Shelter

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Leadership, the word alone inspires thoughts of Caesar, Richard the Lion Hearted, Washington, Churchill, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan.  Where and how did they learn leadership?   Think about this, they all had military backgrounds.  Of the world’s great learning institutions I question how many have even attempted to teach leadership.  The military teaches leadership at almost every level to those who will lead their soldiers, sailors and airmen; how many corporations do the same?  More over, when have you seen a university class schedule that offered a course called Leadership 101, or Senior Leadership?  A course entitled Introduction to Management is not about leadership. The words leader and manager have two very different meanings.

Some people like to think that leaders are born, that the craft comes naturally, that they need no training.  While it is true that some personalities are more suited to the leadership role, without training so called natural born leaders sometimes make the worst leaders. Diamonds have to be polished in order to shine!

How about the world’s great corporate institutions, surely they are teaching leadership. If so are they doing it at the lowest level?  Where does the mechanic who gets promoted to shop foreman and suddenly put in charge get leadership training?  Also, I believe with the number of people serving in the military decreasing, there is a dangerous shortage of good leaders and a growing number of bad ones.  If you do not believe this, talk to your friends and family members about their immediate boss, or their company.  Ask how they are being treated as workers and more importantly human beings?  The answers you will hear are the primary reasons I have written "No Natural Born Leaders".

The Ninth was strong
and fought with might,
But lone Orannis
was put out of the light,
Broken in two
and buried under hill,
Forever to lie there,
wishing us ill.

So says the song. But Orannis, the Destroyer, is no longer buried under hill. It has been freed from its subterranean prison and now seeks to escape the silver hemispheres, the final barrier to the unleashing of its terrible powers.

Only Lirael, newly come into her inheritance as the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, has any chance of stopping the Destroyer. She and her companions -- Sam, the Disreputable Dog, and Mogget -- have to take that chance. For the Destroyer is the enemy of all Life, and it must be stopped, though Lirael does not know how.

To make matters worse, Sam's best friend, Nick, is helping the Destroyer, as are the necromancer Hedge and the Greater Dead Chlorr, and there has been no word from the Abhorsen Sabriel or King Touchstone.

Everything depends upon Lirael. A heavy, perhaps even impossible burden for a young woman who just days ago was merely a Second Assistant Librarian. With only a vision from the Clayr to guide her, and the rather mixed help of her companions, Lirael must search in both Life and Death for some means to defeat the Destroyer.

Before it is too late. . . .

Four tales of magic, adventure and love by award-winning author Catherine Asaro are yours in one great bundle! The Lost Continent Collection includes The Charmed Sphere, The Misted Cliffs, The Dawn Star, and The Fire Opal.

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss.