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        Fear and Valor in Six Days: : An Israeli Soldier's Testemonial in Perspective

        by Yehuda Reves

        Fear and  Valor in Six Days:  An Israeli Soldier's Testemonial in Perspective   by Yehuda Reves Through the viewfinder of a bazooka, this book offers a critical view of fear, valor and pride, death and love, friendship and hatred, reality and mystical dreams, faith and the secular, as well, the end and the beginning. Collected here are manuscripts, stories and thoughts written intermittently over a period of more than forty years in the diary of a fighter during and after the battles of the Six-Day War. Portrayed here is a bitter, cruel reality; how soldiers kill, are wounded and die on the battlefield. Here are described facts intermixed with imagination and dreams; a description that illustrates the nature of male society in the Israeli army with its blend of cunning, coarseness and innocence. This book was written on the battlefront of North Samaria; and in the northern Golan Heights. The author served in the armored troops, as a commander of a tank company numbering six vehicles. All these manuscripts were stuck like bullets in the barrel of a gun since the war ended before they were ready to be collected in one volume that now includes the life experience and perspective of additional forty-plus years. Yehuda Reves is a forester who, throughout his entire life, has observed people, trees, shrubs, the soil, and inanimate rocks with unaffected wonder. He was responsible for collecting seeds and for the propagation and planting of trees on behalf of The Israeli Forestry Department. Today, he travels and works in the reproduction of wild Mediterranean plants. The author served in the Israeli reserve army as a junior officer for 32 years and has fought in four wars. He is married and has two daughters and nine grandchildren. 190 pages,14.5 x 21 cm

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        June 2021

        Acts of supremacy

        by J. Bratton, Richard Cave, Brendan Gregory, Michael Pickering

        Imperialist discourse interacted with regional and class discourses. Imperialism's incorporation of Welsh, Scots and Irish identities, was both necessary to its own success and one of its most powerful functions in terms of the control of British society. Most cultures have a place for the concept of heroism, and for the heroic figure in narrative fiction; stage heroes are part of the drama's definition of self, the exploration and understanding of personal identity. Theatrical and quasi-theatrical presentations, whether in music hall, clubroom, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre or the streets and ceremonial spaces of the capital, contributed to that much-discussed national mood. This book examines the theatre as the locus for nineteenth century discourses of power and the use of stereotype in productions of the Shakespearean history canon. It discusses the development of the working class and naval hero myth of Jack Tar, the portrayal of Ireland and the Irish, and the portrayal of British India on the spectacular exhibition stage. The racial implications of the ubiquitous black-face minstrelsy are focused upon. The ideology cluster which made up the imperial mindset had the capacity to re-arrange and re-interpret history and to influence the portrayal of the tragic or comic potential of personal dilemmas. Though the British may have prided themselves on having preceded America in the abolition of slavery and thus outpacing Brother Jonathan in humanitarian philanthropy, abnegation of hierarchisation and the acceptance of equality of status between black and white ethnic groups was not part of that achievement.

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        Furcht und Tapferkeit in sechs Tagen

