In days of old, there was a tale told, of a place of enchantment, magical charm and beauty; a place of hopes, dreams, and fairy dust magic. Where there lives two, very true and very best friends. In this place known only to two of humankind, lives Starbeam, a yearling of chestnut brown with a perfect star of white upon his forehead, and Goldie, a beautiful gold and black butterfly or should we say Ondo' maiden, yes, a true change about. Goldie is very special you see, for she is a Fairy Princess and she can change into what ever, whenever she likes. However, most of the time she likes being just Goldie butterfly. Starbeam and Goldie are destined to protect all beings of the enchanted forest of Wherever from hurt, harm and danger. Their adventures take them from the peace and tranquility of the enchanted meadows, forest and the beautiful Blue Glass Lake of fairy-like folk. Deep in the forest where there friend the old hermit lives. Walking, talking tree-beings, and all of their animal friends that live there in the north of Wherever. The great waterfalls and mountains of the enchanted forest of the south of Wherever. The great mountain cliffs of the Golden City of Var, to the great Sea of Source, east of Wherever. The tangled jungles and deserts of the west of the enchanted forest of Wherever, and back again. Now we would like you to open your hearts and your minds. Come sit with us and listen as we tell this tale, my grandchildren and I, of fairy dust magic, hopes and dreams. As Starbeam and Goldie, with a lot of courage and a whole lot of trust, set off on their quest to rescue the Crystal Key of the Book of Spells of Good and Mean Tricks from the very raging Sea of Source.You see, prophesy proclaims that harmony and peace will dwell Forever and Always in the Enchanted Forest of Wherever.

An iconic novel from a rebellious and politically active author, this story follows Jack, a sculptor and blacksmith, who idolizes the Biblical Samson as a figure of man’s independence. Deciding to carve a mahogany tribute to Samson, however, becomes a more complicated affair when Jack’s wife leaves him for another man. The end result is a sculpture of a blinded Samson leaning on a young boy for support. As life imitates art, Jack is struck by lightning and left blind, forcing him to rely on his friends to survive. After leading him on a journey to discover just how reliant on humanity he really is, Jack’s blindness ultimately drives him to his final act of independence: his own suicide.

Absorbing monograph by expert sets forth most of known properties of lightning: cloud and lightning charges, stepped leader, return stroke, dart leader, lightning on other planets, thunder, more. 144 illustrations.

Lightning kills more people in North America than tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods. Hikers, campers, and golfers will learn to stay safe when lightning strikesPractical safety strategies for everyone who recreates or works outdoorsA quick, highly-informative read with interesting anecdotes, myths, and lore about lightningWritten by award-winning author and meteorologist Jeff RennerDiscover the risks of thunder, thunderstorm winds, lightning, and flashfloods. Lightning Strikes reviews how thunderstorms form, explains the different types of storms, and provides a guide for staying safe using the four As (Anticipate, Assess, Act, and Aid). Interwoven throughout the text are thought-provoking questions to help readers assess dangerous situations and form strategies to make sound decisions.Lightning Strikes livens its safety advice with often-humorous lore dating back to ancient Greece. This useful how-to book will appeal to anyone who spends time outdoors - hikers, climbers, golfers, construction workers - and has felt threatened by lightning.

An instant New York Times bestseller, this prequel to the acclaimed Cork O’Connor series is “a pitch perfect, richly imagined story that is both an edge-of-your-seat thriller and an evocative, emotionally charged coming-of-age tale” (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author) about fathers and sons, small-town conflicts, and the events that shape our lives forever. Aurora is a small town nestled in the ancient forest alongside the shores of Minnesota’s Iron Lake. In the summer of 1963, it is the whole world to twelve-year-old Cork O’Connor, its rhythms as familiar as his own heartbeat. But when Cork stumbles upon the body of a man he revered hanging from a tree in an abandoned logging camp, it is the first in a series of events that will cause him to question everything he took for granted about his hometown, his family, and himself. Cork’s father, Liam O’Connor, is Aurora’s sheriff and it is his job to confirm that the man’s death was the result of suicide, as all the evidence suggests. In the shadow of his father’s official investigation, Cork begins to look for answers on his own. Together, father and son face the ultimate test of choosing between what their heads tell them is true and what their hearts know is right. In this “brilliant achievement, and one every crime reader and writer needs to celebrate” (Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author), beloved novelist William Kent Krueger shows that some mysteries can be solved even as others surpass our understanding.

