A blown mission and a dead team leave Adam Hayes the last loose thread in a tapestry of betrayal in this latest high stakes international thriller from the world of Robert Ludlum.

The most pressing issue on Adam Hayes’ mind is planning his son’s upcoming 5th birthday party. After years of operating in the world’s most dangerous spots for Treadstone, he’s ready to call it quits, but the feeling isn’t mutual.

Levi Shaw, Treadstone’s director, calls Hayes back for one more mission. “It’s a walk in the park. You don’t even have to go in with the strike team. I just need you to set up the safe house. You’ll be home in time to pick up the birthday cake.”

But nothing is ever easy where Treadstone is concerned. When the mission is blown only Hayes is left alive, and everyone, it seems, is determined to correct that oversight.

Five feature-length action adventures based on the Marvel comic.

In 'X-Men' (2000), mutants Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) are former friends, but look set to become mortal enemies when fascist US senator Robert Frank Kelly calls for the registration of all humans with abnormal powers. While telepath Xavier, who runs an altruistic academy for superhuman 'X-Men', wishes to enlighten non-mutants and break down the prejudices which divide them, Magneto believes that the only solution is for the mutants to take over. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) - an aggressive loner with an admantium skeleton and the ability to heal his body of any wound - and teenager Rogue (Anna Paquin), who can absorb the life force of others simply by touching them, are selected by Xavier to join his academy, but it isn't long before Magneto's followers are attempting to capture them so that they can assist in his plan for world domination.

In the sequel, 'X-Men 2' (2003), Xavier, Wolverine and the X-Men find themselves in the firing line after a failed assassination attempt on the president points the finger at the school. It was in fact the mysterious teleporter Nightwalker (Alan Cumming) who ordered it, and, in an attempt to clear their names, the X-Men are led into a trap set by the evil William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious scientist apparently working for the government. As it soon becomes evident that Stryker's agenda is to destroy all mutants, the X-Men need to call in the help of many of their old friends and foes, including Magneto, if they are to stop him.

In the third film, 'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2006), the mutants are given the option of giving up their powers and becoming human after a private laboratory supported by the government finds a way to use the DNA of a powerful boy to correct the mutants. However, Magneto opposes and decides to join a force to fight against the government and kill the mutant boy. Meanwhile, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) resurrects, uncontrolled by Xavier, and with the personality of the powerful Dark Phoenix. She destroys Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier and allies herself to the evil forces of Magneto, making them almost invincible.

The fourth film in the franchise, 'X-Men: Origins - Wolverine' (2009) is a prequel to the other three films. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine, who, some 20 years before the action of the original movie, is seeking revenge on his half-brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) for the death of his girlfriend, and eventually signs up to the ominous Weapon X programme.

Finally, 'X-Men: First Class' (2011) charts the beginning of the saga, following Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) through their formative years in the 1960s as they come to terms with their newfound superpowers. Initially close friends who work together to fight against evil, the two men are driven apart by a conflict of opinion that ultimately leads to the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

Since 1950, the South has undergone the most dramatic political transformation of any region in the United States. The once Solid-meaning Democratic-South is now overwhelmingly Republican, and long-disenfranchised African Americans vote at levels comparable to those of whites. In The Rational Southerner, M.V. Hood III, Quentin Kidd, and Irwin L. Morris argue that local strategic dynamics played a decisive and underappreciated role in both the development of the Southern Republican Party and the mobilization of the region's black electorate. Mobilized blacks who supported the Democratic Party made it increasingly difficult for conservative whites to maintain control of the Party's machinery. Also, as local Republican Party organizations became politically viable, the strategic opportunities that such a change provided made the GOP an increasingly attractive alternative for white conservatives. Blacks also found new opportunities within the Democratic Party as whites fled to the GOP, especially in the deep South, where large black populations had the potential to dominate state and local Democratic Parties. As a result, Republican Party viability also led to black mobilization.
Using the theory of relative advantage, Hood, Kidd, and Morris provide a new perspective on party system transformation. Following a theoretically-informed description of recent partisan dynamics in the South, they demonstrate, with decades of state-level, sub-state, and individual-level data, that GOP organizational strength and black electoral mobilization were the primary determinants of political change in the region. The authors' finding that race was, and still is, the primary driver behind political change in the region stands in stark contrast to recent scholarship which points to in-migration, economic growth, or religious factors as the locus of transition. The Rational Southerner contributes not only to the study of Southern politics, but to our understanding of party system change, racial politics, and the role that state and local political dynamics play in the larger context of national politics and policymaking.

We all want to be happier, but our brains often get in the way. When we’re too stuck in our heads we obsess over our inadequacies, compare ourselves with others and fail to see the good in our lives.

In The Science of Happiness, world-leading psychologist and happiness expert Bruce Hood demonstrates that the key to happiness is not self-care but connection. He presents seven simple but life-changing lessons to break negative thought patterns and re-connect with the things that really matter.

Alter Your Ego
Avoid Isolation
Reject Negative Comparisons
Become More Optimistic
Control Your Attention
Connect With Others
Get Out of Your Own Head

Grounded in decades of studies in neuroscience and developmental psychology, this book tells a radical new story about the roots of wellbeing and the obstacles that lie in our path. With clear, practical takeaways throughout, Professor Hood demonstrates how we can all harness the findings of this science to re-wire our thinking and transform our lives.

