The newest student, fallen angel Gladriel, and her former squadron leader Kessian are in a race against time, struggling to find an ancient prophecy foretelling the purge of a quarter of humanity. But the four horsemen of the apocalypse—war, famine, plague, and death—aren't waiting for them to locate and decipher the cryptic tome before they begin.
Honestly, I want to hand this book to every girl I know, and the boys as well (pink typeface and Girl label be damned, this book is a powder keg of information and ideas for any kid).
This time the antiquarian book dealer/burglar is asked by a friend to burgle the home of the man who stole the friend's girlfriend. But a few days before the scheduled break-in, Bernie begins to feel itchy and decides to go on the prowl: "Walking the dark streets, gloves in one pocket, tools in the other, risking life and liberty for no good reason. I knew what I was doing, and I damned well should have known better." His little misadventure leads him to an encounter with a date rapist, accusations of murder, and the burglary of his own home.
In this sequel to the acclaimed Damned Lies and Statistics, which the Boston Globe said "deserves a place next to the dictionary on every school, media, and home-office desk," Joel Best continues his straightforward, lively, and humorous account of how statistics are produced, used, and misused by everyone from researchers to journalists. Underlining the importance of critical thinking in all matters numerical, Best illustrates his points with examples of good and bad statistics about such contemporary concerns as school shootings, fatal hospital errors, bullying, teen suicides, deaths at the World Trade Center, college ratings, the risks of divorce, racial profiling, and fatalities caused by falling coconuts.