Everywhere she looked, the world was in poor shape. And because she’d quit drinking, she no longer had the comfort blanket of alcohol to tamp down her anxiety. How did sober people stay sane?

In recent times, the self-help industry has exploded into a multi- billion dollar global industry – and along with it has come every imaginable type of therapy, healing or general woo-woo. In the past, Rebecca scoffed at this industry, mocking its reliance on half-baked science and the way it appears to prey on the mentally fragile.

But as she searched for a meaning of life that did not involve booze, she found it increasingly hard to rationalize her default scepticism. This shit really seems to work for some people, she reasoned. And it’s not like I have any particularly solid alternatives.

Rebecca lives in Cape Town, the undisputed epicentre of ‘alternative’ paths to peace and enlightenment in South Africa. She decided that over the course of a year, she would embark on a quest for personal wellness, spiritual enlightenment and good old-fashioned happiness. She was willing, within reason, to try anything. She would open herself to even the most outlandish contemporary fads in self- improvement.

What followed was a twelve-month immersion in the world of auras, chakras, hallucinogenic drugs, sweat lodges, sangomas, past lives and more.

And by the end of it? Maybe she would find some new ways of thinking and living. Or maybe she would emerge with her prejudices untouched.

Either way, it would be a good story.

James Bond spoof starring Rowan Atkinson as Johnny English, a lowly government clerk who suddenly finds himself promoted to the position of Britain's Number One International Spy. Sent into action after the crown jewels are stolen, English and his sidekick Bough (Ben Miller) soon begin to suspect billionaire Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich). The plot thickens when the mysterious Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia) begins turning up in the most unexpected places.

Increased tourism has turned the food service and hospitality industry into one of our economy's fastest-growing sectors. This growth presents new challenges to food-handling professionals throughout the industry. This second edition of The Hospitality Industry Handbook on Hygiene and Safety has incorporated additional content and features to reflect the fast-moving changes and to benefit both students and employees of the hospitality industry.

In 2011 while riding his motorbike through Mali, on his way home from London to Johannesburg, Stephen McGown was taken captive in Timbuktu by Al Qaeda. He was held captive for almost six years giving him the unenviable record of Al Qaeda’s longest held prisoner.

Together with writer Tudor Caradoc-Davies, he wrote his book Six Years With Al Qaeda: The Stephen McGown Story. In this inspirational biography Steve uncovers the extraordinary lengths he went through to survive; from learning French and Arabic, converting to Islam and accepting a name given to him by his captors. His aim was to raise his status among Al Qaeda, keep himself alive and hopefully make his way back home.

Thousands of kilometres away in Johannesburg, the shock of his kidnapping hit his wife Cath and the rest of the McGown family. Working every option they could find, from established diplomatic protocols to the murky back channels of the kidnap game, they set to work on trying to free Steve.

Months turned to years and while the captive-captor dynamic was ever-present, Steve witnessed first hand what no westerner has ever seen before, giving him a nuanced perspective on one of the worlds most feared terrorist organisations.

Strategic Management: Towards sustainable strategies in southern Africa covers the key concepts of strategy and shows how these are integrated within the management environment.

The book outlines how South African organisations make use of strategic management principles to make positive and practical changes to their enterprises.

It also provides theory and knowledge that can be applied to the work context to enable career growth and development.

The book is written for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students of management at universities and universities of technology.

Throughout the past 50 years, the courts have been a battleground for contesting political forces as more and more conflicts that were once fought in Parliament or in streets, or through strikes and media campaigns, find their way to the judiciary.

Certainly, the legal system was used by both the apartheid state and its opponents. But it is in the post-apartheid era, and in particular under the rule of President Jacob Zuma, that we have witnessed a dramatic increase in ‘lawfare’: the migration of politics to the courts.

The authors show through a series of case studies how just about every aspect of political life ends up in court: the arms deal, the demise of the Scorpions, the Cabinet reshuffle, the expulsion of the EFF from Parliament, the nuclear procurement process, the Cape Town mayor…

Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong star in this adaptation of the bestselling novel by S. J. Watson.

Christine Lucas (Kidman) suffers from anterograde amnesia, waking up every day without any knowledge of who she is. Christine regularly visits Dr. Nash (Strong) who, with the help of her understanding husband Ben (Firth), is assisting her with the recovery of her memories.

When Dr. Nash takes her to the place where she was attacked to try to reconstruct the event in her mind, Christine realises that she may be better off not remembering...

Business Statistics using Excel offers an excellent and helpful introduction to business statistics for students who require a first course, providing all of the explanation, tools, and skills which are required in order to master the subject matter. Thorough, clear and accessible, the text guides students in a progressive, step-by-step manner through the theoretical concepts and techniques, and supports understanding by providing extensive examples from a South African context. The text assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, and includes refresher chapters on numerical skills and Microsoft Excel. This text is eminently suitable as a first course in statistics for students who are studying the subject as a module within any business-related programme of study.

Rebecca Davis has been described as one of the funniest writers in South Africa today. Her razor-sharp wit combines with her acute powers of observation to produce social and political commentary that will have you in stitches even as it informs and provokes you to think seriously about the topics she discusses.

