Murder is rare. Rarer still are those killers who get away with it - but they are out there, walking our streets. Included in this in-depth book are some famous cases that generated enormous publicity, such as the disappearance of Susy Lamplugh and the murder of Jill Dando. Despite extensive coverage in the press and the police following thousands of leads, somehow the killers slipped away. Other cases are less well known, but are terrifying in their brutality. Like that of Janet Brown, a nurse, whose naked body was discovered at her home on a quiet morning in April. Or mother-of-four Sandra Phillips, who was savagely beaten, strangled and assaulted at the sex shop she worked at. Discover the shocking story of the brutal ritual killing of an unknown young African boy, given the name Adam by officers. His torso was found floating in the Thames and the subsequent investigation revealed a cruel, dark underworld in modern Britain. For the first time, established true crime author Vanessa Howard brings together the cases that continue to perplex the British police and asks new questions to try to uncover the identity of the predators that still live among us.

In 1949, a crime reporter looking for a way to fill a column published the nation’s ten worst criminals as classified by the FBI: two accused murderers, four escaped convicts, a bank robber, and three “confidence men.” In addition to the stark black and white photos that accompanied the article, the public was most moved by the idea that law enforcement was asking them for help. Fired up by the gesture of confidence, Americans banded together to wholeheartedly support the motion, leading to tips that helped facilitate the capture of the advertised criminals. Some of those on the list even surrendered voluntarily due to the increased publicity. The rogues’ gallery showcases fugitives such as: • William Raymond Nesbit, first on the list to be captured • James Earl Ray, assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. • Ted Bundy, ruthless serial killer • Ruth Eisemann-Schier, kidnapper and first woman to make the Top Ten • Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, 1993 World Trade Center bomber This encyclopedia includes criminals’ photographs, crime details, and “interesting fugitive facts” as well as a brief history of the list and what it has accomplished in more than fifty years.

DIVFollow the story of a young orphan girl named Polly Brown who struggles to cope with life in the harsh environment of a children’s home, situated in a genteel English country town. /div

Named one of the best books of 2015 by The Economist A provocative exploration of the “new ecology” and why most of what we think we know about alien species is wrong For a long time, veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce thought in stark terms about invasive species: they were the evil interlopers spoiling pristine “natural” ecosystems. Most conservationists and environmentalists share this view. But what if the traditional view of ecology is wrong—what if true environmentalists should be applauding the invaders? In The New Wild, Pearce goes on a journey across six continents to rediscover what conservation in the twenty-first century should be about. Pearce explores ecosystems from remote Pacific islands to the United Kingdom, from San Francisco Bay to the Great Lakes, as he digs into questionable estimates of the cost of invader species and reveals the outdated intellectual sources of our ideas about the balance of nature. Pearce acknowledges that there are horror stories about alien species disrupting ecosystems, but most of the time, the tens of thousands of introduced species usually swiftly die out or settle down and become model eco-citizens. The case for keeping out alien species, he finds, looks increasingly flawed. As Pearce argues, mainstream environmentalists are right that we need a rewilding of the earth, but they are wrong if they imagine that we can achieve that by reengineering ecosystems. Humans have changed the planet too much, and nature never goes backward. But a growing group of scientists is taking a fresh look at how species interact in the wild. According to these new ecologists, we should applaud the dynamism of alien species and the novel ecosystems they create. In an era of climate change and widespread ecological damage, it is absolutely crucial that we find ways to help nature regenerate. Embracing the new ecology, Pearce shows us, is our best chance. To be an environmentalist in the twenty-first century means celebrating nature’s wildness and capacity for change.

Plant Sciences Reviews 2011 provides scientists and students in the field with timely analysis on key topics in current research. Originally published online in CAB Reviews, this volume makes available in printed form the reviews in plant sciences published during 2011.

There have been many well-publicized cases of invasive species of plants and animals, often introduced unintentionally but sometimes on purpose, causing widespread ecological havoc. Examples of such alien invasions include pernicious weeds such as Japanese knotweed, an introduced garden ornamental which can grow through concrete, the water hyacinth which has choked tropical waterways, and many introduced animals which have out-competed and displaced local fauna. This book addresses the broader context of invasive and exotic species, in terms of the perceived threats and environmental concerns which surround alien species and ecological invasions. As a result of unprecedented scales of environmental change, combined with rapid globalisation, the mixing of cultures and diversity, and fears over biosecurity and bioterrorism, the known impacts of particular invasions have been catastrophic. However, as several chapters show, reactions to some exotic species, and the justifications for interventions in certain situations, including biological control by introduced natural enemies, rest uncomfortably with social reactions to ethnic cleansing and persecution perpetrated across the globe. The role of democracy in deciding and determining environmental policy is another emerging issue. In an increasingly multicultural society this raises huge questions of ethics and choice. At the same time, in order to redress major ecological losses, the science of reintroduction of native species has also come to the fore, and is widely accepted by many in nature conservation. However, with questions of where and when, and with what species or even species analogues, reintroductions are acceptable, the topic is hotly debated. Again, it is shown that many decisions are based on values and perceptions rather than objective science. Including a wide range of case studies from around the world, his book raises critical issues to stimulate a much wider debate.

Teddington is a man on the make and, after inadvertently delivering a busload of opposition politicians to Harare's chief psychiatric facility, he is rewarded with a farm by top war veteran Hitler Jesus. Not far away at The William Westward Children's Home, the director and his ginger-haired sidekick struggle to feed and clothe the multitude of orphans until they chance upon, of all things, a moth exporting business. When Teddington's farm can no longer support his spiralling ambitions, he turns his attentions to the well-run and now prosperous orphanage. Enter bogus goblin-catcher and con-man extraordinaire Cuthbert Kambazuma. Does he have the power to keep Teddington and the Green Bombers at bay, or will the orphanage fall into their rapacious hands? Chris Wadman has written a novel of startling originality. In the best tradition of political satire, he combines humour and tragedy, and introduces a cast of characters that run riot across the near lunacy of the Zimbabwean landscape.