When darkness falls, evil rises… John’s life is a living nightmare. Any chance of digging himself out of the abyss disintegrated long ago. Fired, discredited, buried under crippling debt, and isolated in a west-Texas ghost-town, he’s both a pariah and a wanted man. Under an investigation for a crime he didn’t commit, he’s quickly running out of allies, and even more rapidly, losing his grip on reality. Late at night, long after the lights have gone out, it’s there. He doesn’t know where it is and what it wants with him. It lurks in the shadows, biding its time before it strikes. It beckons him. If he heeds its demands, he has no way of knowing what awaits him. If he ignores it, the outcome may be worse – far worse…

Cracks can develop in rotating shafts and can propagate to relevant depths without affecting consistently the normal operating conditions of the shaft. In order to avoid catastrophic failures, accurate vibration analyses have to be performed for crack detection. The identification of the crack location and depth is possible by means of a model based diagnostic approach, provided that the model of the crack and the model of the cracked shaft dynamical behavior are accurate and reliable. This monograph shows the typical dynamical behavior of cracked shafts and presents tests for detecting cracks. The book describes how to model cracks, how to simulate the dynamical behavior of cracked shaft, and compares the corresponding numerical with experimental results. All effects of cracks on the vibrations of rotating shafts are analyzed, and some results of a numerical sensitivity analysis of the vibrations to the presence and severity of the crack are shown. Finally the book describes some crack identification procedures and shows some results in model based crack identification in position and depth. The book is useful for higher university courses in mechanical and energetic engineering, but also for skilled technical people employed in power generation industries.

In this third of the “brilliant” (Bookreporter) Alexander Hawke series, intrepid intelligence operative Alex Hawke must thwart a deadly alliance between China and France before they annihilate everything and everyone in their rush toward world domination. Aboard a ship in the south of France, an American spy faces certain death for the vital, explosive intelligence he possesses. In Paris, a ruthless and powerful descendant of Napoleon has forged an unholy alliance with China for its growing nuclear arsenal, poised to send the world to the brink of a gut-wrenching showdown. Now, in a maelstrom of razor’s-edge danger, Alex Hawke must enter the nightmare visions of madmen to defuse an axis of evil no one could have predicted—and no living soul would survive. Packed with unrelenting action, glamour, and high style, Pirate is a spellbinding thriller. Be prepared for Alex Hawke’s most daunting and heart-pounding mission yet.

A young woman believes she is being followed. But no one else sees her pursuer. Is the stalker the product of a hallucinating mind? She does live in a halfway house for troubled young women. And she reports to a caseworker so she could be hallucinating. On the other hand, she has been found to be extremely intelligent.

What if you spent years of your life seeking spiritual enlightenment, but were looking in the wrong place over a long time? It’s happening right now to millions of seekers around the world. That’s why Dr. Robert Forman has written his revolutionary book. Told in often poetic prose, it offers new direction for people looking for a sane and healthy spiritual pathway in our increasingly confusing world. Traditional spiritual models are giving seekers a wrong and frustrating impression about spiritual enlightenment. By exploring his own 39 year experience of spiritual enlightenment, Dr. Forman offers a remedy to folks who are: Convinced they don’t have the right stuff to achieve enlightenment in this lifetime: Disillusioned by spiritual teachers who don’t live up to their lofty self-portraits: Worried that choosing a spiritual life means leaving their everyday life behind: Hungry for a different way to be, but unable to express it. Through metaphor, humor, vulnerability and achingly beautiful prose, Dr. Forman’s book offers newfound hope to spiritual seekers everywhere.

“Not just a terrific read, but an important life to have on the national record.” – George Negus The swashbuckling West Australian entrepreneur Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest took on mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto at their own game – and won. In this unauthorised biography, Andrew Burrell traces Twiggy’s business triumphs and disasters to reveal the complicated man behind the myth. Why do his mining ventures attract so much controversy? And what do his philanthropic schemes tell us about him and his plans for the future? It takes extraordinary force of will, combined with boundless energy and cunning, to create enterprises on such a mammoth scale. With the value of iron ore now integral to the health of the federal budget, Twiggy’s business affects all Australians. This entertaining book gives a unique insight into one of the most powerful men in Australia today. “A riveting investigation of one of our richest businessmen, biggest philanthropists and greatest fast-talkers.” – Laura Tingle “This is a book that needed to be written ... rich in detail with fascinating insights into the family history, the failures, flaws, and ultimate rise of John Andrew Henry Forrest.” – The Sydney Morning Herald Andrew Burrell has been a journalist for twenty years, covering business and politics in Australia, South-East Asia and China. He has worked for the Australian Financial Review and is currently a senior business journalist for the Australian in Perth, where he has covered the WA mining boom since 2006. He won the business prize at the WA media awards in 2006 and 2009.

The HUGO AWARD-winning novel of Earth after the apocalypse In the depths of the Utah desert, long after the Flame Deluge has scoured the earth clean, the rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of knowledge. By studying the Holy Relics of the past, the Order of St Leibowitz hopes to raise humanity from its fallen state to one of grace. But is such knowledge the key to salvation? Or the certain sign that we are doomed to repeat our most grievous mistakes ... ?