        by Yehuda Revesä

        urcht und Tapferkeit in sechs Tagen von Yehuda Revesä   Wie durch den Sucher einer Bazooka bietet dieses Buch eine kritische Sicht auf Angst, Mut und Stolz; Tod und Liebe; Freundschaft und Hass; Wirklichkeit und mystische Träume; Glaube und Weltliches; das Ende und den Anfang. Zusammengetragen sind hier Manuskripte, Geschichten und Gedanken aus dem Tagebuch eines Kämpfers, geschrieben in Abständen über einen Zeitraum von mehr als 40 Jahren, während und nach den Schlachten des Sechs-Tage-Krieges. Porträtiert wird eine bittere, grausame Wirklichkeit: wie Soldaten töten, verwundet werden und auf dem Schlachtfeld sterben. Hier werden Fakten beschrieben, vermischt mit Phantasien und Träumen; eine Beschreibung, die die Natur der Männergesellschaft in der israelischen Armee illustriert, mit ihrer Mischung aus Gerissenheit, Schroffheit und Unschuld. Dieses Buch wurde an der Kriegsfront Nord-Samariens und in den Golan-Höhen geschrieben. Der Autor diente bei der Panzertruppe als Kommandant einer aus sechs gepanzerten Fahrzeugen bestehenden Einheit. Alle diese Manuskripte steckten seit dem Ende des Krieges wie Kugeln im Lauf eines Gewehrs, bis sie soweit waren, dass sie in einem Band, der jetzt auch die Lebenserfahrung und Sichtweise von über 40 zusätzlichen Jahren beinhaltet, zusammengefasst werden konnten. Yehuda Reves ist ein Förster, der während seines gesamten Lebens Menschen, Bäume, Sträucher, den Boden und lebloses Gestein mit einfachem Staunen beobachtet hat. Er war zuständig für das Sammeln von Samen sowie für die Verbreitung und das Pflanzen von Bäumen im Auftrag der israelischen Forstverwaltung. Inzwischen reist er und widmet sich der Vermehrung wilder mediterraner Pflanzen. Der Autor diente 32 Jahre in als Junior-Offizier in der israelischen Reserve-Armee und hat in vier Kriegen gekämpft. Er ist verheiratet und hat zwei Töchter sowie neun Enkelkinder.

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        Valiant Young Soldiers

        by Liu Haiqi

        “You should spend the rest of your life relying on yourself.” With a few words before his father’s death, Liu Lixian, the 16-year-old new soldier, embarks on his own life journey. Like a piece of pig iron, he integrates himself into the melting pot of the military, together with other recruits with different personalities. They have been forged and shaped by fierce flames, cleaned of impurities, and enriched with the necessary elements to finally become hard and good steels. This book depicts the growth story of a group of new recruits in a company in the 1970s from a unique perspective and with lively language, which creates vivid characters and honestly and accurately presents to readers the growth of teenagers in a unique environment.

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        Naermyth

        by Karen Francisco (author and illustrator)

        Set in a post-apocalyptic Philippines, Naermyth tells of a world plagued by the monsters of myth and legends who have stepped out of their storybook shadows to assume world dominion. They are the Naermyth (a word play on “never myth”) and have forced the human race close to extinction and fodder for the growing supremacy of these creatures. Among the survivors is Aegis, a seasoned soldier, and her story takes a dark turn when she rescues a stranger with mysterious abilities. Clearly, he is not human, and saving him triggers a series of revelations that challenges the meanings of monstrosity, heroism and family.

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        May 2020

        Martial masculinities

        Experiencing and imagining the military in the long nineteenth century

        by Michael Brown, Anna Maria Barry, Joanne Begiato

        This collection explores the role of martial masculinities in shaping nineteenth-century British culture and society in a period framed by two of the greatest wars the world had ever known. It offers a fresh, interdisciplinary perspective on an emerging field of study and draws on historical, literary, visual and musical sources to demonstrate the centrality of the military and its masculine dimensions in the shaping of Victorian and Edwardian personal and national identities. Focusing on both the experience of military service and its imaginative forms, it examines such topics as bodies and habits, families and domesticity, heroism and chivalry, religion and militarism, and youth and fantasy. This collection will be required reading for anyone interested in the cultures of war and masculinity in the long nineteenth century.

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        Teaching, Language & Reference
        February 2013

        Ramon J. Sender's 'Cronica del alba'

        by Catherine Davies, Anthony Trippett

        Crónica del alba is a novel by Sender with a Civil War background, like the popular Réquiem por un campesino español, also in this series. The author evokes his childhood in rural Aragón at the beginning of the twentieth century in a book which has a charm and something of the character of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The young Pepe fights to believe in himself as a hero in the face of a world, and a father bent on putting him down. He is supported by his girlfriend, Valentina, who believes in him implicitly and often ends up in as much trouble as him. But there is something more here than scrapes and mischief-making. It is written by an older and disillusioned Pepe who has known real heroism and is now detained in a prison camp for Spanish Civil War refugees in southern France. The novel raises challenging questions about the loss of hope, how people cope with disillusionment, and the place of writing in that process. Moreover, since the novel reflects Sender's own childhood it sheds light on the complex relationship of fact and fiction in autobiographical novels. ;

