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'Reads like a house on fire' - the extraordinary new novel by Iain Reid, the acclaimed author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things You think you know everything about your life. Long-married couple Junior and Henrietta live a quiet, solitary life on their farm, where they work at the local feed mill and raise chickens. Their lives are simple, straightforward, uncomplicated.Until everything you think you know collapses. Until the day a stranger arrives at their door with alarming news: Junior has been chosen to take an extraordinary journey, a journey across both time and distance, while Hen remains at home. Junior will be gone for years. But Hen won't be left alone.Who can you trust if you can't even trust yourself? As the time for his departure draws nearer, Junior finds himself questioning everything about his life - even whether it's really his life at all. An eerily entrancing page-turner, Foe churns with unease and suspense from the first words to its shocking finale. Perfect for fans of Humans, Westworld and Black Mirror, Foe is a book you will never forget.*** Praise for FOE *** ‘I couldn’t put it down. It infected my dreams. A creepy and brilliant book’ Zoe Whittall, author of The Best Kind of People 'The narrative is so eerie and disturbing… fuelling the reader’s unease; Reid pulls off a wonderful twist in the tail’ Guardian ‘From the opening page, you’ll have an uneasy feeling as you settle into Iain Reid’s brilliant new novel.. A masterful and breathtakingly unique read. I can’t stop thinking about it ‘ Amy Stuart, author of Still Mine and Still Water ‘Spare, consuming, unforgettable. Foe is a dark arrow from a truly original mind. Page by eerie page, Iain Reid pulls the unknown world out from under you, and leaves you trapped inside a marriage’s most haunting question: can I be replaced? This is a book that seeps into your bloodstream – and crowns Iain Reid the king of deadpan, philosophical horror’ Claudia Dey, author of Heartbreaker ‘Movie producers are simply confirming what the literary community already knows: Iain Reid just might be the most exciting and excitingly unclassifiable author working in Canadian fiction today’ - The Globe and Mail (Canada)‘Foe reads like a house on fire, and is almost impossible not to finish in one sitting...an otherworldly hothouse of introversion and fantasy’ – The Toronto Star

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The Strugatsky brothers' poignant and introspective novel of first contact that inspired the classic film StalkerRed Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the Zone and the thriving black market in the alien products. Even the nature of his daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that Red makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile depths.Readers can't stop thinking about Roadside Picnic:'A story of a horrific yet fascinating place, a story of an ordinary and unlikable man just trying to get by, a philosophical interlude on humanity and its significance or lack thereof, of greed and wonder, and the fever dream of the soul scream. It still speaks to me' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Such an intriguing setting for me, such an unusual take on alien interaction' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'It is a thought-provoking, hard-to-put down masterpiece, most probably the best introduction to Soviet science fiction. A must read for any sci-fi fan' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'A fantastic and creative exploration of what first contact might be like' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'The tone of the book is akin to that of some noir works, dark, gritty, getting darker and grittier as the tale wears on . . . Like many great books, the meaning of the ending is left up to the reader' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'A beautifully depressive and wonderfully atmospheric science fiction novel about life on Earth after an alien "Visitation" that leaves humans with more questions than answers . . . Once I started reading it today, I couldn't stop. The story captured my heart and held my attention' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This is the sort of book that you read and then immediately feel the need to lend it to someone you know so that they can experience and enjoy it themselves . . . I was truly astonished-by both the poignancy and the deceptive(?) simplicity of this relatively short novel' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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During war, nothing is ever at it seems...Sally Hartley is a hopeless romantic. Her father died when she was a baby but she has lived off stories from her mother of what a wonderful man he was. Now, all she wants is a love like theirs. And she thinks she’s found it in Adam, the brother of a friend from home. When Adam is posted to Orkney, it’s like Sally’s dreams have all come true.After Italy changes sides in the war, the Italian POWs are granted more freedom on the islands, meaning Sally can spend more time with her friend, Aldo, and the two grow ever closer. But when a family secret is revealed, Sally's trust might be forever broken.Sally, Iris and Mary must continue their duties even as life changes drastically around them, including an attack on one of their fellow Wrens from an unknown assailant. Now the friends face danger not just from the enemy, but also someone much closer to home.An uplifting and dramatic WWII saga for fans of Kate Thompson, Margaret Dickinson and Daisy Styles.Praise for Hopeful Hearts for the Wrens ‘Vicki Beeby carried me along yet again with her skilful story weaving. The book has it all with romance and friendship, danger and intrigue. I didn’t want this series to end and I finished this book with a tear in my eye.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘Absolutely brilliant! I love how the books follow on and if you love family saga based in wartime please read these books. Feel like I have gone through all the emotions with the girls.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘I really enjoyed reading this and highly recommend this series.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘Brilliant… There was drama (and plenty of it), romance, and humour too. I love Vicki’s style of writing.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘A truly great series! I do love a good wartime book and this hit all the marks. The friendship, the strength in the face of adversity and the romance throughout such different times. The ending was amazing and so satisfying.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘Wow what an emotional end to the girls! I loved following the adventures of Sally, Mary and Iris now sad that it’s over… Vicki has written this series perfectly.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

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'This warmhearted romantic comedy delivers a feisty heroine, a sexy hero, and some very chilling suspense - all done with a fresh edge' New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann KrentzA contemporary novel with a strong suspense element from Oscar-nominated actress Meg Tilly, set on a peaceful island village in the Pacific Northwest.Dumped on the eve of her wedding and looking for a quiet place to lick her emotional wounds, Maggie Harris joins her sister on Solace Island, where she hopes to recover from the stunning betrayal. At first, Maggie resists Eve's impassioned argument about relocating permanently so the sisters can open their own local bakery. What she definitely doesn't need on her road to recovery are Eve's efforts to fix her up with their mysterious and alluring neighbor, Luke Benson--even if he is incredibly handsome and desirable.Just as Maggie starts to get comfortable in her new surroundings, a car tries to run her down in the middle of the street. If it weren't for Luke's extremely quick reflexes, Maggie could have been killed, leading her to wonder just who exactly Luke Benson really is...Luke thought he'd left the violence of the high risk security world behind. But he can't stand by while Maggie's life is threatened. Luke will do anything to keep her safe--even moving Maggie and her sister into his house with its state-of-the-art security features. But with the secrets between them and an unknown threat stalking her heels, Luke will have to think fast to prove to Maggie that she can trust him.Praise for SOLACE ISLAND:'An enjoyable supporting cast and perfectly portrayed relationship between sisters round out Tilly's successful and welcome venture into romance' Booklist'Strikes all the right chords by delivering a perfectly matched pair of protagonists; a wonderfully atmospheric setting; and an engaging, vividly sensual plot that is adeptly brushed with a generous dash of danger' Booklist'With steady pacing and engaging storytelling, Flynn [Tilly] effortlessly blends mystery and romance in a contemporary style that makes this story stand out. This sexy, heartfelt romance is sure to delight readers everywhere' RT Book Reviews'[A] fetching debut . . . a satisfying romance in a cozy, small- town setting. The sex scenes sizzle, and an unexpected suspect raises the tension' Library Journal (starred review)

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Astonishing Events from the American Revolution That They Don’t Teach in School!We all know about Washington’s crossing of the Delaware and Betsy Ross’s stitching together the Stars and Stripes, but how about a little-known, valid reason for the war itself and why General George was able to survive a plague that wiped out many of his fellow countrymen?History buff Tim Rowland provides an entertaining look at happenings during and surrounding the Revolutionary War that you won’t find in history books. He digs into the war’s major events and reveals the unknown, bizarre, and often wildly amusing things the participants were doing while breaking away from Great Britain.For example, conventional wisdom says that “no taxation without representation” was an important reason for the revolution, but not in the way we’ve been told. Colonists paid the wages of common-court judges, who were reluctant to rule against the men who paid their salaries. Therefore, duties on molasses (the key ingredient in rum) were generally unenforced until the British cut the tariff in half. Strange but true, the spark that touched off the revolution was in fact a tax cut.During the French and Indian War and then again in the first year of the revolution, the British were accused of biological warfare, infecting blankets with smallpox and then concealing them in Indian camps. So feared was the disease that soldiers began to illegally inoculate themselves before widespread vaccination was finally ordered for the army. Washington himself was immune, thanks to a Caribbean trip taken as a young man when his brother Lawrence sought a cure for tuberculosis. Lawrence wasn’t cured, but George was infected with smallpox in Barbados. As a young man in a warm climate, he survived. As an older man in a northern winter, however, the story of the father of our country might have had a different ending.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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The boxed-set collection of the stunning comic adaptations of the classic Elric of Melnibone novels by Michael Moorcock! Including art cards featuring the cover art from the individual books. Elric of Melnibone is the tortured hero of Michael Moorcock's classics fantasy novels. His stories are brought to life in these exquisite graphic novel adaptations, collected together in this glorious boxed-set for the first time! Fans of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and high fantasy fiction will reap the thrills and spills of this epic quadrilogy! THE RUBY THRONE Elric, the albino emperor, has ruled Melnibone for millennia - a feat made possible through magic and various herbs that serve to strengthen and prolong his life. However, Elric's empire is crumbling before him and now his envious cousin and prince of Melnibone, Yyrkoon, plots to claim the Ruby Throne for himself. Yet when Elric's people come under the threat of a pirate attack, Elric believes that he can once again restore his authority and regain their faith by defeating the pirates. However, the true cost of this task will force him to reveal his allegiance to the dark Arioch, the most dominant of the Lords of Chaos... STORMBRINGER When his people are mercilessly massacred, Elric, the albino former Emperor of the ancient island of Melnibone is cast out into the world. However, fate brings him into the possession of Stormbringer - the fabled, bloodthirsty demon-sword that will sustain him and dominate his destiny. THE WHITE WOLF A year has passed since Elric left Imrryr, his palace and his throne, leaving behind a heartbroken Cymoril. For a year he has walked the Young Kingdoms, under the distant gaze of his protector, Arioch. A year since he traded his skills as a wizard and fighter to the highest bidder, forging, in each battle, the legend of the albino warrior whose Black Sword terrifies the bravest of warriors. Today he is no longer Elric de Melnibone, the four hundred and twenty-eighth Emperor of the people of R'lin K'ren A'a. Today, the Young Kingdoms know him as the White Wolf. THE DREAMING CITY The albino emperor, Elric of Melnibone, is exiled from his home and cursed to walk the land under the influence of the god of chaos, Arioch. With his sword Stormbringer, Elric must find his way through the unknown, unaware he is being sought by his long-lost love. But is she looking to re-kindle their love, or something far more sinister?

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"A beguiling tale of espionage and double-dealing in the years leading up to World War II. ... Strap in for a narrative that demands a suspension of disbelief—and richly rewards it." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review); Best Books of February SelectionThe untold story of the World War I hero who became a fixture of high society in Golden Age Hollywood—all while acting as a double agent for the Japanese Empire as it prepared to attack Pearl HarborFrederick Rutland’s story is a rags-to-riches coup for the ages—a lower-class boy from England bootstraps his way up the ranks of the British military, becoming a World War I pilot, father of the modern aircraft carrier, cosmopolitan businessman, and Hollywood A-list insider. He oversaw this small empire from his mansion on the fabled Bird Streets of Beverly Hills. Snubbed for promotion in the Royal Air Force due to little more than jealousy and class politics, Rutland—to all appearances—continued to spin gold from straw, living an enviably lavish lifestyle that included butlers, wild parties, private clubs, and newswor­thy living . . .. . . and it was all funded by the Japanese Empire.Beverly Hills Spy reveals the story of Rutland’s life of espi­onage on behalf of the Axis, selling secrets about fleet and aircraft design to the Japanese Imperial Navy that would be instrumental in its ability to attack Pearl Harbor, while col­lecting a salary ten times larger than the best-paid Japanese admirals. Based on recently declassified FBI files and until-now untranslated documents from Japanese intelligence, Ronald Drabkin brings the scope of this unforgettable tale into full focus for the first time. Rutland hides in plain sight, rubbing elbows with Amelia Earhart and hosting galas and fundraisers with superstars like Charlie Chaplin and Boris Karloff, while simultaneously passing information to Japan through spy networks across North and Central America. Countless opportunities to catch Rutland in the act are squandered by the FBI, British Intelligence, and US Naval Intelligence alike as he uses his cunning and charm to mis­direct and cast shadows of doubt over his business dealings, allowing him to operate largely unfettered for years.In the end, whether he fully intends to or not, Rutland sets in motion world events that are so monumental, their consequences are still being felt today.Beverly Hills Spy is a masterpiece of research on spy craft, a shocking narrative about an unknown but pivotal figure in history, and brings new information to light that helps us understand how Pearl Harbor happened—and how it could have been prevented.

