Search results for ""author rath"

This book is about culture and comparison. Starting with the history of the discipline of comparative literature and its forgotten relation to the positivist comparative method, it inquires into the idea of comparison in a postcolonial world. Comparison was Eurocentric by exclusion when it applied only to European literature, and Eurocentric by discrimination when it adapted evolutionary models to place European literature at the forefront of human development. This book argues that inclusiveness is not a sufficient response to postcolonial and multiculturalist challenges because it leaves the basis of equivalence unquestioned. The point is not simply to bring more objects under comparison, but rather to examine the process of comparison. The book offers a new approach to the either/or of relativism and universalism, in which comparison is either impossible or assimilatory, by focusing instead on various forms of “incommensurability”—comparisons in which there is a ground for comparison but no basis for equivalence. Each chapter develops a particular form of such cultural comparison from readings of important novelists (Joseph Conrad, Simone Schwartz-Bart), poets (Aimé Césaire, Derek Walcott), and theorists (Edouard Glissant, Jean-Luc Nancy).

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This book is about culture and comparison. Starting with the history of the discipline of comparative literature and its forgotten relation to the positivist comparative method, it inquires into the idea of comparison in a postcolonial world. Comparison was Eurocentric by exclusion when it applied only to European literature, and Eurocentric by discrimination when it adapted evolutionary models to place European literature at the forefront of human development. This book argues that inclusiveness is not a sufficient response to postcolonial and multiculturalist challenges because it leaves the basis of equivalence unquestioned. The point is not simply to bring more objects under comparison, but rather to examine the process of comparison. The book offers a new approach to the either/or of relativism and universalism, in which comparison is either impossible or assimilatory, by focusing instead on various forms of “incommensurability”—comparisons in which there is a ground for comparison but no basis for equivalence. Each chapter develops a particular form of such cultural comparison from readings of important novelists (Joseph Conrad, Simone Schwartz-Bart), poets (Aimé Césaire, Derek Walcott), and theorists (Edouard Glissant, Jean-Luc Nancy).

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A critical area of competitive advantage is the ability of organizations to lead rather than follow changes in the market. This means having the ability to roll out the right changes quickly and reliably in a way that delivers a return on investment. Managing Organizational Change brings together all the different roles and functions within an organization that a leader has to manage effectively to ensure successful and sustainable organizational change. Centred around the Cycle of Change Model, it provides a practical yet reflective overview of the four things you have to have (culture, capacity, commitment and capability) and the six things you have to do (direct, drive, deliver, prepare, propagate and profit). It explains which type of resources you need in order to achieve long term change, which tasks, roles and activities need to be in place and crucially, how to lead during a time of great unease. Managing Organizational Change will help you deliver better outcomes, reflect on what your organization needs to do better and ensure change is embedded throughout your organization. Online supporting resources for this book include downloadable appendices to supplement several chapters.

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Radio’s influence can be found in almost every corner of new media. Radio in the Digital Age assesses a medium that has not only survived the challenges of a new technological age but indeed has extended its reach. This is not a book about digital radio, but rather about the medium of radio in its many analogue and digital forms in an age characterised by digital technologies. The context of the digital age reveals new insights about the nature of radio. In this important addition to the world of radio scholarship, Dubber provides a theoretical framework for understanding the medium - allowing for complexity and contradiction, while avoiding essentialism and technological determinism. Introducing radio as a series of practices and phenomena that can be understood through a range of discursive categories, this book explores the relationships between radio, music, politics, storytelling and society in a new and thoughtful way. This book will make essential reading for students of media, communication, broadcasting and the digital industries. It offers a timely and comprehensive introduction for anyone who wishes to understand the role of radio in today’s media landscape.

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This book traces the development of Azerbaijani art music from its origins in the Eastern, modal, improvisational tradition known as mugham through its fusion with Western classical, jazz, and world art music. Aida Huseynova places the fascinating and little-known history of music in Azerbaijan against the vivid backdrop of cultural life under Soviet influence, which paradoxically both encouraged and repressed the evolution of national musics and post-Soviet independence. Inspired by their neighbors to the East and West, Azerbaijani musicians enjoyed a period of remarkable creativity, composing and performing the first opera and the first ballet in the Muslim East, establishing the region's first Opera and Ballet Theater and Conservatory of Music, and discovering ways to merge the modal lyricism of mugham with the rhythmic dynamics of jazz. Drawing on previously unstudied archives, letters, and documents as well as her experience as an Azerbaijani musician and educator, Huseynova shows how Azerbaijani musical development was not a product of Soviet cultural policies but rather grew from and reflected deep and complex cultural processes.

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This text provides the theory for stratified spaces, along with important examples and applications, that is analogous to the surgery theory for manifolds. In the first expository account of this field, Weinberger provides topologists with a new way of looking at the classification theory of singular spaces with his original results. Divided into three parts, the book begins with an overview of modern high-dimensional manifold theory. Rather than including complete proofs of all theorems, Weinberger demonstrates key constructions, gives convenient formulations, and shows the usefulness of the technology. Part 2 offers the parallel theory for stratified spaces. Here, the topological category is most completely developed using the methods of "controlled topology." Many examples illustrating the topological invariance and noninvariance of obstructions and characteristic classes are provided. Applications for embeddings and immersions of manifolds, for the geometry of group actions, for algebraic varieties, and for rigidity theorems are found in Part 3. This volume should be of interest to topologists, as well as mathematicians in other fields such as differential geometry, operator theory, and algebraic geometry.

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Perfect for fans of Hilo and Lunch Lady, this charming and funny young middle grade graphic novel follows one boy as he discovers that his perceived flaw—wild, red hair—may just be what saves the day. Ten-year-old Ted just wants to fit in. But his wild, red hair is a target for school bullies. Fortunately, he has his best friend, Stacy, to take his mind off all the mean comments. But Stacy needs Ted’s help to uncover the truth of a local urban legend—the elusive giant raccoon known as the Brookside Beast! However, after Stacy starts making new friends, Ted feels more alone and weirder than ever…until Ted discovers that he has a superpower! His hair can lift, stretch, and catch anything. For the first time in his life, Ted wonders if his unruly hair is a gift rather than a curse.Could it be the one thing that not only helps solve their town’s greatest mystery but also gets his best bud back?

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This volume addresses the complexities involved in attending to the mental health of refugees. It covers theory and research as well as clinical and field applications, emphasising the psychotherapeutic perspective. It explores the delicate balance between accepting the resilience of refugees whilst not neglecting their psychological needs, within a framework that avoids pathologising their condition.Moreover, it deals with the difficulties in delineating the various relevant intersecting perspectives to the refugee reality, e.g. psychological, socio-political, legal, organisational and ethical. The book introduces important considerations about the actual psychotherapy with refugees (in individual, family and group settings) but in addition, it encourages the introduction of therapeutic elements to all types of work with refugees. Thus, it argues for the necessity of approaching every facet of the refugee experience from a therapeutic perspective; this is why the title refers to therapeutic care rather than to psychotherapy. Offering a representative sample of the rich variety of work done at the Tavistock Clinic in London, this volume presents new and valuable insights into many aspects of conceptualising and working with refugees in different contexts.

