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The highly acclaimed, instant New York Times bestseller that '[gives] expression to a generational anxiety about the near future, one rooted in the threat of environmental crisis...The experience of reading California brings validation to anyone who sits upright in the middle of the night struck with the instability of the human project on this planet: others are awake, too' GuardianThe sunshine state lies in darkness.Los Angeles is in ruins, left to the angels now.And the world Cal and Frida have always known is gone.Cal and Frida have left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable despite the isolation and hardships they face. Consumed by fear of the future and mourning for a past they can't reclaim, they seek comfort and solace in one other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant. Terrified of the unknown but unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realise this community poses its own dangers. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.A gripping and provocative debut novel by a stunning new talent,California imagines a frighteningly realistic near future, in which clashes between mankind's dark nature and irrepressible resilience force us to question how far we will go to protect the ones we love.

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This second volume of The History of Vatican II describes the dramatic first session of the Council as it was electrified by Pope John XXIII's inspiring and liberating speech. It tells the story of how the bishops repudiated the doctrinal texts they had been expected to rubber stamp and gave overwhelming approval of the call to reform the church. Volume II describes the main protagonists, the issues at stake in the debates, and the gradual emergence and triumph of the desire for spiritual renewal and pastoral reform. It concludes with a study of the Council's agenda, an agenda that permitted this desire to become effective in subsequent sessions. In the pages of The Formation of the Council's Identity, such important ecclesiastical personages as the Cardinals Siri of Genoa and Suenens - virtual polar opposites on questions of aggiornamento - and soon-to-be famous periti such as Ives Congar, Hans Kung, and Karl Rahner make their appearances. The mood of the conservatives was one of trepidation in the face of unknown possibilites; the mood of the progressives a mixture of gloom and apprehension in the face of reactionary legalistic preparatory documents and commissions. In the midst of such contradictory expectations, John XXIII injected something completely unexpected in his "moonlight address" on the evening the Council opened. His deep humanity impressed itself upon the Council delegates and the world at large. Chapters include a preface by G. Alberigo; (1) "The Dramatic Opening Days" by A. Ricardi; (2) "The Council Gets Underway" by G.P. Fogarty; (3) "The Debate on the Liturgy" by M. Lamberigts; (4) "A Portrait of the Assembly" by H. Raguer; (5) "The Clash over Divine Revelation" by G. Ruggieri; (6) "The Brief Debate on Communications Media" by M. Lamberigts; (7) "Beyond an Ecclesiology of Polemics; The Debate on the Church" by G. Ruggieri; (8) "The Second Preparation of the Council during the Intersession" by J. Grootaers; (9) "Ebb and Flow: Conciliar Dynamics during the Intersession" by J. Grootaers; and (10) "The Conciliar Experience" by G. Alberigo.

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Cuando Carruthers, aburrido del verano londinense y de la monotonÍa de su trabajo en el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, acepta una invitaciÓn de su amigo Davies para participar en un crucero por el BÁltico, no sabe que ha dado comienzo a un aventura tan peligrosa como extraordinaria. El yate resulta ser un bote destartalado, y mientras navegan las aguas y las arenas movedizas y traicioneras de las islas a bordo del "Dulcibella", Carruthers comprende que el objetivo de la curiosa expediciÓn no es precisamente cazar patos, y que sus conocimientos de alemÁn tienen una utilidad insospechada. Sin embargo, a medida que surgen los desafÍos, acaba por entusiasmarse con el coraje y la templanza de su amigo, y descubre en su propio interior nuevas fuerzas y un desconocido sentido moral. "El engima de las arenas" ha pasado a la historia de la literatura´como la primera muestra de la novela de espionaje. La presentaciÓn de la invasiÓn de Gran BretaÑa por parte de los alemanes, que mÁs tarde se confirmarÍa en la segunda guerra mundial, y la advertencia acerca de las carencias de las defensas britÁnicas, hizo que la novela gozara de un rotundo y continuado Éxito. When Carruthers, bored with the London summer and the monotony of his job at the Foreign Office, accepts an invitation from his friend Davies to take part in a Baltic cruise, he does not know that he has started an adventure as dangerous as it is extraordinary. The yacht turns out to be a rickety boat, and as they navigate the treacherous, shifting sands and waters of the islands aboard the Dulcibella, Carruthers understands that the goal of the curious expedition is not exactly duck hunting, and that his knowledge of German they have an unsuspected utility. However, as challenges arise, he eventually becomes enthusiastic about his friend's courage and temperance, discovering within himself new strengths and an unknown moral sense.

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A Biography of Power explores the changing nature of power and identity from the Iron Age to Roman period in Britain. Presenting detailed excavation results and integrating a range of comprehensive specialist studies, the book provides fresh insights into the origins and nature of one of the lesser-known, but perhaps most significant, Late Iron Age oppida in Britain: Bagendon in Gloucestershire. Combining the results of a large-scale geophysical survey with analysis of both historic and new excavations, this volume reassesses Iron Age occupation at Bagendon. It reveals evidence for diverse artisanal activities and complex regional exchange networks that saw livestock, and people, travelling to Bagendon from west of the Severn. The results of the excavation of two morphologically unusual, banjo-like enclosures, and of one of the previously unexamined dykes, has revealed that the Bagendon oppidum had earlier origins and more complex roles than previously envisaged. The volume also provides new insights into the nature of the Iron Age and Roman landscape in which Bagendon was situated. Detailing the discovery of two, previously unknown, Roman villas at Bagendon demonstrates the continued significance of this landscape in the early Roman province. This volume redefines Bagendon as a landscape of power, offering important insights into the changing nature of societies from the Middle Iron Age to the Roman period. It calls for a radical reassessment of how we define oppida complexes and their socio-political importance at the turn of the 1st millennium BC. Contains contributions from Sophia Adams, Michael J. Allen, Sam Bithell, Cameron Clegg, Geoffrey Dannell, Lorne Elliott, Elizabeth Foulds, Freddie Foulds, Christopher Green, Darren Gröcke, Derek Hamilton, Colin Haselgrove, Yvonne Inall, Tina Jakob, Mandy Jay, Sally Kellett, Robert Kenyon, Mark Landon, Edward McSloy, Janet Montgomery, J.A. Morley-Stone, Geoff Nowell, Charlotte O’Brien, Chris Ottley, Cynthia Poole, Richard Reece, Harry Robson, Ruth Shaffrey, John Shepherd, Jane Timby, Dirk Visser, D.F. Williams, Steven Willis.

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The unbelievable stories of the heroic men who sailed under the sea.In Heroes Beneath the Waves, many brave men who rode submarines to great depths and across the oceans into unknown territory share their experiences, fears, and thoughts. They allow us to travel back in time through their memories. Trained for years to keep silent—for “loose lips sink ships”—many still believe what they know to be classified and refuse to disclose even the minutest of recollections. Others, however, want to leave a legacy of reminiscences for people to learn and live by—to know that freedom is not free.Some stories will never be told. Held within the secret confines of their souls, these deep sea veterans block them out for self-perseverance. Yet, there are others who will never escape their own minds; they relive their underwater experiences over and over with eyes open or shut.Heroes Beneath the Waves is about teenage boys who left farms, small towns, and inner cities to defend the United States and democracy worldwide. Signing up for United States Navy submarine duty was an adventure of a lifetime during the early 1940s. Dreams of torpedoing Japanese and German ships and subs consumed their thoughts. Those who returned home as young men were older and wiser. Heroes Beneath the Waves was written to honor these men—gallant heroes—who served and are serving today on submarines.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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A chilling adventure beneath the streets of London where WWII-era bombs, government conspiracies, and science—gone very very wrong—collide.Beneath the streets of London lie many secrets. Subterranean rivers carve channels through darkened caverns. Hidden laboratories and government offices from WWII offer a maze of corridors and abandoned medical experiments. Lost in the depths are the contents of a looted Spanish galleon from the days of Henry VIII. And even deeper lies a Nazi V-2 rocket that contains the most horrible secret of all.Carmen Kingsley, in charge of London projects for the British Museum, and Scotland Yard Inspector Sherwood Peets race to unravel the mysteries before the great city succumbs to the English Sweat, a frightening disease from the age of the Henrys. Unknown to them, their partners in tracing the disease began their own efforts more than sixty years earlier during WWII when a top secret British mission is sent to the far northern regions of Norway to stop the Nazis from developing a biological weapon that was to be airmailed to London via the V-2 rocket.It all comes to a climax beneath the city with the discovery of a horrifying species of genetically altered “super rats” that threaten to invade London and the British Isles in a manner more horrifying than anything ever envisioned by the Germans.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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Available for the first time in trade paperback, the first of five volumes collecting the complete fiction of William Hope Hodgson, an influential early twentieth-century author of science fiction, horror, and the fantastic.William Hope Hodgson was, like his contemporaries Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen, one of the most important, prolific, and influential fantasists of the early twentieth century. His dark and unsettling short stories and novels were shaped in large part by personal experience (a professional merchant mariner for much of his life, many of Hodgson’s tales are set at sea), and his work evokes a disturbing sense of the amorphous and horrific unknown.While his nautical adventure fiction was very popular during his lifetime, the supernatural and cosmic horror he is most remembered for only became well known after his death, mainly due to the efforts of writers like H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, who often praised his work and cited it as an influence on their own. By the later half of the twentieth century, it was only his weird fiction that remained in print, and his vast catalog of non-supernatural stories was extremely hard to find.Night Shade Books’s five-volume series presents all of Hodgson’s unique and timeless fiction. Each volume contains one of Hodgson's novels, along with a selection of thematically-linked short fiction, including a number of works reprinted for the first time since their original publication. The first of the five-volume set, The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" and Other Nautical Adventures, collects all of Hodgson’s series nautical fiction, including the Sargasso Sea Story cycle.The Complete Fiction of William Hope Hodgson is published by Night Shade Books in the following volumes:The Boats of the “Glen Carrig” and Other Nautical AdventuresThe House on the Borderland and Other Mysterious PlacesThe Ghost Pirates and Other Revenants of the SeaThe Night Land and Other RomancesThe Dream of X and Other Fantastic Visions

