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The Post-Secular in Question: Religion in Contemporary Society (Social Science Research Council #7)
by John Torpey David Kyuman Kim Philip S. Gorski Jonathan VanAntwerpenThe Post-Secular in Question considers whether there has in fact been a religious resurgence of global dimensions in recent decades. This collection of original essays by leading academics represents an interdisciplinary intervention in the continuing and ever-transforming discussion of the role of religion and secularism in today’s world. Foregrounding the most urgent and compelling questions raised by the place of religion in the social sciences, past and present, The Post-Secular in Question restores religion to a more central place in social scientific thinking about the world, helping to move scholarship “beyond unbelief.” Contributors: Courtney Bender, Craig Calhoun, Michele Dillon, Philip S. Gorski, Richard Madsen, Kathleen Mahoney, Tomoko Masuzawa, Eduardo Mendieta, John Schmalzbauer, James K. A. Smith, John Torpey, Bryan S. Turner, Hent de Vries.
No Escape: Freedom of Speech and the Paradox of Rights
by Paul PassavantConventional legal and political scholarship places liberalism, which promotes and defends individual legal rights, in direct opposition to communitarianism, which focuses on the greater good of the social group. According to this mode of thought, liberals value legal rights for precisely the same reason that communitarians seek to limit their scope: they privilege the individual over the community. However, could it be that liberalism is not antithetical to social group identities like nationalism as is traditionally understood? Is it possible that those who assert liberal rights might even strengthen aspects of nationalism? No Escape argues that this is exactly the case, beginning with the observation that, paradoxical as it might seem, liberalism and nationalism have historically coincided in the United States. No Escape proves that liberal government and nationalism can mutually reinforce each other, taking as its example a preeminent and seemingly universal liberal legal right, freedom of speech, and illustrating how it can function in a way that actually reproduces nationally exclusive conditions of power. No Escape boldly re-evaluates the relationship between liberal rights and the community at a time when the call has gone out for the nation to defend the freedom to live our way of life. Passavant challenges us to reconsider traditional modes of thought, providing a fresh perspective on seemingly intransigent political and legal debates.
Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement
by James B. JacobsThe first book to document organized crime’s exploitation of organized labor and the massive federal cleanup effortNowhere in the world has organized crime infiltrated the labor movement as effectively as in the United States. Yet the government, the AFL-CIO, and the civil liberties community all but ignored the situation for most of the twentieth century. Since 1975, however, the FBI, Department of Justice, and the federal judiciary have relentlessly battled against labor racketeering, even in some of the nation's most powerful unions.Mobsters, Unions, and Feds is the first book to document organized crime's exploitation of organized labor and the massive federal cleanup effort. A renowned criminologist who for twenty years has been assessing the government's attack on the Mafia, James B. Jacobs explains how Cosa Nostra families first gained a foothold in the labor movement, then consolidated their power through patronage, fraud, and violence and finally used this power to become part of the political and economic power structure of Twentieth century urban America.Since FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's death in 1972, federal law enforcement has aggressively investigated and prosecuted labor racketeers, as well as utilized the civil remedies provided for by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute to impose long-term court-supervised remedial trusteeships on mobbed-up unions. There have been some impressive victories, including substantial progress toward liberating the four most racketeer-ridden national unions from the grip of organized crime, but victory cannot yet be claimed.The only book to investigate how the mob has exploited the American labor movement, Mobsters, Unions, and Feds is the most comprehensive study to date of how labor racketeering evolved and how the government has finally resolved to eradicate it.
