"The Empire Strikes Back" meets beetles in the chilling, darkly funny second book of a series about one amazing boy, his loyal friends, and some amazingly intelligent beetles.

Cruel beetle fashionista, Lucretia Cutter, is at large with her yellow ladybird spies - and she has a devious plan. Darkus, Virginia and Bertolt are determined to stop her, but Darkus's dad is dead set against their involvement. Hope rests on Novak, Lucretia's daughter and a Hollywood actress, but the beetle diva is always one scuttle ahead ...

Cruel beetle fashionista, Lucretia Cutter, is at large with her yellow ladybird spies. When Darkus, Virginia and Bertolt discover further evidence of her evil, they're determined to stop her. But the three friends are in trouble. Darkus' dad has forbidden them to investigate any further - and disgusting crooks Humphrey and Pickering are out of prison. Hope rests on Novak, Lucretia's daughter and a Hollywood actress, but the beetle diva is always one scuttle ahead ...

During the great war between the ancient Lich, the Eastern Emperor, along with the twelve Ancestral Mages, perished together. A tiny bit of his truesoul was protected by the Primal Chaos Bell, preventing it from perishing completely.However, the True Spirits within the Primal Chaos Bell were being targeted by the Jade Emperor, who had found the Chaotic Bell.With no better option, Taiyi could only send his Imperial Censor, the Chaos Bell, to break through space and escape into chaotic space.Seeing that his True Spirit was about to dissipate, the Primal Chaos Bell was anxious. It chose the corpse of the youth from another world, Lu Feng, and assisted in the rebirth of the True One's body.After being reincarnated, he had been very lucky. He had borrowed the name of Lu Feng to begin his own path of cultivation ...

100 tons of walking steel. One human heart. Sgt. Reggie King wakes up from a battlefield injury to find himself physically intact. But the hospital staff insist he’s not fit to return to duty. As part of his psychological recovery, they introduce him to a game. Armored Souls is a tank game on steroids. Giant, walking mechs called juggernauts engage in interplanetary wars as noble houses and mercenary factions wage endless battles for supremacy. For the pilots of these juggernauts, the rewards are glory, cash, and XP. As a tanker in real life, Reggie has a leg up on tactics and leadership, but he’s got a lot to learn in the game world. Saddled with trigger-happy commanding officers, slacker teammates, and bafflingly incompetent NPC underlings, Reggie will have to struggle to make headway. Meanwhile, a sinister player decides to make Reggie’s life hell after their two factions clash. Reggie is forced to find a solution to his griefer problems while battling the real life demons that chased him into the game in the first place. …and they won’t let him quit.

In 1937, Ursula Bower visited Nagaland at the invitation of a friend, and on a dispensary tour encountered the Naga people. She was so taken was with their striking dignity, tribal pride and unique culture that she arranged to live among them to write an anthropological study. But she became more than an observer – living alone among them, Ursula was integrated into their village life, becoming their figurehead when in 1944 the Japanese invaded the jungles of Nagaland from Burma. The Nagas turned to her for leadership and with the support of General Slim, her Naga guides were armed and trained to patrol and repel the Japanese incursions. The Nagas’ courage and loyalty were duly recognised, and after the conflict Ursula, with Naga support, went on to run a jungle training school for the RAF. Later, with her husband, Tim Betts as Political Officer, she worked among the volatile tribes of the remote Apa Tani Valley, bordering Tibet. Following the Independence of India in 1947, Ursula returned to her highland roots, but to her death in 1988, her experiences among the Naga people shaped and directed her life.

Beginning in the late 1980s, a series of improbable bark beetle outbreaks unsettled iconic forests and communities across western North America. An insect the size of a rice kernel eventually killed more than 30 billion pine and spruce trees from Alaska to New Mexico. Often appearing in masses larger than schools of killer whales, the beetles engineered one of the world's greatest forest die-offs since the deforestation of Europe by peasants between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The beetle didn't act alone. Misguided science, out-of-control logging, bad public policy, and a hundred years of fire suppression created a volatile geography that released the world's oldest forest manager from all natural constraints. Like most human empires, the beetles exploded wildly and then crashed, leaving in their wake grieving landowners, humbled scientists, hungry animals, and altered watersheds. Although climate change triggered this complex event, human arrogance assuredly set the table. With little warning, an ancient insect pointedly exposed the frailty of seemingly stable manmade landscapes. Drawing on first-hand accounts from entomologists, botanists, foresters, and rural residents, award-winning journalist Andrew Nikiforuk, investigates this unprecedented beetle plague, its startling implications, and the lessons it holds.

