THE BESTSELLING SUPERHERO SERIES RETURNS IN THIS FOURTH FANTASTIC ADVENTURE! Aurora Beam is reeling after the bombshell revelation of the secret supervillain's identity... but is there someone else even *more* powerful pulling the strings? Light is fading across the globe, with whole countries being plunged into darkness and chaos. Aurora and the Bright Sparks must be brave and believe in themselves to save the day! Laughs on every page and fantastically funny art throughout.
Will the U.S. go to war with China over Taiwan or oil? Yes-bestselling authors Ed Timperlake and Jed Babbin say Chinese aggression is virtually inevitable and in their new book, "Showdown", they address the threat of mainland China and Bush's promise to defend Taiwan - at any cost. "Showdown" offers indispensable strategies and tactics for the U.S. to respond to the Chinese military threat in this ongoing battle for democracy and freedom.
10-year-old Aurora Beam discovers that she's the latest in a long line of girl super heroes in her family - able to shoot beams of light from her fingers! She can't even do a cartwheel properly - HOW CAN SHE BE A SUPERHERO? Will she be able to balance her new skills training with school? Will she be able to keep it all a secret from her friends?
This is the inside story of the US–China trade war, how relations between these superpowers unraveled, darkening prospects for global peace and prosperity, as told by two Wall Street Journal reporters, one based in Washington, D.C., the other in Beijing, who have had more access to the decision makers in the White House and in China’s Zhongnanhai leadership compound than anyone else. The trade battle between China and the U.S. didn’t start with Trump and won’t end with him, argue Bob Davis and Lingling Wei. The two countries have a long and fraught political and economic history which has become more contentious over the past three years—an escalation that has negatively impacted both countries' economies and the world at large—and holds the potential for even more uncertainty and disruption. How did this stand-off happen? How much are U.S. presidents and officials who haven't effectively confronted or negotiated with China to blame? What role have Chinese leaders, and U.S. business leaders who for decades acted as Beijing’s lobbyists in Washington, played in driving tensions between the two countries? Superpower Showdown is the story of a romance gone bad. Uniquely positioned to tell the story, Davis and Wei have conducted hundreds of interviews with government and business officials in both nations over the seven years they have worked together writing for the Wall Street Journal. Analyzing U.S.–China relations, they explain how we have reached this tipping point, and look at where we could be headed. Vivid and provocative, Superpower Showdown will help readers understand the context of the trade war and prepare them for what may come next.
China is hot. The world sees a glorious future for this sleeping giant, three times larger than the United States, predicting it will blossom into the world's biggest economy by 2010. According to Chang, however, a Chinese-American lawyer and China specialist, the People's Republic is a paper dragon. Peer beneath the veneer of modernization since Mao's death, and the symptoms of decay are everywhere: Deflation grips the economy, state-owned enterprises are failing, banks are hopelessly insolvent, foreign investment continues to decline, and Communist party corruption eats away at the fabric of society. Beijing's cautious reforms have left the country stuck midway between communism and capitalism, Chang writes. With its impending World Trade Organization membership, for the first time China will be forced to open itself to foreign competition, which will shake the country to its foundations. Economic failure will be followed by government collapse. Covering subjects from party politics to the Falun Gong to the government's insupportable position on Taiwan, Chang presents a thorough and very chilling overview of China's present and not-so-distant future.
Naomi is the biggest pop star on the planet and should be on top of the world... but she's tired of constant touring and missing her school friends and mum. Ruby is Naomi's biggest fan. She knows the words to every song and dreams of being Naomi's BFF. When the girls have an unexpected encounter and swap bodies, Ruby is thrust into the limelight.
Aurora Beam is finding this saving-the-world lark isn't all its cracked up to be. World-famous overnight after she foiled the Blackout Burglar's plot to steal a precious stone, she's living in the full glare of the media's flash bulbs: everyone wants a piece of the coolest new superhero in town. When she attends a global gathering of superheroes, will she find support from new friends who know exactly what she's going through? Or will there be rivalries and sabotage to deal with? And what on earth is Grandma Beam - who Aurora thought was running a home for retired alpacas deep in the countryside - doing turning up at this top-secret summit?
