Science fiction-roman.

Larry Diamond, a lifelong scholar of democracy, examines the history of its struggles and its future. The defence of democracy has relied for decades on U.S. global leadership, including its alliances with advanced democracies in Europe and Asia. But, he warns, if America does not reclaim its traditional place as the keystone of democracy, today's global authoritarian trend will accelerate. But there is hope - Diamond offers concrete, deeply informed suggestions for policymakers and citizens alike to turn the tide and usher a new age of democratic renewal.

In this breathtaking suspense novel by Nevada Barr, park ranger Anna Pigeon is faced with a sinister mystery that threatens the visitors of Mesa Verde. As a strange and deadly disease spreads through the park, Anna must unravel the source and put an end to the evil wind that carries it. With gripping twists and turns, Ill Wind transports readers to the atmospheric landscape of Mesa Verde, immersing them in the heart-pounding action as Anna races against time to uncover the truth. Fans of Nevada Barr's thrilling storytelling and gripping mysteries won't be able to put this book down.

Someone's finally doing something about the weather...in the first in this series by the New York Times bestselling author of Ink and Bone and the Morganville Vampires series. It's "A FUN READ" (Jim Butcher) from "A FIRST-CLASS STORYTELLER" (Charlaine Harris)... The Wardens Association has been around pretty much forever. Some Wardens control Fire, others control Earth or Water or Wind—and the most powerful can control more than one. Without wardens, Mother Nature would wipe humanity off the face of the earth... Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now, Joanne is trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So, she’s resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life… Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful warden known. Unfortunately, he’s also on the run from the Council. It seems he’s stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn—making him the most wanted man on earth. And without Lewis, Joanne’s chances of surviving are as good as a snowball in—well, a place she may be headed. So, she and her classic Mustang are racing hard to find him—because there’s some bad weather closing in fast... “[Ill Wind’s] forecast calls for murder, mayhem, magic, meteorology—and a fun read. You’ll never watch the Weather Channel the same way again.”—Jim Butcher, bestselling author of The Dresden Files Rachel Caine is the author of several bestselling series, including the Revivalist and Outcast Season novels. Among her many popular novels are Daylighters, The Dead Girls' Dance, Terminated, and Black Dawn.

Your dream house is blighted -- Foxconn comes to America -- What does the Foxconn say? -- Who made that TV? -- The land grab -- Racine, poster child of the Rust Belt -- Sherrard, Illinois -- Monkey business in the middle -- Wassily Leontief and input-output economic impact -- Flying Eagle economic impact -- A tea party for Foxconn -- A bright, shining object -- The problem with picking winners -- An ill wind blows -- All politics are local -- The trouble with TIF -- Following the money -- Foxconn on the ground -- Breaking the cycle.

These widely acclaimed essays from the author of Infinite Jest -- on television, tennis, cruise ships, and more -- established David Foster Wallace as one of the preeminent essayists of his generation. In this exuberantly praised book -- a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary theory to the supposed fun of traveling aboard a Caribbean luxury cruiseliner -- David Foster Wallace brings to nonfiction the same curiosity, hilarity, and exhilarating verbal facility that has delighted readers of his fiction, including the bestselling Infinite Jest.

A “comprehensive and fascinating study” of how wind has shaped the world as we know it, affecting all aspects of human and natural life—from geography to political history, plant life to psychology, and biology to philosophy (The Observer) Wind is everywhere and nowhere. Wind is the circulatory system of the earth, and its nervous system, too. Energy and information flow through it. It brings warmth and water, enriches and strips away the soil, aerates the globe. Wind shapes the lives of animals, humans among them. Trade follows the path of the wind, as empire also does. Wind made the difference in wars between the Greeks and Persians, the Mongols and the Japanese. Wind helped to destroy the Spanish Armada. And wind is no less determining of our inner lives: the föhn, mistral, sirocco, Santa Ana, and other “ill winds” of the world are correlated with disease, suicide, and even murder. Heaven’s Breath is an encyclopedic and enchanting book that opens dazzling new perspectives on history, nature, and humanity.

This Xanth villain is full of hot air. “Anthony’s unflagging sparkle, verve and wordplay spin everyday trials of Mundane life into storytelling gold” (Publishers Weekly). A fickle flux in the fabric of space has allowed a horrendous hurricane to blast into Xanth, stirring up mischief and madness wherever she goes. Trapped in a preposterous form by a cosmic wager, the Demon X(A/N)th must join forces with a vexatious vixen named Chlorine to save Xanth from this terrifying and tempestuous threat. Their companions on this haphazard quest are a hapless human family—Jim and Karen Baldwin and their two teenage sons, David and Sean—gusted into Xanth from the mundane world beyond. Together they encounter a host of turbulent misadventures as they struggle to keep Xanth from being blown off the map forever. “Just the thing for pun-happy funsters.” —Kirkus Reviews

To find a dangerous grimoire, they’ll have to break a few rules…and maybe their hearts. When warlock Tony Castillo picks up Cassandra Sandoval at the airport, the copper-haired witch brings his restless, aimless life into razor-sharp focus…and triggers a wince-inducing case of foot-in-mouth disease. Luckily, her cool, hazel-green gaze betrays not a flicker of answering attraction. Nope, Cassandra is all business. Which Tony can understand, given the magnitude of her task. Cassandra has one job: retrieve the de la Paz grimoires from the heavily warded hiding place at Tony’s family home, conceal them with her unique shielding power, and immediately return them to her clan’s territory. Easy. Quick. No time for anything to go wrong, to give in to the temptation of a too-handsome warlock. They find Tony’s mother unconscious and the grimoires missing, the only clue a slimy residue reeking of Escobar magic. As they race to get the dangerous books out of the wrong hands, Cassandra and Tony cross a few boundaries, break a few more rules, and find something neither expected — love. But if they fail, nothing will shield them, or the world as they know it, from unrelenting evil. Note: An Ill Wind is a standalone, no-cliffhangers romance in the Witches of Canyon Road series. It takes place approximately four months after the events of book 5, Demon Born. witch wizard warlock psychic telepath sensitive santa fe new mexico witch clan witch family black magic central america road trip romance

The heat is rising in Indonesia in this action-packed adventure by “the John D. MacDonald of espionage fiction” (Larry McMurtry, The New York Times). When Joe Gall heads to Indonesia on an assignment to acquire a fortune in precious metals, he finds himself in the midst of an attempted coup and a civil war, a bloody battle fought by the military and the Communists. Now he has to guard something even more valuable than gold and silver—his own life—in this gripping thriller by the Edgar Award finalist. “I admire Philip Atlee’s writing tremendously.” —Raymond Chandler