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The ninja is a well-known phenomenon in Japanese military culture, a fighter who is widely regarded as the world s greatest exponent of secret warfare. He infiltrates castles, gathers vital intelligence and wields a deadly knife in the dark. His easily recognisable image is that of a secret agent or assassin who dresses all in black, possesses almost magical martial powers, and is capable of extraordinary feats of daring. He sells his skills on a mercenary basis and when in action his unique abilities include confusing his enemies by making mystical hand gestures or by sending sharp iron stars spinning towards them. That is the popular view, but it is much exaggerated, as this exciting new book explains. _The Ninja Unmasked_ is a revealing, fascinating and authoritative study of Japan s famous secret warriors. Unlike all previous books on the subject the author, who is an expert in the subject, does not take the ninja for granted. Instead he examines the entire phenomenon in a critical manner, ranging from accounts of undercover operations during the age of Japan s civil wars to the modern emergence of the superman ninja as a comic book character. The popular ninja image is shown to be the result of several influences that were combined to create the world s greatest secret warrior. Many well-known features of the ninja tradition such as the black clothes and the iron stars are shown to be complete inventions. One important feature of the book is the use of original Japanese sources, many of which have never been translated before. As well as unknown accounts of castle attacks, assassinations and espionage they include the last great ninja manual, which reveals the spiritual and religious ideals that were believed to lie behind the ninja s arts. The book concludes with a detailed investigation of the ninja in popular culture up to the present day including movies, cartoons and theme parks.

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"A brilliant account of what history will recognize as one of the most significant lives of the 20th century." - Ken Wilber, author of The Religion of Tomorrow He was called "the 20th century's first superstar guru" (Los Angeles Times), and today, a century after his 1920 arrival in the United States, he's still the best known and most beloved of all the Indian spiritual teachers who have come to the West. Now, finally, Paramahansa Yogananda has the authoritative biography he deserves. Yogananda, considered by many to be the father of modern yoga, has had an unsurpassed global impact thanks to the durability of his teachings, the institutions he created or inspired, and especially his iconic memoir, Autobiography of a Yogi. Since its publication in 1946, that book has sold millions of copies and changed millions of lives. But it doesn't tell the whole story. Much of Yogananda's seminal text is devoted to tales about other people, and it largely overlooks the three vital decades he spent living, working, and teaching in America. Huge chunks of his life-challenges, controversies, and crises; triumphs, relationships, and formative experiences-remain unknown to even his most ardent devotees. In this captivating biography, scholar and teacher Philip Goldberg fills the gaps, charting a journey that spanned six decades, two hemispheres, two world wars, and unprecedented social changes. The result is an objective, thoroughly researched account of Yogananda's remarkable life in all its detail, nuance, and complex humanity. But this is more than a compelling life story. It is also a guidebook for how to live our own lives. "Yogananda would, I believe, want any book about him to not only inform but transform," Goldberg writes. "It is my hope that readers will be enriched, expanded, and deepened by this humble offering." That is sure to be the case for both Yogananda enthusiasts and those who discover him for the first time in these illuminating pages.

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The 9-volume set LNAI 14267-14275 constitutes the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2023, which took place in Hangzhou, China, during July 5–7, 2023.The 413 papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 630 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Human-Centric Technologies for Seamless Human-Robot Collaboration; Multimodal Collaborative Perception and Fusion; Intelligent Robot Perception in Unknown Environments; Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application.Part II: Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application; Reliable AI on Machine Human Reactions; Wearable Sensors and Robots; Wearable Robots for Assistance, Augmentation and Rehabilitation of Human Movements; Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot.Part III: Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot; Medical Imaging for Biomedical Robotics; Advanced Underwater Robot Technologies; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Evaluation of Wearable Robots for Assistance and Rehabilitation; 3D Printing Soft Robots.Part IV: 3D Printing Soft Robots; Dielectric Elastomer Actuators for Soft Robotics; Human-like Locomotion and Manipulation; Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots.Part V: Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots; Robotic Tactile Sensation, Perception, and Applications; Advanced Sensing and Control Technology for Human-Robot Interaction; Knowledge-Based Robot Decision-Making and Manipulation; Design and Control of Legged Robots.Part VI: Design and Control of Legged Robots; Robots in Tunnelling and Underground Space; Robotic Machining of Complex Components; Clinically Oriented Design in Robotic Surgery and Rehabilitation; Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics.Part VII: Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics; Perception, Interaction, and Control of Wearable Robots; Marine Robotics and Applications; Multi-Robot Systems for Real World Applications; Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction.Part VIII: Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction; Advanced Motion Control Technologies for Mobile Robots; Intelligent Inspection Robotics; Robotics in Sustainable Manufacturing for Carbon Neutrality; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms.Part IX: Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Cutting-Edge Research in Robotics.

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The 9-volume set LNAI 14267-14275 constitutes the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2023, which took place in Hangzhou, China, during July 5–7, 2023.The 413 papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 630 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Human-Centric Technologies for Seamless Human-Robot Collaboration; Multimodal Collaborative Perception and Fusion; Intelligent Robot Perception in Unknown Environments; Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application.Part II: Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application; Reliable AI on Machine Human Reactions; Wearable Sensors and Robots; Wearable Robots for Assistance, Augmentation and Rehabilitation of Human Movements; Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot.Part III: Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot; Medical Imaging for Biomedical Robotics; Advanced Underwater Robot Technologies; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Evaluation of Wearable Robots for Assistance and Rehabilitation; 3D Printing Soft Robots.Part IV: 3D Printing Soft Robots; Dielectric Elastomer Actuators for Soft Robotics; Human-like Locomotion and Manipulation; Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots.Part V: Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots; Robotic Tactile Sensation, Perception, and Applications; Advanced Sensing and Control Technology for Human-Robot Interaction; Knowledge-Based Robot Decision-Making and Manipulation; Design and Control of Legged Robots.Part VI: Design and Control of Legged Robots; Robots in Tunnelling and Underground Space; Robotic Machining of Complex Components; Clinically Oriented Design in Robotic Surgery and Rehabilitation; Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics.Part VII: Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics; Perception, Interaction, and Control of Wearable Robots; Marine Robotics and Applications; Multi-Robot Systems for Real World Applications; Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction.Part VIII: Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction; Advanced Motion Control Technologies for Mobile Robots; Intelligent Inspection Robotics; Robotics in Sustainable Manufacturing for Carbon Neutrality; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms.Part IX: Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Cutting-Edge Research in Robotics.

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The 9-volume set LNAI 14267-14275 constitutes the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2023, which took place in Hangzhou, China, during July 5–7, 2023.The 413 papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 630 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Human-Centric Technologies for Seamless Human-Robot Collaboration; Multimodal Collaborative Perception and Fusion; Intelligent Robot Perception in Unknown Environments; Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application.Part II: Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application; Reliable AI on Machine Human Reactions; Wearable Sensors and Robots; Wearable Robots for Assistance, Augmentation and Rehabilitation of Human Movements; Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot.Part III: Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot; Medical Imaging for Biomedical Robotics; Advanced Underwater Robot Technologies; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Evaluation of Wearable Robots for Assistance and Rehabilitation; 3D Printing Soft Robots.Part IV: 3D Printing Soft Robots; Dielectric Elastomer Actuators for Soft Robotics; Human-like Locomotion and Manipulation; Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots.Part V: Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots; Robotic Tactile Sensation, Perception, and Applications; Advanced Sensing and Control Technology for Human-Robot Interaction; Knowledge-Based Robot Decision-Making and Manipulation; Design and Control of Legged Robots.Part VI: Design and Control of Legged Robots; Robots in Tunnelling and Underground Space; Robotic Machining of Complex Components; Clinically Oriented Design in Robotic Surgery and Rehabilitation; Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics.Part VII: Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics; Perception, Interaction, and Control of Wearable Robots; Marine Robotics and Applications; Multi-Robot Systems for Real World Applications; Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction.Part VIII: Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction; Advanced Motion Control Technologies for Mobile Robots; Intelligent Inspection Robotics; Robotics in Sustainable Manufacturing for Carbon Neutrality; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms.Part IX: Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Cutting-Edge Research in Robotics.

