No one else in modern politics has anywhere near the power and influence of George Soros, both domestically and internationally. Backed by the tens of billions of dollars he’s accumulated throughout his career, Soros has his hand in influencing the media, activist groups, colleges, presidential elections, global elections, local U.S. politics, and much more. Soros has earned himself a reputation as a “boogeyman” character on the right, and nowhere else will you read such an extensive documentation of his influence as in this book.
So youve just come up with a new ad campaign. Love the spots! Too bad no one will ever see themeven worsetoo bad no one cares! Why is it that so much of that stuff we immediately recognize as advertising is so bad? Its not just badwellit sucks. The reason: even though its 2010, most ad agencies and the practitioners who run them are still doing things the same way as Don Draper and the guys from Sterling Cooper on Mad Men, the hit AMC series that depicts Madison Avenue in the 60s. The problem today? Gone are the chain-smoking, bourbon-slugging, secretary-assaulting ad men of the 60s. Newspapers and radio are dying. Commercial TV is losing its audience to subscription-based content. Todays consumer of advertising content is mobile, prepared to DVR through commercials, and watch content on their terms online, on a hand-held device, or a Smartphone. In Pay No Attention to that Man behind the Curtain, Patrick Griffin and Kevin Flynn dissect mass media advertising at an historic crossroads and explain what no longer works. Through real-world examples and biting humor, they show how to market in ways that are both creative and smart.
While the storm rages over California’s notorious anti-illegal alien Proposition 187, a young woman climbs to the top of the famous Hollywood Sign—and jumps to her death. An undocumented day laborer is murdered. And a disbarred and desperate lawyer in Venice Beach places an ad in a local paper that says: “Will Do Anything For Money.” Private investigator Duke Rogers, infamous for solving the case of murdered starlet Teddie Matson, feels he must do “penance” for his inadvertent part in her death. To that end, he takes on the case of Carlos, the murdered day-laborer, as a favor to his sister Marisol, the housekeeper down the street from Duke’s house. Duke must figure out what ties together Carlos’ murder, the ex-lawyer’s desperate ad and the woman jumping from the sign? And who is the mysterious “coyote”? Amid the controversial political storm surrounding California’s Proposition 187, Duke and his very unPC sidekick Jack are on the case. They slingshot from the Hollywood Sign to Venice Beach. From East Hollywood to the “suicide bridge” in Pasadena, and from Smuggler’s Gulch near the Mexican border back to L.A. again. Their mission catapults them through a labyrinth of murder, intrigue and corruption of church and state that hovers around the immigration debate in this searing sequel to the explosive Shamus Award-winning novel White Heat. Praise for BROKEN WINDOWS: “Fans of downbeat PI fiction will be satisfied…with Shamus Award winner Marks’s solid sequel to 2012’s White Heat.” —Publishers Weekly “Paul D. Marks’ Broken Windows is extraordinary. While the plot is both fascinating and timely, the real beauty of Broken Windows lies in his gorgeous authorial voice.” —Betty Webb, Mystery Scene “Marks expertly drops readers (returning and new) into Duke’s world—1994 Los Angeles—from the start, and the prologue is a doozy. In it, a young woman climbs to the top of the Hollywood sign and jumps off. The scene isn’t exploitative, but it is realistic and heart-wrenching in its realism. Although it’s set in 1994, it’s eerie how timely this story is. There’s an undeniable feeling of unease that threads through the narrative, which virtually oozes with the grit, glitz, and attitude of L.A. in the ’90s. I’m an ecstatic new fan of Duke’s.” —Kristin Centorcelli, Criminal Element “This electrifying novel will jolt your sensibilities, stir your conscience and give every reader plenty of ammunition for the next mixed group where the I-word is spoken!” —John Dwaine McKenna, The Mysterious Book Report “[T]his entertaining tale, has the sly humour of a modern-day Philip Marlowe and a similar penchant for attracting trouble. Marks writes with an easy style that carries you through the story and creates engaging characters to spike your interest.” —Vicki Weisfeld, Crime Fiction Lover
Pro-Wrestling's secrets and greatest moments are immortalized in this graphic novel from legendary wrestling personality Jim Cornette. A true-story style anthology, these insider tales will show the lengths that wrestlers went to uphold "kayfabe" (the old carny term for the presentation of legitimate conflict), as well as the noteworthy cultural, racial, and economic effects these events and characters had on society. This is the graphic novel that old school wrestling fans have been waiting their entire lives for: a no-holds-barred representation of the moments that wrestling insiders couldn't talk about for years.
"My all-time favorite. Astonishing." (Stephen King) Down the Rabbit Hole is the first book in the Echo Falls mystery series by bestselling crime novelist Peter Abrahams. Perfect for middle school readers looking for a good mystery. Welcome to Echo Falls, home of a thousand secrets. In Down the Rabbit Hole, eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. And getting them back will mean getting tangled up in a murder investigation as complicated as the mysteries solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes. With soccer practice, schoolwork, and the lead role in her town's production of Alice in Wonderland, Ingrid is swamped. But as things in Echo Falls keep getting curiouser and curiouser, Ingrid realizes she must solve the murder on her own—before it's too late. "Deft use of literary allusions and ironic humor add further touches of class to a topnotch mystery," said School Library Journal. "Intriguing twists." Publishers Weekly agreed: "The fresh dialogue and believable small-town setting will tempt fans to visit Echo Falls again." The next book in this Edgar Award-nominated series in Behind the Curtain, followed by Into the Dark.
