At the age of only 36, Sir Mark Sykes was signatory to the Sykes-Picot agreement, one of the most reviled treaties of modern times. A century later, Christopher Sykes’ lively biography of his grandfather reassesses his life and work, and the political instability and violence in the Middle East attributed to it. The Sykes–Picot agreement was drawn by the eponymous British and French diplomats in 1916 to determine the divide of the collapsing empire in the event of an allied victory in World War I. Excluding Arab involvement, it negated their earlier guarantee of independence made by the British – and controversy has raged around it ever since. But who was Mark Sykes? A century on, Christopher Simon Sykes reveals new facets of a misremembered diplomatic giant. Using previously undisclosed family letters and cartoons by his grandfather, he delivers a comprehensive and humbling account of the man behind one of the most impactful policies in the Middle East.

Who is Paul Noble?Paul Noble is a genius, yet he still left school unable to speak a language – he found that the traditional learning methods left him feeling ‘confused, incapable and unable to really say anything’. Determined that there must be a better way to learn, Paul spent years devising his own unique method of learning languages which cuts out all of the grammar, all of the rote learning, and all of the stress. He began using his method to teach in his Language Institute and, hundreds of students later, he prides himself on never having had a student fail.

Compiled by a team of scientists,and edited by Jill Bailey in consultation with Sir John Burnett, Chairman of the Trustees,National Biodiversity Network and Dr Andrew Lack,Senior Lecturer in Environmental Biology,Oxford Brookes University

Cats are now the most popular pets, and it is not surprising that they have overtaken dogs in the popularity stakes. They are small, relatively silent, economical to keep, exercise themselves, easy to feed, and are ideal companions for a wide range of people, from the elderly to those who are out at work all day.Whether you want an ordinary moggie or an expensive pedigree cat, the principles of ownership and looking after them are the same. As an increasing number of owners live in big cities and small, high-rise apartment blocks, house cats are becoming more widespread. Although they may not be allowed outside like their free-roaming, predatory cousins, they share a common ancestry and owning a cat of any description is like having a relatively wild creature living with you in your home. Domestication is anathema to many cats who prefer to think that they are independent animals, under the control of nobody but themselves.

Stella Smyth and co-author Sally Bergh-Roose have been training dogs since 1978 and have been involved in competition work with a variety of dogs. Together they have been running a successful dog training course for many years.

Danger is never far off… When forensic psychologist Claire Britten started working with lawyer Nick Markwood on his South Shores project, she had no idea it would endanger her life—and the life of her daughter. But when the little girl goes missing from her South Florida home and Nick insists his long time nemesis is to blame, Claire frantically follows the trail to the Cayman Islands, desperate to save her daughter before it's too late. Nick always knew the man who staged his father's "suicide" was out to get him, but kidnapping the child of someone he cares about is despicable. Finding the billionaire criminal is one thing—meeting his demands in order to save Claire's daughter is quite another. What he wants threatens their professional and personal interests beyond imagination…but what choice do they have when a child's life is on the line?

I dangle my legs over the edge of the cliff, tapping my heels against the smooth dirt that crumbles down the side of the continent. I don't fear falling. The world below looks unreal and distant, like it's only been painted on. Falling is something I can't even imagine. As heir to a kingdom of floating continents, Kali has spent her life bound by limits: by her duties as a member of the royal family, by a forced betrothal to the son of a nobleman and by the edge of the only world she's ever known – a small island hovering above a monster-ridden earth, long since uninhabited by humans. When Kali falls off the edge of her kingdom and miraculously survives, she is shocked to discover there are still humans on the earth. Determined to get home, Kali entrusts a rugged monster-hunter named Griffin to guide her across a world overrun by chimera, storm dragons, basilisks and other terrifying creatures. But the more time she spends on earth, the more dark truths she begins to uncover about her home in the sky, and the more resolute she is to start living for herself.

