Computer science, information & general works
In an age when deleted scenes from Adam Sandler movies are saved, it’s sobering to realize that some of the world’s greatest prose and poetry has gone missing. This witty, wry, and unique new book rectifies that wrong. Part detective story, part history lesson, part expose, The Book of Lost Books is the first guide to literature’s what-ifs and never-weres. In compulsively readable fashion, Stuart Kelly reveals details about tantalizing vanished works by the famous, the acclaimed, and the influential, from the time of cave drawings to the late twentieth century. Here are the true stories behind stories, poems, and plays that now exist only in imagination: Aristophanes’ Heracles, the Stage Manager was one of the playwright’s several spoofs that disappeared. Love’s Labours Won may have been a sequel to Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours Lost–or was it just an alternative title for The Taming of the Shrew? Jane Austen’s incomplete novel Sanditon, was a critique of hypochondriacs and cures started when the author was fatally ill. Nikolai Gogol burned the second half of Dead Souls after a religious conversion convinced him that literature was paganism. Some of the thousand pages of William Burroughs’s original Naked Lunch were stolen and sold on the street by Algerian street boys. Sylvia Plath’s widower, Ted Hughes, claimed that the 130 pages of her second novel, perhaps based on their marriage, were lost after her death. Whether destroyed (Socrates’ versions of Aesop’s Fables), misplaced (Malcolm Lowry’s Ultramarine was pinched from his publisher’s car), interrupted by the author’s death (Robert Louis Stevenson’s Weir of Hermiston), or simply never begun (Vladimir Nabokov’s Speak, America, a second volume of his memoirs), these missing links create a history of literature for a parallel world. Civilized and satirical, erudite yet accessible, The Book of Lost Books is itself a find.
Your full-color, fast reference to Photoshop CS4In this thoroughly revised guide, full-color screenshots and brief instructions show you how to use the latest version of Photoshop quickly and easily. Learn how to edit and retouch photos, work with the drawing and painting tools, add text, use layers, create special effects, and prepare art for print or the Web.Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps covers the latest photography-related tools and techniques, including RAW file formats, Bridge, special effects, and more. Screenshots with callouts show and explain exactly what you’ll see on your computer screen while you’re doing a task, and color-coded tabs make it easy to find just the information you need.
Blogging is hot in the highly creative crafting world, and this is the only how-to book aimed at everyone from knitters to altered artists. Thanks to hundreds of gorgeous screen grabs from the very best blogs and a thorough introduction to the tools of the trade, even beginners will swiftly transition from blank screen to colorful, enticing pages.
Philosophy and psychology
In this daring, provocative, and insightful book, bestselling author and internationally acclaimed playwright Eve Ensler writes fictional monologues and stories inspired by girls around the globe. Moving through a world of topics and emotions, these voices are fierce, alive, tender, complicated, imaginative, and smart. Girls today often find themselves in a struggle between remaining strong and true to themselves and conforming to society’s expectations in an attempt to please. They are taught not to be too intense, too passionate, too smart, too caring, too open. They are encouraged to shut down their instincts, their outrage, their desires and their dreams, to be polite, to obey the rules. I Am an Emotional Creature is a celebration of the authentic voice inside every girl and an inspiring call to action for girls everywhere to speak up, follow their dreams, and become the women they were always meant to be. Among the girls Ensler creates are an American who struggles with peer pressure in a suburban high school; an anorexic blogging as she eats less and less; a Masai girl from Kenya unwilling to endure female genital mutilation; a Bulgarian sex slave, no more than fifteen; a Chinese factory worker making Barbies; an Iranian student who is tricked into a nose job; a pregnant girl trying to decide if she should keep her baby. Through rants, poetry, questions, and facts, we come to understand the universality of girls everywhere: their resiliency, their wildness, their pain, their fears, their secrets, and their triumphs. I Am an Emotional Creature is a call, a reckoning, an education, an act of empowerment for girls, and an illumination for parents and for us all.
A psychologist and best-selling author gives us a myth-busting response to the self-help movement, with tips and tricks to improve your life that come straight from the scientific community. Richard Wiseman has been troubled by the realization that the self-help industry often promotes exercises that destroy motivation, damage relationships, and reduce creativity: the opposite of everything it promises. Now, in 59 Seconds, he fights back, bringing together the diverse scientific advice that can help you change your life in under a minute, and guides you toward becoming more decisive, more imaginative, more engaged, and altogether more happy. From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, resilience to relationships, Wiseman outlines the research supporting the new science of “rapid change” and, with clarity and infectious enthusiasm, describes how these quirky, sometimes counterintuitive techniques can be effortlessly incorporated into your everyday life. Or, as he likes to say: “Think a little, change a lot.”
An inspiring guide to healing the wounds left by loss and betrayal and finding your strength in forgiveness Chronic hate and resentment not only sap our ability to experience happiness and to grow, they can also take a serious toll on our health and impede future relationships. In Finding Forgiveness internationally acclaimed expert on conflict resolution and trauma recovery Eileen R. Borris-Dunchunstang outlines her proven, seven-step program for shedding your emotional baggage associated with loss, betrayal, or resentment. Modifying the techniques she uses to resolve international conflict to address personal issues, Borris-Dunchunstang gives you the tools to break free of anger and bitterness and find your path to healing.
It all started when fourteen-year-old Hannah Salwen had a eureka moment. Seeing a homeless man in her neighborhood at the same instant she spotted a man driving a glistening Mercedes, she said, “Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that mantherecould have a meal.”Until that day, the Salwens had been caught up like so many of us in the classic American dream—providing a good life for their children, accumulating more and more stuff, doing their part to help others but not really feeling it. So when Hannah was stopped in her tracks by this glaring disparity, her parents knew they had to act on her urge to do something. As a family, they made the extraordinary decision to sell their Atlanta mansion, buy a house half its size, and give half of the sale price to a worthy charity. At first it seemed outlandish:What, are we crazy?Then it became a challenge:We are totally doing this.Their plan eventually took them across the globe and well out of their comfort zone. In the end they learned that they had the power to change a little corner of the world. And they found themselves changing too.As Kevin Salwen says, “No one else is nuts enough to sell their house,” but what his family discovered along the way will inspire countless others, no matter what their means or resources are. Warm, funny, and deeply moving,The Power of Halfis the story of how one family grew closer as they discovered that half could be so much more.
Religion
A revolutionary new map for the soul’s journey.
Social sciences
Jaron Lanier, a Silicon Valley visionary since the 1980s, was among the first to predict the revolutionary changes the World Wide Web would bring to commerce and culture. Now, in his first book, written more than two decades after the web was created, Lanier offers this provocative and cautionary look at the way it is transforming our lives for better and for worse. The current design and function of the web have become so familiar that it is easy to forget that they grew out of programming decisions made decades ago. The web’s first designers made crucial choices (such as making one’s presence anonymous) that have had enormous–and often unintended–consequences. What’s more these designs quickly became “locked in,” a permanent part of the web’s very structure. Lanier discusses the technical and cultural problems that can grow out of poorly considered digital design and warns that our financial markets and sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, and Twitter are elevating the “wisdom” of mobs and computer algorithms over the intelligence and judgment of individuals. Lanier also shows: How 1960s antigovernment paranoia influenced the design of the online world and enabled trolling and trivialization in online discourse: How file sharing is killing the artistic middle class; How a belief in a technological “rapture” motivates some of the most influential technologists Why a new humanistic technology is necessary. Controversial and fascinating, You Are Not a Gadget is a deeply felt defense of the individual from an author uniquely qualified to comment on the way technology interacts with our culture.
At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who’d been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous bad divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which-after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing-gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert’s trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committedattempts to “turn on all the lights” when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert’s memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.
When his daughter died of an undetected heart condition, award-winning author/journalist Rosenblatt and his wife moved in with their son-in-law to help raise the kids. I promise that this will be good, and I haven’t even seen it; with a 50,000-copy first printing.
Recent presidential candidate and Massachusetts governor Romney charts a dramatic new course to confront the most critical issues facing America.
From the leader in financial information, a fully updated guide to investing in today’s marketsThis accessible book is a practical guide to the financial markets. Designed to help both the new and experienced investor gain sufficient understanding and knowledge to invest wisely and confidently in today’s turbulent markets, it covers all the elements necessary to become financially street smart-from products, players, and procedures to rules, regulators, and risk/reward trade-offs.Filled with solid investment principles, the Forbes Guide to the Markets, Second Edition is completely revised and updated to reflect new trends and changes in the markets. New topics discussed include the introduction and implementation of ETFs, the role of hedge funds, and the effects of the subprime crisis Updated and revised chapters contain buying and selling techniques, fundamental, technical and quantitative analysis, and futures and options information Highlights key terms and contains a complete glossaryAn essential resource for both the new or seasoned investor, this authoritative resource is a must-read for anyone aspiring to become a savvy investor.
Don’t Battle an Eating Disorder Forever-Recover from It Completely Jenni Schaefer and Ed (eating disorder) are no longer on speaking terms, not even in her most difficult moments. In her bestseller,Life Without Ed,Jenni learned to treat her eating disorder as a relationship, not a condition-enabling her to break up with Ed once and for all.InGoodbye Ed, Hello MeJenni shows you that being fully recovered is not just about breaking free from destructive behaviors with food and having a healthy relationship with your body; it also means finding joy and peace in your life.“Every young woman and man interested in overcoming disordered eating should read this treasure of a book.” -Leigh Cohn, M.A.T., CEDS, Editor-in-Chief,Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention“The beauty of Jenni’s written journey through her tormented relationship with Ed is that it is honest, passionate, hopeful-but, most important, it ultimately assures the reader that life really can move on.” -Lynn Grefe, CEO, National Eating Disorders AssociationCombining Jenni’s signature personal advice and unfailing encouragement along with valuable exercises you can do as you read,Goodbye Ed, Hello Mewill give you the prescriptive tools to take the final steps in divorcing your Ed completely.Foreword by Carolyn Costin, LMFT, M.A., M.Ed.
With several million copies sold in the last fifty years, My Secret Life, first published by Grove Press in the 1960s, is one of the most famous pornographic works in literary history. What readers of this long-banned and troubling book of violent sexual fantasies failed to realize is that it is also the confession of history’s most fiendish killer. Written during the era of Jack the Ripper, it’s narrated by “Walter,” the pseudonym of textile millionaire Henry Spencer Ashbee. Walter was a voyeur and rapist obsessed with prostitutes, and his writing revealed his darkest sexual secrets. He died in 1901, long before his book would be widely read. Only now have reasearchers finally come to the conclusion that “Walter” and Jack the Ripper were, in fact, one and the same. Jack the Ripper’s Secret Confession puts all the pieces together, and its new theory will amaze and titillate scholars who for generations have pondered the true identity of history’s most brutal murderer.
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard. Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools-especially for girls-that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson’s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.
Everyone knows how overwhelming planning a wedding can be – so, what’s a bride-to-be to do? It’s much easier to learn what not to do, and let everything fall into place for a lovely, unforgettable wedding. This guide tells women what not to do with plenty of etiquette and money-saving tips. Included in the book is advice like: Mistake #11: Getting bossed into inviting too many guests; Mistake #89: Getting a cheap aisle runner; Mistake #146: Wearing troublesome undergarments; and more. Each entry is ranked with an icon, such as major catastrophe or money-waster. This book advises on entertainment, wardrobe, toasts, décor, locations, family, guests, budget, vendors, wedding party, and more. Brides-to-be won’t be blindsided by mistakes that plague every bride and groom. With this book, they’ll figure them out ahead of time and have no regrets on their perfect day.
With the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. approaching $28,000, many couples are eager to find ways to cut back, particularly in these tough economic times. Who needs to say “I do” to a mountain of debt? Yet, considering the emotions and expectations that come with planning the big day, it’s easy to succumb to inflated wedding pricing and spend beyond your budget. But you can have that fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime wedding – the type you’ve always dreamed of – without breaking the bank. Stylish Weddings for Less by Catherine Sabino will show you how! From finding that knock-out gown at a fraction of its original cost, classy wedding invitations, rings, flowers, and bridesmaids’ gowns at reduced costs, to creative ways to save on wedding cakes and reception menu strategies, to locating incredible reception sites at affordable prices, the book offers hundreds of ideas and solutions! It will also reveal how experts get the best deals on photography, transportation and even on honeymoon travel. In an easy-to-reference format, Stylish Weddings for Less is sure to be an indispensable resource for anyone looking to tie the knot with cost-conscious flair and style.
