A victim of circumstance and deemed to be another poverty-stricken statistic, the odds were stacked against her and the hand Tonya was dealt since birth- displayed little to no hope. However, despite the forces against her and her lack of resources, Tonya managed to shuffle the deck and flip the cards in her favor. She learned to survive in the grimy streets of Chicago and gave herself a life her parents never could. Although she was the product of two beautiful disasters, there was a silver lining amongst the dark clouds; her grandmother and when she sees Tonya swaying in the wrong direction, she decides to step in. Determined not to lose her granddaughter to the streets, she ships her off to Atlanta with the hope of Tonya staying on the “straight and narrow”. But like a moth to a flame, Tonya seems to attract trouble and before long she’s caught in a twisted and deadly web that sends her running for comfort, in the only city she’s ever truly called home. Back in Chicago things are finally looking up as Tonya learns the truth about the man whom help conceive her and discovers he left her a small fortune. After all her pain and trials, Tonya finally feels she’s living the life she deserves. But when a new man forces his way into her world, will Tonya lose everything she’s gained, including her sanity? Or will the stranger help her become an even better woman? In Black Tonya, discover what happens when one woman’s dirty-little-secrets and family affairs catch up with her; and witness how that same woman’s determination to survive, led her down a path of pain, love, deceit and so much more. This African American, urban-romance by Patrice Balark and presented by Cole Hart, will keep you flipping pages from start to finish and leave you in shock.

    

    Coming home to an empty house after his mother died proved to be too much to handle. There was only one way that he knew how to block out the pain and survive in these wicked streets, and that was to go back to where it all began, hugging the block. Meeting up with one of his boys from the inside and getting put on by his connect, Frank thought that it would be all good. What he didn’t expect was for that decision to set off a chain of events that could possibly send him back to prison for life. If there was one thing he had promised himself, it was that he would never go back to jail. By any means necessary. Skipping town seemed to be his only option, and he needed to go somewhere where no one knew who he really was or his dark past. What he didn’t expect was for the people of the small town to have such an impact on his life, not all in a good way. The enemy is always roaming and seeking who he can destroy, and he would even use someone in the church to complete his task. Just as he starts to get comfortable in his new position his past comes rushing in like a flood and he doesn’t know who he can trust. Not only is his life in danger but so are the lives of the people that have come into his life. Will Frank be able to hold himself accountable for his wrong doings and have a sensitive ear to the voice of God? Or will he just continue to play the role in order to keep himself hidden?

    At the age of twelve, the sheltered walls her mother worked so hard to construct come crumbling down when her family perishes in a mysterious fire on the same night her brother vanished without a trace. After several hard blows by life, Shi picks herself up time and time again. Years later, she unknowingly steps into a war zone of murder, lies, sex, drugs and money. Jasheem Wilson’s debut will have you guessing page after page and you will be wrong every time.

    A mother who hates her, a father she never knew and trying to raise her 1 yr old sister Jezya; nothing for Xyla was easy. Determined not to become a product of her environment, Xyla does all she can to graduate with a full scholarship and leave Maryland behind her. A twisted night of events leads Xyla to Taej McCoy. Trying her hardest to fight the strong attraction between the two, it isn't long before she falls hard for him. Take this emotional ride with Xyla and Taej as their love is tested in more ways than one.

    And you can, too. Come take this amazing journey with Armando Montelongo.

    Its one downside? For nearly a century, it's been illegal to grow industrial cannabis in the United States-even though Betsy Ross wove the nation's first flag out of hemp fabric, Thomas Jefferson composed the Declaration of Independence on it, and colonists could pay their taxes with it. But as the prohibition on hemp's psychoactive cousin winds down, one of humanity's longest-utilized plants is about to be reincorporated into the American economy. Get ready for the newest billion-dollar industry.In Hemp Bound: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution, bestselling author Doug Fine embarks on a humorous yet rigorous journey to meet the men and women who are testing, researching, and pioneering hemp's applications for the twenty-first century. From Denver, where Fine hitches a ride in a hemp-powered limo; to Asheville, North Carolina, where carbon-negative hempcrete-insulated houses are sparking a mini housing boom; to Manitoba where he raps his knuckles on the hood of a hemp tractor; and finally to the fields of east Colorado, where practical farmers are looking toward hemp to restore their agricultural economy--Fine learns how eminently possible it is for this misunderstood plant to help us end dependence on fossil fuels, heal farm soils damaged after a century of growing monocultures, and bring even more taxable revenue into the economy than its smokable relative.Fine's journey will not only leave you wondering why we ever stopped cultivating this miracle crop, it will fire you up to sow a field of it for yourself, for the nation's economy, and for the planet.

    We have a consumption crisis. And this book, which takes aim at cherished assumptions regarding energy, offers refreshingly straight talk about what’s wrong with the way we think and talk about the problem. Though we generally believe we can solve environmental problems with more energy—more solar cells, wind turbines, and biofuels—alternative technologies come with their own side effects and limitations. How, for instance, do solar cells cause harm? Why can’t engineers solve wind power’s biggest obstacle? Why won’t contraception solve the problem of overpopulation lying at the heart of our concerns about energy, and what will? This practical, environmentally informed, and lucid book persuasively argues for a change of perspective. If consumption is the problem, as Ozzie Zehner suggests, then we need to shift our focus from suspect alternative energies to improving social and political fundamentals: walkable communities, improved consumption, enlightened governance, and, most notably, women’s rights. The dozens of first steps he offers are surprisingly straightforward. For instance, he introduces a simple sticker that promises a greater impact than all of the nation’s solar cells. He uncovers why carbon taxes won’t solve our energy challenges (and presents two taxes that could). Finally, he explores how future environmentalists will focus on similarly fresh alternatives that are affordable, clean, and can actually improve our well-being. Watch a book trailer.

