This story provides a gentle, light-hearted introduction of the naivety of youth, highlighting the potential of Mary Lewis to succeed in commerce and the determination of Alun Carpenter, who was destined to achieve much public good. The journey covers the period of 1944 to 2009 and gradually adopts a serious note, as indeed does the style of the author, who beguilingly unfolds the theme of love, aspirations, and selfless devotion, where the majority of driving forces tenderly radiate from the ladies of the tale. With originality of thought, the reader is taken along a winding roller-coaster ride of a fusion of emotions and prejudice, ranging from surprising humour to disappointment and grief. Rivalry—the potential for making enemies—greed, and retribution become important threads, leading to a gripping insight into blackmail and four murders. The reader is left to discover who is brought to justice. Alun Carpenter retires from the police service and is charged with murder. The evidence against him is conclusive, but what will happen to him and his family? In the twisting account of the final chapter, all is revealed as to the identity of the persons who sought retribution against Carpenter and those who surprisingly assisted him. It concludes with the outcome of Mary's apparent affaire and business enterprise. Those who have read the story considered it to be a fascinating, totally absorbing, highly enjoyable experience; and their only disappointment was that it came to an end.

The Globalization of Nothing is back in a revised and completely updated edition, with an even greater emphasis on the processes of globalization and how they relate to McDonaldization. As before, this book is structured around four sets of concepts addressing the issues of: "places/non-places," "things/non-things," "people/non-people," and "services/non-services." By drawing upon salient examples from everyday life, George Ritzer invites the reader to examine the nuances of these concepts in conjunction with the paradoxes within the process of the globalization of nothing. Critical questions are raised throughout, and the reader is compelled not only to seek answers to these questions, but also to critically evaluate the questions as well as their answers. New to This Edition Features a greater emphasis on the main topic of globalization: A new first chapter offers an introductory overview of globalization and globalization theory, outlining the unique ways in which these topics are addressed throughout the text. Offers a new way to conceptualize and theorize about globalization: This edition delves into two subprocesses of globalization—"glocalization" and "grobalization." Provides a new way to think about consumer culture and globalization: New material is presented on consumer culture and its globalization as well as on the role of branding. Uses a nontechnical and accessible style with many global examples: The examples in this book are drawn from everyday life and a global consumer culture that are readily recognizable to students. Shorter and more concise in response to reviewer feedback. Intended Audience This text can be used in a variety of courses focusing on the principles of sociology, social change, social theory, globalization, consumerism, and the global economy in sociology departments as well as in related courses in departments of political science or economics. Contributor to the SAGE Teaching Innovations and Professional Development Award

Is it possible for reality as a whole to be part of itself? Can the world appear within itself without thereby undermining the consistency of our thought and knowledge-claims concerning more local matters of fact? This is a question on which Markus Gabriel and Graham Priest disagree. Gabriel argues that the world cannot exist precisely because it is understood to be an absolutely totality. Priest responds by developing a special form of mereology according to which reality is a single all-encompassing whole, everything, which counts itself among its denizens. Their disagreement results in a debate about everything and nothing: Gabriel argues that we experience nothingness once we overcome our urge to contain reality in an all-encompassing thought, whereas Priest develops an account of nothing according to which it is the ground of absolutely everything. A debate about everything and nothing, but also a reflection on the very possibility of metaphysics.

The past is what happened. History is what we remember and write about that past, the narratives we craft to make sense out of our memories and their sources. But what does it mean to look at the past and to remember that "nothing happened"? Why might we feel as if "nothing is the way it was"? This book transforms these utterly ordinary observations and redefines "Nothing" as something we have known and can remember. "Nothing" has been a catch-all term for everything that is supposedly uninteresting or is just not there. It will take some—possibly considerable—mental adjustment before we can see Nothing as Susan A. Crane does here, with a capital "n." But Nothing has actually been happening all along. As Crane shows in her witty and provocative discussion, Nothing is nothing less than fascinating. When Nothing has changed but we think that it should have, we might call that injustice; when Nothing has happened over a long, slow period of time, we might call that boring. Justice and boredom have histories. So too does being relieved or disappointed when Nothing happens—for instance, when a forecasted end of the world does not occur, and millennial movements have to regroup. By paying attention to how we understand Nothing to be happening in the present, what it means to "know Nothing" or to "do Nothing," we can begin to ask how those experiences will be remembered. Susan A. Crane moves effortlessly between different modes of seeing Nothing, drawing on visual analysis and cultural studies to suggest a new way of thinking about history. By remembering how Nothing happened, or how Nothing is the way it was, or how Nothing has changed, we can recover histories that were there all along.

