The acclaimed author of ‘The Calcutta Chromosome’ and ‘The Shadow Lines’ has burst out on to the big stage with a major saga on that hidden country, Burma. Rajkumar is only another boy, helping on a market stall in the dusty square outside the royal palace, when the British force the Burmese king, queen and all the court into exile. He is rescued by the far-seeing Chinese merchant, and with him builds up a logging business in upper Burma. But haunted by his vision of the royal family, he journeys to the obscure town in India where they have been exiled. The picture of the tension between the Burmese, the Indian and the British, is excellent. Among the great range of characters are one of the court ladies, Miss Dolly, whom he marries; and the redoubtable Jonakin, part of the British-educated Indian colony, who with her husband has been put in charge of the Burmese exiled court. The story follows the fortunes – rubber estates in Malaya, businesses in Singapore, estates in Burma – which Rajkumar, with his Chinese, British and Burmese relations, friends and associates, builds up – from 1870 through World War II to the scattering of the extended family to New York and Thailand, London and Hong Kong in the post-war years.

‘A fabulously entertaining story!’ –Rachel’s Random Reads (top 1,000 Amazon Reviewer) Three friends. One year. Absolutely no men…

A fascinating exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime Exploring how insights from computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives, ‘Algorithms To Live By’ helps to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind. When should you switch between different tasks, and how many tasks should you take on in the first place How much messiness should you accept What balance of new activities and familiar favourites is the most fulfilling When computers face constraints of time and space, they too must untangle very human questions: how to have better hunches, when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others. And the solutions they’ve found have much to teach us. Acclaimed author Brian Christian and cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths show how the algorithms developed for computers can be applied from finding your spouse to finding a parking spot, from organizing your inbox to understanding the workings of memory. Where you have a dilemma, they have a rule, and each fascinating algorithm turns the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living.

‘The Daughters of Red Hill Hall …[has] all the intrigue, mystery, relationship drama and edge of your seat secret reveals any reader could want.’ – Books and Boardies

“My name is Harriet Manners, and I will always be a geek.” The fifth book in the bestselling, award-winning GEEK GIRL series. Harriet Manners knows almost every fact there is. She knows duck-billed platypuses don’t have stomachs. She knows that fourteen squirrels were once detained as spies. She knows that both chess and snakes and ladders were invented in the same country. And for once, Harriet knows exactly how her life should go. She’s got it ALL planned out. So her friends seem less than happy, Harriet is determined to Make Things Happen! If only everyone else would stick to the *… But is following the rules going to break hearts for GEEK GIRL?

THE EPIC NEW THRILLER CONTINUES. Book two in the mind-blowing new supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation Skulduggery Pleasant. Reeling from their bloody encounter in New York City at the end of Demon Road, Amber and Milo flee north. On their trail are the Hounds of Hell – five demonic bikers who will stop at nothing to drag their quarries back to their unholy master. Amber and Milo’s only hope lies within Desolation Hill – a small town with a big secret; a town with a darkness to it, where evil seeps through the very floorboards. Until, on one night every year, it spills over onto the streets and all hell breaks loose. And that night is coming…

The sweeping and compelling new novel from the bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. ‘Dark, brutal, moving, powerful’ Jane Harris ‘A wonderful book; rich, evocative, original. I loved it’ Joanne Harris What happens when you can’t run any further from your past Ohio, 1838. James and Sadie Goodenough have settled in the Black Swamp, planting apple trees to claim the land as their own. Life is harsh in the swamp, and as fever picks off their children, husband and wife take solace in separate comforts. James patiently grows his sweet-tasting ‘eaters’ while Sadie gets drunk on applejack made fresh from ‘spitters’. Their fighting takes its toll on all of the Goodenoughs – a battle that will resonate over the years and across America. Fifteen years later their youngest son, Robert, is drifting through Gold Rush California and haunted by the broken family he fled years earlier. Memories stick to him where mud once did. When he finds steady work for a plant collector, peace seems finally to be within reach. But the past is never really past, and one day Robert is forced to confront the brutal reason he left behind everything he loved. In this rich, powerful story, Tracy Chevalier is at her imaginative best, bringing to life the urge to wrestle with our roots, however deep and tangled they may be.