The Many Colors of Crime: Inequalities of Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (New Perspectives in Crime, Deviance, and Law #2)
by John Hagan Ruth D. Peterson Lauren J. KrivoIn this authoritative volume, race and ethnicity are themselves considered as central organizing principles in why, how, where and by whom crimes are committed and enforced. The contributors argue that dimensions of race and ethnicity condition the very laws that make certain behaviors criminal, the perception of crime and those who are criminalized, the determination of who becomes a victim of crime under which circumstances, the responses to laws and crime that make some more likely to be defined as criminal, and the ways that individuals and communities are positioned and empowered to respond to crime.Contributors: Eric Baumer, Lydia Bean, Robert D. Crutchfield, Stacy De Coster, Kevin Drakulich, Jeffrey Fagan, John Hagan, Karen Heimer, Jan Holland, Diana Karafin, Lauren J. Krivo, Charis E. Kubrin, Gary LaFree, Toya Z. Like, Ramiro Martinez, Jr., Ross L. Matsueda, Jody Miller, Amie L. Nielsen, Robert O'Brien, Ruth D. Peterson, Alex R. Piquero, Doris Marie Provine, Nancy Rodriguez, Wenona Rymond-Richmond, Robert J. Sampson, Carla Shedd, Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo, Avelardo Valdez, Alexander T. Vazsonyi, María B. Vélez, Geoff K. Ward, Valerie West, Vernetta Young, Marjorie S. Zatz.
Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America’s Prison Nation
by Beth E. RichieIlluminates the threats Black women face and the lack of substantive public policy towards gendered violenceBlack women in marginalized communities are uniquely at risk of battering, rape, sexual harassment, stalking and incest. Through the compelling stories of Black women who have been most affected by racism, persistent poverty, class inequality, limited access to support resources or institutions, Beth E. Richie shows that the threat of violence to Black women has never been more serious, demonstrating how conservative legal, social, political and economic policies have impactedactivism in the U.S.-based movement to end violence against women. Richie argues that Black women face particular peril because of the ways that race and culture have not figured centrally enough in the analysis of the causes and consequences of gender violence. As a result, the extent of physical, sexual and other forms of violence in the lives of Black women, the various forms it takes, and the contexts within which it occurs are minimized—at best—and frequently ignored. Arrested Justice brings issues of sexuality, class, age, and criminalization into focus right alongside of questions of public policy and gender violence, resulting in a compelling critique, a passionate re-framing of stories, and a call to action for change.
The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop
by Kyra D. Gaunt2007 Alan Merriam Prize presented by the Society for Ethnomusicology 2007 PEN/Beyond Margins Book Award FinalistExplores how the traditions of black music are intertwined in the games black girls grow up withWhen we think of African American popular music, our first thought is probably not of double-dutch: girls bouncing between two twirling ropes, keeping time to the tick-tat under their toes. But this book argues that the games black girls play—handclapping songs, cheers, and double-dutch jump rope—both reflect and inspire the principles of black popular musicmaking.The Games Black Girls Play illustrates how black musical styles are incorporated into the earliest games African American girls learn—how, in effect, these games contain the DNA of black music. Drawing on interviews, recordings of handclapping games and cheers, and her own observation and memories of gameplaying, Kyra D. Gaunt argues that black girls' games are connected to long traditions of African and African American musicmaking, and that they teach vital musical and social lessons that are carried into adulthood. In this celebration of playground poetry and childhood choreography, she uncovers the surprisingly rich contributions of girls’ play to black popular culture.
American Secularism: Cultural Contours of Nonreligious Belief Systems (Religion and Social Transformation #3)
by Joseph O. Baker Buster G. SmithHonorable Mention, American Sociological Association Section on Religion Distinguished Book AwardA rapidly growing number of Americans are embracing life outside the bounds of organized religion. Although America has long been viewed as a fervently religious Christian nation, survey data shows that more and more Americans are identifying as “not religious.” There are more non-religious Americans than ever before, yet social scientists have not adequately studied or typologized secularities, and the lived reality of secular individuals in America has not been astutely analyzed. American Secularism documents how changes to American society have fueled these shifts in the non-religious landscape and examines the diverse and dynamic world of secular