Cricket and terrorism go hand in hand in today’s world.

No sport can consider itself immune from terrorism. The sight of masked gunmen opening fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in the Pakistan city of Lahore provides such evidence.

The audacious manner the terrorists carried out the attacks is truly harrowing. Echoes of the November Mumbai attacks are plain for all to see.

To many people the attacks may come as no surprise at all. The sub-continent is an area not short on conflicts. Sri Lanka has a long history of civil war dating back to 1983 and India and Pakistan are constantly contesting the region of Kashmir. The cultural significance of cricket in these regions makes the sport a prime target.

Terrorism and cricket have collided before. In 2002 the New Zealand cricket team narrowly avoided a bomb blast outside their Karachi hotel.

The harsh reality is sporting events have always been, and in the future even more so will be, targets for terrorist groups.

The Munich Massacre of 1972 saw 11 Israeli Olympic team members kidnapped and murdered by a Palestinian militant group. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Games a US citizen detonated a bomb killing two and injuring hundreds.

Terrorism and sport have a history but still some questions need to be answered.

What makes sport such an attractive target? Why is the threat of terrorist attacks on sporting events likely to increase? What can be done to stem the threat?

Motives of terrorist organisations are to get maximum exposure for their efforts, sending strong messages to the world. Sporting coverage may be the ideal platform. A fitting analogy can explain why.

On September 11th, 2001 spectacular scenes resembled more of an “Independence Day-esque” Hollywood blockbuster than a real life experience. Two of the foundations that western society was built on came crashing down in a staggered nature for worldwide audiences to witness.

The real time, mass communicated, graphic coverage via the TV network giants amplified the terror. At these moments time simply stands still. Everybody remembers where they were when the second plane hit the World Trade Centre. 911

The attacks in Lahore are dwarfed in scale by 9/11. Nevertheless the effects are the same. Parallels can very easily be drawn.

Cricketers are major stars competing on the world stage via mass TV networks to captured audiences in their millions. It is easy to see why terrorists want to share this stage and make it their own.

No cricketers were killed but the perpetrators will be pleased with the sensational global headlines

This goes further than cricket. Modern media sporting coverage gives any terrorist group the exposure they seek.

The Lahore attacks will inspire terrorist groups to commit similar acts in the future.

Addressing this issue with appropriate security measures should be at the forefront of every sporting institution’s agenda – be it the Cricket World Cup in 2011 or the Olympic Games in London 2012.

The security in Pakistan was unacceptable. The Pakistan Cricket Board has paid the ultimate price, losing the right to jointly host the 2011 Cricket World Cup and making international sport in Pakistan a thing of the past for the foreseeable future.

The challenge facing other sporting institutions to address security concerns is tough. Extra costs to secure the safety of athletes must be taken. Sports stars need safe environments to perform to the best of their abilities.

Sport has a unique ability to unite those that are otherwise divided. Sporting institutions all around the world must send a firm message in response to those who choose terrorism.

Beginning in September, we had a slew of new television series air on the major free-to-air networks. Those series were…

• Currently Airing / viewers / Fantasy Stock value(TVBux$)
• Big Day / 6.35 / $17.47
• Help Me To Help You / 8.9 down to 5.19 / $14.00
• 1 vs 100 / 11.4 down to 9.06 / $10.77
• 3 lbs / 6.8 rising to 7.95 / $12.09
• 30 Rock / 5.4 rising to 6.8 / $18.06
• Daybreak / 7.6 down to 3.9 / $13.73
• Standoff / 9.6 down to 3.3 / $13.49
• The Class / 7 rising to 7.9 / $29.75
• All of Us / 1.7 rising to 3.1 / $8.78
• Ugly Betty / 12.2 down to 9.5 / $27.45
• ‘Til Death / 6.5 down to 2.9 / $18.33
• The Game / 1.2 rising to 2.5 / $7.69
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip / 10.3 down to 6.2 / $19.78
• Shark / 11.1 and holding at 11.2 / $39.82
• Men In Trees / 8.8 down to 2.1 and rising to 8.3 / $24.08
• Jericho / 7.7 rising to 8.8 / $26.44
• Heroes / 3.6 rising and holding strong at over 15 / $33.04
• Friday Night Lights / 5.3 and rising to 6.44 / $9.19
• Brothers and Sisters / 11 down to 10.47 / $23.33

