THE NEW QUESTION Ten years after the worldwide bestseller Good to Great Jim Collins returns with another groundbreaking work this time to ask: Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty even chaos & others do not? Based on nine years of research buttressed by rigorous analysis & infused with engaging stories Collins & his colleague Morten Hansen enumerate the principles for building a truly great enterprise in unpredictable tumultuous & fast-moving times. THE NEW STUDY Great by Choice distinguishes itself from Collins's prior work by its focus not just on performance but also on the type of unstable environments faced by leaders today. With a team of more than twenty researchers Collins & Hansen studied companies that rose to greatness
- beating their industry indexes by a minimum of ten times over fifteen years
- in environments characterized by big forces & rapid shifts that leaders could not predict or control. The research team then contrasted these 10X companies" to a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to achieve greatness in similarly extreme environments. THE NEW FINDINGS The study results were full of provocative surprises. Such as: * The best leaders were not more risk taking more visionary & more creative than the comparisons; they were more disciplined more empirical & more paranoid. * Innovation by itself turns out not to be the trump card in a chaotic & uncertain world; more important is the ability to scale innovation to blend creativity with discipline. * Following the belief that leading in a "fast world" always requires "fast decisions" & "fast action" is a good way to get killed. * The great companies changed less in reaction to a radically changing world than the comparison companies. The authors challenge conventional wisdom with thought-provoking sticky & supremely practical concepts. They include 10 Xers; the 20 Mile March; Fire Bullets then Cannonballs; Leading above the Death Line; Zoom Out Then Zoom In; & the SMa C Recipe. Finally in the last chapter Collins & Hansen present their most provocative & original analysis: defining quantifying & studying the role of luck. The great companies & the leaders who built them were not luckier than the comparisons but they did get a higher Return on Luck. This book is classic Collins: contrarian data driven & uplifting. He & Hansen show convincingly that even in a chaotic & uncertain world greatness happens by choice not by chance."

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The New Cat keeps bringing dead things into the house as presents for Tom. When he brings in the head of the vicars very expensive Koi Carp & the Vicar makes Mum pay GBP200 for a replacement Annas Dad is so cross he locks the New Cat out of the cat-flap. Tom argues for the Cat to be let back in but the flap is left shut overnight & when Dad finally concedes the New Cat has disappeared altogether. Anna Suzanne & Tom are convinced he has been kidnapped
- but who is responsible? A new investigation begins...
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Visit some of the natural world's most awe-inspiring surroundings in Great Caves of the World". This visual feast tours 28 of the most spectacular caves from across the globe each chosen for its unique appeal. Highly regarded geologist & caving expert Tony Waltham provides a concise introduction to the subject before exploring the exceptional characteristics of each cave. He describes how each one was formed its environment & location & how it contributes to our understanding of the underground. This sumptuously illustrated book takes readers on a journey to a remarkable & surprising array of environments from huge underground rivers & long lava formations to secret temples & ancient archaeological sites. This title helps you dwell in forests of sparkling ice columns deep inside the Pinega Caves Russia be dazzled by the beautiful mineral deposits in Lechugilla Cave USA & discover the classic Yorkshire pothole at Gaping Gill Engl&." ...