Amanda Sun weaves together two tales of love, ink and magic in this companion novella to the Paper Gods series! A long, long time ago, before the world was as we know it, Izanami and Izanagi came into being. Two of the first of the ancient gods of Japan, they crafted the world from ink and their own imaginations. Izanagi wants, more than anything, to be with Izanami—but one moment of pride could tear them apart forever. Yuki and Tanaka have been friends for as long as they can remember, but lately deeper feelings have been bubbling beneath the surface. How do they navigate the transition from friendship to true love without destroying the powerful bond between them? Set a millennia apart, can these two couples, living parallel love stories, find their happily-ever-afters?

A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining. Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else. When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother's legacy. But she soon realizes that the university, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is a treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch. As evil looms on the horizon and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, everything Elloren thought she knew will be challenged and torn away. Her best hope of survival may be among the most unlikely band of misfits…if only she can find the courage to trust those she's been taught to hate and fear.

Zoe knows something needs to change… Zoe knows something needs to change… Living alone with her cat, Zoe must face up to the truth about her life. She has ended her long-term relationship, works from home, and is isolated from her baby-obsessed best friend. Zoe is more than just newly single. Zoe is alone. A new friendship and a surprise romance may offer Zoe the connections she is after, but they won’t come without their own complications! The third of Susan Mallery’s Mischief Bay series is full of warmth, laughter, and the dilemmas of family life. Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber, and Jennifer Joyce.

Domestic noir at its best. Readers will devour this stunningpage-turner about the disintegration of a marriage as grief, jealousy,betrayal and murder destroy the facade of the perfect literary couple. New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison takes her exceptional writing to a new level with this breakout novel. They built a life on lies Sutton and Ethan Montclair's idyllic life is not as it appears. They seem made for each other, but the truth is ugly. Consumed by professional andpersonal betrayals and financial woes, the two both love and hate eachother. As tensions mount, Sutton disappears, leaving behind a notesaying not to look for her. Ethan finds himself the target ofvicious gossip as friends, family and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton Montclair. As the police investigate, the lies thecouple have been spinning for years quickly unravel. Is Ethan a killer?Is he being set up? Did Sutton hate him enough to kill the child shenever wanted and then herself? The path to the answers is full of twists that will leave the reader breathless.

A perfect family masks the darkest of secrets in this emotional, compelling novel about lies, loyalty - and how the past can hold us captive. That was then… For the Hempsteads, two sisters who married two brothers and had three daughters each, summers were idyllic. Escaping the city the moment the school holidays started, the two families would gather at their holiday home on Lake Waseka: a magical haven, where everyday problems drifted away in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything. This is now… After a drowning turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up for good. Torn apart, none of the Hempsteads speak of what happened that summer. Just one woman is determined to draw her family together again. But she knows that the only way that can happen is to face the truth. And to do that, they must return to the lake house.

Fame, fortune…and a fatal obsession Sahara Travis is used to being worshipped by adoring fans, but now someone is fixated on her in a dangerous way. After multiple attempts on her life, she reluctantly agrees to hire a security specialist for her protection, though the last thing she wants is some burly bodyguard invading her personal space. Former army ranger Brendan McQueen's job is to keep the starlet safe and track down her would-be assassin. But when Sahara receives news that her estranged mother has been murdered and her father, the top suspect, is missing, Brendan quickly realizes this is a much more serious case than your average celebrity stalker. With Brendan and her devoted assistant, Lucy, in tow, Sahara returns to her family estate in New Orleans to uncover the identity of her attempted killer before he can close in on his final target.

