What do you do when you wake up in your mid-forties and realize you've been living a lie your whole life? Do you tell? Or do you keep it to yourself?

Laura James found out that she was autistic as an adult, after she had forged a career for herself, married twice and raised four children. This book tracks the year of Laura's life after she receives a definitive diagnosis from her doctor, as she learns that 'different' doesn't need to mean 'less' and how there is a place for all of us, and it's never too late to find it.

Laura draws on her professional and personal experiences and reflects on her life in the light of her diagnosis, which for her explains some of her differences; why, as a child, she felt happier spinning in circles than standing still and why she has always found it difficult to work in places with a lot of ambient noise.

Although this is a personal story, the book has a wider focus too, exploring reasons for the lower rate of diagnosed autism in women and a wide range of topics including eating disorders and autism, marriage and motherhood.

Odd Girl Out gives a timely account from a woman negotiating the autistic spectrum, from a poignant and personal perspective.

In a small town on the banks of Lake Laloozee lives Fabio, the world's greatest flamingo detective. He's not tall or strong, but slight and pink. And he's very, very clever .

Most of the time. But when an unusual lapse of judgement leads Fabio to accept a ride in his associate Gilbert's plane, little does he know he'll be nose-diving into a new mystery!

When the tiny plane crash-lands near a remote village in the savannah, all Fabio wants is a pink lemonade to calm his nerves. But the town well has dried up, and the water didn't just disappear on its own! Fabio's on the case, and it's going to take a daring sting operation to set things right.

The third book in the hilarious and stylish illustrated mystery series from the author of Captain Pug.

In a small town on the banks of Lake Laloozee lives the world's greatest flamingo detective. His name is Fabio. He's not tall or strong, but slight and pink. And he's very, very clever.

When Fabio and his giraffe associate Gilbert (terrible at disguises) drop in to the Hotel Royale for a lemonade (pink, naturally), Fabio is persuaded to judge the hotel's talent contest. But when the most promising contestant - Julia the jazz-singing hippopotamus - goes missing, Fabio must put his thinking cap back on and solve the mystery!

This new mystery series from Laura James, author of Captain Pug, will have animal lovers and would-be detectives in stitches. Perfect for fans of Claude, Foxy Tales and The Pink Panther!

Bunty is the farmer's dog at Withy Hook Farm, and the weather reporter for the Daily Bark, Puddle's best (and only!) newspaper for dogs. But when Farmer Val is INJURED, it's up to Bunty to keep the farm running. Suddenly, Bunty's life isn't as right as rain - it's a WHIRLWIND, as she rushes to collect eggs, check on lambs - and deal with a herd of HUGE cows! Can Bunty and her friends rise to the challenge ... or will it be a COW CALAMITY? This young fiction series by the author of Captain Pug is perfect for fans of The Secret Life of Pets and Toto the Ninja Cat.

Bob is the stationmaster's dog at Puddle Train Station and a reporter for the Daily Bark, Puddle's best (and only) newspaper for dogs. It's up to Bob to make sure the trains are on time every day. He has everything under control until the day he digs up the SCOOP of a lifetime in the park - a DINOSAUR skeleton! Suddenly Bob's life isn't running like clockwork, it's running WILD, as he and the other News Hounds catch the scent of a dastardly dinosaur THIEF. Can Bob pull off a daring dinosaur rescue, or is he on the express train to DISASTER? This young fiction series by the author of Captain Pug is perfect for fans of The Secret Life of Pets and Toto the Ninja Cat.

Tourism research that is inspired by theories of practice is currently gaining in prominence. This book provides a much-needed introduction to the potential applications of theories of practice in tourism studies. It brings together a variety of approaches exploring how theories of practice bridge themes and fields which are usually addressed separately within tourism research: consumption and production; travel and the everyday; governance and policy; technology and the social. The book critically engages with practices as a fruitful approach to tourism research as well as how the particularities of tourism might inform our understanding of practice theories. This book contributes to conceptual and methodological debates providing insights from authors who have engaged with practice theory as an entry point to researching tourism. It offers a solid starting point for researchers and students alike who wish to learn about, and try, this approach, as well as explore its possibilities and limitations in the field of tourism.

