A fascinating true story of big business, big real estate, big money--and the big problems that can happen when things go wrong. Beginning with the Reichmann brothers' escape from Nazi-occupied Europe to Morocco and their subsequent immigration to North America where they built their real estate empire from a tile business, Towers of Debt explains how the Reichmann empire crashed.

Martello towers were built in the early part of the nineteenth century to defend the coast of England against Napoleonic invasion. Almost 200 years later forty-one of these handsome brick towers still stand along the coast of Kent, Sussex, Essex and Suffolk. The chest of their construction was comparable in relative terms to that of of today's Trident missile system. The line of towers was never tested in action, but acted as an effective deterrent against invasion. Today Martello towers are a familiar sight from Aldeburgh in Suffolk to Newhaven in Sussex, but it is generally known that similar towers were built by the Royal Engineers to defend British interests in other parts of the world. Martello towers were being built as late as the 1850s as far afield as Canada, Mauritius, Australia and the Mediterranean. This book, illustrated with numerous photographs and plans, is the first comprehensive and detailed study of the known Martello towers built by the British. Its description of their construction, use, current condition and fate will fascinate the enquiring reader, as well as being a source of interest to visitors. Many of the towers remain landmarks today, Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour being a case in point.

Through the window of history, Politics and Public Debt examines the influence of debt-holders over fiscal and economic policy-making by Canadian governments. Robert Ascah focuses on debt management issues faced by the Canadian government between 1930 and 1952, a time shaped by stresses of depression, war, and reconstruction. He takes special note of Alberta's historic default of 1936, an event as little known as it was defining for both the province's finances and the country's. In Politics and Public Debt, economists, political scientists, bankers, investors, historians, and students interested in Canadian politics, government and the future of public finance will find valuable background and perspective on a subject that affects us all.

They are seven players in a game of deadly magic? Eltiron, Prince of Sevarin; Crystalorn, Princess of Barinash; Ranlyn, the desert rider; Jermain, the outlaw; Vandaris, the soldier; Carachel, the Wizard-King; and Amberglas, the sorceress. Each of them has a secret, and each fights his or her part in the thrilling battle that has put seven kingdoms on the very edge of destruction. Filled with wit, swordplay, humor, and intrigue, this early novel is one of Patricia C. Wrede?s best.

France, under the Court of the Moon, is a country of cyclical change, where the true rulers arrive every night to compete among themselves, and humans are backdrop, witnesses, inessential – and yet inextricably intertwined. It is the reign of the Gilded Tower, and fashions are daring. Two Wings: Griff Tenning has suffered too much change in the past year, and wishes everything would quiet down for a while - or, better still, would go back to when his parents were alive. But, even so, it's useful that his odd aunt can afford airship tickets to France. On such a quick trip, his hated travel sickness won't be enough to keep him from a chance to stand beneath the impossible Towers of the Moon. Forfeit: Forfeit is the newest game of the Court of the Moon, and one seemingly designed for humans to lose. But Arianne Seaforth is willing to pay a great deal to help her oldest friend – and she is learning to extract a price of her own. Death and the Moon: Eluned Tenning can barely remember all the names of the vast network of cousins making her sixteenth birthday party so overwhelming. But she has no problems with would-be actor Milo, who is so calmly quiet and friendly. She'd never step on a stage herself, but she's happy to help him rehearse. Note: this book contains three short stories. "Two Wings" is 7,500 words, "Forfeit" is 20,000 words, and "Death and the Moon" is 2300 words.