Imagine an athlete so incredible that he dominates two sports - football and baseball - shattering records and lifting his team to championships every year. Doug Maxwell is a new kind of reluctant hero. A boy from a fractured home, he now has to overcome crushing criticism from the media, opposing players and the public. Deep down, Doug is a kind, giving man, who struggles with his own inner demons and human foibles. But he is not a cheat. Yet, Doug does have an incredible, supernatural secret. Having been bestowed amazing strength by an event in his childhood, Doug can now work towards fulfilling his greatest wish: to make his father proud. But as his abilities grow, so do his detractors. After reporter Sue Ohuna notices that something is not quite human about Doug, she risks her career trying to uncover his secret. As stakes get higher, Doug soon needs to make life-changing decisions. But can he fulfill his true destiny?

All three books in Theodore Huntington's 'The Storm Trilogy', now available in one volume! Doug Maxwell: A boy from a fractured home, Doug Maxwell has an incredible secret. Having been bestowed amazing strength by an event in his childhood, Doug can now work towards fulfilling his greatest wish. But after reporter Sue Ohuna notices that something is not quite human about Doug, she risks her career trying to uncover his secret. As stakes get higher, Doug soon needs to make decisions that will change the course of his life. Charlie Estrella: He’s the greatest musician the world has ever seen, but what is the secret behind Charlie Estrella's magical gifts? The second book in Theodore Huntington's 'The Storm Trilogy' follows a tale of another supernatural hero. This time, it is young Charlie Estrella who is granted his greatest wish by the Storm. But can he find his true destiny, or will he be thwarted by his foes? Larry: Ever since he was born, thoroughbred Larry has faced adversity. Bestowed with a miraculous gift by a supernatural storm, Larry is climbing to the heights of triumph. Protected by his best friend - a jockey with her own magical gift - Larry gallops through hurdle after hurdle. But can he conquer his obstacles and emerge as a symbol of indomitable will?

In the 1970s, when most people thought about curling they thought it was just a game, something that could never be a real sport. Warren Hansen, a top curler in the seventies, felt curling wasn’t viewed fairly by the sports world. That needed to change. Hansen joined forces with Ray Kingsmith in the late 1970s to change this, setting out to get curling into the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary as a demonstration sport. They succeeded, but then it seemed like curling would never go beyond that demonstration. Three times curling applied to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for Olympic medal status. And three times, the IOC turned them down. Finally in June of 1992, at the IOC General Assembly in Barcelona, Spain, curling received the blessing of the executive committee as a full medal sport. Sticks ‘n’ Stones reveals what it took for curling to gain full medal sport status, from sheer determination to navigating the murky waters of politics of amateur, international and Olympic sport.

The gripping biography of one of New Zealand's most distinguished farmers, entreprenuers and aviation heroes. When Sir Tim Wallis’s Spitfire crashed at Wanaka airfield in 1996, his accident was reported around the world. This lion-hearted Central Otago man, a legendary figure in the aviation, deer farming and business worlds, was suddenly fighting for his life. Sir Tim Wallis is known as the helicopter pilot and entrepreneur who pioneered New Zealand’s deer industry. A multi-millionaire, he is also the man behind the successful Warbirds Over Wanaka air pageant. For decades he’s had a passion for collecting, restoring and flying vintage fighter planes. Tim’s adventurous life story is told here by writer Neville Peat, who shares his great love of the South: Fiordland, South Westland, Central Otago and the Southern Alps. Hurricane Tim is an absorbing account of the adventures of Tim Wallis that equally extends to faraway places where he applied his business instincts – southern Siberia, tropical Vanuatu and Canada. After Sir Tim’s 1996 crash, he was given just a slim chance of survival. But survive he did. With astounding determination he has learned to speak and walk again, albeit slowly. Undoubtedly Tim inspires all who meet him; his story is equally inspiring. What drove this extraordinary character to live at the edge throughout his life? Author Neville Peat draws us into the hurricane that is Sir Tim Wallis.

DIVA prank outside the Beaumont Hotel goes haywire, and an assassin kills the wrong man /divDIV Political fundraisers can be cynical and coarse when they’re among their own kind, and Pierre Chambrun, manager of the elegant Beaumont Hotel, prefers not to let them through his doors. But when his friend Douglas Maxwell, a hard-nosed senatorial candidate, asks to host a thousand-dollar-a-plate dinner in the Beaumont’s famous ballroom, Chambrun cannot refuse. The fundraiser has just begun when bad taste rears its ugly head, and Maxwell steps out of his limousine smiling, waving, and wearing no pants. The crowd roars with laughter until the pantsless man falls to his knees, shot dead. /divDIV /divDIVLess than half an hour later, Maxwell appears in Chambrun’s office, very much alive. The dead man was his cousin, a lookalike who came to New York to play a prank, and caught a bullet in return. Chambrun must find the gunman to save his friend and spare the Beaumont a second killing—because murder is the ultimate faux pas. /div

The major themes in this volume are the rise of Winnipeg to world curling prominence in the nineteenth century and the persistence of that prominence in the twentieth.

Synthetic Worlds, Virtual Worlds, and Alternate Realities are all terms used to describe the phenomenon of computer-based, simulated environments in which users inhabit and interact via avatars. The best-known commercial applications are in the form of electronic gaming, and particularly in massively-multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft or Second Life. Less known, but possibly more important, is the rapid adoption of platforms in education and business, where Serious Games are being used for training purposes, and even Second Life is being used in many situations that formerly required travel. The editors of this book captures the state of research in the field intended to reflect the rapidly growing yet relatively young market in education and business. The general focus is set on the scientific community but integrates the practical applications for businesses, with papers on information systems, business models, and economics. In six parts, international authors – all experts in their field – discuss the current state-of-the-art of virtual worlds/alternate realities and how the field will develop over the next years. Chapters discuss the influences and impacts in and around virtual worlds. Part four is about education, with a focus on learning environments and experiences, pedagogical models, and the effects on the different roles in the educational sector. The book looks at business models and how companies can participate in virtual worlds while receiving a return on investment, and includes cases and scenarios of integration, from design, implementation to application.