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The DC Icons Series has finally arrived bringing Batman: Nightwalker, Wonder Woman: Warbringer, and Catwoman: Soulstealer in one box set! BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER This dark and twisty BATMAN in the blockbuster DC Icons series is an action-packed thrill ride from #1 New York Times bestselling author MARIE LU. Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy. The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list. Bruce is turning eighteen and inheriting his family s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Industries and all the tech gadgetry that he could ever desire. But on the way home from his birthday party, he makes an impulsive choice that leads to community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison. There, he meets Madeleine Wallace, a brilliant killer with ties to the Nightwalkers. A girl who will speak only to Bruce. She is the mystery he must unravel, but is he convincing her to divulge her secrets or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce Wayne is proof that you don t need superpowers to be a super hero, but can he survive Madeleine s tense game of intrigue and deception? WONDER WOMAN: WARBRINGER She will become one of the world's greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Leigh Bardugo, this graphic novel adaptation brings to life Diana's first adventure beyond the hidden shores of Themyscira. Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law risking exile to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world. Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn't know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies mortal and divine determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war. CATWOMAN: SOULSTEALER Sarah J. Maas's young adult novel is adapted as a graphic novel by comics legend Louise Simonson and artist Samantha Dodge! It's been two years since Selina Kyle last set eyes on Gotham City...and now that Batman is gone, Selina is back! Or at least, Holly Vanderhees is. As Gotham's newest socialite, she'll put her old talent for picking pockets to new use while rubbing shoulders with the city's finest citizens. But her past is catching up to her, and she is running out of time... Luke Fox has been looking for just the right opportunity to show Batman he can protect the city from Gotham's worst as Batwing. When several high-profile fundraisers are disturbed, Luke's clandestine activities clash with his parents' expectations. As a scion of one of Gotham's finest families, he's expected to attend these events with pride. As Batwing, he's trying to stop a new team of villains from ruining his mother's plans. Now he feels permanently one step behind... Will Selina have what it takes to outsmart Batwing before it's too late? Or will she be the final victim of her greatest heist yet?

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It’s never been more challenging to manage behavior and motivate students in a physical activity setting. There are more at-risk children and students with disabilities to manage. Physical activity professionals also face the unique challenge of providing instruction to large groups with limited resources and distractions galore. If not handled correctly, these challenges can quickly add up to chaos, ineffective instruction, and frustrated, burnt-out physical activity professionals. That’s where the third edition of Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity Settings, Third Edition comes in. This resource will help you not only overcome those and other discipline challenges, but also use tried-and-true, positive techniques to develop appropriate and responsible behaviors and good character among all learners. This new edition incorporates principles, methods, and instructional practices from psychology, special education, pedagogy, recreation, athletics, and coaching. It shows teachers, coaches, and recreation leaders how to apply the principles that have proven effective in schools, youth sport programs, and recreation sites. Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity Settings offers this new material: • A new chapter on bullying, providing up-to-date information to help you recognize and manage such behavior within your group • A new chapter on children with special needs, including autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and behavioral/emotional disabilities • A new chapter on behavior management ethics and professionalism, to help those who are preparing to be physical activity professionals at the pre-service and in-service levels • New sections on motivating children who are overweight or obese, using the latest research to help you to encourage them to participate Also new to this edition are an instructor guide and a web resource. The instructor guide offers different sample syllabi, showing various ways to teach the course; sample assignments; answers to chapter review questions; suggested further readings; and useful websites and apps. The web resource supplies behavior management scenarios, sample forms (checklists, rubrics, certificates, worksheets) from the chapters, instructions for designing an Applied Behavior Analysis graph and a trifold display, useful websites and apps, and a glossary by chapter. This text provides you with evidence-based strategies in managing special needs populations, including designing a positive behavioral support (PBS) model and a behavioral intervention plan (BIP), as well as information on response to intervention (RTI). The authors have added a fourth section to this new edition. Part I details the challenges that professionals face in developing a positive learning environment, and shows readers how to be proactive in doing so. Part II outlines the interventions that physical activity professionals have successfully used in a variety of settings. This part includes chapters that discuss behavioral, humanistic, and biophysical approaches. The final chapter in this section addresses how to evaluate the behavior intervention. Part III explores behavior management with various populations, and offers the new chapters on bullying and on special needs children. In part IV, the authors discuss ethical and professional behavior of physical activity professionals relative to the application of behavior management techniques used with children and youth with a focus on professionalism. The final chapter will synthesize the information presented in this text and assist the reader to take the appropriate steps needed to develop a working, teaching, and behavior management portfolio. GUIDANCE TO MOTIVATE CHILDREN Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity offers current and future K-12 physical educators, coaches, recreation specialists, and adapted physical education specialists guidance in motivating young people. You will learn how to manage behavior and create a physical activity environment that is conducive to performance and learning—and that is designed to empower children rather than control their behavior.

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It is 1968, the Cold War is raging, and the United States is bogged down fighting the “Communists” in Vietnam. The Berlin Wall is the symbol of a world cut in half, a punitive wall, isolating the Soviet republics that then formed the USSR. In the spring of 1968, the Czechoslovakian Communist Party experimented with "socialism with a human face"—known then as the “Prague Spring.” Suddenly there was freedom of the Press; an end to arbitrary wiretaps; and citizens regained the right to travel without prior authorizations and visas. The borders opened to the West, consumer goods appeared in the stores---and the winds of freedom blew over the country. That summer, Alexander and Anna boarded their Skoda Felicia, a brand-new convertible, to join their daughter Petra in Bratislava, where she had just completed her brilliant medical studies. Tereza, the daughter of a railway worker who survived the concentration camps and a Pravda editor who had long taken in Hungarian refugees from 1956, stayed in a kibbutz in Israel to reconnect with her Jewish culture. Józef, a pastor defrocked for refusing to denounce parishioners to the Party, delivered his first uncensored sermons on the radio. Then, suddenly, on the nights of August 20-21, Soviet tanks invaded Prague to put an end to this brief liberalization experiment. For a few hours, the border with Austria would remain open. Vienna was an hour's train away. Everyone now must make a choice: leave or stay? Fleeing violence or resisting the oppressor? Faced with the invasion of our country by an overmatched foreign power, what would we do? Viliam Klimacek’s historical novel looks back at these major events in Czechoslovakian history. Celebrating the identity of a people, its folklore, its beauty, and its vitality, he makes this novel personal and real by focusing on the story of ten people enmeshed in this difficult moment in history. By telling the human stories of the Czech diaspora, Klimacek reveals the impact of these rapidly moving events on his characters and the lives of their families (based on real people whose names have been changed). Through Tereza, Petra, Józef, Sena (Alexander), Anna and Erika, he tells us about the lives of these (extra)ordinary people—their lives in Czechoslovakia, Their decisions to leave, their flight, their families torn apart and separated, the abandonment of all that they possessed for unknown elsewhere, their perilous journeys, their arrival in a new country, their reception and integration in a new country. The novel describes the vicissitudes and hopes of newcomers, mainly in Canada, the United States, Austria, England, and Israel, who face obstacles—learning a new language, encountering red tape with registration, validating their diplomas and finding a job and housing. They quickly realize—depending on their own situation that many will never see or visit the families they left behind in Czechoslovakia. The experiences that Klimacek’s characters face, endure and overcome we all know will be repeated for untold millions again and again as people around the world flee intolerance, war, calamities in weather and other disaster in our contemporary age. Constructing his stories on very real testimonies, Klimacek’s novel is simultaneously a hymn to tolerance, to acceptance of others, and to the need to support and help the weakest or the poorest. It leads us all to ask ourselves questions, to reflect and perhaps, with a little goodwill, to see certain things differently. While the story is at time dark, it is also full of hope. You may know someone in your own community whose experiences are mirrored in this novel and through your reading you may now appreciate their unbending spirit and desire for freedom and well being for themselves and their families.

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Distillation of Sound focuses on the original music of Jamaica and how, through dub reggae, Jamaican culture was expanded and shifted. It will further the discussion on dub music, its importance to Jamaican culture, and its influence on the rest of the world. Dub music in Jamaica started in the early 1970s and by the end of the decade had influenced an entire population. The music began to use the rhythm track of a song as a song itself and spread quickly throughout the sound systems of the island. The importance of dub music and its influence on the music world frames the discussions in this new book. How dub travelled and distilled to three places in the world is covered in chapters focussing on the rise and spread of dub in New York City, in England and in Japan. Abbey discusses the separation between dub as a product and dub as an act of the engineer. Codifying these two elements, and tracing them, will allow for a more definitive approach to the culture and music of dub. To define it, and its surrounding elements, five of the first albums produced in the genre are discussed in three parameters that help to define and set up the culture of dub music. The albums discussed are Java, Java, Java, Java (Impact All Stars), Aquarius Dub (Herman Chin Loy), Blackboard Jungle Dub (Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry), The Message Dubwise (Prince Buster), King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (Augustus Pablo). From the Preface: ‘Jamaican music has always been about creating with what is at hand. Taking what is around you and making it into something great is the key to dub and Jamaican culture. This attitude is what this project is about. There is not enough written on the music that has inspired and influenced so many people around the world and this is an addition to the conversation. Dub music fixates on the engineer as a musician and, in doing so, allows for the creator to interact with echnology. Through this, the mixing board and other electronic elements become musical instruments. Now, these technologies are dominant in contemporary music and allow for people to easily create in their own homes. Without the engineers and musicians in the following work, these changes and shifts in technology and music would not have occurred. Dub is also a refiguring of already existing music. What this demonstrates is that music is ever evolving and can be shifted through technology. It also suggests that recorded music can always be modified and expanded upon. In our contemporary world, this modification is seen every day online and in people’s daily lives. Dub created a way to view these changes through music. The influence of technology in the development of culture is the key to this work and to our development in society. How technology can be modified, changed, and evolved through the interaction of the engineer is the focus of this project. This work will further the importance of dub music and culture in our society. The definition and distinction between version and dub is also an important element in the following work. Jamaican music needs to be discussed more for its influence and creative force in the entirety of the music world. The author is a professional musician with the groups J. Navarro & the Traitors, Detroit Riddim Crew, and 1592 and a producer of dub, reggae and ska, and a professor of English and literature at Oakland Community College in Michigan, USA. Genuine popular and academic appeal. Will appeal to students and scholars of music and Jamaican culture – and to academic libraries. Has genuine popular appeal to those with an interest in Jamaican culture and music.

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The triumphs and tragedies of growing up as the son of a famous Beat artistTOSH is a memoir of growing up as the son of an enigmatic, much-admired, hermetic, and ruthlessly bohemian artist during the waning years of the Beat Generation and the heyday of hippie counterculture. A critical figure in the history of postwar American culture, Tosh Berman's father, Wallace Berman, was known as the "father of assemblage art," and was the creator of the legendary mail-art publication Semina. Wallace Berman and his wife, famed beauty and artist's muse Shirley Berman, raised Tosh between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and their home life was a heady atmosphere of art, music, and literature, with local and international luminaries regularly passing through.Tosh's unconventional childhood and peculiar journey to adulthood features an array of famous characters, from George Herms and Marcel Duchamp, to Michael McClure and William S. Burroughs, to Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell, to the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and Toni Basil.TOSH takes an unflinching look at the triumphs and tragedies of his unusual upbringing by an artistic genius with all-too-human frailties, against a backdrop that includes The T.A.M.I. Show, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Easy Rider, and more. With a preface by actress/writer Amber Tamblyn (daughter of Wallace's friend, actor Russ Tamblyn), TOSH is a self-portrait taken at the crossroads of popular culture and the avant-garde. The index of names included represents a who's who of midcentury American—and international—culture.Praise for Tosh:"Tosh Berman's sweet and affecting memoir provides an intimate glimpse of his father, Wallace, and the exciting, seat-of-the-pants LA art scene of the 1960s, and it also speaks to the hearts of current and former lonely teenagers everywhere."--Luc Sante, author of The Other Paris"This is the story of a kid growing up inside of art world history, retelling his upbringing warts and all. A well-written, fast-moving book that is candid, funny, often disturbing, and never dull."--Gillian McCain, co-author of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk"TOSH is a delightfully entertaining memoir filled with sly wit and a profound personal perspective."--John Zorn, composer"One could not wish for a better guide into the subterranean and bohemian worlds of the California art/Beat scene than Tosh Berman, only scion of the great Wallace. Tosh has a sly wit and an informed eye, he is both erudite and neurotic, and often hilarious."--John Taylor, Duran Duran"There's the life—and then there's the life. With TOSH you can have both. My life, and that of many who sailed with me, was formed by the 40's & 50's. TOSH takes you there."--Andrew Loog Oldham, producer/manager, The Rolling Stones "As the son of artist Wallace Berman, Tosh Berman had a front row seat for the beat parade of the '50s, and the hippie extravaganza of the '60s. It was an exotic, star-studded childhood, but having groovy parents doesn't insulate one from the challenge of forging one's own identity in the world. Berman's successful effort to do that provides the heart and soul of this movingly candid chronicle of growing up bohemian."--Kristine McKenna, co-author of Room to Dream by David Lynch "This is a beautifully written memoir, and I highly recommend it to those who are interested in the Sixties, Topanga Canyon, the Southern California art scene, and for those who wonder what it might mean to grow up as the son of one of our most acclaimed artists."--Lisa See, author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

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This book explores a range of prospective avenues, models, and operational and strategic approaches to Lean Six Sigma (LSS), a contemporary Continuous Improvement (CI) practice for achieving a quality-based competitive edge in organisations. Lean Six Sigma project case studies from banking organizations help to illustrate the operational dimensions of LSS, while the case-specific and cross-case analyses presented here demonstrate its strategic value. While the case data used to arrive at the findings come from the Banking firms, it allows generalizability beyond the Banking and Financial Services sector. The book contends that LSS is not merely a CI practice, but a higher-order organizational capability, more precisely a dynamic capability, that allows firms to gain a competitive edge based on quality. Addressing the interests of practitioners and researchers alike, the book strikes a balance between theory and practice. For practitioners, it offers guidance on using LSS to gain a competitive advantage, and on evidence-based practice in quality management and operational excellence. For researchers, it presents a wealth of literature and expands the body of knowledge on quality management. Accordingly, the book is of immense value to both practitioners and researchers, helping the former unlock the value of LSS as both an operational and strategic resource, and highlighting potential research directions and applications for the latter.“This book provides a deep understanding of Lean Six Sigma applications. It inspires by transferring the principles of the concept into uncommon areas of operations and management behind the usual quality and project management. While reading the book I got hit by a great idea of applying Lean Six Sigma in my digital business as well. My impression at the end of the book was that sky is the limit for the right employment of Lean Six Sigma, especially while viewing it from a dynamic capabilities’ lens. Readers of this book will surely receive insights for improving their business processes both operationally and strategically. Although the book is focused on banking, it is actually suitable for a really wide audience. This is a brilliant piece of research as a book that will serve as a guide for transformation by the prism of Lean Six Sigma.” - Professor. Dr. ZornitsaYordanova, Chief Assistant Professor of Innovation Management, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria “Lean Six Sigma needs to be understood from a systems perspective and there exists a huge knowledge gap in this area of finding holistic solutions to business problems. This book is a very welcome work that addresses this call. It integrates quality management resources and dynamic capabilities view towards practice. Banking and Financial Services was aptly chosen as it has the most direct applicability for social enterprises. Anyone interested in creating more impact with less will surely benefit from reading the book” -Alex Abraham, Chief Executive Officer, Lean Success Partners, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada “The book is a refreshing booster to the world of Quality Management especially in the context of Banking and Financial Services. Concepts and terms like “Rapidness of Lean & robustness of Six Sigma to solve operational problems” “Hybrid methodology” resonate very well with what we do in the industry today. Another interesting fact about the book is applying “Dynamic Capabilities approach” to Quality Management, that sets a fresh Quality Oven and ensures this book is definitely a good investment of authors’ intellect.Best part – Even if a reader is new to the world of Quality,this book will be appropriate and resonating. For Researchers and Practitioners, both being leaders orfresh entrants, this book stands out to be a must-read, as it demonstrates the success of the Lean Six Sigma methodology via case studies and practical applications.” -Udit Salvan, Director, Global Transformation & Engineering Network,An American Multinational Financial Services Corporation, New York, USA

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When you hear her story, will you believe her?Rose Marlowe is a hard-working nurse, a loving wife, and a merciless killer. Or so she says. Despite her confession, it is hard to believe that this beautiful, kind woman could have killed her vulnerable patient in cold blood.Down-on-his-luck true crime author, Theo Hazel, is convinced that there’s more to what happened than Rose is telling, and so decides to visit her behind bars to write her story. His first surprise comes when Rose reveals that the victim was not a stranger to her.As time goes on, it seems that Rose is letting Theo see behind her perfect mask. With each new visit, he learns terrible new things about her heart-breaking past. With each new visit, he becomes more and more convinced that she can’t be a killer. But is he trying to free an innocent woman, or falling prey to a calculating murderer?A gripping and unputdownable thriller that will keep you guessing into the early hours of the morning. Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient, Shari Lapena and JP Delaney.What everyone is saying about The Nurse:‘A clever, pitch-perfect read’ Jenny O’Brien, author of Silent Cry, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Wow what a read!… I was glued to the pages… Another stay up all night read! The idea for this story I found to be fresh, its execution first-class and its characterisation second to none. The Nurse is dark, compelling, compulsive, twisty and will have you addicted from beginning to end as you race to see how it all will unfold… A must read for 2021.’ Once Upon a Time Book Reviews, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Will stay with you long after the final page' S.E. Lynes, author of The Housewarming‘Among the best of the psychological thrillers that I have read… The author has smashed it out of the park… A fresh plot and so gripping throughout… There really was no putting this book down unless I absolutely had to.’ Beyond the Books, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘I finished The Nurse last week and can’t stop thinking about it’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Took me completely by surprise!’ Karen King, author of The Stranger in my Bed, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Haunting, spine-tingling, edge-of-your-seat reading!’ Noelle Holten, author of the DC Maggie Jamieson series‘I absolutely inhaled this book. Read it in two days and obsessed about it when I wasn't reading it. SO gripping and twisty, I couldn't put it down… Highly recommend! Go and read it!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘One of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time!’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘It was impossible to put the book down’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Took my breath away!’ Jane Isaac, author of the DCI Helen Lavery series‘You just want to devour the book in one sitting’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘An easy five-star read for me!’ J.M. Hewitt, author of The Night Caller, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Didn’t want it to end… Really packs a punch.’ Amanda Robson, author of Obsession‘Kept me on my toes throughout’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Satisfyingly twisty’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Filled with intriguing characters and surprising twists’ M. M. DeLuca, author of The Secret Sister, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Utterly compelling and absorbing’ Jo Jakeman, author of Safe House‘Clever and intriguing’ Emma Haughton, author of Now You See Me, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Twists and turns right up to the end’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️‘Thrilling and chilling’ Margaret Kirk, author of Shadow Man

