Urban City

How did the preaching of a peasant carpenter from Galilee spark a movement that would grow to include over two billion followers? Who listened to this "good news," and who ignored it? Where did Christianity spread, and how? Based on quantitative data and the latest scholarship, preeminent scholar and journalist Rodney Stark presents new and startling information about the rise of the early church, overturning many prevailing views of how Christianity grew through time to become the largest religion in the world.

All places are not created equal. In this groundbreaking book, Richard Florida shows that where we live is increasingly a crucial factor in our lives, one that fundamentally affects our professional and personal prospects. As well as explaining why place matters now more than ever, Who's Your City? provides indispensable tools to help you choose the right place for you.

I’ve been on lockdown in the Hidden City for weeks now. Everyone thinks I’m hiding from the Alpha because I disobeyed his orders one too many times. And, well… I have. He’s coming for me; I know that. But he’s also coming for Myf, my mysterious agoraphobic pantry-dwelling Welsh friend, and I can’t let him take her. She’s hiding a dangerous secret—one I need her to share with me so I can protect her.

When Maddy finally killed her father, Azazel, she thought his depraved experiment died with him. But now Chicago has been infested with vampires immune to the effects of the sun, and the bloodbath is worse than she could have ever imagined. While the Agency refuses to interfere with other supernatural courts, Maddy is determined to do everything within her power to save her city - wings or no wings.

Since he slew the dragon and unwittingly became the guardian of the Gate --- the passage between our world and Feirie -- Nick Medea, formerly St. George, has striven against tremendous odds to keep the darkness of either realm from crossing into the other. Despite an almost insurmountable task, Nick has succeeded in maintaining the balance, even with the dragon a part of him and ever seeking escape.

Karachi. Pakistan’s largest city is a sprawling metropolis of 20 million people, twice the size of New York City. It is a place of political turbulence in which those who have power wield it with brutal and partisan force. It takes an insider to know where is safe, whom to trust, and what makes Karachi tick. In this powerful debut, Samira Shackle explores the city of her mother’s birth in the company of a handful of Karachiites.

The year is 2072, and Deacon City, a metropolis mirroring the restless pulse of modern-day Los Angeles, evolves into a sprawling urban maze where danger lurks at every corner. Time slips by, thirty years since the last Mortal Kombat tournament, yet the city's underbelly still simmers with the embers of old rivalries. For its inhabitants, Deacon City is both a glittering beacon of opportunity and a treacherous pit of vice. Petty crimes and criminal activities have become woven into the fabric of daily life, thriving in the shadowy alleys and neon-lit streets.

When the lead actress is found dead on a set staged to replicate the room where suspected witches were tried in 1692—and her on-screen lover, in full costume, is discovered sound asleep in her trailer—the hunt is on for a killer on the loose. Now, even with help from River's entire coven, Lee's Aunt Ibby, and O'Ryan, a clairvoyant gentleman cat, sorting out a witch's brew of secrets, sorcery, and special effects might turn Lee's documentary into her own final act . . .

After a failed attempt to end her life, Alia Carter leaves her childhood home to become a waitress in the state's most prominent hotel. Traumatized after her mother’s death, she silently grapples with her pain until she saves the life of a mysterious man who reveals to her a world of true magic, and terrifying wonder. Eric Wynter is a vampire Ward sworn to protect the creatures of the city. After centuries of heartache and loneliness, he is finally ready to end his existence.

In this thrilling collection of original stories, some of today’s hottest paranormal authors delight, thrill and captivate readers with otherworldly tales of magic and mischief.

In the year 2008, a Malamute arrives in New York City, followed by a pack of German Shepherds, Dobermans, and Great Danes, all dressed in grand old Prussian style. They become the toast of Manhattan - Monster Dogs. But who, or what, are they really? Outfitted with voice boxes and prosthetic arms, the dogs are the result of an experiment begun years ago in a tiny Canadian village. But their creators did not anticipate that these decadent dogs would be threatened by a strange, incurable illness.

There may not be such a thing as a perfect city, but all great cities have moments of perfection - perfect streets or buildings, perfect places to raise a family or to relax with a coffee - and all of them strive for perfection when they undertake grand projects...Joe Berridge, one of the world's leading urban planners, takes us on an insider's tour of the world's largest and most diverse cities, from New York to London, Shanghai to Singapore, Toronto to Sydney, to examine what is working and not working, what is promising and what needs to be fixed in the contemporary megalopolis.

Chicago socialite and art patron Geneva Langley has brought scandal to her family for the last time. Her latest and boldest act of immodesty is too much for her father to bear, and he banishes her to Seattle, along with her scheming, ambitious husband, Nathan. Seattle is a far cry from Chicago—the streets are muddy, the society backward, and Ginny feels stifled and alone.

Police inspector Cecilie Mars is a different kind of cop. She has a heavy cocaine habit, fantasizes about vigilante violence, and constantly falls in love with men she shouldn’t. Late one night, while tailing a suspect, Mars makes an ill-fated choice that has far-reaching consequences. Unluckily for her, her misstep has been observed and filmed. Now, an anonymous foe is threatening to reveal the truth unless she submits to his terrifying agenda.

Once upon a time, a burnt-out Claire Dunn spent a year living off the grid in a wilderness survival program. Yet love and the possibilities of human connection drew her back to the city, where she soon found herself as overscheduled, addicted to her phone and lost in IKEA as everyone else. Given all the city offered - comfort, convenience, community and opportunity - she wanted to stay. But to do so, she'd have to learn how to rewild her own urban soul. Now, Claire swims in city rivers, forages in the suburbs and explores many other practices to connect to the world around her.

It’s not every day that a whistleblower shows up and drops a satchel full of damning documents in my lap. Photographs, audits, and reports, all showing willful wrongdoing by a major magical manufacturer; everything a journalist could ever want for a front page story. Then the whistleblower wound up dead, and my easy work week was shattered. Despite official reports, I knew he didn’t die in a workplace safety accident. What was less obvious, at least until I started digging, was how much fallout his death would leave behind.

A revenant searches for a way to atone for past sins, a college grad accepts a job with paranormal responsibilities, a man battles demons in his mind and in real life, and a private detective with a secret prowls 1930s-era Chicago on the hunt for a killer while a full moon rises. From the mind of best-selling author Kirk Dougal comes four short tales of dark urban fantasy filled with magic, the undead, and more than a little fur.

Cities are birthplaces of civilization; centers of culture, trade, and progress; cauldrons of opportunity - and the home of 80 percent of the world's population by 2050. As the 21st century progresses, metropolitan areas will bear the brunt of global megatrends such as climate change, natural resource depletion, population growth, income inequality, mass migrations, and education and health disparities, among many others.

What does it mean to be truly human? When an orphaned kit fox named Tom is transformed by a witch’s spell into a 12-year-old boy, he’s given a deadline of summer’s end to become fully human. Befriended by fellow orphan Nora, he spends the summer enjoying normal human activities, always fearing that he won’t discover how to become fully human in time, and unaware that soon he and Nora will be fighting for their lives....

Lily Harper narrowly survived her first mission as a Soul Retriever in the first level of the Underground City. After that harrowing trip, she wants nothing more than some downtime, but as with most things involving the afterlife, nothing ever quite works out the way Lily wants it to. Her newest mission will see her traveling to the sewer aqueduct of the Underground City and later, the prison. But, luckily for Lily, she’s got the hunky yet antisocial bladesmith Tallis Black by her side. And quite possibly unluckily for her, she’s also got her guardian angel, Bill, who’s up to his old, foul-mouthed antics.