A mystery thriller, set against the spectacular scenic backdrop of an imaginary health farm in the small mountain township of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, west of Sydney, Australia, this is the second suspense novel featuring Sergeant Merryll Merry Manning of the Miami Police Department. Sergeant Manning debuted in Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island in 2008. Although the characters are entirely fictitious, the plot itself was adapted from several factual incidents that occurred in Mexico, Chile, Peru and other mountainous areas of South America. The geographical details relating to Blackheath and Govett's Leap are accurate in every detail, although the atmosphere attributed to the town is purely imaginary. The health ideas touted in the book, however, are based on the advice of several highly respected nutritionists, including Mary C. Hogle and C.E. Clinkard.

Following "Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island" and "Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders", the third Merryll Manning mystery/suspense novel takes the Miami police sergeant to Sydney Harbor, Australia, where he finds himself the chief suspect in the murder of a young woman in her luxury beach-side apartment.

John Howard Reid is one of this country's greatest natural storytellers... Some critics have likened his works to those of Agatha Christie. I find the comparison a little unfair -- to Mr. Reid. If Reid's work needs comparing, I would liken it to Graham Greene's... Merryll Manning On the Rim of Heaven is one book you will find impossible to put down. - American critic, Richard Deutch, in The Sunday Telegraph. Compulsive reading... An engrossing thriller. -- John Hyde in The West Australian. Solidly real... Fast-moving dramatic action. -- Professor Stephen Knight in The Sydney Morning Herald. A well-constructed novel with a thrilling conclusion. -- Judith Green in Between the Covers. Particularly engrossing and easy to read... The author must be congratulated! -- Neil E. Lomas, editor, Warwick Daily News. Highly original... A worthy successor to Reid's earlier novels. The author shows the same lively imagination, yet gives his plot credibility. -- Leonard Ward in The Canberra Times.

This novel tells a story instigated by a fictitious movie star named Bess Dress Blighty. Bess made the startling discovery that all a woman had to do to attract attention from the nation's press, radio and budding TV, was to take her clothes off. But alas, that action was the sum total of the attention she received. If Bess spoke about the obstacles placed in the paths of career women, or the denial of equal rights and opportunities with men, or drew attention to the plight of women who were deserted by their husbands or lovers and left to raise children on an income of less than zero, nobody gave a damn. But on the other hand, the mere action of taking her clothes off excited frenzied attention from everybody - including the nation's top church leaders, newspaper editors, radio commentators, gossip columnists, TV programmers, and even Washington politicians. Indeed, although the line-up of would-be censors was prodigious, it seems that some bigot was especially envious of Bess's successful efforts.

John Howard Reid (a well-known author with over 50 years experience in writing and publishing) is Chief Judge of three annual literary events: The Tom Howard Short Story, Essay and Prose Contest, the Tom Howard Poetry Contest, and the Margaret Reid Prize for Traditional Verse. These long-established, prestigious writing competitions each offer cash prizes totally $5,350. In "Write Ways to WIN WRITING CONTESTS", John Reid tells every aspiring author how to achieve success. To research this book, he entered no less than eighty writing contests himself. His entries won prizes, or were short-listed, at least 27 times. That's better than a one-in-three success rate. "I would easily have achieved a one-in-two success rate if I had only entered the RIGHT contests," Reid declares. "I entered some of them merely to prove my theories or simply to obtain Judges' Reports." In this book, John Howard Reid will tell YOU how to select the RIGHT contests for YOUR essays, short stories and poems.

No less than 150 classic western movies are surveyed, ranging from super productions like "The Big Country", "Destry Rides Again", "The Mark of Zorro", "Red River", "The Searchers", "The Spoilers" and "Unconquered" to the output of such popular "B" western film stars as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Randolph Scott, William Boyd, Johnny Mack Brown, Tim Holt and Wayne Morris. Plus a big tip of the sombrero to Charles Starrett and John Wayne.

Science-fiction, fantasy and horror movies cover a broad canvas including Frankenstein and Tod Slaughter, Dracula and Donald Duck, moon men and mad doctors, gorillas and crazy scientists, talking mules and helpful angels. Other categories covered in this book include Alien Encounters, Lost Worlds, Space Travel, Monsters, Creepy Old Houses, Phantom Killers, Mystery Thrillers, Animated Cartoons, and Horror Spoofs such as "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein."

How do we understand and respond to the pressing health problems of modern society? Conventional practice focuses on the assessment and clinical treatment of immediate health issues presented by individual patients. In contrast, social medicine advocates an equal focus on the assessment and social treatment of underlying social conditions, such as environmental factors, structural violence, and social injustice. Social Justice and Medical Practice examines the practice of social medicine through extensive life history interviews with a physician practicing the approach in marginalized communities. It presents a case example of social medicine in action, demonstrating how such a practice can be successfully pursued within the context of the existing structure of twenty-first-century medicine. In examining the experience of a physician on the frontlines of reforming health care, the book critiques the restrictive nature of the dominant clinical model of medicine and argues for a radically expanded focus for modern-day medical practice. Social Justice and Medical Practice is a timely intervention at a time when even advanced health care systems are facing multiple crises. Lucidly written, it presents a striking alternative and is important reading for students and practitioners of medicine and anthropology, as well as policy makers.

Summarizes the science of climate change and impacts on the United States, for the public and policymakers.