In Best White And Other Anxious Delusions, Davis offers advice on life's tricky issues; discusses the perils of being a 'Best white'; laments the fact that society does not have a universally adopted form of greeting, such as the high-five; explores the intricacies of social media and internet dating; considers the future of reading and tackles a range of controversial topics in between.

A double bill of films set in India. Comedy-drama 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' (2011) follows the experiences of a group of elderly Brits who arrive to take up residence in a newly-opened retirement home in Bangalore, India. Despite its glossy publicity campaign, the Marigold turns out to be rather different from the refurbished luxury hotel advertised in the brochures. However, it soon begins to reveal some unexpected charms of its own. Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith star.

'Slumdog Millionaire' (2008), the rags-to-possible riches tale, was the winner of eight Oscars at the 2009 Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. Jamal Malik (Patel) is an 18-year-old street kid from the slums of Mumbai. So what is he doing appearing on the Indian version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'? How can a young man from his background of poverty have acquired the knowledge to be only one correct answer away from winning 20 million rupees? With only one more question to be asked, however, the dream turns to nightmare. As the hooter sounds to signal the end of the show, Jamal is arrested and accused of cheating. No one can believe that he could really know all of the answers he has given. As Jamal tells the story of his life to the police, the reasons for his success begin to appear. Will Jamal be freed to hear the final question and, if so, will he know the answer?

Laas somer het Noi ’n klein walvis gered toe ’n storm dit op die strand uitgespoel het. Noudat dit winter word, wil Noi baie graag weer sy vriend sien. Maar die walvis is iewers in die diep see saam met sy familie. Dit is uiteindelik ’n ysige storm wat hulle weer bymekaar bring. ’n Verhaal van moed en vriendskap; die opvolgverhaal van Die stormwalvis.

Die reus Van der Bees is ’n nare ou brompot, en as hy honger raak, dan more en knor die grompot: Hierdie boek geskryf deur Elli Woollard en pragtig geillustreer deur die bekende en bekroonde Benji Davies, vertel die verhaal van die reus wat op soek is na ’n kind vir sy maaltyd. ’n Seun genaamd Jan het ’n ander reus by ’n boontjierank uitoorle – dus, wie sal dan nou beter smaak op ’n reusebord as die klein karnallie.

One of Aquinas's best known works after the Summa Theologica, Summa Contra Gentiles is a theological synthesis that explains and defends the existence and nature of God without invoking the authority of the Bible. A detailed expository account of and commentary on this famous work, Davies's book aims to help readers think about the value of the Summa Contra Gentiles (SCG) for themselves, relating the contents and teachings found in the SCG to those of other works and other thinkers both theological and philosophical. Following a scholarly account of Aquinas's life and his likely intentions in writing the SCG, the volume works systematically through all four books of the text. It is, therefore, a solid and reflective introduction both to the SCG and to Aquinas more generally. The book is aimed at students of medieval philosophy and theology, and of Aquinas in particular. It will interest teachers of medieval philosophy and theology, though it does not presuppose previous knowledge of Aquinas or of his works. Davies's book is the longest and most detailed account and discussion of the SCG available in English in one volume.

Key features * Five complete practice tests in exam-accurate format * Skills development sections with extra practice on key skills such as listening, reading, speaking and writing * Vocabulary and grammar practice sections that focus on the language related to the themes of the tests * Strategies and test tips for typical exam tasks * A writing guide with model answers and writing guidance for each exam task type * A Glossary with new words and phrases per unit * A Teacher's overprinted edition * Audio CDs with authentic test questions

This fun and interactive Reader s Theater book will help students build fluency while learning all about Colorado. The engaging script covers Colorado s continental divide, important landmarks such as Pikes Peak, examples of civic responsibilities in action, and much more. Make learning about Colorado s history, economy, government, and geography exciting with this book.The book includes a glossary, song and poem, and color-coded script. Go on an adventurous camping trip in the Rocky Mountains with this fun Reader s Theater book.

The human pathogens Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are exquisitely adapted to life within the human mucosa, their only natural niche. N. meningitidis is the causative agent of rapidly transmissible meningitis and septic shock. Vaccines developed to control this pathogen can be rendered ineffective by the pathogen's ability to undergo antigenic variation. In contrast, there are no current vaccination prospects for N. gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of sexually transmitted gonorrhoea. Historically, infections caused by N. gonorrhoeae were treated with antibiotics. However, the recent advent of new strains with resistance to all known antibiotics is causing such treatment regimes to fail, necessitating the need for new and more effective control strategies. In this book, leading Neisseria authorities review the most important research on pathogenic Neisseria to provide a timely overview of the field. The topics covered include: the link between pathogenesis and important metabolic pathways * vaccine development * antibiotic resistance * transcriptomics of regulatory networks * regulatory small RNAs * interactions with neutrophils * advances in humanized mouse models. An essential guide for research scientists, advanced students, clinicians, and other professionals working with Neisseria, the book is a recommended text for all microbiology libraries.