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Blockchain and Smart-Contract Technologies for Innovative Applications
by Nour El Madhoun Ioanna Dionysiou Emmanuel BertinThis book is an in-depth exploration of blockchain and smart contracts technologies, systematically addressing their theoretical foundations while highlighting concrete applications in several key sectors. It begins by defining the fundamentals of blockchain and smart contracts, then ventures into the legal domain, analyzing the implications of automated contracts from both backend and frontend perspectives. A particular focus is placed on a sustainable design for cryptocurrencies, anticipating the principles and expectations of the future. The book then provides a detailed taxonomy of blockchain's financial applications, while also examining its role in managing scientific workflows. The fascinating world of NFTs is also explored, from the tokenization of fine arts to innovative event ticketing systems. The convergence between ontologies and blockchain technology is then highlighted, followed by an in-depth assessment of the implications of this technology in the telecommunicationssector, including a SWOT analysis of next-generation cellular networks. Written by academic researchers and industry experts, this book offers a complete and nuanced perspective on the transformational potential of blockchain.
The Secrets Between Us
by Laura MadeleineA gripping mystery with a heart-breaking revelation, The Secrets Between Us is a sublimely satisfying story of lost love, betrayal and the dangers of war.‘Sublimely satisfying’ Veronica Henry, author of The Forever HouseHigh in the mountains in the South of France, eighteen-year-old Ceci Corvin is trying hard to carry on as normal. But in 1943, there is no such thing as normal; especially not for a young woman in love with the wrong person. Scandal, it would seem, can be more dangerous than war.Fifty years later, Annie is looking for her long-lost grandmother. Armed with nothing more than a sheaf of papers, she travels from England to Paris in pursuit of the truth. But as she traces her grandmother’s story, Annie uncovers something she wasn’t expecting, something that changes everything she knew about her family – and everything she thought she knew about herself…Perfect for fans of Kate Morton's The Lake House and Dinah Jeffries' Before the Rains.*Laura Madeleine's writing is...‘Mouth-watering and mysterious’ Leah Fleming, author of The Glovemaker's Daughter‘Delightful and delicious’ Nina George, author of The Little Paris Bookshop
Twentieth-Century Classical Music: A Ladybird Expert Book (The Ladybird Expert Series #20)
by Fiona MaddocksPart of the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES.____________How did modern classical music develop over the 20th Century?What enabled women to get their music performed in the early 1900s?Which classical composers borrowed from jazz?How did composers respond to politics and war?DISCOVER the stories behind Mahler's, Symphony No. 5 (1901-2), Ullman's Piano Sonata No. 7 (1944), Bernstein's West Side Story (1957), as well as learn about minimalism, jazz, swing, opera . . . AND UNDERSTAND TWENTIETH CENTURY CLASSICAL MUSIC.Discover the answers and more inside Fiona Maddocks' Twentieth Century Classical Music, the thrilling and accessible account that explains what happened throughout the 20th century, who the key composers were and what influenced them to write what they did?
The Palace of Eros
by Delver MaddingleyThe glamorous world of erotic publishing is the setting for the Captain's latest salacious venture, and, as ever, he enters into it with gusto. But the Jack of all trades can't do everything by himself: he needs writers, editors, illustrators and models. Given the Captain's predilection for female company, it's hardly surprising that most of these turn out to be women, and they soon strike up a good working relationship. So good, in fact, that some of the books begin to seem tame by comparison...
Peep Show
by Mathilde MaddenNaughty Imogen likes to watch. When her boyfriend Christian is out at work she spends her evenings spying on the neighbors through binoculars and viewing her secret porn collection. Most of all, though, she likes to go online and pretend to be Christian while she chats up men on a Manchester gay dating site.But when her latest virtual beau and borderline obsession 'Dark Knight' asks for a photograph, her voyeuristic games become complicated. Suddenly Christian is being drawn into her sleazy thrills without his knowledge. Imogen's getting more eye candy than she ever dreamed of, but at what price?
The Silver Cage
by Mathilde MaddenIris and Alfie have been driven apart by the strongest forces in the werewolf world - the powerful thrall of the Divine Wolf - the mother of them all. Now Iris needs to win Alfie back, not just for herself, but because the fate of the world could rest upon it. But the only way to free Alfie from the power of the Divine Wolf is to kill her. Something that could end the lives of all werewolves. Including Alfie himself - Iris true love.
