In The Lucifer Effect the award-winning & internationally respected psychologist Philip Zimbardo examines how the human mind has the capacity to be infinitely caring or selfish kind or cruel creative or destructive. He challenges our conceptions of who we think we are what we believe we will never do
- & how & why almost any of us could be initiated into the ranks of evil doers. At the same time he describes the safeguards we can put in place to prevent ourselves from corrupting
- or being corrupted by
- others & what sets some people apart as heroes & heroines able to resist powerful pressures to go along with the group & to refuse to be team players when personal integrity is at stake. Using the first in-depth analysis of his classic Stanford Prison Experiment & his personal experiences as an expert witness for one of the Abu Ghraib prison guards Zimbardo's stimulating & provocative book raises fundamental questions about the nature of good & evil & how each one of us needs to be vigilant to prevent becoming trapped in the ' Lucifer Effect' no matter what kind of character or morality we believe ourselves to have. The Lucifer Effect won the William James Book Award in 2008.


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Things at the Grace residence are getting completely out of h&. As if being attacked by goblins & almost eaten by a bridge troll wasnt enough now the house boggart Thimbletack is out to get Jared. Simon has a very hungry griffon recuperating in the carriage house & Mallory is convinced that the only way to stop the madness is to get rid of the Guide. But fortunately for Jared it seems that is not an option. With all kinds of creatures after them the Guide is the only protection the Grace kids have. If only they could work out why the faeries are stalking them? Could it be the Guide that they want? Theres only one person who might know the answer
- their crazy old Aunt Lucinda.
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For aspiring cricketer Ed Smith luck was for other people. Like his childhood hero Geoff Boycott the tough flinty Yorkshireman the young Ed knew that the successful cricketer made his own luck by an application of will power elimination of error & the relentless pursuit of excellence. But when a freak accident at the crease at Lords prematurely ended Ed Smiths international cricketing career it changed everything
- & prompted him to look anew at his own life through the prism of luck. Tracing the history of the concepts of luck & fortune destiny & fate from the ancient Greeks to the present day
- in religion in banking in politics
- Ed Smith argues that the question of luck versus skill is as pertinent today as it ever has been. He challenges us to think again about privilege & opportunity to re-examine the question of innate ability & of gifts & talents accidentally conferred at birth. Weaving in his personal stories
- notably the chance meeting of a beautiful stranger who would become his wife on a train he seemed fated to miss
- he puts to us the idea that in life luck cannot be underestimated: without any means of explaining our differing lots in life the world without luck is one in which you deserve every ill that befalls you where envy dominates & averageness is the stifling ideal. Embracing luck leads us to a fresh reappraisal of the nature of success opportunity & fairness. Bankers have promised risk-free investments the self-help industry peddles the idea that everyone can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps & lifes winners are encouraged to claim that they did it all themselves in a meritocracy. The case for luck needs to be made now more than ever.




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Tracing the history of the concepts of luck & fortune destiny & fate from the Ancient Greeks to the present day
- in religion in
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When 14-year-old Rebeccas parents die of smallpox she & her brother & sister must leave their smart home in Kent for the more poverty-stricken conditions in Londons East End. After initial trauma they adapt to poorer living conditions & grow to love the area. Five years on aged 19 Rebecca meets Jimmy Jackson born in Bow & now a successful bookmaker. They are attracted but when their relationship grows to love an old flame of Jimmys turns up producing a son he didnt know he had. Young James & Jimmy get on well his old flame decides to take herself off to enjoy her life without them & Rebecca & Jimmys relationship takes off again. ...

The enchanting sequel to A Countrymans Lot which told the story of Max Hardcastles move to the Yorkshire Dales & the richness of life as an antiques dealer The Luck of a Countryman contains an array of eccentric characters & curious situations which are guaranteed to delight & amuse. Old favourites reappear in new -- & sometimes alarming -- situations. & a myriad of new personalities join in the ups & downs of life in the Dales. Life is not all plain sailing but the Hardcastles join in wholeheartedly with the trials & triumphs that beset the peaceful village of Ramsthwaite. How will they ever shift Thievin Jacks van from the pond? & will the wedding of the year go off smoothly? ...

This is a P.G. Wodehouse novel. Seize this wonderful chance to embark on a Wodehousian voyage on the luxurious liner S.S. Atlantic
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The bash at the Miller farm was the hottest party Jenny Humphrey had ever attended. Literally. But when Dean Marymount announces that someone is going to be held responsible & expelled for burning down the antique red barn the heat is really on. Tensions are rising rumours are flying & pretty soon everyone is a suspect. But was it Julian Jennys shaggy-haired new crush whose engraved Tiffany lighter was found at the scene of the crime? Or could it have been Callie & Easy who were in the barn together when the blaze began? Tinsley knows shes also in the line of fire for organising the party but luckily shes come up with a crafty way to stay out of trouble: by blaming Jenny. ...

In a memoir hailed for its searing candour & wit Alice Sebold reveals how her life was utterly transformed when as an eighteen-year-old college freshman she was brutally raped & beaten in a park near campus. What propels this chronicle of her recovery is Sebold's indomitable spirit -- as she struggles for understanding (' After telling the hard facts to anyone from lover to friend I have changed in their eyes'); as her dazed family & friends sometimes bungle their efforts to provide comfort & support; & as ultimately she triumphs managing through grit & coincidence to help secure her attacker's arrest & conviction. In a narrative by turns disturbing thrilling & inspiring Alice Sebold illuminates the experience of trauma victims even as she imparts wisdom profoundly hard-won: ' You save yourself or you remain unsaved.' 'A rueful razor-sharp memoir.. . Sebold tells what it's like to go through a particular kind of nightmare in order to tell what it's like -- slowly bumpily triumphantly -- to heal' Sarah Kerr Vogue ...

With the sensual grace of a panther Lucky Santangelo prowled her Las Vegas casino restless ready eager for action. That night began a dazzling odyssey filled with dangerous passion & sun-drenched sex sadistic vengeance & breathless suspense. From the decadent luxury of California to Paris New York & a private Greek island Lucky fought for her father's honour for ruthless triumph for the wild card of a fabulous love. Her rivals; an ice-cold Hollywood wife…a much-married heiress strung out on cocaine…a jaded magnate hooked on power…a crazed hoodlum lusting for murder. But Lucky was a gamb Ier & a lover a woman who ruled her empire & pursued her man with the potent Santangelo strength … her way on her terms whatever the odds. Jackie Collins tops the sensational success of Hollywood Wives & Chances with Lucky so hot it will have to be printed on asbestos."" ...