Pug and Lady Miranda are off to the seaside! Pug is dreaming of naps under the beach umbrella, but when a little mishap means he has to wear an eyepatch, things quickly get a lot less snoozy! Soon Pirate Pug and his ragtag crew of friends find themselves on the trail of buried treasure. They have to reach the island where X marks the spot before the other pirates beat them to it. There's just one problem - Pug is scared of water!

Laura James's fourth book about a roly-poly pug and his best friend, Lady Miranda, is perfect for fans of Claude and Squishy McFluff

Meet the brilliant, the wonderful, the courageous ... Safari Pug! The third book in a joyful illustrated series for fans of Claude and Squishy McFluff. When Pug and Lady Miranda have a scary run-in with a lion one night (it might be hiding under the bed), Lady M decides Pug needs to face his fears and go on safari. Pug goes a bit wobbly when he finds out he'll be coming nose to nose with Florence, the rare white lion cub, but he soon realises that lions may not be the most dangerous thing in the wildlife park ...

Justice is blind, they say, but perhaps not to beauty. In supposedly dispassionate courts of law, attractive women have long avoided punishment, based largely on their looks, for cold-blooded crimes. The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial gathers the true stories of some of the most infamous femmes fatales in criminal history, collected by attorney and true crime historian Laura James.With cases from 1850 to 1997, these 32 examples span more than a century, across cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. But all were so beautiful, as James demonstrates, that they got away with murder. When Madeline Smith, a Glasgow socialite, tried to end a relationship with one man to date another, her jilted lover proved difficult to shake. She solved the problem, James writes, with arsenic-laced chocolates. And in Warrenton, Virginia, mild-mannered heiress Susan Cummings gunned down her polo-playing husband, Roberto, following a disagreement. While these two women lived in different centuries and on different continents, both of their lawyers argued that they were too beautiful to be killers. And in both cases, the juries bought it. In telling the stories of Madeline Smith and Susan Cummings-and 30 others-James proves the existence of the so-called Beauty Defense and shines a spotlight on how gender bias has actually benefited femmes fatales and affected legal systems across the world.

Places Sudan's oil industry (examined here in macro, micro and political terms), its economy, external relations and changing politics under the impact of the Darfur conflict and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, in the wider context of the expansion of Asia's global economic strength. By successfully turning to China, Malaysia and India from the mid-1990s, amidst civil war and political isolation, Khartoum's 'Look East' policy transformed Sudan's economy and foreign relations. Sudan, in turn, has been a key theatre of Chinese, Indian and Malaysian overseas energy investment. What began as economic engagements born of pragmatic necessity later became politicized within Sudan and without, resulting in global attention. Despite its importance, widespread sustained interest and continuing political controversy, there is no single volume publication examining the rise and nature of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian interests in Sudan, their economic and political consequences, and role in Sudan's foreign relations. Addressing this gap, this book provides a groundbreaking analysis of Sudan's 'Look East' policy. It offers the first substantive treatment of a subject of fundamental significancewithin Sudan that, additionally, has become a globally prominent dimension of its changing international politics. Daniel Large is research director of the Africa Asia Centre, Royal African Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and founding director of the Rift Valley Institute's digital Sudan Open Archive. Luke A. Patey is a Research Fellow at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