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From Sarah Kieffer, the beloved baker behind the bestselling 100 Cookies and Baking for the Holidays, and the popular Vanilla Bean Blog, here are 100 recipes for perfect starts to the day. One hundred morning treats to start your day with smiles: These baking projects will bring delight to your family breakfast, a Sunday brunch or bake sale, a morning at the office, or kids' soccer practice. Whatever your preference alongside your morning cup of coffee or tea-sweet or savory, buttery or flaky, hot off the griddle or taken to go-you'll find a recipe for it here, from coffee cakes to danishes, doughnuts, scones, quick breads, quiches, and muffins galore! Filled with more than 120 inspiring photographs, including how-tos for doughs and shaping, and instructions for prepping the night before and baking in the morning, 100 Morning Treats is truly a cookbook for all bakers and a must-have for lovers of 100 Cookies and Sarah's inventive recipes. ACCOMPLISHED AUTHOR: Sarah Kieffer is the beloved blogger behind The Vanilla Bean Blog, past winner of Saveur Reader's Choice Best Baking & Desserts Blog. Her pan-banging cookie technique went viral on the New York Times website. The author of three cookbooks, she has been featured by Food52, The Today Show, Mashable, The Kitchn, America's Test Kitchen, Huffington Post, and more. Sarah also has international reach, having worked with brands like Le Creuset, Betty Crocker, Lodge, Mauviel 1830, Nordicware, Icelandic Provisions, Valrhona, Kerrygold, and more. DELICIOUS SUCCESS: With more than 130,000 copies sold, 100 Cookies is a resounding success, and the seasonal follow-up, Baking for the Holidays, is beloved by bakers nationwide. 100 Morning Treats returns to another year-round baking book with a variety of accessible, reliable, delicious recipes for a wide range of home cooks. Praise for Sarah's previous books: 100 Cookies: Sarah Kieffer is the one who broke the Internet with her pan-banging cookies, large, chocolate-rich, and rippled like sandbars. And this book offers plenty of bangers, with a whole chapter of crinkly treats for those who like to make some noise on the way to dessert. Baking them all could be your winter challenge." -The Boston Globe "Kieffer's book is a baker's baking book, but it's also completely unpretentious. There are cookies for when you just want a good cookie, and more ambitious recipes for when you want to attempt palmiers or break out a culinary torch." - Food & Wine Baking for the Holidays : "In this cheerful collection, Kieffer, founder of The Vanilla Bean Blog, shares dozens of sweet recipes perfect for the holiday season. . . . Avid holiday bakers should put this on their wish list." - Publishers Weekly SARAH IS KNOWN FOR MORNING BAKES: Sarah got her start baking morning treats in the coffee shops in which she worked. Her very first cookbook, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book, had an entire chapter on morning baking that was well received and well loved. Her readers have been asking for this very book-and now here it is! GREAT GIFT: With anyone-can-do-it recipes, this is a perfect anytime gift (birthday, Valentine's Day, Easter, housewarming, etc.) alongside a cute apron or baking product. Package this book together with 100 Cookies and Baking for the Holidays to create an adorable 3-in-1 set for a lucky baker in your life. Perfect for: Home bakers of all levels Fans of Sarah Kieffer's blog, Instagram, or previous cookbooks Owners of Dorie's Cookies, Dessert Person, Snacking Cakes, or Pastry Love Early birds who like to bake Shoppers looking for a hostess or housewarming gift for bakers and breakfast lovers

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'Immaculately constructed, acidly observed and gripping from start to finish, A Burning is a brilliant debut.' The Guardian ‘Megha Majumdar’s A Burning is an uncanny debut, a fierce condemnation of modern India - the corruption, racism, misogyny, the feverish obsession with celebrity – this is the antithesis of shrill. The author, although still in her early thirties, has the composure of a mature artist, and has produced a political novel that makes its wider points through the subtle, intimate exploration of three characters’ lives.’ Sunday Times ‘This is a short, sharp shock of a novel that shows us how easy it is to rally a mob, to kill a Muslim woman and to silence a whole community. These are things we all know on paper, but the power of a great novelist – and Majumdar has a Dickensian flair and scope – is to transform what we simply know into something we can feel. What a treat to start the year with a talent as fresh as this’ – The Times 'A big hit in America last year, this buzzy debut about the impact of a terrorist attack in a Kolkata slum on three connected characters is full of hot-button global topics, including violent nationalism.' Metro ‘Powerful. […] Majumdar’s page-turning thriller seeks to open our eyes to the role of persecution in populist politics’ – Mail on Sunday ‘An evocative insight into class, corruption, injustice and power dynamics, this poignant tale makes for memorable reading’Cosmopolitan ‘Majumdar conjures up three notably effervescent, intense voices’​ Daily Telegraph ‘Astonishing […] a novel of exceptional vision and craft. It offers a memorable portrait of Kolkata, a deeply moving human story, and provocative reflections on our times’ Times Literary Supplement ‘Melding political thriller with dreamy bildungsroman, this searing debut follows three characters in the aftermath of a devastating terrorattack. […] An unflinching take on corruption and its consequences’ i Newspaper'A brilliant character study about politics and power, this assured debut moves at a thriller's pace but with a meticulous eye for detail.' Nikesh Shukla 'A Burning is a political thriller so charged and tense, it will keep you reading after lights out.' Red Magazine A girl walks through the slums of Kolkata holding an armful of books. She returns home smelling of smoke, and checks her most prized possession: a brand-new smartphone, purchased in instalments. On Facebook, there is only one conversation. #KolabaganTrainAttack On the small, glowing screen, she types a dangerous thing… ‘If the police didn’t help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn’t that mean that the government is also a terrorist?’ Set in contemporary India, A Burning is the story of three unforgettable characters, all dreaming of a better future, whose lives are changed for ever when they become caught up in the devastating aftermath of a terrorist attack. Jivan – a poor, young, Muslim girl, who dreams of going to college – faces a possible death sentence after being accused of collaborating with the terrorists.Lovely – an exuberant hijra who longs to be a Bollywood star – holds the alibi that can set Jivan free, but telling the truth will cost her everything she holds dear.PT Sir – an opportunistic gym teacher who once taught Jivan – becomes involved with Hindu nationalist politics and his own ascent is soon inextricably linked to Jivan’s fall. Taut, propulsive and electrifying, from its opening lines to its astonishing finale, A Burning confronts issues of class, fate, prejudice and corruption with a Dickensian sense of injustice, and asks us to consider what it means to nurture big ambitions in a country hurtling towards political extremism.A Burning is a novel for our times and for all time.

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A high-energy, laugh-out-loud, fully illustrated adventure story by much-loved actor Stephen Mangan and talented artist Anita Mangan. "Laugh-out-loud stuff" Ray D’Arcy It's the most important day of the year for King Fabian as he is hosting all the neighbouring rulers. Everything simply must go perfectly. King Fabian wakes up, stretches, and... farts. His wife's fury is so huge that he panics and blames the butler, who is carted off to the dungeons. Leaving behind a big problem: Fabian isn't really the brains behind the crown: it is the butler... how will dithery Fabian manage to pull off this high-pressure event alone? His small and smelly fart looks like it will kick off a crisis... Frank - a kitchen boy with a big imagination - is drafted in as an emergency butler. As the banquet descends into a food fight and processions catapult out of control, Frank finds himself in an all-out farty farce. Can he save the day? Wildly funny and endlessly surprising, this is delightfully imaginative, surreal storytelling with a message that small events can trigger big change, and children can be heroes! Packed with pictures by Stephen Mangan's sister Anita Mangan. Escape the Rooms is one of the most loved and bestselling children's debuts of 2021. Stephen and Anita Mangan are comic dynamite. Praise for Stephen and Anita's books: Escape the Rooms: "A brilliant, clever, kind of genius book" Graham Norton, Virgin Radio 'Richly imagined and deeply heartfelt' Hadley Freeman, Guardian 'Manages to feel both classic and modern at the same time' Good Housekeeping 'A beautiful and exciting adventure that ignites the imagination' Edith Bowman The Fart That Changed the World "A sure-fire way for kids to entertain themselves. What’s more, it’s also excellent for reading aloud" LoveReading4Kids "A high-energy, brilliantly imaginative and laugh-out-loud tale that is guaranteed to blow away young readers" Lancashire Evening Post The Unlikely Rise of Harry Sponge “After the runaway success of joint debut novel, Escape the Rooms, and the hilarious The Fart That Changed the World, the dynamic duo return with an all-action, marvellously manic and laugh-out-loud tale with a message that any child can be a hero” Lancashire Evening Post "hilarious ... A right royal romp" First News ABOUT THE MANGANS Stephen Mangan is an author, script-writer and actor with huge range across TV, radio, film and theatre. From classic comedy such as Green Wing, Episodes and I'm Alan Partridge and acclaimed drama such as The Split, Stephen also presents Portrait and Landscape Artist of the Year and regularly appears on stage, most recently as a highly praised Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Stephen also voiced the title role in Postman Pat: The Movie. He has been a member of the judging panels for the Costa Book of the Year prize and The Laugh-Out-Loud Awards (The Lollies). His children's books are the bestselling Escape the Rooms and The Fart that Changed the World. Stephen on writing for children (interview on ITV's Lorraine): “Every page has to grip them, make them laugh, be interesting because they can drop it. There are screens everywhere that they can pick up. That’s part of the reason why I started writing books because I had such fun as a kid reading books. I always had my head in a book. I wanted to write books that were unputdownable for children, that were full of adventure and crazy big characters and made them laugh.” Anita Mangan is a celebrated graphic designer and illustrator who has designed over 60 books including for Leon Restaurants, Gizzi Erskine and Fearne Cotton. She illustrated the best-selling Be a Unicorn series. Her first children's book was the bestselling Escape the Rooms.

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Foreword by Alice Waters In honor of its twenty-fifth anniversary comes this full-color culinary celebration of Il Buco, one of New York City’s most beloved restaurants, featuring more than 80 mouthwatering recipes and detailing the romantic origins of the restaurant’s philosophy of sourcing the best prime materials, including olive oil, salt, vinegar and all that make the Mediterranean way of life so alluring. "This book holds the succulent substance of Il Buco’s history, which has always been guided by Donna’s acute intuition. Through these pages, we travel around the Mediterranean, from the vineyards of Umbria to the salt flats of Sicily, visiting the farmers, artisans, and winemakers in their element. And then we return to Bond Street, stories and recipes in hand, to celebrate life and everything possible at the melting edge of sizzling pans and the heart of Italy."—Francis MallmannIn New York City, restaurants, even very good ones, come and go. But there are a very small number of establishments that take root and continue to flourish, where food, wine, atmosphere, history, and all the makers behind the scenes come together in a unique alchemy to create an experience. Il Buco is such a place. For over 25 years, Donna Lennard has presided over an international—and ever growing—family of artisans, farmers, winemakers, chefs and regulars from her outpost on Bond Street in the heart of New York City. Since 1994, Il Buco has withstood the test of time.In Il Buco, written with Joshua David Stein, Donna shares her incredible journey from antique shop owner to award-winning restaurateur and taste-maker. She reflects on the iconic ingredient-driven, farm-to-table Italian cooking that seduced palates and earned the loyalty of notoriously discriminating New York diners. Donna also expounds upon the essential elements of good eating and good living she learned over the restaurant’s nearly three-decade history. Both a cookbook and a deeply personal journey through the places and with the people who have influenced the restaurant’s ethos the most, Il Buco includes the beloved best-of dishes from the kitchen’s roster of now-famous chefs: Ignacio Mattos’s Black Kale Salad, Justin Smillie’s Bucatini Cacio e Pepe, and Sara Jenkins’s Porchetta alla Romana, to name a few. It also includes profiles of the artisans whose craftsmanship evokes the warm Mediterranean patinas that have enhanced the restaurants’ atmosphere over the years.Donna has dedicated her life to identifying, cultivating, and celebrating the essential ingredients of a beautiful life well-lived. Il Buco isn’t just a place, it’s a feeling—of warmth, of home, of ease, of love—and Il Buco allows any home cook to experience some of the restaurant’s beautiful and inviting magic, creating sumptuous easy meals to enjoy at his or her own table. Accompanying the mouthwatering recipes and gorgeous photography are Donna’s insights on what it truly means to live well and to eat well and tributes to food producers in Spain, Italy, France and other parts of the world, including dedicated chapters on the building blocks to a perfect meal: salt, olive oil, wine, and salumi, among others.Il Buco is a very personal exploration of what makes the heart of a restaurant and a lifestyle: a celebration of a true New York success story. It is a book about learning to listen to what pleases us, and a reminder of just how wide, wonderful, and flavorful the world is. Il Buco Locations:Il Buco (47 Bond Street, NYC 10012)Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria (53 Great Jones Street, NYC 10012)Il Buco Vita (4 East 2nd Street, NYC 10003)Il Buco (Ibiza, Spain)

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Buy a pair of Levi's, lose the Russian accent, become an American... how hard could it be?Moscow, 1988. After years of antisemitic harassment, countless hours waiting in line for toilet paper, and having zero access to cool jeans, Margarita decides it's time to get the hell out of the Soviet Union. While dreaming of buying the boat-sized Buick she'd seen in a pirated VHS of Miami Vice and getting a taste of whatever it is Bruce Springsteen is singing about, she comes up with a plan to escape Mother Russia for good. When Margarita arrives in the US with her family, she has one objective - become fully American as soon as possible, and leave her Soviet past behind. But she soon learns that finding her new voice is harder than avoiding the KGB.Because, how do you become someone else completely? Is it as simple as changing your name, upgrading your wardrobe and working on your pronunciation of the word 'sheet'? Can you let go of old habits (never, ever throw anything away), or learn to date without hang-ups ('there is no sex in the Soviet Union' after all)? Will you ever stop disappointing your parents, who expect you to become a doctor, a lawyer, an investment banker and a classical pianist - all at the same time? And can you still become the person you dreamed you'd be, while learning to embrace parts of yourself you've wanted to discard for good when you immigrated?Absolutely hilarious, painfully honest and sometimes heart-breaking, the award-winning I Named My Dog Pushkin will have fans of David Sedaris and Samantha Irby howling with laughter at Margarita's failures, her victories and the life lessons she learns as she grows as both a woman and an immigrant, in a world that often doesn't appreciate either. What readers are saying about I Named My Dog Pushkin:'Hilariously funny, whip-smart and absolutely fascinating... Silver shows that the only person she needs to ever become is herself. Just amazing.' Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You'Laugh-out-loud funny... a particular pleasure to see our splintered country through the eyes of this determined and appreciative emigree.' NPR Books'An eye-opener... a whole other brand of Jewish humor... The book's wit, drama and erudition appear to me wholly miraculous. Margarita deserves a literary prize.' Alicia Bay Laurel, New York Times bestselling author of Living on the Earth'Hysterically funny and thought-provoking... perfect for anyone fascinated with the USSR' FangirlNation'I thoroughly enjoyed Margarita's witty and acerbic voice. This book was a delight!' Jen Mann, New York Times bestselling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat'Hilarious... From one USSR immigrant to another... I related a lot.' Margarita Levieva, HBO's The Deuce'Hilarious and thought-provoking.' California Bookwatch'A memoir like this is so very rare, one in which you learn a great deal, while laughing throughout. Highly, highly recommended.' Wandering Educators'Plunges the reader into a world in which Coca-Cola is synonymous with freedom... riveting... moving... Gokun Silver is a gifted, witty writer.' Los Angeles Review of Books'Sure to delight while tugging at your heartstrings.' Jewish Book Council'Had me laughing and smiling all the way through... a perfect balance of wit and seriousness... Superb.' Goodreads reviewer'Laughed my socks off!' Goodreads reviewer'I loved this book so much... I just could not stop reading.' NetGalley reviewer'A sharp, witty memoir... Margarita captured Jewish joy and grief together perfectly.' Goodreads reviewer'Darkly funny... reminiscent of other acerbic comedian authors like Sara Barron... fascinating.' NetGalley reviewer