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving. It's the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it's up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she's known and loved her whole life. But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she's forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends…and forgiveness. Caught in the cross hairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she's strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

Spirited, elegant, fun, with an enchanting authorial voice, For Matrimonial Purposes is a remarkable achievement, an original in the contemporary women’s market. The main character, Anju, born and raised in Bombay, is now a fashion journalist in New York. But twinned with her enjoyment of the American scene, her single, glamorous life and the fashion perks it brings, is her determination to remain true to her Indian roots and her love of her extensive family. Marriage is the most important role for an Indian woman, and arranged marriages are still the custom: ‘I am not working for your happiness, but for you to be married,’ says Anju’s mother. Anju is 30, old in Indian terms, and her mother and aunt fear that her independent ways might make her less acceptable to other family’s eyes. They set about organising possible contacts in their home town, Bombay. But now a prospective bride or groom, or their families, can decline the suggested marriage after a meeting. For Matrimonial Purposes is the hilarious, poignant, loving story of Anju’s journey, the rare selection of men and their families that she meets, and the choices that she must make while trying to remain true to herself and satisfy her family and tradition.

Sometimes starting over means finding everything you've been missing… After catching her fiance cheating – with another man – straight-laced, workaholic Ellie Fisher liberates her wild side just long enough to indulge in a passionate one-night stand with a tall, dark stranger she never quite catches the name of. Embarrassed by her recklessness, she hopes never to see him again…until a pregnancy test turns positive. Professional football player, Hudson King has always been cautious around women. But this one seemed different – so disinterested in his celebrity and genuinely interested in him. But when Ellie tracks him down, claiming she's carrying his baby, he's stunned. But after growing up as an orphan, he'll do anything to stay involved in his child's life, so he urges Ellie to move to Silver Springs, where they can co-parent. Hudson has a lot of love to give, certainly enough for his child, and when their initial spark reignites, perhaps for Ellie, too…

Become a better web programmer by writing efficient and modular code using ES6 and ES8 About This Book ? Learn to write asynchronous code and improve the readability of your web applications ? Explore advanced concepts such as closures, Proxy, generators, Promise, async functions, and Atomics ? Use different design patterns to create structures to solve common organizational and processing issues Who This Book Is For If you’re a web developer with a basic understanding of JavaScript and wish to learn the latest features of ECMAScript for developing efficient web applications, this book is for you. What You Will Learn ? Organize JavaScript programs across multiple files, using ES modules ? Create and work with promises using the Promise object and methods ? Compose async functions to propagate and handle errors ? Solve organizational and processing issues with structures using design patterns ? Use classes to encapsulate and share behavior ? Orchestrate parallel programs using WebWorkers, SharedMemory, and Atomics ? Use and extend Map, Set, and Symbol to work with user-defined classes and simulate data types ? Explore new array methods to avoid looping with arrays and other collections In Detail ECMAScript Cookbook follows a modular approach with independent recipes covering different feature sets and specifications of ECMAScript to help you become an efficient programmer. This book starts off with organizing your JavaScript applications as well as delivering those applications to modem and legacy systems. You will get acquainted with features of ECMAScript 8 such as async, SharedArrayBuffers, and Atomic operations that enhance asynchronous and parallel operations. In addition to this, this book will introduce you to SharedArrayBuffers, which allow web workers to share data directly, and Atomic operations, which help coordinate behavior across the threads. You will also work with OOP and Collections, followed by new functions and methods on the built-in Object and Array types that make common operations more manageable and less error-prone. You will then see how to easily build more sophisticated and expressive program structures with classes and inheritance. In the end, we will cover Sets, Maps, and Symbols, which are the new types introduced in ECMAScript 6 to add new behaviors and allow you to create simple and powerful modules. By the end of the book, you will be able to produce more efficient, expressive, and simpler programs using the new features of ECMAScript. Style and approach This book will follow a modular approach covering independent recipes on different features of ECMAScript throughout the book.

