It’s business school, the Branson way. Whether you’re interested in starting your own business, improving your leadership skills, or simply looking for inspiration from one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time, Richard Branson has the answers. Like a Virgin brings together some of his best advice, distilling the experiences and insights that have made him one of the world’s most recognized and respected business leaders. In his trademark thoughtful and encouraging voice, Branson shares his knowledge like a close friend. He’ll teach you how to be more innovative, how to lead by listening, how to enjoy your work, and much more. In hindsight, Branson is thankful he never went to business school. Had he conformed to the conventional dos and don’ts of starting a business, would there have been a Virgin Records? A Virgin Atlantic? So many of Branson’s achievements are due to his unyielding deter­mination to break the rules and rewrite them himself. Here’s how he does it.

The Blessed Virgin's deliverance of a prophecy to a peasant girl in Fatima in 1914 is followed years later by signs and omens including worldwide droughts and famines that signify its imminent fulfillment

In September 2012, a YOUGOV poll conducted in Britain found that the person British workers would most like as their manager was Sir Richard Branson. With over 40 years in business, Richard Branson is an inspiring pioneer of humanitarian projects and an iconic business leader. In The Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh and Lead, Richard shares and distils his secrets of leadership and success. Featuring anecdotes from his own business dealings, as well as his observations of many others who have inspired him âe" from politicians, business leaders, explorers, scientists and philanthropists âe" Richard reflects on the qualities he feels are essential for success in todayâe(tm)s world. This is not a conventional book on leadership. There are no rules âe" but rather the secrets of leadership that he has learned along the way from his days at Virgin Records, to his recent work with The Elders. Whether youâe(tm)re at the beginning of your career, or head of a Fortune 500 company âe" this is your guide to being your own CEO (Chief Enabling Officer) and becoming a true leader âe" not just a boss.

Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, The Virgin’s Spy is award-winning author Laura Andersen’s second novel about the next generation of Tudor royals—a mesmerizing historical novel filled with rich period detail, vividly drawn characters, and all the glamour and seduction of the fabled Tudor court. Queen Elizabeth I remains sovereign of England and Ireland. For the moment, at least. An Irish rebellion is growing and Catholic Spain, led by the Queen’s former husband, King Philip, plans to seize advantage of the turmoil. Stephen Courtenay, eldest son of Dominic and Minuette, Elizabeth’s most trusted confidantes, has accepted a command in Ireland to quell the unrest. But the task will prove dangerous in more ways than one. The Princess of Wales, Elizabeth’s daughter, Anabel, looks to play a greater role in her nation, ever mindful that there is only one Queen of England. But how is Anabel to one day rule a country when she cannot even govern her own heart? Praise for The Virgin’s Spy “Andersen delivers another dramatic thriller complete with spies, battles, ruthless villains and twists on historical events that draw the reader deeply into the lives of her characters. There is magic here, and Andersen’s fantastic storytelling will keep readers coming back for more.”—RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 stars, Top Pick!) Find your next book club pick, read special features, and more. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle.

" Verine Garzon is curious and pure but she's not innocent. Her wild acts results to something serious in her reproductive health that needs professional help of doctors. When she met her aunts doctor, Dr. Malcolm Monteclar, the most handsome doctor in the country, she couldn't help but fantasize about his gorgeous face, oozing sex appeal, hard rock muscles and his big thing. When he caught her she didn't hesitate to ask for his help. Will Malcolm help her?"

From Classical Antiquity to the present, virginity has been closely allied with power: as someone who chooses a life of celibacy retains mastery over his or her body. Sexual potency withheld becomes an energy-reservoir that can ensure independence and enhance self-esteem, but it can also be harnessed by public institutions and redirected for the common good. This was the founding principle of the Vestal Virgins of Rome and later in the monastic orders of the middle ages. Mythical accounts of goddesses and heroines who possessed the ability to recover their virginity after sexual experience demonstrate a belief that virginity is paradoxically connected both with social autonomy and the ability to serve the human community. Virginity Revisited is a collection of essays that examines virginity not as a physical reality but as a cultural artefact. By situating the topic of virginity within a range of historical 'moments' and using a variety of methodologies, Virginity Revisited illuminates how chastity provided a certain agency, autonomy, and power to women. This is a study of the positive and negative features of sexual renunciation, from ancient Greek divinities and mythical women, in Rome's Vestal Virgins, in the Christian martyrs and Mariology in the Medieval and early Modern period, and in Grace Marks, the heroine of Margaret Atwood's novel Alias Grace.

The essays in Menacing Virgins: Representing Virginity in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance examine the nexus of religious, political, economic, and aesthetic values that produce the Western European myth of virginity, and explore how those complex cultural forces animate, empower, discipline, disclose, mystify, and menace the virginal body. As the title suggests, the virgin can be seen alternately or even simultaneously as menaced or menacing. To chart the history of virginity as a steady, evolutionary progression from a religious ideal in the Middle Ages toward a more secularized or sovereign ideal in the Renaissance would obscure how unstable a concept chastity is in both periods. What this collection demonstrates is that medieval and early modern attitudes toward virginity are not general and evolutionary, but specific, changeable, and often conflicted.