Growing up in Cleveland, Lil' Billy has dreams of making it to the NBA. But when he and his family relocate to the Hilltop of Akron, Ohio, these dreams are confronted by the harsh reality of inner city life. Soon Lil' Billy and his click, the Stay Solid Boys, begin their rise in the dope and rap games. Meanwhile, Lil' Billy finds himself caught between two women that love him - Sandy, a vet from Detroit who gives Lil' Billy his start in the dope game, and Peaches, his high school sweetheart who turns out to be more ruthless than Lil' Billy ever imagined. As Lil' Billy encounters sex, money and murder at every turn, he learns the hard way that once your married to the game, there is no divorce.

The alliance of critical theory between Frankfurt and Paris Adorno, Foucault and the Critique of the West argues that critical theory continues to offer valuable resources for critique and contestation during this turbulent period. To assess these resources, it examines the work of two of the twentieth century's more prominent social theorists: Theodor W. Adorno and Michel Foucault. Although Adorno was situated squarely in the Marxist tradition that Foucault would occasionally challenge, Deborah Cook demonstrates that their critiques of our current predicament are complementary in important respects. Among other things, these critiques converge in their focus on the historical conditions-economic in Adorno and political in Foucault-that gave rise to the racist and authoritarian tendencies that continue to blight the West. Cook also shows that, when Adorno and Foucault plumb the economic and political forces that have shaped our identities, they offer remarkably similar answers to the perennial question: What is to be done?

A reference for beginning to experienced growers, this book contains information needed to grow plugs and transplants. It covers such topics as selecting structures, production systems, understanding seed physiology, and scheduling plugs.

Being in love with the plug isn’t always easy, especially when that love is forbidden. Best friends, Purple and Breelynn, know that all too well. After secretly being in a relationship for the past two years with Em-kay, Purple’s brother, Breelynn has grown tired of only being able to claim him behind closed doors. She is ready to live their relationship out loud, mainly because she’s now carrying his seed. However, Em-kay isn’t ready to reveal their secret, and for good reason: he’s the reason their relationship is forbidden. Will Breelynn get her way, or will she remain Em-kay’s little secret? Purple has always followed Em-kay’s every rule, but turning 18 has her ready to break out of her shell and do grown woman things. With a little bit of liquid courage, she finds herself confessing her true feelings to Sas. Never seeing her as more than his annoying little sister, rude boy Sas quickly shuts her down. Loyalty is his middle name, and he just can’t see himself going against the code by going down that road with Purple and betraying his boy, Em-kay. There’s just one thing he’s not counting on: Purple isn’t the type to take no for an answer, and she’s not giving him up without a fight. Will Sas stick to his guns, or will Purple prove to be the kind of temptation he can’t resist? Secrets are only secrets if no one finds out about them. Will the crew be able to keep their secrets under wraps, or will emotions get the best of them, putting everyone’s truth on blast? In part one of this hood love tale, you’ll find out just how hard it is to love the plug.

Francis Plug is a troubled and often drunk misfit who causes chaos and confusion wherever he goes—and where he most likes to go is to real author events, collecting signatures from the likes of Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Eleanor Catton. As he adds to this collection of signed Booker first editions, Francis—a wannabe author himself—is also helpfully writing a self-help manual. Devised with the novice writer in mind, it is full of sage wisdom and useful tidbits to help ease freshly published novelists into the demands and rigors of author events, readings and general life in the public eye. If you’re provided with a hands-free mic, clipped to your lapel, don’t forget to turn it off when you visit the toilet, or if you need to vomit before your event. Likewise, it’s always good to be wary of the germs of fans—and considering the use of elbow-length dishwashing gloves at book signings, and a large, easy-wipe kitchen apron. And so too, cultivating a photographic ‘look’ for the many publicity shots you will be subjected to is also a good idea—Francis’s personal choice being that of Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. With advice like this, and Francis’ warm and deranged personality, How to Be a Public Author will prove essential reading for anyone with an interest in the literary world. The Man Booker Prize becomes a springboard to explore what it means to be an author—and a human being—in the twenty-first century. This novel is certain to be one of the main talking points when the Man Booker Prize is discussed this year, as well as one that will endure long after the controversies have died down. It is an exceptional piece of writing—a novel that readers will love and return to, time and time again.

Menace and Speedy are two local dope slingers with much in common, but two things in particular. They're both young, and hungry. Business... is booming, and while most people in their position would be satisfied Menace and Speedy aren't, "most people." They want to be among the drug game elite, and the only way to do that is get hooked up with a "connect." A MAJOR supplier who can provide enough product to help the duo graduate from "dealers," to "kingpins." One day, the pair finally acquire the long sought after connect. The key to not only unlocking a "dope empire," but putting the entire local drug game on lockdown. But it soon turns out that things are not at all what they seem, and the two are no closer to absolute power over their concrete dominion. In fact, the games... are just beginning