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        The Dukduk's Whimper

        by Jalal Barjas

        An IPAF winner’s memoir on his formation as a writer and reader   Our lives are essentially a story and we are the characters. “The Duduk’s Whimper” is story of Jalal Barjas, beginning with his birth in 1970 and ending in 2021. His story is inspired by his life as a human being and a writer with little time at his disposal. It is a life that intersects with many others in our Arab world. The idea for this biography/novel was born out of a question the author asked about his motivations for reading, writing, and traveling.   The result is a candid, bold narrative that presents his image to the reader without idealism or heroism. This memoir unfolds along three lines: the biography of the writer, the stories of three places, and the tale of three books he read. Through these narratives, Barjas reveals unknown aspects of his life and the difficult path he had to take to reach his esteemed position in the literary world. He takes us on an entertaining and profound journey with a high level of language that reveals many aspects that are not only relevant to him, but also to everyone who reads this book. It delves deeply into reading, writing, travel, love, failure, success, and the formation of human joys and sorrows starting from childhood. “The Duduk’s Whimper” is the story of a writer who only has three hours a day to write, yet he managed to establish himself as one of the great writers.

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        February 2021

        The Siege of Qikou

        by Zhu Xiuhai

        The Siege of Qikou has mainly narrated that Cheng Jinyuan, president of Northwestern Shanxi Chamber of Commerce, had been led to the cusp of historical changes to fight bravely together with local people during 1936 to 1949. Cheng Qianzhi, the oldest son of Cheng Jinyuan, was sent by Yan Xishan there to serve as a battalion commander of the Shanxi and Suiyuan Army, while Cheng Chongzhi, his second son, was assigned by The Communist Party of China to build the primary-level organizations of the Party in his hometown. Qikou had been under the siege of Japanese invaders for three times which had made Qikou the scene of fierce fighting. After suffering tremendous sacrifice, Cheng Jinyuan, who had been mistrustful of CPC before, had gradually realized that CPC had and would always unite closely with the masses and march forward with no fear of sacrifice which might be the reason that CPC was far stronger than Yan Xishan or Chiang Kai-shek. Together with his fellow citizens, he had firmly supported CPC and devoted all himself to the cause of national liberation through arduous struggle and sacrifice, displaying an epic of heroism to a large extent. The novel is full of twists and turns and quite readable by successively demonstrating the front-line battlefield and the espionage war. Set in the anti-Japanese war period, the novel has vividly discussed the three effective weapons of CPC to fight against the enemies: the united front, the armed struggle and the building of the Party, and stressed the formation and historical importance of the united front.

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        El misterioso túnel de la calle Basel

        by Pnina Ofir

        El misterioso túnel de la calle Basel por Pnina Ofir El relato se escenifica en un típico barrio de los viejos tiempos en el centro de Tel Aviv. Durante décadas podían verse en el barrio una estación de bomberos, una clínica para emergencias médicas y un colorido mercado popular al aire libre. Hasta que un día el aspecto de la calle cambió por completo. Enormes palas mecánicas comenzaron a derribar los edificios para reemplazarlos por dos modernas casas de varios pisos y una plaza pública pavimentada. Un grupo de niños del sexto grado que viven en el barrio descubren que además de las excavaciones realizadas por la compañía constructora hay alguien excavando simultáneamente por su propia cuenta. Se trata de un par de criminales que aprovechan el ruido y el tumulto de la construcción para desenterrar un misterioso baúl que había sido enterrado hace mucho tiempo bajo la estación de bomberos. La curiosidad y el valor de los niños conduce a la captura de los criminales momentos antes de la aparición del baúl resolviendo así el misterio.