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The 9-volume set LNAI 14267-14275 constitutes the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications, ICIRA 2023, which took place in Hangzhou, China, during July 5–7, 2023.The 413 papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 630 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Human-Centric Technologies for Seamless Human-Robot Collaboration; Multimodal Collaborative Perception and Fusion; Intelligent Robot Perception in Unknown Environments; Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application.Part II: Vision-Based Human Robot Interaction and Application; Reliable AI on Machine Human Reactions; Wearable Sensors and Robots; Wearable Robots for Assistance, Augmentation and Rehabilitation of Human Movements; Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot.Part III: Perception and Manipulation of Dexterous Hand for Humanoid Robot; Medical Imaging for Biomedical Robotics; Advanced Underwater Robot Technologies; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Evaluation of Wearable Robots for Assistance and Rehabilitation; 3D Printing Soft Robots.Part IV: 3D Printing Soft Robots; Dielectric Elastomer Actuators for Soft Robotics; Human-like Locomotion and Manipulation; Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots.Part V: Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning for Smart Robots; Robotic Tactile Sensation, Perception, and Applications; Advanced Sensing and Control Technology for Human-Robot Interaction; Knowledge-Based Robot Decision-Making and Manipulation; Design and Control of Legged Robots.Part VI: Design and Control of Legged Robots; Robots in Tunnelling and Underground Space; Robotic Machining of Complex Components; Clinically Oriented Design in Robotic Surgery and Rehabilitation; Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics.Part VII: Visual and Visual-Tactile Perception for Robotics; Perception, Interaction, and Control of Wearable Robots; Marine Robotics and Applications; Multi-Robot Systems for Real World Applications; Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction.Part VIII: Physical and Neurological Human-Robot Interaction; Advanced Motion Control Technologies for Mobile Robots; Intelligent Inspection Robotics; Robotics in Sustainable Manufacturing for Carbon Neutrality; Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms.Part IX: Innovative Design and Performance Evaluation of Robot Mechanisms; Cutting-Edge Research in Robotics.

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An enchanting and fun-to-use deck packed with all the secrets of astrology. This luminous 70-card deck is filled with fascinating information on zodiac signs, planets, asteroids, eclipses, and more. Users will discover how celestial phenomena like retrogrades, moon phases, and sun signs impact love, friendship, career, and personality. An accompanying instructional booklet and an interactive birth chart make it easy and fun to do astrological readings, alone or with friends. Illuminating and empowering, this deck is a must-have accessory for modern mystics and the spiritually curious. ASTROLOGY MADE EASY: These 70 cards illuminate the secrets the cosmos for a contemporary audience interested in astrology, presenting complex information in an accessible, fun-to-use format. EXPERT WISDOM: Lisa Stardust is a professional astrologer who has been practicing and teaching astrology for more than a decade. In this deck, she shares her expert wisdom, distilling the essential secrets of astrology in an engaging and easy-to-use set of cards so that users can interpret the stars and do their own readings. BEAUTIFUL TO GIFT AND DISPLAY: Delivered in a sleek, eye-catching package filled 70 shimmering cards, The Astrology Deck is a beautiful gift for anyone curious about astrology or mysticism and a stylish companion for the spiritually-curious, crystal lovers, and tarot enthusiasts. ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES: This interactive and fun-to-use deck can be used in a variety of ways: Users can pull one card a day to learn something new about the cosmos; pull several cards at once to see what energy the universe has in store; do their own birth chart to better understand what the future holds; or do readings with their friends, making it the perfect edition for a small gathering or a girls' night in. Perfect for: • Astrology enthusiasts • Anyone interested in mysticism and witchcraft • People who use Tarot • People who love crystals • Fans of The Wild Unknown, The Numinous, and Mystic Monday's Tarot

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Between the mid-seventeenth and mid-eighteenth century more than 15,000 Londoners suffered sudden violent deaths. In the early modern period, accidental and 'disorderly' deaths - from drowning, falls, stabbing, shooting, fires, explosions, suffocation, and animals and vehicles, among others - were a regular feature of urban life. Between the mid-seventeenth and mid-eighteenth centuries more than 15,000 Londoners suffered sudden violent deaths. While this figure includes around 3,000 who were murdered or committed suicide, the vast majority of fatalities resulted from accidents. In the early modern period, accidental and 'disorderly' deaths - from drowning, falls, stabbing, shooting, fires, explosions, suffocation, animals and vehicles, among other causes - were a regular feature ofurban life and left a significant mark in the archival records of the period. This book provides the first substantive critical study of the early modern accident, revealing and chronicling the lives - and deaths - of hundreds of otherwise unknown Londoners. Drawing on the weekly London Bills of Mortality, parish burial registers, newspapers and other related documents, it examines accidents and other forms of violent death in the city with a view tounderstanding who among its residents encountered such events, how the bureaucracy recorded and elaborated their circumstances and why they did so, and what practical responses might follow. Through a systematic review of the character of accidents, medical and social interventions, and changing attitudes toward the regulation of hazards across the metropolis, it establishes the historical significance of the accident and shows how, as the eighteenth century progressed, providential explanations gave way to a more rational viewpoint that saw certain accident events as threats to be managed rather than misfortunes to be explained. Additionally, the book explores how knowledge of such incidents was transformed to become a recurring cultural trope in oral, textual and visual narratives of metropolitan life, thereby opening a window to the way in which sudden death and violent injury was understood by early modern mentalities. CRAIG SPENCE is Senior Lecturer in History at Bishop Grosseteste University.

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A must-have baby shower gift for expectant dads! In this one-of-a-kind guide, dad, doula, and certified lactation consultant Brian Salmon and perinatal mental health and relationship expert Kirsten Brunner offer practical, modern-day survival tips for expectant dads and birth partners.Gone are the days when fathers would nervously pace the waiting room while their partners gave birth. Dads are participating in childbirth now more than ever before. However, if you're like many men, you may feel unprepared, uncomfortable, or even unwelcome in the birth room. For you, this book offers battle-tested tips to help you get in the game and prepare for one of the most incredible adventures of your life.Based on the author's Rocking Dads childbirth course, this book will teach you everything you need to know about supporting your partner through birth, breastfeeding, and beyond. In this guide, you'll discover pointers and advice you won't find in any other childbirth or breastfeeding guide, including: - A list of items to pack for the hospital that will help mom's labor go more smoothly - "Jedi communication skills" that you can utilize during early labor to support mom and keep her in a positive state of mind - How to write a birth plan that the labor and delivery nurses will actually pay attention to - What to say and do-and what not to say and do-when mom is in active labor and feeling all the feelings - A detailed account of what to expect in the delivery room as a birth partner, and how to navigate the unknown terrains when things don't go as planned - How to help mom achieve proper nipple latch when she attempts breastfeeding for the first timeFinally, and perhaps most importantly, you'll find tips for maintaining a strong relationship with your partner before, during, and after the birth so that you feel closer than ever when you launch into the wild yet wonderful world of parenthood.

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To be a Christian is to be a convert. The word “convert” applies in a real sense both to cradle-born Catholics and to those, traditionally regarded as converts, who become Catholics as adults. The Catholic Church is the divinely established framework of the program of a conversion, which Christ presented as a thorough change of mind and heart (metanoia). While for a cradle-born Catholic the implementation of that program is usually a gradual process, for converts it contains a momentous act as they vote, so to speak, with their feet, on behalf of Truth, by joining the Church as the One True Fold, the Sole Ark of Salvation, to recall hallowed phrases dear to John Henry Newman, easily the greatest convert during the nineteenth century. The aim of this book is to summarize the lives of notable converts from Britain and Ireland and explain (by reference to quotations from their writings) why they entered the Catholic Church. These reasons were many. Some looked chiefly at history and saw the apostolic Church in their day to be residing in the Catholic communion. Others, though appreciating the fact of the gift of faith, saw reason as the chief support of the step they were taking. To yet others it was the endurance of both the Church and that remarkable office of the papacy that proved the necessary stimulus. Many were inspired by the witness of some unsung saint in their neighbourhood. Some were eminent even before their “move to Rome,” others almost completely unknown. Some found fame on their conversion, others suffered greatly for their zeal for the one true fold of Christ. Some came into the Church relatively early in life, others entered at the final hour, even while on their death bed. Taken altogether these accounts provide a profound and moving witness to the operation of divine grace in human souls.

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'Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer, juggling humour, precision, polemic and poetry to enrich his impossibly telescoped account . . . [making] clear sense out of very complex narratives' - The Times'Henry Gee makes the kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting. Who will enjoy reading this book? - Everybody!' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and SteelFor billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place – covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape by way of incessant volcanic eruptions, the atmosphere in a constant state of chemical flux. And yet, despite facing literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter, life has been extinguished and picked itself up to evolve again. Life has learned and adapted and continued through the billions of years that followed. It has weathered fire and ice. Slimes begat sponges, who through billions of years of complex evolution and adaptation grew a backbone, braved the unknown of pitiless shores, and sought an existence beyond the sea.From that first foray to the spread of early hominids who later became Homo sapiens, life has persisted, undaunted. A (Very) Short History of Life is an enlightening story of survival, of persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life has always existed, and continues to exist today. It is our planet like you’ve never seen it before.Life teems through Henry Gee’s lyrical prose – colossal supercontinents drift, collide, and coalesce, fashioning the face of the planet as we know it today. Creatures are engagingly personified, from ‘gregarious’ bacteria populating the seas to duelling dinosaurs in the Triassic period to magnificent mammals with the future in their (newly evolved) grasp. Those long extinct, almost alien early life forms are resurrected in evocative detail. Life’s evolutionary steps – from the development of a digestive system to the awe of creatures taking to the skies in flight – are conveyed with an alluring, up-close intimacy.

