Here, historian Alexander Ivanov reveals their fears and betrayals, privilege and debauchery, conspiracies and rivalries, love and tragedy as they forged Russia into one of the world's greatest empires. No ruler in history has embodied the oppressive domination of these rulers more vividly than Alexander Ivanov's opening subject, Tsar Ivan IV, the first of all the Russian tsars, known to history as Ivan the Terrible. Although a gifted ruler who did much to unite and improve the conditions in his primitive country, Ivan was also a notorious sadist who delighted in torturing and murdering anyone who displeased him. Ivan's death in 1584 ushered in the Time of Troubles, thirty-five years of famine, plague, and war that crippled the nation. A series of rulers attempted to cope with the devastation, beginning with Ivan's successor Boris Godunov. Finally, grasping for stability, Russia's nobles begged young Michael Romanov, the great-nephew of Ivan's beloved wife Anastasia, to take the throne. Michael successfully united the war-torn and ravaged nation and founded a dynasty that would rule for 300 years. The Romanov line produced Russia's most brilliant yet most unconventional sovereign: Peter the Great, a towering figure of a man whose restless, creative mind led him on an inexorable quest to modernize and civilize the still backward nation. The reforms he enacted so enraged nobles and peasants alike that Peter had to quash a series of rebellions to keep his crown. Ruthlessly stifling dissent and massacring rebels, he ultimately cowed the Russian people into submission, achieving a legacy that nearly equaled his ambitions. It was left to a woman - and a foreigner, at that - to lead the nation further out of the darkness. German princess Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst, known to the world as Catherine the Great, absorbed the principles of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and applied them to a country built on the backs of millions of serfs. However ineffective some of her policies, in the end, she made Russia a major player on the European stage. Serfdom was finally abolished in the nineteenth century, but it would be decades before Russian peasants could own land of their own and learn to farm it productively. The boyars and tsars clung to power until the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. The sad fate of the last tsar, Nicholas II, and his family, marked the end of the absolute power that Ivan the Terrible had so exploited. The abuses would continue but under a new and drastically different form of government.

    

    This free Kindle book features interviews, essays, excerpts, and other fun extras about the year’s top 20 titles: Donna Tartt talks about her eating habits while writing The Goldfinch; Khaled Hosseini’s publicist discusses what it’s like to be on a national tour with him; David Finkel discusses the emotional impact following the 2-16 infantry battalion in Thank You for Your Service; and much more.

    Add in a washed-up celebrity chef whose career needs re-building…Flavour with…An aging rock star fresh from rehab, and a Sloane Ranger food writer who gets her own TV show…Bring to the boil…At a Gourmet Food Festival, in Ireland, where anything goes!When media agent Hilary Hargreaves travels to Ireland to look at a campaign for a new cookery school, she meets a blast from her past - the romantic but feckless chef Mickey Lloyd, who is hell-bent on resurrecting his flagging career. Her tough demeanour is rocked as it becomes apparent Mickey's intentions involve more than a stint behind a stove in his quest to pursue her. But as plans for the school gain momentum, she realises that she's developing more than a passing interest in reformed alcoholic Long Tom Hendry, who owns the crumbling old mansion where the school will be homed. Hilary has many ingredients to juggle with her demanding client list - which looks set to boil over if she doesn't keep control. From London's bustling Soho, to Southern Ireland and the sunny shores of the Caribbean, has Hilary got too much on her plate and is she really prepared to risk it all for love?

