He'll make her an offer… Pascha Virshilas is on the brink of securing personal redemption when Emily Richardson breaks into his office and steals private company documents. And then she has the gall to blackmail him into clearing her father's name! She can't refuse! But Pascha has his own terms. He'll keep his side of the bargain, but the enticing Emily must accompany him to his private island—the only place he can ensure her silence. But in the midst of a tropical storm, the wind blows aside suspicions and secrets to reveal something much more dangerous—lust!

Ultimatum 2 is an action-packed, fast-moving saga. The American president is fed up with the hundreds of millions of dollars given to Russia to clean up high-level nuclear waste. His solution is to give the Russians an ultimatum: do this my way, or else! It is delivered in person by the secretary of state during a secret rendezvous in Norway. A second ultimatum follows from the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom to the government of Canada, after they decide that an international nuclear waste disposal site should be created in Canada. The Canadian prime minister tells their emissary there’s no way Canada will become a nuclear waste dump. The Americans threaten to invade. How the matter is resolved is ingenious.

In the not-so-distant future, a former actor turned politician becomes the newly elected President of the United States. Intent on unifying the country and putting the people first, he inspires hope for a bright future in America for the first time in decades—that is until a shadow is cast upon the planet. An object suddenly appears in Earth’s orbit that dwarfs anything that could be man-made. Faced with visitors that are clearly more powerful and advanced in every way, the President must now focus on the survival of humanity. A young and hopeful college student considered one of the brightest minds at her university is tasked with the horrific mission to save American lives from a seemingly unconquerable enemy. Can she put her conscience aside and twist her theories and science in the darkest ways to become the world’s savior? A former United States Army Sergeant turned Boston police officer has vowed to keep his beloved neighborhood and city safe. As chaos erupts across the country, he must take a stand and keep his city from tearing itself apart. In a world where there are no superheroes to come to the rescue and no top-secret weapons to fight the visitors from space, what can be done to save the human race?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER At a small-town carnival, two men, each mysteriously summoned by telegram, witness a bizarre killing. The telegrams are signed “Jason Bourne.” Only they know Bourne’s true identity and understand that the telegrams are really a message from Bourne’s mortal enemy, Carlos, known also as the Jackal, the world’s deadliest and most elusive terrorist. And furthermore, they know what the Jackal wants: a final confrontation with Bourne. Now David Webb, professor of Oriental studies, husband, and father, must do what he hoped never to do again—assume the terrible identity of Jason Bourne. His plan is simple: to infiltrate the politically and economically omnipotent Medusan group and use himself as bait to lure the cunning Jackal into a deadly trap—a trap from which only one of them will escape.

This is the definitive story of how the United States attempted to turn Japan into a democratic and peace-loving nation by drafting a new constitution for its former enemy--and then pretending that the Japanese had written it. Based on scores of interviews with participants in the process, as well as exhaustive research in Japanese and American records, the book explores in vivid detail the thinking and intentions behind the drafting of the constitution. Confusion and strife marked planning for the democratization of Japan, first in Washington, then in occupied Tokyo. Policy makers in the State, War, and Navy departments, the Joint Chiefs, and the White House contended bitterly over how to devise an "unconditional surrender" that would minimize Allied casualties while according the victor supreme authority over a soundly defeated Japan. By war's end, there were still no firm guidelines on a host of crucial issues, including how the Japanese system of government could be made acceptably democratic. The first months of occupation were chaotic, with General MacArthur organizing his staff around loyal followers and edging out experts sent from Washington. Hampered by a narrow interpretation of the terms of surrender and wishful thinking about Japanese compliance with American expectations, MacArthur set in motion a fiasco. Because of a translator's error, Prince Konoye, three-time Prime Minister of Japan, thought MacArthur had entrusted him with revising the Japanese constitution and assembled a staff of constitutional law experts and set to work. However, conservatives in the Japanese cabinet denounced his efforts and produced their own version, which MacArthur found unacceptable. MacArthur then secretly instructed his staff, with its very limited knowledge of either Japan or constitutional law, to draft a new Japanese constitution, which amazingly they did in a week's time. Expecting approval of its own draft, the Japanese cabinet was stunned when presented with a completely different American document. So unrelenting was the pressure exerted by MacArthur's officers that it was clear to members of the cabinet they had no choice but to adopt the American draft more or less intact, and publish it as their own. Because of the broad range of its meticulous research, the book will be a standard reference not only for students of Japanese history but also for legal scholars, diplomatic historians, and political scientists.

