The beloved Shannara series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks is universally acclaimed as a towering achievement, an unquestioned masterpiece in fantasy literature. Now, for the first time, all the wonders of Shannara have been gathered into one single, indispensable volume in which Terry Brooks shares candid views on his creation. Lavishly illustrated with full-color paintings and black-and-white drawings, this comprehensive guide ventures behind the scenes to explore the history, the people, the places, the major events, and of course the magic, of one of the world’s greatest fantasy epics. What sets Terry Brooks apart? Is it a knack for creating complex, unforgettable characters like Allanon the Druid, Shea Ohmsford, and Amberle the elven-maid—men and women, gnomes and wizards, who come alive on the page and in our hearts? Is it the haunting and utterly believable evil of his darker creations: the foul Dagda Mor, the insanely murderous Jachyra, the enigmatic Ilse Witch? Or is it the way his adventures effortlessly partake of the timeless quality of myth? Whatever the secret of Brooks’s storytelling magic, generations of readers have fallen under its spell, returning again and again to the pages of beloved classics like The Elfstones of Shannara and The Druid of Shannara, and relishing his newest novels in the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara saga. Sure to tantalize and delight old fans and newcomers alike, The World of Shannara is the ultimate gateway into the fantasy realms of Terry Brooks—and the perfect companion to take along on the journey of a lifetime.

The multiple award-winning fantasy author of The Fionavar Tapestry brings his extraordinary imagination to a tale of mythic figures in contemporary times... Ned Marriner is in France with his father, a celebrated photographer shooting the Saint-Sauveur Cathedral of Aix-en-Provence. While exploring the cathedral, Ned meets Kate, an American exchange student with a deep knowledge of the area’s history. But even Kate is at a loss when she and Ned surprise a scar-faced stranger, wearing a leather jacket and carrying a knife. “I think you ought to go now,” he tells them. “You have blundered into a corner of a very old story...” In this ancient place, where the borders between the living and the long-dead are thin, Ned and his family are about to be drawn into a haunted story, as mythic figures from conflicts of long ago erupt into the present, changing—and claiming—lives.

Unlike traditional introductory math/stat textbooks, Probability and Statistics: The Science of Uncertainty brings a modern flavor based on incorporating the computer to the course and an integrated approach to inference. From the start the book integrates simulations into its theoretical coverage, and emphasizes the use of computer-powered computation throughout.* Math and science majors with just one year of calculus can use this text and experience a refreshing blend of applications and theory that goes beyond merely mastering the technicalities. They'll get a thorough grounding in probability theory, and go beyond that to the theory of statistical inference and its applications. An integrated approach to inference is presented that includes the frequency approach as well as Bayesian methodology. Bayesian inference is developed as a logical extension of likelihood methods. A separate chapter is devoted to the important topic of model checking and this is applied in the context of the standard applied statistical techniques. Examples of data analyses using real-world data are presented throughout the text. A final chapter introduces a number of the most important stochastic process models using elementary methods. *Note: An appendix in the book contains Minitab code for more involved computations. The code can be used by students as templates for their own calculations. If a software package like Minitab is used with the course then no programming is required by the students.

From "Hong Kong Phooey" to "Jonny Quest", from Sid and Marty Krofft to Hanna-Barbera, brothers Kevin and Timothy Burke, who as kids watched plenty of television, celebrate all that made Saturday morning TV great. 158 photos, 8 in color.

This is the diary ... of a spider. But don't be worried – he's more scared of you and your gigantic shoe! Actually, he's a lot like you. He goes to gym class and has Grandparents' Day at school. But he also spins sticky webs, scales walls, and takes wind–catching lessons. Lucky for him, his best friend is a fly! Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss, the team behind the #1 bestselling Diary Of A Worm, spin a hilarious tale about the upside–down web world of an eight–legged charmer and his unlikely friend, Fly.

A starter box for the Cyberpunk RPG line. Everything you need to play the game.

Mathematical demography is the centerpiece of quantitative social science. The founding works of this field from Roman times to the late Twentieth Century are collected here, in a new edition of a classic work by David R. Smith and Nathan Keyfitz. Commentaries by Smith and Keyfitz have been brought up to date and extended by Kenneth Wachter and Hervé Le Bras, giving a synoptic picture of the leading achievements in formal population studies. Like the original collection, this new edition constitutes an indispensable source for students and scientists alike, and illustrates the deep roots and continuing vitality of mathematical demography.

Climate change threatens the economy of the United States in myriad ways, including increased flooding and storm damage, altered crop yields, lost labor productivity, higher crime, reshaped public-health patterns, and strained energy systems, among many other effects. Combining the latest climate models, state-of-the-art econometric research on human responses to climate, and cutting-edge private-sector risk-assessment tools, Economic Risks of Climate Change: An American Prospectus crafts a game-changing profile of the economic risks of climate change in the United States. This prospectus is based on a critically acclaimed independent assessment of the economic risks posed by climate change commissioned by the Risky Business Project. With new contributions from Karen Fisher-Vanden, Michael Greenstone, Geoffrey Heal, Michael Oppenheimer, and Nicholas Stern and Bob Ward, as well as a foreword from Risky Business cochairs Michael Bloomberg, Henry Paulson, and Thomas Steyer, the book speaks to scientists, researchers, scholars, activists, and policy makers. It depicts the distribution of escalating climate-change risk across the country and assesses its effects on aspects of the economy as varied as hurricane damages and violent crime. Beautifully illustrated and accessibly written, this book is an essential tool for helping businesses and governments prepare for the future.