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        Memoirs
        October 2017

        From Para to Dakar

        Overcoming paralysis and conquering the Dakar Rally, a journey of courage and determination

        by Joey Evans

        Joey Evans has always loved bikes, from his first second-hand Raleigh Strika at the age of six to the powerful off-road machines that became his passion later on in his life. His dream was one day to ride the most gruelling off-road race in the world, the 9000km Dakar Rally. In 2007 his dream was shattered when he broke his back in a racing accident. His spinal cord was crushed, leaving him paralysed from just below his chest. Doctors gave him a 10 per cent chance of ever walking again. Many would have given up and become resigned to life in a wheelchair, but not Joey Evans. Not only would he get back on his feet and walk, but he would also keep his Dakar dream alive. It was a long and painful road to recovery, involving years of intensive rehabilitation and training, but he had the love and support of both family and friends and an incredible amount of determination. Joey shares the many challenges he and his family faced, relating the setbacks, as well as successes, along the way to the Dakar start line. But the start line was only the first goal – his sights were set on reaching the finish line, which he did in 2017 – the only South African to do so. From Para to Dakar is so much more than the story of one man reaching the Dakar finish line. It is a story of friendship and respect, compassion and kindness. It is about defying the odds to reach a dream, it is about grit, endurance and raw courage, and it is inspiring in its true heroism.

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        Fiction
        2022

        The End of the Desert

        by Said Khatibi

        On a nice fall day of 1988, Zakiya Zaghwani was found lying dead at the edge of the desert, giving way to a quest to discover the circumstances surrounding her death. While looking for whoever was involved in the death of the young singer, nearby residents discover bit by bit their involvement in many things other than the crime itself. ///The story takes place in a town near the desert. And as with Khatibi’s previous novels, this one is also marked by a tight plot, revolving around the murder of a singer who works in a hotel. This sets off a series of complex investigations that defy easy conclusions and invite doubt about the involvement of more than one character. /// Through the narrators of the novel, who also happen to be its protagonists, the author delves into the history of colonialism and the Algerian War of Independence and its successors, describing the circumstances of the story whose events unfold throughout the month. As such, the characters suspected of killing the singer are not only accused of a criminal offense, but are also concerned, as it appears, with the great legacy that the War of Independence left, from different aspects.///The novel looks back at a critical period in the modern history of Algeria that witnessed the largest socio-political crisis following its independence in 1988. While the story avoids the immediate circumstances of the war, it rather invokes the events leading up to it and tracks its impact on the social life, while capturing the daily life of vulnerable and marginalized groups. /// Nonetheless, those residents’ vulnerability does not necessarily mean they are innocent. As it appears, they are all involved in a crime that is laden with symbolism and hints at the status of women in a society shackled by a heavy legacy of a violent, wounded masculinity. This approach to addressing social issues reflects a longing to break loose from the stereotypical discourse that sets heroism in a pre-defined mold and reduces the truth to only one of its dimensions.

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        Borrowed Identity

        A Dramatic Novel

        by Hadassa Ashdot

        Borrowed Identity is a moving novel that tells the story of three generations of men and women. Through the eyes and the stories of each, a chilling plot unfolds over different periods of time, in Israel and abroad. But whose story is it? Is it that of the Israeli hero, the secret agent under diplomatic cover whose life is poised at the crossroads between one cloak-and-dagger operation and another, poised for any mission, always ‘in the name of’, always for the cause? Or is it that of the woman, the giver of life, who lives in the shadow of her men: father, husband, son, friends, lovers? On the memorial day for her son Uri, a fighter pilot who lost his life in one of Israel’s many battles, Marit, remaining alone after the visitors have left, takes stock of her life and the significant others in it: Hanoch, her intelligence officer husband, unable to face the loss of his son, has left her; and Uri, the dead son, who was laid trussed and bound on the sacrificial altar, as Israeli fathers inspired by a sense of mission and heroism sacrifice their sons for the homeland. Through Marit’s personal acquaintance with death and bereavement, and through the collective encounter, she conveys a dark, heroic Israeli reality of love and death – Eros and Thanatos. This is a story of love: the passionate love between a man and a woman; the love for a country you die for; the affectionate love of parents for their son, which turns out to be a love that kills him – and them too. It is also a story of death, and of the failure of that desperate love. Psychologist and university lecturer Hadassa Ashdot was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in Jerusalem. Her short stories have appeared in two leading Israeli literary magazines, Moznayim and Prosa. To date, Ashdot has published two novels (in Hebrew): Borrowed Identity and Marianne of the Snow. The author's experience as an army psychologist dealing with war-caused bereavement and problems associated with the trauma of shell shock are clearly reflected in her works of fiction.