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LIFE WITH GOD is Richard Foster's first major new work for nearly a decade and is of similar magnitude to his classics: PRAYER, CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE and STREAMS OF LIVING WATER.The starting point of LIFE WITH GOD is that so many of us want to make the Bible the foundation of our way of life, but struggle to make sense of this huge, apparently disjointed book. Why is that Christians try so hard to place the Bible at the centre of their lives, but in reality get very little from it in terms of genuine life-transforming practice?Richard Foster believes that it is because we fail to grasp the overriding coherent message of the Bible - that all of Scripture is unified around the theme of living a vibrant and dynamic life with God. Breaking up history into fifteen epochs that reveal the unfolding of God's plan for seeking out a relationship with us, Foster sees the Bible as 'the loving heart of God made visible and plain.'Readers will discover a whole new way to read Scripture, making it a doorway to a lifestyle we can master, rather than merely knowledge we understand.

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The Bauhaus was distinguished neither by function nor by use but rather by symbolism. Whether square, triangle, or circle; whether Wilhelm Wagenfeld's lamp, Oskar Schlemmer's 'Kopf' (head), or white cubes with flat roofs: the Bauhaus created iconic visual symbols and a style that is neither functional nor social but visually striking. Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus, from the outset sought to develop the school into a brand - and he succeeded. More than eight decades after its forced closure, the Bauhaus is more present than ever before in consumerism, politics, and culture alike. It has become a participative brand that escapes centralised control entirely. It has been, and continues to be, forged collectively by countless designers, manufacturers, and consumers. Yet its founders' initial pledge for functionality and social commitment remains unfulfilled. In this book, Philipp Oswalt, former director of Foundation Bauhaus Dessau, explores the development of the Bauhaus brand and its use around the world, illustrated with some 950 images that highlight the vast range of Bauhaus appearances from a century.

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A shy kid's guide to thriving in their own (quiet) way.Do you sometimes feel afraid of talking in front of people, making a mistake or saying the wrong thing? While everywhere else you look there are loud, confident people?You're not alone. Ben Brooks also grew up as a shy child (so much so that he'd rather have cut his own hair or spend a week at a Silent Retreat then have to speak to other people). But he soon realised that being quiet doesn't make you strange or wrong or boring. In fact, being shy can give you great skills such as listening, kindness and compassion. It's something to embrace and be proud of. In this book, Ben introduces readers to some of the most famous, talented and brilliant shy people - including Charles Darwin, David Bowie, Greta Thunberg, Rosa Parks, Beyonce and Emma Watson - who used their special quietness to achieve awesome things, and he shares his tips for growing up shy in a world that can sometimes feel, well, LOUD. Because you don't have to be loud to be liked, and you definitely don't have to be loud to make an impact.

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What are miracles, and why do we believe in them? Is it for comfort, to explain the inexplicable, or do we simply long for a connection with something larger than ourselves? And why do some people dismiss them out of hand, as if they can never happen?What Heaven is for Real did for neardeath experiences, Miracles does for the miraculous-provides undeniably compelling evidence that there's something real to be reckoned with, whatever one has thought of this topic before. It provides a wide range of real stories of the miraculous and will engage the reader in the serious discussion that this fascinating and rich subject deserves.Miracles is in some ways a more personal, anecdotal, and updated version of C. S. Lewis's 1947 book on the subject. Metaxas's Miracles is an exploration and an exhortation to view miracles as not only possible, but as far more widespread than most of us had ever imagined.Eric Metaxas says it is not a question of whether miracles happen-the evidence that they do is overwhelming in this book alone-but rather, what exactly are miracles, why do they happen, and how can we to understand them in our own lives?

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Your body fights to keep you within a range of about 10 pounds, also known as your "set point weight." While approximately 50% of your set point is affected by genetics, the rest is up to you, and with The Setpoint Diet, you can put the latest in data science to personal use, reprogramming your body from the inside out, lowering your set point, and ending that battle for good. In the New York Times bestseller The Calorie Myth, former Microsoft programmer turned wellness expert Jonathan Bailor explained a radically different approach to weight loss and health, focused on food and exercise quality rather than calorie quantity to burn fat and boost health more easily. Since that book's publication, Bailor founded the SANESolution, a weight loss company that has reached millions of people. With the benefit of data from more than 15,000 people who have already achieved dramatic weight loss results through Bailor's personalized programs, he has created a 21-day, step-by-step program to get started with the set point way of eating and exercising.

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The fundamental idea is the starting point of every design. The idea is formulated into the concept; the concept is expressed in the formal language; the form requires a particular material; the space is given shape. Architecture is created.Described in this manner, the design process seems simple and straightforward. But for students of architecture, it is in most cases a difficult learning process. But designing can be learned!What are the conceptual possibilities for finding the first step towards a design idea? What methods can be used to develop the idea and to arrive at an architectural concept? Furthermore, architecture is first and foremost the designing of (indoor) spaces. But how are rooms structured, rather than merely decorated? What role does the use of materials and materiality play?This compilation of the volumes Design Ideas, Design Methods, Materials and Spatial Design in the successful student series BASICS now gathers the fundamental topics of architectural design together in one book and thus in one context answers crucial questions concerning the hows and whys of the design process.

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An entirely channeled book of messages from The Council, a group of ascended master beings, that communicate to us that we have the power to be the Creators of our lives.The Wisdom of the Council is an entirely channeled book of messages by The Council, a group of ascended master beings. Their messages are both empowering and gentle, and guide you towards ascending to a new level of consciousness, stepping into the greatest version of you, and recognizing that you have the ability to create your own Heaven on Earth-a new way of perceiving your human experience.The Council assures us that we have the power to be the Creators of our lives. And from the Council's perspective, it's all done already-we already have this Creator energy within us and it's just a matter of aligning with that frequency. The Council encourages us to expand our consciousness and awareness so we can go beyond our thinking mind. Only then can we expand our potential, come into alignment with who we truly are, manifest from a place of wholeness rather than lack, and ultimately live out our destiny.