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'It is immediately clear why her books stand out from the crowd. Chilling and compelling plots, brilliant characterisation . . . Addictive from start to finish' RACHEL ABBOTTA detective hiding dark secrets, Kim Stone will stop at nothing to protect the innocent. In the darkness of a cold December morning, Detective Kim Stone steps through the doors of Halesowen Police Station. She's about to meet her team for the first time. The victim of her next case is about to meet his killer... When the body of a young man is found beheaded and staked to the ground in a secluded woodland area of the Clent Hills, Kim and her new squad rush to the crime scene. Searching the victim's home, Kim finds a little girl's bedroom and a hidden laptop, but where is the child? And why does the man's own sister seem relieved that he's dead? As Kim begins to unearth the shocking truth about the victim, a disturbing resemblance is spotted with the recent murder of a man found beneath the staircase of Redland Hall with multiple stab wounds. Both these men had dark secrets and Kim discovers a link to a women's shelter. As a child of the care system herself, Kim knows all too well what it means to be vulnerable. Could the shelter be the key to cracking this case? With the killer about to strike again, Kim is in deep water with a rookie squad. Inexperienced Stacey is showing signs of brilliance but struggling to hold her nerve and, while D.S. Bryant is reliable and calm, D.S. Dawson is a liability. With his home life in pieces, his volatile behaviour is already fracturing her fragile new team. Can Kim bring Dawson in line and pull her crew together in time to catch the killer before another life is taken? This time, one of her own could be in terrible danger . . .Discover where it all began for Kim and her team. An absolutely heart-stopping mystery thriller that will keep you glued to the pages, reading late into the night. Perfect for new readers to the million-copy bestselling series, and fans of Val McDemid, Mark Billingham and Karin Slaughter.Read what everyone is saying about First Blood and the Detective Kim Stone series: 'A great introduction to the best crime series on the shelves right now . . . I loved this book from cover to cover . . . A brilliant read which will have people turning the pages at a feverish rate' Nigel Adams Bookworm, five stars'I cannot begin to tell you how god damn good it is. First Blood is so bloody brilliant and so gripping . . . Totally blown my mind...Without a doubt one of my best reads this year leaving me with a book hangover' Baker's Not So Secret Blog, five stars'Superb!!! I love Kim - always have, always will!! . . . Breath-taking, heart-pounding, exciting and thrilling!!! I completely and utterly recommend reading not just this book, but the whole series!! Fab, fab, fab, fab, fab' Stardust Book Reviews, five stars'There is a smile on my face and goosebumps on my arms. Rarely have I been so satisfied with a novel . . . Breath-taking . . . A masterpiece, the star at the top of your Christmas tree . . . Get going with the series if you haven't already' Chocolate 'n' Waffles, five stars'Oh my life. This is the book that all Kim Stone fans have been waiting for and they didn't even know it . . . A dark and deadly case, high on thrills, intrigue, mystery and tension, perfectly pitched on pace and featuring the dry humour and banter we know and love . . . Top stuff - Loved it' Jen Med's Book Reviews, five stars

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The mother of a FDNY firefighter killed on 9/11 teams up with a crusading journalist to fight City Hall and uncover the truth about why over 300 firefighters perished during the World Trade Center attack.Don’t Look Back is a thriller that takes readers into the hearts and minds of a FDNY family who lost their son during 9/11, and set out on a mission to find out what really happened to him and the other 342 firefighters who perished needlessly. Sarah Murphy, a savvy community organizer from the Bronx, teams up with a local investigative reporter and other 9/11 families as they take on City Hall to unearth the failures at the FDNY. In this fast-paced novel by former Daily News investigative reporter, Joe Calderone, the families risk everything to expose a corruption scandal that put faulty radios in the hands of the FDNY, leading to the worst loss of life in the history of the department. This compelling story, based on true events, takes a different perspective on a worldwide event and gives voice to the 343 members of the FDNY who perished, largely unaware that the buildings were about to come down upon them. Advance Praise for Don’t Look Back Don't Look Back (Post Hill Press) was selected as a “Best New in Paperback” by People Magazine, which named it a “People picks” and called the book “a suspenseful, eye-opening thriller about the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11...” Dan's Papers called the novel “a riveting read...” “A crisply written page-turner, Don't Look Back? is a story of tragedy, tenacity, and the continued importance of a free press. From the terror of the final moments inside the World Trade Center towers, to the incompetence that doomed hundreds of city firefighters, to the principled mutiny inside a major newspaper to get that story out, the story never lets up. Calderone writes with moving affection and respect for the blue-collar men and women who do the hard work in our democracy, who fight to preserve it, and who sometimes pay for that struggle with their lives.” —Mark Bowden, author, Black Hawk Down “Joe Calderone, one of the city’s great reporters, uses those skills in a brilliantly suspenseful novel about 9/11, the city’s worst tragedy, and the first responders who lost their lives that day and their families' search for the truth.” —Nick Pileggi, author Wiseguy and its screenplay, Goodfellas “Joe Calderone is a former NY Daily News investigative reporter who knows his stuff when it comes to the FDNY and he has crafted a novel that helps shine a light on the incredible challenges and sacrifices firefighters made on 9/11, including the 343 members of the FDNY we lost that day under the most tragic of circumstances. There were communication failures on 9/11 that no doubt contributed to the loss of life and this novel will help remind us to not repeat those mistakes ever again. Calderone has done the FDNY a service.” —Michael Regan, former First Deputy Commissioner, FDNY "This is a novel about the most painful day in New York City history and its aftermath, as reporters and investigators struggled to uncover the official blunders of Rudy Giuliani's City Hall that made a tragic day worse. Joe Calderone uses all his tools as one of New York’s best investigative reporters, as well as a panoramic knowledge of the city, to offer a vivid tale of people in search of a difficult truth." —Tom Robbins, Pulitzer Prize finalist and Investigative Journalist In Residence at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY

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A Newbery Honor BookWinner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award An exciting and hilarious medieval adventure from the bestselling author of A Tale Dark and Grimm. Beautifully illustrated throughout by Hatem Aly! ★ A New York Times Bestseller ★ A New York Times Editor’s Choice ★ A New York Times Notable Children’s Book ★ A People Magazine Kid Pick ★ A Washington Post Best Children’s Book ★ A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book ★ An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book ★ A Booklist Best Book ★ A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book ★ A Kirkus Reviews Best Book ★ A Publishers Weekly Best Book ★ A School Library Journal Best Book ★ An ALA Notable Children's Book“A profound and ambitious tour de force. Gidwitz is a masterful storyteller.” —Matt de la Peña, Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author “What Gidwitz accomplishes here is staggering." —New York Times Book ReviewIncludes a detailed historical note and bibliography 1242. On a dark night, travelers from across France cross paths at an inn and begin to tell stories of three children. Their adventures take them on a chase through France: they are taken captive by knights, sit alongside a king, and save the land from a farting dragon. On the run to escape prejudice and persecution and save precious and holy texts from being burned, their quest drives them forward to a final showdown at Mont Saint-Michel, where all will come to question if these children can perform the miracles of saints. Join William, an oblate on a mission from his monastery; Jacob, a Jewish boy who has fled his burning village; and Jeanne, a peasant girl who hides her prophetic visions. They are accompanied by Jeanne's loyal greyhound, Gwenforte . . . recently brought back from the dead. Told in multiple voices, in a style reminiscent of The Canterbury Tales, our narrator collects their stories and the saga of these three unlikely allies begins to come together. Beloved bestselling author Adam Gidwitz makes his long awaited return with his first new world since his hilarious and critically acclaimed Grimm series. Featuring manuscript illuminations throughout by illustrator Hatem Aly and filled with Adam’s trademark style and humor, The Inquisitor's Tale is bold storytelling that’s richly researched and adventure-packed.“It’s no surprise that Gidwitz’s latest book has been likened to The Canterbury Tales, considering its central story is told by multiple storytellers. As each narrator fills in what happens next in the story of the three children and their potentially holy dog, their tales get not only more fantastical but also more puzzling and addictive. However, the gradual intricacy of the story that is not Gidwitz’s big accomplishment. Rather it is the complex themes (xenophobia, zealotry, censorship etc.) he is able to bring up while still maintaining a light tone, thus giving readers a chance to come to conclusions themselves. (Also, there is a farting dragon.)”—Entertainment Weekly, “Best MG Books of 2016"Puckish, learned, serendipitous . . . Sparkling medieval adventure." —Wall Street Journal★ "Gidwitz strikes literary gold with this mirthful and compulsively readable adventure story. . . . A masterpiece of storytelling that is addictive and engrossing." —Kirkus, starred review★ "A well-researched and rambunctiously entertaining story that has as much to say about the present as it does the past." —Publishers Weekly, starred review★ "Gidwitz proves himself a nimble storyteller as he weaves history, excitement, and multiple narrative threads into a taut, inspired adventure." —Booklist, starred review★ "Scatological humor, serious matter, colloquial present-day language, the ideal of diversity and mutual understanding—this has it all." —The Horn Book, starred review★ "I have never read a book like this. It’s weird, and unfamiliar, and religious, and irreligious, and more fun than it has any right to be. . . . Gidwitz is on fire here, making medieval history feel fresh and current." —School Library Journal, starred review

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The Owl and the Cactus by Hannah Dawn Gold is an illustrated tale of exploration and friendship for children who are setting out on their own adventures in life. This light-hearted story follows the adventures of a very small owl, as he takes his first tentative flight in his desert home, encounters challenges and eventually finds his way home. In a big world, sometimes things can go wrong for even the bravest explorer. When Owl finds himself in need of help, he discovers that everyone is important, including people who are quiet, shy and could be easy to pass by, because ‘Even the smallest people can know important things!’ Sometimes when we’re whizzing around in excitement, chasing the next achievement, we can overlook what’s around us. In a busy world, even young children can sometimes feel pressure. The Owl and the Cactus gently guides readers to understand that it is good to try new things, getting caught up in the thrill of success and it is also fine to stop, take a breath when we need to and ask for help. The wish to explore and grow is encouraged and supported in this book, balanced with the lesson that sometimes growing up can be challenging and the world can be a scary place when things aren’t going our way, but when we are willing to listen, even to those who seem different to us then friendship can be found at any moment, even when we think we are alone. The young owl’s first flight introduces the natural world to children as a home to be appreciated, not just rushed past. As the youngster finds his confidence, he discovers that nature can show us valuable things. Hannah writes, ‘I will tell you a secret about all living things, it may help you to know, when finding your wings! The wind, the moon, the stars and stones, all are telling the story of our wild desert home. All of them have something to say, if you ask them and listen, they will show you the way.’ While Owl finds out about looking at the sky, his discoveries open the idea that the stars can show us where we are going. Something children can use to begin a learning journey of their own if they wish, or just smile at the safe return of the owl to his home. As a visually pleasing story about a lovable character, The Owl and the Cactus will have broad appeal to children of differing reading capabilities. Children starting on their reading journeys are sure to find the imagery and fun factor pleasing and can use this book to develop their reading skills. More capable readers can enjoy the layers of meaning that provide on-going learning opportunities. The writing style offers both ease of reading, with rhymes and short sentences, together with some more challenging words and concepts to keep minds occupied and hold interest into the future. This is a book that you can enjoy with your little ones, which will help them grow, while chuckling together about the antics of the very small owl. It will be a favourite on the bookshelf for years to come! Hannah’s illustrations provide a rich visual backdrop depicting the young explorer and the range of creatures he encounters on his travels. The Owl and the Cactus is an ideal story to inspire the confidence of young readers in making friends and finding their own wings. With varied additional activities to stimulate interest, there is plenty here to occupy young minds. The full colour pictures and fun, rhyming style make this book suitable for a wide range of children with different reading levels as it provides both visual and auditory enjoyment, different types of learning opportunities and a positive approach to overcoming difficulties. After all, ‘You’re never too small to know how to fly!’

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Despite the accepted fact that a substantial part of the risk and return of any portfolio comes from asset allocation, we find today that the majority of investment professionals worldwide are focused on security selection. Multi-Asset Investing: A Practitioner’s Framework questions this basic structure of the investment process and investment industry. Who says we have to separate alpha and beta? Are the traditional definitions for risk and risk premium relevant in a multi-asset class world? Do portfolios cater for the ‘real risks’ in their investment processes? Does the whole Emerging Markets demarcation make sense for investing? Why do active Asian managers perform much poorer compared to developed market managers? Can you distinguish how much of a strategy’s performance comes from skill rather than luck? Does having a performance fee for your manager create alignment or misalignment? Why is the asset management transitioning from multi-asset strategies to multi-asset solutions? These and many other questions are asked, and suggestions provided as potential solutions. Having worked together for fifteen years, the authors’ present implementable solutions which have helped them successfully manage large asset pools. The Academic Perspective “Multi-Asset Investing asks fundamental questions about the asset allocation investment processes in use today, and can have a substantial impact on the future structure of the finance industry. It clarifies and distils the techniques that investment professionals need to master to add value to client portfolios.” —Paul Smith, President & CEO, CFA Institute “Pranay Gupta, Sven Skallsjo, and Bing Li describe the essential concepts and applications of multi-asset investing. Their treatment is far ranging and exceptionally lucid, and always with a nod to practical application. Buy this book and keep it close at hand.” —Mark Kritzman, MIT Sloane School of Management “Innovative solutions to some of the most difficult investment problems we are faced with today. Multi-asset Investing tackles investment issues which don’t have straight forward solutions, but nevertheless are faced by every investment professional. This book sets the standard for investment processes of all asset managers.” —SP Kothari, MIT Sloane School of Management The Asset Owner Perspective “Multi-asset means different things to different people. This is the first text that details a comprehensive framework for managing any kind of multi-asset investment problem. Further, its explanation of the commercial aspects of managing a multi-asset investment business for an asset manager, private bank or asset owner make it an indispensable tool” —Sadayuki Horie, Dy. Chairman - Investment Advisory Comm., Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan “Multi-Asset Investing shows the substantial scope there is to innovate the asset allocation process. With its novel approaches to allocation, portfolio construction and risk management it demonstrates the substantial value that can be added to any portfolio. The solutions proposed by Multi-Asset Investing are creative, thought provoking, and may well be the way all portfolios need to be managed in the future.” —Mario Therrien, Senior Vice President, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Canada The Asset Manager’s Perspective “Never has astute asset allocation and diversification been more crucial than today. Asset Managers which are able to innovate their investment processes and products in this area, are more likely to be the winners. Multi-Asset Investing provides both simple and sophisticated, tested and implementable techniques for successfully managing multi-asset portfolios.” —Vincent Camerlynck, former CEO BNP Paribas Investment Partners, Asia Pacific The Investment Strategist Perspective “For plan sponsors, portfolio managers, analysts and risk managers, Multi-Asset Investing is an unparalleled guide for portfolio management. Its approach to blending the quantitative and fundamental, top-down and bottom up and the risk and return frameworks makes it a valuable tool for any kind of investment professional. It clarifies a complex subject into a series of practical ideas to help add value to any portfolio.” —Ajay S. Kapur, Chief Strategist, BOA Merrill Lynch Asia

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A rare opportunity to go one-on-one with an industry giant and one of today's most respected financial thinkers, Merton Miller on Derivatives is a refreshingly accessible overview of derivatives, the revolution they have wrought, and the disasters they've supposedly caused. Though routinely assailed by regulators and the media, derivatives are hailed by a celebrated group of practitioners, analysts, and theorists, led most notably by Nobel laureate Merton Miller. Miller is legendary for repeatedly demonstrating-often with humor and always with grace-the value of derivatives in price discovery, managing financial risk, and tailoring a risk-return profile. Here, in this collection of his recent essays, Miller expounds on a number of critical derivatives issues. Is it a problem that some organizations have lost substantial sums on derivatives? Miller's short answer: Some organizations will always find ways to lose money. Nor does he believe that more government regulation is the answer. He notes, for example, that for all the horror stories about derivatives, the world's banks have lost vastly more in bad real estate deals than they'll ever lose on their derivatives portfolios. Merton Miller on Derivatives offers twenty-two provocative chapters. A sampling: "The Recent Derivatives 'Disasters': Assessing the Damage" takes a close look at such debacles as Procter & Gamble, Orange County, and Barings Bank. "Financial Regulation: The Inside Game" uses an apt sports analogy to show how the derivatives regulatory game is really played, as opposed to the way outsiders imagine it is played. "Japanese-American Trade Relations: Can Rambo Beat Godzilla?" succinctly sums up the nature of Japanese-American trade. And "Risk and Return on Futures Contracts: A Chicago View" highlights the pivotal role derivatives play in hedging risk. There are also penetrating pieces on corporate governance that compare the system existing in the United States and England with the one existing in Germany and Japan. To complete the collection, a section called "Questions I'm Often Asked" features Miller's unique perspective on a wide range of topics, from what's ahead for China to what we've learned from the Crash of 1987. Contrary to widely held perceptions, the so-called "derivatives revolution" has made the world safer, not more dangerous. This explains the phenomenal growth of financial futures. As Miller shows, derivatives enable organizations to deal effectively with risks that have plagued them for decades, even centuries. Praise for merton miller on derivatives "Miller is one of the clearest thinkers of our time. Once again, he provides a simple, insightful, and witty analysis of an important and complex topic. This book is truly fun to read." -Kenneth R. French Beinecke Professor of Management Studies and Finance Yale University School of Management. "Some of us trade markets; others of us observe markets; Merton Miller understands markets. As this volume demonstrates, Professor Miller is unsurpassed at cutting through fluff, misinterpretation, and even obfuscation to get to the heart of highly charged issues." -Charles W. Smithson Managing Director, CIBC Wood Gundy. "Vintage Merton Miller: zesty writing and forcefully communicated ideas, not only on derivatives, but on a wide range of topics in financial markets. This is no ponderous academic tome, but rather a series of entertaining, yet devastatingly analytical essays on controversial issues in finance. Great reading and great analysis." -Hans R. Stoll Walker Professor of Finance and Director of the Financial Markets Research Center, Vanderbilt University. "I am grateful to Merton Miller for setting the record straight, once again, regarding derivatives. With his customary brilliance, Merton cuts through the fog of misunderstanding and nonsense that too often surrounds derivatives and reveals them for what they truly are: phenomenally successful and essential risk management tools." -Jack Sandner Chairman, Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

