In this authoritative study, originally published in 1980, R. J. Bennett examines who receives what benefit, where and at what cost, from the social services. He adopts an integrated approach to taxes, benefits and intergovernmental grants, drawing empirical examples from a wide range of countries, including the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and Europe.

APHRODITE IX RETURNS TO THE TOP COW UNIVERSE! Sara awakens to a bloody corpse in her bed and struggles to recall brief images from the night before, including that of a mysterious green-haired woman who has disappeared without a trace. Before she can act, though, she's assigned to investigate a brutal murder with all clues pointing to a killer with a knack for outsmarting security systems and escaping undetected. But the pieces start to fall into place as Sara comes face-to-face with one o...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Detective Ana Dolabra must prove a condemned man’s innocence and confront a terrifying magical technology in this fantasy-mystery from the author of The Tainted Cup, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy awards.“Wildly imaginative, sometimes pointed, often hair-raising, and very entertaining, a series that has been a hit with everyone I’ve recommended it to.”—Laura Miller, SlateT...

**HUGO AWARD WINNER • WORLD FANTASY AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from acclaimed author Robert Jackson Bennett“Like an endearing fantasy version of Knives Out . . . A great murder mystery is hard to pull off, but Bennett structures his perfectly.”—T. J. Klune, The New York Times“Combines the best of Lovecraft and Doyle.”—Matt Dinniman, New York Times

**NATIONAL BESTSELLER • HUGO AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF BOOKPAGE’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • AN ELLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEARThe eccentric detective Ana Dolabra matches wits with a seemingly omniscient adversary in this brilliant fantasy-mystery from the author of The Tainted Cup.**“Wonderfully clever and compulsively readable . . . another winning blend of fantasy and classic detection.”—Publishers WeeklyIn the cant...

“The exciting beginning of a promising new epic fantasy series. Prepare for ancient mysteries, innovative magic, and heart-pounding heists.”—Brandon Sanderson“Complex characters, magic that is tech and vice versa, a world bound by warring trade dynasties: Bennett will leave you in awe once you remember to breathe!”—Tamora PierceIn a city that runs on industrialized magic, a secret war will be fought to overwrite reality itself—the first...

HUGO AND LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • In the first book of an epic fantasy trilogy, master spy Shara Thivani investigates a murder in a mysterious city of dead gods, living assassins, and buried histories, from the nationally bestselling author of The Tainted Cup.“Readers seeking a truly refreshing fantasy milieu should travel to Bulikov, and welcome its conquest.”—N. K. Jemison, The New York TimesWith the gods on its side, the ...

Santa's Christmas Library gathers more than four hundred seasonal narratives, poems, carols, legends, and illustrated selections into a capacious archive of Christmas writing. Moving from folktale and devotional verse to domestic realism, fantasy, satire, and moral fable, the volume traces the holiday's literary transformations across languages and centuries. Canonical Christmas narratives stand beside fairy tales, hymns, children's literature, and lesser-known period pieces, while such la...

e-artnow presents to you the greatest Christmas novels, magical Christmas tales, legends, most famous carols and the unique poetry of the giants of literature dedicated to this one and only holiday: The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry) The Holy Night (Selma Lagerlöf) A Merry Christmas & Other Christmas Stories (Louisa May Alcott) A Letter from Santa Claus (Mark Twain) Silent Night The Night After Christmas The Child Born at Bethlehem The Adoration of the Shepherds The Visit of the Wise Men As J...

SF Boxed Set: 140+ Intergalactic Action Adventures, Dystopian Novels & Lost World Classics encapsulates an extraordinary roster of pioneering works that sculpted the sci-fi landscape. Featuring an assortment that spans from gothic horror to speculative future vistas, the anthology marries the quaint charm of early science fiction with startling prophetic insights. From mysterious, fog-laden landscapes on distant planets to intricate dystopian societies, these tales are varied in style yet ...

Enjoy this meticulously edited SF Collection, jam-packed with space adventures, dystopian apocalyptic tales and the greatest sci-fi classics: H. G. Wells: The Time Machine The War of the Worlds The Island of Doctor Moreau The Invisible Man… Jules Verne: Journey to the Center of the Earth 20.000 Leagues under the Sea The Mysterious Island… Mary Shelley: Frankenstein The Last Man Edgar Wallace: Planetoid 127 The Green Rust… Otis Adelbert Kline: The Venus Trilogy The Mars Series Malcolm James...

The Greatest Christmas Novels, Short Stories & Poems in One Volume (Illustrated) gathers a remarkably wide spectrum of seasonal writing, from fireside lyric and moral fable to gothic fantasy, domestic realism, fairy tale, and comic sketch. Its Christmas is not merely sentimental: it is charitable, uncanny, childlike, skeptical, devotional, and socially alert, presenting holiday literature as a major imaginative tradition across genres and nations. The contributors represent an extraordinar...