Doncaster, and Jack Carter is home for a funeral - his brother Frank's. Frank had been found dead and drunk in his car at the bottom of a cliff. Now, Frank was a mild, sober man, so why did he land up dead in his car at the bottom of a cliff? Jack thinks his death doesn't add up and decides to ask questions. But he is told to stop by Gerald and Les who run a porn 'firm' and Jack is their hit man. Frank did as he was told, but Jack is not like that . . . This is a tough, uncompromising novel portraying a stark society of people living on the dangerous border-line between crime and respectability.

It's the 1960s and Billy Cracken is a hard man to keep locked up. An austere and troubled childhood has given way to life as a hardened criminal and now status as one of the most feared prisoners in England. He has been moved from one maximum security prison to the next. Guards and inmates alike fear and begrudgingly respect the powerfully-built Cracken. But a life doing his porridge, even if as a minor celebrity, isn't the one he wants. A girlfriend and a child await Cracken on the outside and he'll stop at nothing to get to them. While plotting his escape he crosses a powerful mobster who vows to make Cracken's life hell, and if nothing else succeeds at making his escape all the more difficult, something the ever-rebellious Cracken defiantly relishes. The follow-up novel to the wildly successful Get Carter, Billy Rags is a fascinating look into the lives of British inmates serving time in a maximum security prison. Lewis manages once again to tell an exciting, action-filled story with a soul - demonstrated most clearly in a series of brilliant flashbacks to Billy's childhood and in the end conjures a character that will remind readers of both Tom Hardy in Bronson and Lee Marvin in Point Blank.

The author of Get Carter returns to his greatest invention, a smooth-operating hardcase named Jack Carter, who is about to burn a city down in order to silence an informant... London. The late 1960s. It's Christmas and Jack Carter's the top man in a crime syndicate headed by two brothers, Gerald and Les Fletcher. He's also a worried man. The fact that he's sleeping with Gerald's wife, Audrey, and that they plan on someday running away together with a lot of the brothers' money, doesn't have Jack concerned. Instead it's an informant - one of his own men - that has him losing sleep. The grass has enough knowledge about the firm to not only bring down Gerald and Les but Jack as well. Jack doesn't like his name in the mouth of that sort.

Developing correct and efficient software is far more complex for parallel and distributed systems than it is for sequential processors. Some of the reasons for this added complexity are: the lack of a universally acceptable parallel and distributed programming paradigm, the criticality of achieving high performance, and the difficulty of writing correct parallel and distributed programs. These factors collectively influence the current status of parallel and distributed software development tools efforts. Tools and Environments for Parallel and Distributed Systems addresses the above issues by describing working tools and environments, and gives a solid overview of some of the fundamental research being done worldwide. Topics covered in this collection are: mainstream program development tools, performance prediction tools and studies; debugging tools and research; and nontraditional tools. Audience: Suitable as a secondary text for graduate level courses in software engineering and parallel and distributed systems, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

Developing correct and efficient software is far more complex for parallel and distributed systems than it is for sequential processors. Some of the reasons for this added complexity are: the lack of a universally acceptable parallel and distributed programming paradigm, the criticality of achieving high performance, and the difficulty of writing correct parallel and distributed programs. These factors collectively influence the current status of parallel and distributed software development tools efforts. Tools and Environments for Parallel and Distributed Systems addresses the above issues by describing working tools and environments, and gives a solid overview of some of the fundamental research being done worldwide. Topics covered in this collection are: mainstream program development tools, performance prediction tools and studies; debugging tools and research; and nontraditional tools. Audience: Suitable as a secondary text for graduate level courses in software engineering and parallel and distributed systems, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

Eight-volume collection of animations based on the Marvel Comics characters. In 'Astonishing X-Men: Gifted', Dr. Kavita Rao (voice of Eva Christensen) appears to have found a cure for mutant superheroes Wolverine (Marc Thompson), Cyclops (Gregory Abbey), Beast (Mike Pollock), Kitty Pryde (Eileen Stevens) and Emma Frost (Erica Schroeder). They are reluctant to receive the treatment, however, especially when the arrival of an extraterrestrial foe threatens humankind. In 'Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous', after a member of the Xavier Institute dies, it becomes apparent that an enemy, who is intent on destroying the mutants once and for all, is operating from the inside. A shocking secret is revealed and the X-Men find themselves fighting for their survival. In 'Astonishing X-Men: Torn', the X-Men face trouble from the Hellfire Club, a group made up of influential figures who are trying to gain control over the world using their powerful positions within politics and the economy. In 'Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable', the X-Men must save Earth from an attack by the Breakworld aliens who plan to fire a gigantic bullet that would lead to the planet's complete destruction. In 'Iron Man: Extremis', Mallen (Ted Lewis), a soldier intent on seeking revenge for the death of his family, gets hold of an experimental military serum known as Extremis. After being injected with the drug, Mallen acquires extraordinary powers that even billionaire Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Jason Griffith) can't defeat. Now critically wounded after battling the vengeful villain, Stark has no choice but to use Extremis himself in order to save the day. 'Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D.' follows Jessica Drew (Nicolette Reed) and her superheroine alter ego Spider-Woman. Recruited by Abigail Brand (Stephanie K. Thomas) to join S.W.O.R.D., an agency which fights terrorism and threats from extraterrestrial beings, Jessica Drew uses her powers to find and destroy shape-shifting aliens known as the Skrulls. In 'Blank Panther', African King T'Challa aka the Black Panther (Djimon Hounsou) defends his nation from invasion. After his father King T'Chaka (Jonathan Adams) is killed at the hands of the villainous Ulysses Klaw (Stephen Stanton), T'Challa becomes the new ruler of his country Wakanda, home to the valuable mineral vibranium. Klaw assembles an almighty army with which to invade Wakanda, meaning the Black Panther will have to push his powers to the limit if he is to save his country and people from harm. 'Thor and Loki: Blood Brothers' follows the villainous Loki (David Blair) and his superhero adoptive brother Thor (Daniel Thorn). After becoming the new king of the mystical realm Asgard, Loki is soon faced with the reality of ruling over his land. Told from Loki's point of view, the story explores how he and his brother became enemies.

'Ted Lewis is one of England's finest, but still most neglected post-war writers' Two men share a common history. Growing up together in the small town of Barton-Upon-Humber in Lincolnshire, England, Peter Knott is everything that Brian Plender wishes he were. Knott is suave, good-looking, an exemplary student and popular. The friendship they maintain is as important to Plender as it is forgettable to Knott, and eventually leads to a lasting humiliation for Brian. Years later Brian Plender is a dangerous man; a private investigator who specializes in extortion, blackmail, and intimidation. Knott meanwhile is a family man adrift, beholden to his wife for money. When, at a bar he uses to set up marks, Plender spots Knott with a girl way too young to be his wife he decides to follow the pair and see what happens. What follows is an edge-of-your-seat trip into a nightmare story that manages to be both incredibly creepy and eerily profound.

We all can choose where we want to live and do business. So whether we are sitting here in Little Rock, or somewhere else, it's what's inside of us that makes the difference. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust. That is the difference We are here because we want to be in this community. We want to support local business and the community. We want to give back and make Little Rock a better place for everyone. It's not that Little Rock drew us... we came because of relationships, the environment and the community. And now that we're here, we love it and want to see it grow. Our hope is that you'll join us in our optimism. Whether or not Little Rock is recognized by the media as a great place to live and do business, you and I know that it is. As long as we are able, we intend to invest in local business, the schools, the arts and serving those less fortunate. We believe this is the path to making any city a better place to live and work. Having a Big Business in Little Rock is more about treating people right and giving back. It's not the revenue we're talking about, but the avenue of investing our lives into the lives of others. We hope you thoroughly enjoy reading our ramblings. You probably won't see us on the NY Times Best Seller list any time soon, but more important than that, you will see us around town and involved in the community. That's how good cities become great cities - when people get involved. Thanks for reading Big Business in Little Rock. Roger Best Jason Everett Mike Davidson J. Ted Lewis Mike BennettMichael DeLon

Description: Ethical discourse about the institution of voting rarely includes the option of abstaining for principled reasons. This collection of nine articles widens the discussion in that direction by giving readers a new question: At what point and on what grounds might one choose not to vote as an act of conscience? Contributors offer both ethical and faith-based reasons for not voting. For some, it is a matter of candidates not measuring up to high standards; for others it is a matter of reserving political identity and allegiance for the church rather than the nation-state. These writers--representing a wide range of Christian traditions--cite texts from diverse sources: Mennonites, Pentecostals, and pre-Civil Rights African Americans. Some contributors reference the positions of Catholic bishops, Karl Barth, or John Howard Yoder. New Testament texts also figure strongly in these cases for ""conscientious abstention"" from voting. In addition to cultivating the ethical discussion around abstention from voting, the contributors suggest alternative ways beneficially to engage society. This volume creates a new freedom for readers within any faith tradition to enter into a dialogue that has not yet been welcomed in North America. Endorsements: People often forget that voting can be a coercive practice, just to the extent it justifies a majority's silencing of minorities. We should therefore be grateful that these essays raise an issue that too often goes undiscussed. --Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School, Duke University If the definition of a good book is that it challenges long-held and cherished opinions while inspiring readers to think new thoughts and imagine new possibilities, then this is a great book--and one that all American Christians (in particular) need to read This diverse collection of excellent essays serves as a prophetic call for American Christians to wake up from our political slumber and realize how we've been seduced by the idols of nationalism and political power. --Greg Boyd, author of The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church (2006) Half the electorate typically stays home on election day, and not an eyebrow is raised. But if one suggests that people shouldn't vote for religious reasons, be prepared to run for cover--you're guaranteed a firestorm of outrage and indignation. The ""sacred right to vote"" still generates powerful emotions, even among those who don't make it to the shrine on a regular basis. And that's why the Christian community owes a debt to Ted Lewis and his contributors for raising the uncomfortable question of whether voting may be incompatible with the practice of Christian discipleship. Electing Not to Vote is a provocative but respectful collection that deserves serious attention from Christians of all sorts."" --Michael L. Budde, Department of Political Science, DePaul University About the Contributor(s): Ted Lewis works as an acquisitions editor at Wipf and Stock Publishers and writes articles and book reviews for Mennonite periodicals. He also manages the Restorative Justice Program at Community Mediation Services in Eugene, Oregon, and provides mediation services and conflict transformation workshops for faith-based communities.