What Historical Examples Are Analyzed In 'Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed'?

My husband, Samuel Crawford, made an excuse about attending a company business meeting and refused to participate in our daughter's school activity. He also suggested that we should not participate either. Seeing my daughter's disappointment, I decided to take her myself. As soon as we entered the school, I spotted Samuel sitting on the stage with his ex-girlfriend, Monica Sterling, and her son. They looked intimate, appearing every bit like a perfect family of three. Samuel spoke confidently into the microphone about achieving family harmony and career success. Throughout his speech, he occasionally exchanged glances and smiles with Monica. The audience applauded enthusiastically. Samuel's expression grew increasingly smug, and even the little boy beside him wore an arrogant look. Soon the Q&A session came. I then grabbed the microphone and asked, "Mr. Crawford, when did you have a son? Does your wife know about this?"

On the tenth day after I perished in the avalanche, my husband finally remembered me. His first love was suffering from aplastic anemia and urgently needed a bone marrow transplant—one that only I could provide. He came home holding a donation consent form, ready for me to sign, only to find the house empty. Kelly leaned weakly against him. "Vanessa must really hate me. She doesn't want to donate her bone marrow, so she ran away on purpose, didn't she?" "Maybe we should just forget it," she sighed. "I can hold on a little longer." Caden gently comforted her, his heart aching. "I won't let anything happen to you." "It's just a bone marrow donation. It's not like she'll die from it." Then he pulled out his phone and sent me a message: [No matter where you are, come back immediately and sign the donation consent form.] [Don't be so selfish! Kelly is seriously ill. If she doesn't get a transplant soon, she'll die. It's just bone marrow—I'm not asking for your life!] [If you keep refusing, I'll stop paying for your mother's medical bills!] Caden… I died the moment you walked away from the ski resort with Kelly. The avalanche buried me and our unborn child beneath the snow. My mother, in her desperate attempt to save me, was torn apart by wild wolves. How could you not know?

Step 1: Go to college. Check. Step 2: Find a job. No luck. Step 3: Start a family. Whoa, one thing at a time. Alicia Chambers was stuck on Step 2. No matter how many resumes she sent out, she couldn’t find a job in her dream field: phone app development. It seemed like most successful apps were started by a single inspired person in their basement, including the most recent craze, Monster Go. If only Alicia could find her own inspiration for an app… Drawn into the game (research, she told herself), she meets a mysterious stranger who also plays. He’s perfect for her: rich, handsome, and nerdy. However, despite formerly being in app development himself, Jacob seems to have left it all behind. Between romantic dates and catching monsters, Alicia finds herself growing closer to the mysterious man. But when she learns something that he deliberately kept hidden, will she flee his secretive life? Will she let him know her own secret- that she’s carrying a little gift from all their time “playing” together? I Choose You is a standalone romance novel. If you like new adult stories, you’ll enjoy this story of two people finding love over a phone app.

I was the heir to a wealthy family, yet my biological parents were drowning in debt and living on the streets. Out of pity for them, I decided to give up my status as a young heir and care for my family. To help them live better lives, I worked three jobs, working myself to the bone. But one day, I discovered the truth. Their so-called "bankruptcy" was a lie. They had been living a life of luxury all along. To make matters worse, my fiancée had already gotten involved with my younger brother. I was heartbroken and devastated. I decided to return to my foster father and seek his help. To get revenge for me, he ruined my biological parents' business, bringing them down for good.

What would you do if you gave up your entire life to someone who would later betray you? This is the life of Marigold Kelp a beautiful 19 year old woman who gave up everything to support her dead beat father, her only living kin. After doing everything in her power to land a job her father repays her sacrifices by selling her for 10 million dollars to Nathaniel Bax the owner of a Billion Dollar clothing company (called The Bax Company) to do as he pleases with her. What plans does a man in his late 50's have for a young 19 year old young woman? To force her to marry his untamed son, the richest and most sought-after CEO in the country, but what happens when Marigold doesn't want to be with Beau Bax? Fights, destruction, bitterness, hate, and no good thing. For no matter how hard she resists she can't get out of her new contractual marriage. Pushing down all her emotions, Marigold must now adjust to her new life as the wife of a CEO whom she barely knows…

After many years of being abused by her father, Maia is brought to an orphanage. A landscaper adopts her and she meets the people he works for. Falling for their servant, she also notices feelings for another man. As she’s trying to figure out who she truly loves, another man appears and shakes her even more. Which will she choose?