The Matarese countdown

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Andrew W. Gilg

Should rural Britain be preserved from urban development, or should people be allowed to live and shop where they want? In the face of continued urban expansion the countryside has become a major issue, its future development uncertain. Countryside Planning addresses these concerns and provides an in-depth study of the rural debate. Beginning with the key concepts and issues, the author sets out the context in which planning operates and how society has constructed its own images of the countryside. Using three theoretical perspectives the book decsribes the evolution of the current planning system and provides a basis for further discussion about the possible future for the countryside. In the wake of the recent Rural White Paper, the book includes the major issues that affect contemporary rural Britain including the current reforms of the CAP, the role of farmers as land managers, and the hypocrisy of sustainable and green tourism. Using boxed policy summaries throughout the text, as well as key question and answer sections in every chapter, the author treats policy and trends across the whole spectrum of countryside planning. Countryside Planning is an in-depth and authoritative analysis of rural policy and makes an important contribution to the countryside planning debate and the future of rural Britain.

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Chris Lehmann

"A grand, brilliantly written work of American history. We think we know the story of American religion: the Puritans were cold, austere, and pious, and Christianity continued pure and uncorrupted until the industrial revolution got in the way. In The Money Cult, Chris Lehmann argues that we have it backwards: capitalism has always been entangled with religion, and so today's megapastors aren't an aberration--they're as American as Benjamin Franklin. The long-awaited first book by a hugely admired journalist, The Money Cult is a sweeping and accessible history that traces American Christianity from John Winthrop to the rise of the Mormon Church to the triumph of Joel Osteen"--

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Greg Bear

In this near-future thriller, three FBI agents take on the Talos Corporation and its plan to destroy the government and constitutional law by means of a treatment program code-named Mariposa.

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David Mamet

In Bambi vs. Godzilla, David Mamet, the award-winning playwright and screenwriter, gives us an exhilaratingly subversive inside look at Hollywood from the perspective of a filmmaker who has always played the game his own way.Who really reads the scripts at the film studios? How is a screenplay like a personals ad? Whose opinion matters when revising a screenplay? Why are there so many producers listed in movie credits? And what the hell do those producers do, anyway? Refreshingly unafraid to offend, Mamet provides hilarious, surprising, and bracingly forthright answers to these and other questions about virtually every aspect of filmmaking, from concept to script to screen. He covers topics ranging from "How Scripts Got So Bad" to the oxymoron of "Manners in Hollywood." He takes us step-by-step through some of his favorite movie stunts and directorial tricks, and demonstrates that it is craft and crew, not stars and producers, that make great films. He tells us who his favorite actors and what his favorite movies are, who he thinks is the most perfect actor to grace the screen, and who he thinks should never have appeared there.Demigods and sacred cows of the movie business--beware! But for the rest of us, Mamet speaking truth to Hollywood makes for searingly enjoyable reading.From the Hardcover edition.