The angel is God's answer to a childhood prayer Andy offered to a twinkling star that his deceased mother once called "the door to heaven." The first angelic proclamation instructs Andy to find the wooden keepsake box in his grandparents' attic. Over the years, he directs Andy to fill it with apparently meaningless objects from twelve people with who Andy randomly crosses paths. Andy's world is turned upside down when a brutal attack leaves Andy burned and the boy he loved as a son dead. At this crucial juncture, the angel abandons him to loneliness and pain. All that remains is the wooden box Andy has always kept safe, and a new angel, who will use its contents to reveal truth to him as a result, he discovers the defining truth of his life, new hope in the community he loves, and greater trust in the God who sustains him.The story is told from Andy's hospital bed, where he awakes feeling God has abandoned him. Without being preachy or saccharine, the author brings the small town to life and reveals a spiritual secret--the presence of angels--that helps a wounded man discover the defining truth of his life, place new hope in the community he loves, and trust totally in the God who sustains him.

    Senator Tom Coburn reveals the fascinating, maddening story of how we got to this point of fiscal crisis—and how we can escape.Long before America’s recent economic downturn, beltway politicians knew the U.S. was going bankrupt. Yet even after several so-called “change” elections, the government has continued its wasteful ways in the face of imminent danger. With passion and clarity, Coburn explains why Washington resists change so fiercely and offers controversial yet commonsense solutions to secure the nation’s future.At a time when millions of Americans are speculating about what is broken in Washington, The Debt Bomb is a candid, thoughtful, non-partisan exposé of the real problems inside our government. Coburn challenges the conventional wisdom that blames lobbyists, gridlock, and obstructionism, and places the responsibility squarely where it belongs: on members of Congress in both parties who won’t let go of the perks of power to serve the true interests of the nation—unless enough citizens take bold steps to demand action.“Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John AdamsThroughout a distinguished career as a business owner, physician, and U.S. senator, Tom Coburn has watched his beloved republic careen down a suicidal path. Today, the nation stands on the precipice of financial ruin, a disaster far more dangerous to our safety than any terrorist threats we face. Yet Coburn believes there is still hope—if enough Americans are willing to shake the corridors of Washington and demand action.With an insider’s keen eye and a caregiver’s deft touch, Coburn diagnoses the mess that career politicians have made of things while misusing their sacred charge to govern.Coburn’s incisive analysis:Reveals the root causes of America’s escalating financial crisis Exposes Washington’s destructive appetite for wasteful spending, power grabs, backroom deals, and quick non-fixes Rises above partisanship to implicate elected officials of all stripes in steering the nation off course Lays out a commonsense guide to restoring order Concludes with a clarion call and sound advice for Americans who would dedicate themselves to defusing the debt bomb Above all, Coburn believes the United States can continue as a beacon of opportunity for future generations—but how we act today will determine whether we deliver the nation to our children and grandchildren fully alive, on life support, or without a pulse.

    Meet Matt Devlin, the US broadcaster who found a new home in Canada when he got a job with the Toronto Raptors, and read how he helped calm the crowd when a gunman began shooting in Nathan Phillips Square after the team’s NBA championship win. From the young woman living with Crohn’s disease—and proudly modeling her ostomy bag—to the rabbi whose family fled Nazi Germany—and who now gives the benediction on Parliament Hill each Remembrance Day—Extraordinary Canadians celebrates the people who have overcome adversity and broken down barriers to champion the rights and freedoms of everyone who calls Canada home.Featuring voices from all walks of life—advocates, politicians, doctors, veterans, immigrants, business leaders, and more—this collection gets to the heart of what it means to be Canadian. These stories will change the way you see your country and make you fall in love with Canada all over again.

    Instead, they discover the military has destroyed the bridges out of their rural town and everyone's fled—except a small horde of the living dead. The stress of flesh-eating zombies may be more than their already strained relationship can handle. Even with the help of the town geek and lemonade-powered Super-Soakers, there's not enough time to squeeze their way out of this sticky mess. Unless the trio eradicates the zombie infestation, while avoiding the deadly zombie snot, the military will blow the town, and them, to pulp. Their only shot is something with a lot more punch. Something like the Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb. But even if their friendship survives, there's another problem: Someone has to lure the undead into the trap.Includes two free short stories.Print length is approximately 204 pages (40,000 words).May not be suitable for kids under 9.