Science
A young boy’s first glimpse of a whale in captivity matures into a writer’s paean to the giants of the deep in this poetic blend of nautical history, literary allusion, personal experience, and natural science by British biographer Hoare (Noël Coward). With Melville as his mentor and Ishmael as his muse, the author haunts one-time whaling town New Bedford, Mass., America’s richest city in the mid-19th century thanks to whale oil and baleen (whalebone); recreates the cramped life on board the whalers of 200 years ago; weaves writing about whales by Emerson and Poe into his narrative; and finally revels in face-to-fin encounters with his obsession, swimming with the whales in the Atlantic. Though Hoare rhapsodizes most about the fabled sperm whale, the world’s largest predator with a history dating back 23 million years, he also describes with succinct precision other species-the beaked, blue, fin, humpback, and the killer whale, the sperm whale’s only nonhuman predator. This tour de force is a sensuous biography of the great mammals that range on and under Earth’s oceans.Publisher’s Weekly(Feb.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Technology
The Buddha and other great teachers were born with brains built essentially like anyone else’s-and then they changed their brains in wasys that changed the world.
Americans are under attack. Obesity, lethargy, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are ghastly epidemics. Worse, most drugs can make you even more sick! Why is this happening? Because no one tells you the truth: Millions of dollars are made by keeping this forbidden knowledge from you. Not anymore! Shane Ellison known as The People’s Chemist by his thousands of readers knows the truth. A former chemist for Big Pharma, he quit when he discovered that the drugs he was creating for drug companies were nothing but toxins, and that the real cures could be found on every supermarket and superstore shelf for a fraction of the cost and without a prescription! Over-the-Counter Natural Cures is your insider guide to the inexpensive, easy ways to dramatically boost your health in less than 30 days and stay fit and lean forever.
The key to a better body is a healthy brain. Based on the latest medical research, as well as on Dr. Amen’s two decades of clinical practice at the renowned Amen Clinics, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions Dr. Amen shows you how to: Reach and maintain your ideal weight; Soothe and smooth your skin at any age; Reduce the stress that can impair your immune system; Sharpen your memory; Increase willpower and eliminate the cravings that keep you from achieving your exercise and diet goals; Enhance sexual desire and performance; Lower your blood pressure without medication; Avoid depression and elevate the enjoyment you take in life’s pleasures. Change Your Brain, Change Your Body is all you need to start putting the power of the brain-body connection to work for you today.
From Mayo Clinic, a leading authority on health and nutrition, comes The Mayo Clinic Diet, the last diet you’ll ever need. Get a quick and gratifying start with Lose It!, the phase of the diet designed to help you lose up to six to ten pounds in just two weeks. Eat the foods you love – in moderation – in the Live It! phase, which is designed to help you continue to lose one to two pounds a week (and keep them off!). Finally, here’s the diet that helps you accomplish real and lasting weight-loss. This diet is no fad, but a solid, common sense approach brought to you by an organization that is an award-winning health information resource. Nor does The Mayo Clinic Diet require expensive ingredients (which can make a diet difficult to maintain in the long run.) Through simple, healthy adjustments to your lifestyle, The Mayo Clinic Diet gives you the tools you need to achieve the success you want. In two easy phases, The Mayo Clinic Diet helps you lose weight and keep it off for life. In two simple phases, you’ll be on the road to a healthy weight for the rest of your life. Packed with lots of extra encouragement – meal planners, recipes, tips for overcoming challenges, starting an exercise plan, and much more – The Mayo Clinic Diet gives you everything you need in one book. Toss out the scales and calculators and pick up the foods you love. This is the diet you’ve been waiting for!
Slim Down, Look Great, Be Healthy–The Full Plate Diet (TM) is based on eating foods our Moms said we should eat– fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and peas, and nuts and seeds. You can eat meat–just follow Mom’s advice. No yo-yo–you can stay on this diet because you won’t feel deprived–won’t have to eat tiny portions. You get started by making small changes, not big ones. No hassle–you don’t have to count calories, you can shop at your regular grocery store, and spend less on food. Big health payoffs include heart health, cancer fighting, diabetes friendly, more energy, and long life. Lots of medical research backing The Full Plate Diet (TM).
Training authority Robert Wolff, Ph.D., walks you through the most important subject areas you need to pass certification, get started, and succeed as a personal trainer. Become a Certified Personal Trainer guides you through the entire certification process, providing 175 sample questions taken from each of the top exams and also giving much-needed advice about the business side of the job and beyond.
In this hectic world, we all need a moment to calm and re-center our minds and bodies. Meditation provides a natural way to do just that, and to open ourselves to the positive influences that surround us each day. This newest entry in the successfulSimply(R)series takes beginners through the various steps of meditation, from choosing a location and focusing your mind to the various mediation methods, symbols, and psychic and religious connections.nbsp; Many of the meditations are quick and easy, and some can even be done on the go.nbsp; Beautiful illustrations and tip boxes throughout guide readers down the serene path as they de-stress and balance the flow of the mind.
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells-taken without her knowledge-became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they would weigh more than 50 million metric tons-as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia-a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo-to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family-past and present-is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family-especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
CONTROL YOUR DIABETES BY TARGETING THE TRUE CULPRIT: STARCHThe author of the popularThe Glycemic-Load Dietreveals his revolutionary method for keeping blood sugar stable for life.In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Rob Thompson, a preventive cardiologist and champion of glycemic-load science, brings you an easy-to-follow, low-starch diet-and-exercise program that promises to stabilize blood sugar in just seven days. Dr. Thompson has changed the way we think about treating diabetes—and kept his own under control for ten years—with his focus on starch, not sugar, as the number-one cause behind this chronic condition.Dr. Thompson offers hope for the millions of diabetes sufferers who follow their doctors’ orders to the letter yet see their diabetes steadily worsen. In six easy steps, you will learn to eliminate the harmful effects of dietary starch and keep your blood sugar levels perfect while enjoying satisfying amounts of delicious food (including chocolate!).The Low-Starch Diabetes Solutiongives you: An innovative program that challenges current ADA guidelines—not available in any other book Tips on starch-free cooking and easy-to-make low-starch recipes by Dana Carpender, author of the bestselling 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes A seven-day, easy-to-follow menu plan A way to lose weight, regain vitality, and reduce medicationROB THOMPSON, M.D., is a board-certified cardiologist in private practice who has counseled patients with high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease for more than twenty-five years. He is the author ofThe New Low-Carb Way of Life, The Glycemic-Load Diet, andThe Glycemic-Load Diet Cookbook. Thompson resides in Seattle, WA.Cover design: Rebecca Silvers Cover photograph: David Murray and Jules Selmes/Getty
Every year, more than a million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer. They are shocked, depressed, and terrified-and they shouldn’t have to fight this battle on their own. They are going to need support from their families and close friends, and in particular from husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, and other men in their lives. But as brave and strong as those men want to be, they too are facing what may be the challenge of a lifetime-and they are going to need help. Based on the author’s personal experiences and extensive research, Stand by Her is both a practical guide and an uplifting, inspirational work.
