Ward once again explores the alchemy of stubborn yearnings and unrealized dreams amidst the well-tended rowhouses of his native city. There’s a mounting fury in Tommy Fallon’s heart in the fall of 1965. He’s finally found his life’s calling – thanks to the inspiration of Professor Extraordinaire Sylvester Spaulding. Young Tom wants to be lifted on the wings of genius, to ascend to a clean, well-lighted place where cultured people talk about deep things. But how can this college boy learn anything about life or art while living in his family’s house of pain? Pop Fallon’s youthful dreams of becoming a painter were dashed by the Depression and his own internal demons; he rarely comes out of the inner sanctum of His Holy Toilet, where he’s long been lost to the rituals of obsessive/compulsive behavior. Mom Fallon – beaten down by the vast resentment her husband harbors against her and all the other “Baltimorons” – is so starved for love that she enters the Miss Kissable Lips contest at the local radio station. Tom realizes he needs a refuge: a quiet, modest room of his own. There he won’t have to see the defeat in his parents’ eyes. There he’ll follow Dr. Spaulding’s lead by living inside the books that seem to be keeping his spirit alive. The King of Cards is the story of how Tom is saved from becoming a myopic, dispassionate snob when he answers an ad for off-campus housing. In the remarkable person of Jeremy Raines – World-Class Confidence Man with a Streak of Idealism, and Pied Piper to a ragtag band of followers – Tom finds a sense of adventure that is positively euphoric.

Told with candor and a poignant sense of lost innocence, The King of Cards is the story of Thomas Fallon, a successful novelist, who is treated to a homecoming that presents him with the pungent memories of his youth. The award winning author of Red Baker delivers up a touching and comic romp.

Newly elected Prime Minister Francis Urquhart takes on the new King, in the controversial No 1 bestselling second volume in the Francis Urquhart trilogy – now reissued in a new cover.

Enter once more the world of Roland Deschain—and the world of the Dark Tower…presented in a stunning graphic novel form that will unlock the doorways to terrifying secrets and bold storytelling as part of the dark fantasy masterwork and magnum opus from #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With these unforgettable words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King’s iconic character Roland Deschain of Gilead. Roland is the last of his kind, a “gunslinger” charged with protecting whatever goodness and light remains in his world—a world that “moved on,” as they say. In this desolate reality—a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic, and yet one that mirrors our own in frightening ways—Roland is on a spellbinding and soul-shattering quest to locate and somehow save the mystical nexus of all worlds, all universes: the Dark Tower. Now, in the second in the graphic novel series adaptation Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, originally published by Marvel Comics in single-issue form and creatively overseen by Stephen King himself, the full story of Roland’s saga continues. Sumptuously drawn by Piotr Kowalski, Jonathan Marks, Juanan Ramirez, and Cory Hamscher, plotted by longtime Stephen King expert Robin Furth, and scripted by New York Times bestselling author Peter David, The Drawing of the Three adaptation is an extraordinary and terrifying journey—ultimately introducing a generation of new readers to Stephen King’s modern literary classic The Dark Tower, while giving longtime fans thrilling adventures transformed from his blockbuster novels.

The USA Today Bestseller from the Executive Producer of the hit Netflix series House of Cards. A dark tale of greed, corruption, and unquenchable ambition, House of Cards reveals that no matter the country, politics, intrigue and passion reign in the corridors of power. Francis Urquhart has his hand on every secret in politics—and is willing to betray them all to become prime minister. Mattie Storin is a tenacious young reporter who has a knack for finding the real stories hidden behind the spin. When she stumbles upon a scandalous web of intrigue and financial corruption at the very highest levels, she vows to reveal the truth. But to do so she must battle her own demons and risk everything, even her life. An explosive political thriller reinvented for a new generation. Fans of Vince Flynn, David Baldacci and Robert Ludlum will revel in getting to know Francis Urquhart, the man we love to hate. As a former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Party Chief of Staff, and now peer of the realm and Conservative member of the House of Lords, Baron Dobbs provides an insider look at the twists and turns of British politics. Other books in the House of Cards series: House of Cards, Book 1 – The dark, twisting schemes of a politician determined to succeed To Play The King, Book 2 – Newly elected Prime Minister plots to take on the Monarchy to grab even more power The Final Cut, Book 3 – The perfect finale to this twisted trilogy, Urquhart refuses to close his career quietly What readers are saying about House of Cards: "the best of modern political fiction. The reader can't help but be riveted by the lead character, even hoping for his sinister plots to succeed." "fast-paced and interesting. I couldn't put the book down" "wonderful and extremely...one of the most memorable and unashamedly wicked characters in political fiction." What reviewers are saying about House of Cards: "This blood and thunder tale, lifelike and thoroughly cynical, certainly carries the ring of authenticity....a great triumph." — The Independent 'The exciting thriller that has Westminster buzzing. Here is a political thriller writer with a marvellous inside track knowledge of government.' - Daily Express 'It has pace, a beguiling authenticity and a cast of Achilles heels.' - Daily Telegraph What everyone is saying about the House of Cards books: "This blood and thunder tale, lifelike and thoroughly cynical, certainly carries the ring of authenticity....a great triumph." — The Independent "...a political thriller writer with a marvellous inside track knowledge of government." - Daily Express "If you are a fan of the modern TV series than you should definitely pick up these books." "Michael Dobbs has an uncanny knack of forecasting the future. A fascinating read and a conclusion that would send a chill through Buckingham Palace." - Sunday Express

Demonstrates how to perform different types of card tricks with step-by-step instructions and photographs.

