Tim Martin – författare

A present contains a monstrous secret.An uninvited guest haunts a Christmas party.A shadow slips across the floor by firelight.A festive entertainment ends in darkness and screams.Who knows what haunts the night at the dark point of the year? This collection of seasonal chillers looks beneath Christmas cheer to a world of ghosts and horrors, mixing terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre. From Neil Gaiman and M. R. James to Muriel Spark and E. Nesbit, there are stories here to make the hardiest soul quail - so find a comfy chair, lock the door, ignore the cold breath on your neck and get ready to welcome in the real spirits of Christmas.

Canada’s longest war (2001-2014) pushed military, diplomatic, judicial and humanitarian organizations to their limits. Was it all in vain?

Based on interviews with twenty-one key decision-makers and participants, many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time, Unwinnable Peace recounts the personal and professional challenges faced by individuals deeply committed to securing and rebuilding Kandahar province.

Diplomats planting seeds of democracy in a society dominated by warlordsAid workers bringing relief and development to shattered communitiesMounties struggling to improve a corrupt and illiterate police forceA young foreign service officer who suffered life-changing injuriesPrison experts bringing international standards to a jail used to tortureThe Canadian and Afghan generals who fought the TalibanThe Afghan–Canadian who risked his life to govern the Province of KandaharInterpreters desperate to save their families from retribution

These are the men and women who are still struggling to reconcile their sacrifices with the eventual Taliban victory.

A veteran diplomat, the author combines his personal experiences with those of his colleagues (Afghan and Canadian) to examine Canada’s mission to Afghanistan at a human level.