Most Popular Books by Michael Johnston

Depuis la cité de Solus, les Soleri, dieux vivants, règnent sur un formidable empire sans jamais laisser voir leurs visages, sous peine de mort. Pour communiquer avec leurs sujets, ils ont choisi un intermédiaire : le Premier Rayon, mortel le plus puissant au monde. Mais la réalité est plus sombre encore. Dans les entrailles de Solus, les fils de nobles des quatre royaumes inférieurs sont retenus en otages. La meilleure manière d''étouffer dans l''oeuf les velléités d''indépendance... Incarcéré depuis plus de dix ans, le jeune Ren, fils du roi Arko d''Harkana, rêve de voir un jour le soleil et de retrouver les siens. Mais pour cela, il faudra d''abord que son père meure... « Laissez-vous prendre au piège d''une toile d''intrigues impitoyables et d''ambitions débridées. L''auteur crée un monde immersif mêlant histoire égyptienne et romaine, mythes et religion. Un récit plein de rebondissements, de trahisons et de secrets, qui vous tiendra en haleine jusqu''à la toute dernière page. » Cinda Williams Chima, auteure des Sept Royaumes « Sanglant et incroyablement épique. Une saga d''envergure dotée d''un univers foisonnant et original. » Lev Grossman, auteur des Magiciens

يشكل الفساد تهديداً للديمقراطية والتنمية الاقتصادية في العديد من المجتمعات. وهو ينشأ من الطرق التي يسعى من خلالها الناس إلى الحصول على الثروة والسلطة والطرق التي يستعملونهما بها، ومن قوة أو ضعف الدولة والمؤسسات السياسية والاجتماعية التي تعزز هذه العمليات أو تقيّدها. ويجادل مايكل جونستون بأن الاختلافات في هذه العوامل تؤدي إلى ظهور أربعة متلازمات للفساد: أسواق النفوذ، ومنظمات النخبة، وحكم العائلات، والمسؤولون الحكوميون. ويستعمل جونستون الإجراءات الإحصائية لتحديد المجتمعات التي تنتمي إلى كل فئة، كما يستعمل حالات درسية؛ ليظهر أن المتلازمات المتوقعة تظهر دائماً. وتتضمن البلدان موضع الدراسة كلاً من الولايات المتحدة، واليابان، وألمانيا (أسواق النفوذ)؛ وإيطاليا، وكوريا، وبوتسوانا (منظمات النخبة)؛ وروسيا والفلبين، والمكسيك (العائلات)، والصين، وكينيا، وأندونيسيا (المسؤولون الحكوميون). ثم يستكشف الفصل الختامي الإصلاح، مؤكداً على كيفية تطبيق الإجراءات المألوفة ـــ أو الإحجام عن تطبيقها؛ خشية أن تحدث ضرراً ـــ مع التأكيد على قيمة «التحولات الديمقراطية العميقة». «يشكّل كتاب مايكل جونستون إسهاماً مهماً في دراسات الفساد. إنه يَعِد بدفع عملية البحث والتفكير الجارية حالياً إلى أبعد من التركيز على النماذج الاقتصادية للفساد وإفساح المجال للنظر بجدية أكبر للوقائع السياسية. إن الحالات التي يستعملها جونستون لتوضيح تصنيفه الرباعي حالات حية ومثيرة للاهتمام وتتناول جوهر الأوضاع في كل بلد. ويقدم الوزن التراكمي لهذه الحالات خلفية مقنعة لأجندة الإصلاح الحكيمة والاستفزازية التي يطرحها». سوزان روز ـــ أكرمان كلية الحقوق في جامعة ييل العبيكان للنشر