You just heard the news: You’ve got breast cancer. Now what? Where do you begin? You may feel overwhelmed with the amount of medical information out there and nervous about making the right decisions.
Feed the Belly is overdue! If you are pregnant or living with someone who is, you will find this book to be invaluable to the pregnancy. It has knowledgeable information, great anecdotes, recipes and tips for navigating the challenges and surprises of pregnancy. Feed the Belly can help in creating a happier, healthier journey for the whole family. Cat Cora, the first female Iron Chef and author of Cooking from the Hip If you’ve got a bun in the oven… Feed the Belly is your healthy eating guidebook. The only eating guide for expectant moms that helps indulge cravings while giving baby and mom the essential nutrients they need, Feed the Belly offers a complete look at healthy eating for all nine months. Written by new mom and Health magazine editor and dietitian Frances Largeman-Roth, Feed the Belly covers: What to eat to get pregnant How to pick the right foods to make your baby smarter Where to get the nutrients you and your baby need Which are the safest seafood picks and when to choose organic How to choose the best fast food and easy on-the-go snacks Stay-fit secrets (yoga poses included!) Get started with a seven-day tear-out eating plan! With answers to all your pregnancy questions on nutrition, weight gain, food safety, and much more, Feed the Belly offers expectant moms something to sink their teeth into. Includes a foreword by Food Network Star Robin Miller and more than 65 easy-to-make recipes, organized by craving, including favorites from top chefs like Mark Bittman and Gale Gand.
Disorders
Meticulously researched and warmly presented, the most authoritative and persuasive guide to attachment parenting When it comes to early parenting, scientific evidence points time and again to the bond between parent and child as a critical factor in a baby’s health and wellbeing. Backed by more than 1,200 trusted sources, this breakthrough guide reveals the many little-known advantages that only a responsive, nurturing parenting style can provide: Surprising evidence on the benefits of breastfeeding How attentiveness and touch impacts permanent brain development in infants Under-reported facts about how to reduce colic, food allergies, and illness Why sharing sleep is both safe and natural How to reduce future teen-year stress by bonding with your young child early At the forefront of a passionate, growing movement called “attachment parenting,” this warmly presented guide is a rare overview of information too often missing from parenting circles, pediatric offices, and financially motivated product promotions. Why Attachment Parenting? Cultures around the world that practice more natural forms of parenting have healthier infants who cry much less, toddlers who do not exhibit “terrible twos,” generally respectful teenagers, and independent adults who participate in family matters. A well-controlled study found sleeping outside of the parents’ room brought 10.5 times the risk of SIDS as sleeping in the parents’ room. Studies have shown that infants who receive frequent physical affection have lower overall levels of stress. In the United States and other industrialized countries, the infant death rate for formula-fed infants is twice that of exclusively breastfed babies. Excerpt from The Baby Bond Most would agree that children probably do not consciously remember the way they were treated during early infancy. Many recount this observation as support or comfort for their ideas about ignoring babies’ cries for attention and providing minimal stimulation. Yet, it can be shown that while the specifics may be lost, unconscious memories are developed on the neurological and biochemical level from birth a baby’s brain develops from day one according to its environment. Childhood, adolescence, and adulthood are all affected by this early programming. And, as far as the coveted independence goes, it has been shown that those who receive the most affection early on display the highest levels of independence as adults. Praise for The Baby Bond “Babies would tell you to buy this book!” Jan Hunt, MSc | Author of The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart “An instant classic. A must-read for all parents. Dr. Palmer’s book is the best book on the hard science behind attachment parenting that I’ve ever read. I wish I had read this book before I became a mother.” Katie Allison | Author of Attachment Parenting “Well researched and hard hitting unabashedly tells the truth about so many very important issues.” Denise Pickett-Bernard, PhD | RD, The Journal of Human Lactation
In today’s downturned economy, one sector is trending sharply up: backyard vegetable gardening. Americans are staying closer to home – literally tending to their gardens, by the millions. And they’re reaching out for help and advice. Doug Oster, popular radio talk show gardening expert and newspaper garden & food columnist, gets more questions about tomatoes than any other vegetable. #2 is garlic, with basil close behind. It’s time for a book about these favorites of the American kitchen. With color photos throughout, this book is a balance of easy-to-use organic gardening tips, a little horticultural history, serious and funny cautionary gardening tales…and 30 simply delicious recipes (the gastronomic payoff). No matter if a garden is a loft balcony or a backyard in the ‘burbs, Doug leads his readers step by step with his trademark “how I do it” humor and Julia Child honesty…with a bonus prize of all those recipes as a reward for their labors. For beginners and old-timers alike.
An otherwise ordinary cat, Oscar has the uncanny ability to predict when people in the Steere House nursing home are about to die. Dr. Dosa tells the stories of several patients and examines end-of-life care as it exists today.
