The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

Imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. His only possesions are the old, torn clothes he carries in a paper bag. The only world he knows is one of isolation and fear. Although others had rescued this boy from his abusive alcoholic mother, his real hurt is just begining -- he has no place to call home. This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to A Child Called "It." In The Lost Boy, he answers questions and reveals new adventures through the compelling story of his life as an adolescent. Now considered an F-Child (Foster Child), Dave is moved in and out of five different homes. He suffers shame and experiences resentment from those who feel that all foster kids are trouble and unworthy of being loved just because they are not part of a "real" family. Tears, laughter, devastation and hope create the journey of this little lost boy who searches desperately for just one thing -- the love of a family.
Views: 698

Discrimination and Disparities

An empirical examination of how economic and other disparities ariseEconomic and other outcomes differ vastly among individuals, groups, and nations. Many explanations have been offered for the differences. Some believe that those with less fortunate outcomes are victims of genetics. Others believe that those who are less fortunate are victims of the more fortunate. Discrimination and Disparities gathers a wide array of empirical evidence from to challenge the idea that different economic outcomes can be explained by any one factor, be it discrimination, exploitation or genetics. It is readable enough for people with no prior knowledge of economics. Yet the empirical evidence with which it backs up its analysis spans the globe and challenges beliefs across the ideological spectrum. The point of Discrimination and Disparities is not to recommend some particular policy "fix" at the end, but to clarify why so many policy... **An empirical examination of how economic and other disparities arise*** *Economic and other outcomes differ vastly among individuals, groups, and nations. Many explanations have been offered for the differences. Some believe that those with less fortunate outcomes are victims of genetics. Others believe that those who are less fortunate are victims of the more fortunate. *Discrimination and Disparities* gathers a wide array of empirical evidence from to challenge the idea that different economic outcomes can be explained by any one factor, be it discrimination, exploitation or genetics. It is readable enough for people with no prior knowledge of economics. Yet the empirical evidence with which it backs up its analysis spans the globe and challenges beliefs across the ideological spectrum. The point of *Discrimination and Disparities* is not to recommend some particular policy "fix" at the end, but to clarify why so many policy fixes have turned out to be counterproductive, and to expose some seemingly invincible fallacies--behind many counterproductive policies.
Views: 695

A Day in a Life In After World: Sugar

This is the first in a series of short stories based in the same world as the book series A Life in After World. Instead of telling the life story of one character, these stories tell the story of one day in the life of a person in After World.Sugar is sweet. Sugar is pretty. Sugar is a mouse.Eek! A mouse!Mice are the bane of every city as they live in the cracks and hovels and steal any food they can. You can try to poison them but they tend to be immune. As if they did not have short enough natural lives, they rarely get to live out their years because to normal humans mice are considered less than worthless.Sugar dreams of a better life. She is doing everything she can to try to get past the stigma of being a mouse.
Views: 694

Target of a Killer (A Crime Thriller Short)

Target of a Killer is a crime thriller short by bestselling and prolific author R. Barri Flowers. A journalist is marked for death by a drug kingpin after she writes an exposé on his crime organization.TARGET OF A KILLER is a crime thriller short by bestselling and prolific author R. Barri Flowers.When a journalist is targeted for death by a drug kingpin whose operation she had exposed, trying to stay alive becomes a real challenge when not knowing who to trust, with a ruthless killer taking aim.Included is a bonus short story, THE JURY HAS SPOKEN, in which a dedicated group of criminal justice professionals wager on the outcome of a case, with deadly results.Also includes excerpts from the bestselling legal thriller and police procedural, PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE by R. Barri Flowers. When a prosecutor’s son is charged with a double homicide, she pulls out all the stops to prove his innocence, even while trying a murder case that could make or break or career.PRAISE FOR MYSTERY AND THRILLER FICTION BY R. BARRI FLOWERS:“A heart-thumping thriller, this is that rare novel that is downright scary. Pick it up at your peril, because you won't put it down until you've read the last word." -- John Lutz, Edgar winner and bestselling author of Twist on BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN“A masterful thriller set in the dark underbelly of Maui, with lots of fine action, down and dirty characters, and the vivid details of police procedure one would expect from an author who is also a top criminologist. A terrific read!" -- Douglas Preston, co-creator of the bestselling Pendergast series of novels on MURDER IN MAUI"An exquisitely rich and masterfully constructed mystery.... A savvy, smooth, and sumptuous read that's as hot as Waikiki beach sand." -- Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong Vengeance on MURDER IN HONOLULU"It gets no better than this! R. Barri Flowers has written another thriller guaranteed to hold onto its readers!" -- Huntress Reviews on DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL“A gripping and tightly woven tale you won't want to put down. Author Flowers neatly contrasts the natural beauty of a tropical paradise with the ugliness of murder and its aftermath." -- John Lutz, Edgar Winner and bestselling author of Pulse on MURDER IN MAUI"R. Barri Flowers writes with the passion and knowledge of someone who truly knows his craft. A steamy, non-stop thrill-ride through the seamy underbelly of Hawaii." -- Allison Leotta, former federal prosecutor and author of Discretion on MURDER IN MAUI“Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page.” -- Midwest Book Review on STATE’S EVIDENCE“A model of crime fiction.... Flowers may be a new voice in modern mystery writing, but he is already one of its best voices.” -- Statesman Journal on JUSTICE SERVED"An excellent look at the jurisprudence system...will appeal to fans of John Grisham and Linda Fairstein." -- Harriet Klausner on PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE
Views: 679