Bem-vindo a Nova Vegas, uma cidade antes repleta de brilho, agora coberta de gelo. Com grande parte do planeta agora destruído, o lugar só conhece uma temperatura: a congelante. Lá encontramos Natasha Kestal, uma jovem crupiê à procura de uma saída. Como muitos, ela ouviu falar de um lugar mítico simplesmente chamado de Azul, um paraíso onde o sol ainda brilha e as águas são azul turquesa — e um lugar onde Nat e seus semelhantes não serão perseguidos, mesmo que seu segredo mais obscuro venha à tona. Mas o caminho para o Azul é traiçoeiro, senão impossível de atravessar, e sua única chance é apostar em um grupo de mercenários liderados pelo arrogante Ryan Wesson para conduzi-la a seu destino. Ciladas e perigos os aguardam em cada esquina, à medida que Nat e Wes se veem inexoravelmente atraídos um pelo outro. Mas seria possível o amor verdadeiro sobreviver a mentiras? Corações em chamas colidem nesta trama sobre a maldade do homem e o incrível poder que existe dentro de cada um de nós.

A boxing novella set in the strange year of 2019

Nat and her drakon are the last of their kind, sworn to protect what their enemies seek to control. She''s risked her life for their reunion, but that meant breaking Wes''s heart - and her own. New Vegas is threatened by the resurgence of magic and declares war on all the marked. When Wes is caught by the RSA, he is forced to do the unthinkable. Wes and Nat find themselves on opposing sides of a war that could destroy what little is left of their world.

In this epic conclusion to the trilogy, Nat and Wes go on a journey to find the Rift, save the source of magic and defeat the Drau, the pirates, and the RSA - but at a great sacrifice. Wes is dying, and as he''s rotting the Drau will let the rot "cleanse" the source of magic, dooming Wes forever. Nat and Wes discover that the source of the magic lies in the Drakon - the key to the Blue, the protector, the soul of the world. But in order to close the Rift, a great sacrifice is needed. Nat must decide to sacrifice her beloved drakon in order to save the world, and to save Wes. In the words of the sylphs, death is life, and now the worlds can be reborn again.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Birth planning can be an exciting and empowering process for parents. Here are a few tips to help you get started: Educate yourself about your options: Research different types of childbirth (e.g., hospital birth, home birth, birth center birth), pain management techniques (e.g., epidurals, water therapy), and postpartum support (e.g., lactation consultants, postpartum doulas). Make a birth plan: A birth plan is a document that outlines your preferences for the birth process. It can include things like your preferred pain management techniques, your preference for who you want present during labor, and your wishes for postpartum care. Your birth plan is not a binding contract, but it can help your healthcare provider understand your preferences and can serve as a starting point To know more get copy of the book

Ambitious art historian Bill Maguire searches Paris for a subject for his doctoral thesis and follows up faint clues about once-famous abstract painter Alexander Golden. He and Anna Glover find Golden''s farmhouse hideaway and make a discovery that adds love, greed, insanity, academic dishonesty, and very likely murder into the mix before leading to a completely unforeseen outcome.

Michael Johnston''s unruly and hysterical novel follows a cast of characters from the ''90s rock band, Texas Flip: their story told through various concerts during the band''s two-plus-decade career, each leap in time connected by a fine thread of rushed quarter notes, broken strings, and free drink tickets. Amongst them is Zach Long, guitarist and overseer of their dogged pursuit of musical excellence. Luke Strange, lead singer and bass player whose sex addiction has ruined more than one performance. A manager, Todd Shift, clutching at the group''s frayed coattails for as long as their ride will last.Collected, these musicians deliver the playbook of what life in a band used to be like--navigating a world without GPS, social media, or legal marijuana, with a thirst for only the next gig or riff, with amusement and passion and simplicity. Regarded as an early classic, Why Does Everyone Steal My Lighter? is right away comical and entertaining, wholly funny and justly memorable.