Manage state in Angular to write high performing web apps by combining the power of Flux, RxJS, and NgRx About This Book ? Learn what makes an excellent Angular application architecture ? Use Redux to write performant, consistent Angular applications ? Incorporate Reactive Programming principles and RxJS to make it easier to develop, test, and debug your Angular applications Who This Book Is For If you have been developing Angular applications and want to dive deeper into the Angular architecture with Redux, RxJS, and NgRx to write robust web apps, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn ? Understand the one-way data flow and Flux pattern ? Work with functional programming and asynchronous data streams ? Figure out how RxJS can help us address the flaws in promises ? Set up different versions of cascading calls ? Explore advanced operators ? Get familiar with the Redux pattern and its principles ? Test and debug different features of your application ? Build your own lightweight app using Flux, Redux, and NgRx In Detail Managing the state of large-scale web applications is a highly challenging task with the need to align different components, backends, and web workers harmoniously. When it comes to Angular, you can use NgRx, which combines the simplicity of Redux with the reactive programming power of RxJS to build your application architecture, making your code elegant and easy to reason about, debug, and test. In this book, we start by looking at the different ways of architecting Angular applications and some of the patterns that are involved in it. This will be followed by a discussion on one-way data flow, the Flux pattern, and the origin of Redux. The book introduces you to declarative programming or, more precisely, functional programming and talks about its advantages. We then move on to the reactive programming paradigm. Reactive programming is a concept heavily used in Angular and is at the core of NgRx. Later, we look at RxJS, as a library and master it. We thoroughly describe how Redux works and how to implement it from scratch. The two last chapters of the book cover everything NgRx has to offer in terms of core functionality and supporting libraries, including how to build a micro implementation of NgRx. This book will empower you to not only use Redux and NgRx to the fullest, but also feel confident in building your own version, should you need it. Style and approach This book covers everything there is to know to get well-acquainted with Angular without bogging you down. Everything is neatly laid out under clear headings for quick consultation, giving you the information required to understand a concept immediately.

This fast-paced guide will quickly enhance your skills to develop a highly scalable Cloud environment About This Book ? Efficiently build a highly scalable and reliable cloud environment for your applications with AWS ? Leverage the various AWS components and services to build a secure, reliable, and robust environment to host your applications on ? This quick-start guide will quickly enhance your skills to develop highly scalable services Who This Book Is For This book is for IT professionals and system administrators looking to design, deploy, and manage your applications and services on the AWS cloud platform. It’s also ideal for developers looking to build highly scalable cloud-based services. A basic understanding of AWS would be beneficial. What You Will Learn ? Find out about IAM to access AWS services securely ? Explore EC2 (virtual server) and scale up/down your application based on heavy traffic ? Learn about unlimited data storage service S3 and host a static website within minutes ? Get to grips with Relational Databases and NoSQL databases under the AWS ecosystem ? Understand the caching mechanism ? Get to know about notifications service and monitor AWS services ? Secure and troubleshoot your AWS architecture In Detail AWS is at the forefront of Cloud Computing today. Businesses are adopting AWS Cloud because of its reliability, versatility, and flexible design. The main focus of this book is teaching you how to build and manage highly reliable and scalable applications and services on AWS. It will provide you with all the necessary skills to design, deploy, and manage your applications and services on the AWS cloud platform. We’ll start by exploring Amazon S3, EC2, and so on to get you well-versed with core Amazon services. Moving on, we’ll teach you how to design and deploy highly scalable and optimized workloads. You’ll also discover easy-to-follow, hands-on steps, tips, and recommendations throughout the book and get to know essential security and troubleshooting concepts. By the end of the book, you’ll be able to create a highly secure, fault tolerant, and scalable environment for your applications to run on. Style and approach This book is all about fast and intensive learning. That means we don’t waste time helping you get started. The new features provided by AWS resources are being covered with highly-effective examples to develop new things, demonstrating different ways to create and use the AWS resources efficiently.

