High Middle

A gonzo ride through war-torn Yemen as only Chas Smith, the award-winning author of Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell and Cocaine + Surfing: A Sordid History of Surfing's Greatest Love Affair, could provide. Follow Smith and his misfit band of merrymakers as they search for the true origins of Al Qaeda and endeavor to ride the unsurfed waves of Yemen all while exploring the slim opportunities for fun in the margins of our global war on terror and at any cost - even if it means eventual kidnapping by Hezbollah.

Based on more than five years of clandestine reporting on the front lines, No Turning Back is an utterly engrossing human drama full of vivid, indelible characters that shows how hope can flourish even amid one of the 21st century's greatest humanitarian disasters.

An eighth grader dares to direct the school play. Can she handle her cast of peers? Aimi Wilby loves theater and writing. With the spring play coming up, the budding author is thrilled to be assigned as an assistant director. Diligent Aimi can’t believe it when her teacher abruptly quits, and she is chosen to write and direct the entire production. Aimi refuses to be deterred even when she loses her mentor, her cast members fight, the school administrators prove apathetic, and parents are constantly overbearing. However, what the intrepid teenager fears most is that she will disappoint ...

In the wake of the September 11 attacks and the US-led invasion of Iraq, Suzy Hansen, who grew up in an insular conservative town in New Jersey, was enjoying early success as a journalist for a high-profile New York newspaper. Increasingly, though, the disconnect between the chaos of world events and the response at home took on pressing urgency for her. Seeking to understand the Muslim world that had been reduced to scaremongering headlines, she moved to Istanbul.

Read how it all began in this sweet Ayesha Dean short story! Ayesha Dean has recently started wearing hijab and on top of that is going to a new high school. She thinks this gives her more than enough reason to lie low. But when things keep going missing from the Year Eight students’ lockers, Ayesha is determined to find the culprit. Can she overcome her fears and embrace a new role as a kickass teen sleuth? Fans of Nancy Drew and The Famous Five will love this thrilling mystery series! *Longlisted for the DANZ Children's Book Award in 2024 (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand...

What happens when democracy produces "bad" outcomes? Is democracy good because of its outcomes or despite them? This "democratic dilemma" is one of the most persistent, vexing problems for America abroad, particularly in the Middle East. When Islamist parties rise to power through free elections, the United States has too often been ambivalent or opposed, preferring instead pliable dictators. With this legacy of democratic disrespect in mind, and drawing on new interviews with top American officials, Shadi Hamid explores universal questions of morality, power, and hypocrisy.

EPICI played multiple defensive positions in baseball, including pitcher, catcher, shortstop, and third base; the latter is considered the hot spot. The hot spot is where the fastest and hardest balls travel. The player in this position had to be fearless, skilled, innovative, and productive. These characteristics practiced early in my childhood were found to be beneficial later throughout my thirty-two years as an educator. I always found a way to win, particularly when faced with One Opportunity for success. EPIC ...originated as a theme but evolved into an exemplary system that, after ...

When Queen Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope in 1570, she found herself in an awkward predicament. Now England's key markets would be closed to her Protestant merchants. To complicate matters, the staunchly Catholic king of Spain was determined to destroy her, bolstered by the gold pouring in from the New World. In a bold decision with far-reaching consequences, Elizabeth set her sights on the East.

Oliver was always a jerk. Now that he’s dead, he’s downright terrifying. Augie Doyle eats, sleeps, and breathes horror. Vampires? Real. Werewolves? Absolutely. Zombies? Don’t get him started. His best friend, Ethan, thinks it’s all nonsense—until Oliver Hackl shows up to school. Five days ago, Oliver fell off the Old Mill Bridge and broke his neck. The paramedics pronounced him dead. Now he’s back. Pale. Slow. Wrong. Augie’s convinced it’s the zombie apocalypse. Ethan’s sure there’s a logical explanation. Then Oliver’s friends start dropping like flies. One vanishes, ...

Through a blend of memoir and history, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Kai Bird recounts the Western experience in the Middle East and just why it has been so turbulent. Through Bird ’s Zelig-like presence, the reader experiences the Suez War of 1956, the June 1967 War, and the Black September hijackings of 1970 that led to the Jordanian Civil War. Bird ’s memoir also shows how all of these momentous events led to the rise and tragic downfall of a secular Arab nationalist ethos.

