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Pure Dead Brilliant (Pure Dead Series)
by Debi GlioriThere’s trouble brewing at StregaSchloss!When Signora Strega-Borgia invites some would-be witches to stay, weird things begin to happen. Pandora can’t resist the temptation of time travel. Titus picks up a strange—and deadly—computer virus. And it looks like they may have to trade in the family riches for a family curse.Are they falling under the witches’ spell? Or is the ghost of the Strega-Borgias’ past coming back to haunt them all?
Hotel Secrets from the Travel Detective: Insider Tips on Getting the Best Value, Service, and Security in Accomodations from Bed-and-Breakfasts to Five-Star Resorts
by Peter GreenbergIndispensable information for away-from-home lodging, from the author of the New York Times bestseller The Travel DetectiveIn Hotel Secrets from the Travel Detective, America’s best-known and most trusted travel authority reveals the insider knowledge that can make every hotel stay as comfortable as (and sometimes even more cost-efficient than) home. With his incomparable access and nose for news, Peter Greenberg shares the secrets that people who know hotels—managers, maids, reservation clerks, bellhops, chefs, and maintenance guys—don’t want you to know about value, service, safety, security, and cleanliness. Tips include:• How to tell if your room is really clean • What never to order from room service • The real way to prevent hotel crime• How to beat excessive hotel phone charges• The exact rooms where headline-making events took place Drawn from the author’s experiences as both an investigative reporter and a constant traveler, Hotel Secrets from the Travel Detective is an essential guide to everything from luxury resorts to motels, from airport hotels and bed-and-breakfasts to outrageous (and often secret) alternatives to hotels.
The Travel Detective: How to Get the Best Service and the Best Deals from Airlines, Hotels, Cruise Ships, and Car Rental Agencies
by Peter GreenbergRenowned travel authority and NBC Today show travel editor Peter Greenberg shares his insider secrets. Americans now travel more than ever before. Yet as our traveling has increased, the service we receive from airlines, hotels, and other agencies has deteriorated dramatically. Industry surveys reveal what you already feel: growing dissatisfaction among travelers of every age, income, and education level. We've been abused by the travel experience. Peter Greenberg is here to help. The Travel Detective tells you the things most travel agents can't — or sometimes just won't — tell you. In his characteristic friendly and conversational tone, Greenberg tells how to find the secret walk-up fares that can save air travelers hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on last minutes flights; which coach seats on which planes are better than first class; the secret rule to know to avoid being bumped from a flight, which cruise ship brochures lie; which credit card companies are fastest — and slowest — to come to your aid in a foreign land, or worse, in the U.S.,; which hotels have the best — and the worst — fire and crime safety records, and how you can protect yourself; how to negotiate the best hotel room deal; which hotels have the worst water pressure in their showers (and better yet, how you can get great water pressure, even at those hotels); and much, much more. Accessible and entertaining, The Travel Detective gives you the information and tools you need to make every trip an affordable pleasure.
Starfist: Flashfire (Starfist)
by David Sherman Dan CraggPacked with hard-core action written by battle-savvy combat veterans, the explosive Starfist series has become hugely popular across America. Now the saga of the courageous Marines continues in Flashfire, as the 34th Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST) ventures to the edge of Human Space to fight a number of enemies . . . some on their own side. Tensions erupt between the Confederation and several frontier worlds when civilians are shot dead at an army base on the planet Ravenette. Enraged, the Ravenette government and nine neighboring planets form a coalition, and their first act of secession is to overrun Ravenette&’s Confederation garrison. With the armed forces of ten worlds seizing the brutal upper hand, the embattled troops need help—now—and they need it bad. Enter the Marines of the 34th FIST. As the nearest ready-to-deploy unit, the team is sent to Ravenette with orders to hold the line until reinforcements arrive. The upcoming operation promises to be no picnic, for while sophisticates may ridicule the backward ways of the uncouth frontier folk, no one scoffs at their fighting ability. Charlie Bass doesn&’t mince words for his men in Company L&’s third platoon. Two army divisions—perhaps thirty thousand soldiers—are being overwhelmed, and somebody expects a thousand Marines to save the day. As pompous Confederation generals wreak even more havoc than the enemy, there are those who call the mission suicide . . . but not the Marines. Of course it sounds hopeless, but for Marines like Charlie Bass and the rest of the 34th FIST, accomplishing the impossible comes with the territory.