New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents a follow up to his award-winning book Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, taking readers on a terrifying journey into the Cold War and our mutual assured destruction. As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance, spy planes fly above, armed submarines swim deep below, and undercover agents meet in the dead of night. The Cold War game grows more precarious as weapons are pointed towards each other, with fingers literally on the trigger. The decades-long showdown culminates in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world's close call with the third—and final—world war. A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book of 2021 A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2021 A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year Praise for BOMB: A Newbery Honor book A National Book Awards finalist for Young People's Literature A Washington Post Best Kids Books of the Year title “This is edge-of-the seat material that will resonate with YAs who clamor for true spy stories, and it will undoubtedly engross a cross-market audience of adults who dozed through the World War II unit in high school.” —BCCB, starred review “...reads like an international spy thriller, and that's the beauty of it.” —School Library Journal, starred review “[A] complicated thriller that intercuts action with the deftness of a Hollywood blockbuster.” —Booklist, , starred review “A must-read...” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world.” —Kirkus Also by Steve Sheinkin: The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About Westward Expansion King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America
The third laugh-out-loud, high-voltage adventure from superstar ALESHA DIXON in collaboration with Katy Birchall Aurora Beam is a SUPER ANNOYED SUPERHERO. She's desperate to help her mum and grandma track down the stolen precious stone that holds the key to her family's powers, but they're insisting she sit this one out. There's a DANGEROUS SUPERVILLAIN on the loose and not even Lightning Girl and the Bright Sparks may be a match for him or her. Worried that whoever has the stone will destroy it and flick the switch off on her powers for ever, Aurora refuses to hide at home and stay safe. What can she discover about master-of-disguise the Blackout Burglar? And about his boss, the secret supervillain with a deep-seated desire for revenge... Laughs on every page and fantastically funny art throughout.
The definitive story of the Ryder Cup—the event that pits the best golfers from America against the best from Europe—exploring the modern history of the tournament that led to the showdown at Whistling Straits in 2021. The task facing Steve Stricker at the 2021 Ryder Cup was enormous. It was his job, as the American captain, to stare down almost 40 years of Ryder Cup history, break a pattern of home losses that had persisted almost as long, and reverse the tide of European dominance in one of golf's most tense and emotional events. This was the epitome of a must-win, but it was also something more—in the entire 93-year history of the event, no American side had ever faced this kind of pressure. Starting on the morning of September 24, those 12 players competed not just for a Cup, or for pride, but to save the reputation of the U.S. team itself. The great mystery of the Ryder Cup is that America loses despite having superior individual talent. The European renaissance began in the 1980s, led by the brilliant Tony Jacklin and Seve Ballesteros, and since then, the U.S. has suffered a slew of embarrassing defeats abroad and at home. The signs in 2021 weren’t good: Tiger Woods was out after his horrific car crash, Patrick Reed (“Captain America,” to his supporters) was hospitalized with double pneumonia weeks before the event, and America had to rely on its rising stars—including Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, who spent most of the year immersed in an escalating feud—to prove their mettle. Meanwhile, the European team had a few major stars of its own, like Jon Rahm, the world no. 1 and the first Spanish player ever to win the U.S. Open, and Rory McIlroy, the four-time major winner. Throw in the complications of a global pandemic, and the stage was set for one of the strangest Ryder Cups ever. Following the drama in Wisconsin while deconstructing the rich history of the tournament, The Cup They Couldn't Lose tells the story of how the U.S. defeated Europe in record fashion, restored their status as golf’s global superpower, and transformed their entire way of thinking in order to truly understand the nature of the Ryder Cup. **The Sports Librarian’s Best of 2022 – Sports Books**