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The dominant theme of this book is to introduce the different path planning methods and present some of the most appropriate ones for robotic routing; methods that are capable of running on a variety of robots and are resistant to disturbances; being real-time, being autonomous, and the ability to identify high-risk areas and risk management are the other features that will be mentioned in the introduction of the methods. The introduction of the profound significance of the robots and delineation of the navigation and routing theme is provided in the first chapter of the book. The second chapter is concerned with the subject of routing in unknown environments. In the first part of this chapter, the family of bug algorithms including are described. In the following, several conventional methods are submitted. The last part of this chapter is dedicated to the introduction of two recently developed routing methods. In Chapter 3, routing is reviewed in the known environment in which the robot either utilizes the created maps by extraneous sources or makes use of the sensor in order to prepare the maps from the local environment. The robot path planning relying on the robot vision sensors and applicable computing hardware are concentrated in the fourth chapter. The first part of this chapter deals with routing methods supported mapping capabilities. The second part manages the routing dependent on the vision sensor, typically known as the best sensor, within the routing subject. The movement of two-dimensional robots with two or three degrees of freedom is analyzed within the third part of this chapter. In Chapter 5, the performance of a few of the foremost important routing methods initiating from the second to fourth chapters is conferred regarding the implementation in various environments. The first part of this chapter is engaged in the implementation of the algorithms Bug1, Bug2, and Distbug on the pioneering robot. In the second part, a theoretical technique is planned to boost the robot's performance in line with obstacle collision avoidance. This method, underlying the tangential escape, seeks to proceed with the robot through various obstacles with curved corners. In the third and fourth parts of this chapter, path planning in different environments is preceded in the absence and the presence of danger space. Accordingly, four approaches, named artificial fuzzy potential field, linguistic technique, Markov decision making processes, and fuzzy Markov decision making have been proposed in two following parts and enforced on the Nao humanoid robot.

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Although the Royal Navy did not invent the submarine, Norman Friedman's new book demonstrates how innovative the service was, to an extent which few will recognise. Its submarines performed well in combat in both world wars, and often in unheralded ways. Few will be aware that in 1914 Britain had the largest submarine fleet in the world, and that at the end of World War I it had some of the largest and most unusual of all submarines - whose origins and design are all detailed. During the First World War they virtually closed the Baltic to German iron ore traffic, and they helped block supplies to the Turkish army fighting at Gallipoli. British submarines were a major element in the North Sea battles, and they helped fight the U-boat menace. These roles led on to British submarine operations in World War II. Readers will be aware of the role of US submarines in strangling Japan, but perhaps not how British submarines in the Mediterranean fought a parallel costly but successful battle to strangle the German army in North Africa. Like their US counterparts, interwar British submariners were designed largely with the demands of a possible Pacific War, although that was not the war they fought. And the author shows how the demands of such a war, which would be fought over vast distances, collided with interwar British Government attempts to limit costs by holding down the size (and numbers) of submarines. It says much about the ingenuity of British submarine designers that they managed to meet their requirements despite enormous pressure on submarine size. As in other books in this series, the author demonstrates how a combination of evolving strategic and tactical requirements and evolving technology produced successive types of design. The Royal Navy was always painfully aware of the threat enemy submarines posed, and British submariners contributed heavily to the development of British anti-submarine tactics and technology, beginning with largely unknown efforts before the outbreak of World War I. Between the Wars British submariners exploited the new technology of sonar (Asdic), both to find and attack enemies and to avoid being attacked themselves. As a result, they pioneered submarine silencing, with important advantages to the US Navy as it observed the British. And it was a British submarine that pioneered the vital postwar use of submarines as anti-submarine weapons, sinking a U-boat while both were submerged. This feat was unique. Heavily illustrated with photos and original plans, this new volume from Norman Friedman, incorporating so much original analysis, will be eagerly awaited by naval historians and enthusiasts everywhere.

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In this allegorical picture book, a young rabbit named Pancho eagerly awaits his papa’s return. Papa Rabbit traveled north two years ago to find work in the great carrot and lettuce fields to earn money for his family. When Papa does not return, Pancho sets out to find him. He packs Papa’s favorite meal—mole, rice and beans, a heap of warm tortillas, and a jug of aguamiel—and heads north. He meets a coyote, who offers to help Pancho in exchange for some of Papa’s food. They travel together until the food is gone and the coyote decides he is still hungry . . . for Pancho!Duncan Tonatiuh brings to light the hardship and struggles faced by thousands of families who seek to make better lives for themselves and their children by illegally crossing the border.Praise for Pancho Rabbit and the CoyoteSTARRED REVIEWS"Tonatiuh’s great strength is in the text. No word is wasted, as each emotion is clearly and poignantly expressed. The rabbits’ future is unknown, but their love and faith in each other sustains them through it all. Accessible for young readers, who may be drawn to it as they would a classic fable; perfect for mature readers and the classroom, where its layers of truth and meaning can be peeled back to be examined and discussed. An incandescent, humane and terribly necessary addition to the immigrant-story shelf."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review"In both prose and art, Tonatiuh expertly balances folkloric elements with stark, modern realities; Pancho Rabbit’s trip has the feel of a classic fable or fairy tale, with the untrustworthy coyote demanding more and more of him."—Publishers Weekly, starred review"The book shows the fragility of making a living, the desperation that many migrants experience, and the deep family ties that bind the characters. Classrooms studying the migrant experience will find plenty to discuss here."—School Library Journal“This will spark strong responses and needed discussion.”—Booklist"Tonatiuh is so careful in weaving his allegory that his empathetic contemporary tale feels like age-old folklore, with simple but compelling text and a step-by-step escalation of the story through gripping, kid-understandable challenges."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books AwardsPura Belpré Author and Illustrator Honor book 2014New York Public Library’s annual Children’s Books list: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013Kirkus Best Books of 2013Best Multicultural Children's Books 2013 (Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature)Notable Children's Books from ALSC 2014Notable Books for a Global Society Book Award 2014

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Nearly a century after his wrenching death, the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) remains one of our most enigmatic writers. Believing he could do “more in dreams than Napoleon,” yet haunted by the specter of hereditary madness, Pessoa invented dozens of alter egos, or “heteronyms,” under whose names he wrote in Portuguese, English, and French. Unsurprisingly, this “most multifarious of writers” (Guardian) has long eluded a definitive biographer—but in renowned translator and Pessoa scholar Richard Zenith, he has met his match. Relatively unknown in his lifetime, Pessoa was all but destined for literary oblivion when the arc of his afterlife bent, suddenly and improbably, toward greatness, with the discovery of some 25,000 unpublished papers left in a large, wooden trunk. Drawing on this vast archive of sources as well as on unpublished family letters, and skillfully setting the poet’s life against the nationalist currents of twentieth-century European history, Zenith at last reveals the true depths of Pessoa’s teeming imagination and literary genius. Much as Nobel laureate José Saramago brought a single heteronym to life in The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, Zenith traces the backstories of virtually all of Pessoa’s imagined personalities, demonstrating how they were projections, spin-offs, or metamorphoses of Pessoa himself. A solitary man who had only one, ultimately platonic love affair, Pessoa used his and his heteronyms’ writings to explore questions of sexuality, to obsessively search after spiritual truth, and to try to chart a way forward for a benighted and politically agitated Portugal. Although he preferred the world of his mind, Pessoa was nonetheless a man of the places he inhabited, including not only Lisbon but also turn-of-the-century Durban, South Africa, where he spent nine years as a child. Zenith re-creates the drama of Pessoa’s adolescence—when the first heteronyms emerged—and his bumbling attempts to survive as a translator and publisher. Zenith introduces us, too, to Pessoa’s bohemian circle of friends, and to Ophelia Quieroz, with whom he exchanged numerous love letters. Pessoa reveals in equal force the poet’s unwavering commitment to defending homosexual writers whose books had been banned, as well as his courageous opposition to Salazar, the Portuguese dictator, toward the end of his life. In stunning, magisterial prose, Zenith contextualizes Pessoa’s posthumous literary achievements—especially his most renowned work, The Book of Disquiet. A modern literary masterpiece, Pessoa simultaneously immortalizes the life of a literary maestro and confirms the enduring power of Pessoa’s work to speak prophetically to the disconnectedness of our modern world.

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A completely new and revealing story of Pre- and Post-Columbian art as told through over sixty extraordinary artefacts now in the Jay I. Kislak Collection at the Library of Congress. The history of the early Americas is a story of before and after, defined and divided by a pivotal moment of contact between two distinct cultures. On the European side it is a tale of exploration, high-stakes treasure-seeking, and conquest. For indigenous Americans - including the Maya, the Nahua, the Taino, and the Wari - it is the beginning of the end, a violent saga of disease, enslavement, and the loss of languages and rituals. This collision of cultures comes to life in the manuscripts, maps, archaeological objects, and rare books that make up the collection of early American treasures in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Collecting for a New World: Treasures of the Early Americas relates these encounters through vivid illustrations and interpretive descriptions of more than sixty rare and priceless items. In describing for the first time the journeys of the objects themselves - via African shipwrecks, secret meetings on airstrips, discoveries in castle libraries, and journeys into unknown archaeological sites hidden deep in the jungles of Guatemala - curator John Hessler reveals the role played by private collectors, whose knowledge, vision, and - in many cases, philanthropy - contribute so significantly to the collective understanding and interpretation of history and culture. AUTHOR: When not searching through Maya ruins in Central America, climbing in the Alps or mountain biking through some jungle, John Hessler is the Curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Archaeology and History of the Early Americas at the Library of Congress and a Lecturer in Quantum Materials, Mechanics and Computing, in the Graduate School of Advanced Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Founder of the Archeo/LAB, his current teaching and research focuses on the theoretical materials science of archaeological remains, the topological structure of ancient DNA, and the quantum properties of ancient nano-materials like Maya Blue. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London, he is the co-director of the Mesoamerican Language, Theory and Decipherment Seminars, and is also on the faculty of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia where he teaches a seminar called the History & Construction of the Mesoamerican Codex. The author of more than 100 books and articles, including, The New York Times bestseller MAP: Exploring the World, his research and writing has been featured in many national media outlets including Discover, Wired, CBS News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and most recently on NPRs All Things Considered. 100 colour illustrations

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Book 3 in the Stoker's Wilde series! Booklist on the first book in this series, Stoker's Wilde: "Pass this volume on to readers who are hungry for more historical stories with a supernatural frame." Science and the supernatural collide in this terrifying tale of witches, reanimated corpses and spirits invading our world from beyond the grave. Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde have returned to their lives in London after their adventures in the American West. Bram is managing a theatre and Oscar is rising to fame and planning his upcoming wedding when they are once again called upon to battle supernatural evil. Grief-crazed scientist Victor Mueller needs Bram’s unusual blood for his mad quest to bring his dead wife back to life, and he’ll resort to kidnapping to get it. Meanwhile, a young medium named Lorna Bow runs fake séances in London under the thumb of an abusive uncle. When her mother Endora returns, Lorna learns the truth: they come from a long line of witches, and soon Endora has awakened Lorna’s dormant powers. When the scientist and the witches combine forces, all Hell breaks loose. Long-dead souls find themselves back in the land of the living, and some of them have scores to settle with our heroes. But as Mueller’s ambition and her mother’s desire for vengeance against the men who imprisoned her become clear, Lorna soon finds herself questioning the morality of their work. Bram and Oscar must team up with American secret agent Cora Chase to protect all they hold dear. Only a mission into the Land of the Dead can stop Mueller and Endora from bringing back more souls. Bram’s wife Florence must call on the monster-fighting skills she honed in America, and even Oscar’s bride Constance has to face new challenges as she learns how the supernatural has shaped her own history. In an adventure that spans continents – and even other worlds – they confront old enemies and unknown dangers. Teaming up with old friends Teddy Roosevelt and Richard Burton and new allies like Arthur Conan Doyle and Nicola Tesla, they too must harness both science and magic to protect our world from intruders from the Land of the Dead. FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress

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Two years before T E Lawrence received orders to travel to the Hejaz to liaise with the leader of the Arab Revolt, other British officers had already roamed the Arabian Peninsula's unforgiving Nejdi desert, to rally tribal support for the British war effort. The first was Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, a political agent from the Government of India's Political Department. Born in October 1878 in India, Shakespear spent much of his childhood away from his Anglo-Indian parents, schooling in Portsmouth and later in the Isle of Man, before entering Sandhurst as a British Indian Army Officer Cadet. On his return to India, Shakespear spent six years in military service before he joined the Political Department in 1904, serving twice in Bandar Abbas and briefly in Muscat. Shakespear's next mission was as a political agent in Kuwait, arriving at the coastal Sheikhdom in the spring of 1909. For the next four years, he travelled extensively into the Nejdi desert, providing both London and Delhi with valuable intelligence about the vastly unknown interior as well as cultivating a personal relationship with Ibn Sa'ud, the Emir of Riyadh. At a time when London and Constantinople were negotiating the Anglo-Ottoman treaty, Shakespear almost became persona non grata for advocating the need to back the emir after his tribal warriors had expelled the Ottoman garrisons in al-Hasa in 1913. When war was declared in July 1914, Shakespear was one of the first to try to join the British Army to fight in France, but when the Ottoman Empire looked set to ally with Germany, the powers that had previously shunned him now needed his unique knowledge of Central Arabia and relationship with Ibn Sa'ud. That October, as many of his peers and countrymen crossed the English Channel to reinforce those already in the trenches, Shakespear set sail for Kuwait on special duty to rendezvous with the emir. It was a mission that T E Lawrence would later commend, acknowledging the crucial role that the political agent played during the early stages the Middle Eastern theatre of war. Shakespear was a pioneer in exploring the Nejd, capturing many firsts with his camera, although there were a few other equally intrepid British officials who preceded him into the desert. From the late-18th century, the East India Company collided numerous times with the House of Sa'ud as both attempted to understand the intentions of the other, before the political agent finally laid the foundations for formal diplomatic relations with Ibn Sa'ud, and later with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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The airborne battle for the bridges across the Rhine at Arnhem ranks amongst the Second World War's most famous actions - inspiring innumerable books and the star-studded 1977 movie. This book, however, is unique: deeply moved, the author provides a fresh narrative and approach - concentrating on the tragic stories of individual casualties. These men were killed at different junctures in the fighting, often requiring forensic analysis to ascertain their fates. Wider events contextualise the author's primary focus - effectively 'resurrecting' casualties through describing their backgrounds, previous experience, and tragic effect on their families. In particular, the emotive and unresolved issue of the many still 'missing' is explored. During the course of his research, the author made numerous trips to Arnhem and Oosterbeek, travelled miles around the UK, and spent countless hours communicating with the relatives of casualties - achieving their enthusiastic support. This detailed work, conducted sensitively and with dignity, ensures that these moving stories are now recorded for posterity. Included are the stories of Private Albert Willingham, who sacrificed his life to save civilians; Major Frank Tate, machine-gunned against the backdrop of blazing buildings around Arnhem Bridge; family man Sergeant George Thomas, whose anti-tank gun is displayed today outside the Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein', and Squadron Leader John Gilliard DFC, father of a baby son who perished flying his Stirling through a hail of shot and shell during an essential re-supply drop. Is Private Gilbert Anderson, who remains 'missing', actually buried as an 'unknown', the author asks? Representing the Poles is Lance-Corporal Czeslaw Gajewnik, who drowned whilst escaping the hell of Oosterbeek, and accounts by Dutch civilians emphasise the shared suffering - sharply focussed by the tragedy of Luuk Buist, killed protecting his family. The sensitivity still surrounding German casualties is also explained. This raw, personal, side of war, the hopes and fears of ordinary men thrust into extraordinary circumstances, is both deeply moving and revealing: no longer are these just names carved on headstones or memorials in a distant land. Through this thorough investigative work, supported by those who remember them, the casualties live again, their silent voices heard through friends, relatives, comrades and unpublished letters. So, let us return to the fateful autumn of 1944, and meet those fighting in the skies, on the landing grounds, in the streets and woods of Oosterbeek, and on the 'bridge too far' at Arnhem. Now, the casualties can tell their own stories - as we join this remarkable journey of discovery.

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'In the same light-heartedly informative spirit as his previous Elemental, Tim James gives us an entertaining gallop through light years of space science, from the big bang to UFOs'Andrew Crumey, author of The Great Chain of UnbeingPRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR'Humorous, yet deep . . . Fundamental will speak to all readers' Professor Charles Antoine, Sorbonne University'Who said science was dry? Certainly not Tim James' New York PostDoes the Big Bang prove the existence of God? What's the Universe expanding into? Is Earth the only planet which supports life? Why did the greatest astronomer in history murder his pet moose?Space is the biggest, oldest, hottest, coldest, strangest thing a human can study. It's no surprise then, that the weirdest facts in science (not to mention the weirdest scientists themselves) are found in astrophysics and cosmology. If you're looking for instructions on how to set up your grandad's telescope this book probably isn't for you. In Astronomical, Tim James takes us on a tour of the known (and unknown) Universe, focusing on the most-mind boggling stuff we've come across, as well as unpacking the latest theories about what's really going on out there.Guiding us through Einstein's relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory, Astronomical delves into the baffling corners of the cosmos and tackles the biggest mysteries we face: from alien life to the zodiac; from white holes to wormholes; from quasars to quark stars. This is the science of space at its absolute strangest! From the creation of the Universe out of nothing to the Large Hadron Collider and the Universe's ongoing expansion, Tim explores our planetary neighbours, where it snows metal on Venus, there are underground lakes on Mars and rivers of petrol on Titan. He then looks beyond our solar system: to exoplanets which could support life, rogue planets, quark stars, quasars, neutron stars and more. Tim looks at black holes (and how to survive in one), wormholes, white holes as well as dark energy, dark matter and even a bit of string theory thrown in for good measure. He explains the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, including the discovery of Martian fossils in the Alan Hills meteorite and the tantalising 'Wow signal' transmission earth received in 1973 - still unexplained. He also rebuts resurgent anti-science movements, including the Flat Earth Society and discusses what's really going on inside Area 51.To close, Tim finishes by looking at human achievements in space including how rockets work, how faster-than-light warp-drives (currently being investigated by NASA) work and how we plan to colonise both the moon and Mars.

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** WINNER OF FORTNUM & MASON BEST COOKBOOK AWARD 2023 **** WINNER Jane Grigson Award 2022 **** Shortlisted IACP Cookbook awards 2023 **A beautiful cookbook that celebrates the wonderfully diverse flavours in Caribbean cooking with over 100 riveting recipes to try. Introducing West Winds - the most-talked about cookbook of 2022 and a joyous celebration of Caribbean cooking, with a special focus on the sensational flavours of Jamaican cuisine. Winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award 2022, the all-encompassing Caribbean cookbook West Winds introduces everyone, everywhere to the enriching and mouth-watering flavours that Jamaica has to offer.Growing up in London and now living in Berlin, food writer Riaz Phillips is passionate about celebrating the familiar Caribbean food of his childhood while also demystifying new and unknown ingredients for home cooks from around the globe. With 120 traditional and delicious dishes that draw on Riaz's personal memories, West Winds is so much more than a showcase of Jamaican cooking, it is also rooted in the exploration of the island's heritage and culture. Featuring colourful and sun-drenched imagery, and easy-to-follow instructions, the versatility of Jamaican cuisine is apparent.Riaz blends authentic Jamaican ingredients and dishes with popular trends - discover recipes for nose-to-tail and vegan cooking. Why not also recreate popular takeaway food, Oxtail and Butterbean, or feel as though you're on the beach with a Langoustine Soup. This cookbook has everything - main meals, sauces, soups, juices and preserves, bakes and desserts.Explore the riveting recipes of this colourful cookbook to find: -A varied collection of 100 Caribbean easy-to-follow recipes written by Riaz Phillips-Captivating recipe and travel photography-Feature essays which capture the history and culture of the foodDid you know that there has been growing interest in Caribbean food worldwide, with the highest number of searches taking place in Australia, India, Western Europe, and the US. There has also been a strong rise in Caribbean cooking in the UK, which has remained a popular search over the last year. Whilst there are not many Caribbean cookbooks on the market, especially those that include vegan food, baking, and zero-waste dishes, West Winds successfully taps into fashionable food trends such as fakeaways, veganism and baking.So whether you seek connection with your heritage, or you're simply looking to expand your culinary repertoire, take a trip to Jamaica with West Winds, proving the ideal cookbook for those with an interest in Caribbean flavours, cooking and culture, or doubling up as the perfect gift for chefs who are looking to experiment with new flavours. Read it, cook from it, immerse yourself in it and more!

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The ancient town discovered at the site of today’s Marina el-Alamein (located on the northern coast of Egypt) developed from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD. It found itself at the crossroads of several civilisations: Hellenic, later replaced by Roman, and ultimately Christian, and was always strongly influenced by Egyptian tradition. A variety of cultures appeared and met here and grew in strength – then their significance weakened – but they always co-existed and influenced one another. The syncretism prevailing here is notable in the spheres of art, architecture, religion and worship. 2015 marked thirty years since the discovery of the remains of the ancient city, which, for many centuries, had been unknown to the world. The remains were found unexpectedly during the preparatory work for the construction of a modern tourist settlement on the Mediterranean coast, and the significance and extraordinary value of the discovery was immediately recognised. Now the ancient city, and the historic remains of its buildings, are gradually coming to light. The Jubilee was twofold, since 2015 marked also the 20th anniversary of the setting up of the Polish-Egyptian Conservation Mission, Marina el-Alamein. Throughout this time, both architectural and archaeological research have been carried out at the site, many discoveries have been made, numerous relics of historic building structures have been preserved, and conservation methods have been improved. In the jubilee year, researchers who work on archaeological sites and towns with a similar history and position in the ancient world in the realms of art and culture were invited to contribute to a scientific discussion and exchange of experiences. The contributors were representatives of different disciplines and research methodologies: archaeologists, architects, Egyptologists, specialists in religious studies, historians and conservators. The papers in the present volume encompass interdisciplinary reviews of both new and long-term studies carried out in various regions of the ancient world. The papers present research that was conducted in different regions ranging from ancient Mauritania, through Africa, Egypt, Cyprus, Palestine, Syria, as well as sites in Crimea and Georgia. The topography of cities, the architecture of public buildings, as well as houses and their décor — architectural, sculptural and painted — are presented. Religious syncretism and the importance of ancient texts are discussed. Studies on pottery are also presented. The volume includes studies on the conservation of architectural remains, sculpture and painting. Several articles are devoted to the study of Marina el-Alamein; others talk about ancient Alexandria, Deir el-Bahari, Hermopolis Magna, Bakchias, Pelusium, Kom Wasit, Berenike, Ptolemais, Apollonia, Palmyra, Nea Paphos, as well as Chersonesus Taurica and Apsarus.

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“Meredith Monk is one of the most important composers alive. I remember hearing her Dolmen Music as a teenager. It most definitely provided me with one of my musical DNAs... As a person she is a fierce spirit, optimistic, spiritual, and soulful.” —Björk “If Monk is seeking a place in the classical firmament, classical music has much to learn from her. She conveys a fundamental humanity and humility that is rare in new-music circles.” —Alex Ross, The New Yorker “Meredith Monk has given new voice to the spirit, knit the word together with her universal vision to music, and balanced movement and stillness in ways that illuminate and transform us all. Eternity will never be the same.” —Pico Iyer This expanded edition of Conversations with Meredith Monk offers a fascinating portrait of the internationally renowned composer, performer, director, and filmmaker, from her early years to the present. It has now been updated to include discussion of her latest music-theatre work, Cellular Songs, and a work-in-progress, Indra’s Net, in addition to the recent revival of her opera Atlas at the Los Angeles Philharmonic—a work that the New York Times critic called “her masterpiece and one of the defining operatic experiments of the 20th century”—and the showing of the remastered film of Monk’s great work Quarry. The five long conversations that comprise the volume part of PAJ’s “Performance Ideas” series, generate invaluable insights into artistic process, the human voice, interrelationships of time, space, and music, and the complexity of artistic legacies. What is a “contemporary” work? How does an artwork retain its integrity of form over time? In these deeply engaging conversations, Monk speaks in great detail on her creation of music-theatre works, operas, and films, reflecting on the large-cast theatrical works and the more recent poetically distilled, abstract pieces. In her preface to the new edition, “Performance as a Life Science,” Bonnie Marranca writes: “Now, against the background of life in extremis, it is evident that Monk had already acknowledged both the always unknown future and the resilience of human beings. For decades her body of work has been rooting itself in the recurrent themes of spiritual quest (Songs of Ascension), healing (The Politics of Quiet), compassion (mercy), plague (Book of Days), fragility of life (impermanence), cultural identity (Ellis Island), historical trauma (Quarry), ecology (On Behalf of Nature), and community (Cellular Songs).” The volume also includes an eight-page color insert.