• Cancelled or On Hiatus / ratings / Fantasy Stock value(TVBux$)
• 20 Good Years / 4.7 down to 3.4 / 14.59
• Six Degrees / 9.3 down to 5.4 / $16.00
• Show Me The Money / 8.9 down to 6.4 / $5.37
• Justice / 6.6 down to 4.4 / $13.40
• The Nine / 9.1 down to 4 / $14.64
• Kidnapped / 6 down to 2.6 / $14.45
• Smith / 7.8 down to 5.8 / $21.75
• Runaway / 1.8 down to 1.2 / $3.74
• Happy Hour / 5.1 down to 2.5 / $10.35
• Vanished / 5.5 down to 2 / $10.57

What we learned from this group of shows is that there were far too many new series that had a similar theme or too much like something that had aired before. Sadly for Fox – pretty much none of it’s New series’ survived the shakeup and they have had to go back to old standards in an attempt to lick their wounds and recover something before American Idol comes on in January.

The CW made a good effort but it just does not have the base numbers to compete and it’s normal series tend to overshadow the new ones, so it didn’t get much success out of new dramas either.

ABC had a bunch of losses also, but they have managed to recover.

CBS survived admirably and is going strong but now their major series are on hiatus, who knows what will happen in the next 6 weeks before their first-run series return.

NBC is struggling quietly and coping well against it’s two brethren, it’s series are pounding away at the viewers giving as much as they are taking.

Overall – even the cancelled series could have done well if they had been put up against different competition. It seems the programming directors for the major networks may not be as much in tune as we think they are, for some of the more promising new series faded with barely a whisper, while some that are low rating all the time are being bulked up to survive even in the face of falling ratings and viewership.

Once the Christmas hiatus is past we will revisit the current lineup and see how they are faring in nielson ratings against the major returning series such as Lost, 24 and American Idol.

Conflict is what keeps your readers and your characters on their toes. Conflict keeps your plot moving forward and pushes your characters into exploring new depths of their personalities. Will your protagonist overcome all obstacles and solve the mystery and still get the girl, or will your protagonist cave under the pressure and take his own life?

Conflict can be as simple as a young teenager struggling with her inner emotions while coping with her quest to find love as in Twilight or it can be vicious and sinister as turning everyone against each other in a castle in order to take over the throne like in Ghormenghast.

Internal Conflicts

What are some conflicts that you and your friends and colleagues face regularly? Loneliness? Love? Fear? Anger? Hate? Emotions can blind people and cause them to fall short of their goals.

An internal conflict is an emotional conflict that your character(s) experience within their own mind. In the movie Se7en starring Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, Brad Pitt’s character is experiencing an internal conflict of anger and arrogance while Gwyneth Paltrow is suffering from loneliness.

Internal conflict may prevent your detective from rescuing the kidnapped girl in the cellar because he is mortally afraid of the dark. Fear is a very powerful internal conflict. In Kevin Williamson’s movie Don’t Look Down, a killer is murdering the protagonist’s friends and her fear of heights is preventing her from moving past her sister’s death. Fear of heartbreak or rejection can keep someone from asking out his or her secret crush. Joyce and Jim Lavene give an excellent example of how strong fear can be: The fear of rejection can keep a woman from asking a man at her office out for coffee. She thinks about it for so long it achieves epic proportions in her mind. Finally, that fear causes her to stalk him. Another plot hatches!

