'Townscape' is the art of giving visual coherence and organization to the jumble of buildings, streets and space that make up the urban environment. It has been a major influence on architects, planners and others concerned with what cities should look like.

    Others are more committed: they hoard books, rearrange them, and seldom get rid of any. Living with Books, aimed at the latter group, addresses the challenges and joys of a home masquerading as a library, from storage to display to the use of books as structural elements and furniture.Each chapter covers a different room and the special way that books can exist in or enhance that space. Obvious areas such as dens and offices are covered, along with more daring places such as hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms. Special features include a closer look at the care and display of decorative books, decorative papers, and bookplates, and a final chapter on custom-building bookshelves to suit every home.

    In this vivid description of everything from the early colonial settlements to the advent of the skyscraper to the changes wrought by the automobile, the telephone, the airplane, and telecommuting, Rybczynski reveals how our urban spaces have been shaped by the landscapes and lifestyles of the New World.

     When lifelong friends Reggie, Joel and Cody, fail to win the Virtual Reality Elite championship, they’re forced to find real work. The guys sign a pest control contract, ridding space stations of infestations. ShimVens have been spreading rapidly across the galaxy. The bugs eat through wiring, destroying space stations and ships.Reggie took the job because the pay was good and the work sounded easy. Cody and Joel are skeptical, but Reggie convinces them it’s easy work. Just spray the bugs and done, right? Not exactly. They soon learn these pests are deadly. They’ll have to rely on their gaming skills if they are to survive. And they’re going to need better weapons. Oh, and a mercenary who knows how to kick ass. These three immature guys go off to save the universe…all by accident. Men in Black meets Ghost Busters. Intergalactic Pest Control will have readers hooked from the beginning. --- Caution for strong language and graphic scenes involving lots of bug guts.

    He doesn't know by whom, where or why. He doesn't know his parents. All he wants is a quiet life and a family experience. The fates conspire against him.Mark OneMark Midway is adopted by two scientists and is reared in a genetic research laboratory. Nine men, ex-military, are on a mission to destroy the laboratory and capture Mark. They are supported by four rogue CIA agents, who have commandeered a test drone and a missile at a Marine base. The team attacks the genetics laboratory complex before dawn, during a raging blizzard. Within hours, seven of the men are dead, one is severely wounded and one barely escapes. Mark also destroyed the drone with its missile. The next morning the four rogue agents are found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, their killer unknown.Mark flees the laboratory complex, seeking safety and somewhere he can call home. The FBI is on his case and a mysterious organization offers him its assistance. Unknown killers are chasing him and he needs to protect himself and his friends. He needs to surviveMark TwoWe continue the story commenced in Mark One, with a young genetically engineered Mark Midway, FBI Special Agent MayAnn Freewell, and the mysterious Archimedes Schmidt who reports directly to the President. Mark—whose only desire is to be normal––shoots and kills two would-be kidnappers and discovers his search for peace again will elude him. Mark needs to survive. All he wants is a normal life.Schmidt works with FBI Special Agent Freewell to investigate a secret organization—Cerberus––which is infiltrating the FBI, the US Army, and other government departments with genetically engineered humans. Schmidt attempts to take control of Cerberus and discovers his personal relationships are not as reliable as he thought.Mark TwoSchmidt works with FBI Special Agent Freewell to investigate a secret organization—Cerberus––which is infiltrating the FBI, the US Army, and other government departments with genetically engineered soldiers. As Schmidt attempts to take control of Cerberus, he discovers his personal relationships are not as reliable as he thought.Mark ThreeA young woman escapes from a luxury yacht under attack by Chinese pirates in the Mediterranean. American law enforcement agencies collude and conspire to bring about an end to Cerberus, uncaring who gets in their way. Mark Midway faces deadly assaults by unknown enemies. A military helicopter is brought down over Washington by a Russian missile and General Archimedes Schmidt is in critical condition.Mark meets his sister and travels to London to rescue three more genetically engineered children. He finds romance, but he and his companions are under attack in both the US and England. Mark knows only one response - fight back.Mark FourMark Midway returns to America to re-build his home, which was destroyed by a gang of mercenaries. Police collude to effect his kidnap on his way back to Boston. His enemies include terrorists, a rogue NSA senior officer, a retired general, and a wealthy businessman; the latter wants control of all the Cerberus and LifeLong genetic engineering intellectual property. Cerberus teams in the US and UK rally to rescue Mark, but first they need to discover his whereabouts. General Schmidt and the NSA officer are enemies.