A compact and useable introduction to the understanding of contemporary Sudan, and a convenient reference work. The Sudan Handbook, based on the Rift Valley Institute's successful Sudan Field Course, is an authoritative and accessible introduction to Sudan, vividly written and edited by leading Sudanese and international specialists. The handbook offers a concise introduction to all aspects of the country, rooted in a broad historical account of the development of the Sudanese state. It consists of eighteen self-contained, cross-referenced chapters, covering essential topics in the geography, history, sociology, culture and politics of the country, written by outstanding Sudanese scholars and recognized international experts. It includes numerous purpose-drawn maps and diagrams,glossaries of key terms, capsule biographies of key figures, a chronology and a bibliography. John Ryle, Rift Valley Institute and Division of Social Sciences, Bard College, USA; Justin Willis, Department of History, Durham University, UK and former Director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa; Suliman Baldo, International Center for Transitional Justice, New York, International Crisis Group; Jok Madut Jok, Department of History, LoyolaMarymount University, USA. Published in association with the Rift Valley Institute

Battlefield Events: Landscape, Commemoration and Heritage is an investigative and analytical study into the way in which significant landscapes of war have been constructed and imagined through events over time to articulate specific narratives and denote consequence and identity. The book charts the ways in which a number of landscapes of war have been created and managed from an events perspective, and how the processes of remembering (along with silencing and forgetting) at these places has influenced the management of these warscapes in the present day. With chapters from authors based in seven different countries on three continents and comparative case studies, this book has a truly international perspective. This timely longitudinal analysis of war commemoration events, the associated landscapes, travel to these destinations and management strategies will be valuable reading for all those interested in war landscapes and events.

Battlefield Events: Landscape, Commemoration and Heritage is an investigative and analytical study into the way in which significant landscapes of war have been constructed and imagined through events over time to articulate specific narratives and denote consequence and identity. The book charts the ways in which a number of landscapes of war have been created and managed from an events perspective, and how the processes of remembering (along with silencing and forgetting) at these places has influenced the management of these warscapes in the present day. With chapters from authors based in seven different countries on three continents and comparative case studies, this book has a truly international perspective. This timely longitudinal analysis of war commemoration events, the associated landscapes, travel to these destinations and management strategies will be valuable reading for all those interested in war landscapes and events.

"True crime devotees won't want to miss this one "
---"Publishers Weekly"

"Very engrossing . . . in the finest you can't put it down tradition."
---"Hartford Courant"

"This factual account of each murder, through the conviction of the killer, has all the excitement of a first-rate work of fiction, and is told straight, without the usual sociological jargon. Keyes collaborated with Robin Moore on "The French Connection"; "The Michigan Murders" is his first solo effort, and it is a good one."
--"-Miami Herald"

""The Michigan Murders" is the ultimate True Crime classic, unfolding like great mystery fiction while still delivering the powerful charge of real life."
---Jamie Agnew, Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookshop

With a new prologue by Mardi Link and a new epilogue by Laura James

The true story of the savage coed killings---by the boy who could have lived next door

Southeastern Michigan was rocked in the late 1960s by the terrifying serial murders of young women, whose bodies were dumped in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. In each case, few clues were left at the scene, and six separate police agencies were unable to end the horror. Then, almost by accident, a break came. The suspect: John Norman Collins, a young, quiet, all-American boy.

Collins was caught, went to trial, and, on August 19, 1970, was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. He is now in his sixties and is serving his sentence in Marquette, Michigan.

Collins was one of the first serial killers exposed in the region, and his crimes had many in the area locking their doors for the first time. Edward Keyes's harrowing "The Michigan Murders" covers every step of the case. It fell out of print for more than a decade before being revived for this special edition.

Mardi Link, author of the new prologue, is the author of two regionally best-selling true crime books based in northern Michigan, "When Evil Came to Good Hart" and "Isadore's Secret."

Laura James, author of the new epilogue, is a trial lawyer, crime historian, and true crime author who blogs about the true crime genre at her Web site CLEWS (www.laurajames.com).

Edward Keyes, now deceased, spent several years in the early 1970s investigating the Michigan murders. He also authored the works "Double Dare" and "Cocoanut Grove." "The Michigan Murders" was a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime in 1977.

Anna fetches water from the spring every day, but she can't carry it on her head like her older brothers and sisters. In this charming and poetic family story set in Jamaica, Olive Senior shows young readers the power of determination, as Anna achieves her goal and overcomes her fear.