For every dog there is a sport that provides a perfect outlet for his intelligence and energy. A smart, focused Border Collie or Corgi might be an excellent agility athlete, while a scrappy little terrier satisfies his tunneling instincts in Earthdog trials. An eager-to-please, alert Poodle or Golden Retriever might shine in obedience, while a crowd-loving Whippet or Pit Bull mix thrives on the excitement of disc dog events. All-American mixed breeds can prove their mettle in almost any sport; find the right fit for your dog and watch him shine!Canine Sports Games presents the full range of possibilities and identifies canine abilities, instincts, and personalities that work well with each sport. Not sure about competitive sports? Swimming, hiking, and skiing are excellent opportunities for humans and their dogs to have fun together. And Canine Good Citizens, therapy dogs, and search-and-rescue dogs earn the respect and love of the people whose lives they touch. Enthusiastic owners will find suggestions for every kind of canine.Basic training and obedience are necessary before beginning any organized sport. Fundamental commands, nutrition and fitness, and injuries and aging are all covered in an overview that prepares readers and their dogs for the challenges of competition. The heart of the book is a sport-by-sport examination of 19 games, obedience competitions, and tests of instinct. Each sport is described in full, with information on history, complete rules, required equipment, how to begin training, safety reminders, related organizations, achievable goals and titles, and amusing or inspiring anecdotes everything dogs and their people need to get down to some serious playtime!Praise:”Kristin Mehus-Roe delightfully and thoroughly unleashes the true nature of dogs: born jocks and masters of movement.” Arden Moore, editor of Fido Friendly and author of The Dog Behavior Answer Book”From flyball and disc-throwing to freestyle and herding, Canine Sports Games makes it all look easy. Even better, Kristin Mehus-Roe recognizes the sometimes dormant athletic abilities that rest within all of us, from human couch potatoes to pit bulls and poodles.” Ken Foster, author of the best-selling memoir The Dogs Who Found Me and Dogs I Have Met.
With 250 tempting recipes to take you from breakfast all the way through dessert,Everyday Food: Fresh, Fast, Flavorfulis the indispensable collection that home cooks yearn for. Organized into familiar categories-including sandwiches and pizzas, appetizers, salads, soups and stews, pastas, main courses, and side dishes-this highly anticipated follow-up to the bestsellingEveryday Food: Great Food Fasthelps you whip up the perfect dish any time of day. Here is a book for the way we cook and eat now, with an emphasis on stretching meals (for example, leftovers from a roasted chicken are used to make a quick gumbo and roasted vegetables perform a second act as a vibrant pizza topping), turning to economical ingredients that deliver great results (such as flank steak, served with a piquant parsley-garlic sauce), and making healthier versions of comfort foods without skimping on flavor (like a lower-calorie chicken potpie). A section on enticing vegetarian main dishes as well as a roster of irresistible desserts round out this comprehensive collection. Brimming with great time- and budget-saving tips as well as smart kitchen techniques, Everyday Food: Fresh, Fast, Flavorful helps you use what you have on hand to make everyonersquo;s favorite foods. With an easy-to-read format, a photograph of each and every dish, and plenty of ideas to keep you inspired, this is the cookbook you will turn to day after day for wonderfully simple, delicious meals.
In no other period of our country’s history has the food scene changed so rapidly. Exciting new ingredients are available everywhere, expanding our culinary horizons. Even casual meals have globe-trotting flavors. We want memorable dishes, and we want them to be healthy for our families and our planet. And with our busy schedules, we want them on the table faster than ever. A new culinary world calls for a new cookbook. Gourmet Today responds to our changing foodscape with more vegetarian recipes, more recipes for popular dishes from every corner of the world, more recipes for stunning meals ready in 30 minutes or less, more simple ways to prepare all the vegetables in the farmers’ market, advice on choosing sustainable fish, chicken, and beef, tips on throwing an easy cocktail party, more recipes for flavorful techniques like grilling, and more recipes for the new ingredients flooding our market. Each of the over 1,000 recipes was selected by editor in chief Ruth Reichl, a best-selling author in her own right, who wrote the introductions to each chapter. Every recipe has been tested and cross-tested in the Gourmet test kitchen so every cook, whether a first-timer or a veteran, gets impeccable results. With menus for holidays and other seasonal occasions, an authoritative glossary of ingredients (plus mail-order sources), and hundreds of sidebars on ingredients and handy techniques from the test kitchen, Gourmet Today is the indispensable book for today’s cook.
The best-selling freezer-based cookbook, with more than 22,000 copies sold. This breakthrough cookbook delivers a program for readers to cook a week or month’s worth of meals in just one day by using easy and affordable recipes to create a customized meal plan. Deborah Taylor-Hough, who saved $24,000 on her family’s total grocery bill during a five-year period, offers up kid-tested and family-approved recipes in Frozen Assets, plus bulk-cooking tips for singles, shopping lists, recipes for two-week and 30-day meal plans, and a ten-day plan to eliminate cooking over the holidays. Cooking for the freezer allows you to plan ahead, purchase items in bulk, cut down on waste, and stop those all-too-frequent trips to the drive-thru. The hands-down authority on once-a-month cooking, Frozen Assets gives you a step-by-step plan to simplify and revolutionize the way you cook.
There’s nothing like a fresh cup of coffee to start your morning off right. And now you can enjoy the robust, satisfying taste of coffee all day long. In this attractive collection, Avner Laskin shares more than 65 recipes that range from delicious hot and cold beverages to sumptuous baked goods and desserts. Warm up over a cup of creamy cappuccino, chat over cafe mochas with Kahlua, or indulge in a frozen macchiato. Finally, satisfy your sweet tooth with luscious coffee-infused versions of chocolate chip cookies, tiramisus, and custard parfait
You will indulge in this fresh and contemporary collection of irresistible cakes to suit every romantic occasion, from traditional wedding cakes to quirky Valentines treats and cupcakes to share with their loved ones.The author does not only show readers how to create beautiful cakes with ease, but also advises on the best way to transport, display and serve.Offering instruction on how to make coordinating favors and gifts, the versatility of each cake will ensure readers will be creating them all year round for all of those special occasions.
A home building/remodeling contractor-cum-instructor of basement remodeling at a Nebraska community college offers professional tips, alternative strategies, and resources for all phases of “the remodeling adventure.” German covers many aspects of creating basement rec rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, and utility rooms. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc.
Testimonials for Nice Girls Can Finish First. “IN NICE GIRLS CAN FINISH FIRST, Daylle Deanna Schwartz proves that women who are basically good-hearted can still be taken seriously in both their business and personal lives. In fact, when used properly, kindness and consideration can go further than selfishness and bitchiness. Good lessons to learn and live by.” ~ Nina Disesa, chairman of McCann Erickson New York and author of Seducing the Boys Club. “Never underestimate the power of a woman – especially a nice one. This book is a must read for today’s world where, thankfully, nice is finally getting the respect it deserves. Mean is so last millennium. NICE GIRLS CAN FINISH FIRST offers brilliant tools and savvy advice for making ‘nice’ work for you in business and in life. Nice girls do finish first and this is their ‘how-to’ manual.” . ~ Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO of The Kaplan Thaler Group and bestselling author of The Power of Nice…’ Are you a ‘People Pleaser’? Do you put up with put-downs? Say yes when you’re dying to say no? Sit down when you should be standing up for yourself? Congratulations, you’re a nice girl. Nothing wrong with that – unless your need to be liked is holding you back from havng the career, money, love, respect, and happiness you deserve. This step-by-step guide from a self-described former doormat shows you that you don’t have to be a demanding diva or mean girl to get what you want. There’s a ‘nice’ way to be assertive-in business and in life. Once you learn the secret, you can: Speak up-without shouting; Say no – without sounding negative; Be strong – without being aggressive; Get respect – without getting tough; Ask for anything you want – and get it! Filled with subtle conversational techniques and people-friendly pointers you can put to work immediately, NICE GIRLS CAN FINISH FIRST is the perfect go-to guide for women who know they deserve more out of life – but don’t want to step on other people to get to the top. This book proves you can be strong, confident, powerful, successful – and nice too!