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Russ Tabor is one of the top security specialists in the galaxy. Much against his will, he finds himself assigned to provide protection for Rupert Medawar Narayan Shenoy—“Lord Shenoy,” as he likes to style himself—who is probably the human race’s most brilliant savant. Shenoy has become convinced that the race of ancient aliens known as the Old Ones possessed powers unknown to any modern intelligent species. He believes they had harnessed forces which may well have been actual magic, giving the Old Ones the stature of gods. Off Russ and Shenoy go to find the secret. Meanwhile, Occo, a member of the alien race known as the Nac Zhe Anglan, returns to her religious creed’s home cloister to find that it has been completely destroyed—and by means which suggest that the Old Ones were the perpetrators. Yet the Old Ones, those ancient and inimical gods of the galaxy, were thought to have perished eons before. Occo is not a savant of any kind. She is a shaman castigant, a warrior of her creed. Her purpose now is to seek revenge, not to uncover the secrets of the Old Ones. But she cannot do the one without first doing the other. So, she and her familiar Bresk set ought to track down those long-gone deities. Now human adventures and an alien shaman are on a collision course with the truth: despite their many differences, only if they unite their forces do they stand any chance of surviving the coming encounter with the gods of Sagittarius. About Eric Flint's groundbreaking Ring of Fire series: “This alternate history series is . . . a landmark…”—Booklist “ . . . reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis . . . ”—Publishers Weekly About Eric Flint's best-selling Jao Empire series coauthored with K.D. Wentworth and David Carrico: “The action is fast and furious . . . a trimphant story . . . ”—The Midwest Book Review “Building to an exhilarating conclusion, this book cries out for a sequel.”—Publishers Weekly About Eric Flint's Boundary series, coauthored with Ryk E. Spoor: “. . . fast-paced sci-fi espionage thriller . . . light in tone and hard on science . . .” —Publishers Weekly on Boundary “The whole crew from Flint and Spoor's Boundary are back . . . Tensions run high throughout the Ceres mission . . . a fine choice for any collection.” —Publishers Weekly on Threshold “[P]aleontology, engineering, and space flight, puzzles in linguistics, biology, physics, and evolution further the story, as well as wacky humor, academic rivalries, and even some sweet romances.” —School Library Journal on Boundary

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In 1762 the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau observed that we are blind half our lives because of what we miss during the night. Yet we fear the dark, and are led to believe that bad things happen during the small hours, especially in cities. This is when insomniacs, psychopaths and photophobics--those who are afraid of the light--roam the streets; the time when 'normal' people should be tucked up in their beds. The Elizabethan playwright Thomas Middleton wrote that there should be 'no occupation but sleepe, feed, and fart' during night-time hours.Yet there have long been literary walkers, flaneurs, who have wandered the dark streets of their cities to uncover the secrets of the night: from Restif de la Bretonne, in his 1789 Les Nuits de Paris, labelled both eccentric and pornographic--to Charles Dickens, who in his Night Walks (1861) evoked the sleeplessness of 'a man who defied the night, with all its sorrowful thoughts'. As cities became lighter, through the advance of technology and commerce, the writer's fascination in the mystery of the night-time city faded. But some cities, restless metropolises like New York and London, retain their nocturnal allure.Madrid is one such city. In 2016 writer Ben Stubbs was drawn to explore the Spanish capital at night like the flaneurs of the past. He set out when the sun went down to examine the life of the night in this often-maligned city, a place famed for its late hours and exuberant nightlife. Exploring the history of everything from tapas to the new politics of Podemos, he encountered the city's cultural quirks and clandestine stories while talking to many Madrilenos who are normally denied a voice in the city.As each hour of the night unfolds, Stubbs discovers different layers within Madrid that many visitors do not see as they stick to well-trodden guidebook itineraries. The deepening darkness reveals cross-dressing migrants, people who live at the airport, Muslims celebrating Ramadan, hotel workers hidden in the bowels of the Ritz, all-night taxi drivers, party-goers enjoying their nightly marcha from bar to bar, poodle-blessing priests and locals in the poorer barrios who walk the streets with him to share the experience of a trasnochador--one who lives during the hours of the night.Mixing personal observation with literary and historical references, Stubbs introduces us to a hitherto unknown and fascinating dimension of Madrid. After Dark reveals a multifaceted city, full of surprises and possibilities, and very much awake and alive between dusk and dawn.

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This is the culmination of years of research into the lives of Scots who were guilty of dastardly deeds after leaving Scotland for America - in some cases they literally got away with murder. These emigrants were rogues, con artists, charlatans and reprobates of the worst order and their crimes are laid out in detail. For each character the author relates their early lives in Scotland, family backgrounds and why they left to make a fresh start in the New World. 'Between Daylight and Hell' refers to the story of Perthshire man David Jack, a serial land grabber who took over the homes and properties of rancheros and other landowners after America had taken control of California from Mexico. A group of angry squatters wrote to him demanding compensation in the following terms 'If you don't do this within ten days you son of a bitch ...we shall suspend your animation between daylight and hell'.These include William Stewart, who butchered victims as they tried to flee a massacre perpetrated by members of a religious sect; conniving Charles Forbes, who fleeced brave World War One veterans to the tune of millions of dollars to line his own pockets; William Dunbar, a son of the Scottish Enlightenment who was only too happy to mete out brutal punishments, including hanging, to his negro slaves in the American south; or the hapless Adam Stephen, who led troops into a crucial Revolutionary War battle while drunk as a lord - and attacked men fighting on his own side. They came from all over Scotland and their foul deeds spanned a continent - colonial Virginia, the Mormon State of Utah, Chicago, Boston, the Texas hill country and the Pacific coast of California. However, history has been relatively kind to this band of ne'er-do-wells. Their crimes may have made headlines for a brief time after the event but the vast majority of these scoundrels are 'unknown' instead of being cloaked in notoriety for their crimes.Auld Scotia rightly basks in the glory of the well-known achievements of other emigrant Scots but there is another side to the coin, the exploits of these unsavory individuals who made their way across the Atlantic, and this book brings them to a certain justice, albeit some time after the events. This is a rollicking good read, comprehensively researched by one of Scotland's most experienced and respected journalists. Everyone loves a good 'baddie' and this book is full of them.

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This book offers a new assessment of early Christianity in south-west Britain from the fourth to the tenth centuries, a rich period which includes the transition from Roman to native British to Saxon models of church. The book will be based on evidence from archaeological excavations, early texts and recent critical scholarship and cover Wessex, Devon and Cornwall.In the south-west, Wessex provides the greatest evidence of Roman Christianity. The fifth-century Dorset villas of Frampton and Hinton St Mary, with their complex baptistery mosaics, indicate the presence of sophisticated Christian house churches. The fact that these two Roman villas are only 15 miles apart suggests a network of small Christian communities in this region. The author uses evidence from St Patrick’s fifth-century ‘Confessions’ to describe how members of a villa house church lived. Wessex was slowly Christianised: in Gloucestershire, the pagan healing sanctuary at Chedworth provides evidence of later use as a Christian baptistery; at Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, a baptistery was dug into the mosaic floor of an imposing villa, which may by then have been owned by a bishop.In Somerset a number of recently excavated sites demonstrate the transition from a pagan temple to a Christian church. Beside the pagan temple at Lamyatt, later female burials suggest, unusually, a small monastic group of women. Wells cathedral grew beside the site of a Roman villa’s funeral chapel. In Street, a large oval enclosure indicates the probable site of a ‘Celtic’ monastery. Early Christian cemeteries have been excavated at Shepton Mallet and elsewhere. Lundy Island, off the Devon coast, provides evidence of a Celtic monastery, with its inscribed stones that commemorate early monks. At Exeter, a Saxon anthology includes numerous riddles, one of which describes in detail the production of an illuminated manuscript in a south-western monastery. Oliver Padel’s meticulous documentation of Cornish place-names has demonstrated that, of all the Celtic regions, Cornwall has by far the highest number of dedications to a single, otherwise unknown individual, typically consisting of a small church and a farm by the sea. These small monastic ‘cells’ have hitherto received little attention as a model of church in early British Christianity, and the latter part of the text focuses on various aspects of this model, as lived out in coastal and in upland settlements, on islands, and in relation to larger Breton monasteries. Study of 60 Breton sites has demonstrated possible connections between larger Breton monasteries and smaller Cornish cells.

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Even after the release of Nelson Mandela and the promise of free elections, extremist groups terrorized South Africa, bombing churches, opening fire in bars and restaurants. Nearly twenty-five years ago, as a young Captain, Vaughn de Vries finds himself in pursuit of the suspects of a fatal bombing in his precinct, under the command of one of the most feared white police officers of the time: Major Kobus Nel. Out of radio communication and without clear evidence, the SAPS barge into a township and set off a chain of events which will resonate for a quarter of a century. In Cape Town in 2015, the heiress of an Apartheid-era industrialist is found murdered, her body posed to suggest a racial hate crime. But, as Colonel Vaughn De Vries investigates, possible motives for her death abound: a highly controversial art exhibition, her sexual preferences, her relationship - as yet unknown by the press - with the son of one of the heroes of The Struggle. And, moving South down through the country, five men are murdered, each with a connection to a point in history De Vries would sooner forget. When the link is made, De Vries must re-live the traumatic event to uncover the perpetrator. Old wounds, hidden in history, are exposed, and a mysterious killer approaches, whom no one seems able to stop.Longlisted for the 2015 Crime Writer's Association Golden Dagger (Crime Novel of the Year)Praise for Paul Mendelson:'Authoritative and unblinkered fare' Financial Times'Once more, South Africa is brought vividly to life in a fine crimer which delivers a warm change from the regular diet of Scandinavian angst' Weekend Sport 'The Serpentine Road has been my discovery of the year. Paul Mendelson has the makings of a literary superstar' Jenny Crwys Williams, Radio 702/Cape Talk 567 'In another superb slice of South African noir, Mendelson illuminates the corruption and criminality that plagues a country still haunted by apartheid. A taut thriller which evokes a unique political and geographic landscape' Cath Staincliffe 'An excellent, uncompromising crime thriller made even better by its setting ... the story is two journeys in one, and I'm glad I took both' Lee Child'A jaw-droppingly brilliant crime thriller. Imagine The Killing moved to Cape Town and into the landscape of the hot and dusty African veld' Philip Glenister'The First Rule of Survival is an incredibly atmospheric, complex and dazzling debut from a thrilling and authentic new voice in crime fiction' Brian McGilloway'An impressive debut' The Times

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Book 3 in the Stoker's Wilde series! Booklist on the first book in this series, Stoker's Wilde: "Pass this volume on to readers who are hungry for more historical stories with a supernatural frame." Science and the supernatural collide in this terrifying tale of witches, reanimated corpses and spirits invading our world from beyond the grave. Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde have returned to their lives in London after their adventures in the American West. Bram is managing a theatre and Oscar is rising to fame and planning his upcoming wedding when they are once again called upon to battle supernatural evil. Grief-crazed scientist Victor Mueller needs Bram’s unusual blood for his mad quest to bring his dead wife back to life, and he’ll resort to kidnapping to get it. Meanwhile, a young medium named Lorna Bow runs fake séances in London under the thumb of an abusive uncle. When her mother Endora returns, Lorna learns the truth: they come from a long line of witches, and soon Endora has awakened Lorna’s dormant powers. When the scientist and the witches combine forces, all Hell breaks loose. Long-dead souls find themselves back in the land of the living, and some of them have scores to settle with our heroes. But as Mueller’s ambition and her mother’s desire for vengeance against the men who imprisoned her become clear, Lorna soon finds herself questioning the morality of their work. Bram and Oscar must team up with American secret agent Cora Chase to protect all they hold dear. Only a mission into the Land of the Dead can stop Mueller and Endora from bringing back more souls. Bram’s wife Florence must call on the monster-fighting skills she honed in America, and even Oscar’s bride Constance has to face new challenges as she learns how the supernatural has shaped her own history. In an adventure that spans continents – and even other worlds – they confront old enemies and unknown dangers. Teaming up with old friends Teddy Roosevelt and Richard Burton and new allies like Arthur Conan Doyle and Nicola Tesla, they too must harness both science and magic to protect our world from intruders from the Land of the Dead. FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress