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Examine what would happen if we were to deploy blockchain technology at the sovereign level and use it to create a decentralized cashless economy. This book explains how finance and economics work today, and how the convergence of various technologies related to the financial sector can help us find solutions to problems, such as excessive debt creation, banks getting too big to fail, and shadow banking. The Blockchain Alternative offers sensible corrections to outdated and incorrect dogmas, such as the efficient markets hypothesis and rational expectations theory. You’ll also be introduced to universal basic income, the consequences of going cashless, why complexity economics needs to be understood and what kinds of tools and theories you'll need to redefine the existing definition of capitalism. While the book does discuss technologies and methods that are primed for our future, a number of references are made to economic history and the works of great thinkers from a different era. You’ll see how the blockchain can be used to deploy solutions that were devised in the past, but which can serve as the antidote to our current economic malaises. You'll discover that what is required today is not an adaptation of the old theories, but a new methodology that is suited to this new era. Without undertaking such an endeavor, one will always be burdened with a definition of capitalism that is out of kilter with the evolution of our digital humanity. What would this mean to monetary and fiscal policy, market structure and our current understanding of economics? More importantly would we need to change our current understanding of capitalism? And if we were to change our perceptions, what would the future version look like? This book answers these questions, and analyses some of the most pertinent issues of our generation. What You’ll Learn Examine fractional banking, debt, and the financialization of assets Gain a firm understanding of the “too big to fail” theory, smart contracts, and Fintech Review economics and agent-based modelling Use the blockchain and complexity economics to rethink economics and capitalistic systems Who This Book Is ForThe primary audience is bankers and other finance professionals, policy makers, and students of finance and economics. The secondary audience is anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the current financial system, the blockchain, and the future of capitalism.Praise for The Blockchain Alternative“…a bold and pioneering effort to make sense of how emerging digital technologies might be used to reshape public policies, including macroeconomic and social policies, in basic ways. Everyone interested in this very important emerging question should read this book."- Dr. Sanjay G. Reddy, Associate Professor of Economics at The New School for Social Research and Research Associate of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University.“Writing on blockchain today is analogous to writing about the internet, before it became massively distributed. The book pushes us to think about the quantum leap that this technology may infer to our capitalist model, if scaled at the pace described by the book. Written with the support of strong empirical models but also with an open mind towards the future, this is a must read for anyone interested in becoming part of the new economic infrastructure”- Dr. Mark Esposito, Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education & Judge Business School, University of Cambridge“With a rigorously balanced dosage of versatility and rationale we are allured into a multifaceted trajectory across ingrained yet functionally arcane economic models, only to plunge into a conceptually revolutionary realm which irreversibly stimulates us into envisaging a fascinating novel scheme of world order”. - Ioana Surpateanu, Political Adviser to the European Parliament“If there is only one book that I am reading on how blockchain is going to change our lives, it will have to be "The Blockchain Alternative."- Dr. Terence Tse, Associate Professor of Finance, ESCP Europe Business School

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Knitting is a relaxing and therapeutic pastime, and this winning combination focuses on mindfulness and the perfect stress-busting knitting projects. Whether you choose a portable project to knit on the go, a group project to do with friends, or one that introduces new skills to stimulate a creative mind, this book is the perfect path to keeping calm. The book is aimed at beginners as well as more advanced knitters, but does not include anything more complex than basic knit and purl stitches, increasing, decreasing and some simple colourwork. Lynne Rowe covers the essential techniques at the start of the book, followed by projects that have been specifically designed for mindfulness. The projects themselves are split into five sections: Quick and Easy, Portable, Group, Big, and New Skills. Within these sections, you can choose to make things such as a wash cloth, a hat, a blanket, a shawl and an evening bag, amongst others. Every single one has been designed to promote calm and mindfulness and all the projects are beautifully photographed with clear and simple knitting patterns. The Introduction is written by Betsan Corkhill, an experienced healthcare professional who founded the community interest company stitchlinks.com in 2005. It has grown into a global online community for those who enjoy the therapeutic benefits of craft, and in particular, knitting. Betsan has also advised on the projects included in the book and repetitive techniques to promote a calm state. The five sections have different ways of promoting calm and the feelgood factor: Quick and Easy: the projects in this section are designed for when you when you feel like a quick fix to raise your mood. Use your favourite colours and textures to enhance the benefits of the rhythmic movements and the feelgood effects. The feeling of success you experience will motivate and inspire you. Portable: These smaller projects are even more portable, so keep one in your bag at all times. Use it to manage stress on the go, on your commute to work, in your lunch break, when travelling or at any other time when life is getting a bit much and you need to feel calm. Group: Getting together with friends to knit, chat and laugh over a cuppa is one of life’s joys. Supportive friends help us to live longer, healthier, happier lives so why not combine the calming nature of knitting with the support of being with friends? It’s a powerful way to switch off your stress fight-or-flight response and switch on a bit of fun, play and laughter. Big: It’s a lovely cosy feeling to sit quietly at home with your Big project on your lap, keeping you warm as you knit. Let it be your constant friend, the one you turn to to find calm and consistency when the world around you feels a bit frantic. As you get into the flow of the pattern, its familiarity will enable you to settle into a soothing rhythm whenever you need to knit yourself calm. New Skills: Learning new skills on a regular basis is essential for nurturing a healthy brain, opening new neural pathways and even encouraging the growth of new brain cells right into old age. This section focuses on a range of new skills to encourage you to experiment with different stitch patterns and combinations of colour and textures. They are designed specifically to stimulate your creative mind. Whatever your skill level, there are plenty of projects in this book to help you achieve calm, bust those stress levels and enjoy a pastime which is creative, fun and produces beautiful projects to wear, or for the home.

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With a history of attracting French tourists since the 19th century and particularly during the colonial period, Vietnam has re-emerged as one of the most popular Asian destinations for the French. A number of factors augur well for a further increase in visitation. As a former colony, Vietnam has nostalgic appeal for many French visitors. After the release of the films L' lndochine, L 'amant, Le Cyclo, Papaye Vert, and the documentary-drama Dien Bien Phu in 1993, France became the main tourism source market for Vietnam. As the ethnic composition of France has changed, the French are interested in learning about cultures generally and Asian cultures, in particular. The prospect of discovering new destinations and cultures encourages them to travel long-haul. They are quality conscious and culture loving, and prefer to use their own language when traveling overseas, favouring their own cuisine even though they do enjoy the cuisine of the host countries .Travel to Vietnam offers the prospect of fulfilling a number of their preferences. Another attraction for French tourists is that Vietnam is a member of the Francophone Community. Since 1988, the French legacy has experienced a resurgence with the renovation of colonial-style properties and restaurants. Tourists have been impressed by the French-style architecture, accommodation and cuisine that is available. Despite Vietnam's long history of contact with France, Vietnamese service providers are relatively ignorant about Western countries, their people and their values. Up to now Vietnam's tourism authorities have paid little attention to the role of cultural understanding in the tourism development process and Vietnam's overseas tourism promotions have given minimal acknowledgement of the cultural characteristics of source markets including those conducted in France. Servicing French tourists is likely to be a challenge for Vietnamese service providers because of the substantial differences between the respective host and guest cultures and rules of behaviour. International tourism generally involves a cross-cultural component, particularly in the case of encounters between tourists and service providers. If it is accepted that the cultural values of Western travellers are different, it seems reasonable to conclude that the Vietnamese service providers need to consider the effect of this cultural dissimilarity on touristâhost mutual perceptions and social interaction in the intercultural service encounters. An understanding of areas of potential tourist dissatisfaction may assist the service providers to anticipate prospective negative perceptions and to address them, thereby contributing to overall holiday satisfaction, and improve the prospects of repeat visitation. It is common for destinations to attract visitation from different source countries and cultures. Nonetheless, consumer behaviour literature on cross-cultural perceptions and interaction have been largely limited to homogeneous sample populations from Western countries. Furthermore, until now there are no published studies have specifically examined touristâhost service encounters interaction and mutual perceptions in the context of Vietnam as a holiday destination. Consequently, this research has both practical and academic significances. From the theoretical perspectives, this study provides an augmented comprehension on Argyle's, Rokeach and SERVQUAL models. From the practical standpoints, this study offers service managers and marketers a heightened understanding of cross-cultural awareness for improving customer satisfaction. It acclaims an evidence base that can guide provision to meet the needs of international tourists with particular reference to the impact of rules of behaviour on touristâhost service encounters interaction. It accentuates the effect of cultural backgrounds on tourists' perceptions towards and satisfaction with service quality. By this means, it applies the empirically based models to development related challenges confronting the tourism sector in the cross-cultural settings for designing appropriate strategies with the aim of gaining a competitive advantage. Keywords: French Guests, Vietnamese Hosts, Cultural Values, Rules of Behaviour, Interactions, Satisfaction, Service Attributes and Performances.

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The SS Portland was a solid and luxurious ship, and its loss in 1898 in a violent storm with some 200 people aboard was later remembered as “New England’s Titanic.” The Portland was one of New England's largest and most luxurious paddle steamers, and after nine years' solid performance, she had earned a reputation as a safe and dependable vessel.In November 1898, a perfect storm formed off the New England coast. Conditions would produce a blizzard with 100 miles per hour winds and 60-foot waves that pummeled the coast. At the time there was no radio communication between ships and shore, no sonar to navigate by, and no vastly sophisticated weather forecasting capacity. The luxurious SS Portland, a sidewheel steamer furnished with chandeliers, red velvet carpets and fine china, was carrying more than 200 passengers from Boston to Portland, Maine, over Thanksgiving weekend when it ran headlong into a monstrous, violent gale off Cade Cod.It was never seen again.All passengers and crew were lost at sea. More than half the crew on board were African Americans from Portland. Their deaths decimated the Maine African American community.Before the storm abated it became one of the worst ever recorded in New England waters. The storm, now known as “The Portland Gale,” killed 400 people along the coast and sent more than 200 ships to the bottom, including the doomed Portland. To this day it is not known exactly how many passengers were aboard or even who many of them were. The only passenger list was aboard the vessel. As a result of this tragedy, ships would thereafter leave a passenger manifest ashore. The disaster has been blamed on the hubris of the captain of the Portland, Hollis Blanchard, who decided to leave the safety of Boston Harbor despite knowing that a severe storm was hurtling up the coast. Blanchard, a long-time mariner, had been passed over for a promotion for a younger captain. He decided he wanted to show the steamship company that they had made a mistake by getting the Portland safely into port ahead of the imminent storm. Author J. North Conway has created here a personal, visceral account of the sinking and the times and the people involved, with stories to bring readers onto the Portland that day:Here is Eben Heuston, the chief steward onboard the ill-fated ship. More than half of the crew of the ship were African Americans. Hueston was an African American who lived in the Portland community of Munjoy Hill and was a member of the Abyssinian Church. After the sinking of the Portland the African American community disappeared and the church closed. And Emily Cobb a nineteen year old singer from Portland’s First Parish Church who was scheduled to give her first recital at the church on that Sunday. And Hope Thomas who came to Boston to shop for Christmas and because she decided to exchange some shoes she purchased missed taking the ill-fated Portland.Because of the lack of communications from Maine to Cape Cod, it was days before anyone was able to get word about the fate of the ship or survivors. Author J. North Conway has painstakingly recreated the events, using first-hand sources and testimonies to weave a dramatic, can’t-put-it down narrative in the tradition of Erik Larson’s Isaac’s Storm and Walter Lord’s enduring classic, A Night to Remember. He brings the tragedy to life with contemporaneous accounts the Coast Guard, from Boston newspapers such as the Globe, Herald, and Journal, and from The New York Times and the Brooklyn DailyEagle.

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Discover why millions rely on the #1 New York Times best-selling Medical Medium for health answers and natural healing protocols they can’t find anywhere else to over 100 symptoms, nervous system diseases, and disorders. The first of two essential books, in full color and over 600 pages, about our most complex organ—the BRAIN—dives deep into why people all over the world are suffering with mental health and brain-related symptoms and conditions, and explains what to do to finally heal. “After years of doctors being unable to diagnose, identify, or pinpoint our child’s gastrointestinal issues, Anthony’s expertise and intuition led us to not only identifying the issue, but more importantly, Anthony’s precise protocols have been the invaluable catalyst in our daughter’s healing, recovery, and her happiness...” — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Lauren HashianWITH ALL THE ADVANCED BRAIN RESEARCH TODAY, WHY IS THERE SUCH A PREVALENCE OF:· Addiction · ADHD · ALS· Alzheimer’s · Anxiety· Autism · Bipolar Disorder · Brain Fog · Burnout · Deficiencies · Dementia· Depression · Eating Disorders · Fatigue· Long-Haul COVID· Mental Health Struggles · Neurological Symptoms· OCD · Panic Attacks· Parkinson’s· PTSD · Seizures · Strokes· Vagus Nerve problems...and beyondAs you search for lasting pain relief, it’s easy to become lost and blame yourself, wondering what you did wrong. Answer: you’re not the problem.Medical Medium Brain Saver is designed to serve you as a lifelong brain health reference book. In it, you’ll discover:· What it means to have a static brain, an alloy brain, a viral brain, an emotional brain, inflamed cranial nerves, an addicted brain, an acid brain, and a burnt out, deficient brain—and what you can do about it· The true causes of over 100 brain- and nervous system–related symptoms, disease, and disorders· In-depth insight into the unknown reasons for the epidemic of mental, emotional, and neurological suffering—from everyday struggles with focus, concentration, and mood to life-altering diagnoses· How to protect your brain against Alzheimer’s, PTSD, strokes, seizures, and more—before it’s too lateBest of all, you’ll get specialized healing techniques and food recommendations. In addition to fresh perspective on how to nourish your brain and reduce your exposure to everyday toxins and contaminants, you’ll find cleanse protocols, heavy metal detox cleanse guidelines, and recipes for all-new Medical Medium Brain Shots Therapy—quick hits of medicinals in liquid form, designed to bring instant relief when the brain is under particular stress. And when you want even more healing options, you can turn to Medical Medium Brain Saver Protocols, Cleanses & Recipes to take the essential information this book provides to a higher level.“We suffer for very real and physical reasons,” Anthony writes, “and we can address those reasons at their core with the information here. When we know how to navigate this world, we have the power to heal.”If you’ve been searching for direction about brain, neurological, or mental health, you’ve finally found the answers. Whether you’re just starting out or your journey has taken you to multiple neurologists, internists, and functional medicine doctors, your time has come to discover the true cause of your suffering, move forward, and heal.With Medical Medium Brain Saver and its companion volume, Medical Medium Brain Saver Protocols, Cleanses & Recipes, Anthony William shares never before heard knowledge about our brain and nervous system. Brain Saver unveils the why behind more than 100 brain- and nervous system–related symptoms, diseases, and disorders; Protocols reveals the truth about how to heal in even more detail. Originally conceived as one life-saving book, Brain Saver had to be divided in two when it became too big to print. Each book now stands alone, so you can start with the one you need most—or read both for a full picture of your brain’s health.

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An insightful, inspirational, amusing and honest guide to relationships for the modern single Christian woman. How does the single Christian woman maintain her relationships while staying true to herself? How can she thrive in a predominately secular culture and keep her faith in a world that doesn't reflect her values? The Virgin Monologues teaches how to do healthy relationships, what to fight for and what to give up on. It gives healthy principles to understand before looking for a team mate. Endorsements: "It may be that this does not paint the whole picture of your single life, but guaranteed there will be plenty of shared experience, hurts, accidents and adventures within these pages. With refreshing honesty, courage and humour Carrie publicly has the conversation so many of us have had in private. Her passion for Christ is a constant theme throughout this engaging, challenging and inspiring read." - Katharine Welby-Roberts A21 Ambassador, blogger, speaker. "It's tough being a single Christian girl in a world full of feelings and emotions and expectations and hopes and dreams and aspirations. Like a best friend spilling her deepest thoughts onto the page - some heartbreaking and some hilarious - Carrie takes us on a journey past shame and heartache and faux pas to healing and freedom and truth. This book will be a companion to any sassy young woman wanting to make sense of who she is in the midst of all of life's stuff." - Chine Mbubaegbu, head of media & communications Evangelical Alliance; author of Am I Beautiful? (Authentic) "The Virgin Monologues opens up much-needed space for dialogue in the Christian community about the way we communicate to women and girls about sex. Carrie's sincerity and openness about her personal experiences offer a relatable alternative to the dysfunction of the corporate media's version of today's sexual narrative and the too often shaming response from the religious communities. The Virgin Monologues should be a staple in every spiritual library." - Ben Decker, Marketing & PR Consultant, Social Activist, Human Rights Advocate "I love this book. It is honest, funny, challenging and inspiring. Just like its author. Carrie is not afraid to say it as she sees it, and whether you agree with her or not, what comes across more than anything else is her infectious passion for Jesus and her longing for others to encounter him and be changed." - Bill Cahusac, 24-7 Prayer GB Leadership Team "If, like me, you're dissatisfied with the rubbish about love, life and relationships that you sometimes inhale, here's your chance to breathe in beautiful and wild words of wisdom that lead to Life. Carrie has captured the art of celebrating who she is while still believing the best is yet to come. It makes for a captivating read and an even more infectious life!" - Rachel Gardner, Founder, Romance Academy "The Virgin Monologues is a wonderfully courageous ride through love and life. I found Carrie's honest communication about what it's like to navigate the joyous and sometimes perilous journey though relationships refreshing. In her book Carrie has invited us to not only do better in relationships but to be a better people. I know this book may seem, on the surface, to be geared towards women. However, men will find it fascinating and challenging and will probably be better men for reading it. A must read!" - Gabe Valenzuela, 2nd Year Overseer, Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry "In this book Carrie reminds us that what is most important is actually understanding and living out of a place of knowing who we are in Christ, and how that needs to be at the foundation of how we see ourselves. When we do it will transform how we do relationships - single people or married." - Nici Cahusac

