From Treasure Island to Robben Island, from the paradise of Thomas More's 'Utopia' to Napoleon's purgatory on Elba, islands have proved irresistible to mankind's imagination since time immemorial.Self-confessed islomaniac Barry Smith explores how islands bewitch us so, and examines the kind of human experiences that islands inspire. Journeying all around the globe to take in the most fascinating stories of Earth's half a million islands, this book considers the unique geography, po...

So you're retiring now what?Your years in retirement should be the best years of your life and having fun in retirement is essential. It is thus vital for everyone to have meaningful purpose for their time in retirement. Keeping involved in activities during this stage is therefore vital with numerous examples provided in the book.There are many positives to retirement like the substantial number of discounts and benefits available to senior citizens. Many references in this...

I have had so many names; Asmodeus, Asmodai, Hashmodai, Hercules, Incubus, Casanova, The Demon Of Lust just to mention a few. I have feasted with heads of state such as Nero, Napoleon, Mary Tutor, Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler and many more. Queens have fallen to their knees to pleasure me.I stood on the foundations of Sparta, and Rome. I have caused the accidents of the Titanic and the Hindenburg. I am responsible for the destruction of the great cities of Surner, S...

DRAGON'S BREATHBlackmail, sabotage and murder shatter the calm of a Victorian bush town; unrelated acts of evil or evidence of a wider and deeper, Chinese Communist Party plot, to undermine and take over Australia?A routine job for ken Eliot threatens his life and growing evidence of Chinese State infiltration drives him back into ASIO service, re-uniting him with the deceptive and deadly Kat Douglas. Family fiefdoms, fanaticism, foreign plots and rival spi...

On a rainy San Francisco November day, a brutal murder and a missing document take David Moore away from his duties as co-owner and private investigator of Rothmore Securities. McCloud College, a long-respected city institution, is under an attack that threatens its existence.The San Francisco Police reluctantly work with Moore, a former colleague, to identify who is killing faculty members. A lovely widow, a mousey professor with a gun, a well-connected and handsome college presid...

VICTORIA’S TWINSThe Rise of Manchester and Melbourne“Tales of Fighting for Freedoms, Fortunes and Football”This is a rich and dramatic historical novel that experiences the flowering of Manchester and Melbourne, two of the most significant cities of Queen Victoria’s Empire, as they emerged and flourished during the turbulent years of the 19th and Early 20th centuries.Both gave birth to world famous, ...

David Moore hops a plane from San Antonio to San Francisco following an urgent call from his former private-investigator and police-force partner, Sam Roth. Sam has information from David's estranged wife, Jennifer, which David hopes is a plea to save their marriage. When he hooks up with Sam, David finds something more disturbing.Sam's troubles go deeper than Jennifer's disappearance and are too much for him to handle alone. He's over his head investigating the San Francisco mob. ...

BATTLE FOR THE NORTH reunites the heroes and heroines ofFor Freedom’s Cause-Dan, Charlie, Elspeth Liza and Alice, infrustrating Japanese espionage plots and raids into northernAustralia during World War 2. The action takes place in theKimberley wilderness and celebrates the daring and heroism ofmounted North Australian Observer Unit patrols, nicknamedthe ‘Nackeroos’ or ‘Curtin’s Cowboys.’Following on the bombing of Darwin and Broome, Japanes...

TERROR TRAILS / Barry SmithThis fast-paced and exciting adventure is the start of a series of thrillers in which Ken Eliot and Kat Douglas risk all in detecting and combating evil and criminal plots against Australia’s interests at home and abroad.Terrorism. Espionage. Intrigue. Violence and Sex. From Manchester to Melbourne via Spain, Finland and Russia.The IRA bomb that devastat...

For freedom’s cause is a historical, romantic thriller set in England and Australia between the world wars. It follows the adventures and growing relationship between a working class English Army Officer, from Manchester-Dan Bevan-and a Melbourne barrister, serving with the Australian Light Horse-Charlie Elliott-who met, by chance, during the First World War and the strong women in their lives.Having survived several of the major battles, both men are so disillusioned with the home...

An international, religious war has broken out across theMiddle East between Sunni and Shia Islamic sects, cuttingoff all energy supplies from that region.Frustrated by its inability to acquire sufficient energy topower its ever expanding economy, China has invadedRussia, annexing the Siberian oil and gas fields andprecipitating World War 3.Cyber warfare has neutralised global defencecommunications creating a US-China stand-off and th...

This is a revised and expanded second edition of Why Machines Will Never Rule the World. Its core argument remains the same: that an artificial intelligence (AI) that could equal or exceed human intelligence – sometimes called ‘artificial general intelligence’ (AGI) – is for mathematical reasons impossible. It offers two specific reasons for this claim:Human intelligence is a capability of the human brain and central nervous system, which is a complex dynamic system