The African Union has been a major factor in establishing peace security & development in Africa Today however the intranational body is struggling in the midst of a perceived dissipating appetite for supporting continental institutions Previously seen as the panacea to Africa's continuing problems with violence & corruption in society under the slogan " African Solutions to African Problems" the African Union this book argues seems to have run its course Recognizing that the measured successes in political emancipation which have been recorded across the African continent do not seem to have translated into economic & social gains for its 12 billion citizens the AU adopted a new development framework dubbed " Agenda 2063" The framework calls on African leaders to rediscover the Pan African' spirit & to create the Africa Africans want' In practice this means a new focus & engagement with the African Diaspora tapping into their strong track-record in economic development As this book shows however there remain deep differences over the meaning timing & sequencing of pan-African integration Indeed different member states have different understandings of the role of the African Union itself This essential handbook from one of the leading research institutions on the continent seeks to uncover what some of those understandings are & why the unification project has remained so elusive ...

In 2004 bad boy Billy Fingers Cohen a homeless small-time drug dealer & addict in a state of drug induced euphoria ran into a busy intersection & was killed instantly by a speeding automobile He left behind a grieving sister For weeks she struggled with grief & tried to make sense of Billy's seemingly wasted life & tragic death A few weeks after his death William Cohen aka Billy Fingers woke his sister Annie at dawn 'I'm drifting weightlessly through these glorious stars & galaxies & I feel a Divine Presence a kind loving beneficent presence twinkling all around me' Billy's ongoing after-death communications take his sister on an unprecedented journey into the bliss & wonder of life beyond death Billy's profound detailed description of the mystical realms he traverses the Beings of Light that await him & the wisdom he receives take the reader beyond the near-death experience Billy is indeed as Dr Raymond Moody points out in his foreword explaining the phenomena we've known about since ancient times an afterworld walker A fascinating page-turner filled with wisdom humour & hope The Afterlife of Billy Fingers will forever change your views about life death & the hereafter If I could give you a gift it would be to find the glory inside yourself beyond the roles & the drama so you can dance the dance of the game of life with a little more rhythm a little more abandon a little more shaking-those-hips ...

' Ridiculously good' (New York Times) author Thomas Pierce's debut novel is a brilliantly dazzling & poignant love story that answers the question What happens after we die? (Lots of stuff it turns out) Will we meet again? I believe we will but as for proof I can only offer my story nothing more Jim Byrd died Technically For a few minutes The diagnosis heart attack at age thirty Revived with no memory of any tunnels lights or angels Jim wonders what
- if anything
- awaits us on the other side Then a ghost shows up Maybe Jim & his new wife Annie find themselves tangling with holograms psychics messages from the beyond & a machine that connects the living & the dead As Jim & Annie journey through history & fumble through faith they confront the spectre of loss that looms for anyone who dares to fall in love Funny fiercely original & gracefully moving The Afterlives will haunt you In a good way Praise for The Afterlives'A bracingly intelligent beautifully rendered meditation on ghosts technology marriage & the afterlife This is a remarkable novel' Emily St John Mandel' Inventive romantic & unsettling The Afterlives is a story of two people who take extraordinary measures to answer the Big Questions What is the soul? Do we ever really die? Flabbergastingly original & sublimely satisfying' Amity Gaige

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Set in post-war Germany the international bestseller The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook is a stunning emotional thriller about ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play The Aftermath is set in postwar Germany in 1946 Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) arrives in the ruins of Hamburg in the bitter winter to be reunited with her husband Lewis (Jason Clarke) a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city But as they set off for their new home Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an unexpected decision They will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners a German widower (Alexander Skarsg&229;rd) & his troubled daughter In this charged atmosphere enmity & grief give way to passion & betrayal Actors Keira Knightley Ned Wills Pandora Colin Jason Clarke Anna Katharina Schimrigk Directors James Kent Format PALLanguage English Region Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe Read more about DVD formats) Aspect Ratio Unknown Number of discs 1 ...

