Why some people are rich and others poor can be explained in a number of ways. Income and Wealth focuses on "who" gets "what" and "why." The who are those in the top, middle, and lower income groups. Why they are there is a function of a variety of factors, including education, employment, saving, investing, and taxation. What they get is cash income, leisure time, property, and other forms of wealth. This volume explains the dynamics of income generation, how it is measured, and how such dramatic disparities in distribution come about. Citing numerous cases of distortion in the popular press, and among academics, policymakers, and pundits, Reynolds exposes many popular myths concerning income and wealth, and presents a balanced perspective on this critical aspect of economics and social policy. The book first defines various characteristics of income, with an emphasis on the gap between the rich and the poor, and reviews several theories to explain the disparities. Subsequent chapters focus on such timely topics as the "vanishing" middle class and the sky-high salaries of CEOs, Hollywood stars, and athletes. The final chapters consider the implications of policies, such as the minimum wage, taxes, immigration, and trade quotas, and expand the discussion to consider international comparisons. Featuring graphs and charts, a glossary of key terms, and a listing of references and resources, Income and Wealth explains the intricate, and often controversial, effects of economic policies on individuals, families, and communities. Moreover, it demonstrates how the numbers can be manipulated by policymakers, pundits, journalists, and academics to promote various agendas, and shows readers howto recognize hyperbole and make better-informed decisions.

A classic textbook on international relations updated to take account of recent research and the consequences of the end of the cold war. Covers both foreign policy analysis and the international environment. Introduces students to methodology and international relations and looks at the important role now played by multinational corporations and at the independences that have formed in the last two decades.

A classic textbook on international relations updated to take account of recent research and the consequences of the end of the cold war. Covers both foreign policy analysis and the international environment. Introduces students to methodology and international relations and looks at the important role now played by multinational corporations and at the independences that have formed in the last two decades.

8th August 1914... In the sequel to the acclaimed novel, The Baker's Story, award-winning author Alan Reynolds continues the historical drama following the Marsden family into the depths of the First World War. Mildred Marsden, the family matriarch, can only watch as the conflict takes her family in different directions with mixed fortunes. Using detailed research, we are transported back to the horrors of the trench warfare in Flanders and witness the effects on the serving soldier. We learn too about the bravery of the female volunteer ambulance crews as they strive to save the lives of the wounded in what has been described as the first example of 'industrial warfare'. At home, meanwhile, the social divide is all too apparent as life for many continues as normal in blissful ignorance of the sacrifices of others. Another gripping tale, carefully crafted to provide the reader with an insight into the world of our great, great grandparents at the time of their greatest challenges.

The Last Poppy completes the Marsden trilogy of books, following The Baker's Story and Arthur's War. The date is 1915 and the now global conflict has had a considerable impact on the family. The story continues to reflect the war overseas in Northern France and in the Middle East as the fortunes of the Marsden family and their immediate friends are played out against a backdrop of huge social and military challenges. In this gripping finale, we also learn of the psychological impact of war and the disturbing efforts of the medical fraternity to solve it. The book concludes on armistice day 1918, read how the experiences of four years of war have changed the family forever.

It was just another working day in the humdrum life of master baker, Arthur Marsden, and his family. As he mixed dough for the morning's bread run, he had no concept of the change that was about to be unleashed, the repercussions of which would leave no corner of the world untouched. Set in a West Yorkshire town, this powerful story charts the life of the Marsden family as the country sleep-walks into a conflict that will change lives forever. Using detailed research, award-winning author, Alan Reynolds, has constructed a moving saga that reflects the social conditions of the time through the eyes of a working-class family - women's rights, industrial unrest, and a class war that teetered on the point of revolution. A riveting narrative that will keep readers gripped while providing a powerful insight into what life was like in the days leading up to the First World War.

