that will brighten any day and warm every heart.

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*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*'I gobbled it in one weekend and encourage everyone - mother, or otherwise - to do the same' - Pandora Sykes'Remarkable' - Lorraine Kelly'Searing' - Dolly Alderton'I absolutely loved I Am Not Your Baby Mother' - Giovanna Fletcher'This book is needed for the voiceless' - Nadiya Hussain'Brilliant' - Sophie Ellis-Bextor'A brilliantly observed look at life as a black mother' - Closer'Urgent part-memoir, part-manifesto about black motherhood' - Red'[An] original and much-needed guide to navigating black motherhood' - Cosmopolitan'The woman bringing a fresh perspective to the mumfluencer world' - Grazia'Every mother, everywhere, should read this book' - OK Magazine___________It's about time we made motherhood more diverse...When Candice fell pregnant and stepped into the motherhood playing field, she found her experience bore little resemblance to the glossy magazine photos of women in horizontal stripe tops and the pinned discussions on mumsnet about what pushchair to buy. Leafing through the piles of prenatal paraphernalia, she found herself wondering: "Where are all the black mothers?".Candice started blogging about motherhood in 2016 after making the simple but powerful observation that the way motherhood is portrayed in the British media is wholly unrepresentative of our society at large. The result is this thought-provoking, urgent and inspirational guide to life as a black mother. It explores the various stages in between pregnancy and waving your child off at the gates of primary school, while facing hurdles such as white privilege, racial micro-aggression and unconscious bias at every point. Candice does so with her trademark sense of humour and refreshing straight-talking, and the result is a call-to-arms that will allow mums like her to take control, scrapping the parenting rulebook to mother their own way.

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** Shortlisted for the @CrimeFest H.R.F. Keating Award **'A smart and highly entertaining portrait of a literary powerhouse'- THE TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR'A riveting portrait' - GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR***'Christie lovers should read this biography for the same reason they read her novels.' - The Times'A model of how to combine biographical information, analysis and literary criticism into a propulsive narrative' - Daily Telegraph'Worsley's book excels in bringing a broader historical perspective to Christie's life and work, and her enthusiasm is infectious.' - ObserverMs Worsley herself writes engagingly... She combines an almost militant support for her subject with a considered analysis of her books and plays.' - Economist'Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was.'Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was 'just' an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn't? As Lucy Worsley says, 'She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern'. She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness. So why - despite all the evidence to the contrary - did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure? She was born in 1890 into a world which had its own rules about what women could and couldn't do. Lucy Worsley's biography is not just of an internationally renowned bestselling writer. It's also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman. With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realise what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was - truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.

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DISCOVER THE UNFORGETTABLE TIKTOK SENSATION THAT HAS CAPTURED MILLIONS OF HEARTS'This book is breathtakingly, heartbreakingly beautiful. You will cry ugly tears' 5***** READER REVIEW'So moving that it left me sobbing but at the same time filled my heart. Beautiful, tragic, heartbreakingly wonderful' 5***** READER REVIEW'It is without a doubt the biggest ugly cry I have ever had from a book' 5***** READER REVIEW________Two hearts. One love story. An ending you will never forget . . .Rune Kristiansen and Poppy Litchfield met as children and swore to be friends forever.As teenagers, their friendship grew into a love that promised to last a lifetime. But their worlds were shattered when Rune was sent home to his native Norway.Two years later, Rune is back, and Poppy is ready for their happy ever after to begin. But the boy who returns is not the Rune she remembers.What happened to turn her sweet, thoughtful Rune into this brooding stranger?And will the secret Poppy is carrying bring them closer together or separate them forever?Discover the story that will break your heart and make you believe true love really does last for eternity . . .________'I have read books that have had me ugly crying in the past but I honestly don't think I've read a book before this one where tears flowed in every single chapter' 5***** READER REVIEW'The most heartbreaking, soul-shattering yet beautiful book I have ever read . . . I sobbed. I mean ugly crying' 5***** READER REVIEW'One of the most beautiful and most heartbreaking books I have ever read' 5***** READER REVIEW 'Rune couldn't have been more perfect, nor Poppy more perfect for him' 5***** READER REVIEW

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Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time'Well-crafted and unputdownable. An excellent read' 5***** Reader Review'Superbly paced and plotted. One of Francis's best' 5***** Reader Review'A well written and totally engrossing read' 5***** Reader Review______Malcolm Pembroke didn't get rich without making a few enemies - not least among the five wives and nine children left like wreckage in his wake. But when Moira, his fifth wife, is murdered, Malcolm believes that someone is out to get him. Desperate and fearful, there's only one person he can turn to: his estranged son, Ian. Ian - an amateur jockey - wants nothing to do with his father until it becomes clear the old man's life is in danger.And worst of all, the evidence suggests it's from someone the family . . . Can Ian work out who it is before they strike again?Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, Hot Money is just one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis.Praise for Dick Francis:'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard'Still the master' Racing Post

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Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time'Another exciting read that keeps you on the edge of your seat' 5***** Reader Review'Grabbed my attention from the beginning . . . One of Dick Francis' best!' 5***** Reader Review'Excellent characterisations, believable villains and wonderful plots' 5***** Reader Review______Gene Hawkins is a fixer for his boss Mr Keeble: if Keeble has a problem, Gene goes and fixes it. It's that simple. Sometimes it requires the Luger he carries - mostly it doesn't.Now Keeble has summoned Gene back from a long-overdue holiday. It seems that a very expensive stallion has been taken in Kentucky. It's the third high-value kidnapping in a few years. Keeble wants his horse back - and it's Gene's job to go out there and find it.But what Gene doesn't know is that he's about to get involved with blackmailers and murderers. Looks like that Lugar will see some use . . .Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, Blood Sport is just one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis.Praise for Dick Francis:'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard'Still the master' Racing Post