    The stakes are high and Sierra knows that if she wants to have that perfect family she’s always dreamed about, she would need to seek help. Ace Newman is a former Navy SEAL and a member of the elite security outfit, Silver Shields. Ace is good at two things: protecting his charges at all cost and keeping himself emotionally distant. When he meets Sierra, his walls slowly begin to crumble. Suddenly, nothing is more important to Ace than keeping Sierra safe and to do that, they hit the road. BOOK 2 Janey Moore led a simple and unpredictable life running her flower shop in a small town in Oklahoma. But when her sister mysteriously went missing she risked everything and went to Chicago in an effort to find her. When several strange things begin to happen, Janey realizes that her life might be in danger. The one person who can keep her safe is Silver Shields special operator, Drew Campbell but he is the last person she will ask for help. Drew Campbell is a man who is crushed by the weight of guilt. He can never open himself up to love again. Then he meets Janey Moore and his world tilts on its axis. When he hears that her life might be in danger, he decides that it’s up to him to save her. The only problem is that Janey does not want to be saved, not by Drew. BOOK 3 Nico Ortega is a man with a mission and that does not involve falling for the lovely and fiery woman who stole from him. Determined to get back what is his, he abducts her at gunpoint from a party and takes her to his private island. Now that he has her in his custody, he can get what she stole from him and send her on her way. However, things don’t turn out the way he plans. Tamika White lost everyone she’s ever cared about as well as her ability to laugh. A woman of few words, she retreated into a place deep down where no emotional connection can touch her. Then she meets Nico Ortega, the superhot, super rich hotelier. Sure that it's simply a case of mistaken identity, Tamika White decides to help Nico trace the woman he is after, a woman who looks remarkably like she does. BOOK 4 Hope Conran is the co-founder of one of the most popular dating sites. With an almost cult-like following among hackers, she is also one of the nicest people. But Hope hides a deep, dark secret from her childhood, one that is determined to creep out and consume her. She has had a series of life-threatening events that were too close for comfort and is afraid that someone might be after her life. Then to top it all, someone is systematically hacking into her servers and the damage is enough to wipe out years of hard work. She is at her wit’s end when a chance encounter leads her to Silver Shields operator and resident tech guru, Rusty Rosabelle. A former army engineer who served in the middle east, Rusty is very familiar with danger. As a techie and an ethical hacker, he is the perfect protector for Hope, but his arrogance rubs her the wrong way. Rusty puts his life on the line to protect Hope and in the process gets to see the beautiful, but broken soul that lives in her, making him question everything he has ever believed about love. BOOK 5 Emily Silver is the founder of Silver Shields, a security outfit that has earned a reputation as one of the best in the country. Several years ago, her life was shattered when she lost her seven-year-old daughter to kidnappers. Now there are two things that drive Emily: searching for her daughter and hating her ex-husband, tech billionaire, Wayne Carter.

     Sing Me Home by Belle Calhoune: Rain Santos and her best friends are embarking on a ten-week road trip. The first destination is Nashville, where Rain hopes to explore her lifelong singing aspirations. When she comes face to face with her country singer ex-boyfriend, Luke Avery, Rain has to deal with their painful past. Luke Avery is seeking redemption for the pain he caused Rain in their relationship. As the two reconnect and Luke helps Rain with her singing aspirations, they find themselves falling into familiar rhythms. Can true love conquer all? Hitched In Hot Springs by Kristen Ethridge: Bridget Vaughan left a childhood of abuse behind and used the adversity to make her stronger, becoming a multi-millionaire small business coach in the years since she left Treasure Harbor. James Cromberg would do just about anything to help his mom, including leaving the military career he loved in order to come home and help her run her family's historic business and take care of his ailing father. When a woman running away from her past connects with a man who fears his own future, is there a way for them to find their way to a present happily-ever-after? Romancing the Storm by Patrica Pacjac Carroll: Lark Morgan is drifting through life. Even though her father’s advice of trust the Lord and enjoy the journey sounds fun, she’s lost the joy not to mention her job. Cody Merrill has amends to make, but he’s a new man and determined to set things right. As the owner of Storm Rangers, he takes people on adventures to see tornadoes. He loves the storms, but something is missing. Or maybe it’s someone. Journey to Her Past by Angel Moore: Jessica Stinson wants to find the man who left her eight years ago with no explanation. Griffin Renfroe’s world turned upside down when he learned he’d been stolen from the hospital on the day he was born. He made decisions he’s come to regret. When Jessica shows up in Amarillo, he knows convincing her of his love will be almost impossible in the face of his new name – and identity. Can Jessica trust the love she still holds for a man who no longer exists? Restore My Heart: Cassidy Frey’s life falls to pieces in the aftermath of her father’s political scandal. Out of a job and ostracized from her current friends, she jumps at the chance for a road trip with her childhood friends. Joel Kingston’s dream of owning a motel along Route 66 is threatened by a shortage of money, but his discouragement doesn’t stop him from helping a group of stranded motorists. Could a broken-down SUV lead to restoration—of hearts and motels?