This may be a work of fiction but this award-winning writer yet again shows great skill at intertwining facts into his narrative in a way that the reader will find it hard to tell one from the other... It seemed like another routine, humdrum morning for Courtney Kline, the chief reporter at the Eastport Echo. Just another day in the office, at least until she opened an email sent from the chair of the anglers association. In it, he stated he had evidence that something was killing the fish in the local river but that no one would listen to him. Out of curiosity, she contacted the man and they agreed to meet. But when, in mysterious circumstances, he ends up dead, she starts her own investigation which triggers a chain of events that leads to a roller coaster ride through cover-ups and intrigue. With her own life in danger, who can she trust? Poor governance and bad leadership can have catastrophic consequences. Often the most major of events can start with good people doing nothing while those that should know better try to cover up their incompetence and criminality. This fast-paced story will have readers rapidly turning the page to see what happens next.

April 2006, the height of the Iranian nuclear crisis. The Iranian secret police, with its thirty thousand agents, spies and informants, are everywhere. Relations between Iran and most of the rest of world are low; the Americans, with their itchy trigger fingers, are unpredictable. Against this backdrop, a cleaner at the British Embassy compound slips a piece of paper to the wife of the Cultural Attache. The cleaner's husband is one of Iran's leading nuclear scientists and he wants to defect to the UK. The message reaches MI6 headquarters in London; urgent high-level meetings take place. Is it authentic or are the Iranians playing games? Is it even feasible? Agent Nick Houghton is sent to Tehran to investigate. A nail-biting thriller which will have readers flicking through the pages as the story reaches its gripping conclusion.

From the horrors of war in Yugoslavia to life on a Newcastle council estate in the north of England, the tremendous pace of Flying with Kites will take your breath away. Katya Gjikolli is bent on her own and her son's survival in a world gone mad. Her husband may have been caught by the Serbs, he may be imprisoned, tortured or even dead. She eventually escapes on a refugee flight to the UK. She finds herself housed with another Kosovan refugee in a high-rise flat in a depressed area of Newcastle in the north of England. She begins her new life, finding new friends and a new love. One woman's struggle to survive leads to new friends who live on the edge of the law. There's Bigsy who will to do anything to make money, strictly for cash. Chirpy and Wazza make up the colourful trio who aid Bigsy in delivering drugs to the clubs in Newcastle for Everton Sheedie, a dealer with roots in Brixton. Carol, Bigsy's wife, dishes out 'favours' to him dependent on how well he behaves and how much money he gives her to spend. Polly is an art student with a talent for flying kites, as well as an eye for a good photograph and for Katya. Other characters are peppered throughout the novel providing colour and depth making this a terrific read. It has tragedy. It has comedy. It has got sex and violence. It's also got tenderness so well written that it will bring a tear to the eye.

In this sequel to the acclaimed novel and Wishing-Shelf Awards finalist, The Sixth Pillar, we again follow the exploits of former SAS officer Rory Calderwood, as he tries to rebuild his life following his time on the North Sea Gas rig. He has now relocated to a seemingly more tranquil area, but an act of extreme bravery leads to a chance meeting with the managing director of a company involved in making weaponry. Rory is soon hired as a security consultant, his key role, to protect them from industrial espionage. The company's latest invention, under the code-name 'Hades', will change modern warfare and there are numerous countries and agencies anxious to get their hands on the plans. What follows is a dramatic account of Calderwood's attempt to protect his employers, the story weaving from the backstreets of Birmingham to the warring factions of the Middle East. Then there is Natalie, the mysterious international lawyer from Estonia recently employed by the company; where does she fit in, in all the mayhem? Is she really what she seems or a smokescreen? Whatever you do, do not miss the exciting climax that will have readers flipping the pages to reach the conclusion.

The worst decisions are sometimes made with the best of intentions, a simple error of judgement which unleashes a catalogue of life-changing events. Keith Woodley, owner of a struggling coach business decides to treat his wife to a new coat and a night out for her special birthday. When she returns home with the wrong coat Keith finds in the pocket a key to a left-luggage locker. Thinking it might contain money he so badly needs to save his business he decides to track down the locker. He was not prepared for the consequences. Keith suddenly finds himself embroiled in a world of people trafficking and gang warfare. How can he extract himself from a living nightmare that gets more dangerous by the minute? From the award winning author of Flying With Kites comes a novel that will have readers urgently turning pages as the story of this fast moving thriller evolves.