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'Marvellous . . . I read it with astonished delight . . . It is equally scholarly and entertaining.' - Jan Morris 'Quirky and compelling.' - The Times Once we've learned it as children, few of us think much of the alphabet and its familiar sing-song order. And yet the order of the alphabet, that simple knowledge that we take for granted, plays a major role in our adult lives. From the school register to the telephone book, from dictionaries and encyclopaedias to library shelves, our lives are ordered from A to Z. Long before Google searches, this magical system of organization gave us the ability to sift through centuries of thought, knowledge and literature, allowing us to sort, to file, and to find the information we have, and to locate the information we need. In A Place for Everything, acclaimed historian Judith Flanders draws our attention to both the neglected ubiquity of the alphabet and the long, complex history of its rise to prominence. For, while the order of the alphabet itself became fixed very soon after letters were first invented, their ability to sort and store and organize proved far less obvious. To many of our forebears, the idea of of organizing things by the random chance of the alphabet rather than by established systems of hierarchy or typology lay somewhere between unthinkable and disrespectful.A Place for Everything fascinatingly lays out the gradual triumph of alphabetical order, from its possible earliest days as a sorting tool in the Great Library of Alexandria in the third century BCE, to its current decline in prominence in our digital age of Wikipedia and Google. Along the way, the reader is enlightened and entertained with a wonderful cast of unknown facts, characters and stories from the great collector Robert Cotton, who denominated his manuscripts with the names of the busts of the Roman emperors surmounting his book cases, to the unassuming sixteenth- century London bookseller who ushered in a revolution by listing his authors by 'sirname' first.

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An ethnographic exploration of the meaning of national citizenship in the context of globalization The American Passport in Turkey explores the diverse meanings and values that people outside of the United States attribute to U.S. citizenship, specifically those who possess or seek to obtain U.S. citizenship while residing in Turkey. Özlem Altan-Olcay and Evren Balta interviewed more than one hundred individuals and families and, through their narratives, shed light on how U.S. citizenship is imagined, experienced, and practiced in a setting where everyday life is marked by numerous uncertainties and unequal opportunities. When a Turkish mother wants to protect her daughter's modern, secular upbringing through U.S. citizenship, U.S. citizenship, for her, is a form of insurance for her daughter given Turkey's unknown political future. When a Turkish-American citizen describes how he can make a credible claim of national belonging because he returned to Turkey yet can also claim a cosmopolitan Western identity because of his U.S. citizenship, he represents the popular identification of the West with the United States. And when a natural-born U.S. citizen describes with enthusiasm the upward mobility she has experienced since moving to Turkey, she reveals how the status of U.S. citizenship and "Americanness" become valuable assets outside of the States. Offering a corrective to citizenship studies where discussions of inequality are largely limited to domestic frames, Altan-Olcay and Balta argue that the relationship between inequality and citizenship regimes can only be fully understood if considered transnationally. Additionally, The American Passport in Turkey demonstrates that U.S. global power not only reveals itself in terms of foreign policy but also manifests in the active desires people have for U.S. citizenship, even when they do not intend to live in the United States. These citizens, according to the authors, create a new kind of empire with borders and citizen-state relations that do not map onto recognizable political territories.

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This volume consists of a selection of English translations from the extensive writings of Dr. Francisco Hernández (1515-87). Celebrated in his own day as one of Spain's leading physicians and naturalists, he is now best remembered for his monumental work on the native plants and materia medica of central Mexico. Sent to New Spain in 1570 by King Philip II to research and describe the natural history of the region, to assess the medical usefulness of the natural resources, and to gather ethnographic materials for an anthropological history, Hernández was the first trained scientist to undertake scientific work in the New World. For seven years he gathered information throughout the Valley of Mexico, learning Nahuatl, recording local medical customs, studying indigenous medicines, and writing down all his observations. The result was The Natural History of New Spain, written in Latin, which consisted of six folio volumes filled with descriptions of over 3,000 plants previously unknown in Europe (along with descriptions of a much smaller number of animals and minerals) and ten folio volumes of paintings by Mexican artists illustrating the plants and animals he described. Hernández died before he could publish his Natural History, and the materials were placed in the Escorial, where they were extensively consulted, copied, abstracted, and translated by generations of scientists, medical specialists, and natural philosophers before they were destroyed by fire in 1671. Hernández's work was still regarded as authoritative on a number of New World botanical topics as late as the nineteenth century, and his writings remain in use in popular form in Mexico today. Only a tiny fragment of the Natural History has previously appeared in English. The selections in this volume are designed to reflect the historical patterns of dissemination of the work of Hernández, giving modern readers a sense of which portions of his vast corpus entered scientific discourse and spread across two continents in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

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Published in 1929, Robert Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd's Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture was destined to become a sociological point of reference for the quality of life in an "average" American town in the 1920s. Their Middletown in Transition, a 1937 restudy of the same community—now known to be Muncie, Indiana—provided a second point of reference on community values in the midst of the great American depression. Achieving the status of cultural benchmarks, these two books have generated an enormous secondary literature on Muncie/Middletown, including a two-volume restudy by Theodore Caplow, published in the 1980s, and a series of six documentary films. Back to Middletown differs from the numerous other investigations and analyses of one of the most famous community studies in the history of sociology. The author, an Italian sociologist, examines the complete Middletown saga through the distinctive lens of an outsider, tracing the character and evolution of "middle America" from the Lynds' time down to the present. She has been resourceful and meticulous in her discovery of previously unknown sources—data, documents, and correspondence—that shed new light on the formation and elaboration of the Lynds' Middletown project and on the changing evaluation of the project by generations of scholars. In the process, the book addresses, from a fresh perspective, major issues that have confronted sociology and social anthropology: relative levels of analysis, the relationship of empirical observation to theory building and conceptual frameworks of interpretation, and controversies focusing on the structure of power in America. In addition to its value and import as a theoretical work, the book takes up questions that reflect the contemporary contradictions and dissonances in the American social fabric. As the author demonstrates, the story of Middletown is a continuing narrative, whose end is yet to be written, encapsulating the pain of social and economic alienation, political war, religious messianism, and personal demoralization.

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Russell Lee is widely acclaimed as one of the most outstanding documentary photographers of the twentieth century. His images of American life during the Great Depression, created for the Farm Security Administration between 1936 and 1942, hold a preeminent place in one of history's best-known and most useful photographic collections. This famous body of work demonstrates Lee's extraordinary ability to reveal the humanity of his subjects and to become a part of the communities he photographed. It also displays Lee's superior technical ability—his legendary skill in using a flash enabled Lee to create some of the finest candids in the history of photography. Russell Lee Photographs is the first book to show the full range and quality of Lee's entire oeuvre beyond the FSA work, as well as the first major publication of his photographs since F. Jack Hurley's 1978 book, Russell Lee: Photographer (long out of print). The book contains over 140 images, 101 of which have never appeared in book publication. The photographs are grouped into suites of images that represent all of Lee's important, non-FSA subjects: early work from New York City and Woodstock; the Spanish-speaking people of Texas; the mentally and physically disabled; political campaigns, including the Kennedy-Johnson campaign of 1960; commercial work for chemical and other companies; a portfolio of images of Italy; and quintessential scenes of small-town life. Setting Lee's images in context are a foreword by John Szarkowski, one of America's leading photography curators and critics, and an introduction by Lee's friend and fellow photography educator J. B. Colson, who offers fascinating personal insights into Lee's life and career. Considering Russell Lee's stature in American photography, it is surprising that much of his post-FSA work is unknown to the public and has been seldom seen even in the photography community. By making these images readily available for the first time, this book gives long-overdue recognition to the full range and excellence of Lee's work. Russell Lee Photographs is the essential book on this major American photographer.

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How do we respond in the face of evil, especially to those who inflict grave evil upon us? Abducted in Iraq is Bishop Saad Sirop Hanna’s firsthand account of his abduction in 2006 by a militant group associated with al-Qaeda. As a young parish priest and visiting lecturer on philosophy at Babel College near Baghdad, Fr. Hanna was kidnapped after celebrating Mass on August 15 and released on September 11. Hanna’s plight attracted international attention after Pope Benedict XVI requested prayers for the safe return of the young priest. The book charts Hanna’s twenty-eight days in captivity as he struggles through threats, torture, and the unknown to piece together what little information he has in a bid for survival. Throughout this time, he questions what a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq means for the future, as well as the events that lead the country on that path. Through extreme hardship, the young priest gains a greater knowledge both of his faith and of remaining true to himself. This riveting narrative reflects the experience of persecuted Christians all over the world today, especially the plight of Iraqi Christians who continue to live and hold their faith against tremendous odds, and it sheds light on the complex political and spiritual situation that Catholics face in predominantly non-Christian nations. More than just a personal story, Abducted in Iraq is also Hanna’s portrayal of what has happened to the ancient churches of one of the oldest Christian communities and how the West’s reaction and inaction have affected Iraqi Christians. More than just a story of one man, it is also the story of a suffering and persecuted people. As such, this book will be of great interest to those wanting to learn more about the violence in the Middle East and the threats facing Christians there, as well all those seeking to strengthen their own faith.