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        Literature & Literary Studies
        April 2010

        The life of Una Marson, 1905–65

        by Delia Jarrett-Macauley

        This is an original, full length biography of Britain's first twentieth-century black feminist - Una Marson - poet, playwright, and social activist and BBC broadcaster. Una Marson is recognised today as the first major woman poet of the Caribbean and as a significant forerunner of contemporary black writers; her story throws light on the problems facing politicised black artists. In challenging definitions of 'race' and 'gender' in her political and creative work, she forged a valiant path for later black feminists. Her enormous social and cultural contributions to the Caribbean and Britain have, until now, remained hidden in archives and memoirs around the world. Based on extensive research and oral testimony, this biography embraces postcolonial realities and promise, and is a major contribution to British cultural history. ;

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        EL CAMPO DE FRAU GRUBER

        by Ted Barr

        EL CAMPO DE FRAU GRUBER El manifiesto de las cenizas del gallo, de Ted Barr   ?Cuáles son los límites del mal? ?Qué significado tiene la vida, a un paso de una muerte súbita arbitraria? ?Vale la pena vivir detrás de una cerca eléctrica? El Campo de Frau Gruber es una alegoría apasionante acerca de la fe humana en sus momentos más oscuros, que recuerda mucho la obra maestra de George Orwell, Rebelión en la granja.Un mundo que sostiene a gente como Frau Gruber, Herr Schickl y sus insanos asociados no es el mundo en el que vivimos. Aunque en muchos aspectos parece ser similar, es más bien un universo paralelo, desconectado de la realidad que conocemos.No obstante, a veces el lector puede no prestar atención a las diferencias. En esta novela sorprendente y enigmática, el lector se ve sutil y lentamente sumergido en un microcosmos imaginario, un mundo fantástico a la vez poético y terrible, a veces conmovedor y otras horrendo, en el que la vida no es más que una mercancía sin valor.Los gallos como seres humanos son solo actores momentáneos en una obra mucho más grande, o sea demasiado miopes para entender —con la excepción del viejo gallo Ba Ba Lup, que, como los antiguos profetas, tiene ojos para ver pero no tiene el poder para cambiar.La única manera de otorgar un significado a tiempos tan terribles es guardarlo todo en la memoria, que es el marco en el que esta novela se basa:la fe humana, el olvido, el recuerdo y la esencia de la vida durante una época imposible. A pesar de partir de una descripción mayormente improvisada de la infancia de Adolf Hitler, el Campo de Frau Gruber no se limita a relatar una historia en muchos sentidos paralela a la historia de los judíos en Europa. Antes bien, evoluciona hasta transformarse en una fábula sobre el aspecto general de la experiencia humana en el siglo XX, escrita a través de los ojos de un espectador del siglo XXI, como un acto de bravura contemporáneo. El autor, Ted Barr, de 54 años, posee una maestría en Economía y tiene diversas áreas de interés, entre otras, historia alemana, simbolismo, tácticas de batallón y de división y astronomía.Barr es un afamado artista, que se especializa en galaxias y otros elementos celestiales.El autor ha desarrollado una técnica de pintura única, que enseña en talleres en todo el mundo.También es el fundador del Current Art Group y en el sitio de arte www.tedpaintings.com se puede ver el fruto de su actividad artística.   En 2006 se publicó por vez primera en Israel una versión hebrea de El Campo deFrau Gruber, tras la primera obra de Barr, Krombee, un libro para niños publicado en 1990.

