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.

Based on the international bestseller, THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST is both a gripping thriller and a fascinating look at the post-9/11 world. Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland and Liev Schreiber lead a powerful cast in the story of a young man caught in the middle of an unfolding international crisis.

When an American academic in Pakistan is kidnapped by anti-American radicals, the CIA thinks popular young Pakistani professor Changez is involved. But as Changez tells his remarkable story about his life in the US - including his rising career on Wall Street and passionate relationship with a beautiful New York artist - to an American foreign correspondent, the truth becomes harder to pin down.

Acclaimed director Mira Nair's adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel is a tense tale of hidden agendas and best intentions gone wrong.

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.

This is not a book of facts; it's a book of 'facts'. Should you finish it believing we became the planet's dominant species because predators found us too smelly to eat; or that the living bloodline of Christ is a family of Japanese garlic farmers - well, that's on you. Why are we here? Do ghosts exist? Did life on Earth begin after a badly tidied-up picnic? Was it just an iceberg that sank the Titanic? Are authors stealing their plotlines from the future? Will we ever talk to animals? And why, when you're in the shower, does the shower curtain always billow in towards you? We don't know the answers to any of these questions. But don't worry, no matter what questions you have, you can bet on the fact that there is someone (or something) out there, investigating it on your behalf. From the sports stars who use cosmic energy to office plants investigating murders, The Theory of Everything Else will act as a handbook for those who want to think differently.

Alexander's spooky mansion feels like home to Raven . . . but could his residence in Dullsville be coming to an end?

Summer break is over, and Raven's sleep-filled days and romantic nights with her immortal boyfriend, Alexander, must end. The shock of daily attendance at Dullsville High isn't the only change in store. An unexpected letter turns up at Alexander's mansion--announcing his parents will be coming to town! Once they arrive, it seems just about everyone has had a sighting of the macabre couple except Raven. Is Alexander hiding something about his parents' homecoming? Will Raven ever meet them, and can she face the biggest threat yet to her love with Alexander?

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This book presents a novel development of fundamental and fascinating aspects of algebraic topology and mathematical physics: 'extra-ordinary' and further generalized cohomology theories enhanced to 'twisted' and differential-geometric form, with focus on, firstly, their rational approximation by generalized Chern character maps, and then, the resulting charge quantization laws in higher n-form gauge field theories appearing in string theory and the classification of topological quantum materials.Although crucial for understanding famously elusive effects in strongly interacting physics, the relevant higher non-abelian cohomology theory ('higher gerbes') has had an esoteric reputation and remains underdeveloped.Devoted to this end, this book's theme is that various generalized cohomology theories are best viewed through their classifying spaces (or moduli stacks) — not necessarily infinite-loop spaces — from which perspective the character map is really an incarnation of the fundamental theorem of rational homotopy theory, thereby not only uniformly subsuming the classical Chern character and a multitude of scattered variants that have been proposed, but now seamlessly applicable in the hitherto elusive generality of (twisted, differential, and) non-abelian cohomology.In laying out this result with plenty of examples, this book provides a modernized introduction and review of fundamental classical topics: 1. abstract homotopy theory via model categories; 2. generalized cohomology in its homotopical incarnation; 3. rational homotopy theory seen via homotopy Lie theory, whose fundamental theorem we recast as a (twisted) non-abelian de Rham theorem, which naturally induces the (twisted) non-abelian character map.

As a mortal girl dating a vampire, Raven knows that love isn't always easy.

And will Alexander ever make their love immortal?

Now that Alexander's parents have returned to Romania, Raven and her dreamy vampire boyfriend are happy to resume their cryptic romance. But soon another visitor comes knocking: Sebastian, Alexander's best friend, arrives for a stay at the mansion. At first Raven is wary, and then thrilled--this is the perfect chance to learn more about her darkly handsome boyfriend and his past! Sebastian could be her guide to the love habits of Alexander and his kind. But when Sebastian falls for a particular Dullsvillian, will another mortal beat Raven to the bite?

