Working a series of heinous crimes, Zach uncovers a dark, treacherous secret – a conspiracy that could alter America’s future and result in the secession of Texas. Co-authored by P.A. Troit and bestselling writer Joe Nobody, Secession explores a world where a hopelessly gridlocked government fuels an ever-deepening divide between right and left. The public’s frustration with the country’s direction forces desperate leaders on both sides of the political spectrum to consider splitting the union.Based on actual historic events, current economic realities, and a growing global trend, Secession immerses the reader in a lifelike scenario that could be America’s future.

    A date in suburbia has dramatic results. A seamstress takes revenge on an unsuspecting customer, while in France, a mother is promised 'fantastic news' - and lets her imagination run away with her. With each story, Jenny Eclair introduces a fascinating new character. And behind each woman lies a gripping tale - of betrayal, of love, of hope and defiance. Funny, heart-breaking, inspiring - and packed with wicked one liners - this wonderful collection shows Jenny Eclair's exceptional talent for observation at its very best.Based on the BBC Radio 4 series Little Lifetimes.

    Each innovator comes from diverse backgrounds from those who hold a PhD to those who have had no formal education! Despite this difference, what unites them is their passion for innovation, the grit with which they have fought adversities and their vision for a better world.Each story celebrates the triumphant spirit of these determined individuals in a society that places little incentive on innovation. These innovators have resolved to break the status quo in the Indian innovation landscape!

    At its heart is the story of Anila Jhabvala, a destitute woman in a dying village in central India, and her struggle against the daily embrace of usury. Into her fraught existence blunder two westerners: Ted Saddler, a has-been American reporter living off the faded glory of a Pulitzer Prize, and Erin Wishart, a hard-bitten Scottish banker with a late-developing conscience. As the tension mounts, their three storylines interweave and fuse in a thundering and moving climax. In pointing up the gulf between rich and poor, and the misguided efforts of western institutions to meddle in developing countries, Gordon pays homage to Professor Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Peace and founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.

    Baseball Prospectus 2008 continues that tradition, bringing together the top young baseball writers and analysts in the business to provide a definitive look at the season to come. Featuring groundbreaking essays on the performance of each of the thirty teams and an in-depth look at every major league player and all the top prospects, Baseball Prospectus 2008 offers the cutting-edge analysis that has inspired nearly every major league team to seek the advice of current or former Prospectus writers. Also included are projections of player stats for next year, as determined by the groundbreaking PECOTA system, which Sports Illustrated has called “perhaps the game’s most accurate projection model.” The most authoritative and entertaining book of its kind, Baseball Prospectus 2008 is as essential to the baseball-watching experience as hot dogs and cold beer.

    But her horrifying story captured the hearts of readers everywhere and lead to a ten-year search to resolve two great mysteries – what was her true identity, and what became of her young son Michael, who was kidnapped from his first grade classroom and never seen again. The worldwide interest in Sharon’s story prompted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to open a new case file enlisting the FBI – and with A Beautiful Child as a roadmap, two FBI agents set their sights on Sharon’s tormentor to learn the shocking truth. Equal parts memoir and narrative journalism, Finding Sharon picks up where A Beautiful Child left off and brings to a close one of the greatest mysteries in the annals of law enforcement – and a miraculous ending that will leave you in tears.

    But he soon finds himself struggling to keep the peace between three feisty fellow judges who have very different views about how to do their job, and about how Charlie should do his.And as if that's not enough, there's the endless battle against the 'Grey Smoothies', the humourless grey-suited civil servants who seem determined to drown Charlie in paperwork and strip the court of its last vestiges of civilisation.No hope of a quiet life then for Charlie, and there are times when his real job - trying the challenging criminal cases that come before him - actually seems like light relief.'No one writes with more wit, warmth and insight about the law and its practitioners than Peter Murphy. He has no equal since the great John 'Rumpole' Mortimer' - David Ambrose'Though his exasperation is sometimes palpable, what triumphs over everything is his sense of humour. And it is the humour that makes Walden of Bermondsey such a delightful read. Think of him as what Rumpole would be like if he ever became a judge, and you get some idea of his self-deprecating wit and indomitable stoicism. Add a dash of Henry Cecil for his situation and AP Herbert for the fun he has with the law, and you get a sense of his literary precedents' - Paul Magrath

    Then you met the femme fatale of all industry chicks, Chantal Morgan, as she desperately tried to go from Hooker to Housewife. Now prepare yourself for the ultimate showdown as their lives collide in Superstar. The sequel to the bestselling Hooker to Housewife.

     This book explains how the test works, what the examiner wants to hear, and gives you strategies to organise your answers rapidly and effectively. It has many model answers from candidates speaking at Band 9 level, so that you can see what is possible. It has activities for you to practise our speaking strategies and compare to the Band 9 examples, including 2 complete model speaking tests for you to use. Even if your English is not perfect, you can transform your IELTS Band score by using the methods in this book. ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Cambridge IELTS Consultants are a team of IELTS trainers and past examiners based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. They have many years experience of preparing students for IELTS at University level, assessing the speaking tests and developing course books to guide candidates through the Cambridge IELTS process. They really are the experts!