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Discover the classic mystery from Dick Francis, one of the greatest thriller writers of all time'Loads of twists and turns throughout keeps you drawn along. Terrific' 5***** Reader Review'Outstanding. Dick Francis delivers in this action-packed thriller that is impossible to put down' 5***** Reader Review______Sid Halley, ex-champion jockey turned investigator, is facing his toughest test.A number of horses have been brutally mutilated, horrifying their owners and the general public. Even Sid's friend, broadcaster Ellis Quint, has been moved to make a shocking programme about it.But when Sid is asked to look into the case, the evidence he uncovers points in a startling direction and he finds that his head must overrule his heart. As friends and associates are angered by his discoveries, Sid is drawn into a terrible web of conspiracy and intrigue.Escape will require all his legendary wits and cunning . . .Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, Come to Grief is just one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis.Praise for Dick Francis:'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express'The master of suspense and intrigue' Country Life'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard'Still the master' Racing Post

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**A New York Times Best Crime Mystery of the Year**'Nanette Hayes may be the most charismatic crime-fiction heroine to appear in the last decade' BooklistIn the third book in the Nanette Hayes series, Nanette finds a voodoo doll is bringing her some much needed luck. . . until the doll's maker is murdered and she is dragged into the investigation.Nanette is on the rocks. Heartbroken and alone in New York, she finds what comfort she can in the bottom of a bottle. But her life seems to turn around when she's given a voodoo doll, so much so that Nanette seeks out the doll's creator, Ida, to thank her. That's when Nanette's luck seems to run out, and Ida ends up with a bullet in her head.Guilt-ridden, Nanette resolves to get justice for her new friend, only to find that Ida was hiding some dark skeletons in her closet. Now plunged into a dangerous world she doesn't understand, Nanette will have to team up with some unlikely allies, like her estranged father, a high school principal, and Leland Sweet, an NYPD officer with whom Nanette has some major history. But will Nanette solve Ida's murder or fall victim to the same forces that brought Ida down?Originally published in the 1990s, this stylish piece of noir is an original and page-turning read starring an unforgettable heroine.PRAISE FOR THE NANETTE HAYES MYSTERIES:'Funky scenes of New York's musical underworld. . . [a] sweet and saucy narrative voice' The New York Times on Drumsticks'Style's the thing in this breezy, sexy mystery narrated by Nanette, a French-speaking, sax-playing street musician' Publisher's Weekly'This Grace Jones lookalike with a degree in French is a splendid creation' Sunday Telegraph

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' Probably the most important topic the young people in your life are already thinking about hearing about and talking about... Rachel has written a fantastic book to guide, equip and provoke your own thinking so you can do the same for theirs. Anyone who ever talks to teens should read this.' Dr Kate Middleton, psychologist, director of the Mind & Soul Foundation So often we talk about sex as ‘it’, a vague, unnameable thing, but as culture continues to move rapidly, it’s more important than ever that our voices are clear and confident when we talk to youth about sex. With the advancement in sex-tech and changing societal attitudes, we’re preparing young people for a very different world – one we all need to be able to talk about. In The Sex Thing, Rachel Gardner unpacks a visual framework that can inspire and empower conversations with young people about sex. Focusing on both how young people explore sexual wholeness and what conversations they would need to engage with in that journey of sexual maturity, she offers practical advice for navigating difficult conversations with youth and talking to them confidently and openly. Whether you are involved in youth ministry or are parenting young adults yourself, The Sex Thing is a brilliant Christian book for anyone looking for a better, more productive way of talking to youth about sex. Packed full of tips and guidance drawn from years of experience, it will equip you with all the tools you need to engage with young people surely and positively. Together, Rachel Gardner demonstrates how we can talk about The Sex Thing in a way that actively forms a sexual ethic that our young people can thrive in.

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The groundbreaking two-term President of Ireland tells the stories of her lifeWhen a young Mary McAleese told a priest that she planned to become a lawyer, the priest dismissed the idea: she knew no one in the law, and she was female. The reality of what she went on to achieve - despite those obstacles, and despite a sectarian attack that forced her family to flee their home - is even more improbable.In this luminous memoir, Mary McAleese traces that astonishing arc: from the tight streets of north Belfast, to a professorship in Dublin while still in her twenties, behind-the-scenes work on the peace process, and two triumphant terms as President of Ireland. She writes of her encounters with prime ministers, popes and royalty with the same easy candour and intimacy with which she describes her childhood. And her account of the latest act in her remarkable career - quietly pursuing a doctorate, and loudly opposing the misogyny of the Catholic Church - is inspiring.Here's the Story is warm, witty, often surprising and relentlessly fascinating: an extraordinarily intimate memoir by one of the most remarkable public figures of our time._______________'A fascinating story and well worth the read' Irish Times'Riveting ... A fiercely urgent reminder to the world - and the Government - that peace must never be sacrificed for politics' Telegraph 'Excellent' Matt Cooper, Irish Daily Mail'I was enthralled and absorbed by this memoir' Sunday Independent'What an incredible life lived by an outstanding role model. I ate this book up' Sinéad Moriarty'Full of conviction and isn't afraid of plain speaking ... Priests, popes, paramilitaries and Ian Paisley are all held to account' Herald Scotland '[A] chatty, provocative and embraceable biography' RTÉ Guide

