Other books that might interest you

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  Stalin's War on Japan - The Red...

  Charles Stephenson

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  Did Japan surrender in 1945 because of the death and devastation caused by the atomic bombs dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima and Nagasaki or because of the crushing defeat inflicted on their armies by the Soviet Union in Manchukuo, the puppet state they set up in north-east China? Indeed, the Red Army's rapid and total victory in Manchukuo has been relatively neglected by historians. 
   
   
   
  In this scholarly study, Charles Stephenson describes the political, diplomatic, and military build-up to the Soviet offensive and its decisive outcome. He also considers to what extent Japan's capitulation is attributable to the atomic bomb or the stunningly successful entry of the Soviet Union into the conflict. 
   
   
   
  The military side of the story is explored in fascinating detail—the invasion of Manchukuo itself where the Soviet "Deep Battle" concept was employed with shattering results, and secondary actions in Korea, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. But equally absorbing is the account of the decision-making that gave rise to the offensive and the political and diplomatic background to it, and in particular the Yalta conference. There, Stalin allowed the Americans to persuade him to join the war in the east; a conflict he was determined on entering anyway. Stephenson's engrossing narrative throws new light on the last act of the Second World War.

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  Overcoming fear: a guide to...

  Henry J. Howes

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  Overcoming Fear: A Guide to Facing Life’s Challenges with Courage 
  Fear is a universal human experience, one that can either paralyze us or propel us toward growth. This guide delves into the profound journey of confronting fears and turning them into stepping stones for a courageous life. It explores the roots of fear, offering practical strategies to identify, understand, and dismantle the barriers it creates. 
  Key themes include:Understanding Fear: Learn about the psychological and physiological mechanisms behind fear and how it influences decision-making.Building Resilience: Develop mental and emotional strength to face challenges head-on without being overwhelmed by doubt.Mindset Shifts: Transform limiting beliefs into empowering thoughts that encourage action and progress.Practical Tools: Explore actionable techniques such as mindfulness, exposure therapy, and goal setting to conquer fear incrementally.Real-Life Stories: Draw inspiration from individuals who overcame significant fears, demonstrating that courage is a skill anyone can develop.The Rewards of Courage: Understand how facing fear leads to personal growth, stronger relationships, and a deeper sense of fulfillment. 
  This guide is a beacon for anyone looking to step out of their comfort zone, confront the unknown, and live a life driven by purpose rather than fear. It emphasizes that courage is not the absence of fear but the decision to act in spite of it.

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  Incentive Theory and Motivation

  Introbooks Team

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  Motivation is one of the foremost driving forces of human nature. Its what puts us at the edge of every action and activity; it is the sole driving force that keeps us to moving forward in our journey to live and write our own story of life. It might seem philosophical in the beginning, and yet its motivation alone that wakes us up every day, keeps us alive every minute we exist, prompts us to complete our daily tasks and ultimately aim for a higher and a better of living. We have it inside of us and everybody is possessed with it. Indeed, several socio-political and economic issues and disasters that we observe often, can actually be very much related to a lack of motivation among people’s lives. Motivation can thus be equated as a synonym for ‘morale’. 
  Ever since the beginning of time, motivation has always been with us. Its what led our earliest ancestors to stay alive in spite of numerous hardships that existed back then, prompted them to ‘get the hunt in time’ and made sure that groups never faded away. Motivation has been the prime factor behind every individual we remember today! Einstein invented the theory of relativity and everything scientists have been able to know of the universe because he was motivated to discover things nobody had done so before, with passion and energy. Human civilisation is in itself a by-product of motivated spirits; the inherent thirst to keep moving forward that has allowed humans as a species to test the forces of time. 
  Motivation in our daily lives, and in our modern perspective is asimportant as it has been for the last 10 millennia. People seek motivation when it comes to their careers, lifestyles, spirituality or even personal and professional problems. Motivation ‘gurus’ exist all around us and modern lifestyles have given way to all new aspects regarding one’s motivation in all aspects of life. 
  In today’s world, as technology and scientific understanding behind several phenomena advances to deeper depths, a new understanding behind motivation has ringed interest among psychologists and economists, since the overall health of the economy depends on how motivated the population really is. This theory can be called as the Incentive Theory of Motivation that tries to explain motivation of people as being of a result of outside or extrinsic factors that lead people to achieve newer aspects in their personal and professional lives. The incentive theory of motivation is very related and to some extent, even borrows elements from other motivation theories that have preceded it. 
  This book will explain what the incentive theory really is, how it originated, how it relates to its cousin theories, and what implications it has in our modern understanding of people’s achievements and the drive that leads us to do things that provide us satisfaction and wellbeing. Although this is a topic is for the psychologists, its implications are vast and many, with economists referring to it often to design and formulate economic policies (since motivation is perhaps the prime factor in one’s profession). Lastly, ending notes and conclusions of how motivation is both a biological and psychological phenomenon will follow taking into account that every individual is affected by the ‘fight or flight’ system, an essential part that has decided every action and decision of ours since prehistoric times.

