It includes many new standards, new technologies and new vendor-specific terms.

    Now Michael Casey tells the remarkable story of this image, detailing its evolution from a casual snapshot to an omnipresent graphic—plastered on everything from T-shirts to vodka to condoms—and into a copyrighted brand. As Casey follows it across the Americas and through cyberspace, he finds governments exploiting it and their dissenters attacking it, merchants selling it and tourists buying it. We see how this image is, ultimately, a mercurial icon that still ignites passion—and a reflection of how we view ourselves.

    Nell is still struggling to move on when, three weeks later, Jude disappears.Twenty-five years on, Nell is forced to quit her job to find out who the Brighton Mermaid really was - and what happened to her best friend that summer.But as Nell edges closer to the truth, dangerous things start to happen. Someone seems to be watching her every move, and soon she starts to wonder who in her life she can actually trust ...Fast-paced and thrilling, The Brighton Mermaid explores the deadly secrets of those closest to you.

    Their wisdom has profoundly shaped Eastern cultures over the centuries.

    Navy intelligence officer, David Locke Hall was a federal prosecutor when a bizarre-sounding website, CRACK99, came to his attention. It looked like Craigslist on acid, but what it sold was anything but amateurish: thousands of high-tech software products used largely by the military, and for mere pennies on the dollar. Want to purchase satellite tracking software? No problem. Aerospace and aviation simulations? No problem. Communications systems designs? No problem. Software for Marine One, the presidential helicopter? No problem. With delivery times and customer service to rival the world’s most successful e-tailers, anybody, anywhere—including rogue regimes, terrorists, and countries forbidden from doing business with the United States—had access to these goods for any purpose whatsoever.But who was behind CRACK99, and where were they? The Justice Department discouraged potentially costly, risky cases like this, preferring the low-hanging fruit that scored points from politicians and the public. But Hall and his colleagues were determined to find the culprit. They bought CRACK99's products for delivery in the United States, buying more and more to appeal to the budding entrepreneur in the man they identified as Xiang Li. After winning his confidence, they lured him to Saipan—a U.S. commonwealth territory where Hall’s own father had stormed the beaches with the marines during World War II. There they set up an audacious sting that culminated in Xiang Li's capture and imprisonment. The value of the goods offered by CRACK99? A cool $100 million.An eye-opening look at cybercrime and its chilling consequences for national security, CRACK99 reads like a caper that resonates with every amazing detail.

    Through wars, radio, TV, computer games and fluctuating literacy rates, the book has, somewhat bizarrely, remained the more robust and culturally relevant way to communicate ideas. Now, for the first time since the Middle Ages, all that is about to change.

    The chemistry between them is so intense Nina even rethinks her staunch position on relationships. Maybe they’re not a waste of time after all. But there’s something about Dylan that scares her—and she knows it has nothing to do with fear of getting close to a man, like her best friend thinks. It’s something far worse.Preppy Dylan has had his heart broken and his uncle challenges him to move on by going on five online dates. Dylan ends up on a date with Nina. While her unabashed attitude unsettles him at first, he soon realizes that he really likes her. But as they get closer, she pulls back. It’s as if she's convinced he’d physically hurt her, which he’d never do. Still, if he doesn't figure out what's triggering her fear, she'll never be his. Little does he know her fear is directly tied to him.

    But instead of turning it in to the driver as lost, she decides to keep it for herself.Outside of the usual clutter you would expect to find on a smartphone, what captures Katie's interest is the single conversation she finds on the phone's secure text messaging service, a three-month dialogue between a woman with an uncertain past named Christine and a single, eligible man named Jake.From Strangers to Soulmates in 90 DaysWhat starts out as a message intended for someone else ends up being the beginning of a relationship more powerful than anything Christine or Jake have ever experienced.But nothing ever turns out to be as good as it initially seems and their histories slowly reveal details and past lovers that threaten to derail their humble quest for love.Forgotten In The Back Seat of a New York City TaxiCan Christine and Jake overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacles, doubts and secrets that endanger their love?If so, why would such a relationship get forgotten in the back seat of a New York City taxi?Presented in a Format Unlike Any Other You Will FindFollow Katie as she reads through the 3 months of conversations that form The Christine + Jake Affair and provide the foundation for the Textual Encounters Trilogy.

    "Savage yarns that rip into your sac and don't let go." -- Michiko Kakutani

    Impressed with her style, he offers her a challenge she can't refuse: 6 guys, 6 weeks...can she turn around their hapless internet dating history and blog for the magazine while she does it?Confused by her deliciously dishy boss and swept off her feet by the local librarian, Elise sets out on an emotional journey with her projects, only to discover that the path to love is dark and sometimes painful. Who is the mysterious Mr X leaving love letters on her blog? Who knew that life in the city could be so complicated? Sometimes it's not about who's out there, it's about who's looking.Packed with humour, emotion and lots of cake, this is a book for anyone that's ever looked for love and been surprised where they found it.

    She is overwhelmed by navigating the new language and etiquette of what she terms "the portal," where she grapples with an unshakable conviction that a vast chorus of voices is now dictating her thoughts. When existential threats—from climate change and economic precariousness to the rise of an unnamed dictator and an epidemic of loneliness—begin to loom, she posts her way deeper into the portal's void. An avalanche of images, details, and references accumulate to form a landscape that is post-sense, post-irony, post-everything. "Are we in hell?" the people of the portal ask themselves. "Are we all just going to keep doing this until we die?"Suddenly, two texts from her mother pierce the fray: "Something has gone wrong," and "How soon can you get here?" As real life and its stakes collide with the increasingly absurd antics of the portal, the woman confronts a world that seems to contain both an abundance of proof that there is goodness, empathy, and justice in the universe, and a deluge of evidence to the contrary.Fragmentary and omniscient, incisive and sincere, No One Is Talking About This is at once a love letter to the endless scroll and a profound, modern meditation on love, language, and human connection from a singular voice in American literature.