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WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE AN OPERATION IN JULY AND OTHER LIFESAVING ADVICE! "This book offers practical advice about how to keep yourself free from harm and error in hospitals, and how to assert yourself in cases such as getting stuck with a bad roommate or a rude doctor. Includes chapters on taking children to the hospital and how to be prepared before an emergency." — The Wall Street Journal Hospital Survival Guide: The Patient Handbook to Getting Better and Getting Out is the essential patient handbook to ensure that you and your family emerge from hospital visits healthier than before checking-in and without having to endure excessive stays, pain or indignities. Includes practical tips, warnings and surprising information you doctor might not tell you, such as the fact that July, when the new interns start, is the most dangerous month to have a procedure done at a teaching hospital; EMLA anesthetic cream can be requested to be used on children’s skin, allowing for less painful I.V. starts; and washing off all iodine-based antiseptics thoroughly after surgery can prevent chemical burns. Proven tips for reducing hospital bills are also presented. Dr Sherer will teach you how to: Find the Best Hospital for Your Condition Demand & Receive the Best Care Avoid Unnecessary Pain & Complications Protect Your Health from Human Error Navigate Emergency Room Care Educate Yourself on Your Condition & Your Rights Protect Your Financial Health & Reduce Your Bills Choose Between Bundling Services Versus “Fee for Service” – Pricing/Pros & Cons Work the System to Get What You Need Maximize New and Innovative Ways to Use the Internet for Self-Education Deal with the Impact of Pandemic Emergencies, Natural Disasters and the Opioid Crisis on Your Care Learn More about Artificial Intelligence, Robotic surgery and Using Big Data Decide if “Medicare for All” is Feasible and the Social Determinants on the Allocation of Healthcare And Much Much More! "I recommend this book for everyone, especially people who are undergoing their first operation in a hospital. Being aware of the services offered or not offered in the hospital and learning ways to reduce anxiety can be invaluable throughout one’s hospital stay. For health care providers, the Hospital Survival Guide offers excellent insight into many of the uncertainties that patients face as they enter into the unknown world of the hospital. Even though we hear the alarming statistics every day, the book is a powerful reminder of all of the mistakes that can be made in the course of care and what we all can do to reduce the likelihood of experiencing a medical error ourselves." — P&T® Journal

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Discover hundreds of the most interesting and memorable art experiences from around the world in this stunningly immersive and beautifully illustrated title!Amazing Art Adventures offers us art and culture as an experience both within and beyond the gallery, opening a door to unexpected adventures - art fairs, festivals, installations, art trails, galleries, art islands, monuments, sculpture parks and museums. Aimed at all of us who travel to learn about new places and cultures, the book gathers together hundreds of unforgettable art experiences around the world, acting as an inspirational travel guide for anyone interested in art. From the Lightning Field in New Mexico to an art island in Japan, expert guide Yolanda Zappaterra leads us on a comprehensive, worldwide tour of bucket list destinations for every season. Divided into sections by continent, the book is a thrilling cultural journey, an insider’s guide to the visual arts that suggests different ways to experience art beyond the usual galleries and institutions, leads readers to art in unusual places, creates trails that will give insights into the lives of famous artists as well as putting the spotlight on more interesting and unknown works in well known museums. Through more than 400 entries, plus photographs and maps, the book expands our understanding and appreciation of the world’s art in exciting new ways. Uncover a Chagall masterpiece in a tiny Kentish church Follow a land art map of North America from the Spiral Jetty and Lightning Fields to Seven Magic Mountains and the Star Axis Trip the light fantastic at the Atelier des Lumières in Paris Delight in the sinuous curves of Oscar Niemeyer’s MAC in Rio de Janeiro Lay your head in a very arty bed at the aha Shakaland Hotel & Zulu Cultural Village Be dazzled by recycled ceramics at the Rock Garden of Chandigarh in northern India Exercise body and mind with a walk along London’s Art Line Be blown away by Tacoma’s Museum of Glass Trek into the Brazilian rainforest for art in the jungle at the Inhotim Art Museum Sample big cheeses in Switzerland at Art Basel Cross the Seto Inland Sea to land at the art island of Naoshima in Japan Walk among the gods and monsters of Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tuscan Tarot Garden Commune with a unicorn at the Met Cloisters in New York See the seeds of Africa’s future art scene in a former grain silo at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art in Cape Town Enter a field of light in Uluru, Australia

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From bestselling author Chelsea Sedoti comes the unforgettable story of the one small town's biggest hoax and the two brothers who started it all, perfect for readers who want funny books for teens.This is the absolutely true account of how Lansburg, Pennsylvania was invaded by aliens and the weeks of chaos that followed. There were sightings of UFOs, close encounters, and even abductions. There were believers, Truth Seekers, and, above all, people who looked to the sky and hoped for more. Only…there were no aliens.Gideon Hofstadt knows what really happened. When one of his science experiments went wrong, he and his older brother blamed the resulting explosion on extraterrestrial activity. And their lie was not only believed by their town—it was embraced. As the brothers go to increasingly greater lengths to keep up the ruse and avoid getting caught, the hoax flourishes. But Gideon's obsession with their tale threatens his whole world. Can he find a way to banish the aliens before Lansburg, and his life, are changed forever?Told in a unique report format and comprised of interviews, blog posts, text conversations, found documents, and so much more, It Came from the Sky is a hysterical and resonant novel about what it means to be human in the face of the unknown.A great pick for readers looking for:funny, quirky, and wholly original stories that will stick with youbooks for teen boysalien invasion fictionconversation starters about the meaning of facts and truthteen books for boys ages 13-16gifts for teen girls 16-18Praise for It Came from the Sky:"A page-turner as engrossing as any classic Twilight Zone starring two spirited brothers who run circles around the Hardy Boys."—Ben Philippe, Morris Award-winning author of The Field Guide to the North American Teenager "Well written...Believable characters facing realistic teenage issues coupled with a thematic exploration of wishes, fears, and principles of honesty and ethics will help to keep readers' attention."—School Library Connection "A balanced exploration of maturity, vulnerability, human connection, and our innate desire to believe."—Kirkus Reviews "Sedoti will draw readers in with the outrageous situation and the town's amusing aspects, such as a 63-foot lava lamp, but she truly excels with Gideon-a unique character whose desire for recognition and achievement is universal."—Publishers Weekly "[A] quirky, intelligent novel ... Big questions of morality, cosmic insignificance, and human connection ground this novel even as it ponders the stars."—BooklistAlso by Chelsea Sedoti:The Hundred Lies of Lizzie LovettAs You Wish

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A dramatic archaeological find at Windsor Castle reveals Edward III's 'House of the Round Table', designed to show off Edward's power and prestige at a crucial moment in his attempts to lay claim to the throne of France. The image of King Arthur's Round Table is well-known, both as Thomas Malory's portrayal of a fellowship of knights dedicated to the highest ideals of chivalry, and as the great wooden table at Winchester castle. Now a dramatic archaeological find at Windsor castle sheds new light on the idea of a round table as a gathering: the 'House of the Round Table' which Edward III ordered to be constructed at the conclusion of his Windsor festival of 1344. Thediscovery of the foundation trench of a great building two hundred feet in diameter in the Upper Ward of Windsor castle, allows the reconstruction of that building's appearance and raises the question of its purpose. Chronicles, building materials inventories from the royal accounts, medieval romances, and earlier descriptions of round table festivals all confirm the archaeological evidence: at a time when secular orders of knighthood were almost unknown,Edward declared his intention to found an Order of the Round Table with three hundred knights. This grand building, and the Arthurian entertainments he planned for it, would bind his nobles to his cause at a crucial point in hisprogress to claiming the throne of France. His ambitious scheme, however, was overtaken by events. Victory at Crécy in 1346 confirmed Edward's reputation, and the order which he founded in 1348 was the much more exclusive Order of the Garter, rewarding those commanders who had helped him to win the Crécy campaign. His reputation was assured, the omens for his reign were auspicious; he had the loyalty of his knights and magnates. The Round Table building was abandoned, and eventually pulled down in the 1360s. Thus a major plank in the strategic thinking of one of England's greatest kings almost became a footnote in history. Time Team discovered ... there [are] indeed foundations of a massive round building in Windsor Castle's upper ward. A splendidly produced volume, which gives full credit both to the history and to the archaeology: analysis of the chivalric background, archaeological analysis, discussion of the probable form of the building [and] the early history of Windsor Castle as well as the types of stone used by Edward III's masons. The book is attractively illustrated, and its appendices provide a full text inLatin, with translation, of the building accounts, as well as translations of many of the relevant chronicle extracts. MICHAEL PRESTWICH, THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

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A dramatic archaeological find at Windsor Castle reveals Edward III's 'House of the Round Table', designed to show off Edward's power and prestige at a crucial moment in his attempts to lay claim to the throne of France. NEW LOWER PRICE The image of King Arthur's Round Table is well-known, both as Thomas Malory's portrayal of a fellowship of knights dedicated to the highest ideals of chivalry, and as the great wooden table at Winchester castle. Now a dramatic archaeological find at Windsor castle sheds new light on the idea of a round table as a gathering: the 'House of the Round Table' which Edward III ordered to be constructed at the conclusion of his Windsor festival of 1344. The discovery of the foundation trench of a great building two hundred feet in diameter in the Upper Ward of Windsor castle, allows the reconstruction of that building's appearance and raises the question of itspurpose. Chronicles, building materials inventories from the royal accounts, medieval romances, and earlier descriptions of round table festivals all confirm the archaeological evidence: at a time when secular orders of knighthood were almost unknown, Edward declared his intention to found an Order of the Round Table with three hundred knights. This grand building, and the Arthurian entertainments he planned for it, would bind his nobles to his cause ata crucial point in his progress to claiming the throne of France. His ambitious scheme, however, was overtaken by events. Victory at Crécy in 1346 confirmed Edward's reputation, and the order which he founded in 1348 was themuch more exclusive Order of the Garter, rewarding those commanders who had helped him to win the Crécy campaign. His reputation was assured, the omens for his reign were auspicious; he had the loyalty of his knights and magnates.The Round Table building was abandoned, and eventually pulled down in the 1360s. Thus a major plank in the strategic thinking of one of England's greatest kings almost became a footnote in history. Time Team discovered .there [are] indeed foundations of a massive round building in Windsor Castle's upper ward. A splendidly produced volume, which gives full credit both to the history and to the archaeology: analysis of the chivalric background, archaeological analysis, discussion of the probable form of the building [and] the early history of Windsor Castle as well as the types of stone used by Edward III's masons. The book is attractively illustrated, and its appendicesprovide a full text in Latin, with translation, of the building accounts, as well as translations of many of the relevant chronicle extracts. MICHAEL PRESTWICH, THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

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A rich new novel that explores the true story of A Confederacy Of Dunces and the remarkable life of its author, John Kennedy Toole.I, John Kennedy Toole is the novelized true story of the funny, tragic, riveting narrative behind the making of an American masterpiece. The novel traces Toole’s life in New Orleans through his adolescence, his stay at Columbia University in New York, his attempts to escape the burden of his demanding mother and his weak father, his retreat into a world of his own creation, and finally the invention of astonishing characters that came to living reality for both readers (and the author himself) in his prize-winning A Confederacy of Dunces. The other fascinating (and mostly unknown) part of the story is how after a decade of rebuke and dismissal the novel came to a brilliant author, Walker Percy, and a young publisher, Kent Carroll, who separately rescued the book, then published it with verve and devotion. The novel that almost never came to be went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and continues to sell at a satisfying rate as it winds its way to the 2 million mark. That audience is the happy ending for this brilliant, unrepentant writer, whose only reward before his untimely death was his unending belief in his work and his characters.“This novel tells the real-life story behind A Confederacy of Dunces, the cult classic that won a Pulitzer after Toole, its author, committed suicide. Carroll has a direct link to the material: He is the publisher who brought Toole’s book to light.” — New York Times “A boisterous fictional take on the life and career of author John Kennedy Toole. This love letter to Toole fans offers plenty of insights into the tragic literary figure.” — Publishers Weekly “Likable depiction of an ill-fated American master.” — Kirkus Reviews “The dramatization of publishing-world machinations is as fascinating as Toole’s life.” — Booklist “Every fan of A Confederacy of Dunces has read the Walker Percy foreword. We all thought we knew the story of how John Kennedy Toole’s novel found its way into readers’ hands after the author’s suicide. Boy, did we not know the story. Kent Carroll and Jodee Blanco’s brilliant non-fiction novel gives us the goods, and then some. Illuminating and devastating, triumphant and tragic, I, John Kennedy Toole tells the tale of a dream deferred, of genius ignored.” — David Benioff, New York Times bestselling author of City of Thieves and co-creator of HBO's Game of Thrones

