Best Selling Books by David Hancock

Hounds is a book for all those who admire the most endearing of sporting dogs, the scenthounds, the enthusiastic canine companions of the sportsmen who are thrilled by seeing a pack of hounds in full cry - watching these exceptional canine athletes exercising their delight in pursuing scent, whether real or artificial. Painstakingly researched and packed with information, this book covers both the well-known recognized breeds and the more obscure ones from overseas, some quite unknown to the British public.

Dogs of the Shepherds is a book for all those who admire the most valuable of all the working dogs, the pastoral breeds: sheepdogs, cattle dogs and flock protection dogs, the indispensable farmer''s servants and companion dogs for thousands of proud dog-owners across the globe. Painstakingly researched and packed with information, this book is not a manual covering training, grooming, nutrition and dog care; it is very much a reflective review of the pastoral dogs'' contribution to the working and companion dog scene. It is a searching examination of their past, their performance and their prospects in an increasingly urban society. Essential reading for all those with an interest in these handsome and quite admirable dogs, and lavishly illustrated throughout.

This book is about gundogs, those ever-willing companions of both sportsmen and discerning dog owners. Gundogs is not a manual covering training, grooming, nutrition and dog care; it is very much a celebration of the gundog''s contribution to the sporting and companion dog scene, an examination of their past, their performance and their prospects in an increasingly urban society. Painstakingly researched, it covers the well-known recognized breeds and the more obscure ones from overseas, some quite unknown to the British public.David Hancock''s earlier books have been highly praised, as have his many articles in sporting magazine in the last thirty years. When reviewing one of his previous books, the revered writer on sporting dogs, the late Brian Plummer, described it as a ''masterpiece''. Reviewing his Sporting Terriers, Dogs in Canada magazine stated that it ''has the quality of a classic''. A reviewer of his last book, Sighthounds, stated that ''Hancock''s work provokes thinking in the reader the way a good discussion stimulates and refreshes our minds.'' A Canadian reviewer of another of his books gave the view that David Hancock is ''perhaps the most important living writer about dogs.'' A comprehensive survey of the gundog''s origins, its role and its future, Gundogs is essential reading for all those with an interest in these loyal dogs, especially gundog and country sport enthusiasts. Meticiously researched and packed with information it covers the well-known recognized breeds as well as more obscure ones. Superbly illustrated with 360 colour and black & white photographs. David Hancock has studied dogs for over half a century and is a past winner of the Dog Writers Association of America.

Sighthounds: Their Form, Their Function and Their Future is not another manual covering nutrition, training, breeding, care, and maintenance; rather, it is a celebration of the cursorial hunting dogs, those using speed and sight to hunt for man''s cooking pot for over three millennia. Meticulously researched, it covers both British and foreign breeds, including some that are hardly known, covering their sporting past and arguing strongly for a sporting future for them. David Hancock challenges those who claim these dogs hunt solely by sight, describing their subtle use of scent and stressing their quite remarkable hearing as a hunting tool.

