It is the summer of 1990. The first Gulf War looms, the satanic abuse panic rages, and one strange market town, unchanged for decades, suddenly and disastrously runs out of money. The crisis brings together the mayor and the man he wronged four decades before. This is a haunting tale of passing time, and a Pied Piper story for our own era, of the Blitz, the explosion of money, of clone towns, the Wright Brothers and growing up – and local currencies. And above it all, stands the ancient la...

How did that cat get so helpful - and so human?The princess left outside one snowy night who feels she can't ever come inside again...The gipsy boy waiting to hear his fate as the will of his guardian is read to his unpleasant relatives...The author explains that he believes in fairies, and says a little bit about why in a final essay. These authentic but contemporary folk tales don’t quite prove it – they go beyond that question to show what a little magic does to ...

GET SH!T DONE was written for the leader who ends every week exhausted but somehow still feels behind. The one who's involved in everything, deciding everything, fixing everything - and watching the business move slower because of it, not faster. That's not a talent problem. That's a leadership problem.David Boyle has spent decades in business, automotive, management, and leadership, and what he's seen over and over is the same pattern: as companies grow, leaders get buried. The wo...

Universal change is often the result of an individual’s lightbulb moment – an invention that triggers a ripple effect across countries, continents, or even out into space. Great Inventions in 30 Seconds looks at fifty of these groundbreaking innovations – great ideas that really did change the world. It covers a wide range, from early days (the wheel) through materials (the invention of steel, for example, or plastic) to communications (the alphabet, the printing press, the Worldw...

With the Gatherers no longer needed by the City and suffering from a mysterious illness, Cruge, their new chieftain, leads his people in a hazardous march through Sorg and the unknown lands beyond, in search of a cure at New Edina. Along the way they are joined by Miss Millicent and Chas, the resourceful Mister Pont and the tiny but lethal Femurs. Together the group must face ferocious renegade attacks — and unwelcome love-struck suitors — as they fight for their place in this dangerous la...

It is increasingly recognised that instead of relying on top-down commands or leaving individuals to their own devices, communities should be given a role in tackling challenges exacerbated by global crises.Written by a team of leading experts with in-depth knowledge and on-the-ground experience, this book sets out why and how people’s lives can be positively transformed through diverse forms of community involvement.This book critically explores examples from around the wo...

After the final battle for the City, the great warrior Hector, former Chieftain of the Gatherers, along with Pont the Merchant, embarks on a voyage of adventure to the far south of the Great Sea. And to record their escapades in his grubby, food and wine stained journal, here again is the repellent Urgus. Little escapes his caustic eye; whether in desperate fights with outlandish renegades or a disturbing encounter with a lost tribe, whose exquisite manners conceal an unsavoury inclination...

Since money was invented, there has been a debate about better ways of creating it and better rules to govern how it works - until the last generation, when it began to seem that the money system had been handed down by God and remained unchanged ever since. But the last few years have seen an increasingly powerful resurgence of interest in changing the system fundamentally, and bringing the monetary trends that affect all our lives under our control. Few realize that the debate has roots ...

Not long ago, economic theories were generally based on a narrow set of principles. Then the continuing boom–bust cycle combined with the failure of the best economic minds to ensure that prosperity spreads down through the economy has left a series of very obvious question marks, and the orthodoxy has been challenged from inside and outside the profession. It now seems clear that human beings and the planet have to be brought into the analysis. The first chapter goes right back to the deb...

Abandoned in the Dark is a collection of unnerving stories which are grounded in reality, journeys that promise to keep you awake at night and get your heart pound- ing. "Abandoned in the Dark" and "Close Call," among other similar stories collected here, delve into our universal feeling of dread and will ruthlessly steal your breath away. "Behind the Curtain," a uniquely unsettling sexual tale ridden with disturbing undertones and unforgettable imagery, is certain to haunt parents in part...

If you thought being middle-class meant your own home, something set aside for the kids and a comfortable retirement – think again.For the first time ever, today’s middle classes will struggle to enjoy the same privileges of security and comfort that their grandparents did. How did this situation come about? What can be done about it?In this beautifully shaped inquiry, David Boyle questions why the middle classes are diminishing and how their status, independence and values...

Never before have we attempted to measure as much as we do today. Why are we so obsessed with numbers? What can they really tell us?Too often we try to quantify what can’t actually be measured. We count people, but not individuals. We count exam results rather than intelligence, benefit claimants instead of poverty. The government has set itself 10,000 new targets. Politicians pack their speeches with skewed statistics: crime rates are either rising or falling depending on who is d...