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Who holds the power in financial markets? For many, the answer would probably be the large investment banks, big asset managers, and hedge funds that are often in the media's spotlight. But more and more a new group of sovereign investors, which includes some of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, government pension funds, central bank reserve funds, state-owned enterprises, and other sovereign capital-enabled entities, have emerged to become the most influential capital markets players and investment firms, with $30 trillion in assets under management ("super asset owners"). Their ample resources, preference for lower profile, passive investing, their long-time horizon and adherence to sustainability as well as their need to diversify globally and by sector have helped to transform the investment world and, in particular, private markets for digital companies. They have helped create and sustain an environment that has fostered the rise of the likes of Uber, Alibaba, Spotify and other transformative players in the digital economy, while providing their founders and business models the benefit of long-term capital. Despite this increasingly important impact, sovereign investors remain mostly unknown, often maintaining a low profile in global markets. For the same reason, they’re also among the most widely misunderstood, as many view investments made by sovereign investors as purely driven by political aims. The general perception is that most sovereign investors lack transparency and have questionable governance controls, causing an investee nation to fear exposure to risks of unfair competition, data security, corruption, and non-financially or non-economically motivated investments. The current global tensions around the AI race and tech competition – and now the corona virus pandemic – have exacerbated such misperceptions, spawning controversies around sovereign investors and capital markets, governments, new technologies, cross-border investments, and related laws and regulations. As such, sovereign capital and the global digital economy are undergoing an unprecedented, contentious moment. In short, the emergence of sovereign funds symbolizes a major shift of the world’s economic power. For the first time, investment funds from developing countries are playing with OECD financial giants as equals. Furthermore, their investments into high tech enable them to participate at the cutting-edge of the fourth industrial revolution, challenging traditional innovation powerhouses like the US and Germany. For all stakeholders, from tech unicorns, VC funds, asset managers, financial firms, to policymakers, law firms, academics, and the general public, this is the must-have book to get to know these new venture capitalists and "super asset owners".

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Nearly a century after his wrenching death, the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) remains one of our most enigmatic writers. Believing he could do “more in dreams than Napoleon,” yet haunted by the specter of hereditary madness, Pessoa invented dozens of alter egos, or “heteronyms,” under whose names he wrote in Portuguese, English, and French. Unsurprisingly, this “most multifarious of writers” (Guardian) has long eluded a definitive biographer—but in renowned translator and Pessoa scholar Richard Zenith, he has met his match. Relatively unknown in his lifetime, Pessoa was all but destined for literary oblivion when the arc of his afterlife bent, suddenly and improbably, toward greatness, with the discovery of some 25,000 unpublished papers left in a large, wooden trunk. Drawing on this vast archive of sources as well as on unpublished family letters, and skillfully setting the poet’s life against the nationalist currents of twentieth-century European history, Zenith at last reveals the true depths of Pessoa’s teeming imagination and literary genius. Much as Nobel laureate José Saramago brought a single heteronym to life in The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, Zenith traces the backstories of virtually all of Pessoa’s imagined personalities, demonstrating how they were projections, spin-offs, or metamorphoses of Pessoa himself. A solitary man who had only one, ultimately platonic love affair, Pessoa used his and his heteronyms’ writings to explore questions of sexuality, to obsessively search after spiritual truth, and to try to chart a way forward for a benighted and politically agitated Portugal. Although he preferred the world of his mind, Pessoa was nonetheless a man of the places he inhabited, including not only Lisbon but also turn-of-the-century Durban, South Africa, where he spent nine years as a child. Zenith re-creates the drama of Pessoa’s adolescence—when the first heteronyms emerged—and his bumbling attempts to survive as a translator and publisher. Zenith introduces us, too, to Pessoa’s bohemian circle of friends, and to Ophelia Quieroz, with whom he exchanged numerous love letters. Pessoa reveals in equal force the poet’s unwavering commitment to defending homosexual writers whose books had been banned, as well as his courageous opposition to Salazar, the Portuguese dictator, toward the end of his life. In stunning, magisterial prose, Zenith contextualizes Pessoa’s posthumous literary achievements—especially his most renowned work, The Book of Disquiet. A modern literary masterpiece, Pessoa simultaneously immortalizes the life of a literary maestro and confirms the enduring power of Pessoa’s work to speak prophetically to the disconnectedness of our modern world.

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"The thrilling history of the torso murderer. The tale of the ‘Untouchable’ who got Al Capone but failed to solve his goriest case." —Dan Jones, The Sunday TimesIn the spirit of Devil in the White City comes a true detective tale of the highest standard: the haunting story of Eliot Ness's forgotten final case–his years-long hunt for "The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run," a serial killer who terrorized Cleveland through the Great Depression. “After helping to put Al Capone behind bars, lawman Eliot Ness came to Cleveland, where he did battle with a vicious killer. ... Even Ness was stumped trying to apprehend the ‘torso murderer’ responsible for a series of ghoulish killings. ... The authors have done Ness justice." —Wall Street JournalIn 1934, the nation’s most legendary crime-fighter–fresh from taking on the greatest gangster in American history–arrived in Cleveland, a corrupt and dangerous town about to host a world's fair. It was to be his coronation, as well as the city's. Instead, terror descended, as headless bodies started turning up. The young detective, already battling the mob and crooked cops, found his drive to transform American policing subverted by a menace largely unknown to law enforcement: a serial murderer.Eliot Ness's greatest case had begun. Now, Max Allan Collins and A. Brad Schwartz–the acclaimed writing team behind Scarface and the Untouchable–uncover this lost crime epic, delivering a gripping and unforgettable nonfiction account based on decades of groundbreaking research.Ness had risen to fame in 1931 for leading the “Untouchables,” which helped put Chicago’s Al Capone behind bars. As Cleveland's public safety director, in charge of the police and fire departments, Ness offered a radical new vision for better law enforcement. Crime-ridden and devastated by the Depression, Cleveland was preparing for a star-turn itself: in 1936, it would host the "Great Lakes Exposition," which would be visited by seven million people. Late in the summer of 1934, however, pieces of a woman’s body began washing up on the Lake Erie shore–first her ribs, then part of her backbone, then the lower half of her torso. The body count soon grew to five, then ten, then more, all dismembered in gruesome ways.As Ness zeroed in on a suspect–a doctor tied to a prominent political family–powerful forces thwarted his quest for justice. In this battle between a flawed hero and a twisted monster–by turns horror story, political drama, and detective thriller–Collins and Schwartz find an American tragedy, classic in structure, epic in scope.

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Escape to Rome with this sparkling summer romance!'Art, history, intrigue, travel and romance - this book has it all . . . an immersive and intriguing romance - utterly captivating' SANDY BARKER'I loved, loved, loved this story!! I quite honestly couldn't put it down'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review'A really lovely read - and one I'd certainly recommend to all'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review'An absolutely delightful and heartwarming summer read!'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review 'Loved loved loved this book, a bright summery summer in Rome!'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review'I absolutely loved this book . . . the best of escapist romance'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review'A clever, sweeping, dual-timeline romance that will absolutely keep you guessing! . . . can't wait for more from this talented author'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader reviewKate Harper has always loved the painting that has hung in her parents' dining room for years, never suspecting that it is worth a fortune. When her art dealer boyfriend cheats her family out of the proceeds of the painting's sale, she is left devastated and alone.Kate discovers that two hundred years ago, the girl in the painting, Charlotte Browne, ran off to Rome with the artist who painted her portrait, but her eventual fate is unknown.Hoping to uncover the mystery of what happened to Charlotte, Kate seizes the chance of a summer job in Rome, where she strikes up a friendship with Jamie Taylor, an English artist. As they explore the city and start to piece together the surprising secrets of Charlotte's life, Kate finds herself wondering if a summer in Rome can mend a broken heart... This charming, summery romance is perfect for fans of Sue Moorcroft and Miranda Dickinson.Raves for Lynne Shelby:'A wonderful fresh new talent' Katie Fforde'Delightful!' Jane Wenham-Jones'A genuinely witty and original romance I loved it!' Woman Magazine'A beautiful story that you will not be able to part with, this is a definite must read' NetGalley reviewer'Gold-plated romantic escapism at its finest! . . . A fun, flirty and feel-good romantic read that is simply delightful. An irresistible page-turner sprinkled with humour, warmth, wit and a whole lot of heart . . . pure magic from start to finish' NetGalley reviewer'This book is the perfect summer beach read or to snuggle in under a blanket in winter and dream of Greek Islands and love' NetGalley reviewer

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"He comes as yet unknown into a hamlet of Lower Galilee. He is watched by the cold, hard eyes of peasants living long enough at a subsistence level to know exactly where the line is drawn between poverty and destitution. He looks like a beggar yet his eyes lack the proper cringe, his voice the proper whine, his walk the proper shuffle. He speaks about the rule of God and they listen as much from curiosity as anything else. They know all about rule and power, about kingdom and empire, but they know it in terms of tax and debt, malnutrition and sickness, agrarian oppression and demonic possession. What, they really want to know, can this kingdom of God do for a lame child, a blind parent, a demented soul screaming its tortured isolation among the graves that mark the edges of the village" –– from "The Gospel of Jesus," overture to The Historical Jesus The Historical Jesus reveals the true Jesus––who he was, what he did, what he said. It opens with "The Gospel of Jesus," Crossan's studied determination of Jesus' actual words and actions stripped of any subsequent additions and placed in a capsule account of his life story. The Jesus who emerges is a savvy and courageous Jewish Mediterranean peasant, a radical social revolutionary, with a rhapsodic vision of economic, political, and religious egalitarianism and a social program for creating it. The conventional wisdom of critical historical scholarship has long held that too little is known about the historical Jesus to say definitively much more than that he lived and had a tremendous impact on his followers. "There were always historians who said it could not be done because of historical problems," writes Crossan. "There were always theologians who said it should not be done because of theological objections. And there were always scholars who said the former when they meant the latter.' With this ground–breaking work, John Dominic Crossan emphatically sweeps these notions aside. He demonstrates that Jesus is actually one of the best documented figures in ancient history; the challenge is the complexity of the sources. The vivid portrayal of Jesus that emerges from Crossan's unique methodology combines the complementary disciplines of social anthropology, Greco–Roman history, and the literary analysis of specific pronouncements, anecdotes, confessions and interpretations involving Jesus. All three levels cooperate equally and fully in an effective synthesis that provides the most definitive presentation of the historical Jesus yet attained.

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The triumphant true story of the native Hawaiian cowboys who crossed the Pacific to shock America at the 1908 world rodeo championshipsOregon Book Award winner * An NPR Best Book of the Year * Pacific Northwest Book Award finalist * A Reading the West Book Awards finalist"Groundbreaking. … A must-read. ... An essential addition." —True WestIn August 1908, three unknown riders arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, their hats adorned with wildflowers, to compete in the world’s greatest rodeo. Steer-roping virtuoso Ikua Purdy and his cousins Jack Low and Archie Ka’au’a had travelled 4,200 miles from Hawaii, of all places, to test themselves against the toughest riders in the West. Dismissed by whites, who considered themselves the only true cowboys, the native Hawaiians would astonish the country, returning home champions—and American legends.An unforgettable human drama set against the rough-knuckled frontier, David Wolman and Julian Smith’s Aloha Rodeo unspools the fascinating and little-known true story of the Hawaiian cowboys, or paniolo, whose 1908 adventure upended the conventional history of the American West. What few understood when the three paniolo rode into Cheyenne is that the Hawaiians were no underdogs. They were the product of a deeply engrained cattle culture that was twice as old as that of the Great Plains, for Hawaiians had been chasing cattle over the islands’ rugged volcanic slopes and through thick tropical forests since the late 1700s.Tracing the life story of Purdy and his cousins, Wolman and Smith delve into the dual histories of ranching and cowboys in the islands, and the meteoric rise and sudden fall of Cheyenne, “Holy City of the Cow.” At the turn of the twentieth century, larger-than-life personalities like “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Theodore Roosevelt capitalized on a national obsession with the Wild West and helped transform Cheyenne’s annual Frontier Days celebration into an unparalleled rodeo spectacle, the “Daddy of ‘em All.”The hopes of all Hawaii rode on the three riders’ shoulders during those dusty days in August 1908. The U.S. had forcibly annexed the islands just a decade earlier. The young Hawaiians brought the pride of a people struggling to preserve their cultural identity and anxious about their future under the rule of overlords an ocean away. In Cheyenne, they didn’t just astound the locals; they also overturned simplistic thinking about cattle country, the binary narrative of “cowboys versus Indians,” and the very concept of the Wild West. Blending sport and history, while exploring questions of identity, imperialism, and race, Aloha Rodeo spotlights an overlooked and riveting chapter in the saga of the American West.

