In The Chain of Things, Eric Downing shows how the connection between divinatory magic and reading shaped the experience of reading and aesthetics among nineteenth-century realists and modernist thinkers. He explores how writers, artists, and critics such as Gottfried Keller, Theodor Fontane, and Walter Benjamin drew on the ancient practice of divination, connecting the Greek idea of sympathetic magic to the German aesthetic concept of the attunement of mood and atmosphere. Downing deftly traces the genealogical connection between reading and art in classical antiquity, nineteenth-century realism, and modernism, attending to the ways in which the modern re-enchantment of the world—both in nature and human society—consciously engaged ancient practices that aimed at preternatural prediction. Of particular significance to the argument presented in The Chain of Things is how the future figured into the reading of texts during this period, a time when the future as a narrative determinant or article of historical faith was losing its force. Elaborating a new theory of magic as a critical tool, Downing secures crucial links between the governing notions of time, world, the "real," and art.

THE ONLY WAY TO GET YOUR CHILD BACK IS TO KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD 'A blazing, full-tilt thriller that entirely justifies the hype' GUARDIAN 'A heart-stopping roller coaster' DAILY MAIL * * * * * YOUR PHONE RINGS. A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD. TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD. YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM'S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD. IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN: YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED. VICTIM. SURVIVOR. ABDUCTOR. CRIMINAL. YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE. YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN * * * * * DON'T MISS THE LATEST NAIL-BITING THRILLER FROM ADRIAN MCKINTY: THE ISLAND IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW. * * * * * THE MULTI-AWARD-WINNING THRILLER Winner: Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Winner: Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Fiction Winner: International Thriller Writers Awards - Best Hardcover Winner: Macavity Awards - Best International Crime Fiction Winner: Barry Award - Thriller of the Year ***** 'A heart-stopping roller coaster' DAILY MAIL 'The book everyone is talking about' MIRROR 'Scary, plausible, gripping.' IAN RANKIN 'You'll miss meals, sleep, and your stop on the bus - guaranteed.' VAL McDERMID 'I writhed with the pain of withdrawal when I finished it. Deserves to be the popular hit of the year.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Incredibly propulsive and original. You won't shake it for a long time.' STEPHEN KING 'A masterpiece. You will never be able to forget it.' DON WINSLOW 'A unique and unforgettable thriller. Breath-taking, breakneck, brilliant.' MARK BILLINGHAM 'Striking, memorable, should be savoured.' TANA FRENCH 'Explosively brilliant. Genuinely unputdownable. Terribly plausible' OBSERVER 'I may not read a better thriller in my lifetime.' STEVE CAVANAGH 'An electrifying thriller - one of the very best of its kind' FIONA CUMMINS 'What a fantastic idea and perfectly written. I'm quite jealous.' ANTHONY HOROWITZ 'Terrifying. Terrific.' MICK HERRON 'THE CHAIN does for parenting what Gone Girl did for marriage. A must-read thriller.' JAMES SWALLOW 'Diabolical, unnerving, relentless.' DENNIS LEHANE 'Utterly brilliant' ELLY GRIFFITHS A 'THRILLER OF THE YEAR' SELECTION FOR: GUARDIAN DAILY TELEGRAPH AMAZON EXPRESS OBSERVER TIME MAGAZINE

Livvie isn’t superstitious like her best friend, Joyce, who thinks everything is bad luck. So Livvie isn’t worried about tearing up the chain letter and throwing it away–until she’s humiliated in gym class, falls down her back stairs, and gets invited to Thanksgiving dinner at Peter Finch’s house. Peter’s dad has crooked teeth, a plastic wonderland in his front yard, and some kind of secret up in his study. There is no way Livvie wants Phil Finch to date her mom. But it’s hard work keeping their families apart–especially when Livvie is assigned to work on the sixth-grade snow maze project with Peter. Clearly, Joyce was right: breaking the chain was a huge mistake. And the only way to set things straight is to find out who sent the letter in the first place. . . . Rich in humor and suspense, Julie Schumacher’s absorbing novel is about friendship, choices, and the kind of luck that really matters.