Eclectic and impassioned, a collection that affirms the power of the written word.' – Observer The Boy Behind the Curtain is a portrait of a life, a place and a man. In this deeply personal collection of true stories and essays Tim Winton shows how moments from his childhood and life growing up have shaped his views on class, faith, fundamentalism, the environment, and – most pressingly – how all his experiences have made him a writer. From unexpected links between car crashes and faith, surfing and writing, to the story of his upbringing in the changing Australian landscape, The Boy Behind the Curtain is an impassioned, funny, joyous, astonishing collection of memories, and Winton's most personal book to date.
Since it was first introduced over a hundred years ago in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum's world of Oz has become one of the most enduring and beloved creations in children's literature. It has influenced numerous prominent writers and intellectuals, and become a lasting part of the culture itself. L. Frank Baum was born in 1856 in upstate New York, the seventh child of a very successful barrel-maker and later oil producer. However, Baum's own career path was a rocky one. Beginning as an actor, Baum tried working as a traveling salesman, the editor of a small town newspaper and the publisher of a trade journal on retailing, failing to distinguish himself in any occupation. His careers either failed to provide a sufficient living for his beloved wife Maud and their children or were so exhausting as to be debilitating. In the 1890's, L. Frank Baum took the advice of his mother-in-law, suffragist leader Matilda Gage, and turned his attention to trying to sell the stories he'd been telling to his sons and their friends. After a few children's books published with varying success, he published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 and it quickly became a bestseller and has remained so ever since. In this first full-length adult biography of Baum, Rogers discusses some of the aspects that made his work unique and has likely contributed to Oz's long-lasting appeal, including Baum's early support of feminism and how it was reflected in his characters, his interest in Theosophy and how it took form in his books, and the celebration in his stories of traditional American values. Grounding his imaginative creations, particularly in his fourteen Oz books, in the reality of his day, Katharine M. Rogers explores the fascinating life and influences of America's greatest writer for children.
David Bowie : Behind The Curtain is a rare, exclusive, intimate, and very candid look at David Bowie during the rise of the Thin White Duke, his Station to Station tour, and numerous larger-than-life stories along the way. In 1975, rock 'n roll photographer Andrew Kent landed the gig of a lifetime. He had been entrusted by Bowie to document, with unfettered access, anything and everything Bowie and his entourage encountered for the next two years. Backstage, on stage, private parties, birthday parties, limos, quiet hotel moments, dressing rooms, Berlin, Paris, New York, London, Helsinki, Moscow. Also along during the Station to Station tour was an 18 year old Rolling Stone reporter researching a cover story on Bowie named Cameron Crowe. In 1976 Bowie took Iggy Pop, his manager Pat Gibbons, his personal secretary Coco, and Kent on an impromptu excursion by train to the Soviet Union. A mistake on the schedule at the train station caused the group to miss their return train to Helsinki leading the press to run frenzied headlines reading, "David Bowie Missing in Soviet Union!". With his unprecedented access, Kent created a one-of-a-kind travelogue, capturing the unique and spectacular life of one of the most iconic musicians in rock 'n roll history.
Behind The Curtain: Volume 2 Please note, this is Volume 2 December 1968 saw a landmark court case in the appropriately named township of Credit River, Minnesota, USA. First National Bank of Montgomery vs. Daly was an epic courtroom drama and although unsurprisingly, not widely reported either at the time or subsequently, is actually extremely significant. Jerome Daly a lawyer by profession, defended himself against the bank's attempted foreclosure on his $14,000 mortgage on the grounds that there was no 'consideration' for the loan. 'Consideration' in legalese, refers to 'the item exchanged' and is an essential element of any legal contract. Daly contended that the bank offered 'no consideration' for his loan on the grounds that they had 'created the money out of thin air' by bookkeeping entry and had therefore not suffered a loss (another relevant point of law) by his refusal or inability to pay back the money. The proceedings were recorded by Justice William Drexler, who had given no credence whatsoever to the defence, until Mr. Morgan, the bank's president, took to the witness stand. To Drexler's and indeed everyone else present's great surprise, Morgan casually admitted under questioning from Daly's lawyer, that the bank routinely 'created money out of thin air' for all its loans and mortgages and that this indeed was standard practice in all banks. Presiding Justice, Martin Mahoney declared that, "It sounds exactly like fraud to me," accompanied by nods and murmurs of assent from all around the courtroom. In his summation of the case, Justice Mahoney reported that... "Plaintiff (the bank) admitted that it, in combination with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, did create the entire $14,000.00 in money and credit upon its own books by bookkeeping entry. That this was the consideration used to support the Note dated May 8, 1964 and the Mortgage of the same date. The money and credit first came into existence when they created it. Morgan admitted that no United States Law or Statute existed which gave him the right to do this. A lawful 'consideration' must exist and be tendered to support the Note." So, the court duly rejected the bank's claim for foreclosure and the defendant kept his house. The implications of this case therefore, should have been far-reaching. If bankers are indeed extending credit without consideration (which they most definitely are) i.e. without backing their loans with real money they actually have stored in their vaults and were entitled to lend, any judicial decision declaring their loans void, would topple the entire worldwide financial and banking system. Since this precedent, many other defendants have attempted to have mortgages and loans nullified using the same defence as Daly, but there has been extremely limited success only. In fact, one judge said, strictly 'off the record, ' "If I let you do that, you and everyone else, it would bring the whole banking system down. I cannot let you go behind the bar of the bank. . . . We are not going "behind that curtain!"" Well suffice to say, we certainly are going on a highly revealing trip ' "behind the curtain!," ' so strap-in and be prepared for the ride of your life, as we investigate the sordid and murky history of the world of banking and high finance and the people who run it... with an iron fist encased in a velvet glove. This book is an indictment, not just of the totally corrupt financial system that today permeates the whole world, but also of the people that control it. Their crimes against humanity are legion and so far-reaching that their insidious influence now extends into and corrupts virtually every element of society and it is these so-called 'banksters' - banker-gangsters, who are responsible for all the death, destruction and misery in the world today.