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        Michel Ezra Safra y sus hijos

        by Amnon Shamosh

        Michel Ezra Safra y sus hijos por Amnon Shamosh “Michel Ezra Safra y sus hijos” es una saga familiar, escrita por el muy bien conocido escritor Israelí Amnon Shamosh. La historia es semi biográfica y toma lugar  de forma parcial en Alepo, Siria, el lugar de nacimiento del autor. El libro describe la vida, las luchas, y la dispersión de una adinerada familia de sirio-judíos durante el curso de tres generaciones, comenzando a los mediados de los años 30. La historia de la familia Ezra Safra es la historia de una familia judía del medio oriente y sus valores básicos tradicionales, los cuales son constantemente desafiados por otras normas, ya sean circunstanciales como universales. Sacudida por levantamientos locales como globales, la familia encabezada por Michel y su hermosa esposa Linda, es obligada a abandonar su hogar, la ciudad de Alepo, durante los disturbios generados por la resolución de las Naciones Unidas a finales de 1947, de establecer el estado judío en Palestina. Michel, un hombre práctico, continúa manejando su imperio económico. Su poder sobre sus hijos parece desvanecerse, sin embargo, aunque aún disfruta de su respeto y cariño. Rachmo, el hijo mayor y su aparente heredero, dirige la sucursal del negocio familiar en Paris, pero su comportamiento como hombre de familia no cumple con los estándares de sus padres. Alberto, el hermano menor, aborrece el negocio familiar y rehuye el curso que se espera que tome. Encuentra una salida en las actividades sionistas clandestinas, incluyendo el “contrabando”  de judíos hacia Palestina. Los otros 5 hijos e hijas Safra emigran a Europa, Estados Unidos e Israel. Lo que más preocupa, obsesiona y perturba a  Michel, no es la situación financiera de su imperio, sino el grave “pecado” que ha cometido. Cuando la vieja sinagoga de Alepo fue incendiada, Michel rescató los rollos de la Torá “Aram de Soba” y logró rescatarlos del fuego. Se llevó un pedazo de su más preciado y sagrado rollo y secretamente lo guardó en una caja fuerte en Niza, Francia. Mientras su tesoro está protegido, Michel interpreta las tragedias que sufre su familia como un castigo divino. A través de la novela, el lector sigue a Michel a través de sus viajes por el mundo, estableciendo asuntos familiares como comerciales. Sin embargo sufre de una débil salud y de culpa de conciencia. La vida de su hijo Alberto, ahora un influyente miembro de una comunidad colectiva en Israel, es completamente  ajeno a él. La saga de la familia Ezra Safra llega a su final cuando Michel muere de tristeza unos pocos días después de la muerte de su nieto durante la guerra de los Seis Días en  1967. Más tarde, Rachmo, que tomó parte en el secreto de su padre, muere de un ataque al corazón al saber que el rollo en Niza ha sido robado. Linda concuerda unirse con sus hijos en Israel, pero rechaza vivir con ellos. Ella escoge vivir una vida solitaria, rodeada de fotos y memorias del pasado. La novela “Michel Ezra Safra” fue llevada a la televisión  como una mini-serie, teniendo un altísimo éxito. Amnon Shamosh nació en Siria en 1929, inmigró a Tel Aviv de niño, y llegó a ser posteriormente uno de los miembros fundadores de Kibutz Ma'ayan Baruch, donde reside hasta hoy en día. Se graduó en la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalén .Es autor tanto de poesía como de prosa para niños y adultos, su trabajo se ha traducido al inglés, al español, y al francés, y una de sus novelas fue llevada a la televisión en forma de miniserie. Amnon Shamosh ha sido galardonado con el Premio "Agnon", denominado con ese nombre en honor al laureado célebre israelí Nóbel de Literatura, el Premio "Shalom-Aleichem", el Premio del Primer Ministro de creatividad, el Premio de literatura del presidente de Israel, y numerosos premios de literatura adicionales.

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