This book focuses on the general law of thing. The main ideas of the law are that the birth and the death of thing and its individual are a result worked by three forces on the distance or curvature of time-space. These forces are natural force, productive force and cognitive ability (force).There are countless things in the world. However, there has not been a book focusing its discussion on thing and its law up until the present. The terms of time-space, inertia and energy are not only common in physics, but also in philosophy. Everyone knows those concepts, but very few understand what they really are.

Bound by passion, she was powerless to resist. The Silver Chain is the first in the sexy, passionate and addictive Unbreakable Trilogy by Primula Bond.

From a former senior advisor to Senator John McCain comes an urgent wake-up call about how new technologies are threatening America's military might. For generations of Americans, our country has been the world's dominant military power. How the US military fights, and the systems and weapons that it fights with, have been uncontested. That old reality, however, is rapidly deteriorating. America's traditional sources of power are eroding amid the emergence of new technologies and the growing military threat posed by rivals such as China. America is at grave risk of losing a future war. As Christian Brose reveals in this urgent wake-up call, the future will be defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and other emerging technologies that are revolutionizing global industries and are now poised to overturn the model of American defense. This fascinating, if disturbing, book confronts the existential risks on the horizon, charting a way for America's military to adapt and succeed with new thinking as well as new technology. America must build a battle network of systems that enables people to rapidly understand threats, make decisions, and take military actions, the process known as "the kill chain." Examining threats from China, Russia, and elsewhere, The Kill Chain offers hope and, ultimately, insights on how America can apply advanced technologies to prevent war, deter aggression, and maintain peace.

Jack the Ripper stalks through London, and only the Shadowhunters can stop him. One of ten adventures in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. Simon learns the truth behind the Jack the Ripper murders—“Jack” was stopped by Will Herondale and his institute of Victorian Shadowhunters. This standalone e-only short story follows the adventures of Simon Lewis, star of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments, as he trains to become a Shadowhunter. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy features characters from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices, and the upcoming Dark Artifices and Last Hours series. The Whitechapel Fiend is written by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson.

Amidst the constant stream of overly technical and excitable books heralding a blockchain revolution that’s destined to be more disruptive than the Internet, this book stands apart for its more nuanced take, focusing on the potential for these new technologies to change developing countries for the better. Chain Reaction divides the world into two: for some, blockchain seems a poor substitute for an efficient banking and regulatory system in which transactions are settled instantly and contracts are underpinned by solid institutions. For others, it will be truly life-changing – namely those living in countries where rule of law is weak, concepts of ownership are vague and, consequently, trust in institutions is in scarce supply. With blockchain, we are about to witness a leapfrogging – one that will bring the next billion emerging consumers into the formal economy by creating reliable institutions of contract, ownership and trust among people previously denied such luxuries. The authors humanize the technology by taking the reader on a global journey through a multitude of applications – from registering property to voting and delivering aid. In place of the usual abstract lessons in complex technology, this book is instead filled with lively anecdotes of places where trust is so weak that a crisp dollar bill sells at a premium to a better-used version. The book’s goal is to create the first truly approachable, entirely comprehensible and enjoyable read on the wonders to come from blockchain.

This series contains materials that cover Key Stage 3 National Curriculum science and the Scheme of Work for Science. This particular textbook includes learning objectives that are clearly defined at the start of each unit, key words, learning summary pages in each unit to support the development of study skills and a range of inspirational materials to challenge pupils.

In this elegant new book, the sequel to his earlier, much praised treatment of the Devil, Philip Almond reveals that - whether in Judaism, Christianity or Islam - God is seen to be at once utterly beyond our world yet at the same earnestly desiring to be at one with it. In the Christian chapter of this story the paradox arguably reaches its improbable zenith: in the fragile form of a human being the infinite became finite, the eternal temporal. The way these and other metaphysical tensions have been understood is, the author demonstrates, the key to unlocking the entire history of religion in the West. Expertly placing the narrative of divine presence within the wider history of ideas, Almond suggests that the notion of a deity has been the single greatest conundrum of medieval and modern civilization. In this rich, nuanced appraisal, 'God' is shown to be more complex and fascinating than ever before.