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What do you do when your child disappears?'A hugely compelling story of loss, grief and vengeance, The Empty Room is probably the best novel yet by one of our finest mystery writers. Unmissable.' John Connolly'The tension and heartbreak kept me turning the pages' Patricia Gibney'A searing, thrilling and heartbreaking look at life, loss and revenge, expertly handled by a hugely talented storyteller' Chris WhitakerPandora - Dora - Condron wakes one morning to discover her 17-year old daughter Ellie, has not come home after a party.The day Ellie disappears, Dora is alone as her husband Eamon has already left for the day in his job as a long-distance lorry driver. So Dora does the usual things: rings around Ellie's friends... but no one knows where she is. Her panic growing, Dora tries the local hospitals and art college where Ellie is a student - but then the police arrive on her doorstep with the news her daughter's handbag has been discovered dumped in a layby.So begins Dora's ordeal of waiting and not knowing what has become of her girl. Eamon's lack of empathy and concern, Dora realises, is indicative of the state of their marriage, and left on her own, Dora begins to reassess everything she thought she knew about her family and her life. Increasingly isolated and disillusioned with the police investigation, Dora feels her grip on reality slipping as she takes it upon herself to find her daughter - even if it means tearing apart everything and everybody she had ever loved, and taking justice into her own hands. Praise for The Empty Room 'The Empty Room has all the elements of great drama - murder, revenge, sacrifice - along with complex moral questions that will keep you engaged long after the final thrilling page' Martina Murphy'A compulsive, addictive, heart rending read, The Empty Room is a tale of grief and loss, and ultimately redemption, that puts Brian McGilloway at the very top of the game. I could not put it down' Sam Blake'Masterful, humane, compelling, beautifully written, utterly convincing - and without a wasted word' Catherine Kirwan 'The Empty Room is a tense, and at times claustrophic, slow-burner which builds to a devastating conclusion' Claire Allan'A tense thriller' Irish Daily Mail'The Empty Room surely secures Brian's place as one of the best writers out there. . . a thoughtful exploration of a mother struggling with a changed world. . . exceptional' Chris MacDonald 'High tension and high emotion make this story a page turner' Roisin Meaney Praise for Brian McGilloway 'A compulsive police procedural, but it's so much more than that: thought-provoking, compassionate and beautifully-written. McGilloway is one of the finest crime-writers working today' Ann Cleeves'Blood Ties is one of those rare gems; a beautifully written crime novel that's also brilliantly paced, skillfully plotted and utterly absorbing. Brian McGilloway is, quite simply, a master of his art. Bravo' Jo Spain'Brian McGilloway's police procedurals are a masterclass in crime fictions' Andrea Carter'A clever, engaging and beautifully crafted police procedural' Irish Independent'Some of the very best crime fiction being written today' Lee Child on Bad Blood'This dazzling, labyrinthine debut impresses not only for the authentic depiction of a troubled community and the conflicts of a fallible detective, but also for the intense portrait of the borderlands themselves; as beautiful and terrible as the secrets they keep' Guardian'McGilloway's Borderlands was one of last years most impressive debuts. Does Gallows Lane pass the feared second-novel test? Easily.' The Times'McGilloway skilfully handles the tangled threads of a conspiracy surrounding an old crime, to make a satisfying mystery with an attractive central character.' Sunday Telegraph

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"Riveting, inspiring, at times hard to believe but utterly true...it gives some measure of hope in these rancorous times." -- John GrishamAs an ordinary high school student in the 1960s, Tom Tarrants became deeply unsettled by the social upheaval of the era. In response, he turned for answers to extremist ideology and was soon utterly radicalized. Before long, he became involved in the reign of terror spread by Mississippi's dreaded White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, described by the FBI as the most violent right-wing terrorist organization in America.In 1969, while attempting to bomb the home of a Jewish leader in Meridian, Mississippi, Tom was ambushed by law enforcement and shot multiple times during a high-speed chase. Nearly dead from his wounds, he was arrested and sentenced to thirty years in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman Farm. Unrepentant, Tom and two other inmates made a daring escape from Parchman yet were tracked down by an FBI SWAT team and apprehended in hail of bullets that killed one of the convicts. Tom spent the next three years alone in a six-foot-by-nine-foot cell. There he began a search for truth that led him to the Bible and a reading of the gospels, resulting in his conversion to Jesus Christ and liberation from the grip of racial hatred and violence.Astounded by the change in Tom, many of the very people who worked to put him behind bars began advocating for his release. After serving eight years of a 35-year sentence, Tom left prison. He attended college, moved to Washington, DC, and became copastor of a racially mixed church. He went on to earn a doctorate and became the president of the C. S. Lewis Institute, where he devoted himself to helping others become wholehearted followers of Jesus.A dramatic story of radical transformation, Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love demonstrates that hope is not lost even in the most tumultuous of times, even those similar to our own."As a kid in Mississippi in the late 1960's, I remember the men of our church discussing the Klan's bombing campaign against the Jews. The men did not disapprove. Later, I would use this fascinating chapter of civil rights history as the backdrop for my novel The Chamber. Now, one of the bombers, Thomas Tarrants, tells the real story in this remarkable memoir. It is riveting, inspiring, at times hard to believe but utterly true, and it gives some measure of hope in these rancorous times." --John Grisham"Dramatic...Simply astonishing...Essential reading for these times. If you want to understand how the evil of extremist thought works--and how the gospel of God’s grace can overcome it--read this book." --Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker, lead pastor of National Community Church"Amazing...Gives hope for what God can do." --Dr. John Perkins, president emeritus, John Perkins Foundation; co-founder emeritus, Christian Community Development Association"A riveting narrative." --Russell Moore, president, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention"This gripping and inspiring story is as timely as today’s headlines....Put on your seatbelt and prepare to enter into one of the most extraordinary true stories you’ll ever encounter!" --Lee Strobel, best-selling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Grace"Reveals how easily a political ideology can grow into a radical, extreme, life-taking worldview, all the while masquerading for some supposed form of a 'Christian' faith....A powerful story!" --Eric C. Redmond, associate professor of Bible, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago

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We live in a time when public discourse is more skewed than ever by the propaganda that big money can buy, with trust in the leadership of elected officials at an all-time low. The "news" has degenerated into sensationalist sound bites, and the idea of debate has become a polarized shouting match that precludes any meaningful discussion. It's also a time of anxiety, as we're faced with economic and ecological crises on a global scale, with stakes that seem higher than ever before. In times like these, it's essential that we be able to think and communicate clearly. In this lively primer on critical thinking, Robert Jensen attacks the problems head on and delivers an accessible and engaging book that explains how we can work collectively to enrich our intellectual lives. Drawing on more than two decades of classroom experience and community organizing, Jensen shares strategies on how to challenge "conventional wisdom" in order to courageously confront the crises of our times and offers a framework for channeling our fears and frustrations into productive analysis that can inform constructive action. Jensen connects abstract ideas with the everyday political and spiritual struggles of ordinary people. Free of either academic or political jargon, this book is for anyone struggling to understand our world and contribute to making it a better place. Robert Jensen is a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and a founding board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center. "At the moment, what passes for political debate is the bickering of two vociferous and wrong-headed parties. Robert Jensen reacquaints us with the political and social skills we'll need if we're to reclaim politics for the 21st century. This is a brave book, one that packs more wisdom in its few pages than a shelf's worth of political theory, because it's also a book about political practice. Jensen patiently, honestly, and rigorously exemplifies the highest virtues of a public intellectual."--Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World's Food System "The first date or dinner party taboo is famous: 'No religion, no politics.' Debating, discussion, engagement with ideas that matter--these are all supposed to be left to professionals, specialists who talk to each other in mutually incomprehensible ways. Meanwhile decades of advertising, sound bites, PR, filtered information, and internet trolling have numbed us even more. But we don't have to live this way. We could immediately start living in a better world, one in which every conversation was an opportunity to learn more about ourselves, others, and the precious little world we all have to try to live on together. To do that, though, we would have to re-learn how to think and talk, how to agree and disagree. Robert Jensen's Arguing For Our Lives can help us do that."--Justin Podur, Associate Professor, York University and author of Haiti's New Dictatorship (Pluto Press 2012) "Arguing for Our Lives is a crucial book for reclaiming not only the pedagogical and political virtues of critical thinking, but for securing the foundations for critical agency and engaged citizenship. This is an indispensable book for students, educators, and others willing to fight the current ongoing assault by religious, political, and moral fundamentalists on critical thought, if not reason itself, that has engulfed American politics. Everyone should read Arguing for Our Lives if they believe there is a connection between how we think and how we act, how we understand democracy and how we experience and struggle for it."--Henry Giroux, author of Twilight of the Social: Resurgent Politics in the Age of Disposability (Paradigm, 2012)

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This is a new English translation of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on Law, found in Questions 90–108 of the First Part of the Second Part of the Summa Theologiae. In fact, it is the only free-standing English translation of the entire Treatise, which includes both a general account of law (Questions 90–92) and also specific treatments of what St. Thomas identifies as the five kinds of law: the eternal law (Question 93), the natural law (Question 94), human law (Questions 95–97), the Old Law (Questions 98–105), and the New Law (Questions 106–108). All other extant editions of Treatise on Law stop with the human law, and are thus approximately one-third the size of the full Treatise. St. Thomas’s account of law is firmly embedded within a general moral theory that begins with a rich conception of human flourishing, i.e., the good for human beings (Questions 1–5). This good consists, first and foremost, in our ultimate and intimate union with the Persons of the Blessed Trinity – a union that in our present state we can grasp intellectively and pursue affectively only with God’s supernatural assistance. It is within this framework that we order our loves and pursue the more proximate goals they open up to us as human beings in this life. Given the appropriate goals, the next question is how we can get from where we are, in the grips of the consequences of Original Sin, to where we want to be. The answer is: by means of (a) human actions that are good, i.e., rightly ordered toward our ultimate end and (b) the habits that these actions either engender or flow from. In analyzing human actions (Questions 6–21) and their relation to the passions (Questions 22–48), St. Thomas gives a general account of what he calls the ‘intrinsic principles’ of human actions and their associated habits – both virtues (Questions 49–70) and vices (Questions 71–89). It is only then that he turns to what he calls the ‘extrinsic principles’ of good human actions, viz., law (Questions 90–108) and grace (Questions 109–114). According to St. Thomas, law, far from supplanting virtue as a basic principle of action, serves as an independent principle of action that complements virtue and is itself capable of being factored into practical deliberation. The reason is that all of God’s precepts, prohibitions, and punishments are aimed at promoting the good of the whole universe and, more particularly, the good for human beings, both individually and within the various forms of social life. Because of this, law serves as both a restraint on bad actions and a spur to good action, i.e., a restraint on actions that take us away from virtue and genuine human flourishing and a spur to actions that promote virtue and flourishing. There are many benefits of having the whole treatise rather than just the first few questions, as has been the standard practice in previous editions of the Treatise on Law. To mention just a few of these benefits, the question on the moral precepts of the Old Law (question 100) helps to illuminate in many different ways the earlier questions on natural law and human law (questions 94–97). Again, the questions on the ceremonial and judicial precepts of the Old Law (questions 101–105) demon-strate in depth the symbiotic relationship that St. Thomas takes to obtain between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The questions on the New Law provide an introduction to the Christian way of life that will be described in incomparable detail in the Second Part of the Second Part, the bulk of which is structured around the treatment of the three theological virtues and the four cardinal virtues.

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Fragile is absolutely STUNNING' - Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups 'Sarah Hilary has always known how to chill her readers – Fragile dials the chill factor up to 11' - Val McDermid, author of The Wire in the Blood Fragile is a modern Gothic psychological thriller with a contemporary twist on the classic novel Rebecca from award-winning and critically acclaimed writer Sarah Hilary. Everything she touches breaks . . . Nell Ballard is a runaway. A former foster child with a dark secret she is desperately trying to keep, all Nell wants is to find a place she can belong. So when a job comes up at Starling Villas, home to the enigmatic Robin Wilder, she seizes the opportunity with both hands. But her new lodgings may not be the safe haven that she was hoping for. Her employer lives by a set of rigid rules and she soon sees he is hiding secrets of his own. But is Nell's arrival at the Villas really the coincidence it seems? After all, she knows more than most how fragile people can be – and how easily they can be to break . . . Further praise for Fragile: 'Fragile is absolutely STUNNING, the dreamy atmosphere couples with Nell's carnal love for Joe put me in mind of Barbara Vine . . . [Sarah Hilary is] an astonishingly gifted writer, with an almost scalpel-like ability to dissect human motivation and convey it deliciously devoid of sentimentality. I was GRIPPED by Fragile, it took me into a whole other world and I was sorry to leave it' - Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups 'Perfectly plotted, beautifully written modern Gothic. Timeless, tense and tender, Fragile will worm it's way deep into your heart, just as the characters insinuate themselves into each other's lives. I absolutely loved it' - Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said 'Beautifully crafted, smart and unsettling – a dark river of a book, with a chilling undertow' - Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses 'A dark, mesmeric fever-dream of a book' - Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10 'Beautifully written modern gothic. I took my time with this, savouring it – the tone of Sarah Hilary's writing is unique to her: exploring society and human nature in a sensitive, engrossing way. Ingenious, original and brilliant' - Will Dean, author of Red Snow 'Extraordinary . . . an immersive psychological thriller that plunges us into an underworld of emotional and physical exploitation. There are shades of Highsmith . . . Brilliant stuff' - Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy and The Ashes of London 'Fragile is a fever dream. A nightmarish slant on the world delivered expertly and with heart. Tension like cold steel. Characters you won't forget. Sarah Hilary is a modern-day Highsmith.' - Steve Cavanagh, author of The Thirteen 'A beguiling thriller of considerable ambition and ingenuity, Fragile marks Sarah Hilary as a twenty-first century du Maurier, a writer who plunges the depths of human nature, finding the darkest, most deviant corners, but also the fleeting hopes and brittle aspirations. This is a truly outstanding work of modern gothic.' - Eva Dolan, author of Between Two Evils 'Highly original, beautifully written' - Sharon Bolton, author of Now You See Me 'Sarah Hilary has created a beautifully written modern Gothic masterpiece, so full of intrigue and mysteries layered upon mysteries that the unravelling may well shred your nerves, in the best way possible' - Liz Nugent, author of Skin Deep 'The writing is so elegant, so restrained, that it brings to mind Patricia Highsmith. Fragile is a very fine, and very creepy psychological thriller.' - Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane 'A gorgeously written, tense and atmospheric novel. Sarah Hilary peels back the layers of mystery so skillfully that it was impossible to look away for a moment.' - Gytha Lodge, author of She Lies in Wait

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"It is [a] belief in diversity and pluralism and the uniqueness of each person that underlies all my writings . . . " -from the Preface. Regarded as the most influential and widely read thinker on modern organizations and their management, Peter Drucker has also established himself as an unorthodox and independent analyst of politics, the economy, and society. A man of impressive scope and expertise, he has paved significant inroads in a number of key areas, sharing his knowledge and keen insight on everything from the plight of the employee and the effects of technology to the vicissitudes of the markets and the future of the new world order. Adventures of a Bystander is Drucker's rich collection of autobiographical stories and vignettes, in which this legendary figure paints a portrait of his remarkable life, and of the larger historical realities of his time. In a style that is both unique and engaging, Drucker conveys his life story -from his early teen years in Vienna through the interwar years in Europe, the New Deal era, World War II, and the postwar period in America-through intimate profiles of a host of fascinating people he's known through the years. Their personal histories are, as Drucker tells us, the beads for which his own life serves as the string. A colorful group, these diverse, often unpredictable, always multidimensional individuals were chosen "because each of them, in his or her own highly personal way, reflects and refracts the thirty crucial years from the end of World War I to the first post-World War II decade-the thirty years that largely formed the world in which we now live." An amazing pageant of characters, both famous and otherwise, springs from these pages, illuminating and defining one of the most tumultuous periods in world history. Along with bankers and courtesans, artists, aristocrats, prophets, and empire-builders, we meet members of Drucker's own family and close circle of friends, among them such prominent figures as Sigmund Freud, Henry Luce, Alfred Sloan, John Lewis, and Buckminster Fuller. Playing to perfection their roles as those who "reflect and refract" the customs, beliefs, and attitudes of the times, these singular personalities lend Adventures of a Bystander a striking "you-are-there" feel. A brief encounter with Freud becomes the catalyst for an absorbing, multidimensional description of the economics, politics, and social psychology of pre-World War II Europe. Drucker introduces us to Fritz Kraemer, a brilliant, monocle-wearing eccentric who became an influential mentor to the young Henry Kissinger. His personal memoir of Henry Luce documents the development of modern journalism, while in "The Indian Summer of Innocence," he rescues and preserves the very heart of the American experience during the last New Deal years before World War II. Shedding light on a turbulent and important era, Adventures of a Bystander also reflects Peter Drucker himself as a man of imaginative sympathy and enormous interest in people, ideas, and history. These enthralling stories complement and complete the groundbreaking analytical writing for which he is so revered. Luminous autobiographical stories by one of the greatest thinkers of our time "The cast of characters among whom Drucker moves is superbly rich, and the informed glimpse he provides of a vanished social and political universe is an education in itself. Adventures of a Bystander is better than a novel, more lively than an essay, and as thoughtful as both at their best." -The Harvard Business Review. "Adventures of a Bystander is a virtuoso performance in which Drucker displays a dazzling diversity of personal interests and knowledge, an awesome power of recall, and a crisp, highly readable writing style." -BusinessWeek. "Adventures of a Bystander appears in a stroke to have restored the art of the memoir and of the essay. It will doubtless be a while before its like comes round again." -The Washington Post.

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This book is written for financial analysts who have a working knowledge of Excel and VBA and who wish to enhance their marketability by improving their modeling expertise. The goal of the book is to broaden the reader’s VBA skills and at the same time to progressively integrate Access, PowerPoint, and Outlook into an existing model. Significant attention is also directed to the design and execution of an Excel/VBA interface employing detailed UserForms. In addition, the construction of various reports, first in Excel, then Access, and finally PowerPoint is undertaken. Regardless of your area of financial expertise, this book serves as an essential guide to mastering leveraging the effects of Microsoft products in whatever applications you choose to build. The focus of the book is a case study containing a structured finance model. The case study model was originally designed for the securitization of a portfolio of commercial small business loans. This model now needs to be expanded to securitize a much larger portfolio of residential mortgages. The Original Structuring model will be bifurcated into a Sources of Funds model, the assets of the collateral pool, and a Uses of Funds model, the liabilities waterfall model. This will give the reader experience working with an existing model as a base departure point of development rather than the less common “start from scratch” approach. Once the Base Asset Model (BAM) and the Base Liabilities Models (BLM) are complete, each model will serve as the platform for future development. From the BAM and BLM a pair of much more robust models, the Collateral Cash Flow Generator (CCFG) and the Liabilities Waterfall Model (LWM), respectively, are created. The CCFG is designed to process a significantly greater quantity, variety, and complexity of collateral types. It also introduces the analyst to Geographic based prepayment methods as well as those using Financial/Demographic factor approaches. The LWM, operating independently of the CCFG, reads the collateral cash flow scenarios and applies them across a two tiered, six tranche bond structure. The liabilities waterfall contains provision for an interest rate swap, performance triggers and a variety of other credit enhancement features. With the CCFG and LWM now complete Access is introduced. Access will replace various Excel/VBA code modules in the CCFG such as the collateral data management, data scrubbing and reporting, data sufficiency testing, and eligibility screening. Access is also employed to export and the various collateral cash flows. In the LWM Access is used to import the cash flows, store the liability structure specifications, and export/save the resultant structure performance. PowerPoint is then introduced in the CCFG to allow for the fully automated production of presentation report packages. Last Outlook is added to the models to inform the analyst of model performance and to automatically distribute the various report packages to pre-designated mailing lists. The book contains over 750 exhibits of reports, menus, calculation, and algorithmic examples and most of all code. The complete Excel, VBA, Access, PowerPoint, and Outlook code for all of the models is included on the Web site. The Web site also includes Web chapters containing detailed instructions on how to create and populate a directory environment to store this code, run the models, and organize the results. Lastly there are other Web chapters containing supplemental information explaining the structure and function of the original model, bond and mortgage math (with calculation examples), representative line generator programs, and a tutorial on the construction and integration of UserForms. This book is the intermediate level companion volume to A Fast-Track to Structured Finance Modeling, Monitoring, and Valuation: Jump Start VBA; Preinitz; Wiley 2009, an introductory work on the subject.