     Audrey Nealon, owner of Another Man's Treasure Estate Sales, gets paid to do just that. And amidst the antiques, jewelry, and collectibles, she invariably finds clues to unsolved mysteries of the past. And baffling murders in the present. Join Audrey and her delightful crew--tough Ty, ditzy Jill, and loyal Ethel the rescue dog--as they solve three twisty mysteries: Another Man's Treasure On a snowy Christmas Eve, a beautiful young mother goes out to buy a few last minute gifts...and never returns. Thirty years later, her daughter Audrey picks up her trail when she find's her mother's ring in a client's attic. Relentlessly, Audrey pursues clues to her family’s troubled history. Because the truth will set her free…unless it gets her killed. Treasure of Darkness What lies buried in a hoarder's house--precious treasure or ghastly secrets? Audrey digs through a hoarder's obsessions, and unleashes a vengeful response from all sides--the hoarder's angry neighbors, his alienated family, and the police. The house has destroyed lives in the past. Will Audrey and those she loves--her friends, her father, and even her dog--be its next victims? This Bitter Treasure Deception and heartbreak stalk Audrey when she accepts a lucrative job clearing a dying invalid's home. As Audrey uncovers more about the family's tortured past, she begins to doubt her own perceptions of the elusive people who surround her in the house. And when a murderer strikes, Audrey's sense of justice compels her to defend the defenseless, no matter the risk to herself. Get a glimpse into the word of estate sales and learn fun facts about art, antiques, and collectibles. Plot twists, witty dialogue, and believable characters will keep you reading all night.

    Never before had the functional requirements and expressive capacities of architecture been tested so thoroughly and with such diversity of invention. Bergdoll traces this experimentation in a broad range of contexts, focusing in particular on the relation of architectural design to new theories of history, new categories of scientific inquiry, and the broadening audience for architecture in this period of transformation. Unlike traditional surveys with long lists of buildings and architects, the themes are elucidated by in-depth coverage of key buildings which in turn are situated in both their local and European context.

    His work spans some sixty years and includes original work on a diverse range of subjects, from dialectical materialism to architecture, urbanism and the experience of everyday life. The Production of Space is his major philosophical work and its translation has been long awaited by scholars in many different fields. The book is a search for a reconciliation between mental space (the space of the philosophers) and real space (the physical and social spheres in which we all live). In the course of his exploration, Henri Lefebvre moves from metaphysical and ideological considerations of the meaning of space to its experience in the everyday life of home and city. He seeks, in other words, to bridge the gap between the realms of theory and practice, between the mental and the social, and between philosophy and reality. In doing so, he ranges through art, literature, architecture and economics, and further provides a powerful antidote to the sterile and obfuscatory methods and theories characteristic of much recent continental philosophy. This is a work of great vision and incisiveness. It is also characterized by its author's wit and by anecdote, as well as by a deftness of style which Donald Nicholson-Smith's sensitive translation precisely captures.

