An offshoot military force from Indonesia collaborates with the newly established Aboriginal "Council of Land Owners" to annex Northern Australia. Their plan? To finance the removal of most of Northern Queensland’s population and seize the resource-rich territories stretching to Western Australia. Claiming local indigenous support, they aim for a swift takeover, targeting the nearly deserted Darwin as their staging area. Set in the pre-dawn of the technological age, where communication is sparse, an old soldier turned government official detects the looming threat. Unable to rally his colleagues, he covertly diverts two ODF (Operational Deployment Force – Peacekeepers) units for an "Advance to Contact" exercise south of Darwin. What unfolds is a gripping clash, testing the limits of resolve, strategy, and survival.

I am a part of you now. The words haunt Piers Veuxfort, and he has only his own recklessness to blame. By touching a magic crystal, he freed the essence of a decidedly wicked Fin Man, who now resides within Piers. If that isn?t bad enough, a surprise for Piers arrives at Falcon?s Craig Castle. A bride. A bride, moreover, who was raised to be a nun, and views him as something just short of the devil. What can he do but send her back? You are a wicked abomination. With that condemnation of her ?sight?, Giselle St. Germain?s future is irrevocably altered. Her life in the secluded nunnery is over, and she is thrown into the world, a world that includes betrothal to a man who is unrepentantly devoted to his pleasures, and who increasingly displays a dark, troubling side. What?s a girl to do but cling more tightly to what she knows? The rules have changed. For both of them. And Piers and Giselle are about to discover that sometimes fate delivers a destiny beyond your imaginings. That destiny is theirs to win. Or lose. It will take all the courage that lies within their deepest hearts to seize it, and to find ? A Lost Touch of Innocence

Veiled by the mists of the highlands are tales of beautiful, magical, and sometimes dangerous worlds. One such realm, Paroseea, dwells hidden within the stone walls of a medieval fortress, Castle MacCoinneach. Yet danger has escaped paradise and stalks the halls of Castle MacCoinneach seeking vengeance, patiently waiting for the return of the fallen laird. You must return. Those words, uttered by the ghost of Padruig MacCoinneach?s beloved sister, send him back to the highlands and a life he forswore. To save his remaining sister and aid his clan, Padruig will do anything. He never expected that he would have to marry his ally?s daughter, whom he deems both a reckless child and a potent temptation. You are the price. With these callous words, Padruig destroys a fantasy Aimili de Grantham has long nurtured, created from her memories of Padruig himself. A cool, dismissive stranger has replaced the golden man of her dreams, a stranger she must wed. Worse, the fey part of her senses that evil lurks in the shadows of Castle MacCoinneach, and she has nowhere to turn. One true laird and one of fey blood. Strangers they may be, but Padruig and Aimili are destined to join together to defeat a force beyond their imaginings. It will take trust, faith, and most of all, love to save themselves, their clan, and discover . . . A Lost Touch of Magic.

For the first time in his life, Lugh MacKeir, Laird of Tunvegan, finds himself in a battle he cannot win. His precious daughter is dying of the same illness that claimed his wife. The Isle of Parraba is a whispered legend, a place rumored to be ruled by a sorceress, an isle no one can reach. Yet, legend speaks of a powerful healer as well. Lugh MacKeir, desperate, determines to find Parraba and face its mysterious ruler. Iosobal is the Lady of Parraba, mystical and magical, a woman apart from the world around her. Drawn to something familiar in Lugh’s child, however, she reluctantly agrees to help her in exchange for Lugh clearing the blocked entrance to a very special cave. But the child’s illness defies Iosobal’s skill, and Lugh’s task proves more of a challenge than he anticipated. In the end, the secret to saving Lugh’s daughter lies in Iosobal’s ability to open her heart to a brash warrior who has invaded her tranquil sanctuary. She must find the courage to end her isolation, and the wise innocence of a child must lead them all to A Lost Touch of Paradise.