Blender Scripting with Python: Automate Tasks, Write Helper Tools, and Procedurally Generate Models in Blender 4
by Isabel LupianiLearn to automate tasks, develop custom extensions, and procedurally generate meshes in Blender. This book will show you how to streamline virtually every stage of the 3D modeling pipeline for your next game or animation project. Start with a hands-on introduction to the Blender Python API and dive right into basics like loading/running scripts and turning hand-modelling steps into Python by capturing them in the Info Editor. Then experiment with Blender menu options, typing them into the Python console and watch things move in the viewport. You’ll also dissect with Blender-shipped add-ons and take advantage of built-in templates to quickly create new scripts. With a firm grasp of scripting basics, you'll start to develop your own add-ons for editing and generating models. Then add more advanced mesh edits like extrude and loop cut-and-slides to your script, and essentials for shaping mesh elements like merge, bevel, and so on. Putting it altogether, you’ll create an extension to procedurally generate stylized fire hydrants with parametric controls. In addition to mesh editing, you’ll learn to develop production-quality extensions covering various stages of a 3D pipeline, such as retopology, UV mapping, texture painting, and more. Discover along the way how to implement just about any input widgets for your extension. Then package, distribute, and market your extensions through different channels, and produce impressive time-lapsed demos to showcase your procedural content generation (PCG) algorithms. Whether you are new to the Blender Python API or looking to take your add-ons to the next level, this book will support you in your journey in generating 3D content and automating your Blender workflow. What You Will Learn ● Develop add-ons for automating various stages of a 3D modeling pipeline ● Edit meshes with the Blender Python API and procedurally generate models. ● Master use of parametric controls in add-ons for mesh editing or procedural generation to govern the ranges and types of variation produced ● Develop extensions complete with UI using various input methods, including drawing on meshes with the Grease Pencil. ● Make time-lapsed and interactive demos of your procedural content generation algorithms. ● Package, distribute, and market your Blender extensions through different channels. Who This Book Is For New and seasoned users of the Blender Python API, that have either some experience with Blender or some experience with general Python development.
MIMO-OFDM Systems with Diversity Technique: PAPR Reduction (SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology)
by Azlina Idris CEng Aidatul Julia Jabar Wan Norsyafizan MuhamadThis book addresses the challenges in wireless communication, particularly focusing on the high Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) in MIMO-OFDM systems. As the demand for high-speed, reliable wireless communication continues to evolve, this book provides an in-depth exploration of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technologies, which are essential for modern telecommunications. Readers will find particular interest in the innovative PAPR reduction techniques discussed, which are categorized into signal distortion, coding, and probabilistic methods. These techniques not only aim to mitigate the PAPR issue but also enhance the overall efficiency of wireless systems. The book includes various illustrations, tables, and a structured improving approach, making complex concepts accessible and engaging. The main benefit for readers is the practical application of these techniques, which can lead to improved performance in wireless networks, particularly for telecommunications companies in search of optimizing the systems. This book serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners, providing insights into the latest advancements in PAPR reduction and its implications for future wireless communication technologies.
The Proceedings of 2024 International Conference of Electrical, Electronic and Networked Energy Systems: Volume VIII (Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering #1332)
by Ming Yang Rui Li Li Cai Aimin Sha Wenhao Xie Changbin HuThis conference is one of the most significant annual events of the China Electrotechnical Society, showcasing the latest research trends, methodologies, and experimental results in electrical, electronic, and networked energy systems. The proceedings cover a wide range of cutting-edge theories and ideas, including topics such as power systems, power electronics, smart grids, renewable energy, energy integration in transportation, advanced power technologies, and the energy internet. The aim of these proceedings is to provide a key interdisciplinary platform for researchers, engineers, academics, and industry professionals to present groundbreaking developments in the field of electrical, electronic, and networked energy systems. It also offers engineers and researchers from academia, industry, and government a comprehensive view of innovative solutions that integrate concepts from multiple disciplines. These volumes serve as a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in electrical engineering.
Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Big Data Analytics for Cyber-Physical System in Smart City—Volume 1: BDCPS 2023, December 28–29, Fuyang, China (Lecture Notes on Data Engineering and Communications Technologies #234)
by Mohammed Atiquzzaman Zheng Xu Neil YenThis book gathers a selection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the 5th Big Data Analytics for Cyber-Physical System in Smart City (BDCPS 2023) conference, held in Fuyang, China, on December 28–29. The contributions, prepared by an international team of scientists and engineers, cover the latest advances and challenges made in the field of big data analytics methods and approaches for the data-driven co-design of communication, computing, and control for smart cities. Given its scope, it offers a valuable resource for all researchers and professionals interested in big data, smart cities, and cyber-physical systems.
Intelligent Communication, Control and Devices: Proceedings of ICICCD 2024 (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #1164)
by Ranjan Mishra Adesh Kumar Rupendra Kumar Pachauri Piyush KuchhalThis book focuses on the integration of intelligent communication systems, control systems, and devices related to all aspects of engineering and sciences. It includes high-quality research papers from the 6th International Conference on Intelligent Communication, Control and Devices (ICICCD 2024), organized by the Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, School of Advanced Engineering, at UPES, Dehradun, India, during May 30–31, 2024. The topics covered are a range of recent advances in intelligent communication, intelligent control, intelligent devices, and sustainable technologies.
Who's Your Founding Father?: One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence
by David FlemingA centuries-old secret document might unravel the origin story of America and reveal the intellectual crime of the millennia in this epic dive into our country&’s history to discover the first, true Declaration of Independence. In 1819 John Adams came across a stunning story in his hometown Essex Register that he breathlessly described to his political frenemy Thomas Jefferson as &“one of the greatest curiosities and one of the deepest mysteries that ever occurred to me…entitled the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The genuine sense of America at that moment was never so well expressed before, nor since.&” The story claimed that a full 14 months before Jefferson crafted his own Declaration of Independence, a misfit band of zealous Scots-Irish patriots, whiskey-loving Princeton scholars and a fanatical frontier preacher in a remote corner of North Carolina had become the first Americans to formally declare themselves &“free and independent&” from England. Composed during a clandestine all-night session inside the Charlotte courthouse, the Mecklenburg Declaration was signed on May 20, 1775—a date that&’s still featured on the state flag of North Carolina. A year later, in 1776, Jefferson is believed to have plagiarized the MecDec while composing his own, slightly more famous Declaration and then, as he was wont to do, covered the whole thing up. Which is exactly why Adams always insisted the MecDec needed to be &“thoroughly investigated&” and &“more universally made known to the present and future generation.&” Eleven U.S. Presidents and many of today&’s most respected historical scholars agree. Now, with Who&’s Your Founding Father?, David Fleming picks up where Adams left off, leaving no archive, no cemetery, no bizarre clue or wild character (and definitely no Dunkin&’ Donuts) unexplored while traveling the globe to bring to life one of the most fantastic, important—and controversial—stories in American history.In 1819 John Adams came across a stunning story in his hometown Essex Register. He breathlessly described it to his political frenemy Thomas Jefferson as &“one of the greatest curiosities and one of the deepest mysteries that ever occurred to me…entitled the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The genuine sense of America at that moment was never so well expressed before, nor since.&” The story claimed that a full 14 months before Jefferson crafted his own Declaration of Independence, a misfit band of zealous Scots-Irish patriots, whiskey-loving Princeton scholars, and a fanatical frontier preacher had joined forces in a remote corner of North Carolina to become the first Americans to formally declare themselves &“free and independent&” from England. Composed during a clandestine all-night session inside the Charlotte courthouse, the Mecklenburg Declaration, aka the MecDec, was signed on May 20, 1775—a date that&’s still featured on the state flag of North Carolina. About a year later, in 1776, Jefferson is believed to have plagiarized the MecDec while composing his own, slightly more famous Declaration, and then, as he was wont to do, covered the whole thing up. Which is why Adams always insisted the MecDec needed to be &“thoroughly investigated&” and &“more universally made known to the present and future generation.&” Eleven U.S. Presidents and many of today&’s most respected historical scholars agree. Now, with Who&’s Your Founding Father?, David Fleming picks up where Adams&’ investigation left off. Fleming leaves no archive, cemetery, bizarre clue, conspiracy theory, or wild character unexplored as he travels the globe and shines new light on one of the most fantastic, important—and controversial—stories in American history.
