For centuries, scientists have struggled to define what it means to be alive. ‘What Is Life?’ and ‘Life’s Edge’ explore the question.

Learning everything there is to know about narcissism won't help you stop attracting narcissists. But, these two things will.

R.C. Sproul takes a look at the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. \"The Holiness of God\" is a profound, moving investigation of the character of God which defines all we are and do as Christians.\nCentral to God's character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God's holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don't quite know what to do with words like \"awe\" or \"fear.\" R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.

The first fruits of the literary career of St. Augustine, the great theologian and Christian philosopher par excellence, are the dialogues he wrote at Cassiciacum in Italy following his famous conversion in Milan in 386 AD. These four little books, largely neglected by scholars, investigate knowledge, ethics, metaphysics, the problem of evil, and the intriguing relationship of God and the soul. They also take up the ancient philosophical project of identifying the principles and practices that heal human desires in order to attain happiness, renewing this philosophical endeavor with insights from Christian theology. Augustine's later books, such as the Confessions, would continue this project of healing desire, as would the writings of others including Boethius, Anselm, and Aquinas. Mark Boone's The Conversion and Therapy of Desire investigates the roots of this project at Cassiciacum, where Augustine is developing a Christian theology of desire, informed by Neoplatonism but transformed by Christian teaching and practices.