Beetle is in trouble. He has been summoned by the queen to find her gold ring, which is lost. She has heard that he has magical powers for finding things. He is frightened about what she will do to him when she discovers he is a fraud.

Leap of Faith It was late morning, the birds were singing and all but a few were still asleep. The colony had worked as hard as they played and the late night fun had taken its toll on everyone. The events of the day before were a huge success, with games and pageantry, along a few surprises thrown in. Digger, Luna and Cocoa had slept outside near the ponds and were joined by Amy, Austin, Ricky and Chord, who were the first of early risers. The cricket was very impressed by the ants. They were everything the rabbit had said they were. He was intrigued by their creative nature and fascinated with their determination. "I'd never been to a party like yours, until last night. I played so hard, and had so much fun, my legs are a little sore this morning," Chord admitted. "We've never had a party like that before, but I know what you mean. With all the running and dancing, my legs are tired too," Ricky replied. "I may be the only one who's not exhausted. I guess it's because I didn't have a dance partner, but my throat is a little dry from all my whistling," the rabbit shared. "Digger told me you guys are looking for your queen," Chord said. "We were, but we've got one now," Amy teased. "What do you need a queen for? You've already got everything you could possibly want." "This might sound strange to you, but it's the queen who needs us," Austin answered. "Nothing is strange to me anymore, not after yesterday. I hadn't considered the queen needing you, but I see your point." "We have a lot of knowledge to share, which would improve her colonies quality of life and possibly insure their survival. Every colony should have a queen and it's the one thing we don't have," Austin explained. "I've seen ants along the creek and near the woods, several times, but I don't know where they come from," Chord admitted. "They've crossed the meadow through my mushroom patch, too. I think the colony is somewhere along the fence line," Digger added. "I appreciate all the information. We haven't decided when we'll resume our search, but I'm sure it will be in the very near future," Austin shared. The friends departed for home a short time later, before everyone else woke up. Life in the colony had changed forever. The city was as complete as it could be and the timetable of future projects was virtually nonexistent. They were proud of all they had accomplished in such a short time but now the challenge was missing for some of the educated ants. It wasn't that they were unhappy, for life had been good, but their desire had always been to find their queen. Having time on their hands gave them more thoughts about reaching that goal. They knew they had to resume their quest for a queen. They could feel the desire in their heart and soon, it would be time to leave again. The original nine ants met with Adam and James, in a private meeting away from the colony. It was their quest and they couldn't expect the rest of the colony to participate, since they hadn't missed having a queen and done quite well. This was personal and dear to their hearts. James would have to run the colony in their absence. Agnes was adamant about staying behind. She had experienced enough excitement for a lifetime just in reaching the barn and had no desire for the drama of a quest. She had everything she needed and wanted nothing more. Louise was still fulfilling her dream as a seamstress and there was definitely a need for her services. She wanted to go, but her heart was in her work. Christian wanted to stay where the food was. He didn't want to worry about his next meal. Besides, he couldn't think when he was hungry. Adam, on the other hand, wanted to go. He'd never been on a real adventure before and wanted to live it for himself, rather than hear the stories told through someone else. He begged his dad to let him go and James agreed, knowing

A valued adviser and trusted insider in the highest echelon of U.S. military and political leaders, General Walter Bedell Smith began his public service career of more than forty years at age sixteen, when he joined the Indiana National Guard. His bulldog tenacity earned him an opportunity to work with General George C. Marshall in 1941, playing an essential role in forming the offices of the Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff; and after his appointment as chief of staff to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1942, Smith took a central part in planning and orchestrating the major Allied operations of World War II in Europe. Among his many duties, Smith negotiated and signed the surrenders of the Italian and German armed forces on May 7, 1945. Smith's postwar career included service as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and undersecretary of state. Despite his contributions to twentieth-century American military and diplomatic history, the life and work of Smith have largely gone unappreciated. In Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith, D. K. R. Crosswell offers the first full-length biography of the general, including insights into his close relationships with Marshall and Eisenhower. Meticulously researched and long overdue, Beetle sheds new light on Eisenhower as supreme commander and the campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Europe . Beetle is the fascinating history of a soldier, diplomat, and intelligence chief who played a central role in many decisions that altered mid-twentieth-century American history.

Consumers are increasingly aware of the dangers of garden chemicals. "The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease Control" offers a reliable and comprehensive guide that makes it easy to garden without the use of pesticides.

After all, shes still watching his dog Tahoealthough maybe its the other way around. Caught in the crossfire on the courthouse steps, Cauley sees the murder of the man whose death she already helped fake. Now someone is making it clear that they dont want Cauley getting any closer to the caseunless she wants to wind up on the obituary page herself.