A fantastic and philosophical vision of the apocalypse by one of the most striking Italian novelists of the twentieth century.From his solitary buen retiro in the mountains, the last man on earth drives to the capital Chrysopolis to see if anyone else has survived the Vanishing. But there’s no one else, living or dead, in that city of “holy plutocracy,” with its fifty-six banks and as many churches. He’d left the metropolis to escape his fellow humans and ...

**"In this masterly book, [Alfani] offers an insightful long-run perspective and fascinating lessons for the future. A must-read!"—Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First CenturyA sweeping narrative that shows how the rich historically justified themselves by helping their societies in times of crisis, why they no longer do, and what that may mean for social stability**The rich have always fascinated, sometimes in problematic ways. Medieval thinkers f...

A landmark reference work on learning and training in immersive virtual reality based on evidence and empirical research.The Handbook of Learning in Virtual Reality is the first comprehensive, evidence-based compendium of research on learning in immersive virtual reality (VR) for academic instruction and professional training. Written by leading researchers from around the globe, this landmark reference work synthesizes the rapidly growing body of the scie...

Walter Eekhaut (his name rhymes with "stakeout"), a veteran of the Belgian police force who has a problem with authority, is dispatched to Amsterdam to aid the Dutch security service in investigating the activities of a well-connected Russian oligarch, with connections to Putin. Some of the Russian's business is certainly legitimate, but some may well not be. In Amsterdam, Eekhaut is seconded to Chief Superintendent Alexandra Dewaal and her team, and begins to learn about the city's shady ...

From the Hercule Poirot Award–winning author of Absinthe, a post–World War II thriller set on the shadowy, twisting streets and canals of Venice.Ten years ago, Ellen Barth was a frontline correspondent during World War II, a witness to the atrocities that the Allies suffered. Now, leaving her scandalous divorce proceedings behind in England, she arrives at a luxurious Venetian hotel, brought to this quiet city in November by a letter offering her a document...

The second novel in the acclaimed, best-selling Euro-crime series that began with the Hercule Poirot Award winner, Absinthe.If the world will end in flames, who is stoking the fire?Walter Eekhaut (rhymes with “stakeout”), the veteran chief inspector from the Brussels police force who has a problem with authority, remains in Amsterdam, where he was dispatched to assist the Dutch security service. When his boss, Chief Superintendent Alexandra...

Different motives. One target. Danger stalks a young girl in this international thriller from the Hercule Poirot Award–winning author of Absinthe.It begins with a robbery from the cargo hold of a plane in Belgium; fifty million dollars worth of diamonds are taken. But a Russian mercenary named Alexei leaves with the real prize: a data card containing secret and sensitive information from the Israeli government.When Alexei is killed by an Arab operati...

The Elite Quality Index 2025: The Sustainable Value Creation of Nations (EQx2025), the leading global political economy index, is a comparative ranking measuring the sustainability of nations that assesses whether elites create value and expand a nation’s knowledge capabilities or use their power to rent seek and maximize their own profits by transferring value from their stakeholders. The EQx2025 uses 149 indicators to analyze 151 countries and measures conceptual elements such as Power, ...

Discover functional training like you've never seen or experienced! This training is easy, fast and fun and it will revolutionize your health and athletic performance. It will become a new way of life! Functional training is a scientific method for personal training, workouts at the gym, at home or outdoors. The book is divided into three parts: The first, theoretical part explains the 'why' at the foundation of functional training; the second, practical part contains bodyweight exercises ...

There is a particular sound that precedes grappa in almost every Italian household where it is taken seriously: the soft clink of a small, tulip-shaped glass set down on a wooden table, usually after the last plate has been cleared and the coffee has already come and gone. It is not a loud drink. It does not announce itself the way a fine Barolo does, decanted and discussed. Grappa arrives quietly, at the end of things, and asks only to be noticed for what it is: the last honest product of...

Pablo Escobar is widely considered to have been the most successful criminal in history and to have invented modern-day drug trafficking. At the height of his career, the Colombian kingpin was making a million dollars a day smuggling cocaine into the United States. Here is the tale of the final days of "El Patrón," folk hero to some, public enemy number one to others, doting father and family man, ruthless murderer and an outlaw like no other.

There are recipes, and then there is Carbonara. Every cuisine has its comfort foods, its quick weeknight standbys, its dishes so simple that no one thinks to argue about them. Carbonara is not one of those dishes. In Rome, and increasingly across the world, it is treated less like a recipe and more like a constitution — a short, uncompromising text that a great many people have strong opinions about, and that almost nobody agrees on how to interpret.This book exists because of that...