The second book of the Left Hand Writing Skills series, containing a further 28 worksheets, begins with revision of the essential letter formation exercises in Book 1. The following worksheets focus on the flow of letters into word formation. Through extensive practice with patterns, different forms of letter-joining and full word formation, the left-handed writer should have begun to establish the fundamental good habits of hold, position and control which handwriting requires. The antics of Pencil Pat and his gang keep up the level of enjoyment and satisfaction as the child works through these exercises.

The objectives of Book 1 are to establish good basic habits of paper positioning and pencil hold, and to develop the fine motor skills needed for accurate, consistent writing. The book takes the young writer from basic pencil handling and co-ordination exercises through to formation of letters and simple short words. The 28 worksheets contain an entertaining mix of games and puzzles, which parents (or grandparents!) and child will enjoy doing together. Billy Beetle, Sam Spider, Willie Woodlouse and Sally Snail lead the left-handed child through the worksheets. The illustrations are aimed primarily at the 6-7 year-old, when many left-handed children become more conscious of the difference between their writing style and that of their right-handed peers. However, the overall design is suitable for any age: we've heard from grateful users nearer to retirement age than to next year's Year 2...

"For I saw in you the mongrel angel that saw in me the same " Following a bereavement, Mark, a disillusioned middle-aged writer seeking something like enlightenment (or an epiphany, he’s not sure), travels to Charleville in Northern France to visit the hometown of his hero, the poet Rimbaud. As he wanders Mark muses on the nature of obsession and how our heroes might be no more than projections of our deepest needs and fears. He also focuses on a famous line of Rimbaud’s – “je est un autre”. “I is another”. When he meets a local woman there is an instant connection and their conversation continues as they traverse the streets together over 24 hours. But something strange is happening. Immediately Anne knows his story and the events of his life. She knows his mind. Has he found his autre? We follow them as Mark narrates in his head the book he will never write, with interjections from characters brought to life by his imagination … and often against his will. Real Life is Elsewhere is an entirely original, unique take on love, ageing and the process of writing.

Since 2001, the United States has created or reorganized more than two counterterrorism organizations for every terrorist arrest or apprehension it has made of people plotting to do damage within the country. Central to this massive enterprise is 'ghost-chasing,' as less than one alarm in 10,000 is an actual threat-the rest all point to ghosts. And the vast majority of the leads deemed to be productive have led to terrorist enterprises that were either trivial or at most aspirational. As John Mueller and Mark Stewart suggest in Chasing Ghosts, this is often an exercise in dueling delusions: a Muslim hothead has delusions about changing the world by blowing something up, and the authorities have delusions that he might actually be able to overcome his patent inadequacies to do so. Mueller and Stewart systematically examine this expensive, exhausting, bewildering, chaotic, and paranoia-inducing process. They evaluate the counterterrorism efforts of the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and local policing agencies. In addition, applying a new set of case studies, they appraise the capacities of the terrorist 'adversary' and discuss what they calls 'the myth of the mastermind.' They also assess public opinion, a key driving force for counterterrorism efforts. The yearly chance an American will be killed by a terrorist within the country is about one in four million under present conditions. However, polling data suggest that, although over a trillion dollars has been spent on domestic counterterrorism since 2001, Americans continue to be alarmed and say they do not feel safer. No defense of civil liberties is likely to be terribly effective as long as officials and the population at large continue to believe that the threat from terrorism is massive, even existential. Mueller and Stewart do not argue that there is nothing for the ghost-chasers to find-the terrorist 'adversary' is real and does exist. The question that is central to the exercise, but one the ghost-chasers never really probe, is an important and rather straight-forward one to which standard evaluative procedures can be applied: is the chase worth the effort? Or is it excessive given a serious consideration of the danger that terrorism actually presents?

The third book of the Left Hand Writing Skills series consolidates the development of good writing habits. The writer can now apply all that has been learned to writing with a pen. Ink is the real test of success for the left-handed writer! First, to create words which are accurately formed and legible, and then to avoid spoiling them by smudging as the left hand follows the pen across the page. Successful smudge-free writing can overcome the frustration of so many left-handers. Essay-writing, homework, and other essential written work can all become a source of satisfaction: no longer a cause of disappointment. The 27 worksheets provide further variety in activities and interest, all linked to handwriting. From early Egyptian tablets to Leonardo's curious mirror-writing, to invitations, shopping lists and menu cards. Fascinating illustrations and full colour presentation once again keep the interest of the left-handed student while the correct left hand writing habits are finally fully absorbed.