In response to increasing threats to U.S. personnel and facilities at overseas diplomatic posts since 1998, the Department of State (State) has taken a number of steps to enhance its risk management and security efforts. State''s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (Diplomatic Security) leads many of these efforts with assistance from other bureaus and U.S. government agencies. Given the ongoing threats and the amount of resources needed to counter them, GAO has identified 11 key issues regarding Diplomatic Security that warrant significant Congressional oversight to monitor the cost, progress, and impact: Diplomatic Security Funding: Diplomatic Security funding has increased considerably in reaction to a number of security incidents overseas and domestically. In fiscal year 2016, total funding for Diplomatic Security operations--which includes its bureau managed funds as well as other funding such as personnel salaries--was almost $4.8 billion. Diplomatic Security Staffing Challenges: Diplomatic Security''s workforce--including 3,488 direct-hire, 1,989 other U.S. government, and 45,870 contract personnel--continues to grow. However, potential challenges exist regarding the distribution of domestic and overseas positions, posting fully qualified individuals in the assignments with the greatest needs, and ongoing efforts to fill language-designated positions. Physical Security of U.S. Diplomatic Facilities: Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations collaborate to meet safety standards when constructing new embassies and mitigating risks at existing facilities. However, GAO made recommendations to address gaps in State''s security related activities and processes. Physical Security of Diplomatic Residences and Other Soft Targets: State has taken steps to address residential security vulnerabilities and manage risks at schools and other soft targets overseas. However, GAO recommended actions to address weaknesses in State''s efforts. Security Training Compliance: While State has robust security training requirements, it lacks consistent monitoring and enforcement processes, particularly for its Foreign Affairs Counter Threat training and for security refresher briefings at posts. Embassy Crisis and Evacuation Preparedness: Gaps in State''s implementation and monitoring of crisis and evacuation preparedness could endanger staff assigned to overseas posts and the family members accompanying them. GAO has recommended actions to address these issues. Department of Defense (DOD) Support to U.S. Diplomatic Missions: Following the Benghazi attacks, DOD increased its support to U.S. diplomatic missions by creating dedicated military forces to respond to crises and expanding the Marine Security Guard program at overseas missions. However, State and DOD reported that they have experienced some logistical and other challenges. Dissemination of Threat Information: State has processes for communicating threat information to post personnel and U.S. citizens in-country. However, post personnel--including locally employed staff--have not always received important information in a timely manner. GAO has recommended steps State needs to take to address this concern. Countering Human Intelligence Threats: Foreign intelligence entities from host nations and third parties are motivated to collect information on U.S. operations and intentions. State has established measures to counter the human intelligence threat and works with other U.S. government agencies to identify and assess this threat. Ensuring Information Security: GAO has designated federal information security as a government-wide high-risk area and made recommendations to address these issues. State faces evolving threats and challenges to maintaining obsolete technology, defining clear roles and responsibilities for information security, and overseeing technology contractors. Status of Recommendations Made in Reports following the Benghazi Attack: In response to the Benghazi attack, State formed interagency teams to evaluate the security at 19 dangerous posts, convened an Accountability Review Board (ARB) to investigate the attack, and established panels to conduct further assessments. As of June 2017, State reported having addressed recommendations as follows: 268 of 287 made by the interagency teams, 26 of 29 by the ARB, and 64 of 75 by the panels. Terrorist attacks against U.S. diplomats and personnel overseas have led to increased attention of State''s diplomatic security efforts. In this special publication, GAO identifies key issues affecting Diplomatic Security for Congressional oversight. These issues were identified from a body of related GAO work and State and other reports. GAO also interviewed U.S. officials from State and other agencies to obtain their views on key issues, obtain updated information and data, and follow up on actions they have taken on past GAO and other oversight report recommendations. What GAO Recommends: While State has taken steps to close recommendations made in past GAO reports, GAO identified 27 open recommendations from these reports (as of August 2017) that it believes should be given high priority for implementation. Of the 27 priority recommendations, 24 were related to diplomatic security.

This four-volume reset edition presents a wide-ranging collection of primary sources which uncover the language and behaviour of local and state authorities, of peasants and town-dwellers, and of drinking companions and irate wives.

Volume 5 of the journal Glossator. Contents: What Separates the Birth of Twins - Jordan Kirk Prosopopeia to Prosopagnosia: Dante on Facebook - Scott Wilson When You Call My Name - Karmen MacKendrick All That Remains Unnoticed I Adore: Spencer Reece''s Addresses - Eileen A. Joy Plato''s Symposium and Commentary for Love - David Hancock Dreaming Death: the Onanistic and Self-Annihilative Principles of Love in Fernando Pessoa''s Book of Disquiet - Gary J. Shipley On Not Loving Everyone: Comments on Jean-Luc Nancy''s "L''amour en éclats [Shattered Love]" - Mathew Abbott The Grace of Hermeneutics - Michael Edward Moore Tearsong: Valentine Visconti''s Inverted Stoicism - Anna Klosowska

Why, since the financial crisis of 2008, has neoliberal capitalism remained seemingly impregnable? Why, when it is shown as no longer capable of delivering on its economic promises does its logic pervade all facets of contemporary life? How has it seduced us? This book examines the seductive appeal of neoliberalism by understanding it as a fundamentally counter-cultural logic. Unlike earlier modes of capitalism, neoliberalism is infused by spirit of rebellion and self-creation, with the idealised neoliberal subject overturning traditional morality whilst creating new modes of being based on risk and excess. Tracing the development of the logic of neoliberalism from its beginnings in the thought of Friedrich Hayek in the wake of the post-war period, through the work of neoconservative writers overcoming and moving beyond what they perceived as the nihilism of both the counter-culture and capitalism of the 1960s and 70s, to its establishment as a new moral order underpinning the economic system from the 1980s onwards, the author argues that it is only through a clear understanding of the seduction of neoliberalism that it can be overcome by reimagining our relationships to work and society.

This book is an introduction to cosplay as a subculture and community, built around playful spaces and the everyday practices of crafting costumes, identities, and performances. Drawing on new and original ethnographic data, as well as the innovative use of arts-led research, this book adds to our understanding of a popular, global cultural practice. In turn, this pushes forward our understanding of play, fan practices, subcultures, practice-led research, and uses of urban spaces. Cosplay and the Art of Play offers a significant addition to key contemporary debates on the meaning and uses of popular culture in the 21st century, and will be of importance to students and scholars interested in communities, fandom, identity, leisure, participatory cultures, performance, and play.

David Hancock has been a journalist and writer for more than 30 years, working for top papers such as the Daily Mirror and the Times. He is the co-author of best-selling books On The Doors and A Fighting Chance, and decided to write about medical tourism when he fractured his hip and learned the bitter lesson of the National Health System at first hand. He lives in Highbury, North London.