The fate of the world hangs in the balance of a newly reunified Czechoslovakia in this political thriller by the author of Escape to Perdition. With the anniversary of the Prague Spring approaching, panic overshadows the celebration as international terrorism and violent extremists threaten to destroy the country. Captain Lincoln Stone, a disgraced British officer, humiliatingly scapegoated by his government, finds himself in the thick of the action. Plucked from his purgatory, Stone is offered exoneration in return for his aid of the Czechoslovak Prime Minister. Stone, resentful of his treatment and determined to prove himself, is driven by deeper motives than those of his superiors. But as the country descends into chaos, he must find a way to survive at the epicentre of a deadly storm. Cut off from the international community, Czechoslovakia's fate, and that of the world, hangs on Stone and the outcome to the Prague Ultimatum . . .

In 1885 Russia moved to take the Afghan city of Herat, which the British regarded as the "key of India". Marvin wrote and published this emergency international affairs analysis in eight days. His purpose was to garner support from the British government for military action--up to and including war--against Russia before it took Herat. Marvin believed that the Russians were aiming for India and his analysis is framed as such. At the time of writing, Russia had not yet taken Herat, so Marvin briefly describes the history of the movements leading up to it, followed by a warning of the dangers not only Russian occupation, but Russian railroads would have for the security of India. Marvin also briefly describes Afghanis--a description that denies their ability to control the country because of their tribal differences.

The author of Trigger Point delivers “an anxiety-inducing thriller about global warming [that] effectively taps a hot topic and handles it with flair” (Publishers Weekly). November, 2032. Joe Benton has just been elected the forty-eighth president of the United States. Only days after winning, his predecessor reveals that estimates regarding the effect of global warming have been grossly underestimated. For the United States, a leading carbon emitter for decades, the prospects are devastating. Miami will be washed into the ocean and southern California will waste away to desert; the relocation of thirty million citizens will cost trillions of dollars. With the world on the verge of catastrophe, Benton abandons the Kyoto 4 summit and resumes secret negotiations with China—the world’s worst polluter. As the two superpowers lock horns, the ensuing battle of wits becomes a race against time. Ultimatum is a prophetic thriller that explores the most pressing issue of the twenty-first century. In a convincing and compelling narrative, it moves from top secret Oval Office meetings to clandestine talks in Norway and tense negotiations in Beijing. Ultimatum is an unsettling thriller that steers us into the dark heart of political intrigue and a future that is all too believable. “Fans of political thrillers will flock to this one, which combines realistic characters with shrewd political commentary.” —Booklist

Covering Western history from the ancient world to the current era of globalization, The Modernization of the Western World describes the forces of social change and what they have meant to the lives of the people caught up in them. The volume presents the history of Western civilization from a historical sociology perspective, introducing readers to the analyses of thinkers like Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Ferdinand Tönnies, and Max Weber, in order to provide tools for understanding how societies function and change. This application of modernization theory argues, not that what has happened in the West should or even must happen in non-Western societies, but that understanding modernization as a process of social change affords a better understanding of why and how life has changed over the past millennium. The interactions of Western and non-Western societies have had a profound effect on each other; this is the story of the development of a truly global economy. This new edition has been updated to include a final chapter which addresses recent developments—economic disturbances in the global marketplace, cyberwarfare, and the rise of populist movements—testing the relevance of classic modernization theory for today. Featuring a glossary, maps and illustrations, boxed features, and an extensive index, this book will be of particular interest to students looking to understand world history as well as those interested in historical sociology and modernization theory.