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Fields of Gold critically examines the history, ideas, and political struggles surrounding the financialization of farmland. In particular, Madeleine Fairbairn focuses on developments in two of the most popular investment locations, the US and Brazil, looking at the implications of financiers' acquisition of land and control over resources for rural livelihoods and economic justice. At the heart of Fields of Gold is a tension between efforts to transform farmland into a new financial asset class, and land's physical and social properties, which frequently obstruct that transformation. But what makes the book unique among the growing body of work on the global land grab is Fairbairn's interest in those acquiring land, rather than those affected by land acquisitions. Fairbairn's work sheds ethnographic light on the actors and relationships—from Iowa to Manhattan to São Paulo—that have helped to turn land into an attractive financial asset class. Thanks to generous funding from UC Santa Cruz, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

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Here is a brilliant introduction to insect and plant ecology focusing on one of nature’s most adaptive creatures, the bumblebee. Survival for the bumblebee depends on its ability to regulate body temperature through a complex energy exchange, and it is this management of energy resources around which Bernd Heinrich enters his discussion of physiology, behavior, and ecological interaction. Along the way, he makes some amusing parallels with the theories of Adam Smith—which, Heinrich observes, work rather well for the bees, however inadequate they may be for human needs.Bumblebee Economics uniquely offers both the professional and amateur scientist a coherent biological model that goes beyond any particular species or level of biological organization. Rich in specific detail and including an extensive appendix on the rearing of bumblebees, as well as a full-color guide to field identification, this book organizes practical knowledge according to a new criterion.In a new preface, Heinrich ranges from Maine to Alaska and north to the Arctic as he summarizes findings from continuing investigations over the past twenty-five years—by himself and others—into the wondrous “energy economy” of bumblebees.

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**THE DROWNED - THE CHILLING NEW STRAFFORD & QUIRKE MURDER MYSTERY - AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Outstanding.' Irish Independent'Exquisite.' Daily Mail'Hypnotic.' Financial Times'This is crime fiction for the connoisseur.' The Times'The body is in the library,' Colonel Osborne said. 'Come this way.'Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate a murder at Ballyglass House - the Co. Wexford family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family.Facing obstruction from all angles, Strafford carries on determinedly in his pursuit of the murderer. However, as the snow continues to fall over this ever-expanding mystery, the people of Ballyglass are equally determined to keep their secrets.'A typically elegant country house mystery.' Guardian'A well-crafted story, peopled by superbly well-drawn characters, and put together in the finest prose . . . Masterly.' Irish IndependentReaders are gripped by Snow:***** 'A wonderfully imaginative twist on the country house murder mystery.'***** 'A chilling, strange elegiac story - mesmerising and rather horrifying.'***** 'Kept me hooked until the last page!'

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The wickedly funny feminist historian who brought you Unmentionable: A Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners is back, to educate you on what to expect when you're expecting . . . a Victorian baby.Twenty-first century parents are drowning in theories and advice and guilt, with maybe one in a hundred managing some façade of success. What can we learn from our foremothers? Is it possible that the rather draconian methods of Victorian childrearing worked? Better than the ones we bend our backs to today?Ungovernable will address parents' concerns about raising a model Victorian child, advising you on:- How much lager to consume while pregnant- How to select the best peasant teat for your child- How to choose an appropriately homely governess- Which toys are most likely to turn your child into a sexual deviant- And moreConsulting actual advice manuals from the 19th century, Oneill takes us on a shocking and hilarious tour through the backwards, pseudoscientific, downright bizarre childrearing fashions of the Victorians, giving us some much-needed perspective on contemporary parenting fads.

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Humans are the only mammals to walk on two, rather than four, legs. From an evolutionary perspective, this is an illogical development, as it slows us down. But here we are, suggesting there must have been something tremendous to gain from bipedalism. First Steps takes our ordinary, everyday walking experience and reveals how unusual and extraordinary it truly is. The seven-million-year-long journey through the origins of upright walking shows how it was in fact a gateway to many of the other attributes that make us human—from our technological skills and sociality to our thirst for exploration. DeSilva uses early human evolution to explain the instinct that propels a crawling infant to toddle onto two feet, differences between how men and women tend to walk, physical costs of upright walking, including hernias, varicose veins and backache, and the challenges of childbirth imposed by a bipedal pelvis. And he theorises that upright walking may have laid the foundation for the traits of compassion, empathy and altruism that characterise our species today and helped us become the dominant species on this planet.

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Inspired by her hugely popular podcast, How To Fail is Elizabeth Day’s brilliantly funny, painfully honest and insightful celebration of things going wrong. This is a book for anyone who has ever failed. Which means it’s a book for everyone. If I have learned one thing from this shockingly beautiful venture called life, it is this: failure has taught me lessons I would never otherwise have understood. I have evolved more as a result of things going wrong than when everything seemed to be going right. Out of crisis has come clarity, and sometimes even catharsis. Part memoir, part manifesto, and including chapters on dating, work, sport, babies, families, anger and friendship, it is based on the simple premise that understanding why we fail ultimately makes us stronger. It's a book about learning from our mistakes and about not being afraid. Uplifting, inspiring and rich in stories from Elizabeth’s own life, How to Fail reveals that failure is not what defines us; rather it is how we respond to it that shapes us as individuals. Because learning how to fail is actually learning how to succeed better. And everyone needs a bit of that.

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New Edition What would the world be like if its ruling elite was insane? The most powerful class of institution on earth, the corporation, is by any reasonable measure hopelessly and unavoidably demented. The corporation lies, steals and kills without remorse and without hesitation when it serves the interests of its shareholders to do so. It obeys the law only when the costs of crime exceed the profits. Corporate social responsibility is impossible except insofar as it is insincere. At once a diagnosis and a course of treatment, The Corporation is essential reading for those who want to understand the nature of the modern business system. It is a sober and careful attempt to describe the world as it is, rather than as corporate public relations departments would have us believe it to be. It reveals a world more exotic and more terrifying than any of us could have imagined. And although a billion dollar industry is trying to convince you otherwise, the corporations that surround us are not our friends. Charming and plausible though they are, they can only ever see us as resources to be used. This is the real world, not science fiction, and it really is us or them.

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Given the increasing number of old people, the proliferation of books about old age is hardly surprising. Most of these come from cultural historians or social scientists and, when those with a literary background have tackled the subject, they have largely done so through what are known as period studies. In Blasted with Antiquity, David Ellis provides an alternative. Skipping nimbly from Cicero to Shakespeare, and from Wordsworth to Dickens and beyond, he discusses various aspects of old age with the help of writers across European history who have usually been regarded as worth listening to. Eschewing extended literary analyses, Ellis addresses retirement, physical decay, sex in old age, the importance of family, legacy, wills and nostalgia, as well of course as dying itself. While remaining alert to current trends, his approach is consciously that of the old way of teaching English rather than the new. Whether 'blasted with antiquity' like Falstaff in Henry IV Part Two, or with the 'shining morning face' of an unwilling student, his accessible and witty style will appeal to young and old alike.

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Over the last two hundred years Parliament has witnessed and effected dramatic and often turbulent change. Political parties rose – and fell. The old aristocratic order passed away. The vote was won for the working classes and, eventually, for women. The world was torn apart by two extraordinarily bloody wars. And individual politicians were cheered for their altruism or their bravery and jeered for their sexual or financial misdemeanours.This second volume of Chris Bryant’s majestic Parliament: The Biography has a cast of characters that includes some of British history’s most famous names: the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Gladstone, Disraeli, Lloyd George, Churchill and Thatcher. Its recurring theme is reform and innovation, but it also lays bare obsessive respect for the past and a dedication to evolution rather than revolution, which has left us with a fudged constitution still perilously dependent on custom, convention and gentlemen’s agreements.This is riveting, flawlessly researched and accessible popular history for anyone with an interest in why modern Britain is the nation it is today.