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The Art Book of the Year, The TimesA Telegraph, Sunday Times, Financial Times, Economist, Tablet and Evening Standard Book of the YearA magnificent new biography of the founder of ImpressionismIn the course of a long and exceptionally creative life, Claude Monet revolutionized painting and made some of the most iconic images in western art. Misunderstood and mocked at the beginning of his career, he risked everything to pursue his original vision. Although close to starvation when he invented impressionism on the banks of the Seine in the 1860s-70s, in the following decades he emerged as the powerful leader of the new painting in Paris at one of its most exciting cultural moments. His symphonic series Haystacks, Poplars, and Rouen Cathedral brought wealth and renown. Then he withdrew to paint only the pond in his garden. The late Water Lilies, ignored during his lifetime, are now celebrated as pioneers of twentieth century modernism.Behind this great and famous artist is a volatile, voracious, nervous yet reckless man, largely unknown. Jackie Wullschläger's enthralling biography, based on thousands of never-before translated letters and unpublished sources, is the first account of Monet's turbulent private life and how it determined his expressive, sensuous, sensational painting. He was as obsessional in his love affairs as in his love of nature, and changed his art decisively three times when the woman at the centre of his life changed. Enduring devastating bereavements, he pushed the frontier of painting inward, to evoke memory and the passing of time. His work also responded intensely to outside cataclysms - the Dreyfus Affair, the First World War. Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was his closest friend. Rich intellectual currents connected him to writers from Zola to Proust; affection and rivalry to Renoir, Pissarro and Manet.Monet said he was driven 'wild with the need to put down what I experience'. This rich and moving biography immerses us in that passionate experience, transforming our understanding of the man, his paintings and the fullness of his achievement.

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“At the core, Hit Refresh, is about us humans and the unique quality we call empathy, which will become ever more valuable in a world where the torrent of technology will disrupt the status quo like never before.” – Satya Nadella from Hit Refresh“Satya has charted a course for making the most of the opportunities created by technology while also facing up to the hard questions.” – Bill Gates from the Foreword of Hit Refresh The New York Times bestseller Hit Refresh is about individual change, about the transformation happening inside of Microsoft and the technology that will soon impact all of our lives-the arrival of the most exciting and disruptive wave of technology humankind has experienced: artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and quantum computing. It's about how people, organizations, and societies can and must transform and “hit refresh” in their persistent quest for new energy, new ideas, and continued relevance and renewal. Microsoft's CEO tells the inside story of the company's continuing transformation, tracing his own personal journey from a childhood in India to leading some of the most significant technological changes in the digital era. Satya Nadella explores a fascinating childhood before immigrating to the U.S. and how he learned to lead along the way. He then shares his meditations as a sitting CEO-one who is mostly unknown following the brainy Bill Gates and energetic Steve Ballmer. He tells the inside story of how a company rediscovered its soul-transforming everything from culture to their fiercely competitive landscape and industry partnerships. As much a humanist as engineer and executive, Nadella concludes with his vision for the coming wave of technology and by exploring the potential impact to society and delivering call to action for world leaders. “Ideas excite me,” Nadella explains. “Empathy grounds and centers me.” Hit Refresh is a set of reflections, meditations, and recommendations presented as algorithms from a principled, deliberative leader searching for improvement-for himself, for a storied company, and for society.

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As we become ever-more aware of how our governments “eavesdrop” on our conversations, here is a gripping exploration of this unknown realm of the British secret service: Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ). GCHQ is the successor to the famous Bletchley Park wartime code-breaking organisation and is the largest and most secretive intelligence organisation in the country. During the war, it commanded more staff than MI5 and MI6 combined and has produced a number of intelligence triumphs, as well as some notable failures. Since the end of the Cold War, it has played a pivotal role in shaping Britain's secret state. Still, we know almost nothing about it. In this ground-breaking new book, Richard Aldrich traces GCHQ's evolvement from a wartime code-breaking operation based in the Bedfordshire countryside, staffed by eccentric crossword puzzlers, to one of the world leading espionage organisations. It is packed full of dramatic spy stories that shed fresh light on Britain's role in the Cold War – from the secret tunnels dug beneath Vienna and Berlin to tap Soviet phone lines, and daring submarine missions to gather intelligence from the Soviet fleet, to the notorious case of Geoffrey Pine, one of the most damaging moles ever recruited by the Soviets inside British intelligence. The book reveals for the first time how GCHQ operators based in Cheltenham affected the outcome of military confrontations in far-flung locations such as Indonesia and Malaya, and exposes the shocking case of three GCHQ workers who were killed in an infamous shootout with terrorists while working undercover in Turkey. Today's GCHQ struggles with some of the most difficult issues of our time. A leading force of the state's security efforts against militant terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda, they are also involved in fundamental issues that will mould the future of British society. Compelling and revelatory, Aldrich's book is the crucial missing link in Britain’s intelligence history.

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The go-to Corfu travel guide travel guide for discovering the best walks and car tours. Strap on your boots and discover Corfu on foot with the Sunflower Corfu travel guide. And on the days when your feet may have had enough, enjoy some spectacular scenery on one of our legendary car tours. The Sunflower Corfu guide is indispensable for hiking in Corfu or seeing Corfu by car. For centuries Corfu's magnetic beauty has attracted travellers, who have sung the praises of the peacock-hued bays, the hillsides drenched in silvery-green olive trees, and the emerald greenness of the countryside. And when you leave Corfu, these will be your impressions too. While time brings change, the pristine Corfu so beloved of Lear and the Durrell brothers can still be found - this new edition tells you where. It turns the island inside-out and helps you find a Corfu unknown to most tourists. Whatever your age or ability we've got some glorious walks and car tours to ensure you have a memorable holiday in Corfu. Inside the Sunflower Corfu guide book you'll find: * 60 long and short walks for all ages and abilities - each walk is graded so you can easily match your ability to the level of walk * Topographical walking maps - give you a clear sense of the surrounding terrain * Free downloadable gps tracks - for the techies * Satnav guidance to walk starts for motorists * 4 car tours and fold-out touring map - for easy reference on your tour * Strolls to idyllic picnic spots - enjoy our recommendations for where to picnic along the way * Timetables for public transport - ideal if you want to link two walks or avoid hiring a car on your holiday * Online update service for the latest information * Street map of Corfu town Whether you tour the island by car or explore on foot, we look forward to showing you around.

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Originally invented for generating the first artificial nuclear reactions, particle accelerators have undergone, during the past 80 years, a fascinating development that is an impressive example of the inventiveness and perseverance of scientists and engineers. Since the early 1980s, accelerator science and technology has been booming. Today, accelerators are the prime tool for high energy physics to probe the structure of matter to an unknown depth. They are also, as synchrotron radiation sources, the most versatile tool for characterizing materials and processes and for producing micro- and nanostructured devices. The determination of the structure of large biomolecules is presently among the best examples of the application of synchrotron radiation. Finally, accelerators have grown more and more important for medicine, which is relying on them for advanced cancer therapy and radio-surgery. And there are more applications, including the generation of neutrons for materials science, the transmutation of nuclear waste with simultaneous production of electrical power, the sterilization of medical supplies and of foodstuff, and the inspection of trucks by customs or security services.This book is meant to provide basic training in modern accelerators for students, teachers, and interested scientists and engineers working in other fields. It is a result of the 3rd International Accelerator School, held in 2002 in Singapore under the auspices of the Overseas Chinese Physics Association (OCPA). Reputable experts, including a recent prize-winner, cover the field of cyclic and linear accelerators from the basic theoretical tools to forefront developments such as the X-ray free electron laser or the latest proton therapy facilities under construction.Accelerators, the art of building them, and the science for understanding their function have become a very exciting field of research. This book conveys the excitement of the experts to the reader.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings® (ISTP® / ISI Proceedings)• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• CC Proceedings — Engineering & Physical Sciences

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The French-Alsatian geographer Charles Huber (1847–84) achieved fame as one of the 19th century’s great Arabian explorers. On his two heroic journeys between 1880 and 1884, he pioneered the scientific mapping of inland Arabia and made some of the earliest records of ancient North Arabian inscriptions and rock art. His tragic murder in 1884 meant that he published little, and the only connected narrative that he managed to write was of his first journey in 1880–81. This highly significant document of Arabian exploration has not been published since 1885, and is presented here for the first time in English translation. Despite Huber’s great posthumous reputation, almost nothing has been written about him. William Facey’s biographical. introduction fills this void, revealing much that was hitherto unknown about Huber’s complex and risk-taking personality, and about his colourful life as a fervent French patriot coming of age in Strasbourg during a time of Franco-German conflict. New light is shed on the dates and itinerary of Huber’s first Arabian journey, an epic quest of some 5,000 kilometres on camelback requiring immense fortitude. For this he used Ha’il as a base before travelling with the pilgrim caravan to Iraq and thence to Syria. The focus then shifts to his return to Arabia in 1883 with Julius Euting, the eminent German Semitist, and the twists and turns of their unsuccessful collaboration. Having parted company with Euting at the great Nabataean site of Mada’in Salih in the northern Hijaz, Huber went back into central Arabia before making a dangerous journey to Jiddah. He was murdered shortly after, on 29 July 1884, by his guides on the Red Sea coast. Finally, the affair of the Tayma Stele, the celebrated Aramaic inscription now in the Musée du Louvre, comes under the spotlight. In a new analysis of this notorious Franco-German imbroglio, the prevailing idea that Huber first saw it in 1880 is held up to scrutiny, and Euting at last given his due for its discovery in 1884.