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Este devocional de 365 días del querido autor y pastor Dr. Charles Stanley te inspirará para ver cómo Dios transforma nuestros corazones y nuestras vidas cuando confiamos en Él con un futuro desconocido. Confiar en Dios en tiempos difíciles puede ser un reto, pero trabajar para hacer crecer esa confianza día a día nos proporciona una alegría y una paz mayores de las que jamás podríamos encontrar apoyándonos en nuestro propio entendimiento. En Confía en Dios en todo momento, el Dr. Charles Stanley nos anima a creer en el amor de Dios y a descansar en Su propósito para nosotros.Cada entrada de este devocional diario incluye un versículo bíblico, una oración y una enseñanza inspiradora. Página a página, tu alma encontrará descanso al recordar que: No importa lo que ocurra en el mundo o en tu vida, Dios es fiel Puedes liberarte de la ansiedad y descansar en Dios cuando dejes de intentar resolverlo todo por ti mismo Confiar en Dios día a día te lleva al contentamiento y la satisfacción mientras Él endereza tus caminos Confía en Dios en todo momento es un regalo maravilloso para Navidad, Pascua, cumpleaños y graduaciones, o para cualquiera que anhele confiar en Dios más profundamente en un mundo incierto hoy y todos los días.Trusting God With TodayThis 365-day devotional from beloved author and pastor Dr. Charles Stanley will inspire you to see how God transforms our hearts and lives when we trust Him with an unknown future.Trusting God in difficult times can be a challenge, but working to grow that trust day by day brings greater joy and peace than we could ever find leaning on our own understanding. In Trusting God with Today, Dr. Charles Stanley encourages us to believe in God's love and rest in His purpose for us.Each entry in this daily devotional includes a Bible verse, a prayer, and inspirational teaching. Page by page, your soul will find rest as you remember that: No matter what is happening in the world or in your life, God is faithful You can release anxiety and embrace God's rest as you stop trying to figure it all out yourself Trusting God one day at a time leads to contentment and satisfaction as He makes your paths straight Trusting God with Today makes a wonderful gift for Christmas, Easter, birthdays, and graduations, or for anyone who longs to trust God more deeply in an uncertain world today and every day.

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The public's appetite for all things Oprah Winfrey has waned little since her Chicago TV debut in 1983. Known as a self-help guru and the "Queen of All Media," Oprah has been shining light on social issues and encouraging fans to "live your best life" for more than 30 years, revolutionizing her corner of the entertainment industry in the process. Winfrey's unprecedented influence and celebrity often overshadow her indisputable entrepreneurial prowess and business acumen. Even though Oprah has stated that she wouldn't consider herself a businesswoman, her ever-expanding media empire and record-breaking multibillion-dollar fortune say otherwise.Oprah Winfrey: In Her Own Words provides a unique look into the wisdom and thought processes of one of the most adored, respected, and powerful women in the world.Fortune has called O: The Oprah Magazine, now in its 22nd year of publication (now as a digital entity), "the most successful startup ever in the industry." In its infancy, the magazine became a highly profitable addition to the Hearst portfolio, amassing ever-increasing ad sales and a paid circulation larger than industry giants such as Vogue and Martha Stewart Living. Over the last several years, her media holdings and interests have also included an award-winning movie production studio, a satellite radio channel, the cable-TV company Oxygen Media, and the burgeoning OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.Few entrepreneurs have been savvy enough to leverage their resources with the foresight Oprah has demonstrated in her decades-long career. Oprah's key asset, developed over the course of decades, is herself: a brand she controls by shrewdly choosing partnerships and endorsement deals and not kowtowing to convention. At the outset of her career, Oprah decided to start a company rather than take the conventional talent-for-hire path. She, along with a few close executives, took her initial TV success and grew it into a multibillion-dollar media conglomerate, with one woman at the helm. Her influence in the marketplace is unprecedented. Just look at the long-term impact her recommendations and endorsements have had in the fields of consumer products and book publishing, among others.Newly updated and repackaged from its original publication in 2016 as Own It: Oprah Winfrey in Her Own Words, this book collects Oprah’s most insightful quotations, centered around her media career, life lessons, entrepreneurship, and remarkable personal story. Oprah's next venture is unknown, but its success, like her other triumphs, depends on Oprah—and the self-reliance, values, and vision on which she has built her empire.

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For anyone who feels less-than about your work, your worth, your body, or the life you're building, find here an incredible hope: you don't have to have it all together to "qualify" for your life's calling.Just ask Caitlin Crosby, the former Hollywood talent who didn't finish college, never got an MBA, and wasn't supposed to become a CEO--yet that's exactly what she did. Caitlin's passion for people led her to launch The Giving Keys, a give-back jewelry brand with the mission of helping its employees transition out of homelessness. Each of their one million keys sold represents a person who wore it and shared it with someone else, in a unique pay-it-forward model.In You Are the Key, Caitlin opens up about her own secret "flaw" that rocked her sense of self-worth for the better part of two decades and her private battle to believe that our scars are not sources of shame but proof of courage and prompts toward purpose.Through Caitlin's all-too-real stories, sparkling with warmth and humor, you'll find the encouragement you need to: Be brave enough to let yourself fail Reframe your imperfections as signposts guiding you toward your greatest purpose Move forward from past mistakes and build something beautiful As you learn more about Caitlin and her journey, you'll learn that your own path to discovering and developing your purpose won't be a straight line. You'll fall down, and you'll get back up again. But Caitlin's story will remind you that your own imperfections can lead to your greatest purpose--and it all starts today.Praise for You Are the Key:"I've admired Caitlin's generosity and her work with The Giving Keys for years. I'm grateful to know her story. It's a reminder to never allow fear or setbacks to keep us from stepping out into the unknown. Caitlin has shown us that it's often in quiet moments of courage that we discover the things we're passionate about and realize more of who we're meant to be."--Joanna Gaines, cofounder of Magnolia"Caitlin's work in bringing purpose back to the lives of so many speaks for itself. With her as your guide, you will unlock purpose, confidence, and joy beyond what you could ever imagine."--Sarah Jakes Roberts, pastor, bestselling author, and founder of Woman Evolve"Equal parts powerful and personable, You Are the Key tells the story of what is possible when you follow big dreams with big heart."--Maria Shriver, journalist and New York Times bestselling author

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Thomas Brown is an unknown figure of Scottish origin who played a significant role in the onset and development of both world wars in the first half of the 20th century. In the First World War he contributed to the Anglo-German conflict in the Middle East particularly in his switch from UK to German nationality in 1914 by contributing directly to the expansion of German imperialism in the Persian Gulf and Ottoman Empire. His most important role was in providing logistical support to German and Turkish forces in support of the Turkish jihad in November 1914\. Despite his arrest by MI5 as a suspected traitor in 1919,he returned to Germany as a business middleman aided by former political and military colleagues in the Weimar Republic. After promoting German interests in Iran, he was able as a company director to represent German steel manufacturers who bought into the Anglo-Italian British Oil Development Company (BOD) in Iraq. He helped to obtain an oil concession from independent in Iraq in 1932, and used his skills as a negotiator with British, German and Arab speakers to promote a large oil strike and major expansion of the company in 1935. It is here that the German-Italian axis comes to centre-stage. Brown initially rejected Italian approaches to take over the company - exactly when Mussolini was trying to conquer Abyssinia - in favour of support for the UK investors, Lord Glenconner and Sir Percy Hunting. Brown was not fully aware of the manoevering by the Hitler regime since autumn 1933 to promote alliances with Britain, Italy and Japan aganst the USSR and France, which ended in December 1935 with Hitler's preference for Italy. This was accelerated by Gestapo investigations into Italian involvement and Hitler's calculation that it would promote divisions among former allies and decrease German dependence on the world oil economy they dominated. Access to oil was key to military and political success. Brown belately understood that Britain was opposed to permitting Italy and Germany access to to key raw materials. Brown reported directly to Berlin even though he was mistakenly identified as a 'Scottish Jew' but he failed to recognise that Hitler's support for Italy enabled access to Italian oil while maintaining domestic sources of fuel for rearmament of the army and air force. Brown was terminally ill by 1936 but had provided the template for a successful search by the German navy for access to oil, independent of the Anglo-American dominance of the world oil industry.

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Volume 15,3: Architecture, Topography, Finds. Expanding on the publication of the shipsheds and slipways found in the northern half of Group 1 (Area 1) on the eastern side of Zea Harbour in Volume I.1–2 (2011) of the peer-reviewed Ancient Harbours of the Piraeus series, Volume II presents further results of the archaeological investigations conducted by the Zea Harbour Project (ZHP) in 2004-2010 and 2012 of ancient shipsheds and slipways in Zea Harbour (Pashalimani), both identified and possible, making them the best documented structures in Athens’ naval bases and in the wider Mediterranean. Approximately half of Volume II is devoted to the remains of shipsheds and possible shipsheds in the southern half of Group 1 (Area 2), while studies of structures identified as wide unroofed slipways in Group 2 (Area 3) on the south-eastern side of the same harbour basin occupy the balance of the book. After Chapter 1’s introduction to terminology and methodology, Chapter 2 presents the architecture of the shipsheds and possible shipsheds found in the southern half of Group 1 (Area 2), along with the arrangement and topography of this massive naval complex, which in the 4th century BC covered between 11,630 m2 and 11,989 m2. Chapter 3 examines and catalogues the ceramics and other small finds discovered in the same area, discussing their excavation contexts, composition, and chronological significance. Chapter 4 focuses on the architecture and topography of seven wide, unroofed slipways found in Group 2 in the northern part of Area 3 that represent a building type previously unknown in the Piraeus, probably designed either for a larger warship known as the penteres (‘five’), introduced into the Athenian navy between 329/8 BC and 326/5 BC, or for a larger Hellenistic-period warship type. Chapter 5 analyses and catalogues the ceramic small finds recovered during the excavation of the structures featured in Chapter 4. Chapter 6 presents the new evidence regarding relative sea-level change in the harbours of Zea and Mounichia and its impact on the reconstructed lengths and layouts of the slipways and shipsheds at Zea in Group 1 (Areas 1–2) along with the wide slipways of Group 2, including greater accuracy in the recalculated lengths of the Group 1 shipsheds and slipways presented in Volume I; furthermore, it reaffirms the validity of the ZHP’s methodology and published results in relation to shipsheds around the Mediterranean. Chapter 7 recapitulates the authors’ topographical, architectural, and chronological conclusions regarding the complexes at Zea and Mounichia, which contain the only identifiable shipsheds for triremes anywhere in the ancient world. Descriptive catalogues of the Area 2 and 3 quarries and Area 2 trenches (Appendices 1–2), Figures, and Plates complete the volume.