    The first book is The Coming of the Prophet. A strange alien calling himself the Prophet has appeared in orbit above Earth and the planet’s most powerful weapons have proved useless against his ship’s defenses. To make matters worse, the Prophet tells mankind that Earth will soon be invaded and destroyed if the nations don’t learn how to live in peace and start building to meet the coming enemy. Failure to change humanity’s warlike ways will lead to its destruction. This Death Prophecy isn’t initially believed but when the Prophet starts sending a series of recordings of planets conquered by the Traugh, mankind is forced to reevaluate how to live together. The Death Prophecy appears to be real and inescapable. Humanity has never been able to live in peace and time is running out. Mankind turns to the only human the Prophet has declared sane but he refuses the role being forced on him. Will he make the difference? First, he has to believe he can. Excerpt: The Coming of the Prophet Col. Brighton looked up at the young officer standing at the door to his office, “Yes, Captain.” “I’ve received word from the head scientists operating the Mount Graham, Lick Observatory, Palomar, and the Hawaii Observatory that they have discovered something they feel we should be aware of. “What is that?” “Something located about three thousand miles above Earth in stationary orbit is blocking the view of stars behind it.” Col. Brighton stared at Captain Connor and his eyes narrowed, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying, Captain. Isn’t it impossible for something to remain in stationary orbit without being pulled in by Earth’s gravity?” “Whatever it is, Earth’s gravity is not having any effect on it.” Connor opened a folder and began laying photographic images on the Colonel’s desk. Tony looked at the images and shook his head slightly, “What am I looking for?” Essay took another folder and began placing other photos above each of the ones he first put on the desk, “The top row is what the sky looked like five months ago when the telescopes looked at that place above Earth. The bottom row is the same image taken over the last four months.” Tony looked from the top row to the bottom as he moved across the rows of images. He looked up and said, “There is a black shadow or something that is blocking the stars behind it in the bottom row of images.” Connor nodded. “What could be causing this?” Connor blew out a breath and said, “It’s not a natural phenomenon.” “Why not?” “It doesn’t reflect any light from the planet and it remains pitch black in every image. Something is blocking light from being reflected or coming through it.” “Have they been able to determine its size?” “Six hundred feet long and about a hundred feet wide.” Tony stared at Connor with wide eyes and stared at the two rows of pictures. He picked up the telephone on his desk. He pressed a three-digit code and after a moment started speaking, “Admiral, I have evidence that there is something above the planet that is a possible danger to us.” After a moment, Tony said, “I’ll be there momentarily. I’m bringing the officer that brought this information to me.” Tony hung up and said, “Let’s go.” Kam stared at his scanner’s images and leaned back in his command chair on the large Traugh Warship as he listened to the exchange.

    Doing up a mansion in Alabama sounded easy. But curvy girl Kara finds there are holes in the roof, a jungle outside and wildlife living in the cupboards. The only upside is the muscled, shirtless gardener who leaves her breathless...but he wouldn’t be interested in a big girl like her...right?He’s out of his depth...Hank can tame any garden. But can he figure out this fancy New Yorker who he can barely keep his hands off...and who can’t see the beauty in her delicious curves?As Kara tries to adjust to a town full of big skirts and homemade lemonade, Hank fights to find a way into her closed-off heart. Temperatures soon rise...but can he convince a city girl to put down roots...and have his children?

    But while they are shopping in the hypermarket, three year-old Noah wanders off. A frantic search ensues. He can’t have gone far. The French police launch their emergency response to abductions, sharing Noah’s image on television, radio and social media. They’ve never failed to locate a missing child within 48 hours. But as the hours become days, the chances of finding Noah alive diminish. When a former soldier contacts Becky, and tells her Noah is being held by someone seeking revenge against Jess’s dead husband, she learns there is far more at stake than just the safe return of little Noah. THEN HE WAS GONE is a gripping psychological thriller tapping into every parent’s worst nightmare: what if you can’t protect your children against unseen threats?

    She is surprised to find the solution to her problem has been right next to her all along.It's the Fourth of July and more than one kind of fireworks are going to explode.

    To football fans everywhere, Bill Shankly was far more than just a manager: he was a folk hero whose legend still dominates the game.Shankly took Liverpool FC from Second Division obscurity and helped create the legend that became the Anfield of Keegan, Hughes, Toshack and Heighway. With his impertinent questions, blunt observations and appreciation of life, Bill Shankly's wit, down-to-earth wisdom and sheer determination set a standard that holds good to this day. This full and frank biography tells his larger-than-life story and is an inspiring tribute to one of football's most enduring heroes.

    For the past few decades, technology has been touted as the cure for all of healthcare's ills.But medicine stubbornly resisted computerization - until now. Over the past five years, thanks largely to billions of dollars in federal incentives, healthcare has finally gone digital.Yet once clinicians started using computers to actually deliver care, it dawned on them that something was deeply wrong. Why were doctors no longer making eye contact with their patients? How could one of America's leading hospitals give a teenager a 39-fold overdose of a common antibiotic, despite a state-of-the-art computerized prescribing system? How could a recruiting ad for physicians tout the absence of an electronic medical record as a major selling point?Logically enough, we've pinned the problems on clunky software, flawed implementations, absurd regulations, and bad karma. It was all of those things, but it was also something far more complicated. And far more interesting . . .Written with a rare combination of compelling stories and hard-hitting analysis by one of the nation's most thoughtful physicians, The Digital Doctor examines healthcare at the dawn of its computer age. It tackles the hard questions, from how technology is changing care at the bedside to whether government intervention has been useful or destructive. And it does so with clarity, insight, humor, and compassion. Ultimately, it is a hopeful story."We need to recognize that computers in healthcare don't simply replace my doctor's scrawl with Helvetica 12," writes the author Dr. Robert Wachter. "Instead, they transform the work, the people who do it, and their relationships with each other and with patients. . . . Sure, we should have thought of this sooner. But it's not too late to get it right."This riveting book offers the prescription for getting it right, making it essential reading for everyone - patient and provider alike - who cares about our healthcare system.