Five years ago, Cain Veuxfort, Earl of Hawksdown, followed duty and broke Amice de Monceaux?s heart. But now he needs her. Desperately. For Amice has a very special talent. She is a Spirit Goddess, able to help restless souls move on. And Cain has a very restless ghost he wishes fervently would leave his castle. Anxious to regain order in his chaotic life, Cain offers Amice the one thing he?s sure she can?t resist; an Italian villa on the sea in exchange for her unique services. Although Amice?s wound is deep, and as fresh and painful as ever, she agrees to help her former lover. Life on the Italian coast will be the start of a new life for her. Perhaps then she will finally be able to put the past behind her as well as an importunate Highland lord who wants nothing less that her hand in marriage. But there is more going on at Castle Falcon?s Craig than a simple haunting, and more than one tragic tale of unrequited love. Yet to set things right, for both the living and the dead, Cain must find the courage to shed his mask of indifference, Amice must move beyond her pain to forgive? and long dead, star-crossed lovers must lead them all on the path to? A Lost Touch of Bliss

A Lost Touch of Bliss Cain Veuxfort, Earl of Hawksdown, followed duty and broke Amice de Monceaux’s heart five years ago. But now he needs her. Amice is a Spirit Goddess, able to help restless souls move on, and Cain needs a ghost to leave his castle. When Cain offers Amice an Italian villa on the sea, Amice agrees to help. But there is more going on at Castle Falcon’s Craig than a simple haunting and more than one tragic tale of unrequited love. Yet to set things right for both the living and the dead, Cain and Amice must move beyond their past. A Lost Touch of Paradise Lugh MacKeir, Laird of Tunvegan, finds himself in a battle he cannot win. His precious daughter is dying of the same illness that claimed his wife. The Isle of Parraba is a whispered legend, a place rumored to be ruled by a sorceress, an isle no one can reach. Yet legend speaks of a powerful healer as well. Lugh MacKeir, desperate, determines he will find Parraba and face its mysterious ruler. Iosobal is the Lady of Parraba, mystical and magical, a woman apart from the world around her, but the child’s illness defies Iosobal’s skill. The secret to saving Lugh’s daughter lies in Iosobal’s ability to open her heart to a brash warrior who has invaded her tranquil sanctuary. A Lost Touch of Innocence Piers Veuxfort touched a magic crystal and freed the essence of wicked Fin Man, who now resides within Piers. A surprise for Piers arrives at Falcon’s Craig Castle: a bride who was raised to be a nun and views him as something just short of the devil. What can he do but send her back? Condemned for her “sight,” Giselle St. Germain’s is thrown out of the nunnery. Piers is devoted to his pleasures and increasingly displays a dark side. What’s a girl to do but cling more tightly to what she knows? A Lost Touch of Magic Paroseea dwells hidden within the stone walls of a medieval fortress, Castle MacCoinneach. Yet danger has escaped paradise and stalks the halls seeking vengeance. Padruig MacCoinneach will do anything to save his clan. He never expected he would have to marry his ally’s daughter, whom he deems both a reckless child and a potent temptation. Aimili de Grantham has long admired Padruig, but a dismissive stranger has replaced the golden man of her dreams. Worse, the fey part of her senses that evil lurks in the shadows of Castle MacCoinneach, and she has nowhere to turn.

This book is a completely revised and rewritten edition of "Electric Contacts Handbook" published in 1958. A large number of new in vestigations are considered, and many of the basic theories are revised in detail and even in general. The body of information had to be limited as it was not advisable to increase the volume of the book. In particular, no attempt was made to cover all of the practical applications. They appear as examples following concentrated explanations of basic phenomena. As in several branches of technology, the solutions of problems ari sing in the field of electric contacts involve insight into various disci plines of physics. It is feit that reviews of some of those topics, especi ally adapted to electric contact phenomena, are welcome to many readers. For example, chapters have been devoted to the structure of carbon, the band theory of electric conduction in solids, certain pro blems in statistics, and the theory of the electric arc. As regards arc problems, new ideas have been introduced. In order to make the main text less cumbersome, such reviews are presented as appendices. Throughout this edition, the mksa-unit system is used in accord with the latest recommendation for standardization of units in scientific and technical writings. The chapter "History of Early Investigations on Contacts" forming Part IV in the preceding edition of 1958 has not been repeated in this book.

The German Wehrmacht was one of the most capable fighting forces the world has ever known, but in the end it was no match for the Allies. Some historians contend that the Allies achieved victory through brute force and material superiority. But, as Peter Mansoor argues, all of the material produced by US industry was useles without trained soldiers to operate it, a coherent doctrine for its use, and leaders who could effectively command the formations into which it was organized.