The Murder Inn: A Thriller
by James Patterson Candice FoxIt's the perfect getaway. But the past will always find you . . . When ex-cop Bill Robinson takes over The Inn by the Sea, all he wants is a quiet escape from the city. But when a crime boss moves into town and begins terrorizing Bill's friends, he can't just sit back and watch. It's not long before local criminals are turning up dead and The Inn comes under attack. With the help of The Inn's fearless residents, Bill must do everything he can to defend his town, his chosen family, and his home.
Hidden Power: What You Need to Know to Save Our Democracy
by Charles DerberPolitical parties and elections are increasingly political theatre, with real power hidden behind a smokescreen of propaganda, carefully manipulated cultural and religious wars, and voting rituals. But there is another kind of hidden power in America: the grassroots social movements working for progressive change. If the Democratic Party can ally with these movements, America can be returned to its people. Derber sees American history as a succession of regimes, each spanning several administrations. Since the end of the Civil War, regimes of hidden power, in which corporate interests control both parties behind the scenes, have alternated with more open, inclusive and democratic regimes. Derber details how and why these hidden power systems finally collapsed and what determined the types of regimes that succeeded them. Hidden Power reveals how the current regime, possibly the most corporate in history, has maintained power by intensifying the red/blue culture wars, supporting religious extremists, exploiting terrorism fears, and manipulating the electoral process. Will this latest corporate regime be replaced by one that is more progressive? Or it could turn even further right and yield to something even worse, a uniquely American form of fascism? The best hope for positive change lies in an alliance between the Democratic Party and the grass roots progressive movements that, Derber shows, have always been the catalysts for change. Hidden Power concludes with an impassioned argument for why this would be in the Democrats' best interests, as well as the country's, and a detailed program for exactly how to go about it. Thoughtful, eloquent, and compelling, Hidden Power offers real hope for restoring genuine democracy to America.
Stark Realities
by Alexander FullertonA thrilling World War One adventure from the author of the Nicholas Everard naval thrillers.It is October 1918 and Germany is suing for peace. All U-boats have been ordered home from patrol. Among them is U81, commanded by Otto von Mettendorff: young, dynamic, and infatuated with a girl who works near Wilhelmshaven, the port U81 is now returning to. Unfortunately, U81 is holed by a destroyer on its way home.Meanwhile in London, Anne Laurie, a young war widow employed in the Intelligence Division of the Royal Navy, learns of Otto's death. It jolts memories of a pre-war weekend in Berlin in the summer of 1913; the genesis of a compulsive story of two magnetic people torn apart by global conflict…Stark Realities is a grippingly authentic First World War adventure, ideal for fans of Alexander Kent, Julian Stockwin and C. S. Forester.