About the Book "Originally published in a different form as 'Gun baby gun' in Great Britain in 2015 by Canongate Books, Ltd"--Title page verso. Book Synopsis In this compelling and revelatory book, an investigative journalist explores the lifecycle of the gun--following those who make firearms, sell them, use them, and die by them--with a special emphasis on the United States, to make sense of our complex relationship with these weapons.We live in the Age of the Gun. Around the globe, firearms are ubiquitous and define countless lives; in some places, it's even easier to get a gun than a glass of clean water. In others, it's legal to carry concealed firearms into bars and schools. In The Way of the Gun, Iain Overton embarks on a remarkable journey to understand how these weapons have become an integral part of twenty-first century life, beyond the economics of supply and demand.Overton travels through more than twenty-five countries around the world and meets with ER doctors dealing with gun trauma, SWAT team leaders, gang members, and weapons smugglers. From visiting the most dangerous city in the world outside a war zone to the largest gun show on earth, his journey crosses paths with safari hunters and gun-makers, paralyzed victims and smooth-talking lobbyists. Weaving together their stories, Overton offers a portrait of distinct yet deeply connected cultures affected by the gun and from them draws out powerful insights into our weaponized world. Ultimately, he unearths some hard truths about the terrible realities of war and gun crime, and what can be done to stop it.Eloquent and accessible, infused with compassion and humor, The Way of the Gun is a riveting expose about guns and human beings that offers an eye-opening portrait of our time. From the Back Cover In this gripping tour de force of investigative reporting, an award-winning journalist travels through America and beyond to understand the brutal reality--and consequences--of a world in which twelve billion bullets are produced every year for almost a billion guns.According to the United States Bureau of Justice, more than 4.5 million Americans became victims of gun crime between 2004 and 2013. With the highest global rate of gun ownership and gun imports and exports--not to mention the controversial Second Amendment--America is justifiably the focus of a growing gun debate. But the five hundred thousand people around the world killed by guns every year suggest that it is far from the only nation in the cultural, political, economic, and lethal grip of the gun. Over a hundred countries have their own firearm industries, and twenty nations recently saw children carrying guns into conflicts.The Way of the Gun is a shocking, eye-opening exposé of the global gun ecosystem and its long-reaching impact. Traveling to America, the Middle East, South America, Africa, and Asia, veteran journalist Iain Overton meets murderers and law enforcement marksmen, gun fetishists and weapons smugglers, gun manufacturers and grieving relatives of victims. He unearths the sobering scale of the international gun economy, explaining the relationships between its legal and illegal players, and powerfully portrays its effects on health care, religion, law enforcement, politics, and, most of all, individuals. Driven by firsthand research and objective reporting, The Way of the Gun is not a polemic. Overton, who works for the international nonprofit Action on Armed Violence but also hunts and once ran a gun club, eschews heated rhetoric for a compelling factual narrative that puts America's unique relationship with guns into an international context--providing a sobering perspective on the arguments dividing our nation and, increasingly, the world.Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Dagger Award for NonfictionPraise For The Way Of The Gun"Every page is packed with emotional power and startling statistics. . . . A passionate mix of rhetoric and travelogue, Overton's book takes the gun debate into impressive new territory."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Adventurous, ambitiously tracing the often devastating impact of guns around the world. . . . Punctuated with thoughtful discussions on issues from the Second Amendment to the US Constitution to women's attitudes toward guns . . . contains moments of great poignancy."--Financial Times"Riveting . . . poignant. . . . This book is more than just facts, it's insight and revelation on a very human level."--Independent"Shocking. . . . Overton has supped full of horrors and is not reticent about sharing them."--Newsweek"Gripping reportage that's as disturbing as it is enlightening . . . without--crucially--lapsing into an antigun diatribe."--GQ Magazine Review Quotes "Remarkably balanced...reportage.... A portrait of the deforming power of firearms in our lives builds steadily throughout the narrative." -- The New Republic"Smart.... Overton, a former TV and print journalist who now works for a London antiviolence organization, reports from more than 20 countries. Some of his stops yield unforgettable details." -- San Francisco Chronicle"Engrossing, multifaceted..... Overton's insightful commentary includes the observation that imposing new gun control laws without an accompanying shift in attitudes isn't going to be effective. This illuminating narrative about the life cycle of the gun is comprehensive, revealing, and timely." -- Publishers Weekly"Investigates the world of firearms through gripping reportage that's as disturbing as it is enlightening." -- GQ Magazine"Every page is packed with emotional power and startling statistics....Overton's book takes the gun debate into impressive new territory." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"With ongoing and escalating discourse on Second Amendment rights and groundbreaking gun control legislation capturing national attention, Overton's comprehensive study of an increasingly weaponized world provides timely and vital reading." -- Booklist (starred review)"Intriguing....This important book on the place of firearms in the modern era will attract readers interested in contemporary world affairs, U.S. gun rights and gun culture and their influence on other countries as well as the weapons industry." -- Library Journal"Riveting . . . this book is more than just facts, it's insight and revelation on a very human level." -- The Independent on Sunday"A shocking book about the terrible realities of war and weapons." -- Sunday Mail"Overton's journalistic training gives him a discerning eye for detail. Even readers well-versed in the basics of the gun debate are likely to pick statistics and facts that are new to them....Vividly describe[d]." -- BookForum"A shocking investigation into our fatal love affair with the firearm." -- Newsweek"Overton has checked his facts and his statistics thoroughly. . . . As a result his book is chilling . . . Relentlessly engrossing." -- The Spectator

From the author of Red Star Sister \"An excellent biography. Brody has made the world a better place by telling [Mitford's] saga so skillfully\" (San Francisco Chronicle). Admirers and detractors use the same words to describe Jessica Mitford: subversive, mischief-maker, muckraker. J.K. Rowling calls her her \"most influential writer.\" Those who knew her best simply called her Decca. Born into one of Britain's most famous aristocratic families, she eloped with Winston Churchill's nephew as a teenager. Their marriage severed ties with her privilege, a rupture exacerbated by the life she lead for seventy-eight years. After arriving in the United States in 1939, Decca became one of the New Deal's most notorious bureaucrats. For her the personal was political, especially as a civil rights activist and journalist. She coined the term frenemies, and as a member of the American Communist Party, she made several, though not among the Cold War witch hunters. When she left the Communist Party in 1958 after fifteen years, she promised to be subversive whenever the opportunity arose. True to her word, late in life she hit her stride as a writer, publishing nine books before her death in 1996. Yoked to every important event for nearly all of the twentieth century, Decca not only was defined by the history she witnessed, but by bearing witness, helped to define that history. \"Brisk, engaging.\" --Wall Street Journal \"A valuable retelling of a provocative life.\" --Kirkus Reviews

