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The Cradle of Thought
Imaginative and creative thought is what distinguishes humans from animals. It is what defines us as Homo sapiens. What it means to have thoughts, and what gives us the remarkable capacity to think, have been subjects of debate for centuries. In The Cradle of Thought, Peter Hobson presents a new and provocative theory about the nature and origins of uniquely human thinking. A prevailing opinion on the acquisition of thought and language is that babies are born with pre-programmed modules in the brain. But this is too narrow and too simplistic an explanation. Professor Hobson's radical view is that what gives us the capacity to think is the quality of a baby's exchanges with other people over the first 18 months of life. As part and parcel of an intellectual revolution in the second year, the child achieves new insight into the minds of itself and others. Human thought, language, and self-awareness are developed in the cradle of emotional engagement between infant and caregiver; social contact has vital significance for mental development. Professor Hobson draws on 20 years of clinical experience and academic research as a developmental psychologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He follows the thread of mental development over the first 18 months of ababy's life to describe and to explain the emergence of thinking; he shares startling insights into mental development gained from his studies of autism; and he shows how, from infancy to adulthood, disturbances of thinking may be rooted in troubled early relationships. Finally, he pinpoints tiny but momentus changes in the social relations of pre-human primates from which human thought sprang. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Peter Hobson shows how very early engagement with others fosters the child's growth out of the cradle of infancy and into the realm of human thought and culture.
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An Equal Music
A chance sighting on a bus; a letter which should never have been read; a pianist with a secret that touches the heart of her music ...An Equal Music is a book about love, about the love of a woman lost and found and lost again; it is a book about music and how the love of music can run like a passionate fugue through a life. It is the story of Michael, of Julia and of the love that binds them. 'A novel that can stand being reread and reread, but the first time round is an emotional cliffhanger ...secure a copy for yourself, settle down, and prepare for the unforgettable' Sunday Times
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Critical Mass
In 1990, the world's first war between atomic-armed powers, Pakistan and India, was narrowly averted. Pakistan's and India's quests for the great equalizer, and dozens of similar quests, are recounted in this hair-raising reality check on the status of nuclear proliferation. Burrows and Windrem combine Western intelligence with their own sources to profile the careers of a number of wanna-be J. Robert Oppenheimers. You don't have to be as brilliant as Oppenheimer, you simply have to be resourceful in collecting the 50-year-old "secrets" of producing plutonium and building ballistic missiles. Either stolen or bought from countries such as Germany, the technology flows in a thousand rivulets through porous export controls. As Burrows and Windrem patch together their stories--such as their tale of Greenpeace's attempted purchase (as a PR stunt) of the ultimate loose cannon, a rogue ex-Soviet bomb, and details about the joint Israeli-South African detonation in 1979--they remind us that too many nations have too many rationales to nuclearize their political and military strategies. Updates and expands upon Timmerman's Death Lobby (1991), a study of Iraq's successful exploitation of the world arms bazaar. Gilbert Taylor
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Blind-Date Baby
Grace is agitated. She became a widow as a young woman, and she sacrificed her future to bring up a child alone, but now her daughter is grown up and has left the nest, and a lonely life is awaits Grace. When she thinks about her lonely future, her heart feels as though it’s being choked with sorrow. Then she meets a dashing, handsome man who’s also intelligent. Grace is worried that she’d too old for a new romance, but her passion is about to overrule her logic.
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Attempted Matrimony
UNBREAKABLE VOWS A string of murders reunited homicide detective Dallas Mitchell with a woman he'd tried to forget. Years had passed, but the passion was still there. Only, this time it was fraught with danger. Because Nicole Lancaster was a married woman, and Dallas was a cop hunting for the worst serial killer Louisiana had ever seen–a man who just might be her new husband. Nicole had always been out of the lawman's league, and she had every reason not to trust him, not to forgive him…. But Dallas had precious little time to convince Nicole that she needed to leave her house–before death parted them for good.
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Her Hand in Marriage
So when her mother took ill, Romillie immediately put aside her plans to go to university and stayed home, where she was needed. But now her mother is on the mend, and Romillie has met dashing businessman Naylor Cardell. Romillie would never have imagined that a high-flying CEO like Naylor would be interested in an ordinary girl like her. Now Naylor says he has a question for her. Dare she hope that the confirmed bachelor might ask for her hand in marriage?
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The Prosecutor
The Prosecutor: Assistant state attorney Zac Hennings needs to keep a convicted murderer behind bars. But he's up against his most formidable and alluring adversary, law student Emma Sinclair, who's fighting to free her brother. But when evidence surfaces that the real killer is still out there, Zac vows to bring the murderer to justice or die trying.
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Baby Of His Revenge
“I can make you explode with pleasure…” Kassius Black rose from the ashes of his catastrophic childhood driven by revenge against the father who abandoned him. With near complete ownership of his father’s assets, Kassius’s last vengeful step is to present him with an heir he’ll never get to know! “And if I’m wrong I will pay you ten million dollars.” Pure in body and mind, Laney Henry is the perfect candidate to wear Kassius’s ring and carry his child. So Kassius delivers his ultimatum confident he has nothing to lose… or does he?.
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The Billionaire's Handler
A whopping inheritance should have been Carolina’s dreams come true… Instead, the money brought nothing but vultures looking for their share of the wealth. Fortunately for her, the generous gift also came with a rescuer: sexy billionaire Maguire. Instinct told Maguire that the inheritance his father had given Carolina for saving his son would send her running for help. His plan? To be her knight in shining armour and show her how to toughen up. Whisking her off for a luxurious getaway was all part of the arrangement. But letting the teacher give him a lesson in love – and transform his heart – was not…
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The Man Who Risked It All
This fearless playboy has everything to lose… For Franco Tolle, the golden boy of Europe’s jet-set society, life is just a playground – filled with racing speedboats on the azure Mediterranean Sea. When you’re rich and famous money is no object…and to hell with the consequences! But he once took a risk with a price bigger than he was willing to pay… In a rush of red-hot infatuation he put a glittering diamond wedding ring on Lexi Hamilton’s finger, yet within months they were living separate lives. Now Franco’s daredevil life has caught up with him – but he’ll risk it all for the one thing he craves…his estranged wife!
