- Table View
- List View
The House at Devil's Neck: A Locked-Room Mystery (Joseph Spector Series)
by Tom MeadIn this latest locked room mystery from the author of Cabaret Macabre, amateur sleuth Joseph Spector pits his knowledge of stage magic against the seemingly supernatural when a seance at an isolated old hospital turns deadly. An apparent suicide in a London townhouse uncannily mirrors a similar incident from twenty-five years ago, prompting Scotland Yard's George Flint to delve deep into the past in search of the solution to a long-forgotten mystery. Meanwhile, Joseph Spector travels with a coach party through the rainy English countryside to visit an allegedly haunted house on a lonely island called Devil’s Neck. The house, first built by a notorious alchemist and occultist, was later used as a field hospital in the First World War before falling into disrepair. The visitors hold a seance to conjure the spirit of a long-dead soldier. But when a storm floods the narrow causeway connecting Devil’s Neck to the mainland, they find themselves stranded in the haunted house. Before long, the guests begin to die one by one, and it seems that the only possible culprit is the phantom soldier. Flint's and Spector's investigations are in fact closely linked, but it is only when the duo are reunited at the storm-lashed Devil's Neck that the truth is finally revealed. Tom Mead once again creates a brilliant homage to John Dickson Carr and the Golden Age of mysteries with this intricately plotted puzzle.
Strata: Stories from Deep Time
by Laura Poppick"[A]n extraordinary book." —Marcia Bjornerud, author of Turning to Stone A revelatory journey through four moments in Earth’s deep past, and their lessons for our future. The epic stories of our planet’s 4.54-billion-year history are written in strata—ages-old remnants of ancient seafloors, desert dunes, and riverbeds striping landscapes around the world. In this brilliantly original debut work, science writer Laura Poppick decodes strata to lead us on a journey through four global transformations that made our lives on Earth possible: the first accumulations of oxygen in the atmosphere; the deep freezes of "Snowball Earth"; the rise of mud on land and accompanying proliferation of plants; and the dinosaurs’ reign on a hothouse planet Poppick introduces us to the researchers who have devoted their careers to understanding the events of deep time, including the world’s leading stegosaur scientist. She travels to sites as various as a Minnesotan iron mine that runs half a mile deep and a corner of the Australian Outback where glacial deposits date from the coldest times on Earth. Ultimately, she demonstrates that the planet’s oceans, continents, atmosphere, life, and ice have always conspired to bring stability to Earth, even if we are only just beginning to understand how these different facets interact. A work in the tradition of John McPhee, Strata allows us to observe how the planet has responded to past periods of environmental upheaval, and shows how Earth’s ancient narratives could hold lessons for our present and future.
Make Your Way Home: Stories
by Carrie R. Moore“Gorgeous, resonant, and startling.”—Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster Wilds “Glorious.”—Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies A debut collection of stories set across the American South, featuring characters who struggle to find love and belonging in the wake of painful histories. How can you love where you come from, even when home doesn’t love you back? In eleven stories that span Florida marshes, North Carolina mountains, and Southern metropolitan cities, Make Your Way Home follows Black men and women who grapple with the homes that have eluded them. A preteen pregnant alongside her mother refuses to let convention dictate who she names as the father of her child. Centuries after slavery separated his ancestors, a native Texan tries to win over the love of his life, despite the grip of a family curse. A young deaconess, who falls for a new church member, wonders what it means when God stops speaking to her. And at the very end of the South as we know it, two sisters seek to escape North to freedom, to promises of a more stable climate. Artfully and precisely drawn, and steeped in place and history as it explores themes of belonging, inheritance, and deep intimacy, Carrie R. Moore’s debut collection announces an extraordinary new talent in American fiction, inviting us all to examine how the past shapes our present—and how our present choices will echo for years to come.