No. 1 international bestseller and Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg’s new psychological thriller featuring Detective Patrik Hedstrm and Erica Falck – irresistible for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo. January, Fjllbacka. A semi-naked girl wanders through the woods in freezing cold weather. When she finally reaches the road, a car comes out of nowhere. It doesn’t manage to stop. By the time Detective Patrik Hedstrm receives word of the accident, the girl has already been identified. Four months ago she disappeared on her way home from the local riding school, and no one has seen her since. It quickly becomes clear that she has been subjected to unimaginably brutal treatment. And it’s likely she’s not the only one. Meanwhile, Patrik’s wife, crime writer Erica Falck, is looking into an old case – a family tragedy that led to a man’s death. His wife was convicted of murder, but Erica senses that something isn’t right. What is the woman hiding As Erica digs deeper, the past starts to cast a shadow over the present and Patrik is forced to see his investigation in a whole new light.

Bestselling author Maria V. Snyder transports readers back to the realms of Sitia and Ixia in an exciting new Study novel full of magic, danger and intrigue. Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana's life has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia are safe for her anymore.

**A heart-rending story about the unique bond between a father and his daughter, for fans of Jojo Moyes, the bestselling author of Me Before You.**

Stress is an inevitable part of being lawyer and it can even be a positive force – it can help you push through long hours or meet tough targets. However, when stress becomes excessive, it can be damaging to individuals and to firms, leading to mental and physical sickness, lack of morale or a desire to take on additional responsibility, and worse. The problem is widespread. According to a Law Society survey, 95% of lawyers have some negative stress in their jobs, and 17% say that this is extreme. Lawyers feel overloaded with work, unappreciated, isolated, and unsupported; many complain of unattainable targets, poor pay, and long hours. And while many firms say they have programmes in place that are geared towards improving the wellbeing of staff, 66% of lawyers say they would be concerned about reporting feelings of stress to their employer because of the stigma involved. Nobody wishes to be seen as a weak link in the chain of a professional practice. A solution won’t be found overnight. This book is designed to encourage lawyers and firms to think more about the question of stress, how to recognise it in others and themselves, and how to take action before it becomes excessive. It is written for lawyers everywhere – regardless of location or career level.

Are you interested in learning more about the complex area of structured trade financeStructured Trade Finance (STF) is a highly specialised area of trade finance that has evolved directly from practice. As it grows and becomes more complex in an increasingly risk-based regulatory environment, there is a need for more detailed guidance on the subject. Foundations of Structured Trade Finance will provide you with exactly this. Written by Dr Oramah — President of Afreximbank and a professional who played an important role in the evolution of STF — this report will: Address the philosophical foundations and risks associated with structured trade finance Provide step-by-step guidance on how deals can be structured Outline the scope of coverage outside the confines of commodities Examine real life case studies and draw out lessons that can be learned from these STF has proven itself as an effective instrument for attracting trade finance to those regions that receive limited trade finance and which lag behind in trade and economic performance. Ensure you're aware of the risks associated with it.

Would you like to know how to elicit 40% more information from your witnesses, saving time and moneyWhether you're a solicitor, barrister or legal executive, this comprehensive toolkit will help you master the cognitive interviewing technique. Written by cognitive interviewing expert and trainer to litigators involved in the Bloody Sunday and Shipman inquiries, Geoff Coughlin, this practical guide will teach you how to: Obtain the right information, faster and more efficiently Eliminate the need for re-interviewing Address specific common interview challenges, as identified by solicitors in the field Discover how to uncover lies and deceit based on the latest most reliable indicators Uncover more useful information in less time You'll also gain hints and tips on how to prepare for your witness interview and take notes during it. You'll take away knowledge on how to adapt your communication style for this purpose, and use Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques to decipher memory recall patterns. The problem is widespread. According to a Law Society survey, 95% of lawyers have some negative stress in their jobs, and 17% say that this is extreme. Lawyers feel overloaded with work, unappreciated, isolated, and unsupported; many complain of unattainable targets, poor pay, and long hours. And while many firms say they have programmes in place that are geared towards improving the wellbeing of staff, 66% of lawyers say they would be concerned about reporting feelings of stress to their employer because of the stigma involved. Nobody wishes to be seen as a weak link in the chain of a professional practice. A solution won’t be found overnight. This book is designed to encourage lawyers and firms to think more about the question of stress, how to recognise it in others and themselves, and how to take action before it becomes excessive. It is written for lawyers everywhere – regardless of location or career level.