A small-town Texas cop who is haunted by his past.A reporter who risks everything, even her life.A kidnapping that crosses into an unearthly realm.Focused on the abduction of four-year-old Mandy Norton, Chad Bishop, Meridian's Police Chief, ignores the twinges of foreboding triggered by an eerie fog that shrouds his town. What he can't ignore is the editor of the Tribune.When Ashley Logan becomes embroiled in the search, nothing stops the hard-hitting, investigative reporter, including Chad's threats to throw her in jail. She's Mandy's aunt.As the mystery of Mandy's disappearance deepens, unnerving details emerge. Chad refuses to believe they're connected to his past until the case turns deadly. He's forced to face the terror that haunts him. It's waiting in the shadowy depths of the unearthly fog.This time, it could cost him more than his sanity.

About the Book R.C. Sproul takes a look at the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. "The Holiness of God" is a profound, moving investigation of the character of God which defines all we are and do as Christians. Book Synopsis Over 250,000 sold!The bestselling Christian classic on who God is.Central to God's character is the quality of holiness. Yet most people struggle to define what God's holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people don't quite know what to do with words like "awe" or "fear." R. C. Sproul, in this classic theological work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. Drawing from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, he paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christians to become holy just as God is holy. With depth and eloquence, this timely book addresses: What Sproul calls the "trauma of holiness"How we reconcile God's justice with his loveHow to know if we are moving forward in our pursuit of righteousnessOnce you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same. From the Back Cover Are you intrigued by God's holiness, or are you terrified? Encountering God's holy presence, R. C. Sproul argues, is a terrifying experience and the only way to cure our propensity to trust in ourselves and our own righteousness for salvation. In The Holiness of God, one of the classic theological works of our time, you will gain a better understanding of how having a biblical picture of God's holiness is foundational to God-honoring theology and Christian living.

The Los Angeles Times said it best: \"Puzo [was] a man who . . . remained in the shadows throughout his long career as a novelist and screenwriter, only rarely speaking to the press.\" That may not seem like such an oddity until one is reminded that during the mid-1970s The Godfather sold more copies per year than any other book except the Bible...Puzo was also a writer who struggled for decades before any success occurred; and only after age 50 was he an author whose success was so prodigious that it affected, tainted, defined, and pigeonholed the artist who, out of economic desperation and romantic imagination (plus will power and the ability to follow through), created the single most recognizable of American protagonists.In the life of Puzo, all roads led to The Godfather. No other writer of his generation created such an internationally embraced, mythic, beloved tale. . . . Although Mario Puzo had received major critical praise for his first two novels (1955's The Dark Arena and 1965's The Fortunate Pilgrim), sales were all but flat. Then: Badly indebted, with five children, pushing 50 and plagued by stress, he vowed to write a best-seller.His third novel was The Godfather. \"Backed up by hard facts and filled with behind-the-scenes stories, M. J. Moore's book is a definititive guide for all fans of Mario Puzo who want to know more about his life, work, and personal achievements.\" --Carol Gino, author of The Nurse's Story, Rusty's Story, and Me & Mario \"Puzo's fans will appreciate this warm portrait.\" --Kirkus Reviews \"Moore begins by recounting Puzo's Hell's Kitchen upbringing, his Army service as a clerk during and after WWII, his persistent money troubles ... and his investigation by the FBI for selling draft deferments. Moore is at his best when using these details ...\" --Publishers Weekly

When viewers think of film noir, they often picture actors like Humphrey Bogart playing characters like Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, the film based on the book by Dashiell Hammett. Yet film noir is a genre much richer. The authors first examine the debate surrounding the parameters of the genre and the many different ways it is defined. They discuss the Noir City, its setting and backdrop, and also the cultural (WWII) and institutional (the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, and the Production Code Administration) influences on the subgenres. An analysis of the low budget and series film noirs provides information on those cult classics. With over 200 entries on films, directors, and actors, the Encyclopedia of Film Noir is the most complete resource for film fans, students, and scholars.

