Ten years ago the Iran-Contra affair swept the headlines as the nation watched an indignant Lt. Col. Oliver North testify before a congressional committee. Although polls showed that most Americans were critical of North's actions and ambivalent toward the man himself, media coverage left the opposite impression, with its broadcasts of "Ollie-for-president" rallies and stories of congressional aides overwhelmed by a torrent of pro-North mail. In this book, public opinion is more than the sum of a pollster's tally; instead, Amy Fried defines it as a political tool, integral to the political process, where vested interests compete to legitimize their interpretation of the public voice. Fried explores the construction, interpretation, and uses of public opinion, raising important questions about the media and the role of special interest groups in determining policy.

In this "edge-of-the-chair thriller" (San Francisco Chronicle), six people are trapped in an avalanche of horror—and one of them is an armed psychopath gone berserk. An isolated cabin high on a stormy Colorado mountain that becomes snowbound in a raging blizzard. A homicidal maniac with superb mountaineering skills and sharpshooting aim with a rifle. Two local forest rangers unaware of what they’re walking into—and the trio of college kids they have come to rescue. As the freezing temperatures drop even lower, and the snow on the mountain above them accumulates, the danger and the tension pick up nightmare speed.

The Song has begun again. Atia—now called Niva—has succumbed to evil and joined Dethar. Together at last, the reincarnated Keepers unleash brutal destruction on the eastern sun elves. Haunted by his role in all this, Elsvener the Wanderer plunges himself into hostile territory, determined to help his eastern friends. In a desperate move, he sells his freedom to the formidable Draiyahem family in exchange for an army. If the Hekish power families can’t stop Fire City, no one can. Yet the Keepers are far deadlier than even Elsvener guessed, and the Draiyahem are soon bracing for what looks like inevitable martyrdom. Meanwhile, west over the mountains, the still-safe Kingdom of Avar fears Fire City less than they do the Order of Watchers, and the Order of Watchers fears Mathias and Acinath. The young couple have vanished from the castle, embarking on a quest that the Order warns will bring the end of the world. Yet above all this dread and confusion, in both the East and West rings the name of a prophesied savior, long forgotten or misunderstood: the Bringer of Light. The Singing of the Song has commenced. The Demon and his Keepers are not the legend’s only survivors.