This is not a book of facts; it’s a book of ‘facts’. Should you finish it believing we became the planet’s dominant species because predators found us too smelly to eat; or that the living bloodline of Christ is a family of Japanese garlic farmers – well, that’s on you. Why are we here? Do ghosts exist? Did life on Earth begin after a badly tidied-up picnic? Was it just an iceberg that sank the Titanic? Are authors stealing their plotlines from the future? Will we ever talk to animals? And why, when you’re in the shower, does the shower curtain always billow in towards you? We don’t know the answers to any of these questions. But don’t worry, no matter what questions you have, you can bet on the fact that there is someone (or something) out there, investigating it on your behalf. From the sports stars who use cosmic energy to office plants investigating murders, The Theory of Everything Else will act as a handbook for those who want to think differently.

Double bill of action films telling the story of the X-Men character Wolverine. In 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (2009), Hugh Jackman stars as the clawed mutant Wolverine formerly known as James Logan. The film, set in the years leading up to the action of 2003's 'X-Men', follows the young Logan from the first awakenings of his mutant powers in childhood up to his rebirth as Wolverine, and recounts his tumultuous relationship with his ferocious half-brother Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), and the events that led him to sign up to the ominous Weapon X programme. In 'The Wolverine' (2013), at a time following the events of 'X-Men 3' (2006), Logan finds himself vulnerable, alone and at his lowest point, after losing his intimate connections with the outside world. Drawn to modern-day Japan by the gratitude of a wealthy industrialist from his past who secretly covets his healing powers, Logan soon finds himself up against the deadly charms of a femme fatale known as 'The Viper' (Svetlana Khodchenkova), whilst having to confront samurai steel and lethal ninjas as his destiny draws him towards a winner-takes-all battle with his ultimate foe The Silver Samurai (Will Yun Lee).

National Geographic Primary Readers is a high-interest series of beginning reading books that have been developed in consultation with education experts. The books pair magnificent National Geographic photographs with lively text by skilled children's book authors across four reading levels. He's quick. He's silent. He has five rows of deadly teeth. Chomp! Meet the shark - the fish who ruled the deep before dinosaurs roamed the Earth! This fish can smell a single drop of blood in 25 million drops of ocean. He can feel electricity given off by his prey. He will lose and replace more than 10,000 teeth in his lifetime. Cool photos bring kids into the shark's world. Fun facts go deep into the shark's scary science in this level 3 book. Level 3: Becoming independent Best suited to kids who are ready for complex sentences and more challenging vocabulary, but still draw on occasional support from adults. They are ideal for readers of Purple and Gold books.

Introduces the broad and interdisciplinary scope of endocrinology Provides clear chapter objectives, key concepts and summaries/synthesis for each chapter Includes a chapter devoted to endocrine-disrupting chemicals Describes the role played by the endocrine system on important health challenges such as obesity and diabetes. Integrates evolutionary and comparative approaches to hormones and health

National Geographic Primary Readers is a high-interest series of beginning reading books that have been developed in consultation with education experts. The books pair magnificent National Geographic photographs with lively text by skilled children's book authors across four reading levels. The cool story of volcanoes will intrigue kids and adults alike. Anne Shreiber's level 3 narrative gives readers a little of the science, a little of the history, and a lot of the action. National geographic photography fires the imagination on dramatic spreads alive with vivid images of lava, ash, molten rock, weird rocks, and steaming seawater. Level 3: Becoming independent Best suited to kids who are ready for complex sentences and more challenging vocabulary, but still draw on occasional support from adults. They are ideal for readers of Purple and Gold books.