Works of Love: A New Translation
by Søren KierkegaardFollowing his acclaimed translations of Fear and Trembling and The Sickness unto Death, Bruce H. Kirmmse presents a new translation of Kierkegaard’s discourses on love. “Bruce H. Kirmmse is among the very best translators of Kierkegaard working today.” —Christopher B. Barnett A founding figure of existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard is perhaps best known for his writing on anxiety and despair, particularly in such works as Fear and Trembling, The Concept of Anxiety, and The Sickness unto Death. Yet love, too, is a common theme in Kierkegaard’s oeuvre, underlying his various collections of edifying discourses, as well as Either/Or, Stages on Life’s Way, Christian Discourses, and especially Works of Love. First published in 1847, Works of Love is the most important explicitly religious work Kierkegaard published under his own name. Intended to awaken rather than convince—replicating, in Socratic fashion, the stinging, impatient character of a “gadfly”—the book consists of two sets of “deliberations” on love, the first set addressing love as a duty, and the second examining the applications of love. Throughout, Kierkegaard contrasts romantic love and love of one’s friends with the selfless Christian love, or agape, of the New Testament, ultimately contending that the only way to purge self-interest from love is to love one’s neighbor as oneself, and oneself as one’s neighbor, who is “indeed unconditionally every person.” Although careful to distinguish his “deliberations” from clerical “sermons,” Kierkegaard insisted that in order to grasp the full meaning of the texts that constitute Works of Love, one must hear them. Kierkegaard makes this point repeatedly in his journals, and indeed, the preface of a work he published a few years after Works of Love begins with the words: “My dear reader! If possible, read aloud! If you do so, let me thank you for it.” While previous translations have not given sufficient attention to this critical aural aspect of the text, Bruce H. Kirmmse’s translation preserves it, thus making the same request of its readers that Kierkegaard once made of his—to hear the argument by reading it aloud. Featuring an illuminating introduction by Kirmmse, this new translation of Works of Love promises to become the standard for generations to come.
In the Veins of the Drowning (The Siren Mage #1)
by Kalie CassidyAn "atmospheric and evocative" (Rachel Gillig) romantasy about a threatened Siren who forges a bond with a brooding, self-righteous king in order to flee the king who raised her. Perfect for fans of One Dark Window and For the Wolf. The monster is always slain… Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen&’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain concealed beneath her skin. When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen&’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.
Royal Gambit: A Novel
by Daniel O'MalleyA delightful and hilarious supernatural adventure featuring a lady-in-waiting who must keep the court safe from murder, from the author of The Rook Alexandra Dennis-Palmer-Hudson-Gilmore-Garnsey (call me &“Alix&”), the twelfth Lady Mondegreen, has never had any control of her life. Her ability to shatter bones with a touch made her the automatic property of the Checquy, the secret British government agency that deals with the supernatural. Her aristocratic ancestry made Alix the perfect asset for the Checquy to deploy close to the royal family. Since childhood, she has been coached to befriend Princess Louise, second in line to the throne, but the two have never been close. Now, Alix is a skilled operative who investigates unexplained phenomena for the security of the nation. Everything changes when Louise&’s brother, the Prince of Wales, dies abruptly and all signs point to an assassination by preternatural means. To protect Louise, the new heir apparent, Alix is assigned to be her lady-in-waiting. Thrust into the limelight overnight—both in the everyday world and in the underground world of the Checquy—Alix must juggle her responsibilities and her loyalties as she attempts to unravel the murder, keep Louise safe, and learn how to smile graciously while eerie threats loom around every corner.
A Year with the Seals: Unlocking the Secrets of the Sea's Most Charismatic and Controversial Creatures
by Alix MorrisEnvironmental journalist Alix Morris spends an eye-opening year getting to know these elusive, intelligent creatures, investigating the effects of their extraordinary return from the brink of extinction and how we can try to bring nature back into balance. It might be their large, strangely human eyes or their dog-like playfulness, but seals have long captured people's interest and affection, making them the perfect candidate for an environmental cause, as well as the subject of decades of study. Alix Morris spends a year with these magnetic creatures and brings them to life on the page, season by season, as she learns about their intelligence, their relationships with each other, their ecosystems, and the changing climate. Morris also gets to know all of the competing interests in the intense debate about the newly recovered seal populations in our coastal waters, from local fishermen whose catch is often diminished by savvy seals, to tribes who once relied on seal-hunting for food, clothing, and medicine, to seal rescue workers and biologists, to surfers and swimmers now encountering seal-hunting sharks in coastal waters. A Year with the Seals is a rare look at what happens when conservation efforts actually work, and how human tampering with ecosystems continues to have unexpected consequences. But it&’s also a gripping adventure story of a journalist determined to understand seals and our relationship with them for herself.
The Nightshade God (The Nightshade Crown #3)
by Hannah WhittenThe Nightshade Crown is in the hands of a ruthless god and Lore will stop at nothing to defeat him in the final installment of this lush, romantic, New York Times bestselling fantasy series from breakout star Hannah Whitten. Lore has failed. She couldn&’t save King Bastian from the rotten god speaking voices in his mind. She couldn&’t save her allies from being scattered across the continent—their own lesser gods whispering to them in their dreams. She couldn&’t save her beautiful, corrupt city from the dark power beneath the catacombs. And she couldn&’t save herself. Banished to the Burnt Isles, Lore must use every skill she earned on the streets of Dellaire to survive the prison colony and figure out a way to defeat the power that&’s captured everything and everyone she holds dear. When a surprise ally joins her on the Burnt Isles she realizes the way forward may lie on the island itself. Somehow, her friends must help her collect the far-scattered pieces of the broken Fount—the source of all the god&’s powers—and bring them back together on the Burnt Isles, returning all magic to its source and destroying, once and for all, the gods corrupting the land. But as Lore gets closer to her goal, her magic grows stronger… and to a woman who&’s always had to fight for survival, that kind of power may be hard to give up.