The Valley of the Serpent is another sweeping thriller by Alan Reynolds, taking the reader on a roller-coaster journey through the Derbyshire Peak District in the UK, through Switzerland, France and The Northern Territories of Australia. Young Geologist, Harry Bentham is head-hunted by an unscrupulous mining firm who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Events gradually unfold which lead Harry to question the ethics of the company for whom he is working and their methods in obtaining mining licenses. His actions put him and those around him in grave danger as the consequences of those actions descend rapidly into a question of survival.

In his latest novel, Alan Reynolds has blown the lid off the culture and practices in British Banking that led to the financial crisis of 2008. The book is set in a fictional Bank in 1997 and follows the exploits of Martin Brazier the manager of a branch in the North of England. We learn at first hand about the pressures exerted by the bullying Regional Director and his relentless drive to achieve targets. The rewards for success are lavish with bonuses and incentive trips; the punishment for failure, humiliation and shame. The resulting behaviours - hedonism, greed and dishonesty are played out in a fast moving thriller which will have readers on the edge of their seats as the story unfolds. Some in the banking community could well recognise themselves as this work of fiction comes daringly close to the truth.

There is nothing as tragic as man's inhumanity to man; what triggers such hatred that some are prepared to give up their own existence to destroy another's way of life? In his latest action-packed thriller Alan Reynolds explores the conditioning of the jihadists as we follow a young Iraqi, Tariq and his quest for revenge and martyrdom. We also learn about the SAS soldier who has to live with the consequences of war and his own demons of conflict. He attains an odd solace in the isolation of working on a North Sea Oil Rig but, in an almost impossible coincidence, these two worlds collide with explosive results.

If there is a thin divide between brilliance and madness, who is to judge our sanity? Alan Reynolds follows up the five-star rated Flying with Kites with a gripping psychological thriller, Taskers End. The story opens with three criminal psychiatrists reviewing the case-notes and background history of Gerald Perry, a wealthy former forensic science student and diagnosed schizophrenic. We learn about his tragic up-bringing and the incident that lead to him being interned to a mental institution indefinitely. When the decision is eventually made to release him, Gerald assumes a new identity and returns to his family home, Taskers End where he had been brought up by his beloved grand-parents. He soon discovers that in his absence they had died in mysterious circumstances and, using his forensic skills, starts his own investigation with devastating consequences. Then there is the beautiful Maureen...For everyone who becomes involved with Gerald Perry life will never be the same again.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1942.

A new picture of music at the basilica of St. Peter's in the fifteenth century emerges in Christopher A. Reynolds's fascinating chronicle of this rich period of Italian musical history. Reynolds examines archival documents, musical styles, and issues of artistic patronage and cultural context in a fertile consideration of the ways historical and musical currents affected each other. This work is both a historical account of performers and composers and an examination of how their music revealed their cultural values and educational backgrounds. Reynolds analyzes several anonymous masses copied at St. Peter's, proposing attributions that have biographical implications for the composers. Taken together, the archival records and the music sung at St. Peter's reveal a much clearer picture of musical life at the basilica than either source would alone. The contents of the St. Peter's choirbook help document musical life as surely as that musical life—insofar as it can be reconstructed from the archives—illumines the choirbook. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1995.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1942.

A new picture of music at the basilica of St. Peter's in the fifteenth century emerges in Christopher A. Reynolds's fascinating chronicle of this rich period of Italian musical history. Reynolds examines archival documents, musical styles, and issues of artistic patronage and cultural context in a fertile consideration of the ways historical and musical currents affected each other. This work is both a historical account of performers and composers and an examination of how their music revealed their cultural values and educational backgrounds. Reynolds analyzes several anonymous masses copied at St. Peter's, proposing attributions that have biographical implications for the composers. Taken together, the archival records and the music sung at St. Peter's reveal a much clearer picture of musical life at the basilica than either source would alone. The contents of the St. Peter's choirbook help document musical life as surely as that musical life-insofar as it can be reconstructed from the archives-illumines the choirbook. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1995.