The majority of historians agree that there is evidence of homosexual behavior and same-sex relationships in every society that has been studied, regardless of whether such partnerships were tolerated or outlawed. Lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, and transgender social movements: a short history/Bonnie J. Morris, PhD One shooter killed several people at the well-known gay dance club Pulse in Orlando on June 12, 2016. The deadliest mass shooting in American history, this hate crime left at least 49 people dead and another 50 wounded. It happened throughout the weekend that was LGBT Pride weekend in American cities and towns. The President of the United States reached out to express his outrage and concern and received an immediate, compassionate response from mayors, police, and FBI officials, as well as local and national politicians. This shows the enormous shift in public opinion in favor of acceptance and support for the LGBT community. Even though the LGBT community and people continue to be the subject of hate crimes and retaliation on a global scale, activists'' and supporters'' tireless efforts have allowed us to reach a time where those who commit acts of violence rather than their victims are decried as mentally ill. To get more.. details.. get a copy of the book

This analysis of political corruption and public policy in America considers such issues as the costs and benefits of political corruption, the causes of corruption, and the consequences of a corruption-free political system. J.S. Nye''s definition of corruption is used for the discussion: ''behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a public role (elective or appointive) because of private-regarding (personal, close family, private clique) wealth or status gains: or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private-regarding influence.'' Three general perspectives for understanding corruption are considered: (1) personalistic approaches, which deal with the kinds of people who hold positions of public trust; (2) an institutional view, which finds the causes of corruption in flaws or unrecognized biases in laws and institutions; and (3) a systemic perspective, which suggests that corruption grows from basic relationships between government and society. The development of the systemic view suggests that corruption is a form of influence that depends on the successful mobilization of political resources. Case studies of machine politics, police corruption, and Watergate are presented, followed by a case study that shows the difficulties of reform to counter corruption. An analysis of the broad social and political consequences of corruption considers both the costs and benefits of corruption. The concluding chapter offers a few reform strategies and policy proposals, tempered by a comment on the necessity of a realistic perspective of corruption in a democratic society. A selected bibliography has 61 listings, and a subject index is provided. Illustrative tabular information and footnotes accompany each chapter.

Nat a perdu son Drakon, Wes se meurt dans ses bras et Avo Hubik, de retour dans l''armée, menace ses amis de toute sa puissance de feu. Tout ce que la jeune fille avait réussi à accomplir n''est plus. Ne reste que la mort, la glace et le sang. Ainsi qu''un espoir, un infime espoir. Au loin, dans la plus haute tour de New Dead City, alias New York, repose le palimpseste d''Archimède, l''artefact créateur de mondes, la seule magie à même de le sauver. Mais comment Nat pourrait-elle l''atteindre quand se dressent sur sa route toute une armée, la sournoise Eliza et son propre Drakon ? Sans oublier le palimpseste lui-même qui ne livrera le sort qu''il contient que si la drakonnière s''en montre digne... et lui sacrifie tout ce qu''elle a de plus cher ! "Frozen réunit toutes les qualités essentielles d''un bon livre. De l''humour, du suspens, des rebondissements et surtout de l''originalité. Je le recommande vivement !" James Dashner, auteur de Le Labyrinthe "Un Game of Thrones futuriste" Margareth Stohl, auteure de Sublime créatures. A partir de 13 ans.

In Michael''s book, "Love''s ImPerfect Day," he explores his thoughts through stories about couples in search of wedding day perfection. His wedding stories can be amusing, reflective, unique, emotional, or sweet, but always entertaining. Woven between his stories is advice on just about every vendor you will likely need to hire for your wedding. This book is a must-read for every bride and groom, whether planning your wedding yourself or with the help of a professional. In the end, he believes planning a perfect wedding may be the goal, but achieving it should not be the benchmark of success. Come along with Michael on his journey of weddings, dreams, growth, love, and hope in "Love''s ImPerfect Day."

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.