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A remarkable portrait of a web of artistic connections, traced outward from Jay DeFeo’s uniquely generative work of art Through deep archival research and nuanced analysis, Elizabeth Ferrell examines the creative exchange that developed with and around The Rose, a monumental painting on which the San Francisco artist Jay DeFeo (1929–1989) worked almost exclusively from 1958 to 1966. From its early state to its dramatic removal from DeFeo’s studio, the painting was a locus of activity among Fillmore District artists. Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner, Wally Hedrick, and Michael McClure each took up The Rose in their photographs, films, paintings, and poetry, which DeFeo then built upon in turn. The resulting works established a dialogue between artists rather than seamless cooperation. Illustrated with archival photographs and personal correspondence, in addition to the artworks, Ferrell’s book traces how The Rose became a stage for experimentation with authorship and community, defying traditional definitions of collaboration and creating alternatives to Cold War America’s political and artistic binaries.

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FULLY UPDATED SECOND EDITION, NOW WITH NEW POSTSCRIPT BY ALI ANSARI Iran often appears in the media as a hostile and difficult country. But beneath the headlines there is a fascinating story of a nation of great intellectual variety and depth, and enormous cultural importance. A nation whose impact has been tremendous, not only on its neighbours in the Middle East but on the world as a whole - and through ideas and creativity rather than by the sword.From the time of the prophet Zoroaster, to the powerful ancient Persian Empires, to the revolution of 1979, the hostage crisis and current president Mahmud Ahmadinejad - a controversial figure within as well as outside the country - Michael Axworthy traces a vivid, integrated account of Iran's past. He explains clearly and carefully both the complex succession of dynasties that ruled ancient Iran and the surprising ethnic diversity of the modern country, held together by a common culture.With Iran again the focus of the world's attention, and questions about the country's disposition and intentions pressing, Iran: Empire of the Mind is an essential guide to understanding a complicated land.

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Bestselling Amish novelist Linda Byler spins a sweet tale of heartache, disappointment, and ultimately hopes fulfilled at Christmastime. Liz had been in love once, had even been engaged. In fact, the wedding had been planned, the barn cleaned, and the celery was set to be harvested to make the traditional wedding soup. Just two weeks before the day she was to exchange vows with her beloved, he changed his mind, and that was that. The humiliation was almost as bad as the heartbreak. The whole community had celebrated her engagement, had participated in the wedding planning, had started giving her advice on keeping a home and raising children. When the wedding was canceled, no one knew what to say. She had to bear the pitying looks and awkward glances for many months. She vowed never to be such a fool again, never to trust her heart to a man who could just up and leave her with hardly an explanation. She'd rather be an old maid than go through that again. Years pass, and Liz has made peace with her life as a single woman, a "leftover blessing" as the Amish say. She can admit to herself that Matthew, the owner of the Amish restaurant at the market where she works, is handsome. And she is aware that he is single. But she reminds herself over and over that it's not worth feeling anything for the man. He's her boss and that's it. So why does she look forward to work so much every day? And why can't she make her heart beat at a normal pace when he comes near? Linda Byler is beloved for her skillful story telling and true-to-life descriptions of Amish food, faith, and culture. As an Amish woman herself, she can share details of Amish life that few can replicate. In this charming novel, Byler shares intimate details of day-to-day life in an Amish community while spinning a sweet tale of love and hopes fulfilled at Christmastime.

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Escape the frenetic modern world and embark on a journey of a lifetime. Ever dreamed of walking the Camino de Santiago, driving Route 66 or riding the Trans-Siberian Railway? It may sound clichéd, but sometimes it really is all about the journey, rather than the destination and what better way to see the world than by moving through it.If setting out on an adventure is on your bucket list, but you don't know where to start, Unforgettable Journeys will have you lacing up your hiking boots, hitting the road or taking to the high seas. Encompassing everywhere from Antarctica to Zambia, over 200 hikes, drives, cycling trails, train routes and boat trips are brought to life with inspiring narrative, sumptuous photography and illustrative maps. We even suggest alternative routes, so it’s easy to plan your next trip. Make your next trip magical as you explore: - Over 200 journeys illustrated with inspiring photography and maps- Experiential text to transport the reader there; descriptive, narrative and full of story - Practical information (duration, difficulty, start and end point, options to take an organized tour – if available – or go it alone).- Sustainable and slow travel options have been covered where possible- Feature boxes give the routes context- Alternative ways to make the same journey and similar trips are pulled out Organized by type of trip – cruises, road trips, train rides, and journeys by two feet and two wheels, each chapter follows the same geographical order with chapter maps showing every country covered. Each section covers a different way to travel the world and is broken down by continent. Whether you want to explore the Atlas Mountains or Torres del Paine on foot; drive the Pan American Highway or cross the Australian Outback; cycle from the top to the bottom of Africa or enjoy a leisurely ride across The Netherlands’ bulb fields; go interrailing around Europe or board the Orient Express; island hop in Greece or the Philippines: these journeys will stay with you forever!

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A compelling biography of Mark Weiser, a pioneering innovator whose legacy looms over the tech industry’s quest to connect everything—and who hoped for something better. When developers and critics trace the roots of today’s Internet of Things—our smart gadgets and smart cities—they may single out the same creative source: Mark Weiser (1952–99), the first chief technology officer at Xerox PARC and the so-called “father of ubiquitous computing.” But Weiser, who died young at age 46 in 1999, would be heartbroken if he had lived to see the ways we use technology today. As John Tinnell shows in this thought-provoking narrative, Weiser was an outlier in Silicon Valley. A computer scientist whose first love was philosophy, he relished debates about the machine’s ultimate purpose. Good technology, Weiser argued, should not mine our experiences for saleable data or demand our attention; rather, it should quietly boost our intuition as we move through the world. Informed by deep archival research and interviews with Weiser’s family and colleagues, The Philosopher of Palo Alto chronicles Weiser’s struggle to initiate a new era of computing. Working in the shadows of the dot-com boom, Weiser and his collaborators made Xerox PARC headquarters the site of a grand experiment. Throughout the building, they embedded software into all sorts of objects—coffeepots, pens, energy systems, ID badges—imbuing them with interactive features. Their push to integrate the digital and the physical soon caught on. Microsoft’s Bill Gates flagged Weiser’s Scientific American article “The Computer for the 21st Century” as a must-read. Yet, as more tech leaders warmed to his vision, Weiser grew alarmed about where they wished to take it. In this fascinating story of an innovator and a big idea, Tinnell crafts a poignant and critical history of today’s Internet of Things. At the heart of the narrative is Weiser’s desire for deeper connection, which animated his life and inspired his notion of what technology at its best could be.

