Fleeing Cuba in 1961, Jorge J. E. Gracia arrived in the USA at the age of nineteen without family and unable to speak English. Ten years later he was assistant professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Over the next 50 years Gracia published dozens of books and hundreds of articles, making major contributions to numerous areas of philosophy: Latin American philosophy, race and ethnicity, Medieval philosophy, philosophical historiography, metaphysics and ontology, and theory of interpretation. This book is a critical response to Gracia’s work and a tribute to his legacy. It includes a comprehensive bibliography of Gracia’s philosophical works.

When Tamara Mellon’s father lent her the seed money to start a high-end shoe company, he cautioned her: “Don’t let the accountants run your business.” Little did he know. Over the next fifteen years, the struggle between “financial” and “creative” would become one of the central themes as Mellon’s business savvy, creative eye, and flair for design built Jimmy Choo into a premier name in the competitive fashion industry. Over time, Mellon grew Jimmy Choo into a billion dollar brand. She became the British prime minister’s trade envoy and was honored by the Queen with the Order of the British Empire—yet it’s her personal glamour that keeps her an object of global media fascination. Vogue photographed her wedding. Vanity Fair covered her divorce and the criminal trial that followed. Harper’s Bazaar toured her London town house and her New York mansion, right down to the closets. And the Wall Street Journal hinted at the real red meat: the three private equity deals, the relentless battle between “the suits” and “the creatives,” and Mellon’s triumph against a brutally hostile takeover attempt. But despite her eventual fame and fortune, Mellon didn’t have an easy road to success. Her seemingly glamorous beginnings in the mansions of London and Beverly Hills were marked by a tumultuous and broken family life, battles with anxiety and depression, and a stint in rehab. Determined not to end up unemployed, penniless, and living in her parents’ basement under the control of her alcoholic mother, Mellon honed her natural business sense and invested in what she knew best—fashion. In creating the shoes that became a fixture on Sex and the City and red carpets around the world, Mellon relied on her own impeccable sense of what the customer wanted—because she was that customer. What she didn’t know at the time was that success would come at a high price—after struggles with an obstinate business partner, a conniving first CEO, a turbulent marriage, and a mother who tried to steal her hard-earned wealth. Now Mellon shares the whole larger-than-life story, with shocking details that have never been presented before. From her troubled childhood to her time as a young editor at Vogue to her partnership with cobbler Jimmy Choo to her very public relationships, Mellon offers an honest and gripping account of the episodes that have made her who she is today. As Mellon readies herself for her next entrepreneurial venture, In My Shoes is a definitive book for fashion aficionados, aspiring entrepreneurs, and anyone who loves a juicy true story about sex, drugs, money, power, high heels, and overcoming adversity.

"I am not moving to Iraq to teach." How does a liberal American girl in red suede boots end up teaching English to conservative Muslim Iraqis in headscarves? Gretchen Berg has met the recession: she has eaten cereal for dinner, given up the gym membership, and come face to face with looming unemployment. To cope, she decided to uproot her life and move to the Middle East. She expected to make some good money, pay off some bad debt, and take some photos of camels. She did not expect to feel at home. She did not expect to fall for a student. She did not expect Diet Coke withdrawal. Irreverent, hilarious, and completely relevant, I Have Iraq in My Shoe takes a single, broke, fashion-conscious American female who prefers Project Runaway to CNN and tosses her into Iraq in exchange for cash and vacation time. Watch the desert sand fly!

Imagine an America where blacks are the oppressors, and whites endured the brutal ship passage to become slaves. A Mile In My Shoes stands exactly on this very premise. In short, it tells the same ol' song and dance of oppression which is not about one's color. It is about whoever is on top, wanting to maintain this position while someone else has to be the nigga. Human nature is the operative factor; color is only an easy designator of difference. In this tale, whether one labels the religious rites circumcision, castration or mutilation, the truth is that the act is a horrific travesty, a mutilation of God's gift. Regarding race, we have come a long way, but we have yet to be in each other's shoes. We cannot go back in time. The only way to achieve true empathy is through strong visualization which can allow us to experience the other's lessons of the soul. A Mile In My Shoes is written at gut level, but with high ideals. Tremaine, the main character, is a young white male who, having witnessed tragedies no child should, grows to manhood by twisting the twisted roots given to him in his own way. The whole country comes to know the gang he initiated at the age of fourteen. Since its inception Nails has been his life, but at thirty-six years old, can an old soldier cross the tracks, join with a black woman, and start a new life? This is but one of the challenges facing Trim, but no matter the number of problems, the love of God remains the one constant in his life; God declares that His investment of spirit shall not come back void. But can the movement of spirit release him from the bondage of circumstance that he might find true love to surpass all else; that love which begins with love of God and self?

The academic study of diamonds is as multi-faceted as the precious stones themselves. Mineralogists and geographers have written about them, as have historians and economists and students of art and fashion. They each shine their light on a different aspect of this source of luminous radiance. But who would venture to describe the entire complicated worldwide system starting in the diamond mines and ending with the consumers of Western metropolises? In The Mazzel Ritual: Culture, Customs and Crime in the Diamond Trade, Russian-Israeli cultural anthropologist and criminologist Dina Siegel follows the route of a diamond from the mines of Africa to the shops of Europe and the United States, as it passes through countless hands and places and is smuggled, stolen, cut, polished, sold, exchanged and, finally, worn as jewelry. In the course of this long and exciting journey, a wide range of people face all sorts of risks and criminality, as well as various moral and ethical judgments. Siegel describes the range of ethnic groups that are active in the diamond trade and the culture and customs that are specific to this business. She analyses the dangers and threats to the industry and aims to uncover the strategies and tactics to deal with them. Finally, this story of risk, trust and crime examines the vulnerability of diamond production and distribution to illicit and criminal activities. This book is about the diamond business itself as well as about those involved in it. It tells the story of people who simply cannot stay away from this expensive and alluring commodity.

The Song Walker is an extraordinary new story of friendship, discovery and courage from Zillah Bethell, author of The Shark Caller which won the Wales Book of the Year and the Edward Stanford Children's Travel Book of the Year 2022. "There are three questions that I need to find the answers to: Where am I? What am I doing here? And... Who am I?" When a young girl wakes up in the middle of the desert, she has no idea who she is. She's wearing one shoe, a silky black dress, and she's carrying a strange, heavy case. She meets Tarni, who is on a mysterious quest of her own. Together, the two girls trek across the vast and ever-changing Australian Outback in search of answers. Except both are also hiding secrets...

John Smith began that morning a perfectly healthy man, but before he knows it time freezes during his morning staff meeting and he thinks he's dying. Has his body stopped or has everything around him? When the clock begins to click again, he is trapped in a parallel universe, where he is "greeted" by Joan of Arc and Robin Hood. Trapped in a world inhabited by only Quads and survivors of biological warfare, John becomes entangled in a battle between God or the Devil, Elvis and Napoleon. The fate of the world rests on John putting together the pieces of a cosmic puzzle before everyone in Quad world is forever confined to Hell. Can he discover the secrets of Quad in time?

A motivational guide by successful entrepreneur Sir Michael Hill - this bestselling step-by-step guide will help fulfil your dreams. Internationally successful businessman Michael Hill outlines the key lessons he has learned over the years. His wisdom covers these topics in great detail, with lots of helpful examples: Clearing the clutter of your mind; Positive day-dreaming; Letting go and thinking bigger; Change - Making a negative a positive; Working smarter not harder;; How to keep motivated; The power of the spoken word; Smarten up; Great health; Having fun; Thinking outside the box and Helping others. All royalties from this book go to the New Zealand charity Cure Kids.