Tales From The Concrete Jungle

The first novel in Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross's witty Laundry Files series. Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob's under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe - but then he went and got Noticed. Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, parallel universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than a full system reboot to sort this mess out . . .

*Carrion crows in the Japanese city of Sendai have learned to use passing traffic to crack nuts. *Lizards in Puerto Rico are evolving feet that better grip surfaces like concrete. *Europe’s urban blackbirds sing at a higher pitch than their rural cousins, to be heardover the din of traffic. How is this happening? Menno Schilthuizen is one of a growing number of “urban ecologists” studying how our manmade environments are accelerating and changing the evolution of the animals and plants around us. In Darwin Comes to Town, he takes us around the world for an up-close look at just how stunningly flexible and swift-moving natural selection can be. With human populations growing, we’re having an increasing impact on global ecosystems, and nowhere do these impacts overlap as much as they do in cities. The urban environment is about as extreme as it gets, and the wild animals and plants that live side-by-side with us need to adapt to a whole suite of challenging conditions: they must manage in the city’s hotter climate (the “urban heat island”); they need to be able to live either in the semidesert of the tall, rocky, and cavernous structures we call buildings or in the pocket-like oases of city parks (which pose their own dangers, including smog and free-rangingdogs and cats); traffic causes continuous noise, a mist of fine dust particles, and barriers to movement for any animal that cannot fly or burrow; food sources are mainly human-derived. And yet, as Schilthuizen shows, the wildlife sharing these spaces with us is not just surviving, but evolving ways of thriving. Darwin Comes toTown draws on eye-popping examples of adaptation to share a stunning vision of urban evolution in which humans and wildlife co-exist in a unique harmony. It reveals that evolution can happen far more rapidly than Darwin dreamed, while providing a glimmer of hope that our race toward over population might not take the rest of nature down with us.

Stars of Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of New York City, Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen, have a hit show and a great book, Little Kids, Big City, a lighthearted and critically acclaimed he-said, she-said rant, about their experiences raising their two young children in the Big Apple. More of a Momoir (and Dadoir) covering the last 10 years of their lives, Alex & Simon write with a unique and humorous insight into the challenges facing parents today. They use their own hard-won experience as a springboard to discuss life before children and their determination not to have any, followed by their journey and eventual change of heart and the rollercoaster ride of having two children in two years in a seemingly non-child-friendly environment. Rather than a preachy, how-to guide, Simon & Alex take the reader on a romp through the indignities and surprises that befell them. Their informative and often hair-raising stories of life in the concrete jungle make Little Kids, Big City a must-read for anyone who has ever had children, hated children or thought they might want to have them someday, as well as for any fan of their hit show.

As cultural war clouds gather, cities are becoming the flashpoint. In this volume, retired Special Forces soldier Clay Martin teaches you how to survive it. A multi tour GWOT veteran and Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat instructor, as well as long time prepper and competitive shooter, Clay brings a different type of skill set to the party. From laying in supplies to siege proofing your apartment building, this volume answers the questions other experts cannot.

Violence was a way of life for the girls of Mott Middle School in the South Bronx. Some woke up to it at home, and others dodged it on the way to school. Vicious physical fights broke out in classrooms, hallways, and bathrooms. These girls filed their fingernails into sharp points because they had to be ready to go at any time. Then a new coach joined the ranks at Mott Middle, and a new program began: girl's softball. Astacio offers the girls the time and attention they need to take their first steps to success. As they learned to throw, hit and field, they also dealt with the foul balls life threw at them: unwanted pregnancies, abusive boyfriends, and unsupportive families. But the biggest challenge they faced was learning to think and act like a team, not just a bunch of fierce girls against each other—and the world. Lady Tigers is a story of coming together with faith, courage, and new-found values to overcome fear, violence, and doubt. These girls have ushered in a new confidence and pride not only in themselves, but in their school, the faculty, and their friends. And while not all of them have continued down this new path, many are now the first in their families to go to college and are beginning to see how being a Lady Tiger will always be a part of their lives.

“Ink and paper became my friends as the thoughts of my heart began to unfold. As God inspired me to write and motivated me to recite.” Michael Allen is an activist in the struggle to eradicate oppression and poverty in the inner cities. Spreading awareness through the written word and sharing his love affair with poetry he hopes to motivate others to use art to educate

In the underlying trenches of the Nation's Capital, where dreams turn into nightmares and the souls of the young and voiceless are claimed by the glimmering lures of the street, harbor five childhood friends, who are inadvertently thrown into hell's crackling fire due to an unforeseen incident that spirals out of control and land them in the middle of a blood seeking war with an older prolific figure of the drug game. Meet young Scrap, who's burgeoning love interest could very well be the determining factor that ends the grueling feud between two rivals and possibly creates a conflict-of-interest between him and his long time comrades and the father-like figure that he looks upon for guidance. Meanwhile, you have Maurice, an older big wig, who's business dealings is met with a shocking twist, secretly orchestrated by an audacious old foe from his past, which tip the scale of respect and ignites brutal responses and reactions. During such time an unsuspected bond is forged that could very well shake up the city and turn the tables for the worst. Big Lyn, a strategic, Washingtonian businessman and original gangster, climb the ladder of success under turbulent conditions by being cunning and calculating, but when his plans of luring a potential partner and client, with whom he has a strained relationship, to a lucrative deal worth millions didn't fall through, a different approach was taken that proved to be more detrimental than beneficial, causing a series of catastrophic events to take place that challenges the loyalties of friends and enemies alike. This jaw-dropping, twist-driven, fast-paced, dramatic crime novel connects with the readers of its genre and will have your eyes glued to the pages as trust, betrayal, loyalty, lust, love and lies conflict and embellish the methodical plot."This gripping, authentic fictional account serves its audience compelling twists and eye-popping suspense that epitomizesthe opposite side of the law from a firsthand point of view, while strategically narrating the deathly reality of street life. " -Jason "J-Rock" PooleAuthor of bestseller, "Larceny," "Victoria Secret," and "Prince of the City""Thrilling ... Gritty ... Graphic ... Bracey delves deep into the soul of Washington, D.C. and cooks up an illustrious plot with interesting characters, which pose for a superb cinematic street tale." -Eyone Williams_Author of the smash hit, "Fast Lane" & "Lorton Legendz"

Somewhere in the African desert, thousands of miles from civilization, a group of geneticists, led by Kazushi Nikken, has conducted unholy experiments involving both human and animal DNA. This is the story of the birth of Hieronymous Flask and his eventual liberation from the torturous world of MAPPO.

Everyone in New York City has a story... Here's one from the island of Manhattan.