'Sixteen's an interesting age: not quite a fully grown man, but not a kid either. Anything is possible when you're sixteen.' Finmere Tingewick Smith was abandoned on the steps of the Old Bailey. Under the guardianship of the austere Judge Harlequin Brown and the elderly gentlemen of Orrery House, Fin has grown up under a very strange set of rules. He spends alternate years at two very different schools and now he's tired of the constant lies to even his best friends, to hide the insanity of his double life. Neither would believe the truth! But on his sixteenth birthday, everything changes. The Judge is killed, stabbed in the chest with a double-edged sword that's disturbingly familiar, and from that moment on, Fin is catapulted into an extraordinary adventure. Through the Doorway in Fin's London, a hole in the boundaries of Existence, lies another London -- and now both are in grave danger. For the Knights of Nowhere have kidnapped the Storyholder, the keeper of the Five Eternal Stories which weave the worlds together. Because of the Knights' actions, a black storm is coming, bringing madness with it. Fin may be just 16, but he has a long, dark journey ahead of him if he is to rescue the Storyholder and save Existence!

Double Edge Sword is a dramatic, fictional adventure of African American Literary Folklore. It realistically depicts situations of unpredictable circumstances that develop during the life of Jason Philips, a young man who suddenly finds his secure way of life being threatened. Disenchanted, he watches a community that was once governed by wisdom, fall prey to a plot toward the demise of its moral structure. Using tactics designed to produce peaceful resolutions, Jason courageously embarks on a self-proclaimed mission to rectify the dilemma. Although sometimes for solutions, he often resorts to dealing with morally questionable collaborations that offer answers, but demand that his spiritual discernment be thoroughly tested. Ultimately, a battle between good and evil is initiated, and to the victor, the prize at hand is the control of the minds of a culture of people.

Bobbie Ann Mason created a small town in Kentucky to fill with characters and plots. Lynch's Corner provides the same format for Mr. Summers. The Double-Edged Sword: Lynch's Corner in Depression and War is the fourth volume in the Lynch's Corner Series. These short stories are set during the harrowing days of the Great Depression and the challenging days of World War II, specifically, the world of the Office of Strategic Services. Readers will attend a baseball game in "Play Ball," wonder at the changes wrought by the Flood of 1937 in "Black Sunday," cheer for a new teacher in a backwater town in "Sinking Creek," try to unravel the mystery in the title short story, and accompany the OSS in spy stories such as "Burglary," "Fingers," "The Piano Player," and "Wine Cellar." The fifteen stories give a different perspective on the Thirties and Forties in a small southern town and on the spyscape of Europe. Come meet Mark Lynch, Fingers Malone, Lydia Carr, Temple McKenzie, Ludlow Carr and a cast of characters sure to engage your attention.

'Sixteen's an interesting age: not quite a fully grown man, but not a kid either. Anything is possible when you're sixteen.' Finmere Tingewick Smith was abandoned on the steps of the Old Bailey. Under the guardianship of the austere Judge Harlequin Brown and the elderly gentlemen of Orrery House, Fin has grown up under a very strange set of rules. He spends alternate years at two very different schools and now he's tired of the constant lies to even his best friends, to hide the insanity of his double life. Neither would believe the truth! But on his sixteenth birthday, everything changes. The Judge is killed, stabbed in the chest with a double-edged sword that's disturbingly familiar, and from that moment on, Fin is catapulted into an extraordinary adventure. Through the Doorway in Fin's London, a hole in the boundaries of Existence, lies another London - and now both are in grave danger. For the Knights of Nowhere have kidnapped the Storyholder, the keeper of the Five Eternal Stories which weave the worlds together. Because of the Knights' actions, a black storm is coming, bringing madness with it. Fin may be just 16, but he has a long, dark journey ahead of him if he is to rescue the Storyholder and save Existence!

The Double Edged Sword Takes you on the journey of two young sisters, from their harsh traumatic childhood through to adulthood. It is sometimes heart breaking, sometimes funny but always dark and thought provoking. Follow L.J and Jo on their journey in this 1st book of 3. L.J and her younger sister Jo, never felt they were loved. They never felt they belonged. They were different. As L.J grew into a young woman she felt hopeless and unfulfilled. She hated life. Little did she know she was being watched, and her desperate need to belong as a child, would lead her to a life changing reunion with Jo and a surprise transformation. An exciting meeting with a dark mysterious stranger would take them both on a treacherous journey into the dark world of Vampires, Murderers, Bloodlust, Justice and Revenge.