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A comprehensive compendium of artists and writers confronting questions of Black identity, activism and social responsibility in the age of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers, based on the landmark traveling exhibition A New York Magazine 2021 holiday gift guide pick What is “Black art”? This question was posed and answered time and time again between 1960 and 1980 by artists, curators and critics deeply affected by this turbulent period of radical social and political upheaval in America. Rather than answering in one way, they argued for radically different ideas of what “Black art” meant. Across newspapers and magazines, catalogs, pamphlets, interviews, public talks and panel discussions, a lively debate emerged between artists and others to address profound questions of how Black artists should or should not deal with politics, about what audiences they should address and inspire, where they should try to exhibit, how their work should be curated, and whether there was or was not such a category as “Black art” in the first place. Conceived as a reader connected to the landmark exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, which shone a light on the vital contributions made by Black artists over two decades, this anthology collects over 200 texts from the artists, critics, curators and others who sought to shape and define the art of their time. Exhaustively researched and edited by exhibition curator Mark Godfrey, who provides the substantial introduction, and Allie Biswas, included are rare and out-of-print texts from artists and writers, as well as texts published for the first time ever. Contributors include: Lawrence Alloway, Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Tomie Arai, Ralph Arnold, Dore Ashton, Malcolm Bailey, Amiri Baraka, Romare Bearden, Fred Beauford, Cleveland Bellow, LeGrace G. Benson, Dawoud Bey, Camille Billops, Gloria Bohanon, Claude Booker, Frank Bowling, David Bradford, Peter Bradley, Gwendolyn Brooks, Kay Brown, Milton Brown, Vivian Browne, Linda Goode Bryant, Margaret G. Burroughs, Debbie Butterfield, Steve Cannon, Yvonne Parks Catchings, Elizabeth Catlett, Dana Chandler, Claudia Chapline, Charles Childs, Edward Clark, A.D. Coleman, Dan Concholar, John Coplans, Hugh M. Davies, Douglas Davis, Bing Davis, Alonzo Davis, Dale Davis, Melvin Dixon, Jeff Donaldson, Robert Doty, Emory Douglas, John Dowell, Louis Draper, David C. Driskell, Tony Eaton, Eugene Eda, Melvin Edwards, Ray Elkins, Ralph Ellison, Marion Epting, Elton Fax, Elsa Honig Fine, Frederick Fiske, Babatunde Folayemi, Clebert Ford, Edmund Barry Gaither, Addison Gayle, Henri Ghent, Ray Gibson, Sam Gilliam, Robert H. Glauber, Lynda Goode-Bryant, Allan M. Gordon, Earl G. Graves, Carroll Greene, Abdul Alkalimat, David Hammons, David Henderson, Napoleon Henderson, M.J. Hewitt, Richard Hunt, Sam Hunter, Josine Ianco-Starrels, Nigel Jackson, Jay Jacobs, Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Daniel LaRue Johnson, Marie Johnson, Walter Jones, Lois Mailou Jones, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Cliff Joseph, Paul Keene, Martin Kilson, Wee Kim, April Kingsley, Hilton Kramer, Jacob Lawrence, Carolyn Lawrence, Don L. Lee, Hughie Lee-Smith, Samella Lewis, Tom Lloyd, Al Loving, Howard Mallory, Earl Roger Mandle, Jan van der Marck, Phillip Mason, James Mellow, Paul Mills, Evangeline J. Montgomery, Toni Morrison, Keith Morrison, Larry Neal, Cindy Nemser, Senga Nengudi, Robert Newman, Lorraine O'Grady, Ademola Olugebefola, John Outterbridge, Joe Overstreet, Marion Perkins, Marcy S. Philips, Howardena Pindell, Mimi Poser, Helaine Posner, Noah Purifoy, Ishmael Reed, Gary Rickson, Clayton Riley, Faith Ringgold, Mark Rogovin, Barbara Rose, Victoria Rosenwald, Joseph Ross, Bayard Rustin, Betye Saar, Raymond Saunders, Robert Sengstacke, Jeanne Siegel, Lowery Stokes Sims, Steve Smith, Beuford Smith, Frank Smith, Val Spaulding, Edward Spriggs, Nelson Stevens, James Stewart, Edward K. Taylor, Alma Thomas, Ruth Waddy, William Walker, Francis and Val Gray Ward, Timothy Washington, Burton Wasserman, Diane Weathers, John Weber, JoAnn Whatley, Charles White, Jack Whitten, Roy Wilkins, William T. Williams, Gerald Williams, Randy Williams, William Wilson, Hale Woodruff and Cherilyn C. Wright.

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As one of the world's foremost interior designers, Tricia Guild has a passionate belief that the way we choose to live has a significant impact on our well-being and happiness. The homes that we live in, the things that we surround ourselves with, and the everyday choices we make, can profoundly affect our outlook and positivity. It is no surprise, then, that Tricia practises what she preaches: she finds it impossible to separate her work as a designer from other aspects of her life, and she believes that, in seeking creative inspiration in each experience, especially in enjoying the things that bring pleasure to our lives, we can perfect the art of living. For Tricia, Italy is a particularly enduring passion: the culture, landscape, architecture, food and music all strike a creative chord. She has had a house there for many years. The last home was a rustic farmhouse, but when Tricia and her family began the search for a new property, she knew it would be decidedly different. In this new Italian home, Tricia found the perfect opportunity to create a contemporary interior reflecting a love of modernity and simplicity that has evolved over the years. In Tricia's view, modernity does not mean a lack of colour, pattern or texture; a contemporary interior can be both decorative and minimal - in fact, a confident use of colour and pattern can be the very thing that makes it even more wonderful. Here, working with the architect Stephen Marshall and the garden designer Arne Maynard, Tricia has created a special home - a contemporary interpretation of the local vernacular - that represents her kind of modern. In In My View, Tricia charts the creation of her stunning Italian home set amid verdant oil groves. We are taken on an extensive tour of the breathtaking property, right from the entrance steps and the rooms/spaces in the main house to the outdoor dining areas, studio, guest accommodation, kitchen garden and pool house. Stephen and Arne offer insight into their collaboration with Tricia, describing, among other things, the selection of materials - local stone, concrete, glass and galvanized metal - for the house, and the planting on the terraces and around the rolling lawns of the garden. Local artisans and craftspeople also played a crucial role in bringing this truly magnificent yet relaxing and comfortable home to life. Tricia also presents her new London home - a Victorian townhouse in a corner plot, where, with the same team of Stephen and Arne - she set about creating an urban retreat comprising three distinct areas to accommodate living, dining and resting. While life in Italy for Tricia is about seasonality and nature, her life in London is centred on her work at Designers Guild, the company she founded in 1970. Her London home therefore is, she says, `sharply experimental', her version of a lab, where she tests designs and assesses how colours work together. In this section of the book, Tricia provides a glimpse of working life and the design process at the company headquarters in west London. Throughout the book, Tricia shares the moodboards that helped her to realize her dream homes in Italy and London. For Tricia, moodboards are vital in the early stages of any project, large or small, because they help to stimulate the creative process, even define how one wishes to live, by establishing the language, rhythm and style of each space. The choices that one makes here, the process of selection and careful editing, lie at the heart of finding one's own style. In My View reveals the personal choices have shaped the way Tricia lives now, and will inspire the reader to develop their individual style and thus create their own special view.

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What if there was a template you could follow to map your own career success in these disruptive times? The world is filled with smart, talented, and hardworking people whose careers get stuck. Are you feeling like one of them? Despite what most career self-help books would tell you, getting unstuck is about more than motivation. For the past decade, Silicon Valley executive and leadership coach Abhijeet Khadilkar has been helping some of the most driven, entrepreneurial and creative people in the world to unlock their potential and accelerate their careers. In this book, he reveals what it really takes to find your own North Star for personal growth. Unlock! is filled with templates, guides and a framework for the seven crucial steps anyone can use to unlock their potential as a leader, even during a recession (or a global pandemic). From a guide to learning how to take advantage of market trends to advice on how to build on your existing strengths, the insights in this book will help you start turning the flywheel of career growth to create value for your organization, community, AND yourself. Written in an easy-to-access style, Unlock! includes strategies, work examples, and practical exercises as well as reflections useful at any stage of your career. The path to building a more fulfilling career is ahead, and this book is the guide you need to unlock your true leadership potential. Unlock’s 7 Step Process shows you how to set your career goals, yet make them adaptable to the ever-changing business world. They show you how to become a stronger leader in the workplace, contributing to advancement and opportunities you never would have thought possible. * The North Star guides you toward what you really want to do and who you would like to become. Once you complete this step, you’ll have a strong light to point out your path to success. * Discovery allows you to uncover new career opportunities based on your existing skills and new skills you may acquire in the future. You’ll have a lens to re-imagine the bucket of skills and experience you already have. * Horizon shows you how to align your career path with market trends. Discover near term and long range trends that move you from chasing the market to leading it. * Resolve prompts you to make decisions based on facts and commit to those decisions professionally and emotionally. You’ll know how to include the most important factors of your life into your career decisions. * Moniker demonstrates how to build a professional brand, both online and off. You’ll be able to control other people’s perceptions of who you are—even before they meet you. * Elevate provides a roadmap for your first 90 days in your new career or company position. Through a series of recurring activities, you’ll accelerate your career growth and expertise using a compounding effect. * Reinvent allows you to take some time to reflect and regroup. You’ll have a plan to prepare for that all-important annual review, as well as being able to analyze what is working and what isn’t, and adjust accordingly. These seven steps guide you in an unerring direction to your own personal north star of career success. By examining yourself using the templates provided to you via a QR code, you can create a career that is satisfactory on many different levels. Unlock! is the book you need right now to unlock your true potential. Full of powerful exercises for you to transform yourself into an exception leader, the book is also easy to read and follow. If you are ready to accelerate your life and career, RIGHT NOW, grab this book and get going!

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From National Book Award–nominee Iliana Regan, a new memoir of her life and heritage as a forager, spanning her ancestry in Eastern Europe, her childhood in rural Indiana, and her new life set in the remote forests of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Fieldwork explores how Regan’s complex gender identity informs her acclaimed work as a chef and her profound experience of the natural world.Not long after Iliana Regan’s celebrated debut, Burn the Place, became the first food-related title in four decades to become a National Book Award nominee in 2019, her career as a Michelin star–winning chef took a sharp turn north. Long based in Chicago, she and her new wife, Anna, decided to create a culinary destination, the Milkweed Inn, located in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula, where much of the food served to their guests would be foraged by Regan herself in the surrounding forest and nearby river. Part fresh challenge, part escape, Regan’s move to the forest was also a return to her rural roots, in an effort to deepen the intimate connection to nature and the land that she’d long expressed as a chef, but experienced most intensely growing up.On her family’s farm in rural Indiana, Regan was the beloved youngest in a family with three much older sisters. From a very early age, her relationship with her mother and father was shaped by her childhood identification as a boy. Her father treated her like the son he never had, and together they foraged for mushrooms, berries, herbs, and other wild food in the surrounding countryside—especially her grandfather’s nearby farm, where they also fished in its pond and young Iliana explored the accumulated family treasures stored in its dusty barn. Her father would share stories of his own grandmother, Busia, who’d helped run a family inn while growing up in eastern Europe, from which she imported her own wild legends of her native forests, before settling in Gary, Indiana, and opening Jennie’s Café, a restaurant that fed generations of local steelworkers. He also shared with Iliana a steady supply of sharp knives and—as she got older—guns. Iliana’s mother had family stories as well—not only of her own years marrying young, raising headstrong girls, and cooking at Jennie’s, but also of her father, Wayne, who spent much of his boyhood hunting with the men of his family in the frozen reaches of rural Canada. The stories from this side of Regan’s family are darker, riven with alcoholism and domestic strife too often expressed in the harm, physical and otherwise, perpetrated by men—harm men do to women and families, and harm men do to the entire landscapes they occupy. As Regan explores the ancient landscape of Michigan’s boreal forest, her stories of the land, its creatures, and its dazzling profusion of plant and vegetable life are interspersed with her and Anna’s efforts to make a home and a business of an inn that’s suddenly, as of their first full season there in 2020, empty of guests due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She discovers where the wild blueberry bushes bear tiny fruit, where to gather wood sorrel, and where and when the land’s different mushroom species appear—even as surrounding parcels of land are suddenly and violently decimated by logging crews that obliterate plant life and drive away the area’s birds. Along the way she struggles not only with the threat of COVID, but also with her personal and familial legacies of addiction, violence, fear, and obsession—all while she tries to conceive a child that she and her immune-compromised wife hope to raise in their new home. With Burn the Place, Regan announced herself as a writer whose extravagant, unconventional talents matched her abilities as a lauded chef. In Fieldwork, she digs even deeper to express the meaning and beauty we seek in the landscapes, and stories, that reveal the forces which inform, shape, and nurture our lives.

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Recommended by the New York Times and NBC News, and called one of the Best Books of the Year by Buzzfeed! The New York Times directs readers to Retablos if you want to know "what's life really like on the Mexican border." "Solis grew up just a mile from the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, and he tells stories about his childhood and coming of age, including his parents migration to the United States from Mexico, his first encounter with racism and finding a Mexican migrant girl hiding in the cotton fields."—Concepción de León, New York Times Seminal moments, rites of passage, crystalline vignettes—a memoir about growing up brown at the U.S./Mexico border. More praise for Octavio Solis's Retablos: "This is American and Mexican literature a stone's throw from the always hustling El Paso border."—Gary Soto, author of The Elements of San Joaquin "We inhabit a border world rich in characters, lush with details, playful and poignant, a border that refutes the stereotypes and divisions smaller minds create. Solis reminds us that sometimes the most profound truths are best told with crafted fictions--and he is a master at it."—Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents " … it's hard not to consider the border itself as a representation of a 'terrible rift,' a split between homes, communities, identities, generations. While reading this generous and eye-opening account, it's easy to see how, for the country at large, the rift has only deepened.”—Arianna Rebolini, Buzzfeed Best Books of Fall 2018 "Landing somewhere between Neil Gaiman and Juan Rulfo, Solis secularizes the mythological by turning men and women into saintly figures—like their criada [maid], Consuelo, and a white priest who shows his family empathy—and monsters: border agents who take his friends away and school bullies."—Michael Adam Carroll, The Millions "There has never been a border book like Retablos, a collection of smoldering epiphanies suffering the baptizing waters of recall. . . ."—Roberto Ontiveros, San Antonio Current "The book is rendered in tight, stand-alone recollections rich with poetry and honesty. . . . If retablos are offerings, then Solis' book is a gift of memory, not always pleasant, but always true."—Beatriz Terrazas, Dallas Morning News "The experience of reading his tightly contained memories in succession is a bit like drawing old coins up from a wishing well. Filtered through veils of distance and time, these scenes and reflections are wonderful and weird flashes of childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in the life of this particular Mexican American boy."-- Sophie Haigney, San Francisco Chronicle "Octavio Solis' Retablos recounts a 'beautiful, messy' youth on the border. Though its title evokes Mexican folk art, Retablos is closer in effect to that of French pointillism. Its small dabs of vivid color produce a brilliant cumulative effect."—Steven G. Kellman, The Texas Observer "In this debut memoir, playwright Solis delivers top-notch vignettes of his youth with riveting imagery and empathy, recounting--and embellishing, he says--memories of growing up brown in El Paso, Tex. . . . These brilliantly told stories of missteps and redemption are a treat."--Publishers Weekly ". . .what struck me most about each chapter was Solis's ability to plant a specific image in your mind. With every retablo, you can see in ferocious detail exactly what the author wants you to see, like a special kind of telepathy. I found myself wanting to paint them."—Caitlyn Reynolds, The Los Angeles Review of Books "In all, a beautiful, evocative, and timely expression of border culture for every collection."--Sara Martinez, Booklist "In this coming-of-age memoir, a playwright illuminates the culture of the El Paso border as he perceived it when he was young. . . . An intriguing work that transcends category, drawing from facts but reading like fiction."--Kirkus Reviews

