A compact and practical guide to help you prepare a speech for any occasion and to run a meeting. Covers preparation and delivery, developing poise, dealing with nerves and acquiring self assurance. The author is an experienced public speaker and chairperson, a clergyman, former deputy speaker of the NZ Parliament and a former mayor of a major NZ City

Australia is a nation in transition. Marriage equality looms but homophobia still rules. Depression and suicide are commonplace as Dean Prentice and his lover, Danny, grow up together in country Victoria. When Dean moves to a nearby regional center to study veterinary science, he finds acceptance and love when reunited with Danny. Profound tragedy visits Dean's life and he grieves, moving on through a series of lovers both male and female and struggling to focus on his studies and his drea...

The Civil Wars of the seventeenth century had a devastating effect upon Wales and the Marches, stripping the country of its human resources and ruining whole communities. This book explores the years of conflict between 1642 and 1649, detailing the campaigns, sieges and battles which took place in every corner of the country, presenting information from a wide variety of sources to paint a wide-ranging picture of the nation at a significant turning point in its history.

This second edition continues to provide a comprehensive foundation for both the practical and theoretical challenges associated with sandwich structures. Expanding on the first edition, the author presents a wide range of problems found in the literature, covering topics such as buckling, post-buckling, free vibration, and dynamic response under various loading conditions. A new section on sandwich construction with functionally graded facings is included, all explored through a consisten...

From the internationally bestselling author of the Sword of Truth series comes a new Richard and Kahlan novella. "They are the monsters under the bed when you are little, the shape just caught out of the corner of your eye when you thought you were alone, the shadow of something in a dark corner that surprises you and then isn't there. They stop you dead with a knot of unexpected terror in the pit of your stomach. We have all seen fleeting glimpses of them. Never long enough to see them as...

'Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away ... God has cared for these trees ... but he cannot save them from fools – only Uncle Sam can do that.' First published in 1901, Our National Parks is possibly the bestselling book of Muir's wilderness-discovery titles and was certainly the most influential published in his lifetime, with a strong focus on the preservation of forest reserves. With a strong political tone and shrewd, subtle manoeuvring, Muir uses Our National Parks to persua...

'When a man plants a tree, he plants himself. Every root is an anchor, over which he rests with grateful interest, and becomes sufficiently calm to feel the joy of living.' Steep Trails encompasses a delightful mix of John Muir's essays and adventure narratives, spanning a period of twenty-nine years. The selections included in this book are varied: ranging from geological studies to stories of the people and towns he encounters throughout his exploits. As Muir expert Terry Gifford observe...

This memorable retelling of Cinderella is perfect for introducing children to the fairy tale as well as the history, culture, and geography of the African nation of Zimbabwe.Inspired by a traditional African folktale, this is the story of Mufaro, who is proud of his two beautiful daughters. Nyasha is kind and considerate, but everyone—except Mufaro—knows that Manyara is selfish and bad-tempered.When the Great King decides to take a wife and invites the most worthy and beautiful dau...

Create your own fantasy art with this comprehensive guidebook by the lead conceptual designer on The Lord of the RingsTM and The HobbitTM trilogies.Discover the creative processes and intriguing inspirations behind the work of John Howe – lead conceptual designer on The Lord of the RingsTM and The HobbitTM movie trilogies. Through step-by-step drawings and finished paintings, Howe reveals his artistic approach in action: from dev...

DATA ENGINEERING: Mining, Information, and Intelligence describes applied research aimed at the task of collecting data and distilling useful information from that data. Most of the work presented emanates from research completed through collaborations between Acxiom Corporation and its academic research partners under the aegis of the Acxiom Laboratory for Applied Research (ALAR). Chapters are roughly ordered to follow the logical sequence of the transformation of data from raw i...

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe former governor of Virginia tells the behind-the-scenes story of the violent "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville—and shows how we can prevent other Charlottesvilles from happening.When Governor Terry McAuliffe hung up the phone on the afternoon of the violent "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, he was sure Donald Trump would do the right thing as president: condemn the white sup...

Rock Star!Things were starting to look up for Magelord Minalan the Spellmonger: The magic mountain in his domain not only made him a wealthy man and the most powerful mage in history, it also produced a lode of magical gemstones with unique properties - properties the Alka Alon, the masters of magic on Callidore, are fascinated by. When Minalan gets his chance to trade some of his magic rocks for irionite, he finds himself in a position to raise hundreds more magi ...