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The Teaching Gap: Best Ideas from the World's Teachers for Improving Education in the Classroom
by James W. Stigler James HiebertComparing math teaching practices in Japan and Germany with those in the United States, two leading researchers offer a surprising new view of teaching and a bold action plan for improving education inside the American classroom. For years our schools and children have lagged behind international standards in reading, arithmetic, and most other areas of academic achievement. It is no secret that American schools are in dire need of improvement, and that education has become our nation's number-one priority. But even though almost every state in the country is working to develop higher standards for what students should be learning, along with the means for assessing their progress, the quick-fix solutions implemented so far haven't had a noticeable impact. The problem, as James Stigler and James Hiebert explain, is that most efforts to improve education fail because they simply don't have any impact on the quality of teaching inside classrooms. Teaching, they argue, is cultural. American teachers aren't incompetent, but the methods they use are severely limited, and American teaching has no system in place for getting better. It is teaching, not teachers, that must be changed. In The Teaching Gap, the authors draw on the conclusions of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) -- an innovative new study of teaching in several cultures -- to refocus educational reform efforts. Using videotaped lessons from dozens of randomly selected eighth-grade classrooms in the United States, Japan, and Germany, the authors reveal the rich, yet unfulfilled promise of American teaching and document exactly how other countries have consistently stayed ahead of us in the rate their children learn. Our schools can be restructured as places where teachers can engage in career-long learning and classrooms can become laboratories for developing new, teaching-centered ideas. If provided the time they need during the school day for collaborative lesson study and plan building, teachers will change the way our students learn. James Stigler and James Hiebert have given us nothing less than a "best practices" for teachers -- one that offers proof that how teachers teach is far more important than increased spending, state-of-the-art facilities, mandatory homework, or special education -- and a plan for change that educators, teachers, and parents can implement together.
Nice Girls Finish Fat: Put Yourself First and Change Your Eating Forever
by Karen R. KoenigFrom a therapist and expert in emotional eating, the first book to explore the link between weight gain and women who do too much, complete with proven techniques for dropping pounds. Many women put too much on their plates, both literally and figuratively. In Nice Girls Finish Fat, psychotherapist Karen R. Koenig explains the link between the two and gives overweight women detailed advice on how to lose their extra baggage—both emotional and physical—by becoming more assertive in every aspect of life. For the millions of overweight women in America, diet and exercise just aren’t cutting it. That’s because many of these women have emotional issues buried deep beneath those stubborn pounds, issues that must be dealt with first if weight loss plans are to succeed. In this illuminating book, based on decades of professional experience, Karen Koenig offers on-the-page psychotherapy to help readers attack the roots of their food problems. With her engaging personal style, she teaches women about the biological connections between repressed emotions and eating, revealing the ways many women use food to stuff their anger, control their aggression, and assuage their feelings of guilt—all in the pursuit of being “nice.” Giving “good girls” permission to love themselves first, Koenig offers thought-provoking quizzes and questions to help readers identify and overcome the habits that have been holding them back. Empowering readers to gain the confidence they need to lose weight, Nice Girls Finish Fat not only shows women how to stop obsessing about food and develop healthy eating habits, it teaches readers skills to improve every aspect of their lives.
Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever
by Rick WilsonFrom Rick Wilson—longtime Republican strategist, political commentator, Daily Beast contributor—the #1 New York Times bestseller about the disease that is destroying the conservative movement and burning down the GOP: Trumpism.Includes an all-new chapter analyzing Trump&’s impact on the 2018 elections.In the #1 New York Times bestselling Everything Trump Touches Dies, political campaign strategist and commentator Rick Wilson delivers &“a searingly honest, bitingly funny, comprehensive answer to the question we find ourselves asking most mornings: &‘What the hell is going on?&’ (Chicago Tribune). The Guardian hails Everything Trump Touches Dies, saying it gives, &“more unvarnished truths about Donald Trump than anyone else in the American political establishment has offered. Wilson never holds back.&” Rick mercilessly exposes the damage Trump has done to the country, to the Republican Party, and to the conservative movement that has abandoned its principles for the worst President in American history.Wilson unblinkingly dismantles Trump&’s deceptions and the illusions to which his supporters cling, shedding light on the guilty parties who empower and enable Trump in Washington and in the media. He calls out the race-war dead-enders who hitched a ride with Trump, the alt-right basement dwellers who worship him, and the social conservatives who looked the other way. Publishers Weekly calls it, &“a scathing, profane, unflinching, and laugh-out-loud funny rebuke of Donald Trump and his presidency.&”No left-winger, Wilson is a lifelong conservative who delivers his withering critique of Trump from the right. A leader of the Never Trump movement, he warned from the start that Trump would destroy the lives and reputations of everyone in his orbit, and Everything Trump Touches Dies is a deft chronicle the tragicomic political story of our time. From the early campaign days through the shock of election night, to the inconceivable train-wreck of Trump&’s first year. Rick Wilson provides not only an insightful analysis of the Trump administration, but also an optimistic path forward for the GOP, the conservative movement, and the country. &“Hilarious, smartly written, and usually spot-on&” (Kirkus Reviews), Everything Trump Touches Dies is perfect for those on either side of the aisle who need a dose of unvarnished reality, a good laugh, a strong cocktail, and a return to sanity in American politics.
The Build Up
by Tati Richardson"Plenty of sexy chemistry and sensual sizzle in a story line that celebrates family, friends, and food." Booklist, starred reviewA truly unfortunate first day of work leads to unexpected love in this sparkling debut from Romance in Colour podcast cohost Tati Richardson.Rumpled and ragged was not how architect Ari James envisioned kicking off her first day at a new firm. And few things can top the horror of her new—and extremely hot—colleague walking in on her at the worst moment ever. Learning that she&’ll be working with him on the project that&’s supposed to get her career back on top makes it harder than ever to focus on her big comeback.With a partnership at his firm on the line, nothing is going to stand in the way of Porter Harrison absolutely killing it on his new project: not his obnoxious rival, not his unpredictable brother and definitely not his new coworker whose gorgeous curves he accidentally saw and now can&’t get out of his head.Though neither of them is looking for love, once their creative juices get flowing, Ari and Porter&’s connection is obvious. But when their shared goal has always been winning at work, building a solid foundation for a relationship might end up costing them everything…
Silencing Sam: A Novel (Riley Spartz)
by Julie KramerIN THIS TOWN, GOSSIP KILLS . . .When a widely despised gossip columnist is found shot to death, Riley Spartz must secretly investigate a case in which she becomes the prime suspect. In the wake of the brutal murder, our heroine discovers that news and gossip have more in common than she ever imagined. Trouble begins when Riley publicly clashes with newspaper gossip writer Sam Pierce, throwing a drink in his face after he implies in his popular column that she cheated on her husband. When clues to the homicide lead to her, Riley is charged with the crime. The police seem unwilling to look any further for perpetrators, although numerous local news- makers have reason for revenge—even a motive for killing. Meanwhile, competition in the Channel 3 newsroom is just as murderous. While Riley struggles to interest her boss in a story about rural wind farm bombings and dead bats, a new reporter spikes the station ratings with exclusive stories about the headless homicide of an unknown woman whose decapitated body is found in a city park. Maybe murder isn’t such a bad idea after all? Riley must fight to stay out of jail, ahead in the ratings, and even alive in a killer showdown not fit for television audiences.
The Hidden Treasure (Unicorn Magic #4)
by Jessica BurkhartBella must go on a special quest for a magical crystal in order to save her beloved Glimmer in the fourth book in the Unicorn Magic series!After a sparkly visit with her cousin, Violet, Bella is having a fun time at a party her parents are throwing in honor of Violet’s visit. But there is one unexpected guest—Bella’s aunt, Queen Fire, who rules over the Dark Forest. It turns out there is a magical crystal hidden deep inside Crystal Castle, and Queen Fire wants Bella to find it and bring it to her. It holds special memories that her aunt wants to have back, and if Bella can’t complete her request, Queen Fire will take Glimmer away!Can Bella figure out how to find the crystal and save Glimmer?