Best-selling author Mike Robbins had a life that many little boys dream of. Drafted by the New York Yankees directly out of high school, Mike decided instead to postpone his professional baseball career until he finished college. After a successful stint at Stanford, he began life in the minor leagues as a pitcher with the Kansas City Royals organization, where he played for three years until an injury benched him for good. This devastating disappointment changed his life in wonderful ways that he could have never imagined. He now teaches and speaks around the world about teamwork, emotional intelligence, and the value of appreciation and authenticity. In Nothing Changes Until You Do, Mike’s third book, he looks at one of the most important and challenging aspects of life—our relationship with ourselves. Even the most successful person struggles with this delicate relationship, which has created an epidemic of self-criticism, self-doubt, and thinking that our value is directly connected to the external world—our jobs, our finances, our appearance, our accomplishments, and so on. Through 40 short essays, Mike shows readers that none of this is true, and brings to light a new way to look at life. With themes spanning from the importance of trusting yourself to the benefits of vulnerability to the strength inherent in embracing powerlessness and change, Mike will help readers get out of their own way, so they can live a good life. He shows that with a little self-compassion and a healthy dose of self-acceptance, anyone can turn away from the negatives that manifest because of a critical self-perception—things like unkindness, addictions, sabotaged relationships, unnecessary drama, and more. Making peace with ourselves is fundamental to happiness. The suggestions, insights, and reminders of this book will allow readers to have more compassion, more acceptance, and more love for themselves—thus giving them access to more compassion, more acceptance, and more love for the people (and everything else) in their lives.

The two key questions often levelled at fresh expressions are ‘What is Church?’ and ‘How on earth can a fresh expression be evaluated?’ In "Out of Nothing", Andrew Dunlop offers an account of his journey in starting a fresh expression, and along the way proposes an alternative theological foundation for evaluation - the Cross-Shaped approach. Dunlop proposes a theological foundation which goes to the heart of God's action in the world. Both accessible and critically engaged, the book will provide an important resource for both pioneers and for those studying pioneer ministry.

From New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica comes three heart stopping thrillers where nothing is at is seems, now together in one e-book package that will keep you reading late into the night. THE GOOD GIRL “I’ve been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I don’t know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she’s scared. But I will.” One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life... DON’T YOU CRY In downtown Chicago, Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter is found among her possessions, leaving her roommate Quinn Collins to question how well she really knew her friend. Meanwhile, in a small Illinois town, a mysterious woman appears in the coffee shop where eighteen-year-old Alex Gallo works. He is immediately drawn to her, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more sinister… As Quinn searches for answers and Alex is drawn further under the stranger’s spell, master of suspense Mary Kubica takes readers on a taut and twisted thrill ride that builds to a stunning conclusion. PRETTY BABY Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. Nevertheless, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home, despite her family’s objections. As clues into Willow’s past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she’s willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into an unrelenting web of lies and a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated. Don't miss Mary Kubica's chilling upcoming novel, She's Not Sorry, where an ICU nurse accidentally uncovers a patient's frightening past... Look for these other edge-of-your-seat thrillers by New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica: Every Last Lie When the Lights Go Out The Other Mrs. Local Woman Missing Just The Nicest Couple She's Not Sorry

It's Probably Nothing continues the tale woven by Dr. Beach Conger in his first book, Bag Balm and Duct Tape. This new collection sees Conger and his wife yearning for new challenges and relocating to the suburbs of Philadelphia after 25 years in mythical Dumster, Vermont. Conger gamely takes a job in a teaching hospital in the poorest part of the city and gets to experience urban bureaucratized medicine and its trials- a far cry from the more idiosyncratic and hands-on version he practiced in Vermont. After 5 years Conger and his wife move back to Dumster, where he rediscovers more about his patients' capacity to both cope and cherish one another than he expected. Each of the tightly constructed chapters is centered around a particular patient or particular theme in medicine. It's Probably Nothing is both funny and poignant, and showcases both Conger's irreverent view into medicine and his profound empathy for the characters he encounters along the way. His experience highlights how medicine-and problems with out current medical system-can remain the same and yet be vastly different across class, race, and region. Among the people the reader meets are urban drag queens, small-town farmers and other heroes, Vermont celebrities, and the occasional reclusive author.

From its etymological roots, sex is related to a scission, Latin for sectus, secare, meaning "to divide or cut." Therefore, regardless of the various studies applied to defining sex as inscribed by discursive acts, i.e. merely a 'performatively enacted signification,' there is something more to sex than just a social construction or an aprioristic substance. Sex is irreducible to meaning or knowledge. This is why psychoanalysis cannot be formulated as an erotology nor a science of sex (scientia sexualis). In this matter, sex escapes the symbolic restraints of language; however, it is through its failure that it manifests itself through the symbolic, e.g. symptoms or dream life. So, what is sex? Sex and Nothing embarks upon a dialogue between colleagues and friends interested in bridging psychoanalysis and philosophy, linking sex and thought, where what emerges is a greater awareness of the irreducucibility of sex to the discourse of knowledge and meaning: in other words, sex and nothing.

Experimental literature accelerated dramatically in Vancouver in the 1960s as the influence of New American poetics merged with the ideas of Marshall McLuhan. Vancouver poets and artists began thinking about their creative works with new clarity and set about testing and redefining the boundaries of literature. As new gardes in Vancouver explored the limits of text and language, some writers began incorporating collage and concrete poetics into their work while others delved deeper into unsettling, revolutionary, and Surrealist imagery. There was a presumption across the avant-garde communities that radical openness could provoke widespread socio-political change. In other words, the intermedia experimentation and the related destruction of the line between art and society pushed art to the frontlines of a broad socio-political battle of the collective imagination of Vancouver. Finding Nothing traces the rise of the radical avant-garde in Vancouver, from the initial salvos of the Tish group, through Blewointment’s spatial experiments, to radical Surrealisms and new feminisms. Incorporating images, original texts, and interviews, Gregory Betts shows how the VanGardes signalled a remarkable consciousness of the globalized forces at play in the city, impacting communities, orientations, races, and nations.