Two years ago, Graham Robb moved to a lonely house on the very edge of England, near the banks of a river that once marked the southern boundary of the legendary Debatable Land. The oldest detectable territorial division in Great Britain, the Debatable Land served as a buffer between Scotland and England. It was once the bloodiest region in the country, fought over by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and James V. After most of its population was slaughtered or deported, it became the last part of Great Britain to be brought under the control of the state.

In Mythologies Without End, Jerome Slater argues that US policies in the region are largely a product of mythologies that are often flatly wrong. For example, the Israelis' treatment of Palestinians after 1948 undermined its claim that it was a true democracy, and the argument that Arab states refused to negotiate with Israel for decades is simply untrue. Because of widespread acceptance of these myths in both the US and Israel, the consequences have been devastating to all of the involved parties.

Not all witches ride brooms, wear pointy hats, and have warty noses. A fortune teller predicts Augie Doyle will soon meet a green-eyed beauty with a crescent-moon tattoo. Best yet, she’s his soul mate. That would be exciting news if he didn’t already have a girlfriend. Breaking up is out of the question. She lives with him and his dad. They’re practically a family. But then the new girl arrives. Just like the psychic predicted: gorgeous, smart, confident … and somehow into Augie. It feels too good to be true. And it is. As soon as she enters his life, things start going wrong. One ...

The death of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi freed Libya from 42 years of despotic rule, raising hopes for a new era. But in the aftermath, the country descended into bitter rivalries and civil war, paving the way for the Islamic State and a catastrophic migrant crisis. In a fast-paced narrative that blends frontline reporting, analysis, and history, Frederic Wehrey tells the story of what went wrong.

In over her head this junior higher will not quit. Can she find a way to finish the production? Aimi Wilby is loyal to a fault when it comes to her friends, new and old. The administrators overload her. Her mentor abandons the project and leaves this eighth grader to ‘figure things out.' Even the lawyers try to shut her down. But, she will not let her cast members and her newest friend down. Aimi discovers that not all witches wear pointy hats and ride brooms. Her new friend asks Aimi to do the unthinkable, to go where she has never gone before. Aimi’s devotion is tested beyond what she...

Overlooking the Border continues the dialogue surrounding the social history of Jerusalem. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the book juxtaposes Israeli and Palestinian personal narratives about the past with contemporary museum exhibits, street plaques, tourism, and real estate projects that are reshaping the city since the decline of the peace process and the second intifada. As sites of memory, Jerusalem's homes, streets, and natural areas form the setting for emotionally charged narratives about belonging and rights to place.

Great magicians are masters of illusion. The truly dangerous ones don’t bother with tricks. On Augie Doyle’s seventeenth birthday, a strange carnival rolls into Hollowbrook. It’s all gears and steam, brass and bone—a dazzling steampunk spectacle of rides, wonders, and performers. But beneath the laughter and cotton candy, Augie senses something dark. Something wrong. Then the magician takes the stage. He doesn’t just perform tricks—he defies reality. In his most chilling act, he assembles a man piece by piece, as if stitching together a living puzzle. The crowd cheers. Augie’s...

When Emma Sky, an intrepid young British woman, volunteered to help rebuild Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, she had little idea what she was letting herself in for: a tour that would last over a decade, longer than that of any senior military or political official. As the only adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Kirkuk and the closest confidante to US General Odierno, Sky was valued for her controversial voice and outsider's point of view.

Imagine a war without battlefields. There are no uniforms. Civilians and combatants are indistinguishable. Homes, schools, hospitals, and religious buildings are used as command centers and for the warehousing of weapons. Apartment rooftops are launching pads; the civilians who live inside . . . human shields. There are over 300 miles of reinforced tunnels, all outfitted with weapons, communications, and surveillance equipment. Such passageways enable terrorists to travel freely.

A fifteen-year experience of day-by-day, year-by-year, learning how to create an authentic Montessori education at home through elementary, middle, and high school. The main guide or teacher during these years had taken AMI teacher training courses for 0-3, 3-6, and 6-12 and had taught for many years. Even though this is not to be thought of as an instruction manual for Montessori homeschooling it is hoped that the book will be helpful for parents and teachers wanting to understand the value of a unique educational path, rather than thinking that all children should be educated exactly the ...