External Conflicts

External conflicts can be big and small. In action movies, the external conflict can be as devastating as a super volcanoes and super-storms that threaten to destroy the planet. But conflict can also be small and add detail and tension to every scene. Even in the opening sequence of Se7en, the rainstorm is inconvenient for the characters. For the audience though, the rain provides an uncomfortable and gritty visual display.

It’s important to add conflict in every scene when writing your novel or movie script. Conflict must always be present whether it’s external or internal. Many times, writers will add internal conflict in one scene, followed by a scene focused around the external conflict and then continue to write in this pattern until the middle of the story where both the internal and external collide.

Mixing the Conflicts

Books and movies require both internal and external conflicts. One will challenge the hero’s emotions where the other challenges the protagonist’s “physical” side of the plot. For example, in the Hunger Games, Katniss is coping with many internal conflicts: coping with the loss of her father and sorting her feelings toward Gale and Peter, while her external conflict is the events leading up to (and including) the district’s uprising.

The goals, the wants and the needs of your characters are not random. They have to be carefully plotted for your novel or movie script to make any sense. There are, however, certain examples where a writer may get away with not investing as much time and effort into developing certain types of conflicts.

In men’s action and adventure, the external conflict is dominant which overshadows the internal conflict. These men’s heroic characters don’t need to go through much soul searching because of the demands of the specific target audience as well as the genre. Simply put, action movies are full of action.

As a writer, how you decide to reveal your character’s internal and external conflicts will reflect their strengths, weaknesses, skills and abilities. Whatever conflicts you put your characters through, make sure it challenges them enough that it will eventually lead him or her to a breaking point.

Billy Budd is doubly famous. He is the eponymous principal character of Herman Melville’s novella and, by adoption via E M Forster’s hand, also the eponymous hero a Benjamin Britten’s opera. The contrasting if not contradictory words ‘character’ and ‘hero’ are important in the context of these two masterpieces.

Like all good stories, it cannot be spoiled, because it is in the way the story is told that the real experience lies. Billy Budd is a young man, rather handsome in a simple, lower status, ratings way. He is recruited from a merchant ship called The Rights of Man to HMS indomitable and so joins the King’s Navy as a foretopman. The previous ship’s owner with its explicitly political title is mentioned in the book as owned by someone who sympathises with Thomas Paine and presumably the American and therefore the French Revolutions. This point is merely referenced by Forster and Britten, probably because it might provide an alternative political motive for the antagonism that develops, an antagonism that, in the opera, focuses on sexuality.

The Indomitable embarks on its mission during the Napoleonic Wars under the direction of Captain Vere and is policed by a master-at-arms called Claggart, whom Vere only met on the return part of his last voyage, indicating that exists no personal friendship between them. Melville tells us that Claggart is around thirty-five, an age he generally exceeds by a considerable amount in most productions of Britten’s opera.

Billy Budd is a genial sort of giant. Everyone notices his good looks, his youth, his athletic stature and his obvious strength. But it is also noted that he is naïve, perhaps overly trusting. An old hand tries to warn him that Claggart has taken against him, but Billy insists that he himself has never spoken ill of anyone, so there can be no problem.

Claggart conspires to pin an accusation of recruitment for mutiny on Billy. The name of his previous ship and presumably the political associations of its owner play an important part, as does the impressed status, equals kidnapped, of some crew members. Already I fall into the trap of labelling the ‘bad’ guy with a surname and the foretopman with a forename. But that is the reality. For whatever reason, Claggart is out to get Billy.

Billy has one severe weakness. He stutters. He stutters more when stressed. And when, in the company of Captain Vere, Claggart publicly delivers his accusation against the young man, Billy becomes so incensed that he cannot defend himself verbally. The words will not come and in frustration he strikes Claggart and kills him. Billy is tried, found guilty of striking and killing an officer and is condemned to death. He hangs.