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A young woman defies convention in a small Pakistani village, with devastating results for her and her family. A stunning, immense beautiful novel about courage, family and the meaning of love, when everything seems lost… ‘A compelling and compassionate story’ Anna Mazzola, author of The Story Keeper ‘A shocking portrait of lives lived under the shadow of threat and prejudice. A brave book’ Vaseem Khan, author of the Inspector Chopra series 'A bold, gifted storyteller, dealing with a gritty, thorny issue of female honour. Compulsive reading' Qaisra Shahraz MBE, author of The Holy Woman ‘Beautifully written and immersive, No Honour starts with a powerful opening that propels you into the shocking themes. A must-read’ Sarah Pearse, author of The Sanatorium _______________ In sixteen-year-old Abida’s small Pakistani village, there are age-old rules to live by, and her family’s honour to protect. And, yet, her spirit is defiant and she yearns to make a home with the man she loves. When the unthinkable happens, Abida faces the same fate as other young girls who have chosen unacceptable alliances – certain, public death. Fired by a fierce determination to resist everything she knows to be wrong about the society into which she was born, and aided by her devoted father, Jamil, who puts his own life on the line to help her, she escapes to Lahore and then disappears. Jamil goes to Lahore in search of Abida – a city where the prejudices that dominate their village take on a new and horrifying form – and father and daughter are caught in a world from which they may never escape. Moving from the depths of rural Pakistan, riddled with poverty and religious fervour, to the dangerous streets of over-populated Lahore, No Honour is a story of family, of the indomitable spirit of love in its many forms … a story of courage and resilience, when all seems lost, and the inextinguishable fire that lights one young woman’s battle for change. _______________ ‘So powerful’ Heat magazine ‘Addictive, brave and powerful’ Louise Fein, author of People Like Us ‘Deeply emotional’ Eastern Eye ‘A stunningly written, immensely important book’ A. A. Chaudhuri ‘Perfectly paced story structure and eloquent dialogue … shocking, deeply moving and hugely important’ Carol Lovekin ‘A truly heart-wrenching tale of the human spirit’s quest for love, freedom and survival’ Tim Glister ‘It will shake you, anger and sadden you, but also restore hope in the power of love to triumph over evil, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles’ Tony Frobisher,Daily Times ‘Soul deep, mind-blowing and heart-wrenching … you are left reeling’ Faiqa Mansab ‘Khan is a masterful storyteller’ Aliya Ali-Afzal ‘Beautiful, striking and eye-opening’ Louise Beech ‘Khan writes about the dance between fathers and daughters, men and women, authority and no authority, and No Honour is a page-turner’ Soniah Kamal ‘Tense and gripping’ Polly Crosby ‘Beautifully rendered, moving and insightful … this book is not always an easy read but it is a compelling and rewarding one’ Neema Shah ‘Spectacular… a joy from start to finish’ Charlie Carroll ‘Hypnotic, atmospheric and by the end, so hopeful’ Sarah Sultoon ‘This book is devastating, vitally important and beautifully written. Astonishing’ Rob Parker ‘Insightful and sympathetic to the unique experiences of women, whilst evoking the atmosphere of Lahore … hard to put down’ Alex Morrall ‘An epic, gut-wrenching story of love and survival in the face of barbaric oppression’ Heleen Kist ‘A gripping, horrifying, compulsive read’ Jennie Godfrey ‘This is a book that will stay with me for a long time … I was horrified by what I was reading but literally couldn't put this book down’ Madeleine Black ‘A compelling, brave and uplifting read for our time’ Eve Smith ‘Compelling main characters make it memorable and the heavy subject matter in handled the way it should have been – with empathy’ Mashable

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MCKINSEY TOP 5 RECOMMENDED READ 'An underground hit' – Best Politics Books, Financial Times 'Jon has one of the few big ideas that's easily applied' – Sam Conniff, Be More Pirate 'A wonderful guide to how to be human in the 21st Century' – Ece Temelkuran, How to Lose a Country: the Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship Description Citizens opens up a new way of understanding ourselves and shows us what we must do to survive and thrive as individuals, organisations, and nations. Over the past decade, Jon Alexander’s consultancy, the New Citizenship Project, has helped revitalise some of Britain’s biggest organisations including the Co-op, the Guardian and the National Trust. Here, with the New York Times bestselling writer Ariane Conrad, he shows how history is about to enter age of the Citizen. Because when our institutions treat people as creative, empowered creatures rather than consumers, everything changes. Unleashing the power of everyone equips us to face the challenges of economic insecurity, climate crisis, public health threats, and polarisation. Citizens is an upbeat handbook, full of insights, clear examples to follow, and inspiring case studies, from the slums of Kenya to the backstreets of Birmingham – and a foreword by Brian Eno. It is the perfect pick-me-up for leaders, founders, elected officials – and citizens everywhere. Organise and seize the future! Reviews 'Society is like an out of control house party – eating, drinking and consuming everything. Jon is the organiser of the campfire gathering behind the party. It’s calm and welcoming and you won’t want to leave. In Citizens, Jon and Ariane show how to leave the burning house of the Consumer Story and join the campfire that is the Citizen Story.' – Stephen Greene, CEO of RockCorps and founding Chair of National Citizen Service UK 'The belief that every single one of us has both the potential and the desire to make the world better drives me every day, in everything I do. In Citizens, Jon shows how taking that belief as a starting point really could transform our world. This is a truly powerful book, in every sense of the word.' - Josh Babarinde, Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur 'Every great transformation requires a new story. A story that reveals new possibilities and points toward an optimistic alternative to the current situation. Citizens presents just such a story.' – Tim Brown, Chair of IDEO and author of Change By Design 'The shift from consumer to citizen is a truly big idea. If you’re in a position of strategic influence, I strongly recommend you engage with this and consciously explore what it might mean for your organisation.' – Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE, Former Director General, National Trust, and Trustee, BBC 'There is such a thing as an idea whose time has come. This is that idea.' – James Perry, Board Member, B Lab Global, and Founding Partner, Snowball Investment Management About the Authors JON ALEXANDER began his career with success in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year before making a dramatic change. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle. In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project to bring the resulting ideas into contact with reality. In Citizens, he is ready to share them with the world. ARIANE CONRAD has built a career turning big ideas into books that change the world. Known as the Book Doula, she has co-written several New York Times bestsellers. BRIAN ENO is an artist, philosopher and Citizen who has played a critical part in British culture since the early 1970s. He is a deep believer in the power of ideas and the possibility of a better world, beliefs which manifest both in his audio and visual art, and in his deep engagement with social, political and environmental issues. Buy the book to carry on reading

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It's the near future, and mankind has expanded its presence in space. Maintaining law and order among this network of space stations, satellites and moon outposts is the responsibility of the International Space Police Force, known colloquially as the Star Cops. Their leader is Commander Nathan Spring. It's been months since the last attack by Mother Earth, the activist group opposed to mankind's expansion into space. It's believed that the group is finished. But instead, Mother Earth is about to renew its campaign. This time with even more ferocity and violence. 2.1: Dead and Buried by Guy Adams. At Lunar Interments, the moon's graveyard for the wealthy, the caretaker has noticed something odd in the burial records. Odd enough for him to call in the Star Cops. Devis isn't happy at being assigned to what he thinks is a mundane case. Not when Nathan and Kenzy are off to investigate a burglary at the home of billionaire businessman Ben Alexander. A break-in where the burglar has finished up dead. But in the lunar resting place of the dead, Devis will find himself racing against the clock to save his life and hundreds of others. 2.2: The Killing Jar by John Dorney. The Charlie Chaplin is a second-hand space station operated as a space-tourism hub by entrepreneur Martin Thane. When Nathan receives reports that serious accidents and even a death have been caused by Thane flouting safety laws, he decides to investigate. An accident investigation soon becomes a murder enquiry. And as the Star Cops hunt for the killer, the station becomes a death trap threatening everyone on board. 2.3: Moonshine by Roland Moore. A friend of Kenzy's on the space station Coral Sea has been dismissed for possession of alcohol and sent back to Earth. She believes his claim that he was framed, and when she learns of his subsequent suicide she and Devis travel to Australia to investigate. A difficult enquiry is not helped when Kenzy's former fiance, a Police Superintendent, appears on the scene. On Moonbase, Nathan is expecting an official visit from a powerful dignitary. So it's not a good time for there to be a fatal incident that may be the work of Mother Earth. 2.4: Hostage by Andrew Smith. The Star Cops are under intense pressure in the face of continuing Mother Earth attacks. The very existence of the International Space Police Force is in jeopardy. Kenzy and Priya are responding to a murderous Mother Earth explosion at a moon outpost when one of the workers, Mary Ward, takes a hostage and makes demands, accusing others of trying to kill her. She appears to have snapped under pressure. As the crisis develops, dangerous secrets are revealed. Secrets that some will be prepared to kill for. And die for. Star Cops debuted on BBC2 in 1987, the brainchild of Doctor Who and Blake's 7 writer Chris Boucher, aimed as a police procedural set in the new frontier of commercialised space exploration. Several new characters have been created for these fresh Star Cops adventures, with Priya Basu played by Eastenders regular Rakhee Thakra. CAST: David Calder (Nathan Spring / Box), Trevor Cooper (Colin Devis), Linda Newton (Pal Kenzy), Rakhee Thakrar (Priya Basu), Philip Olivier (Paul Bailey), Nimmy March (Shayla Moss), Andrew Fettes (Mac Thirwell), Vikash Bhai (Ben Alexander), Amy Downham (Lyra Fox), Will Chitty (Martin Thane), Tor Clark (Rebecca Driscoll), Timothy Hofmeier (Phil Bovey / Vernon Hollis), Craig Armstrong (Barney Hillier / Theodore Gallow), William Gaminara (Godfrey Miller),Sarah Sutton (Mary Ward), Emily Carewe (Sally Newell). Please note: Star Cops features some mild swearing and content which may not be suitable for younger listeners.

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A beautiful book' - Jo Good, BBC Radio London'When Harry Met Minnie made me cry and made me dance with joy. It's an exquisite tale about heartbreak and healing, critters and humans, and the little miracles life hands us when we need them the most' - Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses'Teichner's main themes are sure to warm readers in this cold coronavirus winter: the steadfast devotion between dogs and their owners, and the essential role friendship plays in sustaining both humans and their beloved pets ... Teichner has learned that we all have the capacity to create and build new friendships and attachments at whatever age or stage of life. That such rewards are possible is the inspirational lesson for all the characters in - and readers of - this touching saga' - The Washington Post'When Harry Met Minnie is a tour-de-force of storytelling. Martha Teichner not only charts the course of two remarkable friendships, between two people and two dogs, she invites us to consider our own relationships. The stars that had to align to put someone special in our life. This is a love story, masterful, warm and funny, heartfelt and heartbreaking. I absolutely loved this book' - Louise Penny, New York Times bestselling author of All the Devils Are Here'When Harry Met Minnie is a story of laughter and tears, of friendship and dogs. It shows us the loyalty and resilience of Bull Terriers?and of two women who love them. A book of generosity and hope for an era badly in need of both' - Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of GOOD BOY: My Life in Seven Dogs'When Harry Met Minnie belongs on the shelf next to Travels with Charley and Marley and Me. But the unforgettable dogs we meet in these pages don't just help the people in their lives, they save each other. Martha Teichner has written an extraordinary story filled with love and humor about the transformative power of friendship, among dogs and people, in the thick of life and at its end. I fell in love with Harry, Minnie, their humans, and this marvel of a book' - Will Schwalbe, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club and Books for Living'I decided to write this book, because I didn't want to stop living the story of what happened when Harry met Minnie. I didn't want to forget any of it, even the sad parts. This story of unexpected friendship, of love, was a wonderful gift, and in the end, it made me and Minnie happy' - Martha TeichnerThere are true fairy tales. Stories that exist because impossible-to-explain coincidences change everything. Except in real life, not all of them have conventional, happily-ever-after endings...Carol, who is dying of cancer caused by the toxic pollution in New York in the aftermath of 9/11, needs someone to take care of Harry, who is a 'great listener but does have a problem with large dogs. He is great with smaller dogs. If he sees a hose he will destroy it to protect you. He will figure out ways to let you know exactly how he feels'. When Martha has a chance encounter with Carol's friend, he can't help but notice Minnie, 'oh those chunky little legs', and so the matchmaking begins. After a disastrous first meeting, when Minnie doesn't appear to think much of Harry (who is super keen), things improve and soon they are inseparable. As Carol's illness progresses, so a new friendship and community blossoms, Carol's Club.The bonds that grew changed Martha's life, Carol's life, Minnie's life and Harry's life. And they changed Carol's death as well.In this rich and touching narrative, Martha considers the ways our stories are shaped by the people we meet, and the profound love we can find by opening our hearts to unexpected encounters.

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WINNER OF THE LAKELAND BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022You dreamed of being a journalist and the dream has come true. You love working for your local paper . . . although not everything is as you imagined.You embarrass yourself with a range of celebrities, from John Hurt to Jordan. Your best story is 'The Man With the Pigeon Tattoo'.A former colleague interviews President Trump. You urinate in the president of the Mothers' Union's garden. Your appearance as a hard-hitting columnist on a BBC talk show does not go well. And being photographed naked is only the second most humiliating thing to happen one infamous afternoon. There are serious stories, such as a mass shooting, a devastating flood, and the search for Madeleine McCann.Meanwhile local papers are dying. Your building is crumbling and your readership is dwindling. Your carefully crafted features are read by fewer people than a story about fancy dress for dogs. Panic as Man Burns Crumpets is the inside story of local newspapers during the past twenty-five years, told in a way that's funny, poignant and revealing.'For those who know about provincial newspapers, this will be a classic and a gem. Those who don't know will envy what they have missed'MELVYN BRAGG'Brisk and entertaining. A very readable love letter to a disappearing world, told with verve and tenderness'STUART MACONIE, author of Pies and Prejudice'Gut-bustingly funny, poignant and packed with astonishing insider information'M. W. CRAVEN, author of the award-winning The Puppet Show'Local journalism has never seemed more exotic than in this part-memoir, part-ode to that disappearing art, which is as funny as it is endearing . . . Told with a tender fondness, the bonkers, baffling but vital world of local press is paraded with the style that it deserves'JONATHAN WHITELAW, Sun'Refreshingly honest, engagingly self-deprecating, tremendously funny and more than a little heartbreaking. By far my favourite read of the year so far'MIKE WARD, TV critic, Daily Express/Daily Star'Local publishers . . . need to hold on to thoughtful, dedicated writers such as Roger Lytollis, or his book will be an epitaph to a centuries-old industry'IAN BURRELL, i paper'Anyone who has ever worked at a local newspaper, or wondered what it is like, should read this book. Equally hilarious and heartbreaking'DOMINIC PONSFORD, media editor at New Statesman Media Group/editor-in-chief at Press Gazette'[Lytollis] writes with clarity, comically self-effacing honesty and surprising poignancy . . . [this is] the story of what it is like to love what you do, and be great at it, and to watch it collapse around you in slow motion'ROBYN VINTER, Guardian'For anyone wondering where their local press went, this is as clear an account of how it was pickpocketed, drained of blood, and left to die as you'll find'ED NEEDHAM, Strong Words magazine'Panic as Man Burns Crumpets gives a powerful, if not to say dismaying, overview of an industry in terminal decline'NAT SEGNIT, Times Literary Supplement'The best book I've read this year, by some margin. Brilliantly written, frequently laugh-out-loud funny, but also reflective, candid, poignant and passionate about the importance of journalism. Superb'CHRIS MASON, BBC political correspondent/presenter of Radio 4's Any Questions'Many books written by journalists have come across my desk over the course of my time as publisher of Hold the Front Page, but I would say without any hesitation that this one is the best. Not only is it the funniest, and the best-written, it is also the most honest in terms of what it reveals about its author, and more importantly about our craft'PAUL LINFORD, Hold the Front Page

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Provides an accessible overview of the theory and practice of Christian apologetics, written by one of the leading experts in the field Christian Apologetics is a compact yet comprehensive introduction to the theological discipline devoted to the intellectual defense of the truth of the Christian religion. Assuming no previous knowledge of Christian apologetics, this student-friendly textbook clearly explains the major theoretical and practical aspects of the tradition while exploring its core themes, historical development, and current debates. Using a non-denominational approach, world-renowned Christian scholar Alister E. McGrath engages the ideas of a wide range of representative apologists and explores the ways they have been applied throughout history, and can still be used today. Concise, easy-to-digest chapters gradually build students' knowledge and confidence, moving from basic definitions and concepts to more advanced theory and practical application. Throughout the text, the author engages a variety of cultural concerns about religious belief, illustrates the real-life connection of apologetic studies and ministries in the Church, and offers clear explanations and vigorous defenses of the faith that students can adopt in their own writing and speaking. Introduces the art and science of explaining and commending the Christian faith Presents approaches to apologetics that emphasize the positive appeal of Christianity to the imagination and emotions Covers the major approaches to apologetics, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, and discusses their key representatives Helps readers in ministry and outreach defend Christianity against misunderstandings and misrepresentations Addresses the real-world application of apologetics, including role models, good practice, and established wisdom Features case studies of Christian apologists such as G. K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Tim Keller Includes study questions, activities, further reading lists, full references, and links to video and audio resources developed by the author Designed to meet the needs of teachers looking for a clear and reliable introduction to the field, Christian Apologetics: An Introduction is an excellent textbook for undergraduate and graduate apologetics courses in colleges and seminaries, as well as church courses and study groups across Christian denominations. "McGrath judiciously mines the best apologetics from both the past and present while helpfully analyzing the task of apologetics and giving sage advice on how Christians may more effectively engage in the apologetic task. I heartily recommend this book."—Robert B. Stewart, Professor of Philosophy and Theology, New Orleans Baptist Theology Seminary "Alister McGrath, one of Christianity’s leading scholars, has written an apologetics textbook in the legacy of C. S. Lewis, which integrates multiple disciplines and new developments. The result is a masterful introduction that is destined to serve the church for many years to come."—Joshua Chatraw, The Billy Graham Chair for Evangelism and Cultural Engagement, Beeson Divinity School "From the first time I heard Alister McGrath lecture as an undergraduate student I was gripped. His unique ability to grapple with the most challenging and complex issues and communicate with clarity and wisdom is unsurpassed in our day. In Christian Apologetics: An Introduction he provides a comprehensive picture of Apologetic approaches with his classic combination of winsomeness and brilliance. I believe it will prove to be another classic from McGrath."—Dr Amy Orr-Ewing, Honorary Lecturer, School of Divinity, University of Aberdeen "There has long been a desperate need for a thorough and wide-ranging introduction to Christian Apologetics, not least as this branch of Christian thought and theology has become increasingly active and important in recent years. Alister McGrath's Christian Apologetics: An Introduction fills this gap brilliantly. All in all, this is a much needed and incredibly important book, one that McGrath—given his wide experience of writing and teaching in apologetics—is almost uniquely qualified to write."—Dr. Andy Bannister, Adjunct Professor of Apologetics, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto

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A comprehensive and compelling guide to Suzanne Collins’s bestselling young-adult, dystopian trilogy The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Already a publishing phenomenon to rival Harry Potter (over 50 million copies sold), there are three sequels to the 2012 blockbuster movie of The Hunger Games scheduled for release between 2013 and 2015; Mockingjay Part 1 is due to be released in November 2014. Robb explores the inspiration behind the books, the author, the themes and influences of the three books, the movie adaptations and their cultural impact, the books’ legacy and spin-offs. Suzanne Collins has created a series of characters and situations that have struck a chord not only with the target audience of teenagers, but which have also drawn in adult readers, making the series second only to Harry Potter in National Public Radio’s popular poll of the Top 100 Teen Novels.Inspired when flicking TV channels between a reality television entertainment show and news footage of the war in Iraq, author Suzanne Collins conceived The Hunger Games as a parable for teen life and a warning of a dystopian future. Her parable incorporates Greek myth, Roman history and American entertainment.As the daughter of a US Air Force Officer who served in the Vietnam War, Collins had a unique insight into military life. Starting in children’s television on such shows as Clarissa Explains It All, Collins went on to write children’s fiction in The Underland Chronicles (drawing inspiration from Alice in Wonderland) and the Charlie McButton illustrated books. However, it was The Hunger Games series that has changed her life, giving the author a series of New York Times bestsellers and seeing her listed as one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2010.Robb explores themes in The Hunger Games, and the influences and inspirations that lie behind the books, highlighting where Suzanne Collins has drawn on mythology and history, reshaping them to fit her universe. He also examines the characters and situations created in the book and how these have impacted on the books’ largely teen readership. He also looks at reactions to the books from fans and critics, both acclaim and criticisms faced by the author. He takes a look at the creativity of the fans who have drawn on Collins’ work for their own takes on the world of The Hunger Games.Robb chronicles the adaptation of The Hunger Games from acclaimed, best-selling novel to blockbusting film. With a script by Suzanne Collins herself, the film has made stars of Jennifer Lawrence as Collins’ heroine Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne. Following the making of the film, including quotes from the writer, director and stars, this chapter will examine the efforts taken to make a success of The Hunger Games on screen. It will also look at the cultural impact of the film and consider the critical reception it met upon release in March 2012.With three more movies scheduled (Catching Fire is due to be released in November 2013) and Mockingjay will be made into two films to be released in 2014 and 2015), Robb looks at the future of The Hunger Games series on screen, with an emphasis on the second film, Catching Fire.As with the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games novels and films have inspired a host of spin-offs and extensions, from games and comic books to merchandise and new tales within the same universe. This chapter looks at these extensions of The Hunger Games franchise and analyses the effect Suzanne Collins work has had on the wider field of teen fiction and blockbuster movie-making.

