Matched

by Ally Condie
Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2011-09-20
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1101558466
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Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow. Look for CROSSED, the sequel to MATCHED, in Fall 2011! Watch a Video

The Cockfight

by Alan Dundes
The Cockfight
Author: Alan Dundes
Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press
Total Pages: 303
Release: 1994-06-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0299140547
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Originating more than 2500 years ago, cockfighting is one of the oldest documented sports in the world. It has continued to flourish despite bans against it in many countries. In The Cockfight: A Casebook, folklorist Alan Dundes brings together a diverse array of writing on this male-dominated ritual. Vivid descriptions of cockfights from Puerto Rico, Tahiti, Ireland, Spain, Brazil, and the Philippines complement critical commentaries, from the fourth-century reflections of St. Augustine to contemporary anthropological and psychoanalytic interpretations. The various essays discuss the intricate rules of the cockfight, the ethical question of pitting two equally matched roosters in a fight to the death, the emotional involvement of cockfighters and fans, and the sexual implications of the sport. The result is an enlightening collection for anthropologists, folklorists, sociologists, and psychologists, as well as followers of this ancient blood sport.

The Hidden Hand

by Richard H. Immerman
The Hidden Hand
Author: Richard H. Immerman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2014-04-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1444351362
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THE HIDDEN HAND Since its inception in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency has played an outsized role in the political life of the United States, whether by formulating and implementing policy or by fueling popular culture and imagination. The Hidden Hand is an accessible and up-to-date history of the agency that succinctly takes the reader from its early days of intelligence gathering and analysis to its more recent involvement in the execution of foreign policy through covert operations, psychological warfare, and other programs. In manageable chapters and easy-to-digest prose, the author — a respected scholar who has researched intelligence for more than 30 years and also served as a high-ranking officer in the intelligence community — covers all aspects of the CIA from its mission to its performance to its record. He draws on the latest evidence and research to assess the agency’s successes and failures over the last half century, highlighting key operations of the past and present. Throughout, his assessment is balanced and thorough with an eye on the complex and controversial nature of the subject. This is a masterful account that demythologizes the CIA’s role in America’s global affairs while addressing its integral place within American political and popular culture.

Secretly Mated

by Lily Cahill
Secretly Mated
Author: Lily Cahill
Publisher: Nameless Shameless Women
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2016-04-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:
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A clandestine society hides the truth about wealthy men around the world. If their secret got out, the whole world would know that these alpha billionaires…are hidden bear shifters. Dr. Kamilah Hutchinson is an archeologist who just made an important find, and she’d rather be digging in the dirt than visiting Seattle for a meeting with the mysterious foundation that is funding her operation. If she has to be in the city, she’s going to take advantage of the chance to have a nice meal. When she meets a handsome stranger who makes her drool more than her steak, she figures she might as well take a bite out of him too. She expects that she’ll never see him again…until she walks into her meeting and finds him waiting for her. Most women recognize Caleb Ingram instantly. He’s a billionaire tech magnate and the media has followed him all over the world on his playboy adventures. Still, he’s managed to keep one secret from the world: his hidden identity as a bear shifter, and a member of the powerful Billionaire Bear Brotherhood. When he meets Kam Hutchinson, he’s intrigued by her voluptuous curves, but seduced by her sharp and clever mind. When he realizes that Kam’s research could hold the key to the origin of shifters, he knows he can’t risk the chance that she’ll expose the Brotherhood to the world. But if he ends her project, he’ll risk losing his fated mate. Around the world, there are powerful men living with a dangerous secret. They're architects, entrepreneurs, playboys at the pinnacle of society. If their secret was revealed, it'd all come crashing down. These men aren't just billionaires, they're also bear shifters. And they pledge their allegiance to the secretive Billionaire Bear Brotherhood. These sexy billionaire bears are too busy living large to look for love. But fate has other plans. Sparks fly when smart, curvy women meet the alpha shifters who are determined to win their mates. Each standalone book features a hot happily-ever-after where dreams come true. The Billionaire Bear Brotherhood series can be read in any order, so find your favorite!