The Silver Collar
by Mathilde MaddenThe first in a werewolf paranormal trilogy from the acclaimed author, Mathilde MaddenEleven years ago a powerful ancient werewolf ripped Iris's life apart. One full moon night it attacked the two people she loved most in the world, killing her twin brother and leaving her boyfriend Alfie changed forever. Iris and Alfie vowed revenge on the Beast, but when Alfie began to show a twisted loyalty to the creature who had made him, Iris lost him too.Now, Alfie is back in Oxford where Iris - still haunted by her dead brother - is heading up the Vix, a shadowy organisation dedicated to killing his kind. But Alfie needs Iris's help or what the Beast did to him that night may yet prove fatal. His only hope of keeping his deadly beast under control is the Silver Collar - an ancient artefact currently owned by the Vix. But Iris isn't prepared to help Alfie secure it until he agrees to defy the rules of his kind and help her avenge Matthew's death.
The Silver Crown
by Mathilde MaddenAn epic and fast-paced tale of lycanthropy and female werewolf hunters...Every full moon, Iris kills werewolves. It's what she's good at. What she's trained for. She's never imagined doing anything else . . . until she falls in love with one. And being a professional werewolf hunter and dating a werewolf poses a serious conflict of interests. To add to her problems, a group of witches decides she is the chosen one - destined to save humanity from the wolves at the door - while her new boss, Blake, who just happens to be her ex-husband, is hell-bent on sabotaging her new reltionship. All Iris wants is to snuggle up with her alpha wolf and be left alone. He might turn into a monster once a month, but in a lot of ways Iris does too.
The Witch's Workshop: A Guide to Crafting Your Own Magical Tools
by Melissa MadaraFrom the author of The Witch's Feast, this is the first fully illustrated, comprehensive introduction to the handicrafts of witchcraft. Through over 60 craft projects, learn all the techniques you need to create your personalized magical toolkit.Empower yourself as a self-sufficient witch, and become a master of the natural arts!This in-depth guide, accompanied by step-by-step images, will show you all the craft and design skills you need to make your own, personalized and fully adaptable magical toolkit.Melissa Madara, magical expert, herbalist and witch, shares 60+ unique projects and techniques, many of which revive spells from the history of witches past. Approachable for beginners and stimulating for established practitioners, the crafts are clearly explained through luscious photographs, detailed research, useful charts, and easy-to-follow instructions. Once you are directly in touch with the power of these crafts, understanding deeply the processes and the associations of magical ingredients, you can be inspired to create all your own unique formulations. Chapters include:Incense, including kyphi temple incense, which once billowed from the temples of ancient Egypt, to house blessing incense for cleansing any new home.Inks, including dragon's blood ink and botanical drawing charcoals.Oils, such as flying ointment or the world's first known chemist Tapputi's royal salve.Natural dyes for creating stunning eco-printed ritual gowns or a spring equinox altar tablecloth.Papers, like Japanese knotweed paper or autumn equinox corn husk paper.Powders essential for rituals and spells such as scrying powder and banishing salt.Candles of all shapes and types, including poured, dipped and molded.With all of this knowledge, you can create altars, rituals and spells that are highly specific, personal and in touch with your natural environment.
A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
by Sue MacySue Macy presents an engrossing and deeply researched account of women's baseball in A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League."Play ball!" yelled the umpires as the teams of the AAGPBL took the field in the tense, war-torn days of 1943. Like all professional baseball players, these athletes scrambled to their positions, tossed balls across diamonds, and filled the air with chatter. But there was something different about them--they all wore skirts, went to charm school, and continually had to answer one question: "What is a woman doing playing baseball?"What were they doing? Having a great time, playing top-notch ball, and showing that a woman's place was at home only when she was at bat, behind the plate, or scoring a run. For twelve seasons, from 1943 to 1954, some of America's best female athletes earned their livings by playing baseball. This is their story in their own words, a tale of no-hitters and chaperones, stolen bases and practical jokes, home runs and run-ins with fans.Life in the league, however, was not all fun. Born out of a wartime "manpower" shortage, the AAGPBL ended with the growth of television and the ideal of the suburban home. Here, too, is the story of America's changing attitudes toward men and women and the roles we expect each to play. Author Sue Macy spent eleven years tracking down the women of the AAGPBL, interviewing them, and looking at their scrapbooks. Along the way she found that their odyssey did not end with the collapse of the league.The same courage and spunk the players displayed on the field led them to get back in touch with each other in the 1980s, to remind the world of what they had achieved, and to take their rightful places in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Balancing the voices of the women of the league with a lively, insightful overview of the changing patterns of American life, A Whole New Ball Game is a sports story full of telling insights about who we expect to be at home and how women can get back to first base.