This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare
by Gabourey SidibeThe Oscar-nominated Precious star and Empire actress delivers a riveting memoir that is wise, complex, smart, funny, and breaks the mold, just like Sidibe, herself.Gabourey Sidibe - "Gabby" to her legion of fans - skyrocketed to international fame in 2009 when she played the leading role in Lee Daniels' acclaimed movie Precious. In This Is Just My Face, she shares a one-of-a-kind life story in a voice as fresh and challenging as many of the unique characters she's played onscreen. With full-throttle honesty, Sidibe paints her Bed-Stuy/Harlem family life with a polygamous father and a gifted mother who supports her two children by singing in the subway. Sidibe tells the engrossing, inspiring story of her first job as a phone sex "talker". And she shares her unconventional (of course!) rise to fame as a movie star alongside "a superstar cast of rich people who lived in mansions and had their own private islands and amazing careers while I lived in my mom's apartment."Sidibe's memoir hits hard with self-knowing dispatches on friendship, depression, celebrity, haters, fashion, race, and weight ("If I could just get the world to see me the way I see myself," she writes, "would my body still be a thing you walked away thinking about?"). Irreverent, hilarious, and untraditional, This Is Just My Face will resonate with anyone who has ever felt different and with anyone who has ever felt inspired to make a dream come true.
The Madman Theory: Trump Takes on the World
by Jim SciuttoNew York Times–bestselling author of The Return of Great Powers: A“compelling” study of the damage done to US national security by Donald Trump (Michael Isikoff, New York Times–bestselling author of Find Me the Votes).From praising dictators to alienating allies, Trump made chaos his calling card. Was it a strategy, like Richard Nixon’s attempt to destabilize communist bloc countries by appearing just crazy enough to nuke them—the “madman theory”? Trump praised Kim Jong-un and their “love notes,” admired and flattered Vladimir Putin, and gave a green light to Recep Tayyip Erdogan to invade Syria, while attacking US institutions and officials, ignoring the best information and intelligence available to him, and turning his back on allies from Canada and Mexico to NATO to Ukraine to the Kurds at war with ISIS. He continually caught the world off guard, but did it serve a purpose?Jim Sciutto, a George Polk and Edward R. Murrow Award winner, shows how Trump’s supporters assumed he had a strategy—that he somehow played three-dimensional chess. Four years later, it was clear his unpredictable focus on short-term headlines did in fact lead to predictably mediocre results in both the short and long run. His foreign policy undermined American national security interests while leaving longtime allies isolated and vulnerable—and comforting and emboldening our enemies. The White House’s revolving door of staff demonstrated that Trump had no real plan; all serious policymakers—and those who would be a check on his most destructive impulses—were exiled or jumped ship.Sciutto interviewed a wide swath of then-current and former administration officials to assemble the first comprehensive portrait of the impact of Trump’s erratic foreign policy. The Madman Theory is the definitive take on Trump’s calamitous legacy around the globe, showing how his proclivity for chaos created a world more unstable, violent, and impoverished than it had been before.“An ominous warning.” —Kirkus Reviews“Combines fine reporting with intelligent analysis in a way that is unusual and enlightening—and entertaining.” —William Kristol
The Gentleman Poet: A Novel of Love, Danger, and Shakespeare's The Tempest
by Kathryn Johnson“The Gentleman Poet is the best kind of historical novel—well researched, beautifully written, and wildly entertaining.”—Daniel Stashower, author of The Beautiful Cigar GirlThe Gentleman Poet, author Kathryn Johnson’s novel of love, danger, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest, is a wonderful story that imagines a series of astonishing events that just might have inspired the immortal Bard to pen his magical tale. Told from the point of view of a young servant girl who strikes up a friendship with the not yet famous playwright when they are shipwrecked in the Bermudas, The Gentleman Poet gives a delightful new spin on Shakespearean lore reminiscent of the Academy Award-winning film, Shakespeare in Love.
After You've Gone: A Short Story from Fall of Poppies
by Evangeline HollandEvangeline Holland, author of the Bledington Park series, enchants readers with this poignant short story about a woman seemingly alone in terrible aftermath of the Great War and the man who proves she has more than she ever realized. War stole everything from Morven Williams—her husband, her friends, her livelihood, and her home. As Paris erupts in Armistice celebrations, she stands on the precipice of her past and her future, and the arrival of a handsome, charming Harlem Hellfighter stirs her spirit. But they share an unexpected link to her past—one that may tear their burgeoning romance apart forever.Originally published in the moving collection Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War, this e-book also includes an excerpt from Holland’s novel An Ideal Duchess, available now.