Bulldozer Goes to School (Bulldozer and Friends #2)
by Elise BroachBulldozer overcomes his anxieties before the first day of school in this second installment of the Bulldozer and Friends series, by the award-winning team who created The Masterpiece Adventure chapter book series. Bulldozer is nervous about his new school year and worried he won&’t fit in. His friend Millie tries to reassure him, but Bulldozer isn&’t convinced…especially when he gets to his classroom and things start going wrong. But just when he&’s sure his day couldn&’t get worse, something amazing happens! The first day of school proves to be special for everyone, all because of Bulldozer. Perfect for kids learning how to read on their own, the second book in this endearing series follows Bulldozer through the challenges and rewards of going to school.
The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us about the Power of the Female Body
by Starre VartanA myth-busting vindication of women&’s physical strengths that's "fun, rooted in science, and a strong pitch for a stronger sex" (Cat Bohannon) For decades, Starre Vartan—like most women—was told that having a woman&’s body meant being weaker than men. Like many women, she mostly believed it. Not anymore. Following a half decade of research into the newest science, Vartan shows in The Stronger Sex that women&’s bodies are incredibly powerful, flexible, and resilient in ways men&’s bodies aren&’t. Tossing aside the narrow notion of a fully ripped man as the measure of strength, Vartan reveals the ways that women surpass men in endurance, flexibility, immunity, pain tolerance, and the ultimate test of any human body: longevity. Vartan—a deadeye shot since her grandmother showed her how to aim a .22—debunks myth after myth like so many tin cans at two hundred yards and reveals why, if anyone wins in a battle of the sexes, it&’s women. In interviews with dozens of researchers from biology, anthropology, physiology, and sports science, plus in-depth conversations with runners, swimmers, wrestlers, woodchoppers, thru-hikers, firefighters, and more, The Stronger Sex squashes outdated ideas about women&’s bodies. It&’s a celebration of female strength that doesn&’t argue &“down with men&” but &“up with us all.&”
Thrash Force
by Raj Sidhu"Raj Sidhu has crafted a thrilling adventure that empowers its audience. A reminder that those kids in the basement may just be preparing to save the world." –Justin McElroy, co-creator of The Adventure Zone In this hilarious fantasy adventure, when Riley Singh unwittingly offends a multiversal sorcerer, he and his friends are whisked into a freaky new reality—perfect for fans of Dungeoneer Adventures and Once Upon a Tim. Seventh grader Riley Singh is a smart kid. Smart enough to know that he could be an exceptional student in school if he wasn&’t always playing Dungeon Brawl: a role-playing game where he and his friends embark on radical quests to slay demon lords and rescue the occasional village. The only problem is that Doomface, the villain of their newest adventure, is listening in on their game and may just be maniacal enough to pull four middle schoolers through the folds of reality to satisfy his ego. Stranded in a strange world with magical powers as their characters, Riley and his friends will have to find a way to defeat Doomface and return to Earth. And Riley will do whatever it takes to get home before his parents realize he's missing—even if that means dooming his friends along the way.
The Jasad Crown (The Scorched Throne)
by Sara HashemIn the thrilling conclusion to the Egyptian-inspired Scorched Throne duology, a fugitive queen must risk everything and everyone she loves for the chance to restore her lost kingdom of Jasad. Held deep in a mountain refuge, Sylvia has been captured by the Urabi, who believe the Jasad Heir can return their homeland to its former power. But after years of denying her legacy and a forbidden alliance with Jasad&’s greatest enemy, Sylvia must win the Urabi&’s trust while struggling to hide the dangerous side effects her magic is having on her mind. In a rival kingdom, Arin must maneuver carefully between his father's desire to put down the brewing rebellion and the sacred edicts Arin is sworn to uphold. He is determined to find Sylvia before it's too late, but Arin's search unravels secrets that threaten the very core of his beliefs about his family and the destruction of Jasad. War is inevitable, but Sylvia cannot abandon her people again. The Urabi plan to raise the Jasadi fortress, and it will either kill Sylvia or destroy the humanity she's fought so hard to protect. For the first time in her life Sylvia doesn&’t just want to survive. She wants to win. The fugitive queen is ready to reign.