Americans.This volume offers a theoretical framework for understanding secularisms. It explores secular Americans’ thought and practice to understand secularisms as worldviews in their own right, not just as negations of religion. Drawing on empirical data, the authors examine how people live secular lives and make meaning outside of organized religion. Joseph O. Baker and Buster G. Smith link secularities to broader issues of social power and organization, providing an empirical and cultural perspective on the secular landscape. In so doing, they demonstrate that shifts in American secularism are reflective of changes in the political meanings of “religion” in American culture.American Secularism addresses the contemporary lived reality of secular individuals, outlining forms of secular identity and showing their connection to patterns of family formation, sexuality, and politics, providing scholars of religion with a more comprehensive understanding of worldviews that do not include traditional religion. Data Analyses Appendix
Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America
by Jesse WalkerExplores the alternative radio that refuses to succumb to the big business that monopolizes the airwavesBoring DJs who never shut up, and who don't even pick their own records. The same hits, over and over. A constant stream of annoying commercials. How did radio get so dull? Not by accident, contends journalist and historian Jesse Walker. For decades, government and big business have colluded to monopolize the airwaves, stamping out competition, reducing variety, and silencing dissident voices. And yet, in the face of such pressure, an alternative radio tradition has tenaciously survived. Rebels on the Air explores these overlooked chapters in American radio, revealing the legal barriers established broadcasters have erected to ensure their dominance. Using lively anecdotes drawn from firsthand interviews, Walker chronicles the story of the unsung heroes of American radio who, despite those barriers, carved out spaces for themselves in the spectrum, sometimes legally and sometimes not. Walker's engaging, meticulous account is the first comprehensive history of alternative radio in the United States. From the unlicensed amateurs who invented broadcasting to the community radio movement of the 1960s and 1970s, from the early days of FM to today's micro radio movement, Walker lays bare the hidden history of broadcasting. Above all, Rebels on the Air is the story of the pirate broadcasters who shook up radio in the 1990sand of the new sorts of radio we can expect in the next century, as the microbroadcasters crossbreed with the even newer field of Internet broadcasting.
The Alphabet in the Park: Selected Poems (Wesleyan Poetry in Translation)
by Adélia PradoPoetry that eloquently concentrates on the spiritual and physical lives of women. This is the first book published in English by of the work of Brazilian poet Adélia Prado. Incorporating poems published over the past fifteen years, The Alphabet in the Park is a book of passion and intelligence, wit and instinct. These are poems about human concerns, especially those of women, about living in one&’s body and out of it, about the physical but also the spiritual and the imaginative life. Prado also writes about ordinary matters; she insists that the human experience is both mystical and carnal. To Prado these are not contradictory: &“It&’s the soul that&’s erotic,&” she writes. As Ellen Watson says in her introduction, &;“Adélia Prados poetry is a poetry of abundance. These poems overflow with the humble, grand, various stuff of daily life—necklaces, bicycles, fish; saints and prostitutes and presidents; innumerable chickens and musical instruments. And, seemingly at every turn, there is food.&” But also, an abundance of dark things, cancer, death, greed. These are poems of appetite, all kinds.
Witch-Hunt in Hollywood: McCarthyism's War On Tinseltown
by Michael Freedland Barbra PaskinHow political paranoia shaped cinema for a decade: “One of the most readable and damning accounts of that period.” —The GuardianThis is the story of how the politicians took Tinseltown to task in the late 1940s and 1950s. As the Cold War with the Soviet Union began in earnest, the search for “Reds under the bed,” later led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, was felt most keenly in Hollywood, where the investigations were carried out under the full glare of the spotlights.Painstakingly researched and drawing on numerous exclusive interviews, this book charts the generation of actors who found their livelihood ruined by being blacklisted and the writers forced to hire “fronts” to continue to work; it reveals how Arthur Miller was offered the chance to have his hearing dropped in return for a photo opportunity with Marilyn Monroe; and how Kirk Douglas’s naming of Dalton Trumbo as the writer of Spartacus signaled the end of this extraordinary era. Witch Hunt in Hollywood is the definitive account of how political paranoia shaped cinema for a decade.