The Trial of Jack the Ripper: The Case of William Bury (1859-89)
by E MacphersonA shocking and brutal murder had taken place in the city in February that year, and the words 'Jack Ripper is at the back of this door' were found written in chalk on a door at the scene of the crime. When he was arrested, the accused, William Bury, admitted that he was 'afraid he would be arrested as Jack the Ripper'.The police investigation uncovered some disturbing details. William Bury was a small dark-haired man who was known to have been violent towards women. He had been born and brought up in the Midlands but had moved to the East End of London in the late autumn of 1887. On 20 January 1889, he and his wife travelled by boat to Dundee. This meant that he had arrived in London before the start of the Jack the Ripper murders and had left around the same time that they ceased. Could this be coincidence, people wondered. Could it also be a coincidence that the murder in Dundee carried all the hallmarks of a 'ripper' murder?In the month before the trial, the local newspapers in Dundee began to run sensational stories linking the accused with the notorious Whitechapel murders. When the trial opened to a packed courtroom, many in the public gallery were wondering if the man standing in the dock was none other than Jack the Ripper himself.In this sensational and ground-breaking book, Euan Macpherson presents the evidence that the long arm of the law really did catch up with Jack the Ripper ... in a dingy basement flat in Dundee in the cold winter months of early 1889.
Pictures at an Exhibition
by Camilla Macpherson'An enchanting debut' Woman's OwnNovember 1942Dear Elizabeth, I've got myself a new project, to cheer myself up a bit. It has absolutely nothing to do with the war effort. We're completely starved of art in London these days. Anything decent was stashed away by the authorities years ago.But the National Gallery is going to dust off one masterpiece each month, put it on display, and allow us masses to trail in front of it. I've promised myself solemnly that I will go along each month to see whichever painting it is that has been chosen, then write and tell you all about it. So, what do you think? It must be better than knitting socks for sailors or collecting old tin to turn into Spitfires. Love Daisy
Tribes
by Catherine MacPhailKevin is determined that he'll never join a gang but his path crosses the Tribe's when he saves one of them from a rival gang. Invited to take their initiation test, Kevin plans to break the oath of secrecy and tell everyone. But he falls under the spell of the gang leader, Salom, and becomes a member. Kevin then discovers how hard it is to break away from the Tribe's rules and Salom's power, for when he's challenged Salom always makes you sorry. In this case he fastens on to Kevin's little sister, Glory, and Kevin is forced to take the initiation test again as his sister freezes with horror crossing a beam high above a ruined building.
Long Road from Jarrow: A journey through Britain then and now
by Stuart MaconieThe Sunday Times Bestseller'A tribute and a rallying call' - GuardianThree and half weeks. Three hundred miles. I saw roaring arterial highway and silent lanes, candlelit cathedrals and angry men in bad pubs. The Britain of 1936 was a land of beef paste sandwiches and drill halls. Now we are nation of vaping and nail salons, pulled pork and salted caramel.In the autumn of 1936, some 200 men from the Tyneside town of Jarrow marched 300 miles to London in protest against the destruction of their towns and industries. Precisely 80 years on, Stuart Maconie, walks from north to south retracing the route of the emblematic Jarrow Crusade. Travelling down the country’s spine, Maconie moves through a land that is, in some ways, very much the same as the England of the 30s with its political turbulence, austerity, north/south divide, food banks and of course, football mania. Yet in other ways, it is completely unrecognisable. Maconie visits the great cities as well as the sleepy hamlets, quiet lanes and roaring motorways. He meets those with stories to tell and whose voices build a funny, complex and entertaining tale of Britain, then and now.
The Nanny State Made Me: A Story of Britain and How to Save it
by Stuart Maconie'He is as funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell' ObserverIt was the spirit of our finest hour, the backbone of our post-war greatness, and it promoted some of the boldest and most brilliant schemes this isle has ever produced: it was the Welfare State, and it made you and I. But now it's under threat, and we need to save it.In this timely and provocative book, Stuart Maconie tells Britain’s Welfare State story through his own history of growing up as a northern working class boy. What was so bad about properly funded hospitals, decent working conditions and affordable houses? And what was so wrong about student grants, free eye tests and council houses? And where did it all go so wrong? Stuart looks toward Britain’s future, making an emotional case for believing in more than profit and loss; and championing a just, fairer society.
