This is a story of the European political dynamics that proceeded from the mid-seventeenth century, affecting the destinies of Great Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, their allies and their colonies. This volume provides an introduction to the period, followed by a more detailed study of the years from 1754 to 1799--the years of George Washington. Future volumes will relate the years of Napoleon Bonaparte, Andrew Jackson, and Karl Marx.

Thorn is a one-hundred year-old oak tree with a consciousness. He is discovered atop a mountain in Maine by a lumberjack named Tucker and his mathematician friend, Paxton. They begin a two-week long conversation with Thorn through mental telepathy. Thorn explains that he acquired his vast knowledge through the airwaves and his spiritual acuity through meditation, where it is possible to visit AThe Chords@ and examine both past and future lives. They help each other unravel their past incar...

"You are hereby banished from the North American continent. Should you reenter it, you will be executed upon recognition. Within this facility, you have the right to life and to defend that life, unto your death."These are the last words spoken to the exiles banished to the Square, a massive penal colony encompassing the western triangle of what was once the state of Texas. Paxton Stephens, a disgraced and exiled scientist, gave the authoritarian Republic the wherewithal to harness...

The Dockers are in the finals for the first time, and Greg gets himself to Melbourne for the match against Geelong. Once there he finds himself in trouble.

Dogs. Stand up to them and you might get your head ripped off. Keep running away and you might as well be dead. Two teenage boys and their fathers; united by a dog - divided by a dog. Love and hate. There's no middle ground here.

Charmwood High, and Year 8 plans to turn the school play, Romeo and Juliet, into a rock musical. Everything's moving along until someone mentions Equal Opportunity. There aren't enough roles for girls in this production. For the narrator, Peter Nutt, Equal Opportunity means more opportunities for teachers like Poxon and girls like Ravolini to get at him. And then there's Millie Miletic from the Holy Family of the Little Sisters by the Sea: she's in love!

Killer boots, all right. They'd kicked some wicked goals, but Greg was worried. It'd kill him if he had to give them back, and if things went real bad, his mum would kill him too.

Gracey's come home to Cunningham on holidays. But now she's a state athletics champion and a private school student, and everything looks different - even frightening. Part history, part mystery, Gracey is a challenging story about the past and the present, murder and compassion, and black and white identity.

Islands are special places; they can be havens for unique plants and animals and refuges for wildlife. This book investigates the biogeography of butterfly species over the British islands, particularly the factors that influence their presence on the islands and that have made each island's butterfly fauna distinctive. The book contains a full log of records of species on the islands and much supporting information. The first three chapters set the scene, illustrating the basics of island...

This novel was described as one of Hardys' best and indeed one of the better novels of the latter part of the 19th century. With its publication the author entered into a period of controversy which was to follow him for the rest of his life.Grace Melbury, the timber merchant's daughter, comes back to Little Hintock after some years at finishing school. She was the childhood sweetheart of Giles Winterborne, a compassionate, caring man who works in the village.Melbury senior...

In a fit of drunken bitterness a young hay trusser, Michael Henchard, sells his wife Susan to Mr Newson, a sailor, at a country fair. The transaction also includes their daughter Elizabeth Jane. When sober the next day, he regrets his action but looks for them in vain and is eventually told they may have emigrated. Eighteen years later Henchard is the Mayor of Casterbridge and the people of the town believe him to be a widower. In recent times he has had an affair with a young woman in Jer...

In The Three Strangers, Thomas Hardy offers a quietly ironic tale shaped by weather, custom, and the unpredictable drift of human fate. Set against the backdrop of rural Wessex, the story unfolds on the border between the ordinary and the uncanny — a place where identity flickers and appearances mislead.With his signature restraint, Hardy lets the narrative circle slowly inward, revealing not only the secret at its heart, but something of the way justice, chance, and chara...