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Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) teams in the US and around the world receive performance reports that locate their particular value for selected process and outcome measures within the range of values from all reporting NICUs. Understandably, many providers focus primarily, if not exclusively, on their particular value. When a value appears undesirable, providers often justify it in an apparent reflex response rather than critically analysing their data. Exceedingly few reflect on the width or implications of the range within which their performance lies. Standard medical education does not include these skills, yet unwarranted practice variation necessarily compromises a population’s overall quality of care. Researchers report wide variation in health care resource use with little connection to patient outcomes, challenging the belief that directing incrementally more resources at certain healthcare problems necessarily produces better results. This book provides requisite knowledge to enable readers without research expertise to understand the notion of unwarranted practice variation, how to recognize it, its ubiquity, and why it is generally undesirable – why narrowing is pervasiveness improves quality. The book begins by describing practice variation, its prevalence, and why it matters. Next, it examines alternative conceptualizations of NICU work. One view is task-oriented, while the other is aim-oriented. NICU teams rarely articulate their aims explicitly, so this book offers examples that guide thinking and action. Finally, this book asks, “Which rate is 'right'; what is the performance target?” The answer entails identifying the lowest resource use rate associated with desirable outcomes. This requires data describing efficient and predictably performing provision of current evidence-based care, along with relationships to a variety of outcomes. Provider conceptualization of healthcare quality also is often vague. The challenge lies in defining this notion operationally. This book does precisely that and gives readers tools to think critically about process, outcome, and quality measures, via some understanding of systems, risk-adjustment modelling, and discriminating signal from noise in process data.

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A different look at heterosexuality in the twenty-first century A straight white girl can kiss a girl, like it, and still call herself straight—her boyfriend may even encourage her. But can straight white guys experience the same easy sexual fluidity, or would kissing a guy just mean that they are really gay? Not Gay thrusts deep into a world where straight guy-on-guy action is not a myth but a reality: there’s fraternity and military hazing rituals, where new recruits are made to grab each other’s penises and stick fingers up their fellow members’ anuses; online personal ads, where straight men seek other straight men to masturbate with; and, last but not least, the long and clandestine history of straight men frequenting public restrooms for sexual encounters with other men. For Jane Ward, these sexual practices reveal a unique social space where straight white men can—and do—have sex with other straight white men; in fact, she argues, to do so reaffirms rather than challenges their gender and racial identity. Ward illustrates that sex between straight white men allows them to leverage whiteness and masculinity to authenticate their heterosexuality in the context of sex with men. By understanding their same-sex sexual practice as meaningless, accidental, or even necessary, straight white men can perform homosexual contact in heterosexual ways. These sex acts are not slippages into a queer way of being or expressions of a desired but unarticulated gay identity. Instead, Ward argues, they reveal the fluidity and complexity that characterizes all human sexual desire. In the end, Ward’s analysis offers a new way to think about heterosexuality—not as the opposite or absence of homosexuality, but as its own unique mode of engaging in homosexual sex, a mode characterized by pretense, dis-identification and racial and heterosexual privilege. Daring, insightful, and brimming with wit, Not Gay is a fascinating new take on the complexities of heterosexuality in the modern era.

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HONORABLE MENTION, HARRY SHAW AND KATRINA HAZZARD-DONALD AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING WORK IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE STUDIES, GIVEN BY THE POP CULTURE ASSOCIATION A view of transatlantic slavery’s afterlife and modern Blackness through the lens of age Although more than fifty years apart, the murders of Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin share a commonality: Black children are not seen as children. Time and time again, excuses for police brutality and aggression—particularly against Black children— concern the victim “appearing” as a threat. But why and how is the perceived “appearance” of Black persons so completely separated from common perceptions of age and time? Black Age: Oceanic Lifespans and the Time of Black Life posits age, life stages, and lifespans as a central lens through which to view Blackness, particularly with regard to the history of transatlantic slavery. Focusing on Black literary culture of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Habiba Ibrahim examines how the history of transatlantic slavery and the constitution of modern Blackness has been reimagined through the embodiment of age. She argues that Black age—through nearly four centuries of subjugation— has become contingent, malleable, and suited for the needs of enslavement. As a result, rather than the number of years lived or a developmental life stage, Black age came to signify exchange value, historical under-development, timelessness, and other fantasies borne out of Black exclusion from the human. Ibrahim asks: What constitutes a normative timeline of maturation for Black girls when “all the women”—all the canonically feminized adults—“are white”? How does a “slave” become a “man” when adulthood is foreclosed to Black subjects of any gender? Black Age tracks the struggle between the abuses of Black exclusion from Western humanism and the reclamation of non-normative Black life, arguing that, if some of us are brave, it is because we dare to live lives considered incomprehensible within a schema of “human time.”

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An all-encompassing, chronological guide to football's World Cup, one of the world's few truly international events, in good time for the June 2014 kick-off in Rio de Janeiro. From its beginnings in 1930 to the modern all-singing, all-dancing self-styled ‘greatest show on Earth’, every tournament is covered with features on major stars and great games, as well as stories about some less celebrated names and quirky stats and intriguing essays. Holt's focus is very much on what takes place on the field, rather than how football is a mirror for economic corruption, or how a nation's style of play represents a profound statement about its people, or how a passion for football can lift underpaid, socially marginalised people out of poverty. From the best World Cups, in 1958 and 1970, to the worst, in 1962 and 2010, he looks behind the facts and the technical observations to the stories: the mysterious sins of omission; critical injuries to key players; and coaching U-turns. He explains how England's World Cup achievements under Sven-Göran Eriksson, far from being a national disgrace, were actually quite impressive, and looks at why Alf Ramsey didn't take Bobby Charlton off in 1970, but this is no parochial, jingoistic account. The book also asks why Brazil did not contribute in 1966, despite having won the previous two tournaments and going on to win the next one? Why the greatest players of their day did not always shine at the World Cup – George Best and Alfredo Di Stefano, for example, never even made it to the Finals. Why did Johann Cruyff not go to the 1978 World Cup? And why did one of Germany's greatest players never play in the World Cup?There are lots of tables, some filled with obvious, but necessary information, but others with more quirky observations. Alongside accounts of epic games, there are also brief biographies of all the great heroes of the World Cup.