    In 2020, Mitch McConnell will have served five full terms as a US Senator. Thirty years. The Senate Majority leader’s power is as undeniable as it is infuriating, and the people of Kentucky have had enough. Led by Matt Jones, they (and they alone) have the power to oust him from office. How did Jones, a local boy turned attorney turned sports radio host come to shine the brightest light on McConnell’s ineptitude? Simple—he knows Kentucky inside and out, and has used the state’s love of sports as an entry point for showcasing how McConnell has failed his fellow citizens both economically and socially for three decades. Entertaining, maddening, yet ultimately inspiring, these stories from Kentuckians in each of its 120 counties illustrate the Senate Majority leader’s stunning shortcomings. Jones infuses his trademark wit and wisdom throughout, while also offering a beautiful portrait of a state with arguably the most untapped potential in our country. Ultimately, the white-hot hatred for McConnell on the coasts is just white noise. Only the people of Kentucky can remove him from office. Here, Matt Jones demonstrates he has the influence, charisma, and institutional knowledge to lead the charge. He and his fellow Kentuckians have had enough—and they’re ready for a fight.

    A secret discovered. An inescapable nightmare. Who needs enemies with friends like these? The unnerving new novel from the acclaimed author of LULLABY En route from ending a destructive love affair, TV producer Maggie Warren is involved in a freak accident. Lucky to escape with her life, Maggie's further disturbed to discover she's now front-page news. When invited to discuss her trauma on a chat-show, Maggie comes face to face with fellow survivor, the beautiful but damaged Fay Carter - fame-hungry, needy and now apparently infatuated.One by one the tentacles of Maggie's past mistakes seem to be reaching inexorably into her future. Her compromised career is catching up with her, ex-boyfriend Alex just won't take no for an answer - but worse, the secret Maggie has tried so hard to bury is coming back to haunt her.When Maggie's flat is ransacked, she refuses to believe it's a coincidence. Now Maggie's clutching onto sanity for dear life, but she's horribly aware that one final push might send her over the edge…or is that exactly what someone wants?

    A blend of Eastern wisdom, feng shui, and the movement toward simplicity, Wabi Sabi is a Japanese expression meaning "wisdom in natural simplicity." Wabi Sabi helps us to see the beauty in imperfection, to discover that our unique flaws also can lead us to our greatest strengths and treasures.No one is perfect--in fact, we all are perfectly imperfect. That is the paradoxical first lesson shared by Taro Gold in Living Wabi Sabi: The True Beauty of Your Life. What is Wabi Sabi? A universal ideal of beauty, Wabi Sabi celebrates the basic, the unique, and the imperfect parts of our lives. Wabi Sabi is the comfortable joy you felt as a child, happily singing off key, creatively coloring outside the lines, and mispronouncing words with gusto. On a deeper level, Wabi Sabi is the profound awareness of our oneness with all life and the environment. It includes a deep awareness of the choices we make each day, the power we have to accept or reject each moment of our lives, and to find value in every experience.Appreciate this and every moment, no matter how imperfect, for this moment is your life. When you reject this moment, you reject your life. You don't have to settle for this moment, you are free to steer a different course, but for now, this moment is yours, so be mindful to make the most of it."Living Wabi Sabi: The True Beauty of Your Life leads us to discover the true beauty of our lives, to know true joy here and now, to reveal the most powerfully positive sides of imperfection. Illustrated with stunning yet simple watercolor art, Living Wabi Sabi: The True Beauty of Your Life is a beautiful keepsake that is sure to become a beloved resource for wisdom in the joy of living.

    Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

    After events confirmed many of his predictions, Fallows went on to write some of the most acclaimed, award-winning journalism on the planning and execution of the war, much of which has been assigned as required reading within the U.S. military.In Blind Into Baghdad, Fallows takes us from the planning of the war through the struggles of reconstruction. With unparalleled access and incisive analysis, he shows us how many of the difficulties were anticipated by experts whom the administration ignored. Fallows examines how the war in Iraq undercut the larger ”war on terror” and why Iraq still had no army two years after the invasion. In a sobering conclusion, he interviews soldiers, spies, and diplomats to imagine how a war in Iran might play out. This is an important and essential book to understand where and how the war went wrong, and what it means for America.