The Man Who Went into the West: The Life of R.S. Thomas
by Byron RogersThe award-winning life story of Wales national poet and vicar R.S. Thomas is “a biography touched by genius.” (Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday)R.S. Thomas is widely considered as one of the twentieth-century’s greatest English language poets. His bitter yet beautiful collections on Wales, its landscape, people and identity, reflect a life of political and spiritual asceticism. Indeed, Thomas is a man who banned vacuum cleaners from his house on grounds of noise, whose first act on moving into an ancient cottage was to rip out the central heating, and whose attempts to seek out more authentically Welsh parishes only brought him more into contact with loud English holidaymakers.To Thomas’s many admirers this will be a surprising, sometimes shocking, but at last humanising portrait of someone who wrote truly metaphysical poetry.“A masterpiece.” —Daily Express“A striking, vivid and tender reading of the man . . . Excellent.” —Observer“Riotiously funny.” —Rowan Williams, Sunday Times“It is precisely Byron Rogers’ darkly comic sense of the ridiculous that melts the frost from the head of R.S. Thomas and humanizes a remote and bleakly beautiful writer.” —The Times“A chatty, disorderly but extremely good [biography] . . . A wonderfully comprehensive picture of the man.” —Daily Telegraph“As revealing an account of a severely private person that anyone could hope to achieve.” —Alan Brownjohn, Times Literary Supplement“Engagingly high-spirited and daring.” —Andrew Motion, Guardian Book of the Week“Charming and deftly written. . . . A very funny book.” —Literary Review“As readable and rounded a life of the man as could be written.” —TabletWinner of the James Tait Black prize for biography
Ground Truth: A Guide to Tracking Climate Change at Home
by Mark L. Hineline“Expertly crafted and enjoyable . . . transforms the complicated topics of phenology and climate change. . . . accessible, tangible, and actionable.” —Mark D. Schwartz, editor of Phenology: An Integrative Environmental ScienceBefore you read this book, grab a notebook, go outside, and find a nearby patch of nature. What do you see, hear, feel, and smell? Are there bugs, birds, squirrels, deer, lizards, frogs, or fish, and what are they doing? What plants are in the vicinity, and in what ways are they growing? What shape are the rocks, what texture is the dirt, and what color are the bodies of water? Everything you notice, write it all down.We know that the Earth’s climate is changing, and that the magnitude of this change is colossal. At the same time, the world outside is still a natural world, and one we can experience on a granular level every day.Featuring detailed guidance for keeping records of the plants, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals in your neighborhood, this book also ponders the value of everyday observations, probes the connections between seasons and climate change, and traces the history of phenology—the study and timing of natural events—and the uses to which it can be put.An expansive yet accessible book, Ground Truth is a guide to paying attention instead of turning away, and to gathering facts from which a fuller understanding of the natural world can emerge.“A unique DIY manual for becoming attuned to the rhythms of the natural world.” —James T. Costa, author of Darwin’s Backyard: How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory“A necessary book.” —Susan J. Tweit, author of Walking Nature Home: A Life’s Journey
The Age of Phillis (Wesleyan Poetry Series)
by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers&“An arresting and meticulously researched collection of poems&” about the life of Phillis Wheatley, the first black woman to publish a book in America (Ms. Magazine). In 1773, a young African American woman named Phillis Wheatley published a book of poetry, Poems on various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773). When Wheatley&’s book appeared, her words would challenge Western prejudices about African and female intellectual capabilities. Her words would astound many and irritate others, but one thing was clear: This young woman was extraordinary. Based on fifteen years of archival research, The Age of Phillis, by award-winning writer Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, imagines the life and times of Wheatley: her childhood with her parents in the Gambia, West Africa, her life with her white American owners, her friendship with Obour Tanner, her marriage to the enigmatic John Peters, and her untimely death at the age of about thirty-three. Woven throughout are poems about Wheatley's &“age&”—the era that encompassed political, philosophical, and religious upheaval, as well as the transatlantic slave trade. For the first time in verse, Wheatley&’s relationship to black people and their individual &“mercies&” is foregrounded, and here we see her as not simply a racial or literary symbol, but a human being who lived and loved while making her indelible mark on history.
Poetry in a World of Things: Aesthetics and Empiricism in Renaissance Ekphrasis
by Rachel EisendrathWe have become used to looking at art from a stance of detachment. In order to be objective, we create a “mental space” between ourselves and the objects of our investigation, separating internal and external worlds. This detachment dates back to the early modern period, when researchers in a wide variety of fields tried to describe material objects as “things in themselves”—things, that is, without the admixture of imagination. Generations of scholars have heralded this shift as the Renaissance “discovery” of the observable world. In Poetry in a World of Things, Rachel Eisendrath explores how poetry responded to this new detachment by becoming a repository for a more complex experience of the world. The book focuses on ekphrasis, the elaborate literary description of a thing, as a mode of resistance to this new empirical objectivity. Poets like Petrarch, Spenser, Marlowe, and Shakespeare crafted highly artful descriptions that recovered the threatened subjective experience of the material world. In so doing, these poets reflected on the emergence of objectivity itself as a process that was often darker and more painful than otherwise acknowledged. This highly original book reclaims subjectivity as a decidedly poetic and human way of experiencing the material world and, at the same time, makes a case for understanding art objects as fundamentally unlike any other kind of objects.