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Homelessness became a conspicuous facet of Russian cityscapes only in the 1990s, when the Soviet criminalization of vagrancy and similar offenses was abolished. In spite of the host of social and economic problems confronting Russia in the demise of Soviet power, the social dislocation endured by increasing numbers of people went largely unrecognized by the state. Being homeless carries a special burden in Russia, where a permanent address is the precondition for all civil rights and social benefits and where homelessness is often regarded as a result of laziness and drinking, rather than external factors. In Needed by Nobody, the anthropologist Tova Höjdestrand offers a nuanced portrait of homelessness in St. Petersburg. Based on ethnographic work at railway stations, soup kitchens, and other places where the homeless gather, Höjdestrand describes the material and mental world of this marginalized population. They are, she observes, "not needed" in two senses. The state considers them, in effect, as noncitizens. At the same time they stand outside the traditionally intimate social networks that are the real safety net of life in postsocialist Russia. As a result, they are deprived of the prerequisites for dealing with others in ways that they themselves value as "decent" and "human." Höjdestrand investigates processes of social exclusion as well as the remaining "world of waste": things, tasks, and places that are wanted by nobody else and on which "human leftovers" are forced to survive. In this bleak context, Höjdestrand takes up the intimate worlds of the homeless—their social relationships, dirt and cleanliness, and physical appearance. Her interviews with homeless people show that the indigent have a very good idea of what others think of them and that they are liable to reproduce the stigma that is attached to them even as they attempt to negotiate it. This unique and often moving portrait of life on the margins of society in the new Russia ultimately reveals how human dignity may be retained in the absence of its very preconditions.

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The end of the nineteenth century in France was marked by political scandals, social unrest, dissension, and “decadence.” Yet the fin de siècle was also an era of great social and scientific progress, a time when advantages previously reserved for the privileged began to be shared by the many. Public transportation, electrical illumination, standard time, and an improved water supply radically altered the life of the modest folk, who found time for travel and leisure activities—including sports such as cycling. Change became the nature of things, and people believed that further improvement was not only possible but inevitable.In this thoroughly engaging history, Eugen Weber describes ways of life, not as recorded by general history, but as contemporaries experienced them. He writes about political atmosphere and public prejudices rather than standard political history. Water and washing, bicycles and public transportation engage him more than great scientific discoveries. He discusses academic painting and poster art, the popular stage and music halls, at greater length than avant-garde and classic theater or opera. In this book the importance of telephones, plumbing, and central heating outranks such traditional subjects as international developments, the rise of organized labor, and the spread of socialism.Weber does not neglect the darker side of the fin de siècle. The discrepancy between material advance and spiritual dejection, characteristic of our own times, interests him as much as the idea of progress, and he reminds us that for most people the period was far from elegant. In the lurid context of military defeat, political instability, public scandal, and clamorous social criticism, one had also to contend with civic dirt, unsanitary food, mob violence, and the seeds of modern-day scourges: pollution, drugs, sensationalism, debased art, the erosion of moral character. Yet millions of fin de siècle French lived as only thousands had lived fifty years before; while their advance was slow, their right to improvement was conceded.

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We're all familiar with the image of a fierce and scowling Beethoven, struggling doggedly to overcome his rapidly progressing deafness. That Beethoven continued to play and compose for more than a decade after he lost his hearing is often seen as an act of superhuman heroism. But the truth is that Beethoven's response to his deafness was entirely human. And by demystifying what he did, we can learn a great deal about Beethoven's music. Perhaps no one is better positioned to help us do so than Robin Wallace, who not only has dedicated his life to the music of Beethoven but also has close personal experience with deafness. One day, at the age of forty-four, Wallace's late wife, Barbara, found she couldn't hear out of her right ear-the result of radiation administered to treat a brain tumor early in life. Three years later, she lost hearing in her left ear as well. Over the eight and a half years that remained of her life, despite receiving a cochlear implant, Barbara didn't overcome her deafness or ever function again like a hearing person. Wallace shows here that Beethoven didn't do those things, either. Rather than heroically overcoming his deafness, as we're commonly led to believe, Beethoven accomplished something even more difficult and challenging: he adapted to his hearing loss and changed the way he interacted with music, revealing important aspects of its very nature in the process. Creating music became for Beethoven became a visual and physical process, emanating from visual cues and from instruments that moved and vibrated. His deafness may have slowed him down, but it also led to works of unsurpassed profundity. Wallace tells the story of Beethoven's creative life from the inside out, interweaving it with his and Barbara's experience to reveal aspects that only living with deafness could open up. The resulting insights make Beethoven and his music more accessible, and help us see how a disability can enhance human wholeness and flourishing.

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Fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han will feel right at home in this heartfelt coming-of-age story about a homesick girl who gives up her summer plans to help her distant family—only to find everything she was looking for, including love.Ocean breeze in her hair and sand between her toes, Anise can't wait to spend the summer before her senior year surfing and hanging out on the beach with friends. Santa Cruz is more than her home—it's her heart. But when her aunt, a single mother, is in a serious car accident, Anise must say goodbye to California to help care for her three young cousins.Landlocked Nebraska is the last place Anise wants to be. Sure, she loves her family, but living in her mother's childhood home—the same mother who disappeared out of her life when she was born—brings up memories and feelings she would rather forget. And with every photo and text, her friends back home feel further away.Then she meets Lincoln, a charismatic, one-armed skater who dares her to swap her surfboard for a skateboard. Anise isn't one to shy away from a challenge. Her days with Lincoln are the most fun she's had all summer and skating together makes her feel more alive and free than she ever has.Because sometimes the only way to find your footing is to let go.Perfect for readers who like:Teen romance booksTeen realistic fiction booksHeartfelt summer readsTell Me Three Things and Five Feet ApartPraise for Girl out of Water:A Junior Library Guild Selection!"Hand to fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han."—Booklist"A novel that reads like a warm summer afternoon."—Paste Magazine"[A]n entertaining and well-done coming-of-age story."—RT Book Reviews"[W]orthy of a spot in any teen's beach bag."—School Library JournalAlso by Laura Silverman:You Asked for Perfect

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Inspiring and irreverent by turns, Brian Levison's new anthology has drawn on rugby's wealth of excellent writing. Frank Keating, P. G. Wodehouse, Alec Waugh, A. A. Thomson, John Reason and Mick Imlah are among the distinguished names who have written movingly, amusingly and entertainingly about the game they loved. Great players such as Brian O'Driscoll, Willie John McBride, J. P. R. Williams, Chester Williams, Colin Meads, Gavin Hastings and Brian Moore give us a fascinating insider's view, as does World Cup Final referee Derek Bevan, who reveals what it is like to try to control thirty powerful and often volatile men in a highly competitive situation. But some of the best writing and the wittiest insights come from those who played their rugby at a much less exalted level. The origins of the game - sometimes true, sometimes fanciful - are explored as are some of its rituals like the haka. There are amusing tales including that of the four Tibetan boys sent by the Dalai Lama to learn the game at Rugby School and an account of New Zealand scrum-half Chris Laidlaw's hostile reception at a village fete in Wales. Along with barely believable stories about the game's hardest men, including the French coach Jean 'le Sultan' Sebedio, who used to conduct training sessions wearing a sombrero and wielding a long whip, and 'Red' Conway who had his finger amputated rather than miss a game for South Africa. One section 'Double Vision' looks at the same incident from opposing viewpoints, such as when the then relatively inexperienced Irish immortal Willie John McBride took a swing at the mighty All Black Colin Meads in a line-out. Another, 'Giving it Everything', shows how exceptional courage was not restricted to the rugby field but extended to the battle grounds of the First World War. From the compiler of highly acclaimed All in a Day's Cricket, this selection covers the game from virtually every angle and is sure to delight any rugby fan.