    She examined their business strategies. Looked for common themes. Researched their backgrounds, habits, and characteristics.The results of this research are fascinating. While no two bloggers earn money in the exact same way, they do all share some common traits.The Essential Habits Of 6-Figure Bloggers is a collection of real-life stories. It's also a success manual for bloggers.In this book, the author lays out the three essential habits of six-figure bloggers. These habits are not about specific tactics (though these are covered). They go deeper. In fact, you can apply these three habits to anything. Not just blogging.Want to lose weight? Pay off your debt? Build a retirement fund? Run a marathon? Practice the three success habits and you can achieve anything you want in life.The ideas in these pages aren't new. Instead, this book provides a framework so that you can sort through the mass of information, tools, and techniques and create your own version of success.You'll learn the three habits and how to apply them to your blog, or any other situation.When you read this book you will learn from top bloggers, master the three success habits, and create a six-figure blog that leverages your unique talents and experiences.In this book, you'll find easy step-by-step instructions on how to:* Pick a blogging niche that's profitable and exciting. * Earn money from your blog - using six proven monetization strategies. * Create systems to stay on track - even when the going gets tough.* Dream bigger than ever before and achieve anything you want.While blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it is a flexible and fulfilling way to make money from home. In this book you will meet bloggers who are earning six- and even seven-figures a year.If you love to write and have a message to share, you can do this too. How would your life change if you could build a profitable, online business you love?When you read this book, you will learn from those who are already doing what you want to do. You'll discover what it really takes to create a six-figure blog. Get your copy today by clicking the BUY NOW button at the top of this page!

    A depraved secret. The ruthless Chinese mafia. Murder is never simple.When the young husband of a wealthy California heiress is found dead on his yacht, private investigator Raja Williams and his tech-savvy partner, Vinny Moore, head to Los Angeles. Their investigation leads to a human trafficking ring, the Chinese mafia, and a cover-up that may go as high as the governor's mansion.As more bodies pile up, Raja and Vinny find themselves targeted by a powerful enemy with much to hide, and must race to uncover the truth before everyone involved, including the two of them, ends up dead.Brilliant. Fearless. Unstoppable. Raja Williams is a private detective who is relentless in his pursuit of justice. Neither the dark, tragic anti-hero nor the James Bond super-hero type, Raja uses his intuitive genius and penetrating empathy to unravel mysteries. His sixth sense for evil gives him headaches and steers him straight into trouble. Readers have described him as "a cross between Dirk Pitt and Alex Cross."Raja's partner, Vinny Moore, is a gorgeous hipster geek who prefers hacking computers to haute couture. Vinny once worked for the U.S. government until she purposely made herself more trouble than they could handle so they would cut her loose. She loves to push Raja's buttons with the hipster lingo she is constantly picking up on the internet. Despite her teasing, Vinny is Raja's best friend.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:"Best detective since Sherlock Holmes!""I love Raja Williams. He is a brilliant private investigator with an amazing heart.""Crime solving and kick ass...totally enjoyable way to spend time indoors.""This book had me from chapter one and I couldn't put it down. It's fast-paced, full of action, and dripping with mystery.""Hats off to Jack Thompson for a great thriller that was good clean fun.""I've always enjoyed mysteries, but this novel has something special, a certain joie de vivre.""The pace moved quickly, when necessary, to create pulse quickening sequences, and slowed down, when appropriate, to delve into more technical aspects of the investigation.... I'm so happy to have found another author, and character series, to add to my list of must read authors!""I really couldn't put this one down, and read it straight through from start to finish. I see a film in the future."If you like action-packed, fast-paced mysteries with unexpected twists and turns, then you'll love the Raja Williams series.Grab your copy of The Color of Greed and dive right in.

    Islam (together with Christianity and Judaism) is now an American faith, and the challenges Muslims face as they reconcile their intense and demanding faith with our chaotic and permissive society are recognizable to all of us. From West Virginia to northern Idaho, "American Islam "takes readers into Muslim homes, mosques, and private gatherings to introduce a population of striking variety. The central characters range from a charismatic black imam schooled in the militancy of the Nation of Islam to the daughter of an Indian immigrant family whose feminist views divided her father's mosque in West Virginia. Here are lives in conflict, reflecting in different ways the turmoil affecting the religion worldwide. An intricate mixture of ideologies and cultures, American Muslims include immigrants and native born, black and white converts, those who are well integrated into the larger society and those who are alienated and extreme in their political views. Even as many American Muslims succeed in material terms and enrich our society, Islam is enmeshed in controversy in the United States, as thousands of American Muslims have been investigated and interrogated in the wake of 9/11."""American Islam "is an intimate and vivid group portrait of American Muslims in a time of turmoil and promise.

    THE THREAT FROM ABOVE! As a Master of the Mystic Arts, DOCTOR STEPHEN STRANGE has witnessed many unusual things…but none so powerful and potentially Universe-threatening as the existence of the INFINITY STONES! Don't miss a detail of the galaxy-spanning story featuring IRON MAN, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, VISION, SCARLET WITCH and more, and make yourself an Infinity Stone expert before this summer's blockbuster film!