Social Games

What does it mean to be poor in the UK and America? For decades the primary narrative about poverty in both countries is that it has been caused by personal flaws or "bad life decisions" rather than policy choices or economic inequality. This misleading account has become deeply embedded in the public consciousness with serious ramifications for how financially vulnerable people are seen, spoken about, and treated.

In Great Games, Local Rules, Alexander Cooley, one of America's most respected international relations scholars, explores the dynamics of the new competition for control of the region since 9/11. All three great powers have crafted strategies to increase their power in the area, which includes Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Each nation is pursuing important goals: basing rights for the US, access to natural resources for the Chinese, and increased political influence for the Russians.

The hardening of racial lines during the first half of the 20th century eliminated almost all African Americans from white organized sports, forcing black athletes to form their own teams, organizations, and events. This separate sporting culture, explored in the 12 essays included here, comprised much more than athletic competition; these “separate games” provided examples of black enterprise and black self-help and showed the importance of agency and the quest for racial uplift in a country fraught with racialist thinking and discrimination.

Award-winning comedian and popular-science writer Helen Keen uncovers the astounding science behind the mystical, blood-soaked world of Game of Thrones, answering questions like: Is it possible to crush a person's head with your bare hands? What really happens when royal families interbreed? Does Cersei have borderline personality disorder? What curious medical disorder does Hodor suffer from? And more.

On the morning of June 14, 2017, at a practice field for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, a man opened fire on the Republican team, wounding five, including Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise nearly fatally. In heart-pounding fashion, Scalise's minute-by-minute account tells not just his own harrowing story of barely surviving this horrific attack but the stories of heroes who emerged in the seconds after the shooting began; in the minutes, hours, and days after he suffered a devastating gunshot wound, in order to save his life and the lives of his friends.

Though Andrew Bushard does not claim to possess video game expertise, he does appreciate video games. Video games and the First Amendment go hand in hand, so let us now promote them both!

Meet Connor. He's four years old. He's a teaser at school. He thinks it is cool to copy others. But when someone plays the same game with him, he realizes how it feels to be copied. Connor learns a valuable lesson of respect and what it means to have self-control.

Ever since George Washington used them to help topple the British, spies and their networks have helped and hurt America at key moments in history. In this fascinating collection, Paul B. Janeczko probes such stories as that of Elizabeth Van Lew, an aristocrat whose hatred of slavery drove her to be one of the most successful spies in the Civil War; the "Choctaw code talkers," Native Americans who were instrumental in sending secret messages during World War I; and more.

Some of baseball's rebels are widely recognized, but most of them are either little known or known primarily for their baseball achievements—not their political views and activism. Many players, owners, reporters, and other activists challenged both the baseball establishment and society's status quo. Baseball Rebels tells stories of baseball's reformers and radicals who were influenced by, and in turn influenced, America's broader political and social protest movements, making the game—and society—better along the way.

Gabby is going to be a flower girl in a wedding! But a Never Land fairy hidden in her basket causes big trouble on her big day. Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical early chapter book series for listeners ages six to nine - The Never Girls!

On the far northwest coast of Tasmania at Cape Grimm lies the isolated and idiosyncratic community of Skye, which practises a religion that reveres the imagination. One clear evening in 1992 all the inhabitants enter the church hall, where they are locked in and burned alive. They have been persuaded to do this by a young man called Caleb Mean - also known as El Nino, the Christ Child.

Lainey's day is turned upside down when she's captured by the Lost Boys while visiting Never Land! Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical early chapter book series for listeners ages six to nine - The Never Girls!

With remembrances from J. K. Rowling's editors, agents, publicists, fans, and Rowling herself, Melissa Anelli takes us on a personal journey through every aspect of the Harry Potter phenomenon - from his very first spell to his lasting impact on the way we live and dream.

Katie is sick of her school's rules. But when she turns into the principal and announces that there are no rules, she creates a great big mess! Will Katie be able to get the school back in shape?

Big baking plans turn into tiny little cupcakes when Mia gets a fairy's help for her neighborhood bake sale. Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical early chapter book series for listeners ages six to nine - The Never Girls!

Four real girls in a fairy's world. It's the first day of school, and Gabby can't wait to tell the fairies all about it. She even met a new friend who loves fairies as much as she does! But what will the Never Girls do when a fairy goes missing in Gabby's new classroom? Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in the New York Times best-selling series for listeners ages six to nine - The Never Girls!

Lainey's fondest dream has come true! Her parents finally let her get a pet - a goldfish! But bringing her new little friend to Never Land might turn out to be a big mistake. Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical early chapter book series for listeners ages six to 10 - The Never Girls!

Four real girls in a fairy's world. Kate and her three best friends finally meet a Never Land legend - the one and only Peter Pan! Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical early chapter book series for listeners ages six to nine - The Never Girls!

Kate, Mia, Lainey, and Gabby are special girls. They know how to travel between their hometown and Never Land - through a broken slat in a backyard fence. But what happens when the fence is repaired with one of the girls stuck on the Never Land side? Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical new early chapter book series for listeners ages six to 10 - The Never Girls!

Four best friends - Kate, Mia, Lainey, and Gabby - travel to Never Land, where they find adventure, friendship, and...mystery! When the girls realize that animal talent fairy Fawn is missing, the search is on. Tinker Bell and the Disney Fairies star in a magical early chapter book series for listeners ages six to nine - The Never Girls!