Most Popular Books by Andrew Peters

"Without a doubt, this is one of the most exciting books I''ve read in years!" Imagine you are on a journey where you discover a secret world that exists inside our very own. What if you could break free from the mundane and go on an adventure to an ancient city that still has city walls? As you step inside, you instantly realize that it''s not even close to what you''ve expected. Accompany Ryan Andrew Peters, as he becomes familiar with the intricate Chinese culture and traditions. He makes his new home in Xi''an, one of the oldest cities in China, and also the capital of the Shaanxi Province. Xi''an marks the starting point of the Silk Road and is home to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Here he works as an ESL English teacher. "Definitely recommended to anyone who has worked, is working, or wants to work teaching English in a foreign country"Wang Yang, a memoir follows the touching and equally gripping story of Ryan, a young man of Indian and African origin who grew up in Apartheid South Africa. He moves to China to escape his alcohol and drug fused days in London, and gets way more than he bargained for! In this story, you meet plenty of foreign teachers, Chinese staff as well as several of the students at his school. Becoming an English teacher takes a lot of practice in the beginning, but he ends up having exciting times in the classroom. The language barrier stands firm as he struggles to communicate and almost gets killed Beijing because of a deal that gets lost in translation. After that, he places his focus on learning Mandarin Chinese, which then unlocks new doors to the colorful Chinese culture. As he makes friends, their lives become intertwined, which portrays an insight into the undercurrents of the Chinese culture."It''s raw and honest. Hilarious and heartbreaking."The Chinese food culture is another new challenge because monks are known to be the only vegetarians in the country. He learns about the variations of mushrooms, edible fungus and spends many a night sitting on miniature chairs at street food stalls while sipping on the local beer. He also passes many nights in the underground gay bars. The nightlife in Xi''an is phenomenal and he finds himself spiraling out of control once again as he slips into another destructive lifestyle. Alcoholism gets the better of him and he faces constant calamities that eventually lead to a breakthrough in his life. More traumatic events unravel around him everyday, such as the Sichuan earthquake that kills over 70,000 people, leaving him to wonder what the meaning of life really is. "A portrayal of physical, emotional and spiritual conflict; desire and talent."As he starts singing in a Terracotta Warrior themed bar, he meets a guitarist he falls in love with, allowing him to explore love from an alternative perspective. It won''t be easy, but it is guaranteed to be an adventure to remember! Follow Ryan Andrew Peters as he barrels through a life of pain, adventure, love and whimsical hope. It''s a travel memoir that readers cling to until the very last hypnotizing page!

Who holds the seeds to save a sky-high world?Arborium is at risk, the sharpened blades of rival Maw poised to saw off its bark and branches. What can a poor plumber''s apprentice armed with little more than a monkey wrench do to stop the chopping?Carved into a massive, mile-high canopy, the forest kingdom of Arborium stands upon the tallest of trees. Within them, 14-year-old Ark holds the lowest of jobs: unclogging toilets. He''s already up to his elbows in gunk when he REALLY steps in it. He overhears a plot echoing through the pipes: Maw, a ruthless glass-and-steel superpower, is scheming to wield its axes of evil to strip Arborium of its wood -- a natural resource now more precious than gold.The fate of a kingdom in the filthy hands of a plumber boy?Plunged into danger, Ark must make the treacherous climb down to the darkest roots of RAVENWOOD if there''s any hope of rescuing his threatened tree home!

This book offers everything you need to know about selecting and implementing the best integrated library system (ILS) for your library, whether you purchase and install it yourself or hire a consultant to assist you. This is the book you''ve been waiting for. Integrated Library Systems: Planning, Selecting, and Implementing is an all-inclusive guide to acquiring a new ILS. Detailed and practical, the book covers every step of the process, from cost-benefit analysis, to evaluating software, writing the request for proposal, and implementation and training. You''ll learn about different types of integrated library systems—standalone, turnkey, hosted, software-as-a-service (cloud computing), and open-source—and how to assess your facility and staff to find the best fit. The book also covers evaluation of software and hardware; third-party add-ons, such as RFID; and writing successful budget proposals and justification statements. There is even specific, headache-saving advice on working with sales reps, such as the warning not to ever accept the statement: "The vendor will not be held accountable to the contents of the RFP." Even if you''re working with a consultant, this book will help you understand the process and make informed decisions.

This book is a detailed comparative study of the decorative work figurehead, topside ornamentation and stern gallery design carried by the ships of the major maritime states of Europe in the zenith of the sailing era. It covers both warships and the most prestigious merchant ships, the East Indiamen of the great chartered companies. The work began life in the year 2000 when the author was commissioned to carry out research for an ambitious project to build a full-size replica of a Swedish East Indiaman, which produced a corpus of information whose relevance stretched way beyond the immediate requirements of accurately decorating the replica.In tracking the artistic influences on European ship decoration, it became clear that this was essentially the story of the baroque style, its dissemination from France, and its gradual transformation into distinct national variations in Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. It is an inherently visual subject and the book illustrates developments with numerous photographs of contemporary ship models, paintings and plans, as well as the author''s own interpretive illustrations of details.As the first major work on the topic for nearly a century, it will be of obvious appeal to ship modellers and historians, but with comparative examples drawn from architecture and sculpture, it also makes a broader contribution to the history of the applied arts.

Traditional scary stories from various countries.

Insulted when his youngest daughter compares him to salt, the king banishes her until he realizes the true meaning of what she said.

It is a mentoring course for leaders that helps them set and achieve growth goals.

Ark vive no alto das últimas árvores que restam no mundo. E, já que mesmo em um país suspenso como Arborium alguém precisa desentupir os canos, ele tem uma profissão: aprendiz de encanador. É enquanto está ocupado com o vaso sanitário de um político poderoso que o garoto se torna testemunha de algo que vai mudar sua vida. Sem querer, Ark entreouve a conversa de conspiradores que pretendem destruir seu país. Uma perversa enviada de Maw, o império inimigo, feito de vidro e metal, planeja tomar as ricas árvores de Arborium e transformá-las em matéria-prima, fazendo de seu povo, os pacíficos dendrianos, nada mais que escravos de seu plano maligno. Flagrado, Ark precisa fugir para não ser morto, e terá de percorrer o gigantesco arvoredo e chegar à sombria Floresta dos Corvos, onde talvez esteja sua única chance de proteger seus amigos e seu lar.

Ark est un jeune apprenti plombier vivant dans la cité d’Arborium, construite à des kilomètres du sol, dans les arbres géants de la forêt du même nom. Un jour où il se trouve chez le Haut Conseiller Grasp pour débloquer un tuyau d''égout, il surprend une conversation entre ce personnage détestable et Lady de Fenestra, émissaire secrète d''un autre pays. Ils sont en train de fomenter un coup d’état contre le roi d''Arborium afin de livrer la citée aux mains de l’Empire de Maw, pays de verre et d’acier qui exploitera les ressources naturelles de la forêt et ses habitants, les Dendrens. Mais les deux comploteurs surprennent Ark, et notre héros n’a dès lors plus qu’une chose à faire : sauver sa vie, la forêt et son peuple. Aux côtés de son meilleur ami et de la jolie Flo, la folle et fabuleuse poursuite commence... Pendant les 7 jours qui le séparent du coup d’État, Ark découvre qu’il possède en lui une puissance magique mystérieuse, liée aux corbeaux. Il l''a reçue en héritage de la fondatrice de la Cité, Diana, une scientifique ayant fui la folie des hommes pour venir créer sur cette île une forêt géante, où régnerait la puissance des arbres et l’harmonie entre l’homme et la nature.