At the trial, Vere presents his version of events in a cold hearted, matter of fact manner that will admit no nuance. In effect, he merely recites the rulebook. In the opera, Vere’s ghost, still troubled by conscience, admits he could have saved Billy Budd, but chose not to. In Melville’s original, things are more complex. Vere must enact the demands of his office and so he behaves as he does. Stability, loyalty to King and country and the rightness of superior social class trump notions of justice, fairness or compassion. The obvious injustice almost creates sufficient reaction amongst the crew to itself provoke a mutiny, but the anger dissipates, defeated by continued enforced subservience.

And, by the way, all of this applies to the opera, as well as the novella. Forster and Britten make more of Vere, paradoxically, than Melville, despite the novella spending much more time on the actual trial than the opera. Vere is torn by conscience, but he is the apparently unwitting possessor of a responsibility that trumps personal judgment. In some ways, Vere is more of an order taker than those whom he orders. And at the end of the opera, Britain illustrates how the aspiring middle classes, those promoted and paid to populate a buffer zone between protest and power, eventually protect the status of their social betters, but cannot salve a collective conscience, a conscience that in any case does not care.

A theme which becomes central but not rarely explicit in the opera is the suggestion that Claggart is homosexually attracted to Billy Budd. The antagonism generated within him towards Billy is thus the result of an inner purging of guilt and self-loathing that the attraction itself generates. There is the mere hint of this in Melville’s words. For obvious reasons, it was a theme that interested Britten deeply.

But the opera’s amplification of the theme is justified. Melville distances himself from anything sexual. The topic clearly exists in the lives of the sailors. But Melville apparently refuses to enter the establishment, let alone the bedroom where implied acts take place. There is a clear reference to Claggart’s attraction, but the author also wrote of the highly ambiguous relationship between Ishmael and Queequeg at the start of Moby Dick. There is evidence enough of the author’s reluctance to enter the bedroom, even when he declares himself explicitly in attendance!

Perhaps the most moving experience in Billy Budd is to read the epilogue, which is a sailor’s poetic retelling of the story. Personally, I find it impossible to read these words without also singing Billy’s almost proud but frank lament from the opera. The story is, undoubtedly, a double masterpiece.

At first glance, Robinson Crusoe appears to be what we know is true: it is an adventure story, plain and simple. Like Swiss Family Robinson. Like Kidnapped. Like all of those late nineteenth-century adventure stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. Even like Gulliver’s Travels, another eighteenth-century novel. But Gulliver’s Travels is about more than a guy being tied up by little people. There’s a floating island and a lot of philosophers to make fun of, too. And we can’t forget the intelligent horses and the stupid human Yahoos.

Daniel Defoe’s novel doesn’t have all of the crazy episodic stuff like Gulliver’s Travels, but it is more than a guy stranded on an island. And it’s not all internal stuff like Tom Hanks in Castaway. This book is about politics, too. And we’re talking 1719 politics here.

Ann Van Sant’s essay “Crusoe’s Hands” from the scholarly journal Eighteenth-Century Life presents an intriguing way to read Robinson Crusoe that is both profound and relatively simple to grasp. First, Van Sant sets the novel in the history of ideas about work by looking at the difference between the head and hands. The head represents intellectual activity, while hands represent manual activity or manual work, what we would generally call labor:

“The hierarchy of head and hand is part of a long tradition supported by authority from both Greek and Latin antiquity. The tradition extends and reworks Aristotle’s view that theoretical knowledge is superior to productive knowledge and that the manual laborer works without knowing why he works. Such labor is servile…The bias against manual labor was never either simple or monolithic, but despite various kinds of modifications, it can be seen as a recurring cultural prejudice.” (121)

This distinction between the head and the hand, between intellectual and manual labor was mirrored in the distinction between classes, as gentlemen were prized over the lower classes: “the separation of the gentleman from the non-gentleman was said to rest on the distinction between those who did, and those who did not, have to work with their hands” (121). The one place where this hierarchy fell apart was in science, especially in the Royal Society, which was a gentleman’s club that met to discuss science and also published proceedings about science. Like all good science, the Royal Society valued experiment and observation, but such experiments involved the work of hands, were, in fact, very similar to manual labor. Dissections, notations, tabulations, contraptions for experiments all required the type of manual labor done by hands. So the Royal Society was a gentleman’s club that did some work of the lower classes and did welcome some lower class members.