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Patrick Kavanagh (1904–67) was one of Ireland’s foremost poets, best known for ‘The Great Hunger’ and novel Tarry Flynn. He is also remembered for his cantankerous, sometimes volatile nature, fuelled by alcohol. In A Poet in the House: Patrick Kavanagh at Priory Grove, a memoir by Elizabeth O’Toole, we encounter a new Patrick Kavanagh. In 1961, the poet lived with the O’Toole family in Stillorgan for six months at a crucial point in his life, when he was sober, industrious and, as the accompanying photographs will show, much loved by her children. Until now, no one has been aware of how close Kavanagh was to O’Toole and to her husband, James Davitt Bermingham O’Toole. Born and raised in China, Jim O’Toole was the author of Man Alive, a play about the inner workings of the ESB that created a storm of controversy in 1961. On the first night, Kavanagh told the audience that the press was ‘lily-livered’. This was not just ‘a local row’. One of the ESB’s top executives, Jim O’Donovan, was the IRA leader who negotiated a deal with the Nazis that threatened the existence of the State in 1940. Kavanagh’s relationship with O’Donovan and Jim O’Toole’s escape from Germany at the outbreak of the war are here revealed for the first time. Amongst many other revelations in the book is a hitherto unknown connection between the poet and Patricia Avis, novelist wife of the poet Richard Murphy, and lover of Philip Larkin and Desmond Williams. Although Elizabeth O’Toole is now ninety-six, her decidedly down-to-earth voice is that of a much younger woman. Her vivid recollections deepen and challenge the way we view Patrick Kavanagh. The influence of her book will tilt our perception of this passionate man. A contextual essay by the editor of the volume, playwright and novelist Brian Lynch, accompanies the memoir along with photographs from the early sixties.

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When he retired as the chief security officer of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, John Barelli had spent the better part of forty years responsible not only for one of the richest treasure troves on the planet, but the museum’s staff, the millions of visitors, as well as American presidents, royalty, and heads of state from around the world.For the first time, John Barelli shares his experiences of the crimes that occurred on his watch; the investigations that captured thieves and recovered artwork; the lessons he learned and shared with law enforcement professionals in the United States and abroad; the accidents and near misses; and a few mysteries that were sadly never solved. He takes readers behind the scenes at the Met, introduces curators and administrators, walks the empty corridors after hours, and shares what it’s like to get the call that an ancient masterpiece has gone missing. The Metropolitan Museum covers twelve acres in the heart of Manhattan and is filled with five thousand years of work by history’s great artists known and unknown: Goya, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Warhol, Pollack, Egyptian mummies, Babylonian treasures, Colonial crafts, and Greek vases. John and a small staff of security professionals housed within the Museum were responsible for all of it. Over the years, John helped make the museum the state-of-the-art facility it is today and created a legacy in art security for decades to come.Focusing on six thefts but filled with countless stories that span the late 1970s through the 21st Century, John opens the files on thefts, shows how museum personnel along with local and sometimes Federal Agents opened investigations and more often than not caught the thief. But of ultimate importance was the recovery of the artwork, including Celtic and Egyptian gold, French tapestries, Greek sculpture, and more. At the heart of this book there will always be art—those who love it and those who take it, two groups of people that are far from mutually exclusive.

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When the documentary Bettie Page Reveals All was released in 2013, it would have been easy to assume we would never again hear directly from the adored icon. After all, the film is narrated by Bettie Mae Page herself, and she spills on lots of subjects that she had previously kept private–even in her authorized biography–though she does maintain her own decades-long, no-photos rule in the movie. She loathed the effects of aging, said it made her sad to see her own celebrity idols when they were older, and wanted people to remember her as she looked in her pinup days. Fortunately for the hordes of Bettie fans worldwide, a bounty of unreleased Bettie material awaits. For years–since before Bettie’s death from heart failure in December 2008 at the age of 85–boxes and file folders of Bettie mementoes have been gathering dust in the closets of Bettie’s nephew’s house. Ron Brem, a musician living in Bakersfield, California, is the only child of Bettie’s beloved sister, Goldie Jane Page. Bettie never had kids, other than three stepchildren during one of her four marriages to three men (she married one twice). Goldie was also an aspiring model and actress but later settled into housewifery before eventually becoming an art teacher and gallery owner. She died during the summer of 2004, but in the several years before her death, she had carefully stored heaps of incredible family photos, the bulk of which feature Bettie as either the sole subject or part of the shot. None of these hundreds of photos has ever been published until now, and few people even know they exist. Goldie also saved approximately 29 letters from Bettie spanning the years 1949 to 2000, ranging in length from note-size to 18 full pages, which tell the unknown story of Bettie’s “lost years” following her retirement from modeling in 1957.

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It was the " American Menace" according to the Scottish and English newspapers of the 1920s. The best players in the Scottish leagues were being drawn to American companies that offered good jobs in return for playing on the company soccer team. The resulting squads, many of them ethnic, beat the best teams in the world at that time. This period from 1921 to 1931 were the "Golden Years of American Soccer." With the skyrocketing economic prosperity of the United States and its corollary flood of new immigrants to America's shores, came interest in soccer as a new form of sports entertainment. It grew rapidly around Northeastern industrial towns like Fall River, Massachusetts, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As with the popular North American Soccer League of the 1970s and 80s and its imported stars like Pele, the American Soccer League of the 1920s bid for the best soccer players in the world, creating a competitive, fertile environment for the growth of soccer. Unfortunately, few detailed records remain about these great teams and players. League records were lost after W.W. II and newspaper coverage was concentrated in smaller cities. Many of the League's heretofore unknown players possess no first name in print, and the unfortunate losers of matches and league championship games often went unreported altogether. During the later, tougher years of the Depression, many of the foreign players hunkered down in jobs or returned to their native countries. The disbanded American Soccer League was revived under the same name but very different circumstances in 1933, but never reached the same level of skill as during the 1920s. American Soccer League 1921-1931 is the result of Colin Jose's tireless determination to provide accurate history of soccer's evolution in the United States. Soccer was one of the most popular sports in the United States during the 1920s, often drawing huge crowds in relatively small towns to see the world's best players compete. Documented through thousands of newspaper clipp

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For the completist, The Ultimate Binge Guide is a challenge: a bingeable bucket list of all the shows you need to see before you die (or just to be super-informed at your next dinner party). For all readers, it's a fascinating look at the evolution of TV.The guide is broken down into several sections that speak to each series' place in TV history, including:** Classics That Made the Molds (And Those That Broke Them):? The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Get Smart, Cheers, Golden Girls, Happy Days...* Tony, Walt, Don, and the Antiheroes We Loved and Hated?: Oz, Mad Men, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Peaky Blinders, Ozark, The Shield, Boardwalk Empire, How To Get Away With Murder...*Game-Changing Sitcoms and the Kings and Queens of Cringe: Insecure, Community, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fleabag, Black-ish, Party Down, Veep, Catastrophe, Fresh Off the Boat, Tim and Eric, Schitt's Creek, Better Things, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Pen15, Freaks and Geeks, Broad City, Black Lady Sketch Show...* Grown-Up Genre: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Star Trek, Watchmen, The Witcher, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, Westworld, Doctor Who..* Mysteries and Mindf--ks: Twin Peaks, Lost, Sense8, Mr. Robot, Broadchurch, The Leftovers, Fargo, Top of the Lake, Killing Eve, Wilfred, True Detective, Hannibal, Mindhunter...* Reality TV and Docuseries That Captured the Zeitgeist: The Last Dance, Making A Murderer, Cheer, Tiger King, Planet Earth, RuPaul's Drag Race, Wild Wild Country, Queer Eye, The Jinx, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown...In this punchy full-color guide, the editors of Rotten Tomatoes complement series write-ups with engaging infographics; fun sidebars (like a battle between the US and UK editions of The Office); and deep-dive essays on the streaming wars, superproducers to know, and the evolution of our collective viewing habits.

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'A perfect detective for our time' Stephen Fry A cold case that has been ignored. . . A detective who fights for the voiceless. THE DETECTIVE Bristol detective DS George Cross might be difficult to work with – but his unfailing logic and determined pursuit of the truth means he is second to none at convicting killers. THE CRIME When the police dismiss a man's death as a squabble among the homeless community, Cross is not convinced; there are too many unanswered questions. Who was the unknown man whose weather-beaten body was discovered on Clifton Downs? And was the same tragedy that resulted in his life on the streets also responsible for his death? THE COLD CASE As Cross delves into the dead man's past, he discovers that the answers lie in a case that has been cold for fifteen years. Cross is the only person who can unpick the decades-old murder – after all, who better to decipher the life of a person who society has forgotten than a man who has always felt like an outsider himself? Perfect for fans of M.W. Craven, Peter James and Joy Ellis, The Dentist is part of the DS George Cross thriller series, which can be read in any order. Why readers love George Cross... 'A clever mystery full of tension but also humour and compassion. George Cross is becoming one of my favourite detectives.’ Elly Griffiths 'In DS George Cross, Tim Sullivan has created a character who is as endearing as any I’ve ever come across in this genre. His quirks are his gift, and with Sullivan’s tremendous plotting and superb writing, this series is a gift to readers.' Liz Nugent 'The fact that Cross has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder makes him just as intriguing as the murder mystery' The Times 'A British detective for the 21st century who will be hard to forget' Daily Mail 'A compelling, suspenseful police procedural with an intimate, positive insight into living on the autistic spectrum' Woman 'An excellent, excellent read' Reader Review

