A young boy, his mother and sister are abandoned in a dilapidated house while his brutal father makes a career out of prostituting women. In order to help his mentally disturbed mother and abused sister escape the impoverished conditions under which they live, the boy undertakes extraordinary measures to better himself. He transforms his frail body into a form more suited for the cruel and violent world that was first introduced to him by his father. He also sets out to overcome the learning disability that stands between him and the college education he needs to help his family. It is not, however, until after the unrelated murders of the boys brother and best friend that the story takes its darkest turn. "Futile Efforts" provides a compelling story of psychological intrigue as it depicts the evolution of a scared, frail boy into something that is more frightening than his worst nightmare. What sets "Futile Efforts" apart from its genre is not the terible misfortunes described in the story but the responses to those misfortunes. "Futile Efforts" is made even more compelling by the fact that it is based entirely on a true story.

"In this disturbing, often grotesque and ultimately mesmerizing collection, Piccirilli (The Cold Spot) reprints 16 stories and 45 poems. Although the star-studded introductions are a nice bonus, Piccirilli's stories are the selling point, and all are standouts. "An Average Insanity, a Common Agony" is an emotionally devastating tale of a man trying to do the right thing for the sake of an innocent creature. "Alchemy" tells the story of five emotionally stunted people whose discovery of a dead body lets them visit their own dark places ("They weren't frightened [by the sight of the corpse]. None of us were. It broke up the monotony"). "With an Ear for My Father's Weeping" manages to be both touching and hysterical. Piccirilli's unique mix of gore, violence and a literate style bordering on the lyrical help make this collection one that horror fans will relish."--Publishers Weekly, starred review. With story introductions by Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene, Edward Lee, Simon Clark, TM Wright, Gary Braunbeck, Thomas Monteleone, Tamara Thorne, Ed Gorman, Ray Garton, and Christopher Golden.

Now in a revised and expanded fourth edition, this definitive reference and text has more than 50% new material, reflecting a decade of theoretical and empirical advances. Prominent researchers describe major theories and review cutting-edge findings. The volume explores how personality emerges from and interacts with biological, developmental, cognitive, affective, and social processes, and the implications for well-being and health. Innovative research programs and methods are presented throughout. The concluding section showcases emerging issues and new directions in the field. New to This Edition *Expanded coverage of personality development, with chapters on the overall life course, middle childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. *Three new chapters on affective processes, plus chapters on neurobiology, achievement motivation, cognitive approaches, narcissism, and other new topics. *Section on cutting-edge issues: personality interventions, personality manifestations in everyday life, geographical variation in personality, self-knowledge, and the links between personality and economics. *Added breadth and accessibility--42 more concise chapters, compared to 32 in the prior edition.

This book confronts humanity with God's ID (Intelligent Design) of the universe and the design of man, himself. The confirmation is the creation. The universe is the proof of the truth. The Bible is the revelatory declaration. Jesus Christ is the manifestation. Man cannot truthfully and successfully deny the overwhelming reality of God without plunging himself into a fantasy world of perplexing confusion and insanity. The graphics of law, art, religion and science are used to help man in the late date of the 21st Century to get beyond his irrational and infantile denial of God in the face of invincible evidence and infallible proof. Man's denial of God and rebellion against God is a vain self pride and irrational denial of the foundation of his own existence. In view of humanity's escalating lethal cultural crises, can the world afford the anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible and anti-truth spirits in a GPS laden globalized nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction world?

This book introduces readers to the genre of comedy, both on the stage and on the screen. It chronicles the history of comedy, starting with Ancient Greece, before summarising key chapters in Anglophone literary history, such as Shakespearean comedy, Restoration comedy, and Theatre of the Absurd. The book features an overview of key comic techniques (including slapstick, puns, and wit), as well as concise summaries of major theoretical debates (including the superiority theory and the Freudian account of laughter). The book works with many examples from the history of Anglophone comedy, including Oscar Wilde, Monty Python, and classic sitcoms. It addresses current research into cringe humour and the controversial topic of diversity in the field of comedy, and it connects classical tropes of comedy (like the fool or the marriage plot) to present-day examples. The book thus serves as an up-to-date study guide for everyone interested in comedy and its various subgenres.

While many practicing Christians are relatively satisfied with their prayer life, others are not. The latter often find their prayer practice has dried up. Their traditional forms of prayer at churches have become routine and empty. In a very real sense, there is a void in their spiritual lives. They want a deeper union with God yet experience an unsettling estrangement with their current pathway in prayer. In Contemplative Prayer at Work in Our Lives, Geoff Colvin draws on his own experiences, studies of spiritual literature, and participation in retreats and meditation groups, to unravel the challenging practice of contemplative prayer, a unique form of meditation involving very few words in silence and stillness. Contemplative prayer centers on the fundamental belief that God dwells not only in the world at large but also at the center of our being. This book offers Christians an approach for understanding contemplative prayer followed by hands-on detail for developing and sustaining a practice that hopefully leads to a richer and fuller spiritual journey to union with God.

"The Purple Horizon" contains astonishing and breathtaking literary work of various writers across the globe. This book is a remarkable collection that pours out writer’s capabilities and thoughts on paper. It provides readers with a wider scope of thinking and various emotions. Writers, with their real-life experiences tried to pen down their emotions in the form of their marvellous writeups. This special book series contains different types and themes of poetry, prose, short stories, etc in various languages.