Now that the eighteenth-century stage is set, we can talk about Defoe’s novel. Crusoe himself has to do a lot of work with his hands. He is stranded on a deserted island for much of the book and has to build everything he has: that’s manual labor if there ever was such. His descriptions of weather, his surveying of the island, his records of everything he does are similar to the publications of the Royal Society, as well: “Defoe’s uses of the hand are a remarkable example of what early novel fictions seldom included: detailed attention to work” (129). For Van Sant, the author of this essay, Defoe was writing differently, combining many elements or modes that make the novel stand out:

“In Defoe’s novels, especially Robinson Crusoe, in the equally new genre of the scientific report, and in the georgic materials of the period, we can see an emerging interest in process and method. That interest brings the work of hands into view in a new way, despite the countertendencies of the cultural tradition that places such work below the work of the head…As a remnant persisting over a long period, the hierarchy of head and hand perhaps served the interests of change both by continuing to stress social rank, and by being a sign of an old stability. What Defoe is able to imagine in Robinson Crusoe, by separating the character from social structures, is a world in which this traditional concept temporarily has no application. The work of hands is both necessary and interesting in itself.” (132)

So Defoe creates a place, the deserted island, where is no distinction between hand and head, between intellectual and manual labor. And that’s a novel way to read.

Van Sant, Ann. “Crusoe’s Hands.” Eighteenth-Century Life. 32.2(Spring 2008): 120-137.

Daily, we are being bombarded by news reports on violence, murder, bloodbath, robberies, kidnapping, terrorism and other criminal acts.

In truth, despite these challenges, our world with an estimation of seven billion people is slowly and surely moving forward. This is the way I should go.

It is a global issue and therefore not limited to Nigeria or any of the developing or developed nations of the world.

Our attitude indeed determines our altitude. Whether for individuals, groups, state, or a nation, the storyline is the same.

It is not what happens to us, individually or collectively that matters. It is how we react, response to what happen to us, good or bad.

I got this write from Dula Anthony Mabin, a divisional police transport officer with the Ogoja division of the Nigeria police force in Cross River state, south-south Nigeria.

Indeed, he is the one that has inspired me to write this article.

He started by saying that learning is the most consistent aspect of human life, an important measure towards reducing corruption in Nigeria.

This could be achieved through moral information sharing ethical and attitudinal change for every Nigerian be they young or old, rich or poor, in government or private sector, every reasoning citizen has a stake in this struggle.

Every Nigerian has a moral base, but corruption has made it such that many don’t subscribe to it in their dealings.

He insisted that this is the cause of breakdown in ethical norms and values, which are necessary ingredients in building successful communities in our beloved country, Nigeria.

His words: “Nigeria to truly avert corruption citizens must first of all subscribe to morality ethics, values and norms that support the best civilized standards in business politics culture, military education, social relation and even in family life”.

It is essential that all citizens are informed of what corruption is and what role each can play in combating corruption. If today’s youth learn about corruption and refrain from it, they would become responsible and accountable when they become public private servants, this is because they already know the dangers of corruption more so the love of the country we must protect the integrity of the country Nigeria.

If every family is disciplined and given moral values or thought the community and the society will inculcate that value it will be a crime free society and Nigeria at large.

Family upbringing is very essential as regard to a reasonable society and the country. Our political leaders must set an example of integrity and honesty. Who are the government we borrow the ideas of Switzerland, a country with a free crime society because they believe in the moral culture.

Since his evolution, it has been established that mere mortals are no match for the Hulk. And thanks for that, because we see Stan Lee’s creativity go berserk with Bruce Banner and Hulk. In this comic book, we are introduced to The Toad Men.