This Owners Edition Workshop Manual covers the Mercedes-Benz E Class Diesel W210 & W211 Series from 2000 to 2006, fitted with the 1.8, 2.0, 2.6, 2.8, 3.2, 3.5, 4.3 & 5.0 Litre, 111, 112, 113, 271 & 272, with four, six & eight cylinder petrol engine. It has been specially written for the practical owner who wants to maintain a vehicle in first-class condition and carry out the bulk of his or her own servicing and repairs. Comprehensive step-by-step instructions are provided for service and overhaul operations to guide the reader through what might otherwise be unfamiliar and complicated tasks. Numerous drawings are included to amplify the text. With 190 pages, well illustrated.

Amber Green loves her job at Smith’s, the exclusive London boutique frequented by the rich, the famous and the stylish – and with stylist to the stars Mona Armstrong as a customer, there is never a dull moment. With the Oscars approaching and yet another assistant walking out on her, Mona needs help, and she needs it fast. Before she has time to say Rodeo Drive, Amber finds herself agreeing to get on a plane to LA as she is expected to work with the increasingly volatile stylist and dress some of Hollywood’s hottest (and craziest) starlets. Awards season turns her life upside down as designer gowns, and dazzling jewels are matched to a steady stream of A-list stars and are paraded on red carpets at the year’s most glittering events. Meanwhile Mona is unravelling faster than a hemline… And as Amber starts to enjoy rummaging through the ultimate dressing-up box, she finds herself in the limelight as she catches the attention of two very different suitors. How will she keep her head Which man will she choose And most importantly, what will everyone wear

A revolutionary new self-help book by top flight game designer Jane McGonigal. After suffering a brain injury, Jane McGonigal came up with a game to help aid her recovery and battle the ensuing depression she experienced. Half a million people have now played this game to astonishing results: depression gone in 6 weeks in some cases and even terminal cancer patients reporting that playing the game gives them a sense of control over their own health. The book shows readers how to use these techniques to find strength and create positivity: readers can look to their own ‘power-ups’ which are little things they can do to feel better and tackle the hurdles in their own lives. This book provides simple step-by-step ideas that can be carried out in day-to-day life, helping you transform your life with a new flexible and reenergised mindset. In this book McGonigal uses her own story and those of others to expertly demonstrate how simple changes can result in dramatic life-affirming effects. And what’s more, she tells you how you yourself can lead a more “gameful” life.

Design and implement successful private clouds with OpenStack About This Book Explore the various design choices available for cloud architects within an OpenStack deployment Craft an OpenStack architecture and deployment pipeline to meet the unique needs of your organization Create a product roadmap for Infrastructure as a Service in your organization using this hands-on guide Who This Book Is For This book is written especially for those who will design OpenStack clouds and lead their implementation. These people are typically cloud architects, but may also be in product management, systems engineering, or enterprise architecture. What You Will Learn Familiarize yourself with the components of OpenStack Build an increasingly complex OpenStack lab deployment Write compelling documentation for the architecture teams within your organization Apply Agile configuration management techniques to deploy OpenStack Integrate OpenStack with your organization's identity management, provisioning, and billing systems Configure a robust virtual environment for users to interact with Use enterprise security guidelines for your OpenStack deployment Create a product roadmap that delivers functionality quickly to the users of your platform In Detail Over the last five years, hundreds of organizations have successfully implemented Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platforms based on OpenStack. The huge amount of investment from these organizations, industry giants such as IBM and HP, as well as open source leaders such as Red Hat have led analysts to label OpenStack as the most important open source technology since the Linux operating system. Because of its ambitious scope, OpenStack is a complex and fast-evolving open source project that requires a diverse skill-set to design and implement it. This guide leads you through each of the major decision points that you'll face while architecting an OpenStack private cloud for your organization. At each point, we offer you advice based on the experience we've gained from designing and leading successful OpenStack projects in a wide range of industries. Each chapter also includes lab material that gives you a chance to install and configure the technologies used to build production-quality OpenStack clouds. Most importantly, we focus on ensuring that your OpenStack project meets the needs of your organization, which will guarantee a successful rollout. Style and approach This is practical, hands-on guide to implementing OpenStack clouds, where each topic is illustrated with real-world examples and then the technical points are proven in the lab.