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REVISED 2018 Streetwise Vancouver Map is a laminated city center map of Vancouver, Canada. The accordion-fold pocket size travel map has an integrated Sky Train & Express Line routes & stations. Coverage includes: Main Vancouver Map 1:26,000 Downtown Vancouver Map 1:12,500 Vancouver Area Map 1:120,000 Downtown Victoria, BC Map 1:14,000 University of British Columbia Map 1:57,000 +E40 There are plenty of sites in Vancouver and getting around to seeing them all is easy. If you're staying in the city (and you probably are) you can walk to most attractions. The Vancouver Museum highlights the growth and development of Vancouver from an outpost of fishing and forestry to a world class city. Science World is a great spot to take the kids so they can experience the interactive exhibitions and see an eye-popping OMNIMAX presentation. Adults will appreciate spending the time on Granville Island, a former dingy collection of rusty warehouses now transformed into galleries, shops, artists' studios and home to a thriving public market the perfect place to pick up provision for a picnic. The best place to start your visit is Vancouver Lookout at Harbour Centre. Take a 45 second ride up a glass elevator to arrive at a spectacular 360° view of the city, the surrounding communities, the harbour and the mountains beyond. On a clear day you may even see Vancouver Island. What you notice most when you re perched above the city is how green it is. As the city developed over the years, a large tract of forest was set aside, over 1,000 acres, destined to remain wild and serve as a reminder of whence the city originated. So began Stanley Park. Located right in the heart of the city, this green sanctuary is crisscrossed with walking trails and surrounded by English Bay and a 6 mile seawall - a lovely place for a stroll at sunset. Within the park are tennis courts, playgrounds, a miniature golf course, restaurants, snack bars and cafes, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Lost Lagoon where you can feed ducks and raccoons, swimming beaches, a pool, a miniature railroad for the kids, totem poles and a cannon that goes off precisely at 9 PM each evening. The capital of British Columbia is located at the tip of Vancouver Island, across the Straight of Georgia from Vancouver. Very British in nature, Victoria has the mildest climate in all of Canada. You can get to Victoria by taking the 1 ½ hour ferry ride from Tsawwassen, in south Vancouver to Swartz Bay, about a half an hour from Victoria. Whatever adventure you choose in this corner of Western Canada, the STREETWISE® Vancouver Map will assist you. The main map covers all of Downtown along with Stanley Park, Gastown, Chinatown, West End, Yaletown and Granville Island. A separate inset map of the central downtown area highlights hotels, sites, SKYTRAIN stations, shopping, government and educational sites and the cruise ship terminal, where cruises to Alaska start and end. A map of the Vancouver area extends from the southern suburb of Richmond to North and West Vancouver, from Burnaby to Sea Island, including the Vancouver International Airport. All major highways and thoroughfares are depicted along with exit numbers and sites. An inset of the University of BC campus is included as well as an inset of downtown Victoria, BC. Our pocket size map of Vancouver is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. To enhance your visit to Vancouver, check out the Michelin Green Guide Canada which details sites and attractions using the famed Michelin star-rating system so you can prioritize your trip based on your time and interest. For driving or to plan your trip to and from Vancouver, use Michelin USA/Canada West Map No. 585 or Michelin Canada Map 766.

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"You must check out the newest from my favorite transcendent and down to earth preacher."--Laurie Anderson, artist, musician The Earth Wants YOU is a motivational handbook, filled with inspired visions of a wild, creative, Earth-led cultural revolution. Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping offer up a heady mix of humor, insightful critique, passionate commitment, emotional catharsis, and example after example of vibrant direct action. Stop shopping and feel the love as you sign up for the struggle of our lives! Earthalujah! Praise for The Earth Wants YOU: "Singing instructions for joining the Earthalujah choir!"--Jodie Evans, CODEPINK "My Earthmojis are smiling for Reverend Billy! And that's all the dirt you're gonna get from me. O;"--Justin Vivian Bond, trans-genre artist, Radical Faerie "Mama Earth will shake us ALL off unless we shake shit UP and shut it DOWN!"--Bertha Lewis, The Black Institute "This is what makes social movements succeed--it's the big love-slog we have to go through to achieve change."--Andy Bichlbaum, The Yes Men "Join Rev and his merry band of activists as they imagine ways of arousing concern for the environment and racial justice." --Coco Fusco, creator of Eu Sou Um Consumidor "When the singing activists hit the high notes in a bank lobby or a DARPA lab or the back aisle of a Walmart, they wipe away the veils hiding the madness of our corporate-controlled, consumer-crazed society."--Annie Leonard, director of Greenpeace USA "Ssssh, listen ...let the Church of Stop Shopping exorcise your fear, doubt and burnout, and join the Earthalujah Revolution!"--Jess Worth, BP or not BP? "This call to action is at once sobering and encouraging. We have fucked up really badly, but the ability to see it--is the first and hardest step toward fixing it."--Douglas Rushkoff, author of Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus "Reverend Billy's ALL IN! bodies and voices ...not just clicks and posts, for this small village we call Earth. Preach On!"--Obang Metho, Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia "The Stop Shoppers packs a whoop."--Roberto Sifuentes, La Pocha Nostra "In between satire and silence, there is a space of penetrating reckoning for all vibrations that flow counter to the balance of Nature. And from this dynamic and tricky space, the Honorable Reverend and his Holified Choir will shout, sing and sermonize a soul-bound love message of Truthalujah!"--John Sims, The AfroDixie Remixes "The Church of Stop Shopping is in the vanguard of a new movement that challenges this consumer society that is killing our planet."--Mike Roselle, Climate Ground Zero and Coal River Mountain Watch "Billy, Savi and the choir have love and optimistic humor, and they don't give up on people."--David LaChapelle, comedian "He seems to be writing while his actions are going on, like he can write while he's hand-cuffed."--Benny Zable, The Nimbin Environment Centre, NSW Australia "The Earth Wants You takes readers deep inside the heart, mind and balls of the activist-artist. Reverend Billy rocks hard!"--Annie Sprinkle, artist, ecosexual sexecologist "He was a comic act. Now he's evolved into a man compulsively challenging the true extent of the right to protest." --Anohni, creator of the song "4 Degrees" Reverend Billy and his choir of singing-activists are on the front lines of creative direct action, and here they offer up a distillation of the passion, the inspiration, and the hopes for love and survival that fuel their work. In a mix of essays, polemics, surrealist scenarios and news flashes from the frontlines, Reverend Billy answers the question, "What are we to do?" with a resounding chorus of "Take Action NOW!"

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A new edition of the African American masterpiece featuring critical essays by Angela Y. Davis.A masterpiece of African American literature, Frederick Douglass's Narrative is the powerful story of an enslaved youth coming into social and moral consciousness by disobeying his white slavemasters and secretly teaching himself to read.Achieving literacy emboldens Douglass to resist, escape and ultimately achieve his freedom. After escaping slavery, Douglass became a leader in the anti-slavery and women's rights movements, a bestselling author and U.S. diplomat.In this new critical edition, legendary activist and feminist scholar Angela Davis sheds new light on the legacy of Frederick Douglass.In two philosophical lectures originally delivered at UCLA in autumn 1969, Davis focuses on Douglass's intellectual and spiritual awakening, and the importance of self-knowledge in achieving freedom from all forms of oppression. With detailed attention to Douglass's text, she interrogates the legacy of slavery and shares timeless lessons about oppression, resistance and freedom.And in an extended introductory essay written for this edition, Davis comments on previous editions of the Narrative and re-examines Douglass through a contemporary feminist perspective.An important new edition of an American classic."Angela Y. Davis presents a long overdue examination of Douglass' work not just from the perspective of a woman but one of the most provocative and profound minds of the last half century. It is my sincere hope that this City Lights edition of The Narrative will inspire researchers and individuals to take a closer look at the tremendous degree of influence Anna Murray Douglass had in the life and the career of her husband and my great-great-great grandfather."—Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., Great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and Great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington"Davis' arguments for justice are formidable . . . The power of her historical insights and the sweetness of her dream cannot be denied."—New York Times Book Review"Long before 'race/gender' became the obligatory injunction it is now, Angela Davis was developing an analytical framework that brought all of these factors into play. For readers who only see Angela Davis as a public icon . . . meet the real Angela Davis: perhaps the leading public intellectual of our era."—Robin D. G. Kelley author of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original"One of America's last truly fearless public intellectuals."—Cynthia McKinney, Former U.S. Democratic Congresswoman"Angela Davis's revolutionary spirit is still strong. Still with us, thank goodness!"—Virginian-Pilot"There was a time in America when to call a person an 'abolitionist' was the ultimate epithet. It evoked scorn in the North and outrage in the South. Yet they were the harbingers of things to come. They were on the right side of history. Prof. Angela Y. Davis stands in that proud, radical tradition."—Mumia Abu-Jamal"Behold the heart and mind of Angela Davis, open, relentless, and on time!"—June Jordan"The enormous revolution in Black consciousness which has occurred in your generation, my dear sister, means the beginning or the end of America. Some of us, white and Black, know how great a price has already been paid to bring into existence a new consciousness, a new people in an unprecedented nation. If we know, and do nothing, we are worse than the murderers hired in our name. If we know, then we must fight for your life as though it were our own—which it is—and render impassable with our bodies the corridor to the gas chamber. For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night."—James Baldwin

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From Cocaine, that most troubling and fascinating of substances; through Speed, an oft demonized and misunderstood drug and on to Heroin, long seen as the most 'literary' of narcotics - the contributors to this all-new original anthology reveal that those who partake are forever changed, but the price of paradise is often steep. The Cocaine Chronicles: that most troubling and fascinating of substances is the subject, the subtext, the whys and whereofs in this collection of original short stories that are funny and harrowing, sad and scary, but at all times riveting. In this bold anthology by a cross-section of today's most thought-provoking writers, we meet the casual sniffers, the heavy users, the dealers, the victims and the unsuspecting victims - hysterical romps, tragic characters and unfathomable lows - rendering cocaine a drug that is anything but glamorous. The Speed Chronicles - Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine, there is no sympathy for this devil. Speed - crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast - twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It feels so good and hurts so bad. The first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today's most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers - the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry and dreams going up in flames. The Heroin Chronicles - That most "literary" of narcotics - the enigmatic opium poppy and its various derivatives - and as these stories reveal, those who partake of the sacred flower are forever changed, but the price of paradise is often steep: overdose, hepatitis C, degradation and self-destruction. The editor, Jerry Stahl, himself a recovering addict with long-term sobriety, has assembled an impressive array of writers to create this 'encyclopedia of bad behaviour.' Indeed, these tales of chasing the dragon, with corollaries often violent and savage, will satisfy devotees of noir fiction and outsider art alike. The Hard Drug Chronicles runs to over 700 pages and contains more than 40 all new stories from Lee Child, Jerry Stahl, Ken Bruen, Laura Lippman, Nina Revoyr, James Franco, Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott, James Greer, Tao Lin, Joseph Mattson, Eric Bogosian, Gary Phillips and Jervey Tervalon. CONTENTS - COCAINE Ten Keys - Lee Child The Crack Cocaine Diet - Laura Lippman White Irish - Ken Bruen Beneficent Diversions from the Crackdkins Diet - Donnell Alexander Poinciana - Susan Straight The Screenwriter - James Brown Twilight of the Stooges - Jerry Stahl Chemistry - Robert Ward Shame - Kerry E. West Viki, Flash, and the Pied-Piper of Shoebies - Deborah Vankin Golden Pacific - Nina Revoyr Sentimental Value - Manuel Ramos Just Surviving Another Day - Detrice Jones A.K.A. Moises Rockafella - Emory Holmes II Camaro Blue - Bill Moody Serving Monster - Jervey Tervalon Disco Zombies - Gary Phillips CONTENTS - SPEED How to Go to Dinner With a Brother On Drugs - Natalie Diaz War Cry - Sherman Alexie Bad - Jerry Stahl Labiodental Fricative - Scott Phillips Osito - Kenji Jasper Amp is the First Word in Amphetamine - Joseph Mattson Addiction - James Franco Wheelbarrow Kings - Jess Walter Tips 'n' Things by Elayne - Beth Lisick Pissing in Perpetuity - Rose Bunch 51 Hours - Tao Lin Everything I Want - Megan Abbott The Speed of Things - James Greer No Matter How Beautifully It Stings - William T. Vollmann CONTENTS - HEROIN Fragments of Joe - Tony O'Neill Hot for the Shot - Sophia Langdon Dos Mac + The Jones - Nathan Larson Possible Side Effects - Jerry Stahl Going Down - L.Z. Hansen Baby I Need to See A Man About A Duck - Michael Albo Godhead - Eric Bogosian Gift Horse - Jervey Tervalon Ghost Town Lydia Lunch The Monster - John Albert Black Caesar's Gold - Gary Phillips Sunshine for Adrienne - Antonia Crane Poppy Love - Ava Stander

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"This new book on retail banking is both readable and innovative. Its analysis is unusually accessible in its style, and the book's conclusions and predictions will be rightly thought provoking. The customer is gaining real power and this new book's insights on the importance of leadership, the need to unleash creativity and to make a bank's IT and people resource work together more effectively for customer satisfaction are important pointers to the shape of future competitive differentiation." --Sir Mervyn Pedelty, Recently retired Chief Executive, The Co-operative Bank plc, smile, CIS and Co-operative Financial Services "A stimulating read. A readable and lively book that is always informative, sometimes controversial and invariably challenging. The authors don't expect readers to agree with it all, but the readers will undoubtedly gain some fresh insights and perspectives on the multiple issues facing management in a rapidly changing industry." --Chris Lendrum CBE, Recently retired Vice Chairman, Barclays Bank "This book is clear enough for the layman and thorough enough for any banker to obtain an excellent sense of the options for successful strategies for their retail businesses. The challenges of technology introduction, cost of production and scope of service are driving banks into responses increasingly similar to other industry sectors. These forces have been apparent for some years but are so evident now they can no longer be ignored. This book provides an excellent guide to mapping that future." --Joseph DeFeo, CEO, CLS Bank. "This is a useful guide to retail banking that provides a thought-provoking view on the state of The Art (of Better Retail Banking). Clearly retail banking can get better, and must! To steal an analogy from the conclusion, there is a sea change going on - consumers are looking more and more for greater simplicity and value, and so many banks are still making such heavy weather of it. This book does a good job of charting the current developments." -- Lindsay Sinclair, CEO, ING Direct UK. "A whistle-stop tour of all aspects of retail banking. This is a very readable and insightful real world mix of theory, strategy, tactics and practice. They have even managed to make banking sound exciting. But mostly they have been able to cut through the complexity to remind us all that success in retail banking is not just about finance and efficiency - it is about customers and staff, who are all too often forgotten about." --Craig Shannon, Executive Director - Marketing, Co-operative Financial Services. "The authors live up to their promise of providing managers and students with a clear exposition of the retail banking sector and how banks can confront the challenging future they face. This book is a practical manual with lots of useful advice. I was looking for new insights in this book - and I found them!" --Professor Adrian Payne, Professor of Services Marketing, Director, Centre for Services Management, Cranfield School of Management. "A key determinant of any organisation's success will be an enhanced understanding of 'value' as defined by customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. Value can mean different things to these different groups, and this book has set itself the objective of identifying the approaches that will improve the value proposition for all of these interested parties. It achieves this objective." --Professor Steve Worthington, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University. "An enjoyable and useful read. It provides a good perspective on the role of IT and how IT suppliers and professionals need to contribute to future developments in retail banking strategy and implementation. It helps provide guidance for the significant challenges ahead for both suppliers and the Banks." --Nick Caplan, Managing Director, Global Financial Services, LogicaCMG.

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