In the dead of winter, a super EMP destroys the nation's power grid. No electricity. No cars or phones. Worst of all: No heat. The country is plunged into instant chaos. But for twenty-six-year-old Hannah Sheridan, it's the best day of her life. For the last five years, she's been held captive by a sadistic psychopath--until the EMP releases the lock of her prison.Hannah emerges from her underground cell into a hostile winter landscape with no way to call for help, no vehicle that will drive, armed with nothing but the clothes on her back and her own determination to survive.Liam Coleman, cynical loner and former soldier, is headed nowhere fast. He believed he was prepared for any disaster--until the EMP took everything he'd ever cared about in a matter of seconds. When he runs across a desperate woman who will die without his help, he's forced to make a choice.Two hundred frozen, perilous miles stand between them and their destination in rural Michigan. But the lack of power, desperate people, and the treacherous elements aren't the only threats.Hannah's captor isn't about to let her go. He will hunt her to the ends of the earth and beyond, destroying anything and anyone who gets in his way. For she has something he wants--she's nine months pregnant with his child.Edge of Collapse is a gripping post-apocalyptic EMP thriller perfect for fans of Ryan Schow, Grace Hamilton, Harley Tate, Jack Hunt, and Boyd Craven.

Explains, using examples of structural collapses from around the world, the science behind structural engineering and the reasons behind engineering failures.

An English restatement of Hoshen HaMishpat, one of the four sections of the Shulchan Aruch (a standard code of Jewish law and practice).

'A grand sweep from a master storyteller of the human race' DAILY MAIL 'Riveting, superb, terrifying' OBSERVER From the ghostly stone heads of Easter Island to crumbling Mayan cities hidden deep in the jungle, the mysterious ruins of lost worlds and vanished civilizations continue to haunt us. How could such mighty societies fall? And could our skyscrapers one day stand derelict and overgrown like ancient temples? Jared Diamond takes us on an epic journey around the globe, through the history of humanity and on to the future, to discover how - when tomorrow comes - we can be survivors. 'A book that has to be read . . . highly readable, highly persuasive and richly informative' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Gripping . . . the book fulfils its huge ambition, and Diamond is the only man who could have written it' ECONOMIST 'This book shines like all Diamond's work' SUNDAY TIMES 'Magnificent' THE NEW YORK TIMES

Collapse Operations for First Responders discusses in detail the common warning signs of structural collapse and what to do when they are encountered, providing a practical, hands-on approach to operating safely and effectively in collapse rescue situations. Discussion is chiefly directed toward one of the most common types of structures around the country, wood and brick-and-joist (ordinary-constructed) buildings, known as URM (unreinforced masonry) construction. Various types of shoring and cribbing techniques vital to collapse rescue operations, as well as void size-up, safety at collapse operations, tools used in voids, and void procedures are explored. Collapse Operations for First Responders is a must-have resource for firefighters, officers, chiefs, and technical rescue response personnel.

On the night of November 9, 1989, massive crowds surged toward the Berlin Wall, drawn by an announcement that caught the world by surprise: East Germans could now move freely to the West. The Wall—infamous symbol of divided Cold War Europe—seemed to be falling. But the opening of the gates that night was not planned by the East German ruling regime—nor was it the result of a bargain between either Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It was an accident. In The Collapse, prize-winning historian Mary Elise Sarotte reveals how a perfect storm of decisions made by daring underground revolutionaries, disgruntled Stasi officers, and dictatorial party bosses sparked an unexpected series of events culminating in the chaotic fall of the Wall. With a novelist’s eye for character and detail, she brings to vivid life a story that sweeps across Budapest, Prague, Dresden, and Leipzig and up to the armed checkpoints in Berlin. We meet the revolutionaries Roland Jahn, Aram Radomski, and Siggi Schefke, risking it all to smuggle the truth across the Iron Curtain; the hapless Politburo member Günter Schabowski, mistakenly suggesting that the Wall is open to a press conference full of foreign journalists, including NBC’s Tom Brokaw; and Stasi officer Harald Jäger, holding the fort at the crucial border crossing that night. Soon, Brokaw starts broadcasting live from Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, where the crowds are exulting in the euphoria of newfound freedom—and the dictators are plotting to restore control. Drawing on new archival sources and dozens of interviews, The Collapse offers the definitive account of the night that brought down the Berlin Wall.

Rule of law has vanished in America’s criminal justice system. Prosecutors decide whom to punish; most accused never face a jury; policing is inconsistent; plea bargaining is rampant; and draconian sentencing fills prisons with mostly minority defendants. A leading criminal law scholar looks to history for the roots of these problems—and solutions.

This is a book about freedom. Above all about the idea that there is often no greater obstacle to freedom than the assumption that it has already been attained. What prison, after all, could be more secure than that deemed to be "the world," where boundaries of action and thought are assumed to define not the limits of the permissible, but the limits of the possible. In the past we have been prisoners of tyrants and dictators, and consequently have needed to win our freedom in very concrete, physical terms. We now need to free ourselves not from a slave ship or a concentration camp, but from many of the illusions fostered in our democratic society. "[A] wise and acute analysis of the way our minds are controlled, not in a totalitarian state, but in a 'democratic' one. Edwards also suggests how we can escape this control in a self-help book which, unlike other books of this genre, connects our inner world of alienation with the world outside."--Howard Zinn "[A] treatise on what freedom truly means.... Burning All Illusions is an important philosophical and psychology text that should be on every political science curriculum reading list!"--Wisconsin Book Watch

The third edition of Chief Anthony Avillo’s bestselling Fireground Strategies is an invaluable resource for the education and development of outstanding fire officers. Through case studies and illustrative examples, Avillo covers how to identify a strategy, develop an action plan, and implement tactics to meet the objectives of the course of action on a fireground. Fireground Strategies is a required text in senior-level undergraduate firefighting strategies courses and is recommended reading for promotional exams across the United States. New to the third edition: Expanded incident command chapters covering all aspects of fireground controlStreet-level strategies focusing on the modern fire environmentImproved section on resource management and additional alarm guidelinesRetailored strategic and tactical activities to integrate the latest attack and ventilation researchRevamped operational safety chapter including department-level safety programs and mechanisms designed to support and foster a culture of safetyNew case studies designed to drive home main points including lessons learnedStrategic considerations of solar panelsComprehensive guidelines on “Buildings that Change the Rules of the Game”Updated vent-enter-isolate-search (VEIS) informationExpanded section on risk management and “who, what, where” vs. LUNARImproved operational suggestions for high-rise operations

Collapse cloth--cloth that, when removed from the loom and washed, takes on an entirely different appearance as the threads draw up and create puckers. Combinations of various weaving techniques are presented alongside photos and diagrams, providing clear instructions for sewing scarves, wraps, tops, and harem-style pants made from this fluid and unusual cloth. Additional chapters describe in detail how to warp the loom and add special effects such as double weave, supplementary warps, spaced cloth, overshot, and deflected double weave. Tips for those who want to spin their own yarn for collapse projects are also included.