For decades Germany and France have been forming the core of the European Union. They generate about 40 per cent of total economic output in the Euro Zone. Nowhere else, there does exist such an intense relationship between neighbouring economies like between these two countries. Those links go far beyond external trade relations and are targeted towards mutual business cooperation. In the light of globalisation, a rising number of competitors, increasing customer demands and short product life cycles, cross-national commerce are of great importance for German Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) - particularly in the B2B sector. Sales is often tagged as an enterprise's figurehead. It is responsible for determining whether a manufacturer effectively conveys its capabilities to the B2B customer. To date, there exists no single reference book covering all four topics of this paper's headline: B2B, SMEs, sales and Franco-German business relationships. The ongoing literature is mainly focussed on large firms. The subject of international sales has hardly been investigated, yet. Apart from the sales excellence approach, there are few selling models for corporate practice. The lack of sales expertise both in theory and practise is thus not the ideal prerequisite for succeeding on a cross-border scale. This study addresses sales challenges of German SMEs with its trading partner France in the B2B sector. It should be stressed that the focus is on SMEs from Germany only. The company size of French business partners does not play a role in this context. The acquisition-related part of sales (selling) is highlighted while the physical component (distribution) is secondary within the framework of this assignment. In consequence, the central question is to figure out what kind of challenges German SMEs must face when exerting B2B sales activities in France. A related sub-issue is defined as follows: \"Which type of challenge has the greatest impact on cross-border sales

About the Book "Chief Detective Inspector Jane Tennison has moved up the ranks, fighting every step of the way to break through the station house's glass ceiling. Now, on her first day as the head of the Vice Squad, a case comes in that threatens to destroy everything she has worked for. As Vera Reynolds, drag queen and night club star, swayed onstage singing 'Falling in Love Again, ' a sixteen-year-old rent boy lay in the older man's apartment, engulfed in flames. When Tennison's investigation reveals an influential public figure as her prime suspect, a man with connections to politicians, judges, and Scotland Yard, she's given a very clear message about the direction some very important people would like her investigation to take. Suddenly, in a case defined by murky details, one fact becomes indisputably clear--that for Tennison, going after the truth will mean risking her happiness, her career, and even her life."--P. [4] of cover. Book Synopsis In Prime Suspect 3, internationally bestselling author Lynda La Plante's no-nonsense detective, Jane Tennison, takes on the most insidious nemesis she's ever faced--her own mounting obsessions. Determined to bring justice to the murder of a teenaged male prostitute, but thwarted by conspiracy, corruption, and chauvinism at every level of her own police force, Jane is starting to crack. And though she's finally broken through the glass ceiling of her old station house and been promoted to the Soho Vice Squad, her furious quest for the truth will put everything she's accomplished back on the line. Readers of Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan thrillers, La Plante's Anna Travis mysteries, and television series like Bones, The Closer, and Law and Order: SVU will not want to miss the final, memorable chapter in the hard-boiled female detective series that started them all--Prime Suspect 3: Silent Victims. From the Back Cover Chief Detective Inspector Jane Tennison has moved up the ranks, fighting every step of the way to break through the station house's glass ceiling. Now, on her first day as the head of the Vice Squad, a case comes in that threatens to destroy everything she has worked for.As Vera Reynolds, drag queen and night club star, swayed onstage singing "Falling in Love Again," a sixteen-year-old rent boy lay in the older man's apartment, engulfed in flames. When Tennison's investigation reveals an influential public figure as her prime suspect, a man with connections to politicians, judges, and Scotland Yard, she's given a very clear message about the direction some very important people would like her investigation to take. Suddenly, in a case defined by murky details, one fact becomes indisputably clear--that for Tennison, going after the truth will mean risking her happiness, her career, and even her life.