Counterintuitive Marketing: Achieving Great Results Using Common Sense
by Kevin J. Clancy Peter C. KriegWhy does American business seem to sputter along where it ought to thrive? What is the source of the current plague of downsizing, disappearing companies, dot-com crashes, and here-today-gone-tomorrow advertising campaigns? Why do more products flop than ever before? Marketing experts Kevin J. Clancy and Peter C. Krieg have the answers. In Counterintuitive Marketing, Clancy and Krieg trace the high rate of business failure back to bad marketing strategy, and the even worse implementation of that strategy. Excess testosterone, they argue, compels senior managers to make decisions intuitively, instinctively, quickly, and, unfortunately, disastrously. In this informative and enlightening book, Clancy and Krieg confront these "over-and-over-again" marketers, who don't have time to do it right the first time, but endless time and a company bankroll to do it wrong over and over again. The authors draw from their decades of consumer and business-to-business marketing experience to describe the intuitive decision-making practices that permeate business today, and demonstrate how these practices lead to disappointing performance. Chapter by chapter, Counterintuitive Marketing contrasts how marketing decisions are made today with how they should be made. The authors give equal treatment to targeting, positioning, product development, pricing, customer service, e-commerce, marketing planning, implementation, and more as they present counterintuitive ideas for building and introducing blockbuster marketing programs. Readers will discover in this iconoclastic treasure chest hundreds of penetrating insights that have enabled the authors' firm, Copernicus, to transform companies and become a "brand guardian" to the Fortune 500 and emerging businesses around the world. The tools to create exceptional marketing programs really do exist, and they are all here in Counterintuitive Marketing, the ultimate practical guide for any company of any size.
Fields of Grace: Faith, Friendship, and the Day I Nearly Lost Everything
by Hannah Luce Robin Gaby FisherIn this remarkable tale of hope and survival, Hannah Luce tells how, as the sole survivor of a terrible plane crash, she came to grips with her faith: “a calamitous, fascinating memoir, written with surprising spiritual sophistication” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).On May 11, 2012, a small plane carrying five young adults, en route to a Christian youth rally, crashed in a Kansas field, skidding 200 yards before hitting a tree and bursting into flames. Only two survived the crash: ex-marine Austin Anderson, who would die the next morning from extensive burns, and his friend Hannah Luce, the daughter of Teen Mania founder and influential youth minister Ron Luce.This is Hannah’s story.In Fields of Grace, Hannah details the investigation of her faith, her coming-of-age as the dutiful daughter of Evangelical royalty, her decision to join her father’s ministry outreach to teens, and her miraculous survival and recovery following the accident. It also serves as a tribute and testament to the lives of the dear friends who perished in the catastrophic plane crash and reveals how their memory continues to inspire all that she does.Here is the “riveting personal account” (Booklist) of a girl who grew up as the daughter of one of the most influential evangelical leaders of our time, who questioned her early religious convictions somewhere along the way and who, from the embers of that doomed plane ride, finally found her faith.
Twilight of the Money Gods: Economics as a Religion and How It All Went Wrong
by John RapleyImagine one day you went to a cash-machine and found your money was gone. You rushed to your branch, where a teller said that overnight people had stopped believing in money, and it all vanished. Seem incredible? It happened, and it could happen again.Twilight of the Money Gods is the story of economics, told not as the science it strove to be, but as the religion it became. Over two centuries, it searched for the hidden codes which would reveal the path to a promised land of material abundance. While its prophets, from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman, concerned themselves with the human condition, its priesthood gradually grew remote from its followers, until it lost sight of their tribulations. Today, amid a crisis of faith in their expertise, we must re-imagine an economics for a new era - one filled with both danger and opportunity.
Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom
by Nelson MandelaFrom the heart and soul of visionary Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, a collection of his most uplifting, time-honored quotes that have inspired our world and offer a path for peace.&“The book that you hold in your hands is nothing short of a miracle.&” —Desmond Tutu, from the IntroductionNotes to the Future is the definitive book of quotations from one of the great leaders of our time. This collection—gathered from privileged access to Mandela&’s vast personal archive of private papers, speeches, correspondence, and audio recordings—features more than three hundred quotations spanning more than sixty years and includes his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.These inspirational quotations, organized into four sections—Struggle, Victory, Wisdom, and Future—are both universal and deeply personal. We see Mandela&’s sense of humor, his loneliness and despair, his thoughts on fatherhood, and the reluctant leader who had no choice but to become the man history demanded.&“A good pen can also remind us of the happiest moments in our lives, bring noble ideas into our dens, our blood and our souls. It can turn tragedy into hope and victory&” (from a letter to Zindzi Mandela, written on Robben Island, February 10, 1980).
