Richard Burton

Kate Skylar is an ordinary seventeen-year-old with an extraordinary destiny. A virgin, Kate suddenly finds herself pregnant with what she believes is the Son of God. But the Catholic Church is convinced Kate is carrying the Antichrist and, assisted by an artificial intelligence known as Grand Inquisitor, will stop at nothing to kill Ethan, her son. Ethan’s only protection is Conversatio, a secret organization dedicated to the Second Coming—which may have its own dark agenda. As Ethan grows up in anonymity, ignorant of his true identity and not knowing whom to trust, he must come to terms with his miraculous abilities and make a fateful choice that will determine the future of all mankind. And for Kate, an equally difficult struggle looms, as well as a mother’s devastating choice. Godsent is a wild religious thriller, a page-turner that keeps you guessing until the very last page. Burton, in his fiction debut, crafts a tightly-wound narrative with a heart-pounding plot and emotional resonance that will ring true to anyone with children of their own, all while the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

Sir Richard Burton (1821–1890), the famous Victorian explorer, began his career in the Indian army in 1842. While in India he developed his linguistic talent, mastering more than forty different languages and dialects. He turned to writing books in the 1850s and, over the remaining forty years of his life, published dozens of works and more than one hundred articles. In this book, first published in 1856, Burton recounts his travels to Harar, a city in East Africa notorious for its slave trade activity. His plan was a challenging one, as it was believed that no European had been there before; upon arrival he claimed to be an agent of the British government and presented himself to the ruler of Harar. Burton was allowed to spend ten days there, and his account give a fascinating glimpse into a then unknown city and culture.

"It is said if you take care of the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves. Richard Burton's excellent book takes this approach to calculations applied to the biomedical sciences…This is certainly interesting and engaging but it avoids being complicated." –Journal of Biological Education, April 2009 Biomedical Calculations: Principles and Practice is an accessible, student-friendly introduction to calculating, applying formulae and solving quantitative problems within these subjects. This book targets a problem area for many students and aims to give them the confidence which they are so often lacking when undertaking scientific calculations. It takes a unique approach to the subject and uses unit analysis as a central theme throughout the book to enhance student understanding. Clearly structured throughout, little basic knowledge of mathematics is assumed, but even the most numerate readers will be interested in the sometimes-novel biological detail. Numerous worked examples, supplementary questions and practice problems are provided and although the book is written to be read in sequence, it will also be a useful reference. The central theme of the book focuses on the value of unit analysis in solving quantitative problems, with explanations on how to avoid errors in calculations and in checking, understanding and deriving formulae and equations. As a background to this, there is extensive treatment of physical units, both individually (e.g. kg, m, mmol) and in combination (e.g. m s¯², mmol L¯¹), and also of other aspects of quantitative thinking. A variety of topics (mostly from physiology, pharmacology and biochemistry) are used to demonstrate these calculations in practice. Key features: An accessible, student-friendly introduction for all those hesitant in calculating, applying formulae and solving quantitative problems An innovative approach to scientific calculations and how to work with unfamiliar formulae for the biomedical and life sciencesIncludes modern, up to date definition of pH eliminating the need for logarithms and a discussion of the importance of pHClear introduction on how to use the book, guidance on units and unit conversion, and an appendix on basic mathematics and notation Use of unit analysis as a central theme Includes numerous worked examples and supplementary questions throughout the text to enhance student understanding