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A guide to deciphering your spiritual lineage• Investigates the roles, energies, and essence of 12 Ascended Masters and how each of them holds a strand of our spiritual DNA • Traces the reincarnations of Ascended Masters Mother Mary and St. Germain through history, depicting the positive and shadow aspects of their archetypal energies • Offers charts that allow you to find out which Ascended Master you relate to and thus discover your own direct connection to the Divine DO YOU KNOW what Imhotep, Homer, and Nikola Tesla have in common? All three are said to be influential incarnations of Ascended Master St. Germain. How can we tell? Guided by renowned mystics, Carmel Niland suggests that, just as we carry physical DNA that shapes us across generations, we also carry an energetic code or spiritual DNA that links us back to the very source of our origins -- God -- a divine ancestry that throughout the centuries conveys itself in patterns of behavior, character traits, and life purpose, connecting each individual to a specific Ascended Master. The God essence expresses itself through archetypal energies in us, represented by 12 Ascended Masters who hold the 12 strands of our spiritual DNA. Thus, every person on this earth, no matter how ordinary or extraordinary, is an aspect of one of these Masters. Focusing on Mother Mary and St. Germain, Our Spiritual DNA explores the role, energies, and essence of these 12 Masters by examining some of history’s most important figures who have been instrumental in shaping our world. Hitherto unknown details about the lives of personalities like Queen Nefertiti, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Merlin, Isabelle of Castile, and Dante emerge in channeled conversations with the author’s spiritual guide, The Gatekeeper. Revolutionizing the Western view of reincarnation, this astounding book allows you to trace your own spiritual DNA through the reincarnations of the Ascended Masters, understand your spiritual and genetic connection to God, and realize that we are all divinely connected across gender, race, and time.

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Tower of Basel is the first investigative history of the world's most secretive global financial institution. Based on extensive archival research in Switzerland, Britain, and the United States, and in-depth interviews with key decision-makers,including Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England and former senior Bank for International Settlements managers and officials,Tower of Basel tells the inside story of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS): the central bankers' own bank.Created by the governors of the Bank of England and the Reichsbank in 1930, and protected by an international treaty, the BIS and its assets are legally beyond the reach of any government or jurisdiction. The bank is untouchable. Swiss authorities have no jurisdiction over the bank or its premises. The BIS has just 140 customers but made tax-free profits of 1.17 billion in 2011-2012.Since its creation, the bank has been at the heart of global events but has often gone unnoticed. Under Thomas McKittrick, the bank's American president from 1940-1946, the BIS was open for business throughout the Second World War. The BIS accepted looted Nazi gold, conducted foreign exchange deals for the Reichsbank, and was used by both the Allies and the Axis powers as a secret contact point to keep the channels of international finance open.After 1945 the BIS,still behind the scenes,for decades provided the necessary technical and administrative support for the trans-European currency project, from the first attempts to harmonize exchange rates in the late 1940s to the launch of the Euro in 2002. It now stands at the centre of efforts to build a new global financial and regulatory architecture, once again proving that it has the power to shape the financial rules of our world. Yet despite its pivotal role in the financial and political history of the last century and during the economic current crisis, the BIS has remained largely unknown,until now.

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How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into Reality Whether as a daydream or a spoken desire, nearly all of us have entertained the notion of reinventing ourselves. Feeling unfulfilled, burned out, or just plain unhappy with what we're doing, we long to make that leap into the unknown. But we also hold on, white-knuckled, to the years of time and effort we've invested in our current profession. In this powerful book, Herminia Ibarra presents a new model for career reinvention that flies in the face of everything we've learned from "career experts." While common wisdom holds that we must first know what we want to do before we can act, Ibarra argues that this advice is backward. Knowing, she says, is the result of doing and experimenting. Career transition is not a straight path toward some predetermined identity, but a crooked journey along which we try on a host of "possible selves" we might become. Based on her in-depth research on professionals and managers in transition, Ibarra outlines an active process of career reinvention that leverages three ways of "working identity": experimenting with new professional activities, interacting in new networks of people, and making sense of what is happening to us in light of emerging possibilities. Through engrossing stories--from a literature professor turned stockbroker to an investment banker turned novelist--Ibarra reveals a set of guidelines that all successful reinventions share. She explores specific ways that hopeful career changers of any background can: Explore possible selves Craft and execute "identity experiments" Create "small wins" that keep momentum going Survive the rocky period between career identities Connect with role models and mentors who can ease the transition Make time for reflection--without missing out on windows of opportunity Decide when to abandon the old path in order to follow the new Arrange new events into a coherent story of who we are becoming. A call to the dreamer in each of us, Working Identity explores the process for crafting a more fulfilling future. Where we end up may surprise us.

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A groundbreaking approach to parenting by nationally-respected educator Alfie Kohn that gives parents “powerful alternatives to help children become their most caring, responsible selves” (Adele Faber, New York Times bestselling author) by switching the dynamic from doing things to children to working with them in order to understand their needs and how to meet them.Most parenting guides begin with the question “How can we get kids to do what they're told?” and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking, “What do kids need—and how can we meet those needs?” What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them. One basic need all children have, Kohn argues, is to be loved unconditionally, to know that they will be accepted even if they screw up or fall short. Yet conventional approaches to parenting such as punishments (including “time-outs”), rewards (including positive reinforcement), and other forms of control teach children that they are loved only when they please us or impress us. Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval. That's precisely the message children derive from common discipline techniques, even though it's not the message most parents intend to send. More than just another book about discipline, though, Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from “doing to” to “working with” parenting—including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.

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The story of Giannis Antetokounmpo's extraordinary rise from poverty in Athens, Greece, to superstardom in America with the Milwaukee Bucks-becoming one of the most transcendent players in history and an NBA Champion-from award-winning basketball reporter and feature writer at The Ringer Mirin Fader.As the face of the NBA's new world order, Giannis Antetokounmpo has overcome unfathomable obstacles to become a symbol of hope for people all over the world; the personification of the American Dream. But his backstory remains largely untold. Fader unearths new information about the childhood that shaped "The Greek Freak"-from sleeping side by side with his brothers to selling trinkets on the street with his family to the racism he experienced. Antetokounmpo grew up in an era when Golden Dawn, Greece's far-right, anti-immigrant party, patrolled his neighborhood, and his status as an illegal immigrant largely prevented him from playing for the country's top clubs, making his NBA rise all the more improbable. Fader tells a deeply human story of how an unknown, skinny, Black Greek teen, who played in the country's lowest pro division and was seen as a draft gamble, transformed his body and his game into MVP material.Antetokounmpo's story has been framed as a feel-good narrative in which everyone has embraced him-watching him grow up, sign a five-year supermax contract extension worth $228 million, and lead the underdog Bucks to the NBA Championship in 2021. Giannis reveals a more nuanced story: how lonely and isolated he felt, adjusting to America and the NBA early in his career; the complexity of grappling with his Black and Greek identities; how he is so hard on himself and his shortcomings-a drive that fuels him every day; and the responsibility he feels to be a nurturing role model for his younger brothers. Fader illustrates a more vulnerable star than most people know, a person who has evolved triumphantly into all of his roles: father, brother, son, teammate, and global icon.

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Internationally acclaimed for his portraits of powerful and accomplished people and women of great beauty, Richard Avedon was one of the twentieth century's greatest photographers—but perhaps not the most obvious choice to create a portrait of ordinary people of the American West. Yet in 1979, the Amon Carter Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, daringly commissioned him to do just that.The resulting 1985 exhibition and book, In the American West, was a milestone in American photography and Avedon's most important body of work. His unflinching portraits of oilfield and slaughterhouse workers, miners, waitresses, drifters, mental patients, teenagers, and others captured the unknown and often-ignored people who work at hard, uncelebrated jobs. Making no apologies for shattering stereotypes of the West and Westerners, Avedon said, "I'm looking for a new definition of a photographic portrait. I'm looking for people who are surprising—heartbreaking—or beautiful in a terrifying way. Beauty that might scare you to death until you acknowledge it as part of yourself."Photographer Laura Wilson worked with Avedon during the six years he was making In the American West. In Avedon at Work, she presents a unique photographic record of his creation of this masterwork—the first time a major photographer has been documented in great depth over an extended period of time. She combines images she made during the photographic sessions with entries from her journal to show Avedon's working methods, his choice of subjects, his creative process, and even his experiments and failures. Also included are a number of Avedon's finished portraits, as well as his own comments and letters from some of the subjects.Avedon at Work adds a new dimension to our understanding of one of the twentieth century's most significant series of portraits. For everyone interested in the creative process it confirms that, in Laura Wilson's words, "much as all these photographs may appear to be moments that just occurred, they are finally, in varying degrees, works of the imagination."