Plot:

By this time, Rick Jones and Bruce Banner have made peace with their role in life. Rick has to ensure that The Hulk does minimal damage when he returns every night, and ensure that Banner survives the violence that the Hulk puts himself through.

One day, the duo decide to make their headquarters in a strong, tailor made cave, And as they are deciding to make their life simpler, an alien race, The Toad Men, make their way onto earth. The Toad Men are of course, looking to capture earth, but before that they want to know how advanced or primitive the planet is.

To do this, they wish to find out who the most intelligent man on earth is, and their research shows them to Bruce. They use a special magnetic power to capture Bruce and Rick.

Back on their spaceship that trundles along Earth, they release Rick, because they are not the person that they want. Bruce turns into the Hulk and singlehandedly defeats the Toad Men. On earth, the army sees the alien spacecraft and shoots it down, bringing down a disheveled Bruce, who has by then turned back into his natural form. The Toad Men escape from an underground passage, and therefore Bruce is the alleged mastermind of what seems to be a plot to overtake the world.

As Bruce is in imprisoned, the leader of the Toad Men makes contact with General Ross, and after some threatening dialogue, Ross decides that they will fight to their last breath. Meanwhile, Bruce has transformed into Hulk and disappeared from the prison. Angered at General Ross for imprisoning him, he jumps and flies to Ross’s house to confront him, but finds Betty, whom he kidnaps.

This is the second time that Betty has a confrontation with The Hulk. This time, she asks him why he hates humanity, and The Hulk replies with another question. Why shouldn’t he hate the civilization that has only tortured and imprisoned him?

In fact, the Hulk is just about destroy his only hope towards a normal life when Rick comes in and tells him about the Toad Men. But any chances of a conversation are turned to naught when the Toad Men attack Earth and there are a series of earthquakes throughout the night.

Finally, with daylight comes Bruce, the only person who knows the power of the Gamma Ray gun, which he uses to send the Toad Men and their spaceship into another galaxy.

Discussion:

Reading the earlier issues of The Hulk, it seems impossible that the green monster has had such a long run. All the other comics that we see in those times are about some criminal or something small. But with Hulk bringing in concepts like aliens – of course, like Superman, it was definitely an awesome change that made comics more interesting.

Post Orders are all the rules security guards must follow at any given post. Without post orders, officers simply do not know what to do, what is expected of them, and there is no accountability. Many posts that hire security staff put nothing in writing. More often than not, this creates huge problems. The more complicated a post is, the problems arise when all rules and expectations are not written down. Security personnel must know what is expected of them. Below are some key ingredients that all post orders must have.

1) Emergency contact information. This should include all tenant phone numbers in case something happens to their particular suite. Obviously, building management and police information must also be included as well as maintenance and engineering.

2) Emergency procedures must also be written down including but not limited to bomb threats, fire, theft, flood, kidnapping, and the list goes on.

3) Lock up procedures must also be covered.

4) Any pertinent phone directory information is usually included.

5) Check-in policy involves building access of couriers, guests, clients. The more specific one is the better. Must all visitors sign-in? Are V.I.P’s exempt?

6) Report writing requirements are usually demonstrated through examples. DAR, also known as daily activity reports, should include an example of what is considered appropriate for a day’s work so officers know how detailed they should be on their report. Also incident reports are important because they are used when serious accidents happen, and are often brought into the court of law to prove legal cases.

7) Customer service skills, a big part of security, should be stressed, defined, so that officers are clear on how the client wants people to be treated. Some clients, for instance, have a very strict anti-fraternization policy they want enforced.

There is much more information that needs to be included in post orders. Every account is different and the rules should be tailor made to consider those differences.

Over the past decade, American policymakers have taken a hard line against those previously convicted of a sex crime involving a child. In this vein, the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act was promulgated by the United States Congress. After passage in both Houses, this legislation was signed by President Bush in 2006.

This legislation has much in common with the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act because it inhibits a US Citizen’s ability to file an immigration petition on behalf of an alien family member.