Charles Dickens was regarded as a pillar of respectability in Victorian Britain but in 1858 this image was nearly shattered. With the break-up of his marriage that year rumours about a scandalous relationship he may have conducted with young actress Ellen Nelly" Ternan flourished. For the remaining twelve years of his life Dickens struggled to quash the gossip. After his death surviving family members did the same. But when the authors last living son died in 1934 there was no one to discourage rampant speculation. Dramatic revelations seemed to come from every corner
- over Nellies role as Dickens mistress the financial help he gave her their clandestine meetings their coded messages & even his fathering of an illegitimate child with her. This book presents the most complete account of the scandal & ensuing coverup ever published. Drawing on the authors letters & other archival sources not previously available Dickens scholar Michael Slater investigates what Dickens did or may have done then traces the way the scandal was elaborated over succeeding generations. Slater shows how various writers concocted outlandish yet plausible theories while newspapers & book publishers vied for sensational revelations. With its tale of intrigue & a cast of well-known figures from Thackeray & Shaw to Orwell & Edmund Wilson this engaging book will delight not only Dickens fans but also readers who appreciate tales of mystery cover-up & clever detection."
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Statins are the so-called wonder drugs widely prescribed to lower blood cholesterol levels & claim to offer unparalleled protection against heart disease. Believed to be completely safe & capable of preventing a whole series of other conditions they are the most profitable drug in the history of medicine. In this groundbreaking book GP Malcolm Kendrick exposes the truth behind the hype revealing: high cholesterol levels dont cause heart disease; a high-fat diet
- saturated or otherwise
- does not affect blood cholesterol levels; & the protection provided by statins is so small as to be not worth bothering about for most men & all women. Statins have many more side affects than has been admitted & their advocates should be treated with scepticism due to their links with the drugs manufacturers. Kendrick lambastes a powerful pharmaceutical industry & unquestioning medical profession who he claims perpetuate the madcap concepts of good & bad cholesterol & cholesterol levels to convince millions of people to spend billions of pounds on statins thus creating an atmosphere of stress & anxiety
- the real cause of fatal heart disease. With clarity & wit The Great Cholesterol Con" debunks our assumptions on what constitutes a healthy lifestyle & diet. It is the invaluable guide for anyone who thought there was a miracle cure for heart disease an appeal to common sense & a controversial & fascinating breakthrough that will set dynamite under the whole area."


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This collection of short ghost stories

Includes:: some of the best-known classics in the genre as well as some

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When you buy this book the publisher will donate at least GBP2 to Comic Relief to help make a difference all over the world. Why not go one step further & HOST YOUR OWN BAKE SALE to see how much more money you could raise? As the celeb bakers on The Great Comic Relief Bake Off prove you don't have to be a pro to have a go at baking. The 13 recipes in this book are easy to make so get your friends & family involved & have some fun. There are also helpful tips for hosting a bake sale as well as more info on how you can make a difference. ...

John Kenneth Galbraiths now-classic account of the 1929 stock market collapse The Great Crash" remains the definitive book on the most disastrous cycle of boom & bust in modern times. " The Great Crash 1929" examines the causes effects aftermath & long-term consequences of Americas infamous financial meltdown showing how rampant speculation & blind optimism sustained a market mania & led to its terrible downward spiral. Galbraith also describes the people & the corporations at the heart of the financial community & how they were affected by the disaster. With its depiction of the gold-rush fantasy ingrained in Americas psychology this penetrating study of human greed & folly contains lessons that are still vital today
- & are now more relevant than ever. " Lively & highly readable". (" Financial Times"). " Galbraith is a considerable writer
- admonitory ironic patrician funny". (" Guardian"). " The definitive work on the subject". (" Daily Mail"). "A book you will read at a single sitting". (" Prospect"). " One of the most engrossing books I have ever read". (" Daily Telegraph"). John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) was a Canadian-American economist. A Keynesian & an institutionalist Galbraith was a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism & progressivism. Galbraith was the author of 30 books including " The Economics of Innocent Fraud" " The Great Crash: 1929" & "A History of Economics"."

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A thrilling tale of intrigue & danger filled with tension excitement & romance New South Wales 1947. When Shelly Wareings husband Cole vanishes into the night leaving only a note to say that he will come back no matter how long it takes Shelly is bewildered. What could be the reason for his sudden disappearance? Searching for clues Shelly discovers a box containing Nazi medals an SS ring & a photo of a radiantly beautiful woman signed for her husb&. Determined to uncover the truth she sets out to track down Laetitia de Witt the woman pictured in the photograph. Meanwhile halfway across the world Cole is on his own mission for the truth
- while his enemies who believe him to be a traitor are in close pursuit...
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A thrilling tale of intrigue & danger filled with tension excitement & romance New South Wales 1947. When Shelly Wareing's husband Cole vanishes into the night leaving only a note to say that he will come back no matter how long it takes Shelly is bewildered. What could be the reason for his sudden disappearance? Searching for clues Shelly discovers a box containing Nazi medals an SS ring & a photo of a radiantly beautiful woman signed for her husb&. Determined to uncover the truth she sets out to track down Laetitia de Witt the woman pictured in the photograph. Meanwhile halfway across the world Cole is on his own mission for the truth
- while his enemies who believe him to be a traitor are in close pursuit...
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