Build a tower defense game and earn delectable C# treats by baking cupcakes and fighting fearsome sweet-toothed pandas About This Book Build a complete and exciting 2D Tower Defense game from scratch. Understand and learn to perform each phase of the game development pipeline Homework and exercises to improve your skills and take them to the next level Who This Book Is For If you are looking forward to get started with 2D game development, either if you are a newcomer to this world, or you came from 3D games or other game engines, this book is for you. Although there are many references to other resources throughout the book, it is assumed that you have a general understanding of C# and its syntax and structure. What You Will Learn Import and set up assets for 2D game development Design and implement dynamic and responsive User Interfaces Create and handle complex animation systems Unlock all the potentiality of the physics engine Implement Artificial Intelligence algorithms to give intelligence to your NPCs Script gameplay and overall bring your ideas to life In Detail Want to get started in the world of 2D game development with UnityThis book will take your hand and guide you through this amazing journey to let you know exactly what you need to build the games you want to build, without sacrificing quality. You will build a solid understanding of Unity 5.x, by focusing with the embedded tools to develop 2D games. In learning about these, along with accurate explanations and practical examples, you will design, develop, learn how to market and publish a delectable Tower Defense game about cupcakes versus pandas. Each chapter in this book is structured to give you a full understanding on a specific aspect of the workflow pipeline. Each of these aspects are essential for developing games in Unity. In a step-by-step approach, you will learn about each of the following phases: Game Design, Asset Importing, Scripting, User Interfaces, Animations, Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Gameplay Programming, Polishing and Improving, Marketing, Publishing and much more. This book provides you with exercises and homework at the end of each chapter so that you can level up your skills as a Unity game developer. In addition, each of these parts are centered on a common point of discussion with other learners just like you. Therefore, by sharing your ideas with other people you will not only develop your skills but you will also build a network. Style and approach This is a fun step-by-step approach in the whole pipeline of 2D game development in Unity, which is explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each topic is explained sequentially, allowing you to experience both basics and advanced features of Unity. By doing this, the book is able to provide you with a solid grasp on each of the topics. In this way, by engaging with the book’s content, exploring the additional references to further readings and completing the homework sections, you are able to challenge yourself and apply what you know in a variety of ways. Once you have finished reading this book, you will be well on your way to developing games from start to finish!

Exploit the visualization capabilities of Kibana and build powerful interactive dashboards About This Book Introduction to data-driven architecture and the Elastic stack Build effective dashboards for data visualization and explore datasets with Elastic Graph A comprehensive guide to learning scalable data visualization techniques in Kibana Who This Book Is For If you are a developer, data visualization engineer, or data scientist who wants to get the best of data visualization at scale then this book is perfect for you. A basic understanding of Elasticsearch and Logstash is required to make the best use of this book. What You Will Learn How to create visualizations in Kibana Ingest log data, structure an Elasticsearch cluster, and create visualization assets in Kibana Embed Kibana visualization on web pages Scaffold, develop, and deploy new Kibana & Timelion customizations Build a metrics dashboard in Timelion based on time series data Use the Graph plugin visualization feature and leverage a graph query Create, implement, package, and deploy a new custom plugin Use Prelert to solve anomaly detection challenges In Detail Kibana is an open source data visualization platform that allows you to interact with your data through stunning, powerful graphics. Its simple, browser-based interface enables you to quickly create and share dynamic dashboards that display changes to Elasticsearch queries in real time. In this book, you’ll learn how to use the Elastic stack on top of a data architecture to visualize data in real time. All data architectures have different requirements and expectations when it comes to visualizing the data, whether it’s logging analytics, metrics, business analytics, graph analytics, or scaling them as per your business requirements. This book will help you master Elastic visualization tools and adapt them to the requirements of your project. You will start by learning how to use the basic visualization features of Kibana 5. Then you will be shown how to implement a pure metric analytics architecture and visualize it using Timelion, a very recent and trendy feature of the Elastic stack. You will learn how to correlate data using the brand-new Graph visualization and build relationships between documents. Finally, you will be familiarized with the setup of a Kibana development environment so that you can build a custom Kibana plugin. By the end of this book you will have all the information needed to take your Elastic stack skills to a new level of data visualization. Style and approach This book takes a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to working with the visualization aspects of the Elastic stack. Every concept is presented in a very easy-to-follow manner that shows you both the logic and method of implementation. Real world cases are referenced to highlight how each of the key concepts can be put to practical use.