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In this penetrating analysis of the role of political leadership in the Cold War's ending, Archie Brown shows why the popular view that Western economic and military strength left the Soviet Union with no alternative but to admit defeat is wrong. To understand the significance of the parts played by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in East-West relations in the second half of the 1980s, Brown addresses several specific questions: What were the values and assumptions of these leaders, and how did their perceptions evolve? What were the major influences on them? To what extent were they reflecting the views of their own political establishment or challenging them? How important for ending the East-West standoff were their interrelations? Would any of the realistically alternative leaders of their countries at that time have pursued approximately the same policies? The Cold War got colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two military superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, each of whom had the capacity to annihilate the other, was tense. By the end of the decade, East-West relations had been utterly transformed, with most of the dividing lines -including the division of Europe- removed. Engagement between Gorbachev and Reagan was a crucial part of that process of change. More surprising was Thatcher's role. Regarded by Reagan as his ideological and political soulmate, she formed also a strong and supportive relationship with Gorbachev (beginning three months before he came to power). Promoting Gorbachev in Washington as a man to do business with, she became, in the words of her foreign policy adviser Sir Percy Cradock, an agent of influence in both directions.

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What can century-old advice columns tell us about the Internet today? This book reveals the little-known history of advice columns in American newspapers and the virtual communities they created among their readers. Imagine a community of people who had never met writing into a media outlet, day after day, to reveal intimate details about their lives, anxieties, and hopes. The original "virtual communities" were born not on the Internet in chat rooms but a century earlier in one of America's most ubiquitous news features: the advice column. Newspaper Confessions is the first history of the newspaper advice column, a genre that has shaped Americans' relationships with media, their experiences with popular therapy, and their virtual interactions across generations. Emerging in the 1890s, advice columns became unprecedented virtual forums where readers could debate the most resonant cultural crises of the day with strangers in an anonymous, yet strikingly public, forum. Early advice columns are essential-and overlooked-precursors to today's digital culture: forums, social media groups, chat rooms, and other online communities that define how present-day American communicate with each other. By charting the economic and cultural motivations behind the rise of this influential genre, Julie Golia offers a nuanced analysis of the advice given by a diverse sample of columns across several decades, emphasizing the ways that advice columnists framed their counsel as modern, yet upheld the racial and gendered status quo of the day. She offers lively, surprising, and poignant case studies, demonstrating how columnists and everyday newspaper readers transformed advice columns into active and participatory virtual communities of confession, advice, debate, and empathy.

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Immortalised by Audrey Hepburn's sparkling performance in the 1961 film of the same name, Breakfast at Tiffany's is Truman Capote's timeless portrait of tragicomic cultural icon Holly Golightly, published in Penguin Modern Classics.It's New York in the 1940s, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour till breakfast at Tiffany's. And nice girls don't, except, of course, for Holly Golightly: glittering socialite traveller, generally upwards, sometimes sideways and once in a while - down. Pursued by to Salvatore 'Sally' Tomato, the Mafia sugar-daddy doing life in Sing Sing and 'Rusty' Trawler, the blue-chinned, cuff-shooting millionaire man about women about town, Holly is a fragile eyeful of tawny hair and turned-up nose, a heart-breaker, a perplexer, a traveller, a tease. She is irrepressibly 'top banana in the shock deparment', and one of the shining flowers of American fiction.This edition also contains three stories: 'House of Flowers', 'A Diamond Guitar' and 'A Christmas Memory'.Truman Capote (1924-84) was born in New Orleans. He left school when he was fifteen and subsequently worked for The New Yorker, which provided his first - and last - regular job. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction - short stories, novels and novellas, travel writing, profiles, reportage, memoirs, plays and films; his other works include In Cold Blood (1965), Music for Chameleons (1980) and Answered Prayers (1986), all of which are published in Penguin Modern Classics.If you enjoyed Breakfast at Tiffany's, you might like Capote's In Cold Blood, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'One of the twentieth century's most gorgeously romantic fictions'Daily Telegraph'The most perfect writer of my generation ... I would not have changed two words of Breakfast at Tiffany's'Norman Mailer

