Triple bill of police thrillers. 'Big Bang' (2011) stars Antonio Banderas as a Los Angeles private detective handed an unusual assignment. When Ned Cruz (Banderas) is approached by a Russian boxer (Robert Maillet) to find his missing girlfriend (Sienna Guillory) and the $30 million worth of diamonds in her possession, it is clear that this will not be an everyday job. Can Cruz make sense of the bizarre circumstances and track down the missing girl? 'Bad Cop' (2010) is an action thriller set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Johnny Strong stars as Sean Riley, a beleaguered police detective struggling to cope with the recent death of his young son and the subsequent breakdown of his marriage. After a call goes horribly wrong, Riley looks set to lose his job - unless he can solve a series of brutal murders that have sent the city spiralling into gang warfare. In 'Operation Endgame' (2010) a top-secret facility underneath Washington D.C. finds two competing teams of assassins - code-named according to a deck of Tarot cards - at work. When a new employee known only as The Fool (Joe Anderson) arrives for his first day of work, he is alarmed to find his new boss murdered and the entire building rigged with explosives. The Fool must race against the clock to identify the killer and make his escape. Zach Galifianakis, Brandon T. Jackson and Maggie Q co-star.

The theme of this book is a Tour de Noir of a gamblers life. Written in the third person, it describes the successes and eventual downfall of a young hustler. The book extensively describes gambling situations, cheating moves, scams against casinos and casino methods of cheating players. Heretofore unpublished, and possibly unknown even to law enforcement, are the conspiracies and actions of notorious Nevada cheating crews. Gambling on golf, backgammon, gin rummy and poker, and methods employed to take advantage of opponents, are extensively discussed. The early chapters are moments in present time followed by reflection of the protagonist on his past and maturation, development of an exculpatory personal philosophy, love interest (explicit sex) and sexual encounters. His interactions with the Mafia, famous gamblers like "Titanic" Thompson, and present day high-rollers are authentic. Throughout his adventures the humor and irony in life situations are captures.

Zack Fluett was living the rock star dream until one fateful night at the Grammys when he broke his hand on his lead singer's nose and began a long downward spiral. A decade later Zack's back -- sober, wiser, and nominated for Song of the Year. Unfortunately, his past catches up with him, and both his hard won self-control and hopes for redemption take a beating as the clock ticks down to the announcement of his category. Zack must rely on the only constant in his life -- playing music -- to make it through the madness that is Music's Biggest Night. The music industry gets skewered in this hilarious take on one man's battle to dance to his own tune.

The theme of this book is a Tour de Noir of a gamblers life. Written in the third person, it describes the successes and eventual downfall of a young hustler. The book extensively describes gambling situations, cheating moves, scams against casinos and casino methods of cheating players. Heretofore unpublished, and possibly unknown even to law enforcement, are the conspiracies and actions of notorious Nevada cheating crews. Gambling on golf, backgammon, gin rummy and poker, and methods employed to take advantage of opponents, are extensively discussed. The early chapters are moments in present time followed by reflection of the protagonist on his past and maturation, development of an exculpatory personal philosophy, love interest (explicit sex) and sexual encounters. His interactions with the Mafia, famous gamblers like "Titanic" Thompson, and present day high-rollers are authentic. Throughout his adventures the humor and irony in life situations are captures.

Man, it will be objected, is a living being, and therefore belongs in the first place to the domain of the biologist; but he is also a thinking being, and therefore belongs to the psychologist; in his evolutionary setting, he is the concern of the palaeontologist; but he is also a being capable of philosophizing, capable of artistic and religious feelings, and so comes within the province of the philosopher, the artist, and the theologian. But what on earth is a physicist doing in this company? What does he know about man, since man is not his special field of research? If I must make my apologies for daring to come out of the cave in which I seemed to be confined - my professional pigeon-hole, so to speak - I am more than willing to do so. This book, I admit, is the exact opposite of a specialist work. I admit moreover - even if I am to be condemned on this count - that I am particularly glad my work is not like that of a specialist. Jean Emile Charon was a French nuclear physicist, author of over 20 books on physics, scientific philosophy, and computer science.