From Brian McClellan, author of The Powder Mage trilogy, comes the first novel in the Glass Immortals series, In the Shadow of Lightning, an epic fantasy where magic is a finite resource—and it’s running out. "Excellent worldbuilding and a truly epic narrative combine into Brian's finest work to date. Heartily recommended to anyone who wants a new favorite fantasy series to read."—Brandon Sanderson Demir Grappo is an outcast—he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her killed: the very power that keeps civilization turning, godglass, is running out. Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it. "Powerful rival families, murderous conspiracies, epic battles, larger-than-life characters, and magic."—Fonda Lee, author of The Green Bone Saga "Engaging, fast-paced and epic."—James Islington, author of In The Shadow of What Was Lost "Clever, fun, and by turns beautifully bloody, In the Shadow of Lightning hits like a bolt through a stained glass window."—Megan E. O'Keefe, author of Chaos Vector At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“An intense look at the high-stakes world of a NYC paramedic in the months before and after COVID-19 altered our landscape.”—Damon Tweedy, MD, author of Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine The education of a New York City paramedic, whose tales of tragedy and transcendence over a single year culminate in the greatest challenge the city’s emergency medical system has ever faced: COVID-19. As a seasoned paramedic and union leader, Anthony Almojera thought he could handle anything his job threw at him. Like many medical first responders, he came from a troubled background and carried the traumas of the city as well as its triumphs. He had grown up in the rough-and-tumble Park Slope of the 1980s, been homeless for a time, and had watched murder, addiction, and hopelessness consume those closest to him. But he had dedicated his life to helping people in need, and while every day was filled with tragedy—stabbings, shootings, accidents, suicides—it also brought moments of uplift: births, resuscitations, and rescues that reminded Anthony and his coworkers why EMS was the most thrilling job on earth, even if the pay was lousy and the hours were long. So when a strange new virus began spreading in New York, Anthony and his fellow medics were ready. They had done the biohazard drills; they knew the procedures, and how to handle the sick and the bereaved. They believed that their lives and training had prepared them for this new challenge. But the months ahead would prove them wrong, and would push New York’s EMS workers, and Anthony himself, to the breaking point—and beyond. Following one paramedic into hell and back, Riding the Lightning tells the story of New York City’s darkest days through the eyes of its frontline medical workers and the community they serve: ordinary people who will continue to make New York an extraordinary place long after it has been reborn from the ashes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This "utterly spectacular" book weighs the impact modern medical technology has had on the author's life against the social and environmental costs inevitably incurred by the mining that makes such innovation possible (Rachel Louise Snyder, author of No Visible Bruises). What if a lifesaving medical device causes loss of life along its supply chain? That's the question Katherine E. Standefer finds herself asking one night after being suddenly shocked by her implanted cardiac defibrillator. In this gripping, intimate memoir about health, illness, and the invisible reverberating effects of our medical system, Standefer recounts the astonishing true story of the rare diagnosis that upended her rugged life in the mountains of Wyoming and sent her tumbling into a fraught maze of cardiology units, dramatic surgeries, and slow, painful recoveries. As her life increasingly comes to revolve around the internal defibrillator freshly wired into her heart, she becomes consumed with questions about the supply chain that allows such an ostensibly miraculous device to exist. So she sets out to trace its materials back to their roots. From the sterile labs of a medical device manufacturer in southern California to the tantalum and tin mines seized by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a nickel and cobalt mine carved out of endemic Madagascar jungle, Lightning Flowers takes us on a global reckoning with the social and environmental costs of a technology that promises to be lifesaving but is, in fact, much more complicated. Deeply personal and sharply reported, Lightning Flowers takes a hard look at technological mythos, healthcare, and our cultural relationship to medical technology, raising important questions about our obligations to one another, and the cost of saving one life.

Hally, a gifted musician, and Dan, a history scholar, meet and fall in love when both of them are admitted to the hospital after being struck by polio