The Double Edged Sword

'Sixteen's an interesting age: not quite a fully grown man, but not a kid either. Anything is possible when you're sixteen.' Finmere Tingewick Smith was abandoned on the steps of the Old Bailey. Under the guardianship of the austere Judge Harlequin Brown and the elderly gentlemen of Orrery House, Fin has grown up under a very strange set of rules. He spends alternate years at two very different schools and now he's tired of the constant lies to even his best friends, to hide the insanity of his double life. Neither would believe the truth! But on his sixteenth birthday, everything changes. The Judge is killed, stabbed in the chest with a double-edged sword that's disturbingly familiar, and from that moment on, Fin is catapulted into an extraordinary adventure. Through the Doorway in Fin's London, a hole in the boundaries of Existence, lies another London - and now both are in grave danger. For the Knights of Nowhere have kidnapped the Storyholder, the keeper of the Five Eternal Stories which weave the worlds together. Because of the Knights' actions, a black storm is coming, bringing madness with it. Fin may be just 16, but he has a long, dark journey ahead of him if he is to rescue the Storyholder and save Existence!

Double-edged Sword is a survival story like no other. In 2003 Simonne Butler's violent partner, high on methamphetamine, cut off both her hands with a samurai sword. Her hands were reattached in a groundbreaking marathon surgery and she spent the next decade healing her mind, body and spirit. Despite five years in an extremely physically and emotionally abusive relationship, Simonne always had an unbreakable spirit. Even when her self-confidence and sense of self-preservation was at rock bottom, she was able to source phenomenal strength that saw her survive horrendous blood loss and being left for dead for hours, holding her severed limbs in such a way that allowed revascularisation to be possible. Facing obstacles from the very start, including a troubled childhood and an alcoholic and volatile mother, Simonne's optimism and determination have always shone through. Every victim of domestic violence must read this book, and their friends and family. Even those who have never been the victim of violence will be inspired, moved and enlightened by this candid and brutal memoir. Double-edged Sword is so much more than just a story of survival, it is a guidebook for humanity - how to shrug off the oppressors and the obstacles and live your life with the greatest intensity you can muster. It's about conquering the demons and rising like a phoenix from the ashes and learning how to live with passion, honesty and love.

"As digital media becomes more omnipresent in our lives, it becomes ever more important for political scientists and communication scholars to understand its influence on all aspects of the political process--from campaigning to governance. Catie Snow Bailard seeks to determine the Internet's influence on citizens' evaluations of their governments' performance, particularly whether the Internet influences their satisfaction regarding the quality of democratic practices available in their nation. While itis clearly important to understand how the Internet can streamline political organization once people are moved to action, the discipline has afforded less attention to whether the Internet influences citizens at this more foundational, antecedent stage of political action. Bailard originates two theories for democratization specialists to consider: mirror-holding and window-opening. Mirror-holding explores how accessing the Internet allows citizens to see a more detailed and nuanced view of their own government's performance, dirty laundry and all. Window-opening, on the other hand, enables those same citizens to see how other governments' perform in general, particularly in comparison to their own. The author offers a theory of the impact of Internet use on evaluations of government, as well as tests of that theory at the country and individual levels based on survey data collected in 73 countries and two field experiments conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Tanzania"--

In the first major study of the Royal Canadian Navy's contribution to foreign policy, Nicholas Tracy takes a comprehensive look at the paradox that Canada faces in participating in a system of collective defence as a means of avoiding subordination to other countries. Created in 1910 to support Canadian autonomy, the Royal Canadian Navy has played an important role in defining Canada's relationship with the United Kingdom, the United States, and NATO. Initially involved with participation in Imperial and Commonwealth defence, the RCN's role shifted following the Second World War to primarily ensuring the survival of the NATO alliance and deflecting American influence over Canada. Tracy demonstrates the ways in which the Navy's priorities have realigned since the end of the Cold War, this time partnering with the US and NATO navies in global policing. Insightful, detailed, and grounded in solid historical scholarship, A Two-Edged Sword presents a complete portrait of the shifting relevance and future of a cornerstone of Canadian defence.

Popular television host and minister, Andrew Wommack shares sixteen of his best teachings in this powerful new book. Teachings include sections from some of his most popular titles: Better Way To Pray, God Wants You Well, The War is Over, Believer's Authority, Spirit Soul & Body, You've Already Got It, The True Nature of God...

This is the story of an unlikely heroa gay man in the most masculine of worlds who triumphed over prejudice and adversity as he achieved what no American had ever accomplished, teaching even Hemingway lessons in grace, machismo, and respect.

All five books covering the Double Edged Sword saga.

Written around 1950, these essays are now, decades later, still strikingly prophetic. His introductory essays on Magick and Witchcraft are classics of lucidity. This volume makes available for the first time all of Parsons' surviving essays, edited by his wife and student, Cameron, in collaboration with Frater Superior Hymenaeus Beta, the head of the O.T.O.