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Untamed Italian, Blackmailed Innocent
No woman has ever shunned wicked Italian tycoon Zac Delucca! But sweet, studious Sally is in a world of her own, looking after her sick mother – little does she realise her unfocused lack of interest is driving Zac’s fury! Especially as her father is responsible for embezzling millions from his company. The payment: her innocence… There’s a debt to be paid. Zac will offer Sally an ultimatum – become his mistress on demand, or risk ruin! He’s confident she’ll make the right choice…
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Passion and the Prince
He wants to hate her, but he's passionately attracted to her...Just who is Lily Wrightington - cynical fashion photographer or studious art historian? Prince Marco di Lucchesi can't hide his haughty disdain for this Englishwoman - or his violent attraction to her! As they tour the captivating palazzos of northern Italy together for Lily's work project the atmosphere between them alternately sizzles with dislike and erotic promise...until shadows from Lily's past turn up to haunt her. But if Marco drops his guard, and offers the protection Lily is seeking, the passion he's trying to keep firmly under wraps might just unleash itself too...
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The Sicilian's Innocent Mistress
Step into a world of sophistication and glamour, where sinfully seductive heroes await you in luxurious international locations. Sophisticated tease – or naïve virgin? Was Luc short for Lucifer? Darci certainly wondered, because Luc Gambrelli was the most sinfully tempting man she’d ever encountered! Her plan was extremely naughty: she would teach legendary womaniser Luc a lesson, by leading him on just a little and then dumping him. However, the smoulderingly handsome Sicilian film producer soon turned the tables on Darci, and suddenly her light-hearted little game had turned dirty! Unable to resist Luc’s searing seduction, Darci now feared it was only a matter of days before he discovered she wasn’t the sophisticated tease he thought her to be – but a sheltered virgin who was playing way out of her depth! The Sicilians They seek passion – at any price!
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Seduced into a Paper Marriage
No one ever denied Devlin Hudson. The COO of Hudson Pictures could have any woman he wanted, but what he wanted was a woman who made no demands. He'd thought Valerie Shelton was that woman. But his prim, proper wife had walked out on their matrimonial merger, and now Devlin was pulling out all the stops to get her back. He vowed to win over winsome Val the old-fashioned way…in bed. Then he discovered his "shy" young bride had a passionate side—and a romantic agenda that would rock his world….
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A Contract Engagement
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Maya Banks tells the story of a fake engagement that leads to real passion. He's wanted her for six months. And the opportunity has finally arrived to make Celia Taylor his - at least temporarily. Billionaire businessman Evan Reese knows she's desperate to get him to sign with Maddox Communications. But first he needs her to pose as his fiance at a family wedding on Catalina Island. There he'll wine, dine and seduce the stunning ad executive. . . Yet what happens when the fake engagement becomes more than just an act? A Reader Favorite Story originally published as Billionaire's Contract Engagement.
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The Duke's Baby
Lance Malbois, Duc du Lac: a hardened military man with a scar that crosses his cheek–and reaches right to his heart. But all he wants is to hold a child in his arms and be called 'Daddy.' Andrea Fallon: pregnant, widowed and alone, she's determined to give her baby the father and family she never had. The perfect solution: a marriage of convenience…?
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Wife in the Shadows
The private face of a public marriage: The manipulative machinations of the great Manzini family have locked Elena Blake into marriage. The reluctant groom is Italy's most infamous womanizer, Count Angelo Manzini. In society's spotlight Angelo bestows dutiful kisses on his shy new countess. But then, behind closed doors, his apparently biddable bride refuses to stand in the shadows… Challenged by Elena's defiance, Angelo finds himself captivated by the challenge of possessing her!
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Tempted Into The Tycoon's Trap
Cece Cassidy was used to writing the story, not being it. Yet somehow the tabloids had figured out her passionate history with Jack Hudson…and his connection to the dark-haired little boy she'd "adopted." Too bad her baby's father was the last to know. Now Jack was going all caveman on her, forcing her into a lavish Tinseltown wedding with none of the marital…benefits. The movie mogul had stomped on her heart yet again, but she couldn't help craving his touch—and wishing she could give their tempestuous romance a Hollywood ending….
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Crowned for the Drakon Legacy
He may have craved her for a decade, but one exquisite night with Mia Rodriguez is all Nikandros Drakos, the Daredevil Prince of Drakon, will allow himself. It’s time to face his home country and the duty he’s denied for so long. But when their sizzling liaison leads to an unexpected pregnancy, Nik won’t rest until his child is part of the Drakon legacy. Their affair was supposed to burn up along with their chemistry but now, to claim his heir, Nik must make unruly Mia both his bride – and his princess!
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Marchese's Forgotten Bride
How can she tell him that she's expecting his twins? When Alessandro Marchese strides into the headquarters of his latest acquisition, one person is particularly struck by his awesome presence. . . The tingling of Cassie's skin lets her know her new boss is the man who left her ; pregnant with twins! And now it seems he's forgotten her altogether! But the formidable Italian is more affected by Cassie than he lets on. The darkness of his memory is lifting. Now Alessandro needs just one more thing to complete the picture ; Cassie, with his wedding ring on her finger. . .