Award-winning Washington Post retirement columnist Stan Hinden’s bestselling How to Retire Happy helps you decide if you can retire now, or whether you have to stay on the job for a few more years. This trusted guide has been fully updated to address the stomach-churning issues created by financial market volatility and the economic recession.
“She just gets something into her mind and won’t give it up.” “He always has to have the last word.” “She charms me right out of disciplining her.” “He just won’t take no for an answer.”Do you find yourself saying these things about your child? If so, you may have a bright kid challenge. Bright kids aren’t bad kids – they’re incredibly smart, irresistibly adorable, and ultimately admirable. But they’ve found a way to get what they want and will keep using it over and over, driving parents and teachers crazy!The Bright Kid Challenge shows you how to handle and nurture smart kids who aren’t bad, but have found ways to get away with doing bad things. They come in a variety of types: The Negotiator The Competitor The Debater The Manipulator The Passive Resister The Dare Devil. With these simple strategies, you can get past any conflict and see your child make the most of their incredible talents.
The classic guide to raising twins, frompregnancy to schoolnow completelyrevised and updated for a new generationof parentsFor the past ten years, parents have turned to “DoubleDuty” for much-needed advice, practical tips, and soundstrategies for handling the unique challenge of parentingtwins. This updated second edition includes thelatest advancements in the diagnosis and treatment ofmultiple-pregnancy complications, the newest productsand equipment, and parent-to-parent advice from thebest websites and support groups. From the criticalfirst month of pregnancy, to the sleeping, eating, andbonding (times two!), through the first days of school, “Double Duty” is a multiple blessing you will love.
Brooks and Goldstein (Raising Resilient Children) note that a key component of resiliency is self-discipline. It’s so essential, in fact, that the authors devote their new text entirely to fostering its development in children. They begin by pointing out that discipline is a teaching process. A disciplinarian, they state, is not a parent who punishes or intimidates, and the goal is not to produce compliant, obedient kids. Rather, the objective is to keep children safe, help them learn self-discipline and become responsible for their own actions and choices. The authors reveal that spanking and other authoritarian methods work against this process. As an alternative, they offer a number of approaches parents can take to instill self-discipline and help children appropriately control their own lives, such as offering choices, letting kids come up with solutions and giving positive feedback. The authors employ a series of detailed case studies to illustrate (regrettably, these are tediously heavy-handed and needlessly drawn out). Still, the book provides practical tools for creating healthier families and self-disciplined kids. Parents who are weary of nagging and threatening will no doubt welcome the authors’ tried and true tactics. Publisher’s Weekly(Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
You Only Have One Minute to Sell Yourself The most important element in your job search is to learn to market yourself success fully. Using the one-minute commercial featured in Get Hired in a Tough Market, You’ll learn how to put together an effective, concise, and customizable presentation that gives potential employers all the reasons they need to hire you.
“You can have the finest moves in the talent contest, you can boast a trophy speed-dial list on your iPhone, you can possess the single-mindedness of Paul Revere and be as self-assured as Muhammad Ali . . . and you still won’t nail the job unless you know how to mold and merchandise your personal pitch. If this is true when times are booming-and it is-you can only imagine how true it is in times like these.” Harvey Mackay, Fortunemagazine’s “Mr. Make- Things-Happen,” has written five New York Timesbestsellers, including one of the most popular business books of all time-Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. Now he returns with the ultimate book on how to get, and keep, a job you truly love whether you’re twenty-one, fifty-one, or seventy-one. The average person will have at least three career changes and ten different jobs by age thirty-eight. In this era of downsizing and outsourcing, you can never be sure your job will still exist in five years- or five weeks. So you’d better think of your career as a perpetual job search. That demands a passion for lifetime learning and the skills for relentless and effective networking. Mackay shows you how to be at your best when things are at their worst. His hard-hitting topics include: – beating rejection before it beats you – warning signals that you might be losing your job – acing interviews – negotiating the job you want not the job they offer – taking advantage of the way bosses make hiring decisions – blending the latest contact tools with old-fashioned face-to-face networking Uplifting, amusing, and jam-packed with proven tips, Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Doorwill guide you through the toughest job market in decades. It’s also the definitive A-to-Z career resource for the rest of your life.
Arts and recreation
If crafts are big, then clay is colossal. From pins and pendants to bracelets, buttons, and embellishments, crafters of all ages are embracing the creativity that polymer clay inspires. This encyclopedic book by renowned expert Lisa Pavelka includes the latest techniques, handy tips, and trade secrets. Pavelka presents a sweeping overview of materials, how-to fundamentals, and construction techniques. She also introduces six original projects with complete instructions showing readers how to make pendants, curio boxes, a necklace, and a bracelet. Clear, concise, and comprehensive, this is an essential addition to any crafter’s library, no matter his or her skill level. For even more inspiration, this indispensable reference features a gallery of 50 original projects by Pavelka and other talented polymer clay designers.
Paper’s not just for note cards or scrapbooking anymore! Decorate your home with the 25 fun and fabulous eco-friendly papercraft projects featured in this inspiring new collection. You can conjure up tea light lanterns, vintage flower lampshades, decorative bowls, picture frames, stacking photo cubes, even a decoupaged dresser…all from paper, both new and recycled. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions and beautiful photography guide you through the process of making these chic, one-of-a kind designs. There are patterns for all skill levels as well as pages of templates conveniently included in the back of the book for reference. For anyone who has ever wondered how to turn a stack of old magazines into inspired decor, this book is just the answer.