Water Crystal Healing: Music & Images to Restore Your Well-Being
by Masaru EmotoFor centuries, people have turned to classical music for its calming and relaxing effects. Internationally acclaimed water researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto has discovered why certain music has healing benefits: Music with the appropriate rhythm, tempo, tone, and melody can correct distorted frequencies within our cells, assisting our health and healing.Here, you can enjoy Dr. Emoto's captivating water-crystal photographs and text in this unique collection. The possible benefits you may experience include decreased joint and back pain; improved function of the nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, and immune systems; and the release of negative emotions such as anxiety, self-pity, and depression. The combination of images and words in Water Crystal Healing concentrates consciousness as never before, providing a unique experience for healing.
Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep On Buying No Matter What
by Lee EisenbergIn this smart, engaging book, Lee Eisenberg, best-selling author of The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think about the Rest of Your Life, leads us on a provocative and entertaining tour of America's love/hate affair with shopping, a pursuit that, even in hard times, remains a true national pastime. Why do we shop and buy the way we do? In a work that will explain much about the American character, Eisenberg chronicles the dynamics of selling and buying from almost every angle. Neither a cheerleader for consumption nor an anti-consumerist scold, he explores with boundless curiosity the vast machinery aimed at inducing us to purchase everything from hair mousse to a little black dress. He leads us, with understated humor, into the broad universe of marketing, retailing, advertising, and consumer and scientific research--an arsenal of powerful forces that combine to form what he calls "The Sell Side." Through the rest of the book, Eisenberg leads us through the "Buy Side" -- a journey directly into our own hearts and minds, asking among other questions: What are we really looking for when we buy? Why are we alternately excited, guilt-ridden, satisfied, disappointed, and recklessly impulsive? What are our biases, need for status, impulses to self-express, that lead us individually to buy what we buy? Are you a classic buyer (your head wants to do the right thing), or a romantic buyer (your heart just wants to have fun)? How do men and women differ in their attitudes towards shopping, and does the old cliche -- "Women shop, men buy" -- apply any longer? Of special interest are the author's findings on the subject of What Makes a Good Buy? We all purchase things that we sooner or later regret, but what are the guidelines for making purchases that we'll never regret? What, for instance, defines the perfect gift? Brimming with wit and surprise, Shoptimism will be delightful and instructive reading for anyone with a credit card and a healthy curiosity about American culture, through good times and bad. For here, in one vivid journey, is a memorable, panoramic portrait of our everyday self-delusions, desires, and dreams.
I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl: A Memoir
by Kelle GroomAt the age of fifteen, Kelle Groom found that alcohol allowed her to connect with people and explore intimacy in ways she’d never been able to experience before. She began drinking before class, often blacked out at bars, and fell into destructive relationships. At nineteen, already an out-of-control alcoholic, she was pregnant. Accepting the heartbreaking fact that she was incapable of taking care of her son herself, she gave him up for adoption to her aunt and uncle. They named him Tommy and took him home with them to Massachusetts. When he was nine months old, the boy was diagnosed with leukemia—but Kelle’s parents, wanting the best for her, kept her mostly in the dark about his health. When Tommy died he was only fourteen months old. Having lost him irretrievably, Kelle went into an accelerating downward spiral of self-destruction. She emerged from this free fall only when her desire to stop drinking connected her with those who helped her to get sober.In stirring, hypnotic prose, I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl explores the most painful aspects of Kelle’s addiction and loss with unflinching honesty and bold determination. Urgent and vital, exquisite and raw, her story is as much about maternal love as it is about survival, as much about acceptance as it is about forgiveness. Kelle’s longing for her son remains twenty-five years after his death. It is an ache intensified, as she lost him twice—first to adoption and then to cancer. In this inspiring portrait of redemption, Kelle charts the journey that led her to accept her addiction and grief and to learn how to live in the world. Through her family’s history and the story of her son’s cancer, Kelle traces with clarity and breathtaking grace the forces that shape a life, a death, and a literary voice.
Ernie Pyles War: America's Eyewitness to World War II
by James TobinWhen a machine-gun bullet ended the life of war correspondent Ernie Pyle in the final days of World War II, Americans mourned him in the same breath as they mourned Franklin Roosevelt. To millions, the loss of this American folk hero seemed nearly as great as the loss of the wartime president.If the hidden horrors and valor of combat persist at all in the public mind, it is because of those writers who watched it and recorded it in the faith that war is too important to be confined to the private memories of the warriors. Above all these writers, Ernie Pyle towered as a giant. Through his words and his compassion, Americans everywhere gleaned their understanding of what they came to call “The Good War.”Pyle walked a troubled path to fame. Though insecure and anxious, he created a carefree and kindly public image in his popular prewar column—all the while struggling with inner demons and a tortured marriage. War, in fact, offered Pyle an escape hatch from his own personal hell.It also offered him a subject precisely suited to his talent—a shrewd understanding of human nature, an unmatched eye for detail, a profound capacity to identify with the suffering soldiers whom he adopted as his own, and a plain yet poetic style reminiscent of Mark Twain and Will Rogers. These he brought to bear on the Battle of Britain and all the great American campaigns of the war—North Africa, Sicily, Italy, D-Day and Normandy, the liberation of Paris, and finally Okinawa, where he felt compelled to go because of his enormous public stature despite premonitions of death.In this immensely engrossing biography, affectionate yet critical, journalist and historian James Tobin does an Ernie Pyle job on Ernie Pyle, evoking perfectly the life and labors of this strange, frail, bald little man whose love/hate relationship to war mirrors our own. Based on dozens of interviews and copious research in little-known archives, Ernie Pyle's War is a self-effacing tour de force. To read it is to know Ernie Pyle, and most of all, to know his war.
Becoming One: Emotionally, Physically, Spiritually
by Joe BeamOpen the pages of this book and learn how to experience exciting intensity in your sexual relationship, deeper levels of closeness on an emotional level, and the most fulfilling intimacy of all—spiritual ONEness.With God's help you can make your marriage all it should be and all you crave it to be—no matter what it's like now. Men want action. Women want feeling. From day one they're set up to misunderstand each other. Sometimes you must tell your mate the things you've done wrong, and sometimes you are much better off not to tell. The secret of a strong and intimate marriage is knowing what to share and what to leave buried. If you're in conflict over sexual desires—one wants to do something other doesn't—there is a logical and spiritual way to satisfy you both. As you grow closer to God, you will grow closer to each other.
Something in the Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics
by Richard HofferIn the tradition of Seabiscuit and The Summer of ’49, a gripping sports narrative that brilliantly tells the amazing individual stories of the unforgettable athletes who gathered in Mexico City in a year of dramatic upheaval.The 1968 Mexico City Olympics reflected the spirit of their revolutionary times. Richard Hoffer’s Something in the Air captures the turbulence and offbeat heroism of that historic Olympiad, which was as rich in inspiring moments as it was drenched in political and racial tensions. Although the basketball star Lew Alcindor decided to boycott, heavyweight boxer George Foreman not only competed, but waved miniature American flags over his fallen opponents. The sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos became as famous for their raised-fist gestures of protest as their speed on the track. No one was prepared for Bob Beamon’s long jump, which broke the world’s record by a staggering twenty-two inches. And then there was Dick Fosbury, the goofball high jumper whose backwards, upside down approach to the bar (the "Fosbury Flop") baffled his coaches while breaking records. Though Fosbury was his own man, he was apolitical and easygoing. He didn’t defy authority; he defied gravity. Witty, insightful, and filled with human drama, Something in the Air mixes Shakespearean complexity with Hollywood sentimentality, sociopolitical significance, and the exhilarating spectacle of youthful, physical prowess. It is a powerful, unforgettable tale that will resonate with sports fans and readers of social history alike.
