Economic reforms in China began in 1979 and initiated some of the most fundamental changes ever to occur in any country. While allowing some of the most astonishing economic growth the world has seen, they have also induced some of the most profound social and environmental shifts. This volume looks at two aspects of the impacts of the reforms, firstly on the demography of the country (especially migration and urbanization), and secondly on the environment. A third section examines various problems of environmental degradation in relation to natural processes and human efforts to mitigate their effects.

Economic reforms in China began in 1979 and initiated some of the most fundamental changes ever to occur in any country. While allowing some of the most astonishing economic growth the world has seen, they have also induced some of the most profound social and environmental shifts. This volume looks at two aspects of the impacts of the reforms, firstly on the demography of the country (especially migration and urbanization), and secondly on the environment. A third section examines various problems of environmental degradation in relation to natural processes and human efforts to mitigate their effects.

John Henry Munroe has done everything right. He worked hard, owns his home, and has prepared for retirement. Now that he is ready to retire, he wonders why he worked so hard to live the rest of his days, bereft of close friends and family; in persistent arthritic pain; finding his only escape in virtual reality games. When the technology is developed to move human consciousness into a solid state mind, John Henry puts the same dogged determination to build his retirement to work to prolong his life; even if he has to work the rest of his days in his blue collar job, or make a deal with the devil. It is not the devil that John Henry deals with, but he steadily loses bits and pieces of himself, starting with his name. When John Henry Munroe becomes Dekamara, he begins a journey that will take him away from the little box he worked in for thirty years to a life he may not want, and compromises he could not even contemplate, but will be more than willing to make.

A deadly betrayal triggers an inexorable avalanche of events vaulting Pyge the Black back home to the loving clutches of his immediate family, twenty years after he went to insane lengths to make them think he was dead. Forced to re-assume his true name and the curse of immobility that accompanied his old identity, Pyge has to face a family who's actions left him crippled, in mind, and body, and unravel the secret that kept him hidden from them for 20 years. Pyge has a god on his side, unfortunately his family does as well and their divine backup is much bigger than his. But Pyge isn't a young lad being taken apart on a torturer's table anymore. He has his guns; his war hammer; the demonic power he sacrificed dearly for; and his only friend and most precious possession: The Obsidian Horse.

Werewolves are not born. Werewolves are not cursed. Werewolves, and other shapeshifters, are built for a purpose: war. Seeded within the human population as the ultimate tool for survival. The Sidhe choose humans with the appropriate ancestry to be brought across the boundaries of Dream to join their society. Others do not lead such charmed lives. Doomed because they are deemed to not add anything to the Sidhe's future, they are drafted to defend the present; pressed into service as the tractable cousins to werewolves: werehounds. Spencer Westinghouse was one of those poor souls pressed into hasty service to find a monster before she could kill again. But his transition was botched and he was left unable to shapeshift, but unable die, his faery animus stillborn, but alive, a poltergeist that keeps him safe but sets him further apart from the only people he can retreat to. So he runs to those who maimed him in the first place: the Sidhe.

Vycta Franks always considered himself a man of Faith; an unconventional Faith, a private Faith. He believes what he feels he was told by God. "Follow my voice and your path, but do not teach. Do this, and you will reach paradise." When he died, he went to Heaven, where everyone has Faith. They are still people, and where there are people, there is conflict. Man warring on man because interpreting how to express Faith is still an issue. Faith is always an issue. From the orbiting paradisiac Principalities, connected to the war ravaged spiritual earth by great orbital elevators, to the hidden, secret copses, man's free will is only trumped by God's law. God was not a busybody on Earth, he is not one in Heaven. The Choir of Heaven keeps them from ultimate destruction, while the "discussions" continue. Vycta is drawn immediately into these wars of Faith. Despite thinking he is different, he is just another theocrat, and he has a lot to learn about Faith and the even more precious, Grace.

Terrorism and war have engendered a special set of people with distinctive and uniquely contemporary therapeutic needs. How do we cope with the personal experience of political violence? Living with Terror, Working with Trauma addresses the ways that mental health practitioners can assist survivors of terrorism. Drawing upon the experience of leading practitioners and renowned experts throughout the world, this edited volume explores the most innovative methods currently employed to help people heal and even grow from traumatic experiences. It argues for a multi-dimensional approach to understanding and treating the effects of terror-related trauma. Comprehensive in scope, Living with Terror, Working with Trauma covers psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, existential, and neuro-physiological techniques for working with individuals and groups, children and adults, both in the clinic and in the field. The contributors share their personal and clinical experiences in Hiroshima, Cambodia, the Middle East, Vietnam, and other sites of mass violence and terror, including the Holocaust. A special section is devoted to the September 11th. As it addresses the basic existential challenge of finding meaning and creatively transforming one's experience of terror and trauma, this volume explores the territory, identifies the key problems, and presents effective therapeutic solutions."