A comprehensive guide to design, build and execute effective Big Data strategies using Hadoop About This Book ? Get an in-depth view of the Apache Hadoop ecosystem and an overview of the architectural patterns pertaining to the popular Big Data platform ? Conquer different data processing and analytics challenges using a multitude of tools such as Apache Spark, Elasticsearch, Tableau and more ? A comprehensive, step-by-step guide that will teach you everything you need to know, to be an expert Hadoop Architect Who This Book Is For This book is for Big Data professionals who want to fast-track their career in the Hadoop industry and become an expert Big Data architect. Project managers and mainframe professionals looking forward to build a career in Big Data Hadoop will also find this book to be useful. Some understanding of Hadoop is required to get the best out of this book. What You Will Learn ? Build an efficient enterprise Big Data strategy centered around Apache Hadoop ? Gain a thorough understanding of using Hadoop with various Big Data frameworks such as Apache Spark, Elasticsearch and more ? Set up and deploy your Big Data environment on premises or on the cloud with Apache Ambari ? Design effective streaming data pipelines and build your own enterprise search solutions ? Utilize the historical data to build your analytics solutions and visualize them using popular tools such as Apache Superset ? Plan, set up and administer your Hadoop cluster efficiently In Detail The complex structure of data these days requires sophisticated solutions for data transformation, to make the information more accessible to the users.This book empowers you to build such solutions with relative ease with the help of Apache Hadoop, along with a host of other Big Data tools. This book will give you a complete understanding of the data lifecycle management with Hadoop, followed by modeling of structured and unstructured data in Hadoop. It will also show you how to design real-time streaming pipelines by leveraging tools such as Apache Spark, and build efficient enterprise search solutions using Elasticsearch. You will learn to build enterprise-grade analytics solutions on Hadoop, and how to visualize your data using tools such as Apache Superset. This book also covers techniques for deploying your Big Data solutions on the cloud Apache Ambari, as well as expert techniques for managing and administering your Hadoop cluster. By the end of this book, you will have all the knowledge you need to build expert Big Data systems. Style and approach Comprehensive guide with a perfect blend of theory, examples and implementation of real-world use-cases

Delve into neural networks, implement deep learning algorithms, and explore layers of data abstraction with the help of TensorFlow v1.7. About This Book ? Learn how to implement advanced techniques in deep learning with Google's brainchild, TensorFlow v1.7 ? Explore deep neural networks and layers of data abstraction with the help of this comprehensive guide ? Gain real-world contextualization through some deep learning problems concerning research and application Who This Book Is For The book is for people interested in machine learning and machine intelligence. A rudimentary level of programming in one language is assumed, as is a basic familiarity with computer science techniques and technologies, including a basic awareness of computer hardware and algorithms. Some competence in mathematics is needed to the level of elementary linear algebra and calculus. What You Will Learn ? Apply deep machine intelligence and GPU computing with TensorFlow v1.7 ? Access public datasets and use TensorFlow to load, process, and transform the data ? Discover how to use the high-level TensorFlow API to build more powerful applications ? Use deep learning for scalable object detection and mobile computing ? Train machines quickly to learn from data by exploring reinforcement learning techniques ? Explore active areas of deep learning research and applications In Detail Deep learning is a branch of machine learning algorithms based on learning multiple levels of abstraction. Neural networks, which are at the core of deep learning, are being used in predictive analytics, computer vision, natural language processing, time series forecasting, and to perform a myriad of other complex tasks. This book is conceived for developers, data analysts, machine learning practitioners and deep learning enthusiasts who want to build powerful, robust, and accurate predictive models with the power of TensorFlow v1.7, combined with other open source Python libraries. Throughout the book, you’ll learn how to develop deep learning applications for machine learning systems using Feedforward Neural Networks, Convolutional Neural Networks, Recurrent Neural Networks, Autoencoders, and Factorization Machines. Discover how to attain deep learning programming on GPU in a distributed way. You'll come away with an in-depth knowledge of machine learning techniques and the skills to apply them to real-world projects. Style and approach This step-by-step guide explores common, and not so common, deep neural networks, and shows how they can be exploited in the real world with complex raw data. Benefit from practical examples, and learn how to implement different types of neural nets to build smart applications related to text, speech, and image data processing.