Happy, sad, annoyed, ecstatic, incensed, and disappointed. Calm. These are just a handful of the many emotions that influence how we live our lives every day. Our conduct is influenced by our emotions, which are fundamental to the human experience. We all go through a spectrum of emotions, and they have a significant impact on our life from birth. We exhibit a basic set of emotions, such as joy, sorrow, anger, surprise, and disgust, beginning in infancy. We continue to feel these feelings throughout infancy and adulthood, becoming more sophisticated and nuanced as we mature, such as with shame, hope, and guilt. To determine a young kid''s likes, dislikes, desires, and needs, parents and caregivers may learn to read their emotional signs. If they are perceptive and receptive to these cues, they can help their child control their emotions. For instance, a parent may feed and rock a wailing baby to quiet it down, or they may cuddle and speak calmly to a toddler to calm him down. This process of controlling a child''s emotions is known as external regulations. As early childhood develops, children start to transition from depending only on external regulation (such as a caregiver hugging them) to acquiring their internal emotion management skills (taking a deep breath to calm themselves down on their own). The word "emotion regulation" refers to both internal and external mechanisms that enable a person to keep track of, assess, and adjust their emotional responses. Research demonstrates that children who have strong emotion regulation skills are more likely to have positive relationships with peers, perform better academically in the short and long-term, and transition into later grades more smoothly. As a result, developing emotion regulation (and in particular, internal regulation ability) is an important milestone for children. the author Michael Johnston, has coach many parents in the upbringing of their children. In this book he has shows how parental emotion can effect the child.. to know more get a copy of this book.

Nat, la drakonnière, appartient aux rives du Bleu et Wes, l''ancien mercenaire, est un enfant de New Vegas. Ils se retrouvent au large des eaux noires et se mettent en route vers la Cité Rouge, cet endroit sinistre d''où les Marqués ne reviennent jamais. Nat cherche son amie Liannan et Wes sa soeur, Eliza. Voilà neuf ans quelle a été enlevée à sa famille, nul ne sait pourquoi. Mais dans cette étrange cité où le soleil rougeoie à son coucher, rien ne se passe comme prévu. Et si Eliza n''était pas celle que croyaient Nat et Wes ? Si en tentant de la sauver, ils fonçaient tête baissée dans un piège ?

The purpose of this essay is to perform a close examination of two of T. S. Eliot''s early, uncollected poems, entitled "The Love Song of St. Sebastian" and "The Death of Saint Narcissus." One of the problems that arises in an appraisal of these poems is that they rest uneasily alongside his more prominent texts. Their psycho-sexual, masochistic fixation clashes with the more austere, detached portrayals of sexuality in his later poetry, and the confessional nature of the poems also conflicts with his declared poetics of impersonality that he describes famously in his essays "Tradition and the Individual Talent" and "The Functions of Criticism." This essay undertakes a psychoanalytic reading of both of these poems, and also explores the persistence of their influence in his later work. The research includes a number of primary, secondary, and tertiary texts. I have drawn heavily from Eliot''s own writings: his poetry, his essays, and also some of his lectures. His discussion of the differences between "classical mysticism" and "romantic mysticism" in The Clark Lectures is an important touchstone in the explorations of the essay. My psychoanalytic reading is also grounded in the works of Jacques Lacan and Julia Kristeva, as well as the French Surrealist, Georges Bataille. In my second chapter I have made use of the ideas from Lacan''s first and third seminars to explore the symptoms of psychosis and neurosis in Eliot and his early poetic personas, Sebastian and Narcissus. And in my third chapter I use the Kristevan idea of abjection from her work Powers of Horror to accentuate the peculiar blend of "torture and delight," "divine ecstasy and extreme horror" exhibited in Eliot''s sick saints. Also, Laurie MacDiarmid and Donald Childs, are two recent Eliot historians and critics that have figured prominently in triangulating my own reading of Eliot and his writings. My research has revealed that, as much as Eliot created these saints to be examples of "sick spirituality" and a failed "romantic" mysticism, the unmistakable passion and jouissance that arises out of their abjection reveals that Eliot, the doubting neurotic, actually desires their psychotic certainty. He revisits the subject of martyrdom for a final time in his later play The Cocktail Party. It is here that he gives his final saint, Celia Copplestone, a more orthodox martyrdom, stripped of the blasphemy and narcissism of his earlier saints. While in the play she is the scapegoat and intercessor for the other characters that are trapped in banality the Modern world, more importantly she is Eliot''s own scapegoat. And like Saint Narcissus and Sebastian, she achieves in her abjected, macabre, eroticized martyrdom the divine ecstasy that Eliot can only desire after but never personally achieve.

In compiling this guide the author has used some of the material contained in the Fairfax Style Guide. The author is a Sydney Morning Herald subeditor, who has worked on newspapers in Africa, Britain and Australia for 30 years.