Nine-year-old Kofi Asante-Briggs wasn't supposed to be in the cornfield at midnight.But Biscuit was barking. And the ground was glowing. And there was a girl — silver-eyed, silver-haired, wearing a suit made of stars — sitting in the middle of a scorched circle where something enormous had just landed.Her name is Lyra. She fell from the Eighth Constellation. She carries living star maps inside her mind. And something ancient and unstoppable has followed her to Earth — a sha...

"Personal finance for adults: financial impact of marriage, parenthood and divorce". Life is full of significant milestones that can have a profound impact on our personal and financial lives. In this insightful guide, we explore the financial implications of three major life events: marriage, parenthood, and divorce. From the joyous union of marriage to the life altering responsibilities of parenthood and the challenging process of divorce, each of these events brings unique financial con...

Set in Virginia in the 1980s, Tidewater Blood opens at the annual LeBlanc family celebration. Rich, pretentious, and proud, the LeBlancs operate a prosperous plantation and celebrate their heritage each year in grand old Southern fashion on the mansion's portico. But this year, the front of the mansion explodes and everyone on the portico is instantly killed. As the dust settles, all fingers point to embittered brother and ex-con Charles LeBlanc, who lives as a hermit outside town...

Scholars and policymakers alike agree that innovation in the biosciences is key to future growth. The field continues to shift and expand, and it is certainly changing the way people live their lives in a variety of ways. With a large share of federal research dollars devoted to the biosciences, the field is just beginning to live up to its billing as a source of innovation, economic productivity and growth. Vast untapped potential to imagine and innovate exists in the biosciences given ne...

Today’s scientists are showing us how stem cells create and repair the human body. Unlocking these secrets has become the new Holy Grail of biomedical research. But behind that search lies a sharp divide, one that has continued for years. Stem cells offer the hope of creating or repairing tissues lost to age, disease, and injury. Yet, because of this ability, stem cells also hold the potential to incite an international biological arms race.The Stem Cell Dilemma illuminate...

Why Life Writing?How many times have you looked through the family album and wished there were more pictures of the good old days?William Hofmanns message in Life Writing is that there are more pictures, thousands of them just waiting to be pulled from your memory and written down.Hofmanns clear advice on how to get fresh ideas, how to write a rough draft, or how to use the basic principles of rewriting would be useful to any writer. But his book is...

An important and little-known chapter of Michigan's Civil War history, drawn from the letters, diaries, and regimental records of the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics regiment.As volunteer engineers for the Union army, the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics regiment was made up of skilled artisans, craftsmen, railroad men, and engineers whose behind-the-scenes work was crucial to the Union victory. Charged with maintaining the Union supply line in the wes...

An expat in Rome makes his way as a writer in this gripping and genre-defying novel, first published in 1965 by a rediscovered great of Black American literature.In this masterpiece of metafiction set in the Rome of the tumultuous 1960s, Black American expatriate Bill Demby narrates his attempts to write a novel about his friend Doris, another Black American working as one of Elizabeth Taylor’s handmaidens in the filming of Cleopatra. Utterly dependent upo...

The Positive Psychology: A Workbook for Personal Growth and Well-Being is a companion workbook designed to accompany Compton and Hoffman’s Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Flourishing, 4e. The workbook aligns active learning and critical thinking applications with the twelve core chapters of Compton and Hoffman’s textbook, but could easily be a benefit to other Positive Psychology texts or support courses and texts where a workbook centered on growth, well-being, ...

A rediscovered "masterpiece" (Kirkus) of Black American literature first published in 1950, about an unlikely friendship in a West Virginia townAfter several years of seclusion in the Black quarter of Beetlecreek, West Virginia, in the precarious 1930s, a retired carnival worker named Bill Trapp strikes up a chance friendship with Johnny Johnson, a Pittsburgh teenager transplanted into his uncle’s home. Bill is white. Johnny is Black. Both are searching fo...

In The Small Heart of Things, Julian Hoffman intimately examines the myriad ways in which connections to the natural world can be deepened through an equality of perception, whether it’s a caterpillar carrying its house of leaves, transhumant shepherds ranging high mountain pastures, a quail taking cover on an empty steppe, or a Turkmen family emigrating from Afghanistan to Istanbul. The narrative spans the common—and often contested—ground that supports human and natural communit...

In the realm of illusion and wonder, Professor Louis Hoffman unveils the secrets of Modern Magic. This captivating tome, now available in its unabridged form, invites you on an extraordinary journey into the world of prestidigitation. From the vanishing coin to the levitating table, Hoffman's meticulous instructions and insightful commentary will guide you through the intricacies of each trick. Prepare to astound your audience with the power of illusion, as you master the techniques that h...