Meet Blackwater USA the private army that the US government has quietly hired to operate in international war zones & on American soil. Its contacts run from military & intelligence agencies to the upper echelons of the White House; it has a military base a fleet of aircraft & 20 000 troops but since September 2007 the firm has been hit by a series of scandals that far from damaging the company have led to an unprecedented period of expansion. This revised & updated edition

Includes:: Scahills continued investigative work into one of the outrages of our time: the privatisation of war.

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OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Survey's most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities such as walking horse riding & off-road cycling. The series provides complete GB coverage & can now be used in all weathers thanks to OS Explorer Map
- Active a tough versatile version of the OS Explorer Map.
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Written by a carefully selected team of experts this comprehensive dictionary introduces all the major terms issues & debates in British social policy. Whilst the focus is on Britain entries also cover major international concepts & those drawn from other countries in comparative study. The Dictionary comprises larger entries on key debates & issues brief explanations of major terms & concepts & short definitions of minor terms. For students of social policy this will be the ideal book to turn to in order to discover more about a particular phenomenon concept or theory or to get a complete & authoritative overview of the field. For practitioners & teachers it will serve as an invaluable reference tool. ...

Be ready to confidently face common & not-so-common canine & feline disorders with Blackwells Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Canine & Feline Fifth Edition. The most trusted & well-known quick reference available to veterinarians the updated Fifth Edition continues to provide swift authoritative answers to every question concerning canine & feline health. More than 300 top specialists provide complete coverage of 838 specific disorders with dozens of new topics & existing topics thoroughly revised to include the latest research. Arranged alphabetically from A-Z for efficient searching each topic covers clinical signs diagnosis treatment & follow-up. The customizable Client Handouts which have been fully updated & redesigned with an attractive color design are now available online along with an image & video bank. Whether youre a student or a practicing veterinarian this bestselling reference book will cut down on time spent navigating through other resources allowing you to study diagnose & treat more quickly. ...

A terrifying drama of bloodlust & betrayal is unravelling within the Blackwood Farm family. Their grand Southern mansion set among dark cypress swamps in Louisiana harbours terrible blood-stained secrets. Heir to them all is the young rash & beautiful Quinn Blackwood. But he is being controlled an evil spirit a demon who could destroy him & others. Only the unearthly power of the vampire Lestat combined with the earthly powers of the ubiquitous Mayfair witch clan can save Quinn from himself & rescue the doomed girl he loves from her own mortality. Shocking savage & richly erotic this novel brings us Anne Rice at her most powerfully disturbing. Here are vampire & witches men & women demons & doppelgangers caught up in a maelstrom of death & destruction blood & fire cruelty & fate. ...

Lesley Wilkins shows how to create traditional blackwork embroideries using simple stitches on evenweave fabric. Step by step photographs & a wealth of charts illustrate how traditional motifs patterns & borders can be combined to create stunning designs. Lesley then goes on to show how to create band samplers inspired by those on which sixteenth century embroiderers collected their favourite designs including figures flowers plants birds & animals. Lesley Wilkins combines a deep knowledge of & appreciation for historical embroideries with her own flair for design & practical teaching skill. This book contains all you need to know to produce beautiful embroideries inspired by history. ...

Inquisitor Glokta a crippled & increasingly bitter relic of the last war former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire is trapped in a twisted & broken body
- not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers. Nobleman dashing officer & would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain shallow selfish & self-obsessed the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive & boring old men. & Logen Ninefingers an infamous warrior with a bloody past is about to wake up in a hole in the snow with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod the new King of the Northmen once & for all
- ideally by running away from it. But as he's discovering old habits die really really hard indeed.. .especially when Bayaz gets involved. A bald old man with a terrible temper & a pathetic assistant he could be the First of the Magi he could be a spectacular fraud but whatever he is he's about to make the lives of Glotka Jezal & Logen a whole lot more difficult.. .

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Twenty years have passed since the tiny kingdom of the Icemark last defended itself from invasion. Now the imperial invader Scipio Bellorum is back
- joined by his brutal twin sons. The Icemarks fate rests with Queen Thirrin Oskan Witchfather
- & their five strong-willed children. But not all the royal siblings are ready for the task. What of Medea the dark daughter poisoning the family from within? Or Sharley the youngest & weakest son strangely foretold to return with a blade of fire?

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Decimus Rex is fighting his way through the perilous maze beneath the arena to locate the blade of fire a legendary sword that Doom is intent upon possessing. But before he can retrieve the sword Decimus must first rescue his friends. Will he manage it or is his time about to run out? ...

Blade Runner" is the inspirational memoir of Oscar Pistorius. Discover his incredible emotional journey from disabled toddler to international sports phenomenon. At eleven months old Oscar Pistorius had both his legs amputated below the knee. His mother wrote a letter to be read by Oscar when he was grown up: A loser is not one who runs last in the race. It is the one who sits & watches & has never tried to run. On discovering that their son had been born with no fibulae Oscars parents made the difficult decision to have both his legs amputated giving him the best possible chance of a normal life. Oscar received his first pair of prosthetic legs at just seventeen months made specifically for him. From then on he became invincible: running climbing & with the encouragement of his older brother getting into any mischief he could. Throughout the course of his life Oscar has battled to overcome extraordinary difficulties to prove that with the right attitude anything is possible. Now a world-renowned athlete holding two Paralympic world records for the 100m & 200m Oscar faces his ultimate fight: to fulfil the dream of competing at the 2012 Olympics. " Blade Runner" charts the extraordinary development of one of the most gifted sportsmen & inspirational figures on the planet
- from immobilized child to world-class sprinter."
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