Cecil Dreeme: A Novel
by Peter Coviello Theodore WinthropA curious gem of 19th-century gothic fictionCecil Dreeme is one of the queerest American novels of the 19th century. This edition, which includes a new introduction contextualizing the sexual history of the period and queer longings of the book, brings a rare, almost forgotten, sensational gothic novel set in New York’s West Village back to light. Published posthumously in 1861, the novel centers on Robert Byng, a young man who moves back to New York after traveling abroad and finds himself unmarried and underemployed, adrift in the heathenish dens of lower Manhattan. When he takes up rooms in “Chrysalis College”—a thinly veiled version of the 19th-century New York University building in Washington Square—he quickly finds himself infatuated with a young painter lodging there, named Cecil Dreeme. As their friendship grows and the novel unfolds against the backdrop of the bohemian West Village, Robert confesses that he “loves Cecil with a love passing the love of women.” Yet, there are dark forces at work in the form of the sinister and magnetic Densdeth, a charismatic figure of bad intention, who seeks to ensnare Robert for his own. Full of romantic entanglements, mistaken identity, blackmail, and the dramas of temptation and submission, Cecil Dreeme is a gothic novel at its finest. Poetically written—with flashes of Walt Whitman, Charles Dickens, and Oscar Wilde—Cecil Dreeme is an early example of that rare bird, a queer novel from the 19th century.
Ethnic Church Meets Megachurch: Indian American Christianity in Motion (Sexual Cultures)
by Prema A KurienWinner, 2018 Section on Asia and Asian America Book Award presented by the American Sociological Association Traces the religious adaptation of members of an important Indian Christian church– the Mar Thoma denomination – as they make their way in the United States. This book exposes how a new paradigm of ethnicity and religion, and the megachurch phenomenon, is shaping contemporary immigrant religious institutions, specifically Indian American Christianity. Kurien draws on multi-site research in the US and India to provide a global perspective on religion by demonstrating the variety of ways that transnational processes affect religious organizations and the lives of members, both in the place of destination and of origin. The widespread prevalence of megachurches and the dominance of American evangelicalism created an environment in which the traditional practices of the ancient South Indian Mar Thoma denomination seemed alien to its American-born generation. Many of the young adults left to attend evangelical megachurches. Kurien examines the pressures church members face to incorporate contemporary American evangelical worship styles into their practice, including an emphasis on an individualistic faith, and praise and worship services, often at the expense of maintaining the ethnic character and support system of their religious community. Kurien’s sophisticated analysis also demonstrates how the forces of globalization, from the period of colonialism to contemporary out-migration, have brought about tremendous changes among Christian communities in the Global South. Wide in scope, this book is a must read for an audience interested in the study of global religions and cultures.
The Figures of Beauty: A Novel
by David Macfarlane“Rich, imaginative. . . . One of the best novels I’ve read all year.”—Ross King, author of Leonardo and the Last SupperA sensuous, heartbreaking novel about art, beauty, and the choices we make that define us for life.In 1968 a young man travels to Paris, where a series of unlikely events takes him to a tiny village in Italy—and to the one great love of his life. A marble merchant meets a couple on their honeymoon, introducing them to the sensual beauty of Carrara. An Italian woman arrives in Canada to find the father she never knew. A terrible accident in a marble quarry changes the course of a young boy’s life and, ultimately, sets in motion each of these stories, which David Macfarlane masterfully shapes into a magnificent whole.“A beautifully written, complex, and bittersweet story that spans continents and eras.”—Daphne Kalotay, author of Russian Winter and Sight Reading
Tell Me About Yourself: Six Steps for Accurate and Artful Self-Definition
by Holley M MurchisonOwn Your StorySometimes you get only one chance. A good introduction can create connections and open doors. A bad one can make conversation fizzle and opportunities fade. What you need is a story that tells who you are—authentically, compellingly, and concisely—and can be adapted to fit any situation. Created for dynamic beings constantly redefining themselves, their work, and the world around them, Tell Me About Yourself pairs interviews and case studies with a simple, scalable framework, helping you craft and deliver comprehensive, compelling, and generally kick-ass introductions and personal stories for yourself, your team, or your company.In an ever-changing innovation economy and a climate that demands we put our best foot forward to create change, there's no better time to learn how to articulate your usefulness to the world.