With a deck of cards, 80 illustrations, and the help of best-selling author Jonathan Dee, you can unlock the mysteries of the future. While Tarot decks are the best-known cards for divination, ordinary playing cards have been used successfully for hundreds of years to tell fortunes.

This book will teach a systematic approach to winning tournaments that we will be able to apply to any format, independent of context. While our focus will be on winning tournaments, much of what we talk about can be applied in a broader sense and the scope of what is written extends to many disciplines. We will take from areas such as philosophy, economics, psychology, business, and many of my own personal experiences as a player. The first section of the book will introduce the framework that we will build on throughout the book. Patrick Chapin's "Theory of Everything" is commonly used as the framework for card theory. We are going to start off by taking a look at it, but then we are going to get into some of the problems with using it as a guiding framework. After discussing the problems it has, we are going to attempt to build a better guiding framework. The second section of the book will focus on self. Much of this section will focus on what it means to be rational. We will begin by ensuring that we have the proper tools to make good decisions at our disposal. Next we will explore the various biases that cloud our judgments. Then we will discuss ways we can guard ourselves against these biases and come up with some ways of thinking about things that can better guide our decisions. The final part of this section will deal with properly motivating ourselves to do what it takes to see success. The third section will focus on developing our circle. Our circle is our team. These are the people who will help us see success and who we will help see success. We are going to talk about the tools our circle will use and how to get the most out of those tools, as well as discuss the kind of people we want in our circle. In the fourth section we're going to get down to the ins and outs of technical play. We are going to be talking about the different kinds of resources within a game and about how our role varies within a game. Then we are going to discuss different approaches we can take with our plays to ensure that we are getting the most out of them. The final part of this section will talk about the right approach to have to tournaments to make sure we are on top of our game when the big day comes. The fifth section is going to focus on the mental aspects of the game. We are going to start off by talking about how to gauge our opponents' skill level so that we can adjust our plays and make them more effective. Then we are going to talk about how to get a read on our opponent's card and how to effectively get information out of them. After that we're going to talk about different ways of persuading our opponent into making the moves we want them to make. In the sixth section we will discuss effective deckbuilding. We will start off by discussing the deckbuilding philosophy and the first principles of deckbuilding. We will then discuss the various role cards can play in a game and talk about some shortcuts for evaluating them. Then we're going to talk about how probability affects our deckbuilding. After that we're going to build on the first principles of deckbuilding by introducing some deckbuilding rules to build consistent and powerful decks. We are also going to discuss deckbuilding curves that we can use to guide our choices. Finally we are going to discuss how to effectively side deck. In the final section we will discuss metagames. We will talk about how to identify shifts in the metagame and then move on to discussing some tournament strategies we can take to overcome the metagame. In the final chapter, we will come to understand how we can influence the format and plan for incremental development, so that we will be able to succeed throughout a format.

Will luck be a lady tonight? Or must we play the hand we're dealt? There is no need to use tarot cards to learn what the future holds: a regular deck of playing cards will do the trick - as long as you know how to read them. Fortune Telling Using Playing Cards teaches readers how to translate the four suits of the tarot into the more familiar hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs found in the common playing card deck. Readers will learn the meaning of the cards, their individual symbolism, keywords, astrological associations, and the significance of their numbers. There are even suggestions on how to do a quick reading when you're short on time - so you will always know what's in the cards.

"This book is a must-read..." This book gives you the clarity, answers, confidence, and direction you've been seeking for your life. Read this book and you'll discover a hidden toolkit you can use to craft the life you really want. You see, what we've called a deck of playing cards is actually a timeless system of knowledge that represents the mathematical fabric of reality. And we can trace this knowledge all the way back to 5,000 BC! Did you know there are 52 cards in the deck and 52 weeks in a year, 4 suits and 4 seasons...and if we add up the face values of all the cards, we get exactly 365 1/4, which is our calendar year?! But more important than the mathematical precision is what this knowledge reveals about your life and how it empowers you to make better decisions in your life. Here's the deal: Based on your date of birth, you have 13 Cards to play. Each of these Life Cards represents different aspects of your life experience. In your Life Cards, you'll discover your pathway to More fulfilling work Healthier, happier relationships Authentic self-expression And to be clear, this is not offering a quick fix or predicting the future. Your future is determined by the decisions you make today. (So, if you're looking for a cartomancy-style book to do yearly readings or predictions, this book is not for you.) What this book does offer you is a simple toolkit you can utilize to make better decisions in your everyday life. For, once you find out "what's in the cards" for you, you'll have both the blueprint and the roadmap of your life. From there, the choice is yours... "In his soul-affirming book... Alexander has brought these cards to life, revealing their extraordinary truth." ~ Peter Roth "This book is a must-read..." ~ Marty Katz INTRODUCTORY CLASS INCLUDED This book comes with a complete introductory workshop to help you play your cards right in life. In this 60-minute online video tutorial, you'll learn, among other things: the key to rise to great heights in your life how to stop bleeding your power in romantic relationships the real reason why your life is not the way you want it to be a fun story of a Zen Abbot who discovered his cards to play the crazy thing Alexander's Ace of Diamonds son did a simple strategy for successful parenting What Jesus really meant when he said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Inspirational success stories with real life examples of what happened for people when they started playing their cards right As part of the mission of his non-profit organization, Alexander is offering this introductory workshop as a free gift to anyone who reads the book. Once you purchase the book, you'll find instructions in the back of the book to login and watch the complete video tutorial for free.