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Worldwide, depression will be the single biggest cause of disability in the next 20 years. But treatment for it has not changed much in the last three decades. In the world of psychiatry, time has apparently stood still... until now. In this game-changing book, University of Cambridge Professor Edward Bullmore reveals the breakthrough new science on the link between depression and inflammation of the body and brain. He explains how and why we now know that mental disorders can have their root cause in the immune system, and outlines a future revolution in which treatments could be specifically targeted to break the vicious cycle of stress, inflammation and depression.The Inflamed Mind goes far beyond the clinic and the lab, representing a whole new way of looking at how mind, brain and body all work together in a sometimes misguided effort to help us survive in a hostile world. It offers insights into the story of Western medicine, how we have got it wrong as well as right in the past, and how we could start getting to grips with depression and other mental disorders much more effectively in the future.'Suddenly an expert who wants to stop and question everything we thought we knew... This is a lesson in the workings of the brain far too important to ignore.' - Jeremy Vine, BBC 'Professor Bullmore explores how the current division between Psychiatry and the rest of medicine has developed and how we might change that. He puts forward a fascinating theory that attributes depression to inflammation rather than serotonin imbalance as has traditionally been thought. Whatever the truth, this book is a stimulating and interesting read.' - Wendy Burn, President Royal College of Psychiatrists'A great read, this thought provoking book presents inflammation as the major driver of depression. A real page turner that raises important questions for us all, including, how we should practise medicine going forwards and can we restart Research and Development using this paradigm? Highly recommended. - Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England

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FINALIST FOR THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARDCHOSEN BY BARACK OBAMA AS ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2019 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCEA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'An informed, moving and kaleidoscopic portrait... Treuer's powerful book suggests the need for soul-searching about the meanings of American history and the stories we tell ourselves about this nation's past' New York Times Book Review, front pageThe received idea of Native American history has been that American Indian history essentially ended with the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee. Not only did one hundred fifty Sioux die at the hands of the U.S. Cavalry, the sense was, but Native civilization did as well. Growing up Ojibwe on a reservation in Minnesota, training as an anthropologist, and researching Native life past and present for his nonfiction and novels, David Treuer has uncovered a different narrative. Because they did not disappear - and not despite but rather because of their intense struggles to preserve their language, their traditions, their families, and their very existence- the story of American Indians since the end of the nineteenth century to the present is one of unprecedented resourcefulness and reinvention. In The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, Treuer melds history with reportage and memoir. Tracing the tribes' distinctive cultures from first contact, he explores how the depredations of each era spawned new modes of survival. The devastating seizures of land gave rise to increasingly sophisticated legal and political maneuvering that put the lie to the myth that Indians don't know or care about property. The forced assimilation of their children at government-run boarding schools incubated a unifying Native identity. Conscription in the US military and the pull of urban life brought Indians into the mainstream and modern times, even as it steered the emerging shape of self-rule and spawned a new generation of resistance. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee is the essential, intimate story of a resilient people in a transformative era.

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A freezing cold winter. A dead body from the past. A tale of love - and murder. A human leg is discovered in a suburban freezer. The victim is a teenage girl killed some ten years earlier. But then other body parts start appearing. And these ones are male, dark-skinned, and very fresh...Is this a tangled tale of love gone wrong? Or are there more sinister lines connecting the dead bodies to a recent tragedy in a Cardiff prison, and an engineering company that's up to a whole lot more than is first apparent?Fiona Griffiths starts to investigate, in the midst of the coldest winter on record. Up in a remote cottage in the Welsh Black Mountains, she finds the data that contains the clue to the entire mystery. But, as the first snow starts to fall, she discovers that she's not alone...Praise for the Fiona Griffiths mystery series: 'Compelling...a new crime talent to treasure' Daily Mail 'A dark delight, and I look forward to Fiona's future struggles with criminals, her demons and the mysteries of her past' Washington Post 'With Detective Constable Fiona 'Fi' Griffiths, Harry Bingham...finds a sweet spot in crime fiction...think Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander...[or] Lee Child's Jack Reacher... The writing is terrific' The Boston Globe 'A police procedural with a twist. Quirky, gripping, and rather like its lead character, utterly unconventional. That's what makes it such a delight to read. Highly recommended' Crime Thriller Girl'A cracking read that is both fresh and compelling' Red HandedFans of Angela Marsons, Peter James and Ann Cleeves will be gripped by the other titles in the Fiona Griffiths mystery series: 1. Talking to the Dead2. Love Story, With Murders3. The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths4. This Thing of Darkness5. The Dead House 6. The Deepest Grave (coming soon!)If you're looking for a crime thriller series to keep you hooked, then go no further: you've just found it.** Each Fiona Griffiths thriller can be read as a standalone or in series order **

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Take to the rails and have a European adventure with this inspiring and practical guidebook.Thanks to Europe's ever-expanding and improving rail network, there's never been a better time to explore this diverse continent by train. But with so much ground to cover, it can be difficult to know where to start - and that's where Europe by Train comes in. Compiled by a team of travel experts, our 50 hand-picked itineraries will kickstart your plans, showing you how to join the dots between Europe's must-see destinations and introducing you to plenty of lesser-visited stops along the way. Featuring a mix of short trips and epic adventures, cross-continent and region-specific itineraries, this book provides endless inspiration, whether you're looking to hop between Europe's capitals, explore Scandinavia or experience the best of Italy.Packed inside Europe by Train you will find:- 50 inspiring and practical itineraries for exploring Europe by train.- Routes cover a variety of distances, from four-day trips to month-long adventures. - Each route covers either an epic cross-continent journey (eg from the North to the South, East to West) or a particular area, region or country (eg Beneluxe, Northern Italy, Finland), with the text describing the places you stop at rather than the journey between them.- Practical information details how to get between each stop, total distance travelled, trip duration and ticketing tips.- Some routes feature suggested detours and opportunities to extend your trip.Once your head is well and truly packed with rail trip ideas, you'll be ready to start planning out the details. This handy guidebook has all the route infographics, network maps and practical information - including advice on what tickets to buy, how to catch connections and tips for travelling on night trains - you need to get started. We've also included detours and opportunities to extend the route, so you can curate your own rail adventure.