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‘This book is one hell of a ride. Neil Lancaster’s Blood Runs Cold is spellbinding.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ She was taken against her will. On her fifteenth birthday, trafficking victim Affi Smith goes for a run and never returns. With a new identity and secure home in the Scottish Highlands, she was supposed to be safe… She escaped once. With personal ties to Affi’s case, DS Max Craigie joins the investigation. When he discovers other trafficking victims have disappeared in exactly the same circumstances, he knows one thing for certain – there’s a leak somewhere within law enforcement. She won’t outrun them again. The clock is ticking… Max must catch Affi’s kidnappers and expose the mole before anyone else goes missing. Even if it means turning suspicions onto his own team… Don’t miss the next book in the DS Max Craigie series! Fans of Ian Rankin and Marion Todd will love this utterly gripping Scottish thriller! Readers LOVE Blood Runs Cold! ‘A nailbiting, energetic read.’ The Sun ‘Utterly compelling, ingeniously plotted and incredibly entertaining.’ Liz Nugent ‘A masterclass in how to deliver a taut pacy thriller hot off the page.’ Imran Mahmood ‘Compelling, emotionally charged, and impossible to put down… the stand out crime read of the year so far.’ John Barlow ‘Want pulse-pounding, shallowed-breathed, toe-curling police action? Here you go. Thank me later.’ Helen Fields ‘Thrilling, gripping, breathlessly brilliant crime-thriller that just won’t let you go until you know how it ends.’ Miranda Dickinson ‘A dark, gritty and fast paced police procedural that I was totally and completely absorbed by from the very start.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘One of my favourite crime writers by a country mile.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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This long-awaited study explores the creation of NBC-TV's landmark 1952-53 WWII documentary series, with particular attention to its evocative Rodgers-Bennett score. Victory at Sea, NBC-TV's innovative 1952-53 WWII documentary, was eventually broadcast to more than 100 million viewers worldwide. Its episodes chronicled the war's conflicts while highlighting the US Navy's contributions, NBC having sourced footage from the military, governments, and newsreel agencies of fourteen nations. Victory's special distinction was its music, with each episode's nonstop score recorded by the acclaimed NBC Symphony Orchestra. The music was credited to Richard Rodgers-then at the height of his fame-as composer, and Robert Russell Bennett as arranger and conductor. In fact, Rodgers composed twelve piano themes; Bennett developed these endlessly for orchestra and, in addition, composed many hours of the score outright. Part One chronicles Victory's gestation and production at NBC, its reception, the series' afterlife in syndication and home video, and the score's "Gold Record" sales success on RCA records. Part Two examines each episode in turn, focusing on how the Bennett-scored music pairs with screen action. Every transformation of the much-used Rodgers themes is cited, along with the episodes' musical inter-relationships. The hundreds of musical examples generously sample the score's 11½ hours of music. NBC's Victory has been neglected by Richard Rodgers's biographers and by film historians. As the series celebrates its 70th anniversary, the Rodgers-Bennett score here finally receives recognition for its artistry and power.

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For "Heinemann Mathematics P7", colour textbooks and workbooks are used by children to practise and record their understanding of concepts, skills and applications in number, measure, shape and handling data. They include a wide range of problem-solving and investigative work to develop children's ability to use and apply maths. The textbooks help promote children's recording skills using a variety of motivating contexts, and include activities to give further practice in applying maths. The format of the workbooks frees children to concentrate on the maths rather than on the presentation of their work, and each one contains a record-keeping grid to show work completed. The reinforcement sheets are for use selectively with those children who need extra practice of key maths topics, in addition to that provided in the textbooks and workbooks. Each sheet is clearly referenced to a workbook or textbook page for easier integration with the core work, and clear flagging in the textbooks and workbooks shows which topics are supported by a reinforcement sheet. All the extra work is at the same mathematical level as the core. The extension textbook provides additional work at every stage to consolidate and extend learning. Some of the work extends the range of a topic for all children, and some is specifically to stretch the more able. Some of the activities relate to topics in the textbooks and workbooks, and the remaining ones can be attempted at any time. The assessment and resources packs contain games and activities to enrich learning. These include photocopiable problem-solving activities and calculator work, and ideas for practical, theme-based work covering a range of maths topics. This is the workbook.

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Grant Yourself SuccessGrant writing is a billion dollar industry full of profitable business opportunities! Serving as the link between funders and grantees, professional grant writers are quickly becoming valuable partners to fundraising and philanthropy associations. Use this comprehensive guide to learn the art of researching, preparing and submitting winning grants as well as finding and maintaining clientele and grant projects. Learn how to: Identify grants and contact funders Write persuasive proposals that win funding Create a comprehensive grant proposal following step-by-step instructions and samples Develop a successful business plan--including home-office guidance, office technology, business startup basics and more Market your business for less than $100 Also includes a directory of major funders, a four-stage guide to writing funding proposals plus insider tips and techniques for preparing foundation, federal and c

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Barron's Let's Review Regents: Algebra II gives students the step-by-step review and practice they need to prepare for the Regents exam. This updated edition is an ideal companion to high school textbooks and covers all Algebra II topics prescribed by the New York State Board of Regents. Features include: In-depth Regents exam preparation, including two recent Algebra II Regents exams and answer keys Easy to read topic summaries Step-by-step demonstrations and examples Hundreds of sample questions with fully explained answers for practice and review, and more Review of all Algebra II topics, including Polynomial Functions, Exponents and Equations, Transformation of Functions, Trigonometric Functions and their Graphs, Using Sine and Cosine, and much more Teachers can also use this book to plan lessons and as a helpful resource for practice, homework, and test questions.

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This is a coin collector’s dream folder! Not only does it have a space for every state’s quarter—arranged according to year—but now it has slots for the six brand-new quarters that the United States Mint is issuing. These latest coins will honor the District of Columbia, along with five U.S. territories: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Not only will this handy folder help collectors hold on to these special keepsakes, but it includes a description of the Commemorative Coin Program; the new District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories programs; a history of the United States Quarter Dollar; details on how the designs were chosen; and an account of how coins are manufactured by the Mint and distributed by the Federal Reserve Bank.