Bomber Command
by Max HastingsThis award-winning classic of WWII military history chronicles the Royal Air Force’s bombing campaign against Germany.RAF Bomber Command’s air offensive against the cities of Nazi Germany was one of the most epic campaigns of World War II. The struggle began meekly in 1939 with only a few aircraft—Whitleys, Hampdens, and Wellingtons—flying blindly through the night on their ill-conceived bombing runs. It ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Mosquitoes, equipped with the best of British wartime technology, blazing whole German cities in a single night. In Bomber Command, originally published to critical acclaim in the UK, famed British military historian Sir Max Hastings offers a captivating analysis of the strategy and decision-making behind one of World War II’s most violent episodes. With firsthand descriptions of the experiences of aircrew from 1939 to 1945—based on one hundred interviews with veterans—and a harrowing narrative of the experiences of Germans on the ground during the September 1944 bombing of Darmstadt, Bomber Command is widely recognized as a classic account of one of the bloodiest campaigns in World War II history.Winner of the Somerset Maugham Prize
How UFOs Conquered the World: The History of a Modern Myth
by David Clarke“Cover[s] all the major themes of ufology, ranging from lights in the sky to crashed saucers, government cover-ups and alien abductions . . . fascinating.” —Popular Science BooksNeither a credulous work of conspiracy theory nor a skeptical debunking of belief in “flying saucers,” How UFOs Conquered the World explores the origins of UFOs in the build-up to the First World War and how reports of them have changed in tandem with world events, science and culture. The book will also explore the overlaps between UFO belief and religion and superstition.“An insightful, informative and thought-provoking book on UFOs and the UFO culture . . . In the following ten chapters, he writes about his pursuit of the ‘truth’ about UFOs. It is a fascinating journey.” —Skeptic
Mindfulness and the Big Questions: Philosophy for Now (Mindfulness Ser.)
by Ben Irvine“Irvine . . . strikes an engaging, self-deprecatory tone as he criticizes his field for its aloofness and failure to engage with the world as it is.” —The Creativity PostWhy am I here? What does it all mean? These are the big questions we all ask ourselves at some point. Offering an enlightening approach to these universal conundrums this book explores how mindfulness can reveal hidden solutions to life’s mysteries. Weaving together philosophy and mindfulness to reveal how we can become wiser and happier simply by paying attention to everyday life, Dr Ben Irvine illustrates how the feeling of existential angst can be turned into a sense of wonder and opportunity. Offering a positive approach to the common problem of existential angst, he teaches how to embrace life’s uncertainties through the transformational practice of mindfulness meditation, and provides practical and thoughtful meditations for everyday life, bringing us back to the here and now.
The Civil War Generals: Comrades, Peers, Rivals: In Their Own Words (Civil War America Ser.)
by Robert I. Girardi“An excellent contribution to Civil War literature . . . . [A]n excellent reference resource. Civil War buffs in particular will greatly enjoy this book.” —ArmchairGeneral.comThe Civil War Generals offers an unvarnished and largely unknown window into what military generals wrote and said about each other during the Civil War era. Drawing on more than 170 sources—including the letters, diaries, and memoirs of the general officers of the Union and Confederate armies, as well as their staff officers and other prominent figures—Civil War historian Robert Girardi has compiled a valuable record of who these generals were and how they were perceived by their peers. The quotations within paint revealing pictures of the private subjects at hand and, just as often, the people writing about them—a fascinating look at the many diverse personalities of Civil War leadership. More than just a collection of quotations, The Civil War Generals is also a valuable research tool, moving beyond the best-known figures to provide contemporary character descriptions of more than four hundred Civil War generals. The quotes range in nature from praise to indictment, and differing opinions of each individual give a balanced view, making the book both entertaining and informative. A truly one-of-a-kind compilation illustrated with approximately one hundred historical photographs, The Civil War Generals will find a home not only with the casual reader and history buff, but also with the serious historian and researcher.