The Phone Call (A Psychological Mystery Short)

The Phone Call is a psychological mystery short in which a wife must confront her deepest fears when she receives an unlikely phone call. The shocking climax will stay with you long after you finish this domestic tale of suspicion and suspense.The Phone Call is a psychological mystery short in which a wife must confront her deepest fears when she receives an unlikely phone call. The shocking climax will stay with you long after you finish this domestic tale of suspicion and suspense.Included as bonus material are excerpts of the author’s bestselling Hawaii mysteries, Murder of the Hula Dancers and Dead in Kihei, along with the psychological thriller, Killer in The Woods.
Views: 678

A Day in a Life in After World: Maggie

This is the fifth in a series of short stories based in the same world as the book series A Life in After World. Instead of telling the life story of one character, these stories tell the story of one day in the life of a person in After World.She does not have a name. She is programmed to serve one purpose. She is a clone and her purpose is to live an interesting and full life and hope that when the time comes, Mother will select her to merge with so that she can live on forever.But she has been ordered terminated by Mother and now she has no purpose. She must find a way to get away from her people a live a life of her own. With the help of a rogue AI, can she get away?
Views: 650

Columbine

"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a false script, seized upon by a generation of new killers. In the wake of Newtown, Aurora, and Virginia Tech, the imperative to understand the crime that sparked this plague grows more urgent every year. What really happened April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book-widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings-several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors.
Views: 635

A Day in a Life in After World: SoGlog

This is the fourth in a series of short stories based in the same world as the book series A Life in After World. Instead of telling the life story of one character, these stories tell the story of one day in the life of a person in After World.SoGlog Southfield of Southfield is virtual royalty. He could swim before he could walk. Born on a flotilla of barges in the gulf, SoGlog is a trader with a purpose. He is on a mission to secure some technology for his people. He is very serious but tends to be soft at heart.This is the short story that inspired the NaNoWriMo book of the title: A Life In After World: SoGlog Southfield.
Views: 630

Killer Connection (A Hawaii Mystery Novelette)

From award winning crime writer R. Barri Flowers and the bestselling author of Murder in Hawaii Mysteries comes a gripping Maui mystery suspense novelette, Killer Connection.From award winning crime writer R. Barri Flowers and the bestselling author of Murder in Hawaii Mysteries comes a gripping Maui mystery suspense novelette, Killer Connection.Honolulu fashion designer Kiyoshi Yoshida had just gone through the worst year of her life after losing her twin brother and husband, costing Kiyoshi nearly everything she held most dear.In what still gave Kiyoshi chills of disbelief, her brother Sergio Matsuko, one time dedicated and decorated homicide detective for the Honolulu Police Department, had stunned nearly everyone who knew him by being identified as the Aloha Black Scarf Killer, a serial killer who had raped and murdered seven women, before committing suicide in a house fire. Seeking to escape the notoriety, Kiyoshi relocated to Maui, hoping to somehow reclaim her life while working as a saleswoman in an upscale clothing store.Connor Jansen, a bestselling true crime writer, tracked down Kiyoshi, hoping to get information on Matsuko for his latest book on the notorious island serial killer. Using a pseudonym, Connor worms his way into Kiyoshi’s life, only to have second thoughts about his deception.In the meantime, a killer has been watching Kiyoshi, waiting for the right time to add her to her list of victims.Bonus material includes excerpts from R. Barri Flowers’ bestselling Hawaii mystery novels, Murder in Maui, Murder in Honolulu, and Seduced to Kill in Kauai; as well as a glitzy contemporary suspense novelette, Kaanapali Beach Paradise.
Views: 628

A Day in a Life in After World: Farsid

This is Sixth in a series of short stories based in the same world as the book series A Life in After World. Instead of telling the life story of one character, these stories tell the story of one day in the life of a person in After World.Farsid is on his way to the top and he does not care if he leaves brainless bodies trailed behind him as he goes. Farsid is a witch and uses his mental powers to exert his influence on people and sometimes even to scrape their brains for knowledge which generally leaves the victim with something akin to scrambled eggs afterward. His only problem is that he cannot concentrate to his full potential without a crutch. And his crutch has just been stolen.
Views: 623