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Die in dem Sammelband "Empfehlungen des Arbeitskreises 1.4 Baugrunddynamik" der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geotechnik e.V. (DGGT) zusammengefassten Empfehlungen haben das Ziel, das Vorgehen bei baugrunddynamischen Aufgaben zu vereinheitlichen. Ferner geben Sie Hinweise, wie durch angemessene baugrunddynamische Untersuchungen die Beeinträchtigung von Einrichtungen, Schäden an Bauwerken und Anlagen sowie störende Umwelteinwirkungen auf Menschen und Geräte vermieden werden können. Die vorliegenden Empfehlungen stellen den neuesten Stand von Wissenschaft und Technik auf dem Gebiet der Baugrunddynamik dar. Sie beruhen auf gesicherten Erkenntnissen, die einen empirischen Nachweis einschließen, d. h. es liegen für diese Empfehlungen auch praktische Erprobungen vor. Sie sind daher Bestandteil der "allgemein anerkannten Regeln der Technik". Für die vorliegende zweite Ausgabe wurden die Empfehlungen erneut umfangreich überarbeitet und um zwei Teile ergänzt.

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This compact, yet comprehensive guide to cooking sous vide shows home cooks how to master the art of cooking with vacuum-sealed ingredients for restaurant-style precision and advance preparation perfection. Includes an introduction to sous vide cooking with special sections on vacuum sealing in plastic, water immersion, and cooking times, as well as recipes for a range of dishes featuring meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and desserts. Sample recipes: Steak-Frites with Rosemary Garlic Butter; Honey-Dijon Salmon with Maple-Glazed Carrots; Pork Chops with Jalapeño-Agave Nectar Salsa; Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Honey & Green Olives; Greek Lamb Chops with Minted Yogurt; Chipotle–Butternut Squash Soup; Risotto with Kale Pesto, Mozzarella & Cherry Tomatoes; Ginger Shrimp with Baby Bok Choy; and Chai-Spiced Apple Pie.

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Beginning with World War II, missiles transformed the art of war. For the first time, cities of warring nations were vulnerable to sudden, unannounced, long-distance attacks. At the same time, rockets made possible one of the great triumphs of the modern age-the exploration of space. Beginning with the origins of rocketry in medieval and early modern Asia, Rockets and Missiles traces the history of the technology that led to both the great fear of global warfare and the great excitement of the Space Age. This volume focuses on rocketry in late-twentieth-century Western Europe, Russia, and the United States, as well as the spread of rocket technology to East Asia and the Middle East. It covers the full history of rocket technology-including how rockets improved in performance, reliability, and versatility and how they affected everyday life.

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How big data and machine learning encode discrimination and create agitated clusters of comforting rage.In Discriminating Data, Wendy Hui Kyong Chun reveals how polarization is a goal—not an error—within big data and machine learning. These methods, she argues, encode segregation, eugenics, and identity politics through their default assumptions and conditions. Correlation, which grounds big data’s predictive potential, stems from twentieth-century eugenic attempts to “breed” a better future. Recommender systems foster angry clusters of sameness through homophily. Users are “trained” to become authentically predictable via a politics and technology of recognition. Machine learning and data analytics thus seek to disrupt the future by making disruption impossible.Chun, who has a background in systems design engineering as well as media studies and cultural theory, explains that although machine learning algorithms m

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Every year, nearly 100 billion tonnes of raw material globally is extracted from the earth approximately half of it for construction purposes. The construction industry is responsible for an estimated third of global waste, while reuse of construction materials is decreasing. The same sector accounts for at least 40 per cent of global carbon-dioxide emissions. There is thus an urgent need to showcase how novel approaches in digital fabrication can enhance thesustainability of buildings and transform construction. Featuring specialists from architecture, engineering and materials science, this AD presents innovative research and new construction systems, approaches and trends to demonstrate how existing methods and unique concepts that utilise cutting-edge technologies can, in a short space of time, help us advance towards a culture of sustainable construction. It focuses on digital design and manufacturing, including XR technologies, and highlights unique ways to build with earth or c

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Business-informatiemanagement (BIM) speelt een grote rol in de aansluiting tussen business en IT. In 2001 is voor het eerst een model beschreven voor business-informatiemanagement: BiSL(R) (Business information Services Library). In die tijd was er veelal sprake van watervalsgewijze systeemontwikkeling. Bovendien was de wereld nog lang niet zo gedigitaliseerd als nu en was het samenwerken als partners tussen business en IT nog maar weinig aan de orde.Vanwege de toenemende digitalisering in de wereld om ons heen is een nieuwe versie van BiSL ontwikkeld: BiSL Next. Bestuurders en managers van organisaties willen graag weten waarom een goede governance en een goed management van de informatievoorziening cruciaal zijn voor het effectief kunnen verbeteren en veranderen van de diensten van een organisatie aan haar klanten. BiSL Next, zoals beschreven in het boek 'BiSL(R) Next - A Framework for Business Information Management: Improving business performance through better use of information a

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Jerome of Stridon argued that 'the most distinguished privilege loses its prestige when lavished on a crowd' ( Ep. 66.7). Recent imperial changes left the senatorial aristocracy with a devaluation of their order. When a number of its illustres showed an appetite for asceticism, Jerome took up his quill to offer them a nobilitas- model that preserved their exclusivity through appropriation of Christian asceticism. Jessica van 't Westeinde shows how Jerome's design restored the Roman exclusivist notion of nobilitas as an antidote to the opening up of senatorial rank to 'country boors' by creating a status group of Christian elites. The nouveau riche may have attempted to enter this social circle, but they could never attain the same level of perfection as the illustres. As such, Jerome offered a 'Christian ascetic' nobilitas- model that embodies continuation which breathes Roman aristocratic status culture of the illustres.