    Named Officer of the Year in 1997, Kathy’s experience translates into exciting page-turning tales of the men and women of the LAPD sworn to protect and to serve, while battling bureaucracy, bad guys, and bullets. Kathy presents Books 1 - 3 in her best selling Deadly Thriller full-length books: A DOZEN DEADLY ROSES: Someone wants her dead…Police officer Jade Donovan thought life was going well: a sweet four-year-old son, a good job, and a promotion in her future. But things have taken a dangerous turn. She’s being stalked. Her predator delivers dead roses to Jade, each time the threats more descriptive, more terrifying. He had nothing to live for.Former cop Mac Stryker lost everything years ago: his wife, his daughter, and his career, which he drowned with whiskey. Now nearly five years sober, Mac is slowly rebuilding his life. He’s got his badge back and a newfound purpose: to help his partner find the man stalking and threatening her. A DEADLY BLESSING:(A Barnes and Noble Best Nook Book Original of the Year)Politics is a dirty business…When LAPD Detective Maddie Divine is called to a private meeting with the mayor and the governor, her instincts kick into high alert. Young women are disappearing, but why all the political secrecy? Maddie throws herself into finding the answers—a good distraction from her crumbling marriage. But things are about to get worse—in more ways than one.But death is dirty, too.When one girl is found dead and no one claims the grisly deed, the clock continues to tick, and Maddie is running out of time. If her suspicions are right, death isn’t the only thing the kidnapped girls have to fear—clues point to the involvement of a notorious sex-trafficker. Will Maddie become the next victim? A DEADLY JUSTICE: She thought the past was put to rest…Detective Maddie Divine is back and paired-up with fellow detective, Jade Donovan, to solve the brutal murder of a 16-year-old-girl. Why would someone kill an all-American girl? Has the serial rapist they’ve been searching for just become a murderer? Manipulation and deception meet Maddie and Jade at every turn as they question who has the motive to kill. But now it’s back for vengeance.While Maddie tries to come to terms with the recent death of her husband, working with the police therapist before the guilt and anger she feels affects her job, Jade is up against a vindictive sergeant who has an ax to grind against her. Twists and turns lead Maddie and Jade down a rabbit hole, intertwining Maddie’s past with the present. All of these crimes are connected by a single thread, but can they figure it out before Maddie becomes the next victim? Or will her past become a living nightmare?

    With more than 200 illustrations, all prepared by the author, along with analysis and statistics, Great Streets offers a wealth of information on street dimensions, plans, sections, and patterns of use, all systematically compared. It also reveals Jacobs's eye for the telling human and social details that bring streets and communities to life.An extensive introduction discusses the importance of streets in creating communities and criteria for identifying the best streets. The essays that follow examine 15 particularly fine streets, ranging from medieval streets in Rome and Copenhagen to Venice's Grand Canal, from Parisian boulevards to tree-lined residential streets in American cities. Jacobs also looks at several streets that were once very fine but are less successful today, such as Market Street in San Francisco, identifying the factors that figure in their decline.To broaden his coverage, Jacobs adds briefer treatments of more than 30 other streets arranged by street type, including streets from Australia, Japan, and classical antiquity in addition to European and North American examples. For each of these streets he has prepared plans, sections, and maps, all drawn at the same scales to facilitate comparisons, along with perspective views and drawings of significant design details.Another remarkable feature of this book is a set of 50 one square-mile maps, each reproduced at the same scale, of the street plans of representative cities around the world. These reveal much about the texture of the cities' street patterns and hence of their urban life. Jacobs's analysis of the maps adds much original data derived from them, including changes of street patterns over time.Jacobs concludes by summarizing the practical design qualities and strategies that have contributed most to the making of great streets.

    Planners make rapid decisions that have an immediate impact on the ground--the width of streets, the minimum size of land parcels, the heights of buildings. The language they use to describe their objectives is qualitative--"sustainable," "livable," "resilient"--often with no link to measurable outcomes. Urban economics, on the other hand, is a quantitative science, based on theories, models, and empirical evidence largely developed in academic settings. In this book, the eminent urban planner Alain Bertaud argues that applying the theories of urban economics to the practice of urban planning would greatly improve both the productivity of cities and the welfare of urban citizens.Bertaud explains that markets provide the indispensable mechanism for cities' development. He cites the experience of cities without markets for land or labor in pre-reform China and Russia; this "urban planners' dream" created inefficiencies and waste. Drawing on five decades of urban planning experience in forty cities around the world, Bertaud links cities' productivity to the size of their labor markets; argues that the design of infrastructure and markets can complement each other; examines the spatial distribution of land prices and densities; stresses the importance of mobility and affordability; and critiques the land use regulations in a number of cities that aim at redesigning existing cities instead of just trying to alleviate clear negative externalities. Bertaud concludes by describing the new role that joint teams of urban planners and economists could play to improve the way cities are managed.

    A critical history of planning in theory and practice in the twentieth century, as well as of the social and economic problems and opportunities that gave rise to it Trenchant, perceptive, global in coverage, this book is an unrivalled account of its crucial subject Comprehensively revised to take account of abundant new literature published since its original appearance, and to view the 1990s in historical perspective Reviews the development of the modern planning movement over the entire span of the twentieth century

    Winner of the National Book Award. “One of the major works of scholarship of the twentieth century” (Christian Science Monitor). Index; illustrations.