    Indeed, what began as an initial response of many institutions -- denial and delay -- has now grown into a crime against humanity. The fossil fuel industry is directing the Bush administration's energy and climate policies-payback for helping Bush get elected. But they're not the only ones to blame: the media and environmental activists are unwittingly worsening the crisis. In his new introduction, Gelbspan reveals that the outlook isn't getting better. The climate continues to change with increasing acceleration: hurricanes devastated Florida; rainfall patterns left two million people starving in Kenya; 2004 was the fourth hottest year on record. At the same time, the coal industry was planning to sabotage an effort in the Senate to begin to regulate carbon dioxide. Officials of Switzerland, France, and Canada said last year that, when the Kyoto Protocol takes effect, they intend to take the United States to court under the World Trade Organization, reasoning that the U.S.'s refusal to lower their carbon emissions amounts to an illegal subsidy-a "carbon subsidy"-on its exports. With the reelection of George W. Bush and a Republican-controlled congress, Boiling Point is more imperative than ever. Both a passionate call-to-arms and a thoughtful roadmap for change, Gelbspan reveals what's at stake for our fragile planet.

    A few years later, Dick expanded to a second location. In 1984, Ed bought the two stores from his father. Today DICK’s Sporting Goods is the largest sporting goods retailer in the country with over 800 locations and close to $9 billion in sales. It’s How We Play the Game tells the absorbing story of a complicated founder and an ambitious son—one who transformed a business by making it more than a business, conceiving it as a force for good in the communities it serves. The transformation Ed wrought wasn’t easy: economic headwinds nearly toppled the chain twice. But DICK’s support for embattled youth sports programs earned the stores surprising loyalty, and Ed was vocal in sounding the alarm about schools’ underfunding not just of sports but of other extracurriculars, which earned DICK’s even more respect. Ed’s toughest business decision came in the wake of yet another school shooting; this one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. The senseless loss of life devastated Ed on many levels and he decided to take action. DICK’s became the first major retailer to pull all semi-automatic weapons from its shelves and raise the age of gun purchase to twenty-one. Despite being a gun owner himself who’d grown up around firearms, Ed’s strategy included destroying the $5 million of assault-style-type rifles then in DICK’s inventory. It was a profit-risking policy that would earn the outrage of some—even threats of harm—but turn Ed into a national hero. With vital lessons for anyone running a business and eye-opening reflections about what a company owes the people it serves, It’s How We Play the Game is the insightful story of a man who built one of America's most successful companies by following his heart.

    But you also probably figured that most of these products were safe, and that someone—the manufacturers, the government—was looking out for you. The truth might surprise you.After experiencing a health scare of his own, journalist McKay Jenkins set out to discover the truth about toxic chemicals, our alarming levels of exposure, and our government’s utter failure to regulate them effectively. What’s Gotten into Us? reveals how dangerous, and how common, toxins are in the most ordinary things, and in the most familiar of places: • Our water: Thanks to suburban sprawl and agricultural runoff, 97 percent of our nation’s rivers and streams are now contaminated with everything from herbicides to pharmaceutical drugs. • Our bodies: High levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals from cosmetics, flame-retardants from clothing and furniture, even long-banned substances like DDT and lead, are consistently showing up in human blood samples.• Our homes: Many toxins lurk beneath our sinks and in our basements, of course, but did you know that they’re also found in wall-to-wall carpeting, plywood, and fabric softeners? • Our yards: Pesticides, fungicides, even common fertilizers—there are enormous, unseen costs to our national obsession with green, weed-free lawns.  What’s Gotten Into Us? is much more than a wake-up call. It offers numerous practical ways for us to regain some control over our lives, to make our own personal worlds a little less toxic. Inside, you’ll find ideas to help you make informed decisions about the products you buy, and to disentangle yourself from unhealthy products you don’t need—so that you and your family can start living healthier lives now, and in the years to come. Because, as this book shows, what you don’t know can hurt you.

    The classic account of modern British journalism, now updated and re-issued.

    Filmmaker and author Mike Cernovich is also confronted by people who claim he has shared fake news. Find out how he answers these allegations in Hoaxed.

    Topics include discussions about Business Combination, Consolidated Financial Statements - On the date of acquisition, Subsequent to date of acquisition, Financially Distressed Corporations, Accounting for Foreign Exchange.

    Environmental degradation in China has also contributed to significant public health problems, mass migration, economic loss, and social unrest. In The River Runs Black, Elizabeth C. Economy examines China s growing environmental crisis and its implications for the country s future development.Drawing on historical research, case studies, and interviews with officials, scholars, and activists in China, Economy traces the economic and political roots of China s environmental challenge and the evolution of the leadership's response. She argues that China s current approach to environmental protection mirrors the one embraced for economic development: devolving authority to local officials, opening the door to private actors, and inviting participation from the international community, while retaining only weak central control. The result has been a patchwork of environmental protection in which a few wealthy regions with strong leaders and international ties improve their local environments, while most of the country continues to deteriorate, sometimes suffering irrevocable damage. Economy compares China s response with the experience of other societies and sketches out several possible futures for the country."