Taste the Love
by Karelia Stetz-Waters Fay Stetz-WatersA delicious, heartwarming romantic comedy about big dreams, life-changing friendships, and the people who bring out your best. Six years ago, eco-chef Alice Sullivan and her culinary-school rival almost gave into the burning tension between them. But those kisses? Just the heat of competition boiling over. Sullivan never expected to see Kia after graduation . . . until Kia crashes back into her life with a plan to buy Sullivan&’s beloved Portland greenspace. Kia has worked hard building her social media empire as the big-hearted glitter-bomb queen of the food-truck scene. Now she&’s one step away from opening a foodie utopia for underrepresented culinary talents. But Kia&’s plans catch the attention of a bulldozer-happy food conglomerate, and now both Kia and Sullivan&’s dreams are on the line. When a legal loophole turns out to be the only way to save what they each love most, they&’re left with one option: pull off a very public fake marriage to obtain the deed to the land and keep their old rivalry under control. As the line between fake and real love blurs, can Kia and Sullivan set aside their differences and find the perfect recipe for happily ever after?
Data-Driven Global Optimization Methods and Applications
by Peng Wang Huachao Dong Jinglu LiThis book presents recent advances in data-driven global optimization methods, combining theoretical foundations with real-world applications to address complex engineering optimization challenges.The book begins with an overview of the state of the art, key technologies and standard benchmark problems in the field. It then delves into several innovative approaches: space reduction-based, hybrid surrogate model-based and multi-surrogate model-based global optimization, followed by surrogate-assisted constrained global optimization, discrete global optimization and high-dimensional global optimization. These methods represent a variety of optimization techniques that excel in both optimization capability and efficiency, making them ideal choices for complex engineering optimization problems. Through benchmark test problems and real-world engineering applications, the book illustrates the practical implementation of these methods, linking established theories with cutting-edge research in industrial and engineering optimization.Both a professional book and an academic reference, this title will provide valuable insights for researchers, students, engineers and practitioners in a variety of fields, including optimization methods and algorithms, engineering design and manufacturing and artificial intelligence and machine learning.
To Do The Sick No Harm: A Study of the British Voluntary Hospital System to 1875 (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by John WoodwardWhat part did the British voluntary hospital system play in the health of the community in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Did hospitals kill or cure? Originally published in 1974, this study investigates these questions through a pioneering examination of the extant hospital records, ranging from admissions registers to annual reports, and by an analysis of the contemporary literature. It relates the hospital system to the changing economic and social environment and is primarily concerned with the patients themselves and their experiences. The lack of medical treatment for the bulk of the population is emphasised, and the influence of the reformers on the foundation of the first voluntary hospitals in the beginning of the 18th century is assessed. Staffing and administrative procedures are studied as a prelude to examining the patients – their social background and physical and surgical complaints. Important aspects of the hospitals’ work and their influence on the rate of mortality are explored. They are admissions policy regarding fever cases; the nature and number of surgical cases and the incidence of sepsis. The effect of growing urbanization and industrialization on the success of the voluntary hospitals in the 19th century is also examined.
Poor Parents: Social Policy and the 'Cycle of Deprivation' (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by Bill JordanOriginally published in 1974, this book provides a critique of official policy towards families with young children living on low incomes and looks in detail at some of the myths prevalent in the public debate – both political and academic – about the ‘cycle of deprivation’, a phrase coined by Sir Keith Joseph (British Politician, 1918-1994). One of these myths is that it is possible to provide, on a selective basis, the best services for the poorest members of the community. Anthe is that the poorest group is the one which is in most need of every kind of social service. A third is that the more generous provision of social services to areas with high concentrations of poor families can reduce tensions and conflicts between social groups. The author contends that these myths are being used to obscure the fact that the persistent force behind post-war social policy is none other than the spirit of the Poor Law.
The Aims and Outcomes of Social Policy Research (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by Patricia ThomasOriginally published in 1985, this book investigates, through real cases, whether independently funded research which was intended to solve social problems has had the desired effect. It also inquires whether civil servants believe that research has a part to play in the formulation of policy. The researcher’s time scale is long and the policy maker’s is short. Does this conflict always mean that the results of research are produced long after policy has been decided and implemented? The book also examines the funders of social research who make up the third party in the uneasy relationship between social scientists and policy makers. This important study goes to the very heart of the debate about social research.