Independent Women: From Film to Television explores the significance for feminism of the increasing representation of women on and behind the screen in television contexts around the world. "Independent" has functioned throughout film and television history as an important euphemism for "feminist". This volume investigates how this connection plays out in a contemporary environment that popular feminist discourse is constructing as a golden age of television for women. The original essays in the volume offer insights into how post-network television is being valued as a new site of independent production for women. They also examine how these connotations of creative control influence perceptions of both female creators and their content as feminist. Together, they provide a compelling perspective on the feminist consequences of how independence and "indie" have intensified as cultural sensibilities that coincide and engage with the digital transformation of television during the first decades of the 21st century. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of Feminist Media Studies.

"NEW YORK TIMES "BESTSELLER
Set before the events of "Star Wars: "Episode I "The Phantom Menace, " this new novel is a thrilling follow-up to "Star Wars: Darth Plagueis."
It's kill or be killed in the space penitentiary that houses the galaxy's worst criminals, where convicts face off in gladiatorial combat while an underworld gambling empire reaps the profits of the illicit blood sport. But the newest contender in this savage arena, as demonic to behold as he is deadly to challenge, is fighting for more than just survival. His do-or-die mission, for the dark masters he serves, is to capture the ultimate weapon: an object that will enable the Sith to conquer the galaxy.
Sith lords Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious are determined to possess the prize. And one of the power-hungry duo has his own treacherous plans for it. But first, their fearsome apprentice must take on a bloodthirsty prison warden, a cannibal gang, cutthroat crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and an unspeakable alien horror. No one else could brave such a gauntlet of death and live. But no one else is the dreaded dark-side disciple known as Darth Maul.
Praise for "Lockdown"
"Schreiber . . . was a great choice for this novel, imbuing the story with a dark, foreboding tone while never quite stepping into the horror territories that "Death Troopers" and "Red Harvest" took us."--"Jedi News"
" "
"Fans of the dark side should rejoice. "Lockdown" delivers a can't-put-this-down tale of scum and villainy."--"Club Jade"
" "
" "Lockdown "is] an action-packed ride that spins one entertaining chapter after another. The multiple layers of story keeps readers guessing what will happen next and just who will live and who will die. . . . It certainly adds to the character of Darth Maul while matching "Darth"] "Plagueis"'s complexity with sheer fun. . . . Five out of five metal bikinis."--"Roqoo Depot"
" "
"Somehow, Schreiber is able to skate the line between hard-hitting prison story and the adventure and excitement I love from "Star Wars" in a way that doesn't betray either genre. It's really quite masterful."--"Big Shiny Robot"
" "
""Lockdown" is an exciting, engaging read. . . . It actually lines up beautifully for a sequel, which I, for one, would love to read."--"Coffee with Kenobi"
" "
"The novel makes "The Clone Wars" better. It also illuminates "The Phantom Menace." I think it's the hallmark of the best tie-in fiction to resonate throughout other parts of the expanded universe in that way."--"Knights' Archive"
" "
"By the fiftieth page, I was hooked. . . . "Lockdown "is a wonderful 'antihero' novel, where it's just fine to root for the villain, because there are even worse things out there. This book was so fun and entertaining. I'll have to keep an eye out for more "Star Wars" books from Schreiber."--"Seattle Geekly"

"From the Hardcover edition."

Interest in the management of creative and cultural organisations has grown at pace with the size of this sector. This textbook uniquely focuses on how innovation in these industries transforms practice. Uncovering the strategic role of innovation for organizations in the creative and cultural sector, the book provides readers with practical guidance to help traverse seismic disruptions brought about by global health and economic crises. The authors examine how innovation in business models, products, services, and technology has disrupted the competitive landscapes of the arts world. Innovations are characterized as deriving from other industries as well as via exogenous shocks that privilege some companies over others. Case studies bring to life how innovation is used strategically in different ways around varying competitive forces. Enhanced by conceptual tools and replete with industry examples, this textbook is an ideal resource for students and reflective practitioners to understand how innovation can be a productive tool for transforming their own creative and cultural industry practice and performance during a period of rapid technological change and unprecedented societal challenge.