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The Model Regulations cover the classification of dangerous goods and their listing, the use, construction, testing and approval of packagings and portable tanks, and the consignment procedures (marking, labelling, placarding and documentation). They aim at ensuring a high level of safety by preventing accidents to persons and property and damage to the environment during transport and, providing at the same time, a uniform regulatory framework which can be applied worldwide for national or international transport by any mode.

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This ABA bestseller has helped thousands of estate planners understand the complex rules and regulations governing qualified retirement plan distributions and IRAs. Now newly updated, An Estate Planner's Guide to Qualified Retirement Benefits provides expert and current guidance for structuring benefits from qualified retirement plans and IRAs, consistently relating key distribution issues to current estate planning practice. Topics covered include: The different types of qualified plans and the tax and non-tax rules relating to them The forms of distribution and the situations in which they need to be considered Penalty taxes Distribution requirements and how to calculate them Income taxation and handling rollovers Transfer taxes Spousal rights, QDROs, and community property considerations Estate and trust administration issues Practical planning strategies to avoid penalty and excise taxes on distributions while incurring the lowest income tax, and more Includes appendices on tax consequences and hypothetical retirement plan scenarios, sample forms, and revenue rulings, private letter rulings, IRS news releases and notices.

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In late 1942 Hitler's forces advanced far into the Caucasus in the southern Soviet Union in one of the most ambitious offensives of the Second World War, but this extraordinary episode is often forgotten-it is overshadowed by the disastrous German attack on Stalingrad which took place at the same time.Using over 150 wartime photographs Anthony Tucker-Jones gives the reader a graphic, concise introduction to this remarkable but neglected campaign on the Eastern Front. Operation Edelweiss was designed to seize the oilfields of Maikop, Baku and Grozny. Seen by some as a wholly unnecessary diversion of resources from the critical confrontation at Stalingrad, the assault on the Caucasus aimed to secure oil supplies for the Germans and deny them to the Soviets. As this memorable selection of photographs shows, the Werhmacht came close to success. Their forces advanced almost as far as Grozny, famously raising the Nazi flag over Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in the region, before they were compelled into a hurried withdrawal by the rapid deterioration of the German position elsewhere on the Eastern Front.

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Our ability to think, argue and reason is determined by our ability to question. Questions are a vital component of critical thinking, yet we underestimate the role they play. Using Questions to Think puts questioning back in the spotlight. Naming the parts of questions at the same time as we name parts of thought, this one-of-a-kind introduction allows us to see how questions relate to the definitions of propositions, premises, conclusions, and the validity of arguments. Why is this important? Making the role of questions visible in thinking reasoning and dialogue, allows us to: - Ask better questions - Improve our capability to understand an argument - Exercise vigilance in the act of questioning - Make explicit what you already know implicitly - Engage with ideas that contradict our own - See ideas in broader context Breathing new life into our current approach to critical thinking, this practical, much-needed textbook moves us away from the traditional focus on formal argument and fallacy identification, combines the Kantian critique of reason with Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics and reminds us why thinking can only be understood as an answer to a question.

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This title presents the story of the pioneering troops, in their own words. With an executive order from President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941, the United States Marine Corps - the last all-white branch of the U.S. military - was forced to begin recruiting and enlisting African Americans. The first black recruits received basic training at the segregated Camp Montford Point, adjacent to Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, North Carolina. This book, in conjunction with the documentary film of the same name, tells the story of these pioneering African American Marines. Drawing from interviews with 60 veterans, Melton McLaurin relates in the Marines' own words their reasons for enlisting; their arrival at Montford Point and the training they received there; their lives in a segregated military and in the Jim Crow South; their experiences of combat and service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam; and, their legacy. This book serves to recognize and to honor the men who desegregated the Marine Corps and loyally served their country in three major wars.

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Free yourself from diets that don't work and discover The Ultimate Weight Solution.You have made the decision to take control of your weight, but diets don't seem to work and they aren't always sustainable for everyday life. Dr. Phil McGraw's powerful bestseller gives you the tools for life-changing weight loss. If you're ready to get real about your weight, if you want to end the frustration of the diet cycle, you have found the ultimate solution—The Ultimate Weight Solution. This groundbreaking, scientifically sound plan is a step-by-step, personalized approach that transforms you from the inside out, as you gain control over your food habits and emotional eating traps. This guide will help you discover strategies for reframing food and provides a daily food plan with sample menus. It's your health, it's your life, it's your decision. The Ultimate Weight Solution will change the way you behave and think about food, weight loss, and, ultimately, yourself.

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With near-mythical forests of birch and pine, the Nordic and Baltic countries boast a rich tradition of religious wood carving that is in many ways emblematic of their cultures. Sacred to the Touch examines the spiritual and intellectual projects of six twentieth- and twenty-first-century artists who have adapted and revitalized this tradition. Through interviews and analyses, folklorist Thomas A. DuBois explores the notions of continuity with the past that these artists seek to express through their art, examining the forest church of late Finnish artist Eva Ryynänen, the carvings of Norwegian Americans Phillip Odden and Else Bigton that decorate a planned replica of a stave church in Southern California, the medieval Catholic-rooted work of Lutheran Sister Lydia Mariadotter (Swedish), the grave markers and roadside figures of Algimantas Sakalauskas (Lithuanian), and the merging of Lutheran and pre-Christian traditions by Lars Levi Sunna (Sámi). With color photographs and detailed descriptions, Sacred to the Touch reveals the interplay of tradition with personal and communal identity that characterize modern religious carving in Northern Europe.

