The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology provides a current and comprehensive guide to the recent and on-going archaeology of Mesoamerica. Though the emphasis is on prehispanic societies, this Handbook also includes coverage of important new work by archaeologists on the Colonial and Republican periods. Unique among recent works, the text brings together in a single volume article-length regional syntheses and topical overviews written by active scholars in the field of Mes...

The Oxford Handbook of the Olmecs provides an up-to-date overview of research on this most elaborate of Mesoamerica's foundational cultures (ca. 1450-400 BCE). Few objects of study have sparked more debate in Mesoamerican studies than the role of Olmec culture in the origins of that region's civilizations, with some seeing it as the mother from which all significant cultural developments sprang and others as one of several "sister cultures," each contributing substantially to the ...

The Venetian Republic violently confines its master glassmakers to the isolated island of Murano under the strict penalty of death. The stakes are the absolute total dominance of the global luxury market. To reveal the highly guarded alchemical formula for perfectly clear glass—known as cristallo—is considered an unpardonable act of high treason punishable by immediate execution. A shadow war of brutal industrial espionage rapidly erupts across the Mediterranean. Foreign...

The Maya. The Romans. The great dynasties of ancient China. It is generally believed that these once mighty empires eventually crumbled and disappeared. A recent trend in archaeology, however, focusing on what happened during and after the decline of once powerful societies has found social resilience and transformation instead of collapse. In Beyond Collapse: Archaeological Perspectives on Resilience, Revitalization, and Transformation in Complex Societies, editor Ronald K. Fauls...

The most compelling autobiography of the decade!Known throughout the world for years as the deadliest, most elusive killer of his kind, and wanted by virtually every law enforcement agency across the globe, famed freelance hitman-for-hire Henry H. Hugo finally tells his amazing story in his own words. From the traumas and indignities of his troubled childhood, to his early days just starting out in his controversial profession, to his triumphs over all manner of un...

With recent advances in computing power and the widespread availability of preference, perception and choice data, such as public opinion surveys and legislative voting, the empirical estimation of spatial models using scaling and ideal point estimation methods has never been more accessible.The second edition of Analyzing Spatial Models of Choice and Judgment demonstrates how to estimate and interpret spatial models with a variety of methods using the open-source programm...

In an age when crime runs rampant through the urban jungle of New York City, and the ruthless subsist by preying upon the weak, a clandestine organization of enforcers digs in its heels, and fights back. Led by the obsessed Gary Parker, the multitalented Vigilantes operate in secrecy, taking no prisoners in their never-ending crusade against the powers of corruption, injustice, and evil. From a game of cat-and mouse with the most powerful gangster on the eastern seaboard, to a blood-soaked...

Amidst the glittering optimism defining America's post-War period, the great metropolis of New York City is watched over by a legion of costumed superheroes.Half a century later, the heroes are all gone, and New York has collapsed into seemingly irreparable ruin.Throughout the 1950s, superhuman beings with fantastic abilities face off against bizarre enemies and absurd situations in their ongoing fight to uphold justice, defend the innocent, and safeguard the public welfare...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and the modern classics My Sister’s Keeper, The Storyteller, and more, comes a “complex, compassionate, and smart” (The Washington Post) novel about a family torn apart by a murder accusation.When your son can’t look you in the eye…does that mean he’s guilty?Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. He’s...

From the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author whom USA TODAY calls a “master of the page-turner,” comes the spectacular story of a woman’s complex quest to form a family in this moving novel about love, marriage, identity, and parenthood**.**Every life has a soundtrack. All you have to do is listen.Music has set the tone for most of Zoe Baxter’s life. There’s the melody that reminds her of ...

Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and Small Great Things, pens her most riveting book yet with a startling and poignant story about the devastating aftermath of a small-town tragedy.Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens--until the day its complacency is shattered by a school shooting. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state's best witness, but she can't ...

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of modern classics such as My Sister’s Keeper and Small Great Things weaves a “richly textured and engaging” (The Boston Globe) tale that explores what happens when a young woman’s past—a past she didn’t even know she had—catches up to her just in time to threaten her future.How do you recover the past when it was never yours to lose?Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. R...