Housing, Social Policy and the State (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by Joseph MellingThe topic of housing is central to urban history as well as to social policy. Historians have focussed either on local conditions or national developments, but until first publication of this book in 1980, there had been few systematic attempts to relate local amenities to general policy. The essays provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of housing, blending original local studies with a novel theoretical perspective on the development of social policy. Covering a wide geographical area, the book focusses on housing conditions within the locality surveyed and the intervention of both local and central government in the provision of working-class dwellings. The studies relate specific cases to general problems of economic and social development and changes in class relations.
Introduction to Social Administration in Britain (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by Sarah Payne Muriel BrownPublished in 1994, as a revised and updated seventh edition, this classic guide to social administration was first published in 1969. The book provides information about social problems and the structure and working of the social services in the late 20th Century. It also identifies the main lines of development in social legislation and clarifies the issues that dominated social policy, many of which are still relevant today. Major changes to provision in social security, health, education, employment and personal social services have been incorporated and the conflicts around these changes explored. The trend towards the privatization of welfare and the centralizing role of the state are discussed in the context of economic change. This text will be of interest to students, lecturers and professionals in the history of social policy, sociology, policy-making.
Social Policy in the Irish Republic (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by P. R. Kaim-CaudleOriginally published in 1967, this book examines the health services, social insurance, social assistance, family allowances and housing in the Irish Republic during the late 20th Century. Discussion of the social services is introduced by an outline of the environment in which social policy operates – the political system, social implications of the demographic characteristics and the country’s economy. The book will be of interest to historians of social policy and social work.
Introducing Social Policy (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by David C. MarshOriginally published in 1979, this book concentrates on the major developments in social policy in the second half of the 20th century. The first part considers these in relation to the economic and social environment, comprising essays on social policy in relation to industry, urban planning, and housing need. Further chapters consider social policies designed to meet individual needs such as education, health, and the maintenance of income. The final section deals with personal social services, and the relation of social policy to crime. For its breadth and scope of coverage the book will be of interest to all students of the history of social policy and social work.
Social Policy in Action (Routledge Library Editions: Social Administration & Social Policy)
by Joan L. EydenSocial policy is never static because both needs and resources alter. It must involve a responsiveness to social change on the part of the agencies involved. Originally published in 1969, this study employs this dynamic approach and sets the subject against a background of democratic involvement. It discusses the fundamental questions of the nature, scope and intent of social policy. Throughout the approach to the subject is integrative. The book explains issues in terms of social policy, not fragmented social policies, in the discussion of common factors and common problems and above all in the realistic appraisal of means and ends in contemporary society.
Handbook of Mental Wellness Strategies for Educators: Research-Based Best Practices
by Ken Badley Genie Kim Iriel Jaroslavsky RindlisbacherThe Handbook of Mental Wellness Strategies for Educators offers health-giving ways to reframe teaching work and the stresses that come with it, examining specific evidence-based strategies for dealing with teaching anxieties and trauma-related stressors. This comprehensive and scholarly volume, which intentionally steers clear of burnout literature, pinpoints several sources of teacher anxiety and suggests specific linguistic and cognitive strategies to support educators in finding positive, solution-oriented ways to navigate issues they inevitably face. Throughout the volume, chapter authors emphasize the role of teaching dispositions and describe some of the day-to-day classroom practices used by veteran colleagues to reduce stress and anxiety on the job. This handbook is essential reading for pre-service and in-service teachers, scholars, and teacher educators.
We Match!
by Chris BartonIn this hilarious dog book for kids, New York Times-bestselling author Chris Barton introduces social emotional learning and math concepts in a fun comics-style picture book format.Humor and high-energy abound as a lovable bunch of dogs discover what they have in common during an action-packed day at the dog park.An afternoon of mixing and matching is underway at the dog park as dogs gleefully discover the qualities that make them similar. Some love to play with balls, others prefer chasing squirrels. Some like wet food, others prefer kibble. Some like to wear sweaters, others to destroy them . . . As endless Venn diagrams of connection are shaped and reshaped, the dogs find that they may have more in common than they think! Here's an entertaining comics-style picture book that will visually introduce kids ages 4 to 8 to math concepts, and encourage them to seek connections with their peers—even if they aren&’t immediately visible.
In Our Dreams
by Isabel OtterA lyrical, soothing book for children ages 3-7 to share before bedtime.As night falls and bedtime beckons, young readers can get ready for a gentle journey into dreamland. They will explore wild meadows, dive into pools of words, and sing into the wind. They'll travel to the highest mountain and swim in the deepest ocean before spending some quiet, carefree time in a fragrant meadow. Lyrical, rhyming text and magical illustrations will soothe little ones and help them drift off to sleep.