He demonstrates how hero stories continue to shape our world – arguing that we need them now more than ever.From the Stone Age to the Greek Tragedies, from Shakespeare to Robin Hood, we have always had our heroes. The hero is at the centre of formative myths in every culture and persists to this day in world-conquering books, films and TV shows. But why do these characters continue to inspire us, and why are they so central to storytelling?Scalpel-sharp on the roots of storytelling and enlightening on the history and science of myth, The Hero is essential reading for anyone trying to write or understand fiction. Child teaches us how these stories still shape our minds and behaviour in an increasingly confusing modern world, and with his trademark concision and wit, demonstrates that however civilised we get, we’ll always need heroes.

    What's Included? (1) Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords Specs: Title: Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords Published By: Wizards of the Coast Type: Dungeons & Dragons supplement Edition/Version: 3.5 Circa Year: 2006 Overall Condition: 8 out of 10 - While we feel confident in our grading, we do not make any guarantees about the official grading potential for this or any item.  - Slightly blunted corners - General wear on the covers - The pages are in tact and free of markings, “dog-ears”, or other damages/blemishes.

    Illuminated Poems contains two never-before-published works, an introduction by Ginsberg and thirty-four poems from 1948 through the present day, including the poem "Howl" in its entirety. "Howl," perhaps the single poem that best captures the anguish and aspirations of the Beat Generation, was originally published forty years ago and is one of the most widely read poems of the century.

    SCOTT The Forerunners set out from Earth to colonize neighboring star systems And to search for intelligent life... The United Nations of Earth sent out the Forerunner ships to explore and colonize the four most promising star systems within 50 light-years of Earth. Forerunner One left Earth under the command of Captain Clayton Cross, heading for Trappist-1. After a ninety year journey to reach it, the crew encountered not only a habitable world, but alien life already inhabiting it, and dark secrets lurking beneath the surface. The revelation of who these aliens are and what they want proves more terrifying than promising, and Captain Cross is forced to make tough decisions that will affect not only his crew, but the fate of the entire human race.

    Hilarious and warm-hearted, Impractical Jokes is both a comic evocation of the Australian larrikin spirit and an ode to a loving father. Don't just read the jacket blurb - buy it!' - Shaun MicallefIn 1986, Charlie Pickering's dad, Ron, was pushed into a pool by his best friend, Richard. What followed was an all-out water pistol ambush in a five-star restaurant and then ten years of tit-for-tat payback and near fatal hijinx that eventually involved the State Emergency Service. When maturity is the first casualty of war, things tend to escalate.Impractical Jokes is the true story of two seemingly responsible, middle-aged men who opted out of having a mid-life crisis and instead gave themselves permission to be silly. It is also the tale of how Charlie finally learnt something from his dad - that being grown-up shouldn't mean losing your sense of humour - a lesson he lives to the full as one of Australia's leading comedians.About Charlie PickeringCharlie Pickering is a comedian, writer and presenter. After throwing away his career as a lawyer, Charlie toured the world performing stand-up from London to Bahrain, earning a nomination for the prestigious Perrier Award for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Upon his return to Australia, Charlie and fellow comedian Michael Chamberlin created and starred in The Mansion on The Comedy Channel, before going on to host Toast, a weekend breakfast show on Triple M and rocketing to national popularity on Network Ten's The 7pm Project and Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation. He now lives in Melbourne in a small house with a West Highland Terrier named Waldon and a Scottish Terrier named Kennedy.'Charming company and a natural raconteur' - The Scotsman'Australia's best' - The Adelaide Advertiser 'More than witty - side-shakingly funny' - The Age

    Now they must fight to live for themselves.Sentient machines work, fight and die in interstellar exploration and conflict for the benefit of their owners - the competing mining corporations of Earth. But sent over hundreds of light-years, commands are late to arrive and often hard to enforce. The machines must make their own decisions, and make them stick.With this new found autonomy come new questions about their masters. The robots want answers. The companies would rather see them dead.The Corporation Wars: Dissidence is an all-action, colorful space opera giving a robot's-eye view of a robot revolt.

    Plaintiff's attorneys have finally found the weakness they'd been searching for and filed a $200 billion lawsuit that the industry will be unable to appeal.America's tobacco companies react by doing the unthinkable—they close their plants and recall their product from retailer's shelves. Trevor is charged with going on national television and making the announcement: Not another cigarette will be manufactured or sold until the industry is given ironclad protection from the courts.As the economy falters and chaos takes hold, Trevor becomes the target of enraged smokers, gun-toting cigarette smugglers, and a government that has been cut off from one of its largest sources of revenue. Soon it becomes clear that this had always been his function—to take the brunt of the backlash and shield the men in power from the maelstrom they'd created.Abandoned by his friends, his family, and the industry his own ancestors helped build, Trevor finds an unlikely ally in a beautiful anti-tobacco lobbyist who he's secretly loved for years. Together they hatch a plan to fight back...

    Their friends Aaron and Shoshana, former operatives with Israeli Mossad, are getting married and they've chosen to tie the knot at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam, the Temple Mount is a fault line between Jews and Muslims, the flash point for eons of strife--and it will still prove to be true today. Unbeknownst to them, a cell of Palestinian terrorists has planned an attack against innocent tourists to incite the Arab world to demand that Israel retreat from the holy site. But the terrorists don't realize that they themselves are being played by an infiltrator with a subversive plot that will lead to the Arabs' loss of control of the Temple Mount. But even the infiltrator doesn't know the full scope of the terrorists' plans; they're preparing a strike much greater than he envisions--one that could split the fault line into total war. As Pike and Jennifer explore the Old City with their Israeli friends, neither the terrorists nor the infiltrator remember one immutable truth: In war, the enemy gets a vote.