Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, but in the subsequent ten years, the city has demonstrated both remarkable resilience and frustrating stagnation. In Reforming New Orleans, Peter F. Burns and Matthew O. Thomas chart the city's recovery and assess how successfully officials at the local, state, and federal levels transformed the Big Easy in the wake of disaster. Focusing on reforms in four key sectors of urban governance—economic development, educa...

When Walt Disney decided to build Disneyland in Anaheim, CA in the 1950s, the move presented a puzzle for Anaheim’s government: How would the city balance the interests of private investors against those of the citizenry when the two came into conflict?Disneyland Politics is a cogent examination of this urban power struggle, which has been playing out for 70 years. The authors show how the city was initially bound to the Disneyland Imperative, which placed the theme park a...

'Something Wicked: 560+ Horror Classics, Macabre Tales & Supernatural Mysteries' presents an unparalleled compilation, intricately weaving the profound themes of human fear, supernatural intrigue, and psychological complexity. This anthology spans a broad spectrum of literary styles, from the gothic allure of 19th-century narratives to the eerie ambiguity of modern psychological horror, showcasing the evolution of the genre within its rich historical tapestry. Standout pieces, imbued with ...

As the city that produces the most selium - that precious gas that elevates airships and powers strange magic - Hond Steading is a jewel worth stealing. To shore up the city's defenses, Detan promises his aunt that he'll recover Nouli, the infamous engineer who built the century gates that protect the imperial capital of Valathea. But Nouli is imprisoned on the Remnant Isles, an impervious island prison run by the empire, and it's Detan's fault.Detan doesn't dare approach Nouli him...

The instant New York Times bestseller The Washington Post calls a “stunning…superbly rendered” novel, and Entertainment Weekly describes as “a gripping family saga, maybe the best…since The Corrections.”As an Irish immigrant in Queens in 1941, Eileen has dreamed of more in her life—but when she and her family seem to be moving closer to that dream, devastation hits and they must learn how to not only hold on to t...

You know you should negotiate. You've rehearsed what to say. And then someone offers you a number and you hear yourself say "that sounds great" before your brain catches up.That's not a confidence problem. It's a nervous system problem.The Uncomfortable Conversation: Negotiation for People Who Hate Conflict is for anyone who finds salary negotiation genuinely terrifying rather than merely uncomfortable. Whether you freeze when an offer lands, accept whatever your boss says ...

‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall be stamped upon.’ From the massively successful author that brought you exploding sheep (Before & After) comes the conspiracy theory to end them all.If you’re a cynic, you’re a sucker. ‘They’ want you to believe in aliens, UFOs and ghosts, because if you go chasing lies, you never get to the truth. ‘They’ are the ultra-secret world ‘Committee’ – the real decision makers who tell governments what to do, dictate which way the stock market’s headi...

This volume in the popular Ignatius Catholic Study Bible series leads readers through a penetrating study of The First and Second Books of the Maccabees using the text itself and the Church's own guidelines for understanding the Bible.Ample notes accompany each page, providing fresh insights by renowned Scripture scholars Matthew and Leeanne Thomas as well as time-tested interpretations from the Fathers of the Church. These helpful study notes provide rich historical, cult...

Written for US workers without employer pensions.Most retirement advice was written for people with pensions. If you don't have one, the standard rules -- save a million dollars, replace 80% of your income -- were built for someone else's life.The starting point here is where most people land: a 401k they may or may not be maximizing, a Social Security estimate they've never looked at closely, and a vague sense that the math might not be working in their favor. The real cal...

You check your bank account and the numbers don't make sense. You make decent money. You know what a budget is. You've tried apps, spreadsheets, no-spend months. And somehow, at the end of every month, you're still wondering where it all went.This isn't a discipline problem. It's a brain problem. And once you understand the difference, everything changes.The Spending Loop is a practical, compassionate guide to the real reasons smart, capable people can't stop overspending, ...

You became a consultant because you are good at solving complex problems. Not because you wanted to spend your mornings making cold calls or your evenings working a room at networking events.But nobody told you how to get clients any other way.Sell by Writing: Get Consulting Clients Without Pitching or Prospecting is for introverted consultants and coaches who are excellent at the actual work and exhausted by the sales methods they have been told to use. The book builds the...

Interceptors is an exhilarating ride and front-row seat into the dangerous and harrowing work of law enforcement on America's southern border.Author Matthew Thomas pulls back the curtain and takes the reader on a rarely seen, eye-witness journey.Spanning over 29 years, Matthew's law enforcement career and immersive life in the Hispanic culture is an eye-opening, honest, and unprecedented look into the ruthless activities of dangerous cartel activit...