Stephen Smith is the boy who did not exist.Born out of wedlock in the early 1960s, Steve's parents hid him away from the world by locking him in the cellar...for thirteen years.Starved and beaten, the little boy's world was a darkened room that measured just eight feet by ten with a single makeshift bed, bare light bulb, and a solitary table. Steve would spend his days conjuring up an imaginary world full of monsters he would draw to try an...

In the 1950s Centralia was a small town, like many others in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. But since the 1960s, it has been consumed, outwardly and inwardly by a fire that has inexorably spread in the abandoned mines beneath it. The earth smokes, subsides, and breathes poisonous gases. No less destructive has been the spread of dissension and enmity among the townspeople. The Real Disaster Above Ground tells the story of the fire and the tragic failure of all efforts to c...

“Battlestar Galactica meets Master and Commander.”With human civilization on the brink of collapse from famine, privateer Captain Cassandra Farren seeks to escape her troubled military past by signing up for the Avalon Expedition - a desperate multi-national mission to explore a distant nebula in search of life-saving resources, led by the energetic and optimistic Director Elizabeth Ancelet. Cassandra, Elizabeth, and their crews face not only division within the Ex...

Heh, Heh, Kiddies! They say that you can always tell a GOOD BOOK by its COVER! Well, after you BONE UP on the front of this first BEST OF volume of THE WORLD S LONGEST-RUNNING ANNUAL SHOWCASE OF HORROR AND DARK FANTASY by legendary artist NORMAN SAUNDERS, you ll be left SPELLBOUND by some of the most SIZZLING fiction ever published in this AWARD-WINNING series. Between these covers are DEVILISHLY GOOD STORIES by RAMSEY CAMPBELL, HARLAN ELLISON, CHRISTOPHER FOWLER, NEIL GAIMAN, CAITLIN R. K...

The history of the church is filled with stories. Stories of triumph, stories of defeat, stories of joy, and stories of sorrow. In this book, Dr. Stephen J. Nichols provides snapshots of the church through the centuries. You’ll meet fascinating saints, travel to curious places, examine precious artifacts, and watch as surprising turns of events unfold. This lively and informative journey not only captures the richness of Christian history, but also reveals a record of God’s providence and ...

An up-to-date reference book on phylogenetic methods and applications for evolutionary biologistsThe increasingly widespread availability of genomic data is transforming how biologists estimate evolutionary relationships among organisms and broadening the range of questions that researchers can test in a phylogenetic framework. Species Tree Inference brings together many of today’s leading scholars in the field to provide an incisive guide to the latest pr...

Although the nature of service delivery varies significantly from profession to profession, the way the service is delivered tends to be fairly consistent among professions-or, at least, it should be. A step-by-step guide, Managing Professional Service Delivery-9 Rules for Success describes in detail how to achieve the internal discipline and contr

Reviews key challenges and advances in maize breeding methods;Discusses the development of varieties with enhanced nutritional and other properties such as improved protein content and abiotic stress resistance;Summarises key steps being taken to support smallholders growing maize in developing countries

The rapid evolution of Charlotte, North Carolina, from “regional backwater” to globally ascendant city provides stark contrasts of then and now. Once a regional manufacturing and textile center, Charlotte stands today as one of the nation’s premier banking and financial cores with interests reaching broadly into global markets. Once defined by its biracial and bicultural character, Charlotte is now an emerging immigrant gateway drawing newcomers from Latin America and across the globe. Onc...

Describes landmark free speech decisions of the Supreme Court while highlighting the issues of language, rhetoric, and communication that underlie them.At the intersection of communication and First Amendment law reside two significant questions: What is the speech we ought to protect, and why should we protect it? The 20 scholars of legal communication whose essays are gathered in this volume propose various answers to these questions, but their essays share an ab...

Reviews advances in understanding how breeding and growth affects the development of quality attributes such as fat content and tenderness;Summarises recent research on how management of cattle and carcass handling affects sensory properties;Discusses current research on measuring and optimising quality traits such as colour, flavour and tenderness

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, The Devil's Dream is an animated, lyrical novel that is meant to be savored as spoken word. Consummate storyteller Lee Smith's creation will delight anyone who enjoys the sound of language and a good story. Preacher's son Moses Bailey believed that the fiddle was the voice of the Devil and denied his wife the pleasure of the music she dearly loved. She fiddled for her three children behind her husband's back. Thus begins a magnificent 150-year sag...