Build, implement and scale distributed deep learning models for large-scale datasets About This Book Get to grips with the deep learning concepts and set up Hadoop to put them to use Implement and parallelize deep learning models on Hadoop’s YARN framework A comprehensive tutorial to distributed deep learning with Hadoop Who This Book Is For If you are a data scientist who wants to learn how to perform deep learning on Hadoop, this is the book for you. Knowledge of the basic machine learning concepts and some understanding of Hadoop is required to make the best use of this book. What You Will Learn Explore Deep Learning and various models associated with it Understand the challenges of implementing distributed deep learning with Hadoop and how to overcome it Implement Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with deeplearning4j Delve into the implementation of Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBM) Understand the mathematical explanation for implementing Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) Get hands on practice of deep learning and their implementation with Hadoop. In Detail This book will teach you how to deploy large-scale dataset in deep neural networks with Hadoop for optimal performance. Starting with understanding what deep learning is, and what the various models associated with deep neural networks are, this book will then show you how to set up the Hadoop environment for deep learning. In this book, you will also learn how to overcome the challenges that you face while implementing distributed deep learning with large-scale unstructured datasets. The book will also show you how you can implement and parallelize the widely used deep learning models such as Deep Belief Networks, Convolutional Neural Networks, Recurrent Neural Networks, Restricted Boltzmann Machines and autoencoder using the popular deep learning library deeplearning4j. Get in-depth mathematical explanations and visual representations to help you understand the design and implementations of Recurrent Neural network and Denoising AutoEncoders with deeplearning4j. To give you a more practical perspective, the book will also teach you the implementation of large-scale video processing, image processing and natural language processing on Hadoop. By the end of this book, you will know how to deploy various deep neural networks in distributed systems using Hadoop. Style and approach This book takes a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to implement efficient deep learning models on Hadoop. It starts from the basics and builds the readers’ knowledge as they strengthen their understanding of the concepts. Practical examples are included in every step of the way to supplement the theory.

Learn to leverage the power of PowerCLI to automate your VMware vSphere environment with ease About This Book This is first book on the market that will enlighten you on the latest version of PowerCLI and how to implement it Effectively manage virtual machines, networks, and reports with the latest features of PowerCLI A comprehensive and practical book on automating VMware vSphere Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for you if you want to learn how to automate your VMware vSphere or vCloud infrastructure by getting the most out of PowerCLI. It’s assumed that you have some experience in administrating a vSphere or vCloud environment. Knowledge of Microsoft’s Windows PowerShell is not a prerequisite. What You Will Learn Explore PowerShell and PowerCLI cmdlets and their output objects See how to manage virtual machines and work with virtual networks Manage vCloud Director from PowerCLI Use Site Recovery Manager from PowerCLI to create a disaster recovery solution Manage NSX and vRealize Automation using REST API with PowerCLI Create and configure vSphere HA and DRS clusters Use vSphere Update Manager with PowerCLI to create patch baselines and scan hosts Explore reporting techniques to retrieve log files In Detail VMware vSphere PowerCLI, a free extension to Microsoft Windows PowerShell, enables you to automate the management of a VMware vSphere or vCloud environment. This book will show you how to automate your tasks and make your job easier. Starting with an introduction to the basics of PowerCLI, the book will teach you how to manage your vSphere and vCloud infrastructure from the command line. To help you manage a vSphere host overall, you will learn how to manage vSphere ESXi hosts, host profiles, host services, host firewall, and deploy and upgrade ESXi hosts using Image Builder and Auto Deploy. The next chapter will not only teach you how to create datastore and datastore clusters, but you’ll also work with profile-driven and policy-based storage to manage your storage. To create a disaster recovery solution and retrieve information from vRealize Operations, you will learn how to use Site Recovery Manager and vRealize Operations respectively. Towards the end, you’ll see how to use the REST APIs from PowerShell to manage NSX and vRealize Automation and create patch baselines, scan hosts against the baselines for missing patches, and re-mediate hosts. By the end of the book, you will be capable of using the best tool to automate the management and configuration of VMware vSphere. Style and approach This comprehensive book will teach system administrators everything about PowerCLI 6 and how to utilize it to automate VMware vSphere.