Studies of African economic development frequently focus on the daunting challenges the continent faces. From recurrent crises to ethnic conflicts and long-standing corruption, a raft of deep-rooted problems has led many to regard the continent as facing many hurdles to raise living standards. Yet Africa has made considerable progress in the past decade, with a GDP growth rate exceeding five percent in some regions. The African Successes series looks at recent improvements in living standa...

Elysium: A Visual History of Angelology is a richly illustrated exploration of how angels have been imagined, described, and depicted across centuries of art, religion, and literature.Written by scholar and cultural critic Ed Simon, this volume brings together striking imagery and accessible commentary to examine the enduring fascination with celestial beings across Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and beyond.In popular culture, ange...

It was the happiest day of her life. Little did she know it was also the last.When a woman’s body is found in the grounds of a ruined priory, Detective Imogen Evans realises she is dealing with a serial killer—a killer whose victims appear to die in a state of bliss, eyes open, smiles forever frozen on their faces.A few miles away, single dad Ben Hofland believes his fortunes are changing at last. Forced to move back to the sleepy village where he grew up f...

An Amazon Charts bestseller.A missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive.Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a hor...

Princess of Mycenae, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, sister of the sacrificed Iphigenia and the cursed Orestes. Electra is forced to flee her home after witnessing the shocking revenge-murder of her father, by her mother, on his return from the Trojan War. Life beyond the palace is frightening, and the scandalous behaviour of her foreign companions disturbs her, but she needs the help of the Trojan Cassandra, and her two lovers, to survive. Driven by her own desire for vengeance, E...

The crime-infested intersection of West Fayette and Monroe Streets is well-known--and cautiously avoided--by most of Baltimore. But this notorious corner's 24-hour open-air drug market provides the economic fuel for a dying neighborhood. David Simon, an award-winning author and crime reporter, and Edward Burns, a 20-year veteran of the urban drug war, tell the chilling story of this desolate crossroad.Through the eyes of one broken family--two drug-addicted adults and their smart, ...

The crime-infested intersection of West Fayette and Monroe Streets is well-known--and cautiously avoided--by most of Baltimore. But this notorious corner's 24-hour open-air drug market provides the economic fuel for a dying neighborhood. David Simon, an award-winning author and crime reporter, and Edward Burns, a 20-year veteran of the urban drug war, tell the chilling story of this desolate crossroad.Through the eyes of one broken family--two drug-addicted adults and their smart, ...

Marcus is in trouble. He didnt think his friend Laurence would actually believe him when he said that his super brainy aunt built the very first time machine. He only made up the story in a spur-of-the-moment bid to win a silly argument! Now how on earth will he make the story come true? In a quirky new adventure starring the most unexpected of friendsa worm and a birdSimone Lia pulls out all the theatrical stops to deliver a laugh-out-loud companion to They Didnt Teach THIS in Worm School...

From the nephew of beloved author Jane Austen comes a biography of J. E. Austen-Leigh's "dear Aunt Jane." A family project that includes insights from those who knew Austen best, this memoir introduced the general public to the great novelist's works and delivers a cornucopia of delights for Austenphiles today. Published over fifty years after Austen's death, these family memories present Jane Austen in full, deepening listeners' relationship with and appreciation of the classic author.

In "A Supplication for the Beggars," Simon Fish delivers a poignant examination of socio-economic disparity in Early Modern England through a compelling mixture of prose and verse. The work is infused with a satirical tone that calls attention to the plight of the impoverished while challenging the moral and ethical sensibilities of the time. In essence, Fish's text serves as both a literary and social critique, embedding its commentary within the framework of religious and philosophical t...

New Technology and Education explores the benefits and dangers of the increasing use of technology in education, drawing on different cultural perspectives from across the globe to consider a variety of viewpoints. The reader is encouraged to engage with each facet of the debate considering the philosophical, psychological and sociological implications of the relationship between technology and education.Recent debates and developments are considered, including:• W...

SARS from East to West is the production of international collaboration investigating the first major pandemic in the new millennium, SARS. As the only major outbreak of a deadly infectious disease in modern times, the SARS case is an excellent example of an emerging contagious disease in an interdependent and interconnected world and provided the bases for how subsequent pandemics, like the bird flu and swine flu, are viewed and managed.Eva-Karin Olsson and Lan Xue bring together ...