Vengeance (Rogue Warrior #12)
by Richard Marcinko Jim DeFeliceFormer SEAL Team Six leader and American hero Richard Marcinko is back in action with a thriller ripped from tomorrow's headlines. Mixing fact with fiction, Marcinko returns to his authentic, no-holds-barred style in the latest explosive installment of his New York Times bestselling series, Rogue WarriorR®: Vengeance. Armed with irreverent wit and a fully loaded submachine gun, Marcinko's fictional alter ego takes no prisoners as he and his Red Cell II team tackle fat-cat American bureaucrats as well as terrorists. Interspersing action with his classic combination of wisecracks and earthy humor, Marcinko crams a chemical explosion, a high-speed helicopter chase, a train hijacking, and a headless corpse into the first few pages. When it becomes clear that terrorists are gunning for Demo Dick as well as the country's most precious symbols and institutions, things become very personal. Forget the Rogue Warrior's usual terms of endearment -- this time he's out for blood. Launched on an all-out international hunt, Demo Dick discovers a plot targeting the country's largest shipping port for liquefied petroleum gas...but that's just a prelude for Independence Day. Of all the thriller writers out there today, only one has truly walked the walk and talked the talk. Marcinko infuses his new book with stories and details that could come only from the inside -- which makes them all the more alarming. Reserve the edge of your seat for this one....
Welcome to Grimwood: Five Freakishly Funny Fables
by Nadia ShireenA special World Book Day adventure in the wildly funny new series from award-winning Nadia Shireen.Perfect for readers age 7 to 107, fans of Dog Man, Roald Dahl, Mr Gum, Loki and David Walliams, and anyone who loves to laugh. Welcome to Grimwood! Join the residents of the woods where anything can happen, as they tell stories around the campfire. You&’ll hear weird and wonderful tales from Titus the stag, mayor of Grimwood, Nancy the fox with attitude, Willow the excitable rabbit, Frank the no-nonsense owl, and Ingrid the movie-star duck. Expect the unexpected, and be warned: you may laugh your head off . . .For another freakishly funny tale with the same cast of cracking animal characters, check out Grimwood, the first book in Nadia Shireen's bestselling, outrageously comical, fully illustrated series for humans (both young and old at heart).Praise for Grimwood:&‘Funny, anarchic, original and gloriously silly.&’ ― Richard Osman&‘Ted and Nancy are my favourite funny foxes EVER.&’ ― Liz Pichon, author of Tom Gates&‘I CACKLED ALOUD on practically every page. Comic gold, tinged with such tenderness.&’― Kiran Millwood Hargrave'Gloriously anarchic, properly funny and highly illustrated with dynamic black-and-white art, this is a quirky delight for children – and their parents, too.' ― The Bookseller'Dark, original and laugh-out-loud funny' ― The Times'This book made my face hurt! Relentlessly funny.' ― Rob Biddulph, author of Peanut Jones'Like Watership Down, but funny. You&’ll laugh hysterically on every page.' ― Caitlin Moran'Fantastic.' ― Lauren Laverne'Pure genius!' ― Louie Stowell, author of Loki'Made us laugh out loud.' ― Jim Smith, author of Barry Loser'You&’re in for a treat!' ― Selom Sunu, illustrator of Look Both Ways'Utterly HILARIOUS' ― Sophy Henn, author-illustrator of Pizazz'Fizzes with mad energy. Brilliantly addictive. ― Phil Earle, author of When the Sky Falls
I Want My Mummy! (Ms. Frogbottom's Field Trips #1)
by Nancy KrulikMagic School Bus meets The Magic Tree House in this first installment of a new school-based chapter book series by bestselling author Nancy Krulik. When their teacher takes them to Egypt, will this class be able to break a mummy&’s curse?Learning is an adventure in Ms. Frogbottom&’s class, because she&’s got a magic map—one that takes her students all over the world to battle with mythical monsters no one believes are real. All Ms. Frogbottom has to do is take out the map, tap a country, and— SHAZAAM!—off they go to a place somewhere far, far away.When Ms. Frogbottom whisks the class away to Egypt, they not only come face to face with a mummy, but have to solve the riddle of his ancient curse!Bestselling and beloved author Nancy Krulik ingeniously approaches geography in a new way, as the kids learn about the places they visit while fighting, fleeing, or in some cases rescuing monsters.