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Selected as a Financial Times Best Book of 2013 Governments today in both Europe and the United States have succeeded in casting government spending as reckless wastefulness that has made the economy worse. In contrast, they have advanced a policy of draconian budget cuts--austerity--to solve the financial crisis. We are told that we have all lived beyond our means and now need to tighten our belts. This view conveniently forgets where all that debt came from. Not from an orgy of government spending, but as the direct result of bailing out, recapitalizing, and adding liquidity to the broken banking system. Through these actions private debt was rechristened as government debt while those responsible for generating it walked away scot free, placing the blame on the state, and the burden on the taxpayer. That burden now takes the form of a global turn to austerity, the policy of reducing domestic wages and prices to restore competitiveness and balance the budget. The problem, according to political economist Mark Blyth, is that austerity is a very dangerous idea. First of all, it doesn't work. As the past four years and countless historical examples from the last 100 years show, while it makes sense for any one state to try and cut its way to growth, it simply cannot work when all states try it simultaneously: all we do is shrink the economy. In the worst case, austerity policies worsened the Great Depression and created the conditions for seizures of power by the forces responsible for the Second World War: the Nazis and the Japanese military establishment. As Blyth amply demonstrates, the arguments for austerity are tenuous and the evidence thin. Rather than expanding growth and opportunity, the repeated revival of this dead economic idea has almost always led to low growth along with increases in wealth and income inequality. Austerity demolishes the conventional wisdom, marshaling an army of facts to demand that we austerity for what it is, and what it costs us.

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Next, dive into TOM LAKE – the breath-taking newest novel from Ann Patchett Lose yourself in the story of a lifetime – the unforgettable Sunday Times bestseller ‘Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature’ Guardian Nominated for the Women’s Prize 2020 A STORY OF TWO SIBLINGS, THEIR CHILDHOOD HOME, AND A PAST THAT THEY CAN’T LET GO. Like swallows, like salmon, we were the helpless captives of our migratory patterns. We pretended that what we had lost was the house, not our mother, not our father. We pretended that what we had lost had been taken from us by the person who still lived inside. In the economic boom following the Second World War, Cyril Conroy's real estate investments take his family from poverty to enormous wealth. With it he buys the Dutch House, a lavish mansion in the Philadelphia suburbs. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. Danny Conroy grows up in the opulence of the Dutch House. Though his father is distant and his mother is absent, Danny has his beloved sister Maeve: Maeve, with her wall of black hair, her wit, her brilliance. The siblings grow and change as life plays out under the watchful eyes of the house’s former owners, in the frames of their oil paintings. Then one day their father brings home Andrea, a new stepmother. Though they cannot know it, her arrival to the Dutch House sows the seed of the defining loss of Danny and Maeve’s lives: exiled from the house and tossed back into the poverty from which their family rose, Danny and Maeve have only each other to count on. ‘The best book I’ve read in years’ Rosamund Lupton ‘Her finest novel yet’ Sunday Times ‘The buzz around The Dutch House is totally justified. Her best yet, which is saying something’ John Boyne ‘A masterpiece’ Cathy Rentzenbrink ‘Bliss’ Nigella Lawson

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Climate variability and human management strategies on crop stands were major factors that frequently affected agricultural yields among indigenous populations from central Mexico. This work seeks to model food production in ancient Tepeaca, a Late Postclassic (AD 1325-1521) and Early Colonial (16th century) state level-polity settled on the central highlands of Puebla, by applying a model that recognizes the presence of two independent and interconnected forms of food production: subsistence agriculture and institutional agriculture. Crop stands within this region depended heavily on rainfed conditions, a form of agriculture that often generates unstable interannual fluctuations in yields. Archaeology acknowledges the effects of such variations on the economy of households and institutions, but attention has been largely put on estimating average productivity values over long periods rather than focusing on interannual divergences. Such instability of agricultural production was recorded among modern Tepeaca’s agriculturalists through an ethnographic survey. This crucial information, along with archaeological data and local 16th century historical sources, is used for modeling the effects of climate variability among prehispanic populations and serves to better comprehend the organization of past agrarian structures, tribute systems and land tenure organization at the household and regional levels.

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“I would rather have this book published than anything that has ever been written about me,” Theodore Roosevelt said to his editor shortly before TR’s death in January 1919. Alas , Roosevelt was never to see publication of the collection, which went on to become an instant bestseller that was reprinted six times between September and November 1919. Most of the letters in this book were written by Theodore Roosevelt to his children over a period of over a dozen years, from their early childhood through maturity. Indeed, long before they were able to read he sent them what they called “picture letters,” with crude drawings of his own in illustration of the written text, drawings precisely adapted to the childish imagination and intelligence. From the youngest to the oldest, Roosevelt always wrote to them as equals. He was always their playmate and “boon companion,” whether they were toddling infants or youths standing at the threshold of life. The letters are filled with fatherly advice, delicious humor, and anecdotes about the domestic life of a President and his family. Of course, animals are always at center stage, whether it’s describing the funeral for a beloved pet rabbit, or a pig that TR has chosen to name Maude.

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Internationally recognized for its superior scholarship, Modern Fiction Studies was one of the first journals to publish articles on postcolonial studies. Since postcolonialism's inception, scholars have defined, clarified, and enriched its conceptions and theoretical development in the pages of MFS. This anthology collects the best and most important articles on postcolonial literary studies published in MFS in the past thirty years. Postcolonial Literary Studies brings together groundbreaking scholarship focusing on significant works of fiction by such writers as Chinua Achebe, J. M. Coetzee, Jamaica Kincaid, V. S. Naipaul, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Bapsi Sidhwa, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and more. The essays feature ideas that helped shape the discipline from its earliest stages to the present and represent some of the finest examples of literary, theoretical, historical, and cultural criticism. With its focus on literary figures and texts, rather than solely on theory, this volume fills a significant gap in the fields of postcolonialism, global studies, and literary criticism in general. This rich collection of essays by the field's leading scholars will prove indispensable to instructors and students across a broad spectrum of humanistic studies. It not only highlights the development and transformation of postcolonial literary study but also, by mapping out new directions of study, considers its continual significance and expansion.

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While the United States was founded on abstract principles of certain "unalienable rights," its legal traditions are based in British common law, a fact long decried by progressive reformers. Common law, the complaint goes, ignores abstract rights principles in favor of tradition, effectively denying equality to large segments of the population. The nineteenth-century women's rights movement embraced this argument, claiming that common law rules of property and married women's status were at odds with the nation's commitment to equality. Conventional wisdom suggests that this tactic helped pave the way for voting rights and better jobs. In Constitutional Context, Kathleen S. Sullivan presents a fresh perspective. In revisiting the era's congressional debates, state legislation, judicial opinions, news accounts, and work of political activists, Sullivan finds that the argument for universal, abstract rights was not the only, or best, path available for social change. Rather than erecting a new paradigm of absolute rights, she argues, women's rights activists unwittingly undermined common law's ability to redress grievances, contributing heavily to the social, cultural, and political stagnation that characterizes the place of women and the movement today. A challenging and thoughtful study of what is commonly thought of as an era of progress, Constitutional Context provides the groundwork for a more comprehensive understanding and interpretation of constitutional law.

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