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The Visual is Political examines the growth of feminist photography as it unfolded in Britain during the 1970s and 1980s. This period in Britain was marked by instability following the collapse of the welfare state, massive unemployment, race riots, and workers’ strikes. However, this was also a time in which various forms of social activism emerged or solidified, including the Women’s Movement, whose members increasingly turned to photography as a tool for their political activism. Rather than focusing on the aesthetic quality of the images produced, Klorman-Eraqi looks at the application of feminist theory, photojournalism, advertising, photo montage, punk subculture and aesthetics, and politicized street activity to emphasize the statement and challenge that the photographic language of these works posed. She shows both the utilitarian uses of photography in activism, but also how these same photographers went on to be accepted (or co-opted) into the mainstream art spaces little by little, sometimes with great controversy. The Visual is Political highlights the relevance and impact of an earlier contentious, creative, and politicized moment of feminism and photography as art and activism.

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First published in 1981, Japan's Renaissance is a detailed and exhaustively researched account of the regime of Japan's second shogunate, and also an agile comparative analysis of the political economy of the period with other Renaissance systems. The book argues that the development of shogunal power in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Japan was similar to the evolution of monarchic power in France and England during the same period. Contrary to the received wisdom that the government of the Ashikaga shoguns was the low point of premodern Japan, this book demonstrates that it was the incubator for many developments and the administrative technology which reached their maturity in the Tokugawa period. Applying the ideas of political economy to medieval Japanese history makes this book an essential companion for all Japan and East Asia specialists, students of comparative feudalism and monarchical development, as well as educated generalists who are interested in premodern Japan. The book is illustrated with antique maps and Japanese paintings of the period which add to the reader's understanding of this dramatic age in Japan's history.

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Banking, Politics and Global Finance presents an innovative, micro-political examination of the US banking system's response to the ongoing globalization of financial markets. This approach contrasts sharply with earlier studies which have emphasized the macro-structural aspects of politics through concentrating on elements of stability and consistency in the policy responses by advanced industrial countries to external economic pressures. By micro-political analysis of policy making, this book reveals a multitude of changes in the interests, coalitions and power constellations among private and public sector actors and institutions in the US financial system, in the absence of any macrostructural adjustment. These changes have opened alternative channels for policy making leading to substantial adjustments in the regulatory framework governing US financial markets. Using detailed discussion of the unsuccessful attempts to repeal the law that separates commercial from investment banking - the Glass-Steagall Act - and the successful raising of the capital standards of US commercial banks, Dr Reinicke's book also explains why the same policy network can respond very differently to an external economic challenge - a phenomenon usually neglected in the literature on comparative political economy.

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This book was inspired by San Rafael Illustrated & Described, a rare promotional brochure published by W. W. Elliott & Co. in 1884. The brochure's purpose was to attract new residents and investors to San Rafael by showcasing prominent homes and businesses and emphasizing the natural beauty of the area. It also highlights modern amenities of the day including the train and ferry systems. The illustrations are original stone lithographs made from the sketches of Mr. Chris Jorgensen, a teacher at the San Francisco Art School. From 2016 through 2017, Marin County historian and photographer Michelle Kaufman photographed the same views depicted in the 1884 lithographs and researched their history in collaboration with the staff at the Anne T. Kent California Room. Kaufman's modern views of San Rafael are presented alongside their 1884 counterparts. The Anne T. Kent California Room, located in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, is an archive dedicated to collecting and preserving information on the history and culture of Marin County. The California Room's digital archive can be found at marinlibrary.org/californiaroom.

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Criminal Justice Research Methods provides students with an accessible, easy-to-understand guide to all aspects of social scientific research methods. It features a comprehensive discussion of qualitative and quantitative data gathering strategies and a plethora of current examples to help readers understand the process of doing research and investigating issues that are relevant to criminal justice and criminology.The opening chapter differentiates between pure and applied research, explains the relationship between theory, and method, identifies different types of research, and clarifies why research is necessary. Additional chapters cover ethical adherence, experimental designs, and crime data and sampling techniques. Students explore survey research designs and learn effective skillsets for interviewing and observing. The final chapters examine unobtrusive measures and secondary analysis; validity, reliability, and triangulated methods; and scaling and index construction. Throughout, learning objectives, summaries, discussion questions, and key terms support student engagement and retention.Concise and highly contemporary, Criminal Justice Research Methods is ideal for courses with emphasis on research in criminal justice and criminology.

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A pathbreaking exploration of the fate of utopia in our troubled times, this book shows how the historically intertwined endeavors of utopia and critique might be leveraged in response to humanity's looming existential challenges. Utopia in the Age of Survival makes the case that critical social theory needs to reinstate utopia as a speculative myth. At the same time the left must reassume utopia as an action-guiding hypothesis—that is, as something still possible. S. D. Chrostowska looks to the vibrant, visionary mid-century resurgence of embodied utopian longings and projections in Surrealism, the Situationist International, and critical theorists writing in their wake, reconstructing utopia's link to survival through to the earliest, most radical phase of the French environmental movement. Survival emerges as the organizing concept for a variety of democratic political forms that center the corporeality of desire in social movements contesting the expanding management of life by state institutions across the globe. Vigilant and timely, balancing fine-tuned analysis with broad historical overview to map the utopian impulse across contemporary cultural and political life, Chrostowska issues an urgent report on the vitality of utopia.