The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
by Andrew LycettThough Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's name is recognized the world over, for decades the man himself has been overshadowed by his better understood creation, Sherlock Holmes, who has become one of literature's most enduring characters. Based on thousands of previously unavailable documents, Andrew Lycett, author of the critically acclaimed biography Dylan Thomas, offers the first definitive biography of the baffling Conan Doyle, finally making sense of a long-standing mystery: how the scientifically minded creator of the world's most rational detective himself succumbed to an avid belief in spiritualism, including communication with the dead. Conan Doyle was a man of many contradictions. Always romantic, energetic, idealistic and upstanding, he could also be selfish and fool-hardy. Lycett assembles the many threads of Conan Doyle's life, including the lasting impact of his domineering mother and his wayward, alcoholic father; his affair with a younger woman while his wife lay dying; and his nearly fanatical pursuit of scientific data to prove and explain various supernatural phenomena. Lycett reveals the evolution of Conan Doyle's nature and ideas against the backdrop of his intense personal life, wider society and the intellectual ferment of his age. In response to the dramatic scientific and social transformations at the turn of the century, he rejected traditional religious faith in favor of psychics and séances -- and in this way he embodied all of his late-Victorian, early-Edwardian era's ambivalence about the advance of science and the decline of religion. The first biographer to gain access to Conan Doyle's newly released personal archive -- which includes correspondence, diaries, original manuscripts and more -- Lycett combines assiduous research with penetrating insight to offer the most comprehensive, lucid and sympathetic portrait yet of Conan Doyle's personal journey from student to doctor, from world-famous author to ardent spiritualist.
Corporate Culture and Performance
by John P. Kotter James L. HeskettGoing far beyond previous empirical work, John Kotter and James Heskett provide the first comprehensive critical analysis of how the "culture" of a corporation powerfully influences its economic performance, for better or for worse. Through painstaking research at such firms as Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, ICI, Nissan, and First Chicago, as well as a quantitative study of the relationship between culture and performance in more than 200 companies, the authors describe how shared values and unwritten rules can profoundly enhance economic success or, conversely, lead to failure to adapt to changing markets and environments.With penetrating insight, Kotter and Heskett trace the roots of both healthy and unhealthy cultures, demonstrating how easily the latter emerge, especially in firms which have experienced much past success. Challenging the widely held belief that "strong" corporate cultures create excellent business performance, Kotter and Heskett show that while many shared values and institutionalized practices can promote good performances in some instances, those cultures can also be characterized by arrogance, inward focus, and bureaucracy -- features that undermine an organization's ability to adapt to change. They also show that even "contextually or strategically appropriate" cultures -- ones that fit a firm's strategy and business context -- will not promote excellent performance over long periods of time unless they facilitate the adoption of strategies and practices that continuously respond to changing markets and new competitive environments.Fundamental to the process of reversing unhealthy cultures and making them more adaptive, the authors assert, is effective leadership. At the heart of this groundbreaking book, Kotter and Heskett describe how executives in ten corporations established new visions, aligned and motivated their managers to provide leadership to serve their customers, employees, and stockholders, and thus created more externally focused and responsive cultures.
Where a Man Stands: Two Different Worlds, an Impossible Situation, and the Unexpected Friendship that Changed Everything
by Carter Paysinger Steven FentonWhen Beverly Hills High School welcomed a skinny boy from the other side of the tracks, no one knew just how life-changing the decision would be, not just for Carter Paysinger but for all of Beverly Hills.Carter grew up hearing his parents say, “Don’t just strive to be good. Always strive to be great.” He dreamed of finding greatness in playing professional baseball or becoming a black Donald Trump, but fate had different plans and, ultimately, he found his calling as a teacher and coach at the school that once embraced him, becoming a rock for the innumerable kids who came seeking an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. One such kid, a scrappy Jewish boy from a prominent family, would change the course of Carter’s life. His name was Steven Fenton.Twenty years later, as Beverly Hills High fell into disarray—with principals hired and fired and families fleeing the school—as well as his own life coming apart, Carter ran into Steven Fenton again. Together, they found renewed passion and hope to fight for their school and test the limits of what community means. But when Steven convinced Carter to throw his hat into the ring as principal, the progressive Beverly Hills suddenly thought that its winningest and most beloved coach didn’t fit the profile for the Beverly Hills image. It was the beginning of a long road, but Carter could hear his father saying, “Don’t listen to those voices. Do what you have to do.” Filled with hope, triumph, and the struggles that come to define us, Where a Man Stands is a beautiful fish-out-of-water story about the families formed in unlikely places and how, in the end, where you stand, and with whom, and for what, matters as much as anything.