Most beading books include a mix of patterns but call for very specific beads and materials. So if crafters don’t like the beads used in the projects, or don’t have them in hand, they won’t enjoy the projects, no matter how beautiful they are. But Susan Beal has untangled this knotty problem.Bead Simpleis the first work of its kind that offers stunning jewelry patterns that can be completely customized with a variety of beads and stringing materials. Based on simple, yet effective beading techniques, this strikingly illustrated pattern guide includes 50 glittering designs, each featuring two bold variations for a total of 150 projects that can easily be achieved with different materials or tweaks. With hot guest designers, including DIY Network’s Jennifer Perkins and Megan Nicolay, author of the bestsellingGeneration T, here is the one book that finally offers jewelers the versatility to let their unique personalities shine through.
Written in Margot’s humorous voice, Beyond the Bead leads readers through a series of techniques for creating unique mixed-media jewelry. Step-by-step instruction is provided for all the techniques including working with glass, resin and plastic, polymer and metal clay, felt and fibers, hardware store goods, paper art supplies and even odds and ends from around the home. A gallery of finished pieces that utilize those same techniques fill each chapter, inspiring readers to create pieces all their own.
The first edition of this indispensable classic gave knitters easy-to-follow (and fun-to-read) advice on producing the knits of their dreams. Drawing on decades of experience as a knitting instructor and designer, Maggie Righetti offered step-by-step directions on avoiding common mistakes and getting out of tricky spots. Now, in this completely updated and revised version, Righetti gives readers what they’ve asked for: advice on making all different garments, working with new patterns and different kinds of yarn, and even an introduction to her own legendary history. Neither aggressively hip nor bafflingly encyclopedic, Knitting in Plain English offers basic principles that will make any project&mdash-from a basic blanket to an intricate sweater&mdash-rewarding. Having Knitting in Plain English on the shelf is like having your own knitting teacher available to help at all times with any thorny problem.
Hats, adorable hats. Knitting maven Debby Ware, creator of the famous DebbyWare knit kits, has drawn on her years of experience to put together 30 pint-sized hat and cap patterns filled with bright and unusual color combinations. Three separate sections — Homecomings, Hooplas, and Humdingers — are filled with such delightful designs as the Newborn Beanie, Hobo Hat, Holly Holiday, Peppermint Cap, Feather Fedora, Lemon Drop, Black & Bright Beret, and many more for newborns to children up to 2 years. Not only are these cute and quirky caps fun and easy to knit, they are instant family heirlooms that can be handed down to each new generation.
From cast-on stitches to binding off, this handbook details the simple steps needed to turn seemingly complicated sock knitting projects into easy and enjoyable activities. Helpful photographs and instructional drawings ensure that even inexperienced knitters will be able to produce high-quality socks and handle more complicated techniques, such as the Kitchener stitch at the toe. Using instructions for five different sizes—from child through adult large—at five different gauges, knitters can produce styles ranging from delicate dress socks to thick and furry slipper socks. More adventurous knitters can add variety and flair by following one of 16 unique designs or trying one of the dozens of rib, cable, and lace patterns provided. With plenty ofnbsp;tips and a handy stitch dictionary, this guide unleashes the creativity and fun of sock knitting.
“The Joy of Sox” offers the hottest collection of knitted socks yet, filled with more than 30 designs, a variety of techniques, tips, and playful trivia from those in the know–all presented in one flirtatiously fresh package.
The pleasure of knitting can be that much greater when you know you’re using the perfect yarn. InA Fine Fleece, designer, knitter, and spinner Lisa Lloyd explores the different qualities of handspun yarn and presents projects that show them to their best advantage. There is valuable information here for every knitter, even if you’ve never considered learning to spin (though you may find inspiration in this book to do just that). While educating you on the differences in fibers (like Alpaca, Merino, Cormo, Rambouillet, and Suffolk) and the characteristics you can achieve in a handspun yarn by combining fibers according to certain recipes, Lisa Lloyd also shares the three important concepts that enlighten her designs: the use of contrasting color and fiber; scale and perspective (chunky yarns with chunky cable stitches versus chunky yarns with delicate ones); and the creation of “poetic” sweaters that try to capture an emotion. Each of the 26 projects inA Fine Fleeceshows the finished project knitted in both a handspun yarn and a commercial yarn so that you can train your eye to understand how fiber and texture can truly transform a piece.
A shawl can keep you warm in the winter, top off an elegant evening dress, or chase away the chill on a summer evening. It’s the perfect addition to any wardrobe—and the perfect project for any knitter who’s tired of working on scarf after scarf and wants to move on to something new.Vogue Knitting Shawls & Wrapspresents 25 of the magazine’s most gorgeous wraps, all created by today’s top knitwear designers.nbsp; The patterns include a chic beaded shawl or one with delicate open lacework; a cozy cabled cape, a stylish fringed wrap, and many other exquisite designs.
Revealing the secrets to designing with color in unique and unexpected ways, this innovative resource offers 20 original patterns that explorenbsp;sophisticated ways to playnbsp;with color and build color confidence for all crocheters. Various projects are featured, from clothing andnbsp;accessories tonbsp;home décor,nbsp;all of which arenbsp;crafted with fine yarns and big hooks to createnbsp;a fluidnbsp;fabric that isnbsp;never stiff.nbsp;Ideal for all skill levels, chapters include single- and two-color designs,nbsp;which teachesnbsp;a pleated hat and triangular shawl; Stripes, which offers a half-circle bag and an Afghan; Color Blocks, featuring a chain lace shawl and a pillow; Stranded, detailing mittens and a patterned yoke sweater; and Random Color, which highlights a round tea table cover, among many other projects. With various tips and tricks—such as a proportion guide for working with color bands, techniques on stranding and working over yarn tails, and simple ways to finish a project—this definitive handbook will encourage crocheters to experiment with color, design outside their comfort zones, and make unique color combinations work.
Kathryn M. Ireland is a maven of materials. In addition to having her own fabric line, she freely and deftly mixes other designers’ fabrics as well as international market “finds.” Blending those with quality ironwork, wood, tile, and furniture pieces, Ireland pulls together a magnificent home of unpretentious grandeur. This book chronicles the sympathetic restoration of a Wallace Neffndash; designed estate in Ojai, California, including the home and stables.