Macintosh Terminal Pocket Guide: Take Command of Your Mac
by Daniel J. BarrettUnlock the secrets of the Terminal and discover how this powerful tool solves problems the Finder can't handle. With this handy guide, you'll learn commands for a variety of tasks, such as killing programs that refuse to quit, renaming a large batch of files in seconds, or running jobs in the background while you do other work.Get started with an easy-to-understand overview of the Terminal and its partner, the shell. Then dive into commands neatly arranged into two dozen categories, including directory operations, file comparisons, and network connections. Each command includes a concise description of its purpose and features.Log into your Mac from remote locationsSearch and modify files in powerful waysSchedule jobs for particular days and timesLet several people use one Mac at the same timeCompress and uncompress files in a variety of formatsView and manipulate Mac OS X processesCombine multiple commands to perform complex operationsDownload and install additional commands from the Internet
QuickBooks 2016: The Official Intuit Guide to QuickBooks 2016
by Bonnie BiaforeHow can you make your bookkeeping workflow smoother and faster? Simple. With QuickBooks 2016: The Missing Manual (which covers the Windows version of QuickBooks), you’re in control: you get step-by-step instructions on how and when to use specific features, along with basic bookkeeping and accounting advice to guide you through the learning process. Discover new and improved features like the Insights dashboard and easy report commenting.The important stuff you need to know:Get started fast. Quickly set up accounts, customers, jobs, and invoice items.Follow the money. Track everything from billable and unbillable time and expenses to income and profit.Keep your company financially fit. Examine budgets and actual spending, income, inventory, assets, and liabilities.Gain insights. Open a dashboard that highlights your company’s financial activity and status the moment you log in.Spend less time on bookkeeping. Create and reuse bills, invoices, sales receipts, and timesheets.Find key info. Use QuickBooks’ Search and Find features, as well as the Vendor, Customer, Inventory, and Employee Centers.
C++ Pocket Reference: C++ Syntax and Fundamentals
by Kyle LoudonC++ is a complex language with many subtle facets. This is especially true when it comes to object-oriented and template programming. The C++ Pocket Reference is a memory aid for C++ programmers, enabling them to quickly look up usage and syntax for unfamiliar and infrequently used aspects of the language. The book's small size makes it easy to carry about, ensuring that it will always be at-hand when needed. Programmers will also appreciate the book's brevity; as much information as possible has been crammed into its small pages.In the C++ Pocket Reference, you will find:Information on C++ types and type conversionsSyntax for C++ statements and preprocessor directivesHelp declaring and defining classes, and managing inheritanceInformation on declarations, storage classes, arrays, pointers, strings, and expressionsRefreshers on key concepts of C++ such as namespaces and scopeMore!C++ Pocket Reference is useful to Java and C programmers making the transition to C++, or who find themselves occasionally programming in C++. The three languages are often confusingly similar. This book enables programmers familiar with C or Java to quickly come up to speed on how a particular construct or concept is implemented in C++.Together with its companion STL Pocket Reference, the C++ Pocket Reference forms one of the most concise, easily-carried, quick-references to the C++ language available.
Head First Programming: A learner's guide to programming using the Python language (O'reilly Ser.)
by David Griffiths Paul BarryLooking for a reliable way to learn how to program on your own, without being overwhelmed by confusing concepts? Head First Programming introduces the core concepts of writing computer programs -- variables, decisions, loops, functions, and objects -- which apply regardless of the programming language. This book offers concrete examples and exercises in the dynamic and versatile Python language to demonstrate and reinforce these concepts. Learn the basic tools to start writing the programs that interest you, and get a better understanding of what software can (and cannot) do. When you're finished, you'll have the necessary foundation to learn any programming language or tackle any software project you choose.With a focus on programming concepts, this book teaches you how to:Understand the core features of all programming languages, including: variables, statements, decisions, loops, expressions, and operatorsReuse code with functionsUse library code to save time and effortSelect the best data structure to manage complex dataWrite programs that talk to the WebShare your data with other programsWrite programs that test themselves and help you avoid embarrassing coding errorsWe think your time is too valuable to waste struggling with new concepts. Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory learning experience, Head First Programming uses a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.
