Snake Island
Snake Island

Author: Ben Hobson

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1951627237

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For fans of Cormac McCarthy, Phillip Meyer, Fargo, and Justified, a gritty rural noir thriller about family, drugs, and the legacy of violence. In an isolated town on the coast of southern Australia, Vernon Moore and his wife, Penelope, live in retirement, haunted by an unspeakable act of violence that sent their son, Caleb, to serve time in prison and has driven the couple apart. Ashamed, they refuse to talk about him or visit, but when a close friend warns Vernon that Caleb has been savagely beaten, he has no choice but to act to protect their only child. The perpetrator of the beating is a local thug from a crime family whose patriarch holds sway over the town, with the police in his pay. Everyone knows they trade in drugs. When Vernon maneuvers to negotiate a deal with the father, he makes a critical error. His mistake unleashes a cycle of violence that escalates to engulf the whole town, taking lives with it, revealing what has been hiding in plain sight in this picturesque rural community and threatening to overtake his son. Told from shifting perspectives at a sprint, in language that sometimes approaches the simple profundity of parable, this gritty debut was hailed on its Australian publication as “a darkly illuminating thriller that soars across genre constraints . . . [and] engages with pressing contemporary issues while exploring timeless questions. Hobson writes as if his life depends on it” (The Australian).

Putin's War on Ukraine
Putin's War on Ukraine

Author: Samuel Ramani

Publisher: Hurst Publishers

Published: 2023-04-13

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1805260030

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Eight years after annexing Crimea, Russia embarked on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Vladimir Putin viewed this attack on a neighbour as a legacy-defining mission, which sought to restore a central element of Russia’s sphere of influence and undo Ukraine’s surprisingly resilient democratic experiment. These aspirations were swiftly eviscerated, as the conflict degenerated into a bloody war of attrition and the Russian economy crumbled under the weight of sanctions. This book argues that Putin’s desire to unite Russians around a common set of principles and consolidate his personal brand of authoritarianism prompted him to pursue a policy of global counter-revolution; it was this which inspired Russia’s military interventions in Crimea, Donbas and Syria, later steering Putin to war against Kyiv. Samuel Ramani explores why Putin opted for all-out regime change in Ukraine, rather than a smaller-scale intervention in Donbas, and considers the impact on his own regime’s legitimacy. This focus on the domestic drivers of invasion contrasts with alternative theories that highlight systemic factors, such as preventing NATO expansion. Ramani concludes by assessing the invasion’s implications for Russia’s long-term political and foreign policy trajectory, and how the international response to the conflict will reshape the global order.

Islands and Snakes
Islands and Snakes

Author: Harvey Lillywhite

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-07-01

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0190676426

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Islands and Snakes contains 13 chapters describing ecological systems with foci on snakes and their ecological roles on islands around the world. Each chapter is written by one or more authors who is an authority on that particular system. Summaries of research on the various islands are written in a narrative manner that includes science as well as personal insights in easily understood language. These varied vignettes of science feature islands around the world, and in all cases, fantastic species of snakes and their roles in the community of insular organisms in which they occur. Both challenges and opportunities associated with island life are discussed, as well as the unique attributes of snakes and their conservation as unique and important parts of nature. Chapters include colorful photographs and illustrations, and collectively they convey information on topics that include ecology, behavior, biogeography, physiology, adaptation, and evolutionary biology. An introductory chapter presents a review and perspective on the historical importance of island ecology and how snakes have contributed to our understanding of evolution and adaptation. The other chapters focus on snakes inhabiting islands associated with Asia, Australia, South America, North America, the Caribbean, and Europe. The final chapter features the unique "table top islands" or tepuis of South America as examples of ecological islands where elements of biota have become isolated by geographic features of landscape similarly to oceanic islands.

The Islands of Boston Harbor
The Islands of Boston Harbor

Author: Edward Rowe Snow

Publisher: Applewood Books

Published: 2008-03-31

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1933212853

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A reissue of Edward Rowe Snow's first book, covering the legends and history of nearly every rock and island in Boston Harbor, including Boston Light and Graves Light. The first (1935) edition resulted from research Snow did at Harvard under the tutelage of the great maritime historian Samuel Eliot Morison. When the 1971 edition of the book was published, a critic for the Boston Post wrote, "Mr. Snow has the gift of making his subject vivid and personal in its anecdotal touches . . . It is a volume of chatty yet dignified essays, with many a light touch brought in." This centennial edition contains the complete 1971 text, with annotations by Jeremy D'Entremont to bring the information up to date.

The Lightkeepers' Menagerie
The Lightkeepers' Menagerie

Author: Elinor De Wire

Publisher: Pineapple Press Inc

Published: 2007-03

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1561643912

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"The Lightkeepers' Menagerie gathers together animal stories from lighthouses all around the world, tales of happiness and sadness, courage and cowardice, tragedy and comedy, even absurdity."--Page [4] cover.

Fascinating Facts to Blow Your Curious Mind
Fascinating Facts to Blow Your Curious Mind

Author: MJC Matthew

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published: 2024-05-07

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1464224897

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A compendium of fantastical facts and essential knowledge for all ages, covering every subject on earth (and beyond), including geography, space, history, the ocean, animals, food, and the human body, from Tiktok star MJC Matthew. Did you know that the reason you can never find the end of a rainbow is because they are actually full circles? Or that our fingers shrivel up when they get wet because our bodies are adapting to give us a better grip in the water? If these pique your interest then ready yourself for a whole host of interesting tidbits touching on geography, space, history, and animals, as well as a special section on little-known survival knowledge that one day just might save your life! This fascinating and hilarious trivia guide will also cover answers to key questions such as: Are we all related? What is more dangerous: a koala or a crocodile? Did the pope cause the Black Death? Why was New York once known as New Orange? Should you use spiderwebs as a bandage? How much bamboo would it take to cover the Taj Mahal?

Travel Guide of Famous Islands, China
Travel Guide of Famous Islands, China

Author: Ni Hao

Publisher: DeepLogic

Published:

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13:

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This book is the volume of Famous Islands in China among a series of travel guides ("Travelling in China"). Its content is detailed and vivid.