The People’s Songs: The Story of Modern Britain in 50 Records
by Stuart MaconieThese are the songs that we have listened to, laughed to, loved to and laboured to, as well as downed tools and danced to. Covering the last seven decades, Stuart Maconie looks at the songs that have sound tracked our changing times, and – just sometimes – changed the way we feel. Beginning with Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’, a song that reassured a nation parted from their loved ones by the turmoil of war, and culminating with the manic energy of ‘Bonkers’, Dizzee Rascal’s anthem for the push and rush of the 21st century inner city, The People’s Songs takes a tour of our island’s pop music, and asks what it means to us. This is not a rock critique about the 50 greatest tracks ever recorded. Rather, it is a celebration of songs that tell us something about a changing Britain during the dramatic and kaleidoscopic period from the Second World War to the present day. Here are songs about work, war, class, leisure, race, family, drugs, sex, patriotism and more, recorded in times of prosperity or poverty. This is the music that inspired haircuts and dance crazes, but also protest and social change. The companion to Stuart Maconie’s landmark Radio 2 series, The People’s Songs shows us the power of ‘cheap’ pop music, one of Britain’s greatest exports. These are the songs we worked to and partied to, and grown up and grown old to – from ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ to ‘Rehab', ‘She Loves You’ to ‘Star Man’, ‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’ to ‘Radio Ga Ga’.
The Pie At Night: In Search of the North at Play
by Stuart MaconieFactory, mine and mill. Industry, toil and grime. Its manufacturing roots mean we still see the North of England as a hardworking place. But, more than possibly anywhere else, the North has always known how to get dressed up, take itself out on the town and have a good time. After all, working and playing hard is its specialty, and Stuart Maconie is in search of what, exactly, this entails what it tells us about the North today. Following tip offs and rumour, Stuart takes trip to forgotten corners and locals’ haunts. From the tapas bars of Halifax to the caravan parks of Berwick Upon Tweed, from a Westhoughton bowling green to Manchester’s curry mile, via dog tracks and art galleries, dance floors and high fells, Stuart compares the new and old North, with some surprising results. The Pie at Night could be seen as a companion to the bestselling Pies and Prejudice, but it is not a sequel. After all, this is a new decade and the North is changing faster than ever. This is a revealing and digressive journey and a State of the North address, delivered from barstool, terrace, dress circle and hillside.
Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North
by Stuart MaconieA Northerner in exile, Stuart Maconie goes on a journey in search of the North, attempting to discover where the clichés end and the truth begins. He travels from Wigan Pier to Blackpool Tower and Newcastle's Bigg Market to the Lake District to find his own Northern Soul, encountering along the way an exotic cast of chippy Scousers, pie-eating woollybacks, topless Geordies, mad-for-it Mancs, Yorkshire nationalists and brothers in southern exile.The bestselling Pies and Prejudice is a hugely enjoyable journey around the north of England.
Because of the Baby: A Second Chance Alaskan Romance (Midnight Sons #4)
by Debbie MacomberTwo exes reunite in this second chance romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Debbie Macomber.Located 50 miles into the Arctic Circle where a population of 150 people—mostly men—reside, Hard Luck is in deep need for more women. It's up to the O'Halloran brothers and their bush-plane charter service called Midnight Sons, to bring women to the community.Matt Caldwell, Charles O'Halloran's brother-in-law, is an easygoing charmer who's recently moved to Hard Luck. He's begun to renovate the O'Hallorans' old lodge but he's also begun a strategy to win back his ex-wife…starting with a Valentine card.Karen Caldwell is still in love with her ex-husband. Her reaction to him at his sister's wedding—and afterward—certainly proved that. It also left her pregnant….Now Matt wants her to marry him again, to live with him in the lodge at Hard Luck. And not just because of the baby!Previously published
God's Guest List: Welcoming Those Who Influence Our Lives (An Inspirational Gift for Women)
by Debbie MacomberThrough touching true stories and inspiring insight, Debbie Macomber takes us on a journey to discover the influence others have on us—and the power we have to influence them in turn. Who is on God&’s &“guest list&” for your life…and why? The answers may surprise you. Each of us have &“influencers&” that have affected our lives—some from a distance, some through word or deed, some through example, be it good or bad. Often we don&’t even recognize the deep impact others have had and how God has used them to shape us into who we are. By pausing to recognize these influences, we begin to grasp how God&’s guest list has a purpose far beyond what we imagined. We begin to see the seeds of influence that grew into our personal values and character. In some people God invites into our lives, we see only what appears to be painful or negative influence. In God&’s Guest List, Macomber redirects our attention, opening our eyes to how those experiences prompted strength, resilience, resolve, and choices about how we would change and who we would become. In other instances, God has surprised us with just the people at just the right time to support, teach, lead, or love us, but perhaps we haven&’t quite recognized God&’s timing and work through these &“guests.&” This book also offers the chance to grasp our own power to influence others, and even to anticipate what lives we have yet to touch. In the bestselling tradition of How to Win Friends and Influence People, Macomber shares her vision to seize every opportunity to be a positive and faithful influence on others. Filled with true stories and rich insight, God&’s Guest List will forever change how you see the people in your life.
