It all started with a biscuit tin. Writer and editor Steve Rudd was clearing out some boxes that had been stored in various places since a house move in 1996. And some of the boxes had been following him round the country from previous moves. The boxes contained stuff that originally came from his parents' home, dating as far back as 1980, when his maternal grandma, the redoubtable Granny Fenwick, died. So it was that in 2012, Steve found the very same brown biscuit tin that had stood on his granny’s mantelpiece when he used to visit her in the …

Double Spy is my autobiography as a double agent in East Germany and the Netherlands, from March 1967 to September 1970. While I visited a young woman in Chemnitz, two men approached her, wanting to see me. Soon after, we spoke and they recruited me as a spy for the HVA (intelligence service of the Ministry of State Security, the STASI). Back in the Netherlands, I immediately reported to the BVD, which "took me over." I was only 27 at the time. I had no formal education, and the officers in the HVA—"the People’s Army"—were high school graduates, having only …

This book examines the design and build (D&B) method of procurement in the construction industry: its strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies. Crucially, case studies of D&B projects on which the author has worked are included. The book begins by looking at the reasons for the increasing interest in D&B; it then examines the basic components and principles of D&B, covering such issues as what is a D&B contract, the level and scope of liabilities - and hybrids - what do they really mean and how many of them are there (design, manage, construct etc.)? Chapters include: the basic principles; the basic …

We are fast approaching multiple tipping points that once breached will lead to catastrophic climate chaos. Disruption to our very way of life will leave no one immune. Some, seeking to maintain their grip and the status quo, will continue with the “business and living as usual model” for their vested commercial or political agendas, and may wish this reality remain clouded for the majority of us. ZERO Greenhouse Emissions – The Day the Lights Went out – Our Future World exposes for the layman the reality of our collective futures. It places the pieces of the jumbled puzzle together. …

Following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Jerry Sorlucco faced a choice: Lose weight or face artificial knee replacements. His surgeon laid it on the line; to avoid the knife he would have to lose 100 pounds. A feat none of his patients had achieved in his many years of practice. So, as with many others, the surgeon began to mentally prepare Jerry for the latest and greatest artificial parts that lay in his future. Or so he thought. Breaking the mold, Jerry made one of the most important decisions of his life. Instead of accepting his surgeon's vision of …

Japanese Gardens - Revealed and Explained is comprehensive and thorough in its coverage of the subject of Japanese gardens and provides the reader with a journey through the gardens’ history, meaning and eye catching beauty. All aspects of Japanese gardens and gardening are covered, from design to ingredients. It even covers subjects like pruning techniques as well as numerous suggestions of what to plant in a Japanese garden, courtesy of master gardener L.H. Bailey. Discover Zen gardens (sometimes known as Japanese Rock gardens) and the deliberate ease of their appearance on the eye, meaning, and design. This book is suitable …

The poems in to linger on hot coals are like the babies who inspired them: small but profoundly significant, and imprinting those they touch with both delicious sweetness and heartbreaking pain. They will speak to those whose grief is new as well as to those whose losses have receded in time but not in memory, as well as to counselors, medical professionals, and allies of bereaved families. A breathtakingly beautiful collection. – Janel Atlas, editor, They Were Still Born: Personal Stories about Stillbirth "Most of the time, we consider grief ugly, and most of the time it is. But, sometimes …

Human sexuality resists simple or facile evaluations, and no generalization can do justice to the vast inventory of sexual feelings, practices, or behaviors. Our sexuality is not only a source of joy, wonderment, emotional release, and happiness, but also of frustration, revenge, intimidation, and deadly power. Coming to grips with our sexuality is no easy task, for our attempts to understand ourselves, to distinguish between reality and illusion, are mired in mythologies of the past, misinformation, moral and religious imperatives, lack of scientific knowledge, and wishful thinking. By tracing the development of our understanding, Friction and Fantasy: Opening Pandora’s Box …