Nemesis

by Chalmers Johnson
Nemesis
Author: Chalmers Johnson
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2007-02-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1429904682
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The long-awaited final volume of Chalmers Johnson's bestselling Blowback trilogy confronts the overreaching of the American empire and the threat it poses to the republic In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA's clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have jeopardized our stability. Now, in Nemesis, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically. Delving into new areas—from plans to militarize outer space to Constitution-breaking presidential activities at home and the devastating corruption of a toothless Congress—Nemesis offers a striking description of the trap into which the dreams of America's leaders have taken us. Drawing comparisons to empires past, Johnson explores in vivid detail just what the unintended consequences of our dependence on a permanent war economy are likely to be. What does it mean when a nation's main intelligence organization becomes the president's secret army? Or when the globe's sole "hyperpower," no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders, becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all times? In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that financial bankruptcy could herald the breakdown of constitutional government in America—a crisis that may ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.

British Fiction Today

by Rod Mengham
British Fiction Today
Author: Rod Mengham
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2006-11-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1441181059
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British Fiction Today provides students and readers with a critical introduction to key authors and novels since 1990 and provides the latest critical perspectives on current British fiction. It offers comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of a broad range of selected contemporary authors, drawing together both established and emerging literary voices reflecting the scope of the new British writing. The book is organised around common themes - Modern Lives, Contemporary Living; Dreamtime; States of Identity and Histories. Each section begins with a short introductory essay and ends with a guide to further reading. Introducing key works, writers and major themes including post-colonialism, pluralism, gender and history, this book is the ideal guide to British fiction today. Includes discussion of Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Jonathan Coe, Alan Hollinghurst, Peter Ackroyd, Jenny Diski, Ben Okri, Salman Rushdie, Toby Litt, Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith, Jeanetter Winterson, Pat Barker, A S Byatt, Adam Thorpe and Sarah Waters.

Zen Evangelist

by John R. McRae
Zen Evangelist
Author: John R. McRae
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2023-08-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0824896467
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Huineng (638–713), author and hero of the Platform Sutra, is often credited with founding the Southern school of Chan Buddhism and its radical doctrine of “sudden enlightenment.” However, manuscripts discovered at Dunhuang at the beginning of the twentieth century reveal that the real architect of the Southern school was Huineng’s student Shenhui (684–758). An ardent evangelist for his master’s teaching and a sharp critic of rival meditation teachers of his day, Shenhui was responsible for Huineng’s recognition as the “sixth patriarch,” for the promotion and eventual triumph of the sudden teaching, and for a somewhat combative style of Chan discourse that came to be known as “encounter dialogue.” Shenhui’s historical importance in the rise and success of Chan is beyond dispute, yet until now there has been no complete translation of his corpus into English. This volume brings together John McRae’s lifetime of work on the Shenhui corpus, including extensively annotated translations of all five of Shenhui’s texts discovered at Dunhuang as well as McRae’s seminal studies of Shenhui’s life, teachings, and legacy. McRae’s research explores the degree to which the received view of the Northern school teachings is a fiction created by Shenhui to score rhetorical points and that Northern and Southern teachings may have been closer to one another than the canonical narrative depicts. McRae explains Shenhui’s critical role in shaping what would later emerge as “classical Chan,” while remaining skeptical about the glowing image of Shenhui as an effective mentor and inspired revolutionary. This posthumously published book is the fulfillment of McRae’s wish to make Shenhui’s surviving writings accessible through carefully annotated English translations, allowing readers to form their own opinions.

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by Daya Kudari
Friendship@facebook.com
Author: Daya Kudari
Publisher: Pustak Mahal
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2010-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 8122311032
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What is life all about? Each one of us wants an answer to this eternal question. After completing their engineering, Ballu and his friends, Chetan and Aman, realise the difference between 'college life' and 'life'. Facebook, guitar and beer bind the friends reminding them of the good old days. Chetan and Aman are working in the same firm, where the latter is desperate to move to the next level in spite of the office politics. Cricket and chatting ruin Chetan's marriage, but he still seems mesmerised by his wife. Ballu's failing career in music is aggravated by his failure at the MTV Roadies auditions. Things change drastically when the friends get an unknown friend request on Facebook and a game starts. Everything goes as per the plan when one of the friends disappears...