Intellectuals and Race

Intellectuals and Race is a radical book in the original sense of one that goes to the root of the problem. The role of intellectuals in racial strife is explored in an international context that puts the American experience in a wholly new light.The views of individual intellectuals have spanned the spectrum, but the views of intellectuals as a whole have tended to cluster. Indeed, these views have clustered at one end of the spectrum in the early twentieth century and then clustered at the opposite end of the spectrum in the late twentieth century. Moreover, these radically different views of race in these two eras were held by intellectuals whose views on other issues were very similar in both eras.Intellectuals and Race is not, however, a book about history, even though it has much historical evidence, as well as demographic, geographic, economic and statistical evidence-- all of it directed toward testing the underlying assumptions about race that have prevailed at times among intellectuals in general, and especially intellectuals at the highest levels. Nor is this simply a theoretical exercise. The impact of intellectuals' ideas and crusades on the larger society, both past and present, is the ultimate concern. These ideas and crusades have ranged widely from racial theories of intelligence to eugenics to "social justice" and multiculturalism.In addition to in-depth examinations of these and other issues, Intellectuals and Race explores the incentives, the visions and the rationales that drive intellectuals at the highest levels to conclusions that have often turned out to be counterproductive and even disastrous, not only for particular racial or ethnic groups, but for societies as a whole.ReviewPittsburgh Tribune-Review“Sowell brings an all-too-rare perspective to whatever he writes about — that of a conservative black intellectual, especially valuable for this book’s topic.”About the AuthorThomas Sowell is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst, and other academic institutions. He is the author of Intellectuals and Society, Dismantling America, Economic Facts and Fallacies, and the classic Basic Economics, which has been translated into six languages. Sowell has published in both academic journals and in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine, and Fortune, and he writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country. He lives in Stanford, California.
Views: 618

The Water Dancer (Oprah's Book Club)

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom."This potent book about America's most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist."—San Francisco Chronicle"Nearly every paragraph is laced through with dense, gorgeously evocative descriptions of a vanished world and steeped in its own vivid vocabulary."—Entertainment Weekly Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he's ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram...
Views: 615

Billy The Kid’s Wife (A Time Travel Romance Short)

Billy The Kid's Wife is a time travel romance short by bestselling novelist R. Barri Flowers. Modern day romance writer finds love with Old West onetime outlaw known as Billy the Kid.BILLY THE KID’S WIFE is a time travel romance short by bestselling novelist R. Barri Flowers. When a modern day historical romance writer rents a cabin in Sky Creek, Colorado to complete her next novel, a strange dog shows up, along with a handsome man and young boy. She soon comes to realize that the man is the onetime outlaw known as Billy the Kid, and that the corridors of time have merged, offering her two very different lives. She has an important decision to make in following her destiny.Also includes an excerpt from the relationship novel, Forever Sweethearts: A Love Story by R. Barri Flowers.PRAISE FOR MYSTERY AND THRILLER FICTION BY R. BARRI FLOWERS“A heart-thumping thriller, this is that rare novel that is downright scary. Pick it up at your peril, because you won't put it down until you've read the last word." -- John Lutz, Edgar Winner and bestselling author of Twist on BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN“A masterful thriller set in the dark underbelly of Maui, with lots of fine action, down and dirty characters, and the vivid details of police procedure one would expect from an author who is also a top criminologist. A terrific read!" -- Douglas Preston, co-creator of the bestselling Pendergast series of novels on MURDER IN MAUI"An exquisitely rich and masterfully constructed mystery.... A savvy, smooth, and sumptuous read that's as hot as Waikiki beach sand." -- Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong Vengeance on MURDER IN HONOLULU"It gets no better than this! R. Barri Flowers has written another thriller guaranteed to hold onto its readers! -- Huntress Reviews on DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL“A gripping and tightly woven tale you won't want to put down. Author Flowers neatly contrasts the natural beauty of a tropical paradise with the ugliness of murder and its aftermath." -- John Lutz, Edgar Winner and bestselling author of Pulse on MURDER IN MAUI"R. Barri Flowers writes with the passion and knowledge of someone who truly knows his craft. A steamy, non-stop thrill-ride through the seamy underbelly of Hawaii." -- Allison Leotta, former federal prosecutor and author of Discretion on MURDER IN MAUI“Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page.” -- Midwest Book Review on STATE’S EVIDENCE“A model of crime fiction .... Flowers may be a new voice in modern mystery writing, but he is already one of its best voices.”-- Statesman Journal on JUSTICE SERVED"An excellent look at the jurisprudence system...will appeal to fans of John Grisham and Linda Fairstein." -- Harriet Klausner on PERSUASIVE VIDENCE
Views: 607