Rhia Bryant’s partnership with Jimmy Grant is an explosive affair. Considering their union to be the key to everything her adolescent heart had desired she was mortified when her lover told her he was moving to Germany to unearth a stolen painting. Unhappy with Jimmy’s wish to seek her father’s aid in his search Rhia looks to the past to help with the future. As the pathway to uncovering the painting grows darker, and her father’s own past comes to light, danger stalks her journey. To keep one step ahead of the challenges she faces, Rhia once more brings deception into the equation. The twists and turns of her personal life, forged by one Hans Parker, lead her into a year of deceit, lies, and a secret that threatens her very existence. A rollercoaster of a read that questions the fabric of life. Can a deceiver be deceived? When is the moral high ground destroyed?

An examination of the political and diplomatic role of American nuclear weapons in conflicts with a non-nuclear China in the Korean War and the Taiwan Strait crises of 1954-1955 and 1958, this study analyzes the American tendency to become involved in confrontations with far weaker powers over issues of very little strategic significance to the United States. Washington threatens these adversaries with the use of incommensurate levels of force, then ultimately backs down in the face of international and domestic opposition to ill-considered plans to use force. Unlike works on nuclear history that have either focused on superpower nuclear conflicts and ignored cases of American nuclear diplomacy toward non-nuclear adversaries, or those that have focused merely on the outcomes of nuclear threats against non-nuclear powers, this book considers in depth American nuclear diplomacy toward China during the whole period of Sino-American military confrontations. Soman offers new insights on Truman's decision to enter the Korean War, the extent of nuclear diplomacy during the war, and the way in which the war ended. He argues that the goal of American nuclear diplomacy in the spring of 1955 was to provoke a war with China, rather than to deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Finally, he lays out, for the first time in print, the elaborate diplomacy that Secretary of State John Foster Dulles initiated to defuse the 1958 crisis, involving a major shift in American policy that still remains hidden from the public as well as historians. Highlighting the central role of nuclear diplomacy in these crises, this book draws conclusions on the efficacy of such diplomacy, the impact of these crises on the development of policies of massive retaliation and limited war, the consequences of Dulles's brinkmanship, and the revival of nuclear diplomacy by the Clinton administration in conflicts with non-nuclear adversaries.

Double Edged Sword By Norma V Ndebele This book is about closure; about the repercussions post-Dispatches Undercover Angels. This book is about encouragement and inspiration to readers – that, no matter how hard and painful life can be, there are still beautiful sunsets and rainbows to enjoy… if only they can hold onto that glimmer of hope! This book also analyzes institutional racisms within the private healthcare sector and at NHS. It is criticizes the changing NHS provision of healthcare. This book also analyzes the changing management of prisoners.

Sidney Franklin (1903-76) was the last person you'd expect to become a bullfighter. The streetwise son of a Russian Jewish cop, Sidney had an all-American boyhood in early twentieth-century Brooklyn--while hiding the fact that he was gay. A violent confrontation with his father sent him packing to Mexico City, where first he opened a business, then he opened his mouth--bragging that Americans had the courage to become bullfighters. Training with iconic matador Rodolfo Gaona, Sidney's dare spawned a legend. Following years in small-town Mexican bullrings, he put his moxie where his mouth was, taking Spain by storm as the first American matador. Sidney's 1929 rise coincided with that of his friend Ernest Hemingway's, until a bull's horn in a most inappropriate place almost ended his career--and his life. Bart Paul illuminates the artistry and violence of the mysterious ritual of the bulls as he tells the story of this remarkable character, from Franklin's life in revolutionary Mexico to his triumphs in Spain, from the pages of Death in the Afternoon to the destructive vortex of Hemingway's affair with Martha Gellhorn during the bloody Spanish Civil War. This is the story of an unlikely hero--a gay man in the most masculine of worlds who triumphed over prejudice and adversity as he achieved what no American had ever accomplished, teaching even Hemingway lessons in grace, machismo, and respect.

Providing insight into South African values and culture, this book is a comprehensive study of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) and its role in history. Essentially, it examines the Contralesa’s position during the Mass Democratic Movement’s struggles in the late 1980s—when liberation movements were unbanned and their leaders were released from jail—as well as during the post-1994 era of Nelson Mandela. A valuable resource, this reference will captivate those interested in the issue of governance, institutional change, and the interface between designed modernity and surviving traditions.