A clear and concise introduction to contemporary Slovenia. It examines the country's rapid transition from a collection of provinces in the southern part of the Habsburg Empire, to a republic within Yugoslavia, to an independent state and analyzes the major political and economic developments since 1991. The perfect introduction to one of Europe's most fascinating nations.

The Attic is Danilo Kiš’s first novel. Written in 1960, published in 1962, and set in contemporary Belgrade, it explores the relationship of a young man, known only as Orpheus, to the art of writing; it also tracks his relationship with a colorful cast of characters with nicknames such as Eurydice, Mary Magdalene, Tam-Tam,and Billy Wise Ass. Rich with references to music, painting, philosophy, and gastronomy, this bohemian Bildungsroman is a laboratory of technique and st...

Written when he was only twenty-five, before embarking on the masterpieces that would make him an integral figure in twentieth-century letters, Psalm 44 shows Kiš at his most lyrical and unguarded, demonstrating that even in "the place of dragons . . . covered with the shadow of death," there can still be poetry. Featuring characters based on actual inmates and warders—including the abominable Dr. Mengele—Psalm 44 is a baring of many of the themes, patterns, and preoccupa...

Written between 1980 and 1986, the six stories that constitute The Lute and the Scars (as well as an untitled piece by the author, included here as "A and B") were transcribed from the manuscripts left by Danilo Kiš following his death in 1989. Like the title story, many of these texts are autobiographical. Others resurrect protagonists belonging to Kiš’s fellow Central European novelists, allowing readers to identify, perhaps, depending on the level of obfuscation, fantasy,and hi...

"This fascinating, massive, wide-ranging collection that editors Christopher K. Coffman and Daniel Lukes have gathered together into William T. Vollmann: A Critical Companion will soon be recognized as one of those rare critical books for which that egregiously overused term 'groundbreaking' is fully justified." —Larry McCaffery, from the preface of William T. Vollmann: A Critical CompanionThe essays in this collection make a case for regarding William T. Vollmann as the most ambit...

The 1950s were a golden age of science fiction, a decade when writers imagined alien worlds, strange technologies, and futures both thrilling and terrifying. In this collection of 22 classic short stories, you’ll encounter some of the era’s most creative minds, including five unforgettable tales by Philip K. Dick.Step into worlds where reality itself can’t be trusted. In The Hanging Stranger, an ordinary man discovers something impossible hanging from a lamppost—and no one...

Encounters From Beyond: Classic Tales of Alien Contact brings together nineteen unforgettable stories exploring one of science fiction’s greatest questions: What happens when humanity meets something truly alien? From mysterious visitors and hostile invaders to misunderstood travelers and astonishing first contact, these timeless adventures capture the excitement, danger, and wonder that made alien encounters a cornerstone of classic science fiction.This remarkable...

Building and maintaining an opening repertoire can be a demanding task -- for a start there are an enormous number of different lines to choose from. There's a strong temptation amongst beginners and improving players to opt solely for tricky lines in order to snare unsuspecting opponents, but this approach has only short-term value. As players improve and their opponents become stronger, very often these crafty lines don't stand up to close scrutiny, and suddenly they back to square one w...

In the late 1990s and early 2000s a wave of Ponzi schemes swept through Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. The most notorious scheme, U-Vistract, attracted many thousands of investors, enticing them with promises of 100 percent interest to be paid monthly. Its founder, Noah Musingku, was a charismatic leader who promoted the scheme as a form of Christian mission and as the basis for establishing an independent kingdom.Fast Money Schemes uses in-depth int...

The Strategic Positioning of Academic Libraries explores the influence exerted by trends in higher education and the wider world on the position of academic libraries, alongside an analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It provides an essential foundation for effective library strategy formulation and positioning in a highly dynamic and competitive environment.Examining a complex mix of global volatility, campus uncertainty, societal change and...

Coming of Age: 1939-1946 by John Cox: Experience the transformative years of World War II through the personal stories of individuals, capturing the challenges, resilience, and growth of a generation amidst global conflict.Key points:Immersive narrative offering a vivid portrayal of the human experience during World War II.Intimate accounts of individuals navigating the challenges of war, depicting their coming of age amidst adversity...

" Now that the Second World War is some 60 years past this would seem to be a good time to collate all the various chapters that I’ve written over the last few years and present them as an entity. No war can really be described as a ‘good’ war especially by the families of those who didn’t return or by those who returned maimed but in the sense that I went through it from the start until the finish and emerged unscratched I suppose that mine could be called a ‘good’ war. Though I spent jus...