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Four new stories featuring the Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown: 1.1 The Headless Ones by James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown. When a distress call from an unknown source threatens to rip the TARDIS from the vortex, the Doctor and Peri arrive in nineteenth-century Africa hoping to find the cause of the disturbance. Instead, they meet a British expedition searching for a long lost tribe: the B’lemyae… better known to the locals as the Headless Ones. 1.2 Like by Jacqueline Rayner. On the Earth colony world Rusina, the populace strive to be popular. Likes lead to promotions, dislikes leads to demotion – and more recently, something worse. So when the Doctor investigates the truth behind their subscriber-led society, he finds himself about to become very unpopular indeed. 1.3 The Vanity Trap by Stuart Manning. Myrna Kendal used to be a Hollywood film star. Now she spends her life reminiscing on chat shows but there is always one unfinished film she refuses to talk about... at least until the TARDIS interrupts a TV interview, and the Doctor and Peri’s appearance stirs up long-forgotten memories. 1.4 Conflict Theory by Nev Fountain. Concerned by the Doctor’s increasing over-protectiveness, Peri presents him with an ultimatum: either they seek counselling or she leaves the TARDIS permanently. Reluctant to lose one of his closest friends, the Doctor seeks out one of the finest psychoanalysts in the universe: Dr Sigmund Freud. Cast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown), Vivienne Acheampong (Siyanda), Rachel Atkins (Governor Crompton), Rosie Baker (Carolyn Sue), Timothy Blore (Sandis-Fernis), Stephen Critchlow (Jimmy Garfield), Amelia Donkor (Hoffman), Sarah Douglas (Myrna Kendal), Ryan Forde Iosco (Dr Karp), Raj Ghatak (The Complex), Eilidh Loan (Marconi), Deirdre Mullins (Amanda Latimer), George Naylor (Dodo), Javone Prince (Kaylin), Lucy Robinson (Christie), David Sibley (Dr Freud), Hugh Skinner (Lord Oliver Erpingham). Other parts played by members of the cast.

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This new, thoroughly updated edition of Bradt's award-winning guide to Liguria is the essential companion to getting the most out of a visit to this beguiling Italian region. Author Rosie Whitehouse has spent thirty years exploring Liguria and in her comprehensive guide introduces you to not just the glitz of the Riviera but also to the delights of the wild unknown hinterlands and mountain valleys, including in-depth coverage of local gastronomic delights - a key part of any Ligurian visit. This new edition includes new maps, a focus on of the growth of small, 'Slow Food' businesses, restaurants and hotels, in-depth coverage of Genoa as a cultural and weekend-break destination, the latest developments in Savona and La Spezia, more walks and bike-riding advice plus new suggested routes, revised hotel and restaurant listings and all the latest transport information. Liguria is a mountainous region of dizzy passes and breathtaking views, where the mountains plunge down into the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean. The narrow strip of coast includes the gems of the world-famous Italian Riviera, the great port city of Genoa, the glitzy resort of Portofino and the charms of the Cinque Terre. Yet in the hinterland there are many beautiful villages and mountain walks that have yet to be discovered by tourists. With a strong regional identity all of its own, Liguria is almost a country within a country. Whether you're a gourmet traveller in search of pesto, trofie and freshly baked focaccia, a history buff on the hunt for Roman remains, culture addict dazzled by Genoa's glittering palazzi and top-class museums, or a family heading for a well-earned break, Bradt's Liguria is the ideal guide for travellers of all ages and all budgets. It is also particularly suited to adventurous travellers looking for the Liguria that lies beyond the beaten track and who want a taste of the real Italy.

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From the author of The Wicked Cometh comes a dark, page-turning tale of passion and romance in the darkest of places. . .'Carlin can tell a good story' Observer'A book of great beauty and lyricism' On MagazineAfter the death of his mother, young Alwin of Whittaker leaves the only home he has ever known to seek answers about his unknown father through a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.On the journey, Alwin falls in with a band of violent and marauding soldiers and is witness to their terrible crimes. When Alwin later joins up with a group of pilgrims, he must hide his identity . . . but he is not the only one with secrets to keep. Rosamund, a young woman travelling the same path, has much to conceal too.The journey to discovering who he really is will lead Alwin into great danger and great passion. These are dark times, and through them, Alwin must shine a light.Will the revelations to come destroy everything that came before?'Effortlessly transports the reader to fourteenth-century rural Derbyshire and the plight of young Alwin. With the deft touch of a master storyteller, Laura Carlin recreates the dangerous world Alwin must navigate as they flee the comforts of home for an entirely new life' Sophie Ward, author of Love and other Thought ExperimentsREADERS' PRAISE FOR REQUIEM FOR A KNAVE:'Hugely engaging''A gem of an historical novel with beautiful atmospheric writing''I loved Laura's first book and this is another fun, dark historical novel full of twists and turns. Atmospheric and passionate''Laura Carlin charmed and bewitched me with her Victorian era debut The Wicked Cometh and here again I am willingly sucked into the dark medieval world of pilgrims, lords and villains''Beautifully written with strongly portrayed characters, A very good read''The author gives us fully rounded, engaging characters, a compelling story and beautiful, lyrical prose. I loved this even more than The Wicked Cometh''A lyrical and engaging novel, with beautiful writing and a gripping storyline'

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'Fowler's moving memoir charts her experience of coming out as a gay woman, alongside her journey through Birmingham's canal networks, mapping both the waterways and the travails of her heart.' Observer'An emotional and compelling memoir, that left me inspired, both by her bravery in transforming her life, and by the unexpected beauty she finds along the way' Countryfile Magazine'Fowler beautifully exposes her emotional fragility while also celebrating the unloved nature of buddleia, herons and even the water rats who take refuge among the locks.' i paper'Fowler captures the beauty of the canal's dishevelled, neglected condition...' Times Literary Supplement'Thoughtful and heartbreakingly honest ...Beautiful' Press Association'An astounding memoir' Gay Star News'Hidden Nature is one of the most thrilling things I've read in a long time' Waterways World'She writes wonderfully about the species that have carved out a place for themselves amid the discarded shopping trolleys, condom packets and industrial waste' Guardian'This candid book is as much about mapping the heart as it is about mapping the paths of waterways. Lovely.' Simple Things'A beautiful memoir' Good Housekeeping'Gentle, brave and acutely observant' Woman's WeeklyLeaving her garden to the mercy of the slugs, the Guardian's award-winning writer Alys Fowler set out in an inflatable kayak to explore Birmingham's canal network, full of little-used waterways where huge pike skulk and kingfishers dart.Her book is about noticing the wild everywhere and what it means to see beauty where you least expect it. What happens when someone who has learned to observe her external world in such detail decides to examine her internal world with the same care?Beautifully written, honest and very moving, Hidden Nature is also the story of Alys Fowler's emotional journey and her coming out as a gay woman: above all, this book is about losing and finding, exploring familiar places and discovering unknown horizons.

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For most, and particularly the injured and the wounded, being shot down over Occupied Europe during the Second World War meant that capture was immediate, that imprisonment was almost inevitable. For some, evasion was possible, but rarely for long. For a relative handful, however, their evasion saw them eventually reach home once again. In this fascinating insight into how some Allied aircrew achieved the almost impossible and evade capture, the renowned aviation historian Martin W. Bowman has drawn together a set of tales of just some of these individuals. They are stories that illustrate the bravery and resourcefulness that characterized their experiences. British, American, Canadian and other Allied testimonies all feature to provide an authentic sense of the times at hand and the reality of life as an evader during this tumultuous and incredibly dangerous time. The stories of some Allied airmen, faced with sudden leaps into that dangerous unknown and their subsequent attempts at evasion, are retold here, many for the first time. Those who successfully evaded and were free to fight again' were few. Some were forced to remain in hiding under the guiding hands of the likes of the French Resistance or the patriots of the Com te Line - a few of the many who risked their lives helping Allied airmen, either to escape or to remain hidden until liberation, on pain of imprisonment, torture and death by their Nazi oppressors. Despite the threat of such retaliation, it has been said that as many as 100,000 people may have assisted evaders on one or more occasions before the war in Europe was brought to an end. This series of intoxicating chapters of evasion and life under the constant threat of recapture by the Nazis goes one step further in the drama of the war fought in the skies over the Third Reich and the subjugated countries of France, Belgium and Holland, revealing the constant nagging, and very real, fear that was endured by evaders and rescuers alike.

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The author Lawrence Weschler began spending time with Oliver Sacks in the early 1980s, when he set out to profile the neurologist for his own new employer, The New Yorker. Almost a decade earlier, Dr. Sacks had published his masterpiece Awakenings - the account of his long-dormant patients’ miraculous but troubling return to life in a Bronx hospital ward. But the book had hardly been an immediate success, and the rumpled clinician was still largely unknown. Over the ensuing four years, the two men worked closely together until, for wracking personal reasons, Sacks asked Weschler to abandon the profile, a request to which Weschler acceded. The two remained close friends, however, across the next thirty years and then, just as Sacks was dying, he urged Weschler to take up the project once again. This book is the result of that entreaty. Weschler sets Sacks’s brilliant table talk and extravagant personality in vivid relief, casting himself as a beanpole Sancho to Sacks’s capacious Quixote. We see Sacks rowing and ranting and caring deeply; composing the essays that would form The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat; recalling his turbulent drug-fueled younger days; helping his patients and exhausting his friends; and waging intellectual war against a medical and scientific establishment that failed to address his greatest concern: the spontaneous specificity of the individual human soul. And all the while he is pouring out a stream of glorious, ribald, hilarious, and often profound conversation that establishes him as one of the great talkers of the age. Here is the definitive portrait of Sacks as our preeminent romantic scientist, a self-described “clinical ontologist” whose entire practice revolved around the single fundamental question he effectively asked each of his patients: How are you? Which is to say, How do you be? A question which Weschler, with this book, turns back on the good doctor himself.

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