    But God delivered the Israelites, and He will deliver us too.The Red Sea Rules reveals, even in the midst of seemingly impossible situations, God's promise to make a way for us. His loving guidance will protect us through danger, illness, marital strife, financial problems--whatever challenges Satan places in our path.Using the Israelites' story as an example, Robert Morgan offers ten sound strategies for moving from fear to faith. Among them: Realize that God means for you to be where you are. Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. Pray.Life is hard, especially for Christians. It is certain that we will face difficulties, and that God will allow them, as He allowed the Israelites to become trapped between Pharaoh's rushing armies and the uncrossable Red Sea. But just as certain is the fact that the same God who led us in will lead us out. As The Red Sea Rules makes comforingly clear, He is in control.

    bombers began pounding Al Qaeda and Taliban forces. His dispatches provide an unprecedented and riveting on-the-ground account of the Afghan conflict, and his e-mails to the magazine — selections of which frame the pieces here — paint a vivid behind-the-scenes portrait of war journalism. From the battle for the Taliban bastion of Kunduz and the interim government's clumsy takeover of Kabul, to the search for Osama bin Laden in the Tora Bora caves and the truth of Al Qaeda's assassination of charismatic Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud — two days before September 11, 2001 — Anderson offers an unprecedented look into the forces that shape the conflict and the players who may threaten Afghanistan's future. In the distinguished tradition of New Yorker war reporting, The Lion's Grave illuminates a region to which we will be inextricably bound for some time to come.

    Lovers don't kiss, or even hold hands. Personal boundaries are valued above all. Break the laws, and you'll face execution. Elodie, a talented young nurse, believes in the mission of the Key and has never questioned the laws that control her life. But Elodie is forced to break the rules when she sets out in search of a terminal patient who goes missing while under her care. From the outside, it seems like Aiden was given everything he could want from the Key -- a purpose, an education, and a future. But Aiden knows more than he's letting on, and the dark secrets he's keeping could tear the Key's strict society apart. When Elodie and Aiden's lives collide, the fallout will be devastating. What do you do when the brutal system that once kept you safe hunts you down? Run.

    After rallying non-Urdu speaking leaders around him, Jinnah imposed a unitary definition of the new nation state that obliterated linguistic diversity. This centralisation - 'justified' by the Indian threat - fostered centrifugal forces that resulted in Bengali secessionism in 1971 and Baloch, as well as Mohajir, separatisms today. Concentration of power in the hands of the establishment remained the norm, and while authoritarianism peaked under military rule, democracy failed to usher in reform, and the rule of law remained fragile at best under Zulfikar Bhutto and later Nawaz Sharif. While Jinnah and Ayub Khan regarded religion as a cultural marker, since their time the Islamists have gradually prevailed. They benefited from the support of General Zia, while others, including sectarian groups, cashed in on their struggle against the establishment to woo the disenfranchised. Today, Pakistan faces existential challenges ranging from ethnic strife to Islamism, two sources of instability which hark back to elite domination. But the resilience of the country and its people, the resolve of the judiciary and hints of reform in the army may open a new and more stable chapter in its history.

    Not only is Dave a veritable rock star, he’s drop dead gorgeous—and he’s taking it as a personal challenge to be the first man to give Candy an orgasm.Dave discovers that all Candy needs to come is some ties, some toys, and his merciless desire to discover exactly what Candy tastes like…word count: 13,000

    The media tracks troll sightings and reality TV is about dragon slaying and teen prophets. The president rules the country alongside a council of Valkyrie, and the military has a special battalion dedicated to eradicating the threat of Greater Mountain Trolls. Welcome to the United States of Asgard: Be sure to watch for troll-sign! GOLD RUNNER tells the story of Amon Thorson, bastard son of Thor Thunderer, a rebel who specializes in illegal troll artifacts and elf gold. Someone has stolen Loki’s Mask of Changing, and Amon is the prime suspect, putting a famous hunter and a mysterious stranger on his tail. LADY BERSERK is about Vider, the first female berserker warrior in generations, who is loved by Loki Changer but determined to stand on her own. One of six celebrities invited to participate in a televised dragon hunt, she knows things are not as they seem—which is usually a sign Loki is up to his old tricks. GLORY’S TEETH offers a glimpse into the wild heart of the Fenris Wolf, also called Glory, trapped in the shape of a teenaged girl for hundreds of years so she cannot grow large enough to devour the sun and begin the end of the world. But Glory’s seen signs that now is time she’s fated to hunt Baldur the Sun down and eat him.