    This is the one you want… Personally, I will check out any book this author writes about apps because, for some reason, maybe a bad case of OCD, he is obviously compelled to do the most thorough investigation into each and every aspect, good and bad of apps in a particular genre. My hat's off to him, and he has my thanks for saving me a ton of time and grief.” - Linda Abbott (Reviewer) Nearly 800 Pages of In-Depth Reviews, and Tips and Tricks to Help You Get The Most Out of Your Free Kindle Fire Apps Question: Why Do You Need This Book? Answer: Because you have better things to do with your time than to trudge through the Amazon App Store and test tons of apps until you find the best ones Question: OK. But Why Do You Need To Buy THIS Book? Answer: Because you need more than some random list of “Top Kindle Fire Apps.” You also need: To know which apps to download first Tips and tricks for how to get the most out of the apps How to find help if you’re having a problem with an app An in-depth review describing what is good and what is bad about each app Problem: Even if you have a list of the top free apps, how do you know which ones to install first? Solution: At the end of this book, all the apps are ranked from best to worst according to a UNIQUE RANKING SYSTEM FOUND ONLY IN MY BOOKS Question: How Else Is This Book Unique? Answer: In addition to its unique ranking system, it also offers in-depth reviews that provide the following: A summary of what the app does A summary of what is good and what is bad about each app When available: The app developer’s contact information, website information, as well as links to pertinent articles about the app Tips and tricks for many of the apps (how to get the most from the app) A brief summary of the positive and negative reviews of the app on Amazon PLUS: A list of 5 must-have free productivity apps that every Kindle Fire owner should install to have greater control over their Kindle Fire A list of 15 free productivity apps that most Kindle Fire owners will find useful since they provide a great deal of functionality Question: OK…But What Types Of Apps, Exactly, Does The Book Include? Answer: A dizzying variety… Game Apps Arcade and Board game apps Mind game apps: Card, logic, and word game apps Kids Apps Educational apps and Game apps for kids: Apps for toddlers, preschoolers, elementary schoolers, and high schoolers in the following categories: Art apps, Book apps, English apps, and Math apps Productivity Apps Art

    This book talks about how one can acquire the expertise to forge leaders, I have delved deep into my interactions with inspiring leaders/mentors who have carved a niche for themselves & benchmarked their best practices for you to imbibe.There is a lot of Vedic & Greco-Roman cultural influence which you shall find in this book, as it draws a parallel between ancient knowledge & its modern interpretation.Each of the 22 Chapters should be perceived as a tool & this book aspires to serve as a instrument to learn techniques to develop leaders & forge them into champions.

    She and her father, Jerry Shults, were thriving as the owners of the Gas Pipe stores in Dallas, Texas, as well as other successful businesses, when a government lawsuit threatened to take everything—their businesses, their money, and their freedom. Accused of crimes she hadn’t committed, Amy spent the next four years fighting to stay out of prison, but that wasn’t all she had to fight along the way. When one life-altering change after another shook up Amy’s world, she gained a new perspective on herself and on what matters most in life. From an exhausting and demoralizing situation came a new outlook of gratitude, but also remorse and humility. Although Amy’s actions in the past had not all been illegal, she had let the allure of money guide her decisions rather than using her moral compass; the shocking turn of events that resulted from those decisions led to profound changes and made a lasting impact on Amy’s life.

    He and his team battle to drive the enemy from star systems under protection of the Confederation. His courage and fighting abilities are tested to their utmost, as he rises through the ranks of the LRS and beyond. Small unit skirmishes build to full-scale combat on planet surfaces, and serve as a counterpoint to violent conflict in space.

    Hollander suggests how to incorporate succession planning for a vacation home into an estate plan and gives practical advice on such things as which entity is best for succession planning, how to develop a cottage schedule, what to do about an owner who fails to pay his or her assessment, whether to establish an 'endowment,' and how to allocate control between and within generations of owners. Although Hollander uses the term 'cottage,' the principles of his book apply to any property that a family wants to retain. Written for the vacation home owner but with information that also will be useful to attorneys and financial planners, the book engages the reader with stories of cottage 'wars' and planning gone awry. The book makes a complex problem understandable and offers methods to help keep a second home in the family for generations. This edition acknowledged the addition of David S. Fry, Esq. to the book and as the successor to the author's cottage law practice. The updated third edition is now published by Nolo and will be revised to include the latest regarding state and federal laws, including estate tax information.

    They are not separate; they are one. If we want to live an extraordinary life, we have to make our work equally extraordinary. When your work resonates with purpose, you jump out of bed every morning, excited by the possibilities the day holds for you. Everything else in your life seems to have a glow about it, and you exude much more personal shine. My aim in writing this book is to help you feel like that every day. To help you make your work work for you. To feel truly free. Reading Free! will remind you that you are fantastic and have the ability to do amazing things; show you that work is your slave, not the other way round; help you make work your ticket to an extraordinary future; and put you in the driving seat and show you a route to freedom.