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'This is an important addition to the growing volumes of literature on Chinese intellectual property law. The book provides an excellent selection of essays written by well-known academics and policy makers that sheds light on the process of innovation shaped by national policies and makes readers re-think the role of law in fostering innovation. This is a must read for those who wonder to what extent the stereotypical image of China as the intellectual property norm receiver still holds true.'- Nari Lee, Hanken School of Economics, Finland'This book is jointly created by leading experts from China, Australia, the US, UK and Ireland. Working in academic, governmental and judicial sectors, these authors navigate the topics from the wide realms of law, economics, international relations, government policies, practical issues, industrial fieldworks and comparative studies. The study is very detailed and unique, and presents a fresh, holistic and international study of the contexts and specifics of China's innovation policies, intellectual property strategies and industrial development trends, which as a whole, may remain largely unknown. Western readers who are interested in China's knowledge-based economy should not miss out on this authoritative book.'- Liu Chuntian, President, China Intellectual Property Law Society, Dean of Intellectual Property School, Renmin University of China, BeijingChina is evolving from a manufacturing-based economy to an innovation-based economy, but the delicate context behind this change has not been properly understood by foreign governments, companies and lawyers. This book is an insightful response to ill-conceived notions of, and mis-assumptions regarding, the Chinese innovation economy. It represents an effort to marry a variety of 'insiders' perspectives' from China, with the analysis of international scholars.With contributions from leading authors - including Dr Kong Xiangjun, President of the Intellectual Property Tribunal at the Supreme People's Court of China this book is the first comprehensive response to a highly controversial and largely under-developed field of inquiry. It seeks to unveil and understand the complexities and challenges that confront China's innovation economy, setting out the cultural and historical context, the strategies that form the basis for this evolution, and the measures China has at its disposal to protect intellectual property.The book will be hugely valuable to all those who have interest in China s development, and seek to understand the likely path of China's future economic models and legal reforms. Offering a holistic perspective combining global, domestic and cultural-historical spectrums, it will also prove a key resource for Intellectual property scholars and lawyers.Contributors: Z. Deng, X. Feng, S. Grimes, P.S.Hofman, M. Keane, X. Kong, A. Newman, K.Shao, W. Shi, L. Yang, P.K.Yu, Z. Zhang, D.U. Weike

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Inverse Heat Conduction A comprehensive reference on the field of inverse heat conduction problems (IHCPs), now including advanced topics, numerous practical examples, and downloadable MATLAB codes. The First Edition of the classic book Inverse Heat Conduction: III-Posed Problems, published in 1985, has been used as one of the primary references for researchers and professionals working on IHCPs due to its comprehensive scope and dedication to the topic. The Second Edition of the book is a largely revised version of the First Edition with several all-new chapters and significant enhancement of the previous material. Over the past 30 years, the authors of this Second Edition have collaborated on research projects that form the basis for this book, which can serve as an effective textbook for graduate students and as a reliable reference book for professionals. Examples and problems throughout the text reinforce concepts presented. The Second Edition continues emphasis from the First Edition on linear heat conduction problems with revised presentation of Stolz, Function Specification, and Tikhonov Regularization methods, and expands coverage to include Conjugate Gradient Methods and the Singular Value Decomposition method. The Filter Matrix concept is explained and embraced throughout the presentation and allows any of these solution techniques to be represented in a simple explicit linear form. Two direct approaches suitable for non-linear problems, the Adjoint Method and Kalman Filtering, are presented, as well as an adaptation of the Filter Matrix approach applicable to non-linear heat conduction problems. In the Second Edition of Inverse Heat Conduction: III-Posed Problems, readers will find: A comprehensive literature review of IHCP applications in various fields of engineering Exact solutions to several fundamental problems for direct heat conduction problems, the concept of the computational analytical solution, and approximate solution methods for discrete time steps using superposition of exact solutions which form the basis for the IHCP solutions in the text IHCP solution methods and comparison of many of these approaches through a common suite of test problems Filter matrix form of IHCP solution methods and discussion of using filter-form Tikhonov regularization for solving complex IHCPs in multi-layer domain with temperature-dependent material properties Methods and criteria for selection of the optimal degree of regularization in solution of IHCPs Application of the filter concept for solving two-dimensional transient IHCP problems with multiple unknown heat fluxes Estimating the heat transfer coefficient, h, for lumped capacitance body and bodies with temperature gradients Bias in temperature measurements in the IHCP and correcting for temperature measurement bias Inverse Heat Conduction is a must-have resource on the topic for mechanical, aerospace, chemical, biomedical, or metallurgical engineers who are active in the design and analysis of thermal systems within the fields of manufacturing, aerospace, medical, defense, and instrumentation, as well as researchers in the areas of thermal science and computational heat transfer.

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It is sixty years since the events of October 1962 brought the world close to nuclear catastrophe. The Cuban missile crisis has long been recognised as the moment of greatest danger in the life (and near death) of humanity. In those sixty years, our knowledge and understanding of events have undergone significant change. There are some reasons to be encouraged, inasmuch as we have learned how both President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev sought to avoid nuclear war. More ominously, we have learned of incidents and events that suggest nuclear weapons might have been used by subordinate military commanders, in circumstances frequently unknown to their political leaders. Decisions whether to use nuclear weapons lay in the hands of often junior military commanders, some of whom were perilously close to crossing the nuclear threshold. This does not mean - as often assumed - that if some nuclear weapons were used, escalation to all-out war was inevitable. Yet the undoubted risk of thermonuclear war in these circumstances threatened the very survival of civilisation. Hundreds, if not thousands, of millions of people would have died from immediate and short-term effects, while the longer-term prospect of a 'Nuclear Winter' portended the virtual extinction of humanity. Drawing lessons from sixty years ago faces significant challenges. If we draw lessons only to discover our understanding was mistaken, we might well have drawn the wrong lessons. Many received wisdoms about the crisis have been shown to be misleading. What is striking is how after forty or fifty or even sixty years, new evidence has emerged to challenge previously accepted explanations. It is for the reader to reach their own verdicts on the history of the crisis, and how much we owe to political leaders who averted catastrophe (as well as how their words and deeds helped create the crisis in the first place). It is for the reader to conclude how close we came to nuclear war. Whatever conclusions are reached, one overriding lesson looms large. However we judge the actions of political and military leaders, one factor was crucial in why we avoided nuclear war in 1962. It was luck. In October 1962, humanity was very lucky. Will we be so lucky next time? This book is an outstanding contribution to the ever-growing literature on the truly historic set of events making up the 'Cuban missile crisis'. While experts on the crisis will be familiar with many of the issues confronted, they will discover probably the best-written account of them, will surely learn something new, and be asked to question what they had come to think was settled. - Ken Booth FBA, Distinguished Research Professor, Aberystwyth University

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For more than 80 years H. P. Lovecraft has inspired writers of horror and supernatural fiction with his dark vision of humankind's insignificant place in a vast, uncaring cosmos. At the time of his death in 1937, Lovecraft was virtually unknown, but from early cult status his readership expanded exponentially; his nightmarish visions laying down roots in the collective imagination of his readers. Now this master of the macabre is accepted as part of the literary mainstream, as an American author of note, and the impact of his work on modern popular culture - in literature, film, television, music, the graphic arts, gaming and theatre - has been profound. As Stephen King wrote in Danse Macabre, the shadow of H. P. Lovecraft 'underlies almost all of the important horror fiction that has come since.'Today, Lovecraft's themes of cosmic indifference, the utter insignificance of humankind, minds invaded by the alien, and the horrors of history remain not only viable motifs for modern speculative fiction, but are more relevant than ever as we explore the mysteries of a universe in which our planet is infinitesimal.This outstanding anthology of original stories - from both established award-winning authors and exciting new voices - collects tales of cosmic horror inspired by Lovecraft from authors who do not merely imitate, but reimagine, re-energize, and renew the best of his concepts in ways relevant to today's readers, to create fresh new fiction that explores our modern fears and nightmares. From the depths of R'lyeh to the heights of the Mountains of Madness, some of today's best weird fiction writers traverse terrain created by Lovecraft and create new eldritch geographies to explore . . .With stories by: Laird Barron, Nadia Bulkin, Amanda Downum, Ruthanna Emrys, Richard Gavin, Lois H. Gresh, Lisa L. Hannett, Brian Hodge, Caitlín R. Kiernan, John Langan, Yoon Ha Lee, Usman T. Malik, Helen Marshall, Silvia Moreno, Norman Partridge, W. H. Pugmire, Veronica Schanoes, Michael Shea, John Shirley, Simon Strantzas, Sandra McDonald, Damien Angelica Walters, Don Webb, Michael Wehunt and A.C. Wise Praise for the editor:'For fans of Lovecraftian fiction and well-wrought horror' - Library Journal'Guran smartly selects stories that evoke the spirit of Lovecraft's work without mimicking its style.' - Publishers Weekly'It's a pretty impressive line-up, with nary a clunker to be found. . . . You don't have to be a Lovecraft fan to enjoy this anthology... You'll find alienation, inhumanity, desperation, cruelty, insanity, hopelessness and despair, all set against the backdrop of a vast, unknowable universe filled with vile, indifferent monstrosities. You'll also find beauty, hope, redemption, and the struggle for survival. What more can you ask for?' - Tor.com'I highly recommend this collection... If you have even the slightest interest in contemporary horror fiction, you'll want to try this one on for size!' - BookGuide

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A charming children's encyclopedia for little learners who love exciting journeys and incredible discoveries. The world is so much bigger than young minds can fathom and there is always more to learn. My Encyclopedia of Very Important Adventures is a vibrant encyclopedia for curious 5-9 year olds with an exciting introduction to the awe-inspiring adventures of eager explorers, dynamic daredevils, imaginative inventors and other pioneers who shaped the world. Combining fun facts with charming illustrations, young readers can take a dive into the unknown and go on a daring journey across land, sea and sky, as they explore the highest mountains, the deepest oceans and everything in between. Celebrate your child's curiosity as they travel through time to visit the workshops, labs and studios of history's most important minds, whilst the read about the pioneers who dared to go where nobody had ever been before! My Encyclopedia of Very Important Adventures is bursting with all sorts of subjects that early readers will love!From scientists and inventors to builders and thinkers, this adventure book is perfect for curious little kids with a thirst for knowledge. Mixing photography and colourful illustrations, kids will discover important facts about the world's most renowned explorers, pioneers, risk-takers and more. My Encyclopedia of Very Important Adventures is a friendly book that gets children learning, reading, and laughing too! Celebrate your child's curiosity as they:- Read fun facts about a variety of different people who shaped the world- Learn all about archeologists, scientists and more who made mind-boggling discoveries- Discover a unique approach to the subject that focuses primarily on events Our encyclopedia for children is the perfect blend of engaging and striking photography with lively text. Encourage early learners to go on a journey into the animal kingdom to explore a world of information, making this the ideal first reference book for kids aged 5-9 to enjoy for hours on end, whether for shared reading at bedtime or reading alone, this fun fact book for children also doubles up as the perfect gift for curious kids who love to learn. Tell the story of the world one page at a time, by uncovering: - Educational content written in a friendly and fun manner - Beautifully padded cover with several high-quality finishes, including padding and foil- Features a built-in ribbon bookmark so you never lose your place whilst reading More in the SeriesMy Encyclopedia of Very Important Adventures is part of the educational kid's book series My Very Encyclopedia series. Complete the series and nurture your child's curiosity of the animal kingdom with My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals, teach them about different sports with My Encyclopedia of Very Important Sport, or let them walk with the dinosaurs who ruled the earth before them in My Encyclopedia of Very Important Dinosaurs.

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A captivating portrait of futurist artist Iliazd infused with the reflections of his accidental biographer on the stickiness of the genre.The poet Ilia Zdanevich, known in his professional life as Iliazd, began his career in the pre-Revolutionary artistic circles of Russian futurism. By the end of his life, he was the publisher of deluxe limited edition books in Paris. The recent subject of major exhibitions in Moscow, his native Tbilisi, New York, and other venues, the work of Iliazd has been prized by bibliophiles and collectors for its exquisite book design and innovative typography. Iliazd collaborated with many major figures of modern art—Pablo Picasso, Sonia Delaunay, Max Ernst, Joán Miro, Natalia Goncharova, and Mikhail Larionov, among others. His 1949 anthology, The Poetry of Unknown Words, was the first international anthology of experimental visual and sound poetry ever published. The list of contributors is a veritable "Who's Who" of avant-garde writing and visual art. And Iliazd's unique hands-on engagement with book production and design makes him the ideal case study for considering the book as a modern art form. Iliazd is the first full-length biography of the poet-publisher, as well as the first comprehensive English-language study of his life and work. Johanna Drucker weaves two stories together: the history of Iliazd's work as a modern artist and poet, and the narrative of the author's encounter with his widow and other figures in the process of researching his biography. Drucker's reflection on what a biographical project entails addresses questions about the relationship between documentary evidence and narrative, between contemporary witnesses and retrospective accounts. Ultimately, Drucker asks how we should understand the connection between the life of an artist and their work. Enriched with photographs from the Iliazd archive and a wealth of primary documents, the book is a vivid account of a unique contributor to modernism—and to the way we continue to reevaluate the history of twentieth-century culture. Accounts of Drucker's research during the mid-1980s in the personal archive of Madame Hélène Zdanevich, the poet's widow, lend the narrative an incredible intimacy. Drucker recounts how, sitting in the studio that Iliazd occupied from the late 1930s until his death in 1975, she was drawn into the circle of scholars who had made him their focus and were doing foundational work on his significance. She also coped with the difference between the widow's view of the artist as a man she loved and Drucker's own perception of Iliazd's significance within a critical approach to history. Iliazd is at once a rich study of a significant figure and a thoughtful reflection on the way a biography creates an encounter with its always absent subject.

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