The Rituals: Simple Practices to Cultivate Well-Being, Deepen Relationships, and Discover Your True Purpose
by Natalie MacNeilThis stirring collection presents spiritual rituals from around the world and offers guidance on bringing the powerful practices into modern life. Filled with fascinating details on the history and meaning behind a wide range of sacred rituals for love, awareness, joy, and so much more, this timeless handbook guides readers through more than 40 empowering practices—including a candlelight ritual for renewal, a soothing ritual for unwinding, and a tea ceremony for fostering connection and gratitude. With evocative watercolors throughout, this book is a lovely invitation to nourish the mind, body, and soul through enduring rituals for well-being.
The Stornoway Way
by Kevin MacNeil‘Fuck everyone from Holden Caulfield to Bridget Jones, fuck all the American and English phoney fictions that claim to speak for us; they don’t know the likes of us exist and they never did. We are who we are because we grew up the Stornoway way. We do not live in the back of beyond, we live in the very heart of beyond …’Meet R Stornoway, drink-addled misfit, inhabitant of the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, and meandering man fighting to break free of an island he just can’t seem to let go of…
Satan's Angel
by Melissa MacnealFeisty young Miss Rosie is lured away from her dwindling business during the first wave of the Klondike gold rush. Ending up in a town in a town called Satan, she auditions for the position of the town's most illustrious madam. Her creative ways with chocolate win her a place as the mysterious Devlin Meeh's mistress. As his favourite, she becomes queen of a town where the wildest fantasies become everyday life, but where her devious rival, Venus, rules an underworld of sexual slavery. Caught in this dark vixen's wed of deceit, Rosie is then kidnapped by the pistol-packing all-female gang, the KlonDykes, taunted by the man who lured her to Satan and ultimately, played as a pawn in a dangerous game of revenge. But there's also a handsome Mountie waiting in the wings who might just be able to save her insatiable ways.
Windharp: Poems of Ireland since 1916
by Niall MacMonagleWindharp: Niall MacMonagle's essential anthology of the last century of Irish poetryThe Easter Rising of 1916 was a foundational moment of the independent Irish state; but while that insurrection continues to divide opinion, there is no disagreement as to the majesty of Yeats's 'Easter 1916', or about the excellence of the Irish poetic tradition over the past century. Windharp is an anthology that follows the twists and turns of Irish history, culture and society through the work of its remarkable standing army of poets. Edited by Niall MacMonagle, Ireland's most trusted poetry commentator,Windharp is an accessible and inspiring journey through a century of Irish life.'A landmark book' Clive James, TLS Books of the Year'Glorious' Irish Examiner'Beautifully produced ... an appealing and appetite-whetting introduction to a century's poetry' Irish Times'Beautifully judged ... poised perfectly between the canon and the tradition, with a generous inclusiveness' Eavan Boland, Irish Times'A perfect selection. One of the best anthologies of Irish poetry ever produced.' Donal Ryan
One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse
by Peter MacMillanA new edition of the most widely known and popular collection of Japanese poetry.The best-loved and most widely read of all Japanese poetry collections, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu contains 100 short poems on nature, the seasons, travel, and, above all, love. Dating back to the seventh century, these elegant, precisely observed waka poems (the precursor of haiku) express deep emotion through visual images based on a penetrating observation of the natural world. Peter MacMillan's new translation of his prize-winning original conveys even more effectively the beauty and subtlety of this magical collection.Translated with an introduction and commentary by Peter MacMillan.