'We were told we would never get planning consent and we did. We were told we would never be able to fund it and we did. Then we were told we would never be able to build it and we did.' Irvine Sellar In 2000, Irvine Sellar, a former market trader famous for helping to create the look of the Swinging Sixties on Carnaby Street, stood on a rooftop in Southwark, London, and decided to build the tallest building in western Europe. He had virtually no experience, and he wanted to build at the wrong height, in the wrong place, on the wrong side of the river and at the wrong time. Twelve years later, the Shard, a 'vertical city' designed by one of the world's leading architects, Renzo Piano, changed the skyline of London. It immediately became one of the most instantly recognizable and admired contemporary buildings in the world. This is the story of one man's vision for London and his determination to redefine an ancient but maligned part of the city despite seemingly insurmountable challenges including mass opposition, a huge planning inquiry, the financial crash, and major construction issues that required radical improvisation at every turn. At every twist in the tale, Sellar refused to give up. The Shard is a tale of extreme ambition, innovation and a relentless desire to recast the skyscraper as a force for good.

New York Times–bestselling author: The much-awaited story of master assassin Artemis Entreri and the first installment in a new series set in the Forgotten Realms universe Surrounded by dark elves, Artemis Entreri tightens his grip on the streets of Calimport. While he urges caution, his sponsor grows ever more ambitious. The assassin will soon find himself on a path his most hated enemy has walked before him—a path that leads to a place where someone like Entreri would never be welcome. Drow leader Jarlaxle has ascended from dark Menzoberranzan with only civil intentions. The malevolent Crystal Shard’s influence on him intensifies until even the drow agents he brought with him grow fearful. When his own company begins to turn on him, Jarlaxle will be forced to find a savior in the man he’s come to enslave. Servant of the Shard is the first book in the Sellswords trilogy and the fourteenth book in the Legend of Drizzt series

This book takes you on the adventure of a boy named Sypher and how he got sucked into a virtual video game, leaving his mother devastated in the real world trying to figure out how to get her son back through the help of doctors and specialists, which she couldn’t afford. Meanwhile, Sypher has the opportunity of getting out of the game by gathering seven shards that are scattered across the universe, causing each challenge to be harder than the last to retrieve.

This striking book explains the feats of engineering behind the world's most impressive architectural marvels. From skyscrapers that reach astonishing heights to bridges that span deep and wide rivers, the world is filled with awe-inspiring structures. But how do they work? Meet the extraordinary people who challenged our beliefs about what's possible, pioneering remarkable inventions that helped build the Brooklyn Bridge in the US, the Pantheon in Italy, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Shard in England and the Sapporo Dome in Japan. Discover the ingenious methods engineers have come up with to enable us to build underground, underwater, on ice, and even in space. With text written by award-winning structural engineer Roma Agrawal and detailed full-color illustrations by Katie Hickey, this book provides unique and illuminating perspectives of the world's most incredible constructions. How Was That Built? is a perfect gift for curious kids who want to learn more about construction, architecture, science, technology, and the way things work. This children's picture book also serves as a fascinating companion to the author's adult nonfiction book Built: The Hidden Stories Behind our Structures, winner of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.

They are always watching. Always listening. Even when your phone is turned off, they’re still there with their ear pressed against your device’s invisible back door. They thrive in darkness and secrecy. They control the economy and bend authorities to their will, yet they remain faceless. They are the silent force tightening their grip around our crumbling society, and they will not stop until their power over the world is complete. Who is this most malevolent secret organization that holds the strings of power? They are known only as the Collective, and their invisible reign across the world seemed unstoppable. That is, until a soul‐searching Montrealer named David Collins followed his intuition to uncover a broken shard of advanced ancient technology with the power to change everything. As David continues to follow his intuition, he finds allies within the Order of Hermes, a secret organization dedicated to uncovering lost knowledge and bringing that knowledge to the world. Yet the Order of Hermes must also keep those secrets safe from the Collective, who would use such technology to consume the world in their greed. With the help of his allies, David begins to unlock the shard’s mysterious powers of healing and destruction, but in doing so, he also draws the eye and ire of the Collective. So begins a deadly chase across Quebec and New York State. With the Collective’s ruthless shadows constantly at David’s heels, will he be able to unlock the shard’s secrets and use its powers to cure the world of the insidious Collective before it’s too late?