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  A Witch Alone - 13 Moons to...

  Marian Green

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  You don’t have to belong to a coven to practice magic. You can connect to the rich and ancient heritage of the solitary witch. With only yourself to rely on, magic becomes an introspective act. Commune with nature on your own and form a deeper, stronger connection with the stars, the sun, and the moon. Learn to heal yourself. Gain peace from stress, and find new ways to cope with the turmoil of modern life. Talk to trees and heal with herbs. Learn how to follow patterns of the stars and the cycles of the sun and moon and see into the future.  “Grant yourself the time and space to explore the world of witchcraft with patience and curiosity, following the threads of folk knowledge, mythology, and nature back to our pagan roots. If you can devote yourself to these studies, I promise you this: a lifetime of magic awaits.” —from the foreword by Celeste Larsen, author of Heal the Witch Wound   An invaluable guide for the solitary witch, Marian Green’s opus, A Witch Alone, is filled with lessons and spells, including information about herbal magic, moon magic, solar cycles, and methods for recovering the “Old Ways” in your daily life. Each chapter examines a different part of the pagan path, including information about herbs, the healing arts, moon magic, and solar cycles. For those intent on walking the witches’ road solo, A Witch Alone is the only companion you’ll need for the journey.

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  African Mythology and Folklore:...

  Charles River Editors

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  The modern history of Africa was, until very recently, written on behalf of the indigenous races by the white man, who had forcefully entered the continent during a particularly hubristic and dynamic phase of European history. When they began to arrive in sub-Saharan Africa in the early 16th century, Christian missionaries replaced established animist practices with the tenets of Christianity. This was particularly true for the Catholics who offered a faith promising eternal paradise upon the simple confession of sin. In an age of slavery, disease, and inter-tribal warfare when life was unembellished, brutal, and usually short, this was a particularly seductive message. Add to this the ritual inherent in Catholic worship, the drinking of blood and the eating of flesh, and the susceptibilities of a society defined by elaborate religious rituals, and the conversion succeeded with extraordinary ease. 
  It is also true that the Catholic spiritual hierarchy reflected the structure of African spiritual life. The first line of African worship is composed of the spirits of passed ancestors whose relationship with the living remains direct and active. This overlapped with the idea of a host of saints endowed with specific functions and responsibilities. At a higher level, the more remote ancestral spirits, those of more than three or four generations past who have merged into the overall spirit of the nation, formed a less definable but powerful presence in day to day life. These spirits easily translate to angels, while the almighty creator, too vast and remote to be understood, conforms to the notion of the one God. The embrace of Christianity and Islam, even today, is not necessarily to the exclusion of ancestral spirits, nor the essentials of witchcraft and sorcery. The precarious security of albino people in east and central Africa, whose body parts are sought after in traditional “medicine,” is testimony to the fact that these superstitions are alive.

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  Candy Caning: A Kinky Holiday Story

  L.A. Witt

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  Nate is dreading the annual Christmas visit with his family, during which they will ignore or insult his partner and Dominant.Stephen tries hard to take Nate’s mind off the trip with the promise—and threat—of a three-foot-long candy cane. It’s a race to see if Nate’s resolve or the candy cane will shatter first.

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