Can Lawrence Kingston unearth the key to a deadly secret hidden by a mysterious ancient garden inscription in the newest English Garden Mystery? Codebreakers have tried for centuries to decipher the enigmatic inscription on a strange monument in the garden at Sturminster Hall, but no one has ever succeeded. When a murder occurs on the garden grounds, the intellectual puzzle becomes all too real, and Dr. Lawrence Kingston—retired professor of botany and reluctant sleuth—is called in to investigate. Other than a scrap of paper bearing a random sequence of letters found on the victim, the police have no meaningful clues. Convinced that the crime must be linked to the seemingly unbreakable centuries-old code, Kingston begins hunting for clues that will help him unmask the murderer's identity as well as the arcane mystery of the monument. But he quickly finds himself swept along in the dangerous undertow of a centuries' old family conflict and a second murder, by poisoning. What could be so valuable, so important to justify such extreme measures and complex codes to keep sacrosanct for over two centuries? To unlock the garden's dark secret, Kingston must delve into the brilliant minds of three famous men to fathom what part each may have played in masterminding the riddle: an Admiral hailed as father of Britain's navy, the author of England's most celebrated poem, and Great Britain's first Prime Minister. But as Kingston's investigation into an England's past leads him closer to a killer in the very dangerous present, his own prospects for survival start to look less and less assured.

Even pacifists have their limits. Being a partner in genocide is unimaginable for a peaceful, inept shape shifter like Grainne. But when her husband Slyxx holds her medieval homeland hostage for a seemingly worthless ransom she doesn’t have, the inconceivable happens. Despite growing despair, Grainne can’t let go of believing that survivors do exist, and it’s up to her to find them. When she detects an error in translation of a set of mysterious scrolls penned by a missing order of priestesses, she resolves to find the women she believes can lead her to survivors. What Grainne doesn’t realize is that she already knows the missing priestesses, and some of them are working to stop her from uncovering a secret alliance threatening her world. Even worse, the key to saving her world is inside of her, and someone will stop at nothing to have it. Grainne is about to learn just how naïve she really is when she discovers the stars aren’t what she thought they were . . . and neither is she.

An investigation of the work and workers in fossil preparation labs reveals the often unacknowledged creativity and problem-solving on which scientists rely. Those awe-inspiring dinosaur skeletons on display in museums do not spring fully assembled from the earth. Technicians known as preparators have painstakingly removed the fossils from rock, repaired broken bones, and reconstructed missing pieces to create them. These specimens are foundational evidence for paleontologists, and yet the work and workers in fossil preparation labs go largely unacknowledged in publications and specimen records. In this book, Caitlin Wylie investigates the skilled labor of fossil preparators and argues for a new model of science that includes all research work and workers. Drawing on ethnographic observations and interviews, Wylie shows that the everyday work of fossil preparation requires creativity, problem-solving, and craft. She finds that preparators privilege their own skills over technology and that scientists prefer to rely on these trusted technicians rather than new technologies. Wylie examines how fossil preparators decide what fossils, and therefore dinosaurs, look like; how labor relations between interdependent yet hierarchically unequal collaborators influence scientific practice; how some museums display preparators at work behind glass, as if they were another exhibit; and how these workers learn their skills without formal training or scientific credentials. The work of preparing specimens is a crucial component of scientific research, although it leaves few written traces. Wylie argues that the paleontology research community's social structure demonstrates how other sciences might incorporate non-scientists into research work, empowering and educating both scientists and nonscientists.

A groundbreaking exposé that convincingly challenges the popular image of Edward Snowden as hacker turned avenging angel, while revealing how vulnerable our national security systems have become--as exciting as any political thriller, and far more important. After details of American government surveillance were published in 2013, Edward Snowden, formerly a subcontracted IT analyst for the NSA, became the center of an international controversy: Was he a hero, traitor, whistle-blower, spy? Was his theft legitimized by the nature of the information he exposed? When is it necessary for governmental transparency to give way to subterfuge? Edward Jay Epstein brings a lifetime of journalistic and investigative acumen to bear on these and other questions, delving into both how our secrets were taken and the man who took them. He makes clear that by outsourcing parts of our security apparatus, the government has made classified information far more vulnerable; how Snowden sought employment precisely where he could most easily gain access to the most sensitive classified material; and how, though he claims to have acted to serve his country, Snowden is treated as a prized intelligence asset in Moscow, his new home.

In today's corporate world, 87 percent of companies fail to successfully execute the strategy they set for any given year. In the pages of this book, CEO mentor and Coach Dan Prosser shows you how to make your company one of the other 13 percent--a Thirteener. In the process, he explains that the true challenge of building a great company--one that consistently executes its strategy--is understanding the real nature of human interaction and the key to success: connectedness. Whether you're a successful CEO, business owner, entrepreneur, or leader, or whether you're struggling to build the business you've always wanted, Thirteeners will help you... transform your organization's internal connectedness so you can achieve your next level of performance you’re looking for. create a workplace environment that supports your vision and assures participation by every team member. produce breakthrough results. With a focus on business as a network of interrelated conversations and through groundbreaking ''Best Place To Work'' company research, Prosser demonstrates what you need to do to transform the way your employees think and act to achieve unprecedented levels of performance for your company.