Hostile Contact (Alan Craik)
by Gordon KentWith twists as harrowing as a high-g-force turn, Hostile Contact is vintage Gordon Kent: an electrifying blend of military suspense and espionage thriller. In it, Navy intelligence officer Alan Craik returns to action, strapping himself in for a wild ride into a dangerous, borderless realm of spies, counterspies, and high-tech warfare on both sides of a potentially lethal conflict--between China and the U.S.A. Hostile Contact When Alan Craik and NCIS agent Mike Dukas spearheaded a hunt for a traitor inside the CIA, they landed in the middle of a firefight--and made some very powerful enemies. Inside Washington, some still worship the arch spy Craik and Dukas took down--and now these men are plotting their revenge. With their expertise in counterespionage, Craik and Dukas have been lured into an operation that will put them in contact with the Chinese, an operation with only one real purpose: to destroy them both. But while they know better than to take anything at face value, Craik and Dukas cannot guess how another player will shape the game. Their contact in Jakarta is a Chinese double agent walking a high wire between his handlers, as the Chinese search for a mother lode of money lost on the covert battlefield.Craik is also holding down his day job, flying a sub hunter S-3B crammed with high-tech gear off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Along with his astronaut-to-be wife, Rose, Craik and his team are acting on intercepts of a “ghost” radio whose purpose they can only guess. Craik's expertise in intelligence tells him to start searching for an unseen, unknown submarine that may be lurking off Whidbey Island--with the ability to strike a death blow against the Navy's most important missile-loaded subs. Suddenly Craik is thrust into a secret war raging from the heart of Beijing to the depths of the Pacific, as espionage and sub hunting come together in a chase to rescue a Chinese defector and his family, while a U.S. Navy carrier group is threatened by hostile suicide boats acting on targeting information from a submarine.
The Newman's Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live
by Nell Newman Joseph D'AgneseIt’s fairly obvious that one can’t be a ‘perfect’ environmentalist. But that’s okay. Perfection isn’t the goal. A good life is. And a good life has as much to do with your intent as with the end result.” —from the IntroductionThe Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life is the essential book for those of us who can’t live in an organic hemp tepee but do care about our quality of life, global warming, clean water, and disappearing resources.Nell Newman shows you how to do what is within easy reach. Along with realistic, practical advice, she shows how and why living a more environmentally conscious life benefits you and your immediate surroundings. In addition to recycling and reusing, the book covers consumer-related steps such as• how buying and eating organic food supports small farms (and tastes better, too)• how you can buy clean power through your regular power company• which long-distance telephone companies offer competitive pricing and service while returning a portion of their profits to environmental and educational organizations• where to buy everything—from pots and pans to pet food—so that you can “vote with your dollar” and feel good about your purchasesPacked with profiles of fascinating—and sometimes zany—people and a heavy dose of sanity, this book is organized according to the way you really live, making it easy to identify what areas of change are viable for you. A resource directory of publications, retailers, groups, and associations is included in the back of the book.
Sun-Tzu: The First English Translation Incorporating the Recently Discovered Yin-ch'ueh-shan Texts (Classics Of Ancient China Ser.)
by Roger T. AmesThe most widely read military classic in human history, newly translated and revised in accordance with newly discovered materials of unprecedented historical significance. Fluid, crisp and rigorously faithful to the original, this new text is destined to stand as the definitive version of this cornerstone work of Classical Chinese. Of compelling importance not only to students of Chinese history and literature, but to all readers interested in the art or the philosophy of war.
