Despite having little patience for numbers, Ash Gyan wanted nothing more than to be a proverbial king of capitalism by having a successful career in private equity, the pinnacle of finance. His first two attempts to launch this career, after spending time as an investment banker, ended as false starts when the groups where he worked ceased operating. He had no choice but to go to the only place he could get a job, even if it meant joining a firm started by a former communist.

The twelve cousins are transported to a distant world called Al Kiam. Their abilities can bring war or peace to the land, but first they have to get along. The twelve cousins fight about the old stone teapot Grandpapa brought back from the war in Iraq. Grandpapa says it may be magic; some of the cousins disagree while others believe his claim with all their hearts. While they go through the old ritual explained by Grandpapa, a swirl of light fills the room, followed by a wave of blackness. As the darkness changed to light, the twelve cousins realize they are in a different world: the world of Al Kiam. Whats more, each cousin has acquired a strange, unique power, the purpose of which is unknown to them. They soon learn they are surrounded by an ancient battle that threatens to tear the world of Al Kiam apartunless they do something about it. No matter how much these cousins may love each other, they dont always agree. Deciding what they must dofight the good fight or quickly find a way homecould tear them apart. With the fate of a world in their hands, however, the twelve cousins must learn to use their powers as one and solve the riddles of Al Kiam. By harnessing their newfound powers, they may become heroes.

Russia in its "time of troubles," 1598-1613, is the subject of prolific freelance writer Shubin's new book. The author describes this work as his translation and adaptation into English of a variety of famous works, which he actually lists, a welcome departure from the common practice of a number of best-selling popular histories, such as Henri Troyat's Ivan le Terrible (1982), which shamelessly raided the pages of famous historians like N.M. Karamzin with scarcely a nod. However, Shubin's method does not conform to the standards of professional history, and it raises obvious questions about intended readership. In addition, the lack of any but discursive or informative footnotes makes it difficult to know who is being translated and adapted. Actually, The "author" (if that is the proper term here) has arranged the material better than one would expect, and even made it useful for totally uninformed readers just setting out to explore the subject. However it would be so much better for beginners to turn to complete translations of Shubin's sources, a number of which long have been available from Academic International Press.