Location, scheduling and design problems are assignment type problems with quadratic cost functions and occur in many contexts stretching from spatial economics via plant and office layout planning to VLSI design and similar prob- lems in high-technology production settings. The presence of nonlinear inter- action terms in the objective function makes these, otherwise simple, problems NP hard. In the first two chapters of this monograph we provide a survey of models of this type and give a common framework for them as Boolean quadratic problems with special ordered sets (BQPSs). Special ordered sets associated with these BQPSs are of equal cardinality and either are disjoint as in clique partitioning problems, graph partitioning problems, class-room scheduling problems, operations-scheduling problems, multi-processor assign- ment problems and VLSI circuit layout design problems or have intersections with well defined joins as in asymmetric and symmetric Koopmans-Beckmann problems and quadratic assignment problems. Applications of these problems abound in diverse disciplines, such as anthropology, archeology, architecture, chemistry, computer science, economics, electronics, ergonomics, marketing, operations management, political science, statistical physics, zoology, etc. We then give a survey of the traditional solution approaches to BQPSs. It is an unfortunate fact that even after years of investigation into these problems, the state of algorithmic development is nowhere close to solving large-scale real- life problems exactly. In the main part of this book we follow the polyhedral approach to combinatorial problem solving because of the dramatic algorith- mic successes of researchers who have pursued this approach.

If you suspect you may have Native American roots based on family stories, here are five tips that may help you prove your claim.

An in-depth look at the latest breakthroughs in our understanding of the material record that deep time leaves behind.Understanding the complex interplay of physical and chemical processes leading to fossilization is crucial to elucidating the 3800 million years of life on earth. And yet, the process of fossilization also leads to the loss of pivotal biological information, placing constraints on the very same understanding of ancient life it preserves. Over the last decade, however, remarkable advances in approaches, techniques, tools, and instrumentation have helped scientists to transcend these constraints by enabling high-resolution analysis of fossil material--even down to the nanoscale. Fossilization provides a critical look at these cutting-edge innovations in the science of fossil preservation and provides a road map for future research. Drawing from the fields of paleontology, organic and inorganic chemistry, microbiology, and high-resolution imaging and analysis, and spanning the diversity of life from plants to vertebrates and invertebrates, this resource details expert findings on- fossilization of hard and soft part tissues in dinosaurs - high-resolution chemical analysis of organic and inorganic tissues - arthropods preserved in amber - experimental silicification of wood - chemical defenses and color in fossil plants - confocal Raman spectroscopy - microprobe analysis - radioisotopic studies - and much moreA true interdisciplinary undertaking, the book is authored by paleontologists, mineralogists, geochemists, organic chemists, microbiologists, and materials scientists who have worked together to investigate questions around substance fossilization and the limits of the fossil record. A special color section contains SEM, Raman, and other striking images of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Fossilization is a trailblazing reference book for research scientists and specialists in related fields, as well as for advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in fossilization, emerging research techniques, and fresh approaches in the analysis of plant and animal fossils.Contributors: H. Jonas Barthel, Aurore Canoville, Carole T. Gee, Thorsten Geisler, Jens Götze, Conrad C. Labandeira, Sashima Läbe, Moritz Liesegang, Victoria E. McCoy, Martina Menneken, Jes Rust, P. Martin Sander, Frank Tomaschek, Torsten Wappler, Kayleigh Wiersma, Tzu-Ruei Yang

R.C. Sproul takes a look at the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. \"The Holiness of God\" is a profound, moving investigation of the character of God which defines all we are and do as Christians.\nCentral to God's character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God's holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don't quite know what to do with words like \"awe\" or \"fear.\" R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.