The audio amplifier is at the heart of audio design. Its performance determines largely the performance of any audio system. John Linsley Hood is widely regarded as the finest audio designer around, and pioneered design in the post-valve era. His mastery of audio technology extends from valves to the latest techniques. This is John Linsley Hood's greatest work yet, describing the milestones that have marked the development of audio amplifiers since the earliest days to the latest systems.

Including classic amps with valves at their heart and exciting new designs using the latest components, this book is the complete world guide to audio amp design.
John Linsley Hood is responsible for numerous amplifier designs that have led the way to better sound, and has also kept up a commentary on developments in audio in magazines such as The Gramophone, Electronics in Action and Electronics and Wireless World. He is also the author of The Art of Linear Electronics and Audio Electronics published by Newnes.

Complete world guide to audio amp design written by world famous author
Covers classic amps to new designs using latest components
includes the best of valves as well as best of transistors

We are all born egocentric. As children we see the world almost entirely from our own perspective. As we grow, we learn that other people have their own perspectives, and we also learn that we can adopt their perspectives to get along. We become more allocentric: more aware of the views, wants and needs of others. But many of us don’t achieve a healthy balance of egocentrism and allocentrism. What the science of happiness tells us is that achieving this balance is key to our wellbeing as adults. When we are too egocentric we become overly concerned with our inadequacies, compare ourselves constantly with others, and fail to see the good in our lives. We become the victim of our ego and we allow it to control us. But we can change for the better. Professor Bruce Hood draws on his expertise in child development, neuroscience and positive psychology to tell a radical new story about the roots of well-being and the obstacles that lie in our path. In this illuminating and inspiring book, he shows how we can harness the findings of the science of happiness to live sustainably happier lives.

Four-film collection featuring Marvel Comics superheroes.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Hugh Jackman reprises his role as clawed mutant Wolverine (formerly James Logan) in this blockbuster superhero action prequel based on the Marvel comic strip. The film, set over the years leading up to the action of the 2003 'X-Men' movie, follows the young Logan from the first awakenings of his mutant powers in childhood up to his amnesiac rebirth as Wolverine, and recounts his tumultuous relationship with his ferocious half-brother Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) and the events that lead him to sign up to the ominous Weapon X programme.

Daredevil
For Daredevil, justice is blind, and for the guilty there's hell to pay. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner ignite dangerous sparks and nonstop thrills in this "dazzling action-adventure" (The Film Journal) about the newest breed of superhero. By day, blind attorney Matt Murdock (Affleck) toils for justice in Hell's Kitchen. By night, he's Daredevil, The Man Without Fear--a powerful, masked vigilante stalking the dark streets with an uncanny "radar sense" that allows him to "see" with superhuman capabilities. But when the love of his life, fiery Elektra Natchios (Garner), is targeted by New York City's ruthless Kingpin of crime (Michael Clarke Duncan) and his deadly assassin Bullseye (Colin Farrell), Daredevil may be about to meet his match.

Elektra
Jennifer Garner proves that looks can kill as the sexiest action hero to burst from the pages of Marvel Comics. Restored to life after sustaining mortal wounds in Daredevil, an icy, solitary Elektra (Garner) now lives only for death as the world's most lethal assassin. Using her bone-crunching martial arts skills and Kimagure (the ability to see into the future), Elektra is on a collision course with darkness until her latest assignment forces her to make a choice that will lead either to her redemption or destruction in the ultimate battle between good and evil.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Marvel's first family of superheroes, The Fantastic Four, meets their greatest challenge yet in Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer comes to Earth to prepare it for its destruction. As he races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy Dr. Doom before all hope is lost.

A cheeky bedtime book, bursting with colour, from twice-UKLA WINNING illustrator Morag Hood and bestselling author of The Hug, Eoin McLaughlin. Cheeky sun won't go to bed! He'll find any excuse to stay up . . . painting rainbows, drinking the sea, hiding behind mountains . . . but even the sun must go to bed . . . A vibrant, eye-catching, energetic picture book in Morag Hood's signature style. A great bedtime read which gives children a good giggle, and encourages them to go to sleep!

The Indian Ocean and its Role in the Global Climate System provides an overview of our contemporary understanding of the Indian Ocean (geology, atmosphere, ocean, hydrology, biogeochemistry) and its role in the climate system. It describes the monsoon systems, Indian Ocean circulation and connections with other ocean basins. Climatic phenomena in the Indian Ocean are detailed across a range of timescales (seasonal, interannual to multi-decadal). Biogeochemical and ecosystem variability is also described. The book will provide a summary of different tools (e.g., observations, modeling, paleoclimate records) that are used for understanding Indian Ocean variability and trends. Recent trends and future projections of the Indian Ocean, including warming, extreme events, ocean acidification and deoxygenation will be detailed. The Indian Ocean is unique and different from other tropical ocean basins due to its geography. It is traditionally under-observed and understudied, yet plays a fundamental role for regional and global climate. The vagaries of the Asian monsoon affect over a billion people and a third of the global population live in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean. It is also particularly vulnerable to climate change, with robust warming and trends in heat and freshwater observed in recent decades. Advances have recently been made in our understanding of the Indian Ocean’s circulation, interactions with adjacent ocean basins, and its role in regional and global climate. Nonetheless, significant gaps remain in understanding, observing, modeling, and predicting Indian Ocean variability and change across a range of timescales. As such, this book is the perfect compendium to any researcher, student, teacher/lecturer in the fields of oceanography, atmospheric science, paleoclimate, environmental science, meteorology and geology, as well as policy managers and water resource managers.