Please note this is a region B Blu-ray & will require a region b or region free Blu-ray player in order to play Blake Lively & Michiel Huisman star in this fantasy drama directed by Lee Toland Krieger Unable to age after being struck by lightning during a car accident Adaline (Lively) has lived a solitary life to protect her secret But when a chance meeting with Ellis Jones (Huisman) leaves Adaline pining for the life she used to have Can she finally let her guard down & have another shot at love? The supporting cast

Includes:: Harrison Ford Kathy Baker & Ellen Burstyn

...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Blake Lively & Michiel Huisman star in this fantasy drama directed by Lee Toland Krieger Unable to age after being struck by lightning during a car accident Adaline (Lively) has lived a solitary life to protect her secret But when a chance meeting with Ellis Jones (Huisman) leaves Adaline pining for the life she used to have Can she finally let her guard down & have another shot at love? The supporting cast

Includes:: Harrison Ford Kathy Baker & Ellen Burstyn

...

The Age of Agade is the first book-length study of the Akkadian period of Mesopotamian history which saw the rise & fall of the world's first empire during more than a century of extraordinary political social & cultural innovation It draws together more than 40 years of research by one of the world's leading experts in Assyriology to offer an exhaustive survey of the Akkadian empire Addressing all aspects of the empire including its statecraft & military territory & cities arts religion economy & production The Age of Agade considers what can be said of Akkadian political & social history material culture & daily life A final chapter also explores how the empire has been presented in modern historiography from the decipherment of cuneiform to the present including the extensive research of Soviet historians summarized here in English for the first time Drawing on contemporaneous written & artifactual sources as well as relevant materials from succeeding generations Foster introduces the reader to the wealth of evidence available Accessibly written by a specialist in the field this book is an engaging examination of a critical era in the history of early Mesopotamia ...

The Parallel Lives of Plutarch are cornerstones of Western literature & have exerted a profound influence on writers & statesmen since the Renaissance most notably Shakespeare This selection of ten biographies spans the period from the start of the fourth century BC to the early third & covers some of the most important figures in Greek history such as the orator Demosthenes & Alexander the Great as well as lesser known figures such as Plato&s pupil Dion of Syracuse Each Life is an important work of literature in itself but taken together they provide a vivid picture of the Greek world during a period that saw the collapse of Spartan power the rise of Macedonia the conquests of Alexander & the wars of his successors Timothy Duff&s revised version of Ian Scott-Kilvert&s translations is accompanied by a new general introduction & introductions & notes to each Life He has also added two Lives previously not included Artaxerxes I Great King of Persia from 405 to 359 BC & Eumenes of Cardia one of Alexander&s officers ...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A handsome six footer with a warm & engaging personality Davie Jones has all it takes to get to the show business heights including talent' David Bowie at 17 in May 1964 writing his own press biography Respected arts commentator Paul Morley one of the team who curated the highly successful retrospective exhibition for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London David Bowie Is constructs the definitive story of Bowie that explores how he worked played aged structured his ideas invented the future & entered history as someone who could & would never be forgotten Morley will capture the greatest moments of Bowie's career; from the recording studio with the likes of Brian Eno & Tony Visconti; to iconic live performances from the 1970s 80s & 90s as well as the various encounters & artistic relationships he developed with rock luminaries John Lennon Lou Reed & Iggy Pop & of course discuss in detail his much-heralded & critically-acclaimed comeback with the release of Black Star just days before his shocking death in New York Morley will offer a startling biographical critique of David Bowie's legacy showing how he never stayed still even when he withdrew from the spotlight how he always knew his own worth & released a dazzling plethora of mobile Bowies into the world with a bloody-minded determination & a voluptuous imagination to create something amazing that was not there before A thrilling hymn to a brilliant & beloved "song & dance man"' Observer ...