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Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Air conditioning aspires to be unnoticed. Yet, by manipulating the air around us, it quietly conditions the baseline conditions of our physical, mental, and emotional experience. From offices and libraries to contemporary art museums and shopping malls, climate control systems shore up the fantasy of a comfortable, self-contained body that does not have to reckon with temperature. At the same time that air conditioning makes temperature a non-issue in (some) people’s daily lives, thermoception—or the sensory perception of temperature—is being carefully studied and exploited as a tool of marketing, social control, and labor management. Yet air conditioning isn’t for everybody: its reliance on carbon fuels divides the world into habitable, climate-controlled bubbles and increasingly uninhabitable environments where AC is unavailable. Hsuan Hsu's Air Conditioning explores questions about culture, ethics, ecology, and social justice raised by the history and uneven distribution of climate controlling technologies. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

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The past two decades have witnessed increasing opposition to mafia influence and activities in Italy. Community organizations such as Libera, founded in 1995, and Addiopizzo, originating in 2004, exemplify how Italian society has tried to come together to promote antimafia activities. The societal opposition to mafia influence continues to grow and the Internet has become a frontline in the battle between the two groups. The Italian Antimafia, New Media, and the Culture of Legality is the first book to examine the online battles between the mafia and its growing cohort of opponents. While the mafia's supporters have used Internet technologies to expand its power, profits, and violence, antimafia citizens employ the same technologies to recreate Italian civil society. The contributors to this volume are experts in diverse fields and offer interdisciplinary studies of antimafia activism and legality in online journalism, Twitter, YouTube, digital storytelling, blogs, music, and photography. These examinations enable readers to understand the grassroots Italian cultural revolution, which makes individuals responsible for promoting justice, freedom, and dignity.

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Juveniles possess less maturity, intelligence, and competence than adults, heightening their vulnerability in the justice system. For this reason, states try juveniles in separate courts and use different sentencing standards than for adults. Yet, when police bring kids in for questioning, they use the same interrogation tactics they use for adults, including trickery, deception, and lying to elicit confessions or to produce incriminating evidence against the defendants. In Kids, Cops, and Confessions, Barry Feld offers the first report of what actually happens when police question juveniles. Drawing on remarkable data, Feld analyzes interrogation tapes and transcripts, police reports, juvenile court filings and sentences, and probation and sentencing reports, describing in rich detail what actually happens in the interrogation room. Contrasting routine interrogation and false confessions enables police, lawyers, and judges to identify interrogations that require enhanced scrutiny, to adopt policies to protect citizens, and to assure reliability and integrity of the justice system. Feld has produced an invaluable look at how the justice system really works.

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In Ugly Freedoms Elisabeth R. Anker reckons with the complex legacy of freedom offered by liberal American democracy, outlining how the emphasis of individual liberty has always been entangled with white supremacy, settler colonialism, climate destruction, economic exploitation, and patriarchy. These “ugly freedoms” legitimate the right to exploit and subjugate others. At the same time, Anker locates an unexpected second type of ugly freedom in practices and situations often dismissed as demeaning, offensive, gross, and ineffectual but that provide sources of emancipatory potential. She analyzes both types of ugly freedom at work in a number of texts and locations, from political theory, art, and film to food, toxic dumps, and multispecies interactions. Whether examining how Kara Walker’s sugar sculpture A Subtlety, Or the Marvelous Sugar Baby reveals the importance of sugar plantations to liberal thought or how the impoverished neighborhoods in The Wire blunt neoliberalism’s violence, Anker shifts our perspective of freedom by contesting its idealized expressions and expanding the visions for what freedom can look like, who can exercise it, and how to build a world free from domination.

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In Ugly Freedoms Elisabeth R. Anker reckons with the complex legacy of freedom offered by liberal American democracy, outlining how the emphasis of individual liberty has always been entangled with white supremacy, settler colonialism, climate destruction, economic exploitation, and patriarchy. These “ugly freedoms” legitimate the right to exploit and subjugate others. At the same time, Anker locates an unexpected second type of ugly freedom in practices and situations often dismissed as demeaning, offensive, gross, and ineffectual but that provide sources of emancipatory potential. She analyzes both types of ugly freedom at work in a number of texts and locations, from political theory, art, and film to food, toxic dumps, and multispecies interactions. Whether examining how Kara Walker’s sugar sculpture A Subtlety, Or the Marvelous Sugar Baby reveals the importance of sugar plantations to liberal thought or how the impoverished neighborhoods in The Wire blunt neoliberalism’s violence, Anker shifts our perspective of freedom by contesting its idealized expressions and expanding the visions for what freedom can look like, who can exercise it, and how to build a world free from domination.

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From computer games to figurines and maid cafes, men called “otaku” develop intense fan relationships with “cute girl” characters from manga, anime, and related media and material in contemporary Japan. While much of the Japanese public considers the forms of character love associated with “otaku” to be weird and perverse, the Japanese government has endeavored to incorporate “otaku” culture into its branding of “Cool Japan.” In Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan, Patrick W. Galbraith explores the conflicting meanings of “otaku” culture and its significance to Japanese popular culture, masculinity, and the nation. Tracing the history of “otaku” and “cute girl” characters from their origins in the 1970s to his recent fieldwork in Akihabara, Tokyo (“the Holy Land of Otaku”), Galbraith contends that the discourse surrounding “otaku” reveals tensions around contested notions of gender, sexuality, and ways of imagining the nation that extend far beyond Japan. At the same time, in their relationships with characters and one another, “otaku” are imagining and creating alternative social worlds.

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