Design professional Soria has covered the shelter industry for 25 years; she writes, edits, and produces shelter and lifestyle articles for a variety of popular publications, including Traditional Home, Country Gardens, and PositivelyGreen magazines. She offers a practical text for fellow designers and general readers, packed with the best in today’s bathroom design ideas. The text breaks down the process of designing a bathroom into a logical sequence, from planning the space, to selecting a style, to exploring the latest options in materials and fixtures. Illustrated throughout with 350-plus color photographs and diagrams. No subject index. Oversize: 9.25×11″. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Literature
In her mid-forties and settled into the responsibilities and routines of adulthood, Dani Shapiro found herself with more questions than answers. Was this all life was-a hodgepodge of errands, dinner dates, e-mails, meetings, to-do lists? What did it all mean? Having grown up in a deeply religious and traditional family, Shapiro had no personal sense of faith, despite repeated attempts to create a connection to something greater. Feeling as if she was plunging headlong into what Carl Jung termed “the afternoon of life,” she wrestled with self-doubt and a searing disquietude that would awaken her in the middle of the night. Set adrift by loss-her father’s early death; the life-threatening illness of her infant son; her troubled relationship with her mother-she had become edgy and uncertain. At the heart of this anxiety, she realized, was a challenge: What did she believe? Spurred on by the big questions her young son began to raise, Shapiro embarked upon a surprisingly joyful quest to find meaning in a constantly changing world. The result is Devotion: a literary excavation to the core of a life. In this spiritual detective story, Shapiro explores the varieties of experience she has pursued-from the rituals of her black hat Orthodox Jewish relatives to yoga shalas and meditation retreats. A reckoning of the choices she has made and the knowledge she has gained, Devotion is the story of a woman whose search for meaning ultimately leads her home. Her journey is at once poignant and funny, intensely personal-and completely universal.
Almost 200 years after her death, Jane Austen remains a hot topic. Harman presents a complete biography–of both the author and her lasting cultural influence–making this essential reading for anyone interested in Austen’s life, works, and remarkably potent fame.
History, Geography and Biographies
From the schism between Rome and Constantinople to the rise of the T’ang Dynasty, from the birth of Muhammad to the crowning of Charlemagne, this erudite book tells the fascinating, often violent story of kings, generals, and the peoples they ruled. In her earlier work, The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer wrote of the rise of kingship based on might. But in the years between the fourth and the twelfth centuries, rulers had to find new justification for their power, and they turned to divine truth or grace to justify political and military action. Right thus replaces might as the engine of empire. Not just Christianity and Islam but the religions of the Persians and the Germans, and even Buddhism, are pressed into the service of the state. This phenomenon–stretching from the Americas all the way to Japan–changes religion, but it also changes the state.
Patterson and Dugard dig through stacks of evidence–X-rays, files, forensic clues, and stories told through the ages–to arrive at their own account of King Tut’s life and death. The result is an exhilarating true crime tale of intrigue, passion, and betrayal.
A gorgeous, romantic memoir of a young woman’s year in Damascus, where she studied the Muslim Jesus, fled to an ancient desert monastery to heal her past, and unexpectedly found herself in love with a French novice monk.
This testosterone-laced memoir depicts an admirable member of an elite navy SEAL unit and his service in Vietnam. Volunteering in 1963, Keith underwent the ruthless training designed to eliminate candidates lacking the ability to endure pain, exhaustion and humiliation, or sufficient luck to avoid injury. Once he deploys to Vietnam in 1968, military buffs can settle back to enjoy over 200 pages of intense, small-unit action as Keith and his comrades wreak havoc among the Vietcong and relax by engaging in adolescent horseplay. The author delivers a superb, nuts-and-bolts account of the weapons, gear, preparation and tactics his unit employed; he includes frustrations along with triumphs. After three six-month tours, Keith was aware that the Vietnamese still did not trust their government to protect them, but blames America’s withdrawal on self-serving politicians. Experts agree that killing insurgents never defeats an insurgency, but despite the lack of insight, this is an excellent chronicle of superbly skilled warriors at work. 8 pages of bw photos. (July 7) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Once a drug-dealing biker, Childers now spends his time in the most dangerous parts of Sudan and Uganda rescuing the youngest victims of war–orphans and child-soldiers–no matter the cost.
Ten years after one of the most polarizing political scandals in American history, author Gormley offers an insightful, balanced, and revealing analysis of the events leading up to the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.
“This shit would be really interesting if we weren’t in the middle of it.”–Barack Obama, September 2008. In 2008, the presidential election became blockbuster entertainment. Everyone was watching as the race for the White House unfolded like something from the realm of fiction. The meteoric rise and historic triumph of Barack Obama. The shocking fall of the House of Clinton–and the improbable resurrection of Hillary as Obama’s partner and America’s face to the world. The mercurial performance of John McCain and the mesmerizing emergence of Sarah Palin. But despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of this spellbinding drama, remarkably little of the real story behind the headlines has yet been told. In Game Change, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, two of the country’s leading political reporters, use their unrivaled access to pull back the curtain on the Obama, Clinton, McCain, and Palin campaigns. How did Obama convince himself that, despite the thinness of his résumé, he could somehow beat the odds to become the nation’s first African American president? How did the tumultuous relationship between the Clintons shape–and warp–Hillary’s supposedly unstoppable bid? What was behind her husband’s furious outbursts and devastating political miscalculations? Why did McCain make the novice governor of Alaska his running mate? And was Palin merely painfully out of her depth–or troubled in more serious ways? Game Change answers those questions and more, laying bare the secret history of the 2008 campaign. Heilemann and Halperin take us inside the Obama machine, where staffers referred to the candidate as “Black Jesus.” They unearth the quiet conspiracy in the U.S. Senate to prod Obama into the race, driven in part by the fears of senior Democrats that Bill Clinton’s personal life might cripple Hillary’s presidential prospects. They expose the twisted tale of John Edwards’s affair with Rielle Hunter, the truth behind the downfall of Rudy Giuliani, and the doubts of those responsible for vetting Palin about her readiness for the Republican ticket–along with the McCain campaign staff’s worries about her fitness for office. And they reveal how, in an emotional late-night phone call, Obama succeeded in wooing Clinton, despite her staunch resistance, to become his secretary of state. Based on hundreds of interviews with the people who lived the story, Game Change is a reportorial tour de force that reads like a fast-paced novel. Character driven and dialogue rich, replete with extravagantly detailed scenes, this is the occasionally shocking, often hilarious, ultimately definitive account of the campaign of a lifetime.
New @ Moon Library 