In seeking to evaluate the efficacy of post-9/11 homeland security expenses--which have risen by more than a trillion dollars, not including war costs--the common query has been, "Are we safer?" This, however, is the wrong question. Of course we are "safer"--the posting of a single security guard at one building's entrance enhances safety. The correct question is, "Are any gains in security worth the funds expended?"
In this engaging, readable book, John Mueller and Mark Stewart apply risk and cost-benefit evaluation techniques to answer this very question. This analytical approach has been used throughout the world for decades by regulators, academics, and businesses--but, as a recent National Academy of Science study suggests, it has never been capably applied by the people administering homeland security funds. Given the limited risk terrorism presents, expenses meant to lower it have for the most part simply not been worth it. For example, to be considered cost-effective, increased American homeland security expenditures would have had each year to have foiled up to 1,667 attacks roughly like the one intended on Times Square in 2010--more than four a day. Cataloging the mistakes that the US has made--and continues to make--in managing homeland security programs, Terror, Security, andMoney has the potential to redirect our efforts toward a more productive and far more cost-effective course.

Are We Safe Enough? Measuring and Assessing Aviation Security explains how standard risk analytic and cost-benefit analysis can be applied to aviation security in systematic and easy-to-understand steps. The book evaluates and puts into sensible context the risks associated with air travel, the risk appetite of airlines and regulators and the notion of acceptable risk. It does so by describing the effectiveness, risk reduction and cost of each layer of aviation security, from policing and intelligence to checkpoint passenger screening to arming pilots on the flight deck.

When I am all alone, I can convince myself that things will be okay. The truth is, sometimes it isn't. When I am alone, I can convince myself that I have compassion but I get uncomfortable with practicing it. It turns out, I am not as unselfish as I thought I was. When I am alone, I can convince myself that I can love everyone but then I realize I can not. When I am with my family, my limitations, fears and ego are revealed to me. Despite all that, I want to be with them if they will have me.

I am not homeless- I'm just someone who can't go home With these words, the young man known as Guttersnipe begins his account of two years spent living on the streets of Canterbury. Amongst the struggles he must face every day there is one that he never anticipated; that of boredom and how to occupy his time. Acting on a friend's advice on how to combat this problem, he begins to write his thoughts down each day. He records his observations, his ideas, his memories and his own life story. It is these writings that form the basis of The Guttersnipe Journals. Guttersnipe's story does not simply focus on the hardships that keep him apart from society - but rather he finds the common threads of human experience that bond us all together. It is a story that everyone should read.

In seeking to evaluate the efficacy of post-9/11 homeland security expenses--which have risen by more than a trillion dollars, not including war costs--the common query has been, "Are we safer?" This, however, is the wrong question. Of course we are "safer"--the posting of a single security guard at one building's entrance enhances safety. The correct question is, "Are any gains in security worth the funds expended?"
In this engaging, readable book, John Mueller and Mark Stewart apply risk and cost-benefit evaluation techniques to answer this very question. This analytical approach has been used throughout the world for decades by regulators, academics, and businesses--but, as a recent National Academy of Science study suggests, it has never been capably applied by the people administering homeland security funds. Given the limited risk terrorism presents, expenses meant to lower it have for the most part simply not been worth it. For example, to be considered cost-effective, increased American homeland security expenditures would have had each year to have foiled up to 1,667 attacks roughly like the one intended on Times Square in 2010--more than four a day. Cataloging the mistakes that the US has made--and continues to make--in managing homeland security programs, Terror, Security, andMoney has the potential to redirect our efforts toward a more productive and far more cost-effective course.

The nostalgia of idealism is the worst kind of idealism - and the worst kind of nostalgia! Mr. Puck Huntley, however, would beg to differ. Recently suspended from his post as a Media Studies teacher and on the fortieth anniversary of the events of May 1968, he decides to take matters (and the law) into his own hands. For Mr. Puck Huntley is not your average Media Studies teacher. At 57, he is the product of a very different generation and nowadays finds himself permanently out of step with both his pupils and his head teacher. Notoriously unorthodox in his teaching methods he now brings that same unorthodoxy into play as he struggles to make his voice heard. A Difficult Age is a stylish, original, funny and often moving story of a man struggling to hold on to the ideals of his generation in vastly different times. Like Puck, those that came of age in 60s were right about one thing - the times, they did change. Sadly for some, they just kept on changing...