The Thirteenth Knight: The Thirteenth Knight; A Ghost In The Castle; Den Of Wolves; The Dream Portal (The Kingdom of Wrenly #13)
by Jordan QuinnIn the thirteenth fantastical book from The Kingdom of Wrenly series, Prince Lucas and Clara learn about the legend of the Thirteenth Knight.The elite band of knights known as the Spires are searching for a new hero to join their ranks. With only twelve knights on this team, the Spires open a competition to fulfill a mysterious prophecy. The winner of the Spires&’ competition must show bravery, valor, wisdom, and heart. But finding the Thirteenth Knight might prove to be the Spires&’ greatest challenge ever.With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, The Kingdom of Wrenly chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.
Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six
by Jessica Buchanan Erik Landemalm Anthony FlaccoA New York Times bestseller!In 2006, twenty-seven-year-old Jessica Buchanan stepped off a plane in Nairobi, Kenya, with a teaching degree and long-held dreams of helping to educate African children. By 2009, she had met and married a native Swede named Erik Landemalm, who worked to coordinate humanitarian aid with authorities in Africa. Together the two moved from Nairobi to Somalia, and with hopes of starting a family, their future couldn’t have been brighter. . . .But on October 25, 2011, Jessica and a colleague were kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom by a band of Somali pirates. For the next three months, Jessica was terrorized by more than two dozen gangsters, held outdoors in filthy conditions, and kept on a starvation diet while her health steadily deteriorated. Negotiations for ransom dragged on, and as the ordeal stretched into its third month, the captors grew increasingly impatient. Every terrifying moment Jessica Buchanan spent suffering in captivity was matched by that of her adoring husband working behind the scenes to deal with her captors. After ninety-three days of fruitless negotiations, and with Jessica’s medical state becoming a life-or-death issue, President Barack Obama ordered Navy SEAL Team Six to attempt a rescue operation. On January 25, 2012, just before the president delivered his State of the Union speech, the team of twenty-four SEALs, under the cover of darkness, attacked the heavily armed hostiles. They killed all nine with no harm to the hostages, who were quickly airlifted out on a military rescue helicopter.In riveting detail, this book chronicles Jessica and Erik’s mutual journey during those torturous months. Together they relate the events prior to the kidnapping, the drama of Jessica’s fight to stay alive, and Erik’s efforts to bolster and support the hunt for her while he acted as liaison between their two families, the FBI, professional hostage negotiators, and the United States government. Both a testament to two people’s courage and a nail-biting look at a life-or-death struggle, this is a harrowing and deeply personal story about their triumph over impossible odds.
A Primer on Decision Making: How Decisions Happen
by James G. MarchBuilding on lecture notes from his acclaimed course at Stanford University, James March provides a brilliant introduction to decision making, a central human activity fundamental to individual, group, organizational, and societal life. March draws on research from all the disciplines of social and behavioral science to show decision making in its broadest context. By emphasizing how decisions are actually made -- as opposed to how they should be made -- he enables those involved in the process to understand it both as observers and as participants.March sheds new light on the decision-making process by delineating four deep issues that persistently divide students of decision making: Are decisions based on rational choices involving preferences and expected consequences, or on rules that are appropriate to the identity of the decision maker and the situation? Is decision making a consistent, clear process or one characterized by ambiguity and inconsistency? Is decision making significant primarily for its outcomes, or for the individual and social meanings it creates and sustains? And finally, are the outcomes of decision processes attributable solely to the actions of individuals, or to the combined influence of interacting individuals, organizations, and societies? March's observations on how intelligence is -- or is not -- achieved through decision making, and possibilities for enhancing decision intelligence, are also provided.March explains key concepts of vital importance to students of decision making and decision makers, such as limited rationality, history-dependent rules, and ambiguity, and weaves these ideas into a full depiction of decision making.He includes a discussion of the modern aspects of several classic issues underlying these concepts, such as the relation between reason and ignorance, intentionality and fate, and meaning and interpretation.This valuable textbook by one of the seminal figures in the history of organizational decision making will be required reading for a new generation of scholars, managers, and other decision makers.