Under relevant sections of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, Lawful Permanent Residents and US Citizens who have been convicted or plead guilty to a “specified offense against a minor” are precluded from acquiring approval of any immigration petition based on any sort of underlying family relationship. The Adam Walsh Act also bars U.S. citizens convicted of these aforementioned offenses from filing non-immigrant visa petitions that would categorize their fiancees, spouses, or minor children as eligible for “K” non-immigrant status (K1, K2, K3, K4).

The distinction between the restrictions imposed by the IMBRA and the Adam Walsh Act should not be overlooked. Whereas the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act has an impact mostly upon petitioners for K-1 and K-3 visas, the Adam Walsh legislation places limitations on potential petitioner of every family oriented immigration application, which includes the CR-1 and IR-1 visas.

There are certain offenses that have been deemed “specified offense[s] against a minor” that would cause the bar to become operative. The following is a non-exhaustive list of offenses that could cause a visa petition to be denied based upon the Adam Walsh Act: kidnapping or false imprisonment (unless committed by a parent), sexual solicitation, solicitation to engage in acts of prostitution, offenses involving child pornography, or anything that is determined to be an offense involving sexual conduct against a minor.

It might be wise to retain the services of an experienced immigration attorney in situations where the prospective petitioner is unsure whether he falls under the provisions of the Adam Walsh Act. In a case in which it is decided that the offense will prohibit a visa application’s approval pursuant to the act, it might be feasible to acquire a waiver of the finding of ineligibility. Should the application for waiver fail to receive approval then that decision is final. In order to obtain a waiver, the petitioner must prove that he or she not a threat to the prospective beneficiary.

The content contained herein is for educational purposes only and is not to be used as a replacement for assistance of licensed legal counsel. A Lawyer-Client fiduciary duty should not be construed to have been created by merely reading this article.)

Title: Victory

Written by: Susan Cooper

Harback: 196 pages

Ages: 9-12

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

ISBN-10: 1-4169-1477-3

ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1477-8

Publication: 2006

Both eleven years old, Sam Robbins lives in 1803 and Molly Jennings lives in 2006, but their lives cross an emotional barrier 200 years apart that transforms Molly’s life.

Overcome with the loneliness after the death of her father, Molly Jennings finds herself moving to Connecticut in the United States from her native England when her mother remarries an American man. Desperately trying to find her place in her new family, Molly reluctantly joins her family in an outing to Mystic Seaport. As the rain hinders the trip, Molly and her family wander into a used bookstore for shelter. For reasons unknown to Molly, she is drawn to a grimy old book about Admiral Lord Nelson who is named the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar. Unable to explain her excitement over this find, Molly purchases the book. Soon afterwards, while reading the book, she finds a note about the small piece of flag found with it. Apparently, it is from Lord Nelson’s ship, Victory, and it is the prized possession of a person by the name of Samuel Robbins.

While Molly’s mother tries to make their new home as pleasant as possible, Molly continues to miss her home in England. In an attempt to please Molly, her mother surprises her with a trip to her grandparents in England. While out with her grandfather, they visit the restored Victory ship in Portsmouth, England where strange happenings occur with visions and voices heard only by her. While Molly continues on her own adventure, she makes an exciting connection of her families past.

She learns of the young Sam Robbins, who was kidnapped by the “press gang” at the age of eleven, along with his uncle, and brought into the Royal Navy. Sam finds himself in terrible conditions, having to do the most menial tasks. In spite of this, Sam is a quick learner and eventual loves the sailing life. However, he continues to endure horrors and heartaches beyond his imagination.

The novel switches back and forth from current time to the past in alternating chapters. Molly’s life is told in third person, while Sam’s life is told in first person. While this type of writing can be difficult for the most seasoned author, Susan Cooper expertly takes you on this adventure where you find yourself immersed in the lives of Molly and Sam.

Visit Susan Cooper at: http://www.thelostland.com.