Gr 8 Up-In this gritty novel of World War II, 16-year-old Erik Brandt is forced to fight for the emaciated German army, and because of his knowledge of the Russian language, he is sent to the Russian front. The train trip that Erik and the other young men take is symbolic of their transition from child to man. These boys are sent to the front with only a few weeks of basic training and the directions to kill or be killed. After the first battle, Erik makes the life-altering decision to take the uniform of a dead Russian soldier and pretends to be Russian for most of his remaining time as a soldier, surviving serious wounds and finding the love of his life while he recuperates in a war hospital. There he pretends to have amnesia and takes the moniker "Soldier X." When the hospital is attacked, Erik and his girlfriend escape. After a harrowing journey filled with enemy encounters, they find a safe house in Czechoslovakia and eventually make their way to Berlin. The story is framed with a prologue and epilogue f

Supermodels are a new breed of celebrity who have eclipsed pop stars and movie stars as today's modern icons. Today, such models as Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer are household names whereas, only a decade ago, models were anonymous outside the circuit. These superstars have expanded their careers beyond the runways, as modelling has given them the recognition required to conquer the world. The new renaissance models are astute business women, having built their names into international brands and multi-million-dollar empires.

The cyberspace revolution, globalization, and the ever more rapid pace at which new knowledge is created are among the recent developments which challenge our universities. While they have adapted rather slowly in the past to changing circumstances, there is now an urgent need for them to adjust rapidly in order to fulfill their mission. Success will heavily depend on the presence of an appropriate system of governance, which is becoming more complex as the cyberspace revolution makes university structures less hierarchical. This book examines the contours and dimensions of university governance in research-intensive universities, seeks to develop cogent governance principles, and offers appropriate initiatives and recommendations. The authors, current and former heads of leading research-intensive universities in Western Europe and the United States, all share the defining concern that the fundamental changes of today pose serious challenges for universities and their system of governance. Contributors inclu

Free cable television. Imaginary tax deductions. Do you takeyour chance to cheat? David Callahan thinks many of us would;witness corporate scandals, doping athletes, plagiarizingjournalists. Why all the cheating? Why now? Callahan blames thedog-eat-dog economic climate of the past twenty years: Anunfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality havecorroded our values and threaten to corrupt the equal opportunitywe cherish. Callahan's "Winning Class" has created a separate moralreality where it cheats without consequences-while the "AnxiousClass" believes choosing not to cheat could cancel its only shot atsuccess in a winner-take-all world. Updated with a new afterwordanalyzing the latest on cheating from the Martha Stewart trial tothe Tyco and Enron sentencings, The Cheating Culture takes us on agripping tour of cheating in America and makes a powerful case forwhy it matters.

In recent years, a key research project at the China Institutefor Re-form and Development where I work has been thetransformation of thegovernment. The Institute has hosted severalimportant international fo-rums focusing on this topic which haveproduced research achievementsand aroused an extensive response. Asa scholar of the Institute, I havedevoted much of my time andenergy to issues related to the study ofthe transformation of thegovernment. This book presents 37 articles Iwrote or speeches Igave on this topic between May 2003 and September2005.

Grade 2-4-The adorable and intelligent hamster introduced in The World According to Humphrey (Putnam,2004) is dismayed to find that he shares his status as classroom pet with a frog.Try as he might,Humphrey cannot seem to make friends with Og,who just splashes him or says"BOING!"The little rodent,who can secretly write,learn,and get out of his cage,also uses his wits to effect positive outcomes of the various subplots,including a new girl who won't talk and has trouble making friends,two pals who get into a terrible fight,a bully who causes trouble on the bus,and the janitor who dreams of going back to college.The theme of friendship is as pervasive as the title implies,making this chapter book a charming read-aloud.Pair this tale with Frank Asch's Survival School(S & S,2003)for an appreciation of animals in the classroom.

Kelsey Byden is still reeling from her husband's affair-andgoing through a divorce-when a letter arrives that shakes her tothe core. It is from her mother, Naomi, whom Kelsey thought longdead. When she discovers the truth-that her mother is alive and hasjust been released from prison-Kelsey journeys to Naomi's horsefarm, and the two start the fragile process of getting to know eachother. It is there that she meets Gabe Slater, a handsome gamblerwho sets off a powerful reaction in her. But their newfoundrelationship will set in motion a shocking series of events thatputs Naomi's future--and Kelsey and Gabe's very lives--at risk.

In the first thorough account of the complex workingrelationship between Lyndon Baines Johnson and Martin Luther King,Jr., Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Nick Kotz offers anengrossing investigation of a little-known element of the Johnsonpresidency. Tracing both leaders' paths, from Johnson's assumptionof the presidency in 1963 to King's assassination in 1968, Kotzdescribes how they formed a wary alliance that would becomeinstrumental in producing some of the most substantial civil rightslegislation in American history: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 andthe Voting Rights Act of 1965. Drawing on a wealth of newlyavailable sourcesJohnson's taped telephone conversations,voluminous FBI wiretap logs, and secret communications between FBIdirector J. Edgar Hoover and the presidentKotz examines the forcesthat drew the charismatic men together and those that eventuallydrove them apart. Kotz's focused and incisive examinationsignificantly enriches our understanding of both men.

What were pirates really like? How much, if any, of thepiratical stereotype - of a dashingly handsome man with aneye-patch, peg-leg and a parrot on his shoulder - is based on thedocumented fact. In this revealing and highly original study DavidCordingly sets out to discover the truth behind the piracy myth,exploring its enduring and extraordinary appeal, and answering suchquestions as: why did men become pirates? Were there any womenpirates? How much money did they make from plundering and looting?And were pirates really dashing highwaymen of the Seven Seas orjust vicious cut-throats and robbers? From Long John Silver toHenry Morgan, Robert Louis Stevenson to J.M. Barrie, LIFE AMONG THEPIRATES examines all the heavyweights of history and literature andpresents the essential survey of this fascinating phenomenon.

Syd, a breathtakingly beautiful supermodel on a photo shoot inHawaii, disappears. Fearing the worst, her parents travel to Hawaiito investigate for themselves, never expecting the horror thatawaits them. LA Times reporter Ben Hawkins is conducting his own researchinto the case, hoping to help the victim and get an idea for hisnext bestseller. With no leads and no closer to uncovering thekidnapper's identity than when he stepped off the plane, Ben gets ashocking visit that pushes him into an impossible-to-resist dealwith the devil. A heart-pounding story of fear and desire, SWIMSUIT transportsreaders to a chilling new territory where the collision of beautyand murder transforms paradise into a hell of unspeakablehorrors.