Showing results by narrator "Liam Gerrard" in All Categories

Celehar's life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city—the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse. At once touching and shattering, Celehar's witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.

How did "the West" come to be used as a collective self-designation signaling political and cultural commonality? Was the idea handed down from the ancient Greeks, or coined by nineteenth-century imperialists? Neither, writes Georgios Varouxakis in The West, his ambitious and fascinating genealogy of the idea. "The West" was not used by Plato, Cicero, Locke, Mill, or other canonized figures of what we today call the Western tradition. It was not first wielded by empire-builders.

Taking a similar approach to his successful If Rome Hadn't Fallen, Timothy Venning explores the various decision points in a fascinating period of British history and the alternative paths that it might have taken. Dr. Timothy Venning starts within an outline of the process by which much of Britain came to be settled by Germanic tribes after the end of Roman rule, as far as it can be determined from the sparse and fragmentary sources. He then moves on to discuss a series of scenarios, which might have altered the course of subsequent history dramatically.

With the Witch of Doon on the throne, Jamie believed dead, and Duncan and Mackenna trapped in Alloway, Veronica has no choice but to put her grief aside and prepare her remaining followers for the impending battle against the false queen and her forces. But while on a covert mission to steal a powerful elixir from the castle, Veronica discovers her true love may actually be alive and fighting a battle of his own.

Adam Fletcher's life hates him.... That's how it feels since he lost his girlfriend of nine years, his confidence, hair, and home. But then he receives an email from a mysterious stranger offering him a free holiday of a lifetime. It's too good to be true. But then what does he have to lose? So he says yes. And then things gets strange....

Many leadership books are either shallow (focusing on only one element of leadership), narrow (examining leadership out of context), or biased (selling an idealized model). This book seeks simplicity without being simplistic and focuses on the listener in their context rather than describing other people's leadership in theirs.

When a pagan priest is unearthed in Ireland 1,500 years after being entombed, archaeologist Caitlin O'Connell is convinced it's the find of the century. The body is in perfect condition. In fact, if scientific data hadn't proved otherwise, she would swear he hadn't been interred more than a few hours.

He was thought to be dead, until he returns to exact revenge against those who had blighted his life. His only concern is to protect his wife and daughter. He will stop at nothing to achieve his aim.

Rebellion drove Mercy Rutherford to Scotland to escape the possessive grip of her fiancé. But it’s fate that lands her in the crumbling highlands castle of Lennox Caitheart. A dreamer with visions of inventing airships, he’s most certainly mad. Handsome beyond words, he’s also causing an irresistible flutter in her stomach beyond reason. When Gregory arrives to see their arranged marriage to its bitter end, Mercy desperately turns to Ross with an offer of her fortune - and her hand in marriage.

The First and Second World Wars were separated by a mere two decades, making the period 1914-1945 an unprecedentedly intense and violent era of history. But how did Britain develop its complex military strategy during these wars, and how were decisions made by those at the top? Robin Prior examines the influence politicians had on military operations, in the first history to assess both world wars together. Drawing uniquely on both military and political archives and previously unexamined sources Prior explores the fraught relationships between civilian and military leaders.

Just when DI Tom Mariner seems to be settling down with his new girlfriend...everything kicks off. First, a badly decomposed body of a young woman is found in a Birmingham sewer. The police can't identify her and dub her "Madeleine". Then, an important politician and his wife are shot on an isolated road. "Vengeance is mine" is scrawled in blood at the scene. Finally, a bomb explosion in the busy city kills five people, causing chaos and panic. Can Detective Mariner and his team get to the bottom of crimes that will come very close to home for him and his team?

Undercover as a majordomo, spy Adam Drummond has infiltrated Marsley House with one purpose only - to plunder its mysteries and gather proof that the late Duke of Marsley was an unforgivable traitor to his country. At the same time, Adam is drawn to a more beguiling puzzle: the young and still-grieving duchess - a beauty with secrets of her own. For Drummond, uncovering them without exposing his masquerade will require the most challenging and tender moves of his career. That a servant can arouse such passion in her is too shocking for Suzanne Whitcomb, Duchess of Marsley, to consider.

In this darkly funny and emotive debut, Ben Jewell has hit a breaking point. His profoundly autistic 10-year-old son, Jonah, has never spoken, and Ben and his wife, Emma, are struggling to cope. When Ben and Emma fake a separation - a strategic yet ill-advised decision to further Jonah's case in an upcoming tribunal to determine the future of his education - father and son are forced to move in with Georg, Ben's elderly and cantankerous father. In a small house in North London, three generations of men - one who can't talk, two who won't - are thrown together.

Billy Budd, Sailor is the final novel by American writer Herman Melville, first published posthumously in London in 1924 as edited by Raymond M. Weaver, a professor at Columbia University. Other versions were later published. Melville had begun writing the original work in November 1888, but left it unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by British critics as a masterpiece when published in London, it quickly took its place as a classic literary work in the United States.

By 2030, the world will be short of approximately 15 million health workers - a fifth of the workforce needed to keep healthcare systems going. Global healthcare leader and award-winning author, Dr. Mark Britnell, uses his unique insights from advising governments, executives, and clinicians in more than 70 countries to present solutions to this impending crisis.

What would intelligent life—forms on another planet look like? Would they walk upright? Would they wear clothes? Or would they be hulking creatures on six legs that wallow in their own excrement? Upon first contact with the Utod—intelligent, pacifist beings who feel no pain—mankind instantly views these aliens as animals because of their unhygienic customs. This leads to the slaughter, capture, and dissection of the Utod. But when one explorer recognizes the intelligence behind their habits, he must reevaluate what it actually means to be "intelligent."

An early-morning jogger is murdered in Hyde Park. It's the center of London, but no one saw him enter the park, no one saw him die. He carries no identification, only a water-logged phone. As the pieces unravel, it's clear that the dead man had a history of deception. Is the murderer one of those that loved him? Or was it someone with a vengeance? It's proving difficult for DCI Isaac Cook and his team at Challis Street Homicide to find the guilty person—not that they'll cease to search for the truth, not even after one suspect confesses.

Every executive acknowledges the importance of having a business strategy, but when it comes to creating and implementing a strategy for their organization, the “how” and “what” of strategic planning becomes elusive.

Drawing from an incredibly rich trove of global data, this groundbreaking book reveals that human progress has been slowing down since the early 1970s. Danny Dorling uses compelling visualizations to illustrate how fertility rates, growth in GDP per person, increases in life expectancy, and even the frequency of new social movements have all steadily declined over the last few generations.

Isak works in home care in a small town in Småland. One day, he is contacted by his father, an internationally known artist, who left Isak when he was a child. His father is dying, and his only wish is to reconcile what remains of their relationship as father and son. He promises Isak his fortune, but Isak has certain reservations. Alongside his girlfriend, Madde, Isak decides to visit his father, but the line between nightmare and reality blurs as family secrets unravel.