Mastering Algorithms with Perl: Practical Programming Through Computer Science
by Jon Orwant Jarkko Hietaniemi John MacdonaldMany programmers would love to use Perl for projects that involve heavy lifting, but miss the many traditional algorithms that textbooks teach for other languages. Computer scientists have identified many techniques that a wide range of programs need, such as:Fuzzy pattern matching for text (identify misspellings!)Finding correlations in dataGame-playing algorithmsPredicting phenomena such as Web trafficPolynomial and spline fittingUsing algorithms explained in this book, you too can carry out traditional programming tasks in a high-powered, efficient, easy-to-maintain manner with Perl.This book assumes a basic understanding of Perl syntax and functions, but not necessarily any background in computer science. The authors explain in a readable fashion the reasons for using various classic programming techniques, the kind of applications that use them, and -- most important -- how to code these algorithms in Perl.If you are an amateur programmer, this book will fill you in on the essential algorithms you need to solve problems like an expert. If you have already learned algorithms in other languages, you will be surprised at how much different (and often easier) it is to implement them in Perl. And yes, the book even has the obligatory fractal display program.There have been dozens of books on programming algorithms, some of them excellent, but never before has there been one that uses Perl.The authors include the editor of The Perl Journal and master librarian of CPAN; all are contributors to CPAN and have archived much of the code in this book there."This book was so exciting I lost sleep reading it." Tom Christiansen
Powering Content: Building a Nonstop Content Marketing Machine
by Laura BuscheYour new product is ready to launch and you’re itching to tell potential customers all about it. But how do you make your message stand out above all the noise and marketing clutter? Take the guesswork out of content management with this hands-on guide. You’ll learn how to produce and manage powerful content pieces that speak directly to customers and compel them to respond.Author Laura Busche walks you through content strategies and tactics drawn from business, design, and psychology insights. Packed with examples and exercises, this book teaches you how to tell your story with engaging copy, potent images, and striking design—all carefully orchestrated through well-oiled production management. Solopreneurs, startups, marketing managers, and execs will learn 10 Essential Steps to Content Success, with deep dives into:Content strategy: understand your audience, choose and prioritize channels, and find your brand’s core themes, voice, and toneContent creation: craft an engaging experience with content formats and copywriting formulas and templatesContent management: organize, delegate, and supervise tasks; optimize the content production process to reuse successful patterns
Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders: From Novice to Master Observer
by Robert Bruce Thompson Barbara Fritchman ThompsonWith the advent of inexpensive, high-power telescopes priced at under $250, amateur astronomy is now within the reach of anyone, and this is the ideal book to get you started. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders offers you a guide to the equipment you need, and shows you how and where to find hundreds of spectacular objects in the deep sky -- double and multiple stars as well as spectacular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.You get a solid grounding in the fundamental concepts and terminology of astronomy, and specific advice about choosing, buying, using, and maintaining the equipment required for observing. The Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders is designed to be used in the field under the special red-colored lighting used by astronomers, and includes recommended observing targets for beginners and intermediate observers alike. You get detailed start charts and specific information about the best celestial objects.The objects in this book were chosen to help you meet the requirements for several lists of objects compiled by The Astronomical League.Binocular Messier ClubUrban Observing ClubDeep Sky Binocular ClubDouble Star ClubRASC Finest NGC ListCompleting the list for a particular observing club entitles anyone who is a member of the Astronomical League or RASC to an award, which includes a certificate and, in some cases, a lapel pin.This book is perfect for amateur astronomers, students, teachers, or anyone who is ready to dive into this rewarding hobby. Who knows? You might even find a new object, like amateur astronomer Jay McNeil. On a clear cold night in January 2004, he spotted a previously undiscovered celestial object near Orion, now called McNeil's Nebula. Discover what awaits you in the night sky with the Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders.