Britain: a few years from now... A new populist political party has won the recent general election. Duncan Jones, freelance political journalist and blogger, loses his weekly column at a national newspaper and turns to investigative reporting. The chance remark of a friend leads him to suspect that the Russians are directing the new British government’s policies and decisions. As he visits Moscow and Ukraine to discover more, scandal follows intrigue, dark forces attempt to silence him by whatever means possible and he turns to an unlikely ally for help. A Friend in Deed is a fast-paced political thriller set in an all-too-believable near future. It is a timely reminder of how the power of the internet can be harnessed to undermine the political and personal freedoms we take for granted. It is also the story of how one man confronts the traumas in his past and works out how to resolve them.

Lu Xun spent the last decade of his life in the turbulent world of Shanghai. Soon after arriving in 1927, he befriended Uchiyama Kanzō, owner of a bookstore specializing in Japanese writings. Their friendship and the mutual kindnesses (occasionally involving near-death experiences) form the core of this short volume. In part a meditation of what two people with such different backgrounds--one the most famous intellectual of his time, the other a merchant with a sixth-grade education from a country on the verge of launching total war against China--may speak to our own fractious times. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Sino-Japanese exchange, Joshua Fogel paints a captivating portrait of two men of very different temperament, background, and political outlook. We see their friendship in ordinary moments over a cup of Karigane tea, a specially-reserved rattan chair, and the efforts at mounting exhibits of woodblock prints but also in extraordinary moments when Uchiyama protected Lu Xun from GMD spies and Japanese military police in the tumultuous years before total war. Theirs was a remarkable friendship indeed.

When Columbo hit the airwaves in 1971, in quickly became the hottest TV detective series of the decade. Series creators Richard Levinson and William Link received an Emmy Award for their work; Peter Falk received three. The Columbo Phile offers fascinating behind-the-scenes information about the creation of the character, the writing of the devious mystery plots, and the altercations between perfectionist Peter Falk and the bottom-line concerns of Universal Studios. Originally published in 1989 and long out-of-print, this 30th Anniversary Edition of the essential Columbo book features a new preface by author Mark Dawidziak, an overview of post-1989 Columbo developments, including the twenty-four new ABC mysteries, and a personal remembrance of Peter Falk. It remains today the definitive guide to the rumpled Lieutenant Columbo and his career.

Kindness is contagious: 365 seemingly simple actions that have the power to ignite a chain reaction of compassion. Each brightly illustrated page of this uplifting book features an inspiring prompt (“tell a friend why she means the world to you,” “leave your change in the vending machine for the next person,” “say a blessing for one thing you’re grateful for today”) encouraging people to make meaningful connections with loved ones, build community, spread cheer to strangers, or prioritize their own happiness. If you want to be the change you want to see in the world, this little book is a great place to start—and it’s sure to inspire you to come up with your own creative ideas for making someone’s day . . . as well as your own.

Volume contains: 339 AD 155 (City of N.Y. v. White Star Towing Co.) 340 AD 155 (Norton v. Wilson) 341 AD 154 (Obermayer v. Geering) 342 AD 154 (Oppenheimer v. Trebla Realty Co.)