‘Feeble Creature’ is arrested and charged with committing a crime under several penal codes for causing disruption and chaos by inflicting unfounded fear among the masses. His crime is writing and circulating four articles taking an extreme contrarian view that humankind is suffering from ‘progeria’, the rarest of rare diseases known to medical science. In his defense before the court of justice, he says- “I sincerely desired to infuse the real meaning of ‘living’ in the psyche of mankind so that they may battle out the death inflicted by this metaphysical ailment I conveniently call ‘Progeria’. I haven’t committed any crime in doing so by expressing my conviction, cautioning and alerting the commoners to take notice. It is up to them to take notice, realize and act or ignore the warning” This novel depicts the very cause that has led mankind to this lethal metaphysical ailment, the author termed as ‘metaphysical progeria’. The author has also ventured to present a possible remedy, who only the rarest of the rare may chance to put into application. He does this by taking readers on a short journey aboard a train, a perfect analogy for the journey of life as passengers seems ever waiting for the next, an assumed time, projecting data internalized from dead past. The author dares to write an obituary of the metaphysical demise of mankind, unravelling how he arrives at this conclusion. The author believes, however, that those who choose themselves still have a chance to rise from their metaphysical graves.

“Weird and wild.” —BookRiot “An effective critique of authoritarianism.” —NPR “Equal parts dystopia, satire, and allegory. —Los Angeles Review of Books Set against the backdrop of a failed political uprising in Egypt, this chilling debut evokes Orwellian dystopia, Kafkaesque surrealism, and a very real vision of life after the Arab Spring. In a surreal, but familiar, vision of modern day Egypt, a centralized authority known as ‘the Gate’ has risen to power in the aftermath of the ‘Disgraceful Events,’ a failed popular uprising. Citizens are required to obtain permission from the Gate in order to take care of even the most basic of their daily affairs, yet the Gate never opens, and the queue in front of it grows longer. Citizens from all walks of life mix and wait in the sun: a revolutionary journalist, a sheikh, a poor woman concerned for her daughter’s health, and even the brother of a security officer killed in clashes with protestors. Among them is Yehia, a man who was shot during the Events and is waiting for permission from the Gate to remove a bullet that remains lodged in his pelvis. Yehia’s health steadily declines, yet at every turn, officials refuse to assist him, actively denying the very existence of the bullet. Ultimately it is Tarek, the principled doctor tending to Yehia’s case, who must decide whether to follow protocol as he has always done, or to disobey the law and risk his career to operate on Yehia and save his life. Written with dark, subtle humor, The Queue describes the sinister nature of authoritarianism, and illuminates the way that absolute authority manipulates information, mobilizes others in service to it, and fails to uphold the rights of even those faithful to it.

“Always be closing!” —Glengarry Glen Ross, 1992 “Never Be Closing!” —a sales book title, 2014 “?????” —salespeople everywhere, 2017 For decades, sales managers, coaches, and authors talked about closing as the most essential, most difficult phase of selling. They invented pushy tricks for the final ask, from the “take delivery” close to the “now or never” close. But these tactics often alienated customers, leading to fads for the “soft” close or even abandoning the idea of closing altogether. It sounded great in theory, but the results were often mixed or poor. That left a generation of salespeople wondering how they should think about closing, and what strategies would lead to the best possible outcomes. Anthony Iannarino has a different approach geared to the new technological and social realities of our time. In The Lost Art of Closing, he proves that the final commitment can actually be one of the easiest parts of the sales process—if you’ve set it up properly with other commitments that have to happen long before the close. The key is to lead customers through a series of necessary steps designed to prevent a purchase stall. Iannarino addressed this in a chapter of The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need—which he thought would be his only book about selling. But he discovered so much hunger for guidance about closing that he’s back with a new book full of proven tactics and useful examples. The Lost Art of Closing will help you win customer commitment at ten essential points along the purchase journey. For instance, you’ll discover how to: · Compete on value, not price, by securing a Commitment to Invest early in the process. · Ask for a Commitment to Build Consensus within the client’s organization, ensuring that your solution has early buy-in from all stakeholders. · Prevent the possibility of the sale falling through at the last minute by proactively securing a Commitment to Resolve Concerns. The Lost Art of Closing will forever change the way you think about closing, and your clients will appreciate your ability to help them achieve real change and real results.\

Two average Americans from either side of the political divide answer the same political questions from their unique perspectives.

miracle (n.) An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. This is a word that gets tossed around a lot. The thing is, miracles do occur and occur often, if you are willing to look for them. God never turns away from us, even when it seems like our world is falling apart. He is always right there, helping us back up to our feet. God’s love and faithfulness is what gave me the strength to move forward when I awoke in an ICU and was told my husband and oldest son had been killed. Miracles are what kept me treading water when I was briefed on the very slim chances my other two children would make a full recovery. The chances of my son’s mere survival were nonexistent. I was unwilling to accept anything the doctors told me. I knew in my heart that God had us and my babies would be okay. I steadied my heart, set my jaw; I prayed, and I asked others to pray. God has taken care of us every single step of our journey and continues to today. Our story is not over. We survived, we are healing, we are pushing forward, we are living. We are waiting on the next miracle.

With the end of the Cold War came not the end of history, but the end of America's sense of its strategic purpose in the world. Then, after a decade of drift, the US was violently dragged back into international conflict. Its armed forces responded magnificently but its leaders' objectives were substantially flawed. We fought the wrong war -- twice -- for reasons that were opaque, and few American citizens understood the cause for which their sons and daughters were fighting and dying. War is a poor substitute for strategic vision, and decisions made in the heat of imminent conflict are often limited by the emotions of the moment. In Don't Wait for the Next War, Wesley K. Clark, a retired four-star general of the US army and former Democratic candidate for president, presents a compelling argument for continued American global leadership and the basis on which it can succeed -- a new American strategy. America needs both new power and deeper perspective. The platform for American leadership is to use America's energy resources to spark sustainable economic growth, building new strength to deal with pressing domestic issues like the deficit as well as the longer term challenges to US security -- terrorism, cyber threats, the next financial crisis, China's rising power, and climate change. Such a strategy is not only achievable but essential, and it is urgently needed. This is the true test of American leadership for the next two decades, but it must start now, so America has the power and vision to deal with the acute crises that will inevitably come -- in the Mideast, Europe, or Asia.

A classic-feeling middle-grade novel with a modern twist about a girl dealing with friendship, family, and OCD.