"Tom Bielawski is a bright light in today's dark sea of new writers. His writing gives me hope for the next generation of dreamers. I highly recommend both him and his works." -NYT Bestselling author, Tracy Hickman. "Tom is a great new literary voice in a sea of indies." -Bestselling independent author, MR Mathias. When Heck Thomas is attacked while trying to use the Centaurus Device, he is suddenly forced to abandon his plan to find Laylara. Barely escaping with his life and ship intact, Heck must once again live the life of an outlaw to survive as he tries to save an ungrateful System from greater disaster.
The author, a pastor, examines the interpretation of Jesus Christ's life and the beginnings of Christianity in Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code," attempting to discern fact from fiction.
A dedicated FBI agent and a forensic scientist search for clues in an investigation involving the murder of the daughter of a prominent Tennessee politician.
The first book to draw on the official British papers containing deception secrets taht were classified until 1978. Tells the fascinating story of brilliant and sometimes ingenious ploys, and also reveals the many pathetic and sometimes laughable failures of deception strategy.
Invasive species are everywhere, from forests and prairies to mountaintops and river mouths. Their rampant nature and sheer numbers appear to overtake fragile native species and forever change the ecosystems that they depend on. Concerns that invasive species represent significant threats to global biodiversity and ecological integrity permeate conversations from schoolrooms to board rooms, and concerned citizens grapple with how to rapidly and efficiently manage their populations. These worries have culminated in an ongoing “war on invasive species,” where the arsenal is stocked with bulldozers, chainsaws, and herbicides put to the task of their immediate eradication. In Hawaii, mangrove trees (Avicennia spp.) are sprayed with glyphosate and left to decompose on the sandy shorelines where they grow, and in Washington, helicopters apply the herbicide Imazapyr to smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) growing in estuaries. The “war on invasive species” is in full swing, but given the scope of such potentially dangerous and ecologically degrading eradication practices, it is necessary to question the very nature of the battle. Beyond the War on Invasive Species offers a much-needed alternative perspective on invasive species and the best practices for their management based on a holistic, permaculture-inspired framework. Utilizing the latest research and thinking on the changing nature of ecological systems, Beyond the War on Invasive Species closely examines the factors that are largely missing from the common conceptions of invasive species, including how the colliding effects of climate change, habitat destruction, and changes in land use and management contribute to their proliferation. There is more to the story of invasive species than is commonly conceived, and Beyond the War on Invasive Species offers ways of understanding their presence and ecosystem effects in order to make more ecologically responsible choices in land restoration and biodiversity conservation that address the root of the invasion phenomenon. The choices we make on a daily basis—the ways we procure food, shelter, water, medicine, and transportation—are the major drivers of contemporary changes in ecosystem structure and function; therefore, deep and long-lasting ecological restoration outcomes will come not just from eliminating invasive species, but through conscientious redesign of these production systems.
In World War II, the Allies employed unprecedented methods and practiced the most successful military deception ever seen, meticulously feeding misinformation to Axis intelligence to lead Axis commanders into erroneous action. Thaddeus Holt's elegantly written and comprehensive book is the first to tell the full story behind these operations. Exactly how the Allies engaged in strategic deception has remained secret for decades. Now, with the help of newly declassified material, Holt reveals this secret to the world in a riveting work of historical scholarship. Once the Americans joined the war in 1941, they had much to learn from their British counterparts, who had been honing their deception skills for years. As the war progressed, the British took charge of misinformation efforts in the European theater, while the Americans focused on the Pacific. The Deceivers takes readers from the early British achievements in the Middle East and Europe at the beginning of the war to the massive Allied success of D-Day, American victory in the Pacific theater, and the war's culmination on the brink of an invasion of Japan. Colonel John Bevan, who managed British deception operations from London, described the three essentials to strategic deception as good plans, double agents, and codebreaking, and The Deceivers covers each of these aspects in minute detail. Holt brings to life the little-known men, British and American, who ran Allied deception, such as Bevan, Dudley Clarke, Peter Fleming, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Newman Smith. He tracks the development of deception techniques and tells the hitherto unknown story of double agent management and other deception through the American FBI and Joint Security Control. Full of fascinating sources and astounding revelations, The Deceivers is an indispensable volume and an unparalleled contribution to World War II literature.
When Katherine James and her husband found out their son was using heroin, they struggled to come to grips with this surprising reality. In this sensitive, vulnerable memoir, award-winning novelist James tells her family's story through her son's addiction, overdose, and slow recovery. Not simply a look at drug abuse in suburban America, this story is also a meditation on loving a wayward child and trusting in God's providence through it all.
An explosive thriller from the world's No.1 bestselling international writer. Nicholas Bryson spent years as a deep cover operative for the American secret intelligence group, The Directorate. After a disastrous mission, Bryson was retired to a new identity. Now, years later, his cover is cracked and Bryson learns that The Directorate was not what it claimed to be - and that he was, in fact, a pawn being used against his country's interests. The Directorate is headed for a dangerous endgame, and the CIA recruits Bryson to stop them. But after years on the sidelines, Bryson's field skills are rusty, his contacts unreliable, his instincts suspect and he no longer knows who - if anyone - can be trusted.