    Fusing proven, cutting-edge business strategy with powerful mindfulness practices, you’ll learn an immediately practical, holistic approach to achieving business success and personal fulfilment. You’ll also gain access to a range of tools, templates and resources designed to help you: • generate rapid, profitable growth; • create a business that can run without you; and • stay sane, focused and fulfilled. If your business is not giving you the wealth, freedom and fulfilment that you desire, if you feel like a slave to your business rather than master of it, The Mindful Entrepreneur is for you. "The Mindful Entrepreneur will force you to revisit your "Why." Why do you run a business? And how does that fit into your life? Managing a company without a clear measure of purpose and balance is suicide. This book not only teaches us how to survive, but how to access our full potential through a mindful approach. Every business owner should read it.” Jesse Tevelow, Best Selling author of The Connection Algorithm

    It's an age when nurturing moms who've spent years cuddling, tucking, and rocking their little boys suddenly find themselves on the outside trying to see in. Most moms and sons do not make the transition gracefully.Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman are trying something different with this collection of their phenomenally successful comic strip, Zits. They have combed through more than 10 years of strips and selected more than 200 of the most popular of the Mom/Son themed strips into one book.The idea is to provide a more focused look at the dynamic that drives almost all of the mountain of Zits e-mail and letters we receive every month," says Scott. Borgman adds, "If moms can stop what they're doing long enough to discover this book, we think they'll find a lot of comfort (and laughs) in seeing that their struggles with their grunting, slouching, uncommunicative, sloppy, and ultimately incomprehensible sons are universal."

    More than thirty years after it first aired, The Golden Girls retains a steadily growing cult following. The show ran for seven seasons (collecting a staggering fifty-eight Emmy nominations and eleven wins along the way), and over the years, this hit comedy about four fierce and sassy broads sharing a house in Miami charmed millions of viewers with its wit and verve and, most of all, the strength and quality of the friendship between its four iconic characters. Featuring fun and colorful illustrations throughout, Thank You for Being a Friend brings you the ultimate wisdom of Dorothy, Rose, Sophia, and Blanche. Find out which Girl is your true spirit animal with the -Which Golden Girl Are You?- quiz; get sex and dating advice from TV's greatest vamp, Blanche Devereaux; and master the art of the witty zinger with Dorothy. There are cheesecake recipes for the perfect midnight snack, Golden Girls bingo, profiles on each of the extraordinary actresses who brought these incredible characters to life, and the Ten Commandments of shared house living. Full of inspiration, fashion advice, makeup tips, trivia, and hilarious quotes direct from the lanai, Thank You for Being a Friend is here to help you discover the secrets to maintaining the lifelong bonds between friends who are more like family.

    Suddenly with no place to hide from the reality we realize life is all cracked up. Through the lens of our pain everything seems broken, bruised, and battered. But, as best-selling author Patsy Clairmont points out, there's a redeemer of our pain--Jesus. The Redeemer of the broken and discarded who mends our hearts, and even gives us a reason to laugh again.Telling inspirational stories of women's brokenness and healing, with tenderness and her trademark humor, Patsy Clairmont helps us realize that we're not alone in our struggles. Jesus buoys our spirits and refreshes our tired minds. As Patsy says, "life is so much easier to bear when its shared.'

    There always seemed to be a new system to learn, a new surefire method or cutting-edge technique for entrepreneurs to master.In an effort to teach her team members a better and easier way, Dana Wilde created Train Your Brain, a tested and proven system combining elements of both mindset and action ... or as Dana likes to call it, Intentional Action.What Dana discovered by using Train Your Brain is that mindset can be "taught" and that learning simple mindset strategies not only allows you to understand how the brain works but also shows you how easy it is to change your thinking and, as a result, change your outcomes.In Train Your Brain, Dana breaks down the Cycle of Perpetual Sameness--the number one reason why most people only experience incremental change in their lives. More importantly, she also provides the much-needed blueprint to help you get off this counterproductive cycle quickly.Train Your Brain, with its twenty easy-to-implement "Mindware Experiments," gives you all the necessary tools needed to get off ... and stay off ... the Cycle of Perpetual Sameness, so you can transform your life and grow your business in record time!