Business, Finance & Law Books

Book SynopsisThink like a trader. Act like a trader. Become a Super Trader."Let your profits run!" It's the golden rule by which all Super Traders live. With the help of investing guru Dr. Van K. Tharp, you can join the ranks of full-timetraders who consistently master the market.Super Trader provides a time-tested strategy for creating the conditions that allow you to reach levels of trading success you never thought possible. Providingexpert insight into both trading practices and psychology, Tharp teaches you how to steadily cut losses short and meet your investment goals through the use of position sizing strategies--the keys to steady profitability. Tharp offers concepts and tactics designed to help you: CREATE AND MEET YOUR SPECIFIC UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE CONQUER COUNTERPRODUCTIVE THINKING MASTER THE ART OF POSITION SIZING STRATEGIES With Tharp's proven methods, you can live the dream of enjoying above-average profits under various mark

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Robert Cialdini has done the impossible: he has improved a masterpiece. The new version of Influence is a marvelously rich and engaging account of the subtle power that people exert on each other.” — Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize laureate and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow and Noise “If there is only one book you’ll ever read, if there is only one expert whose advice you’ll trust, it should be this book and this author, Robert Cialdini.” — Angela Duckworth, author of Grit and founder and CEO of Character Lab “This is the most important book ever written about the science of persuasion, and it just keeps getting better. I can’t imagine a more fascinating, more practical read.” — Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Originals and host of the TED podcast WorkLife "Anyone who wants their abilities in communication or negotiation to be at their highest level has to read Robert Cialdini's book Influence. Your knowledge base is simply incomplete without it." — Chris Voss, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Never Split the Difference “Influence is now even more practical and powerful. The new principle of unity alone is a game changer. Bravo!” — BJ Fogg, Ph.D., founder of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab “The clouds have parted for everyone who wants to dent the universe. A new edition of what is already indispensable just got more so.” — Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist of Canva and creator of the Remarkable People podcast "In this update of his classic book, the world's most practical social psychologist shares his wisdom and reveals his charm. There's dynamite here. Please use what you learn with care!" — Richard Thaler, Nobel Prize laureate and author of Nudge and Misbehaving “If you could read just one book on how to be more effective in business and life, I’d pick Influence. It’s a tour de force that Cialdini has somehow made more marvelous.” — Katy Milkman, professor at the Wharton School, host of the Choiceology podcast, and author of How to Change “A phenomenal book! Whether you seek to boost sales, strike a better deal, or improve your relationships, Influence offers scienti?cally tested principles that can change your life.” — Daniel L. Shapiro, Ph.D., founder and director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program and author of Negotiating the Nonnegotiable “Influence richly deserves its status as the de?nitive book on the subject. I learned so much from this revised edition, and so will you.” — Tim Harford, author of The Data Detective (US)/How to Make the World Add Up (UK) “Prepare to be dazzled. Bob Cialdini is the godfather of in?uence, and the original version of this book is already a classic. Whether you’re trying to in?uence or understand how others in?uence you, this book will show you how.” — Jonah Berger, professor at the Wharton School and author of Contagious and The Catalyst “A remarkable effort and achievement. Influence remains the brilliantly written treatise on fundamental principles of human behavior, with the addition of a timely new principle.” — Jeffrey Pfeffer, Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Power: Why Some People Have It—and Others Don’t “Influence is a modern business classic that has profoundly shaped the ?elds of marketing and psychology. Robert Cialdini’s new edition makes a brilliant book even better, with robust new insights and examples.” — Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You and executive education faculty, Duke University Fuqua School of Business “The new Influence is nothing short of a masterpiece. The writing is both timeless and worth reading immediately.” — Joe Polish, founder of Genius Network “Influence is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the decision-making process. It is simply essential reading in the canon of psychology and behavioral ?nance.” — Barry Ritholtz, chairman and chief investment of?cer of Ritholtz Wealth Management “Cialdini has made a classic even better. This updated edition of Influence af?rms its place as one of the most important books on business and behavior of the last ?fty years. The new additions are terri?c.” — Daniel H. Pink, author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human "Influence is the only book I’ve assigned to my organizational behavior students at Stanford for the last twenty-?ve years. Students love it, and, years later, rave about how helpful it is has been throughout their careers. The new version is even more useful and nuanced— and even more fun to read." — Robert I. Sutton, professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of seven books, including New York Times bestsellers The No Asshole Rule and Good Boss, Bad Boss “Like every psychologist I know (and like many thousands of others who are curious about how the world works), I got my start learning about persuasion with Bob Cialdini’s Influence. This revised edition builds so meaningfully on the worn ?rst edition sitting next to my desk—Influence will continue to clarify and inspire the art and science of persuasion for years to come.” — Betsy Levy Paluck, professor of psychology and public affairs, deputy director of the Kahneman-Treisman Center for Behavioral Science and Public Policy, Princeton University "Robert Cialdini is a pioneer in translating complex scientific work into a fun and digestible form that the rest of us can understand and benefit from. In this updated version of Influence, Cialdini updates what was already a powerhouse book with the latest, cutting edge research and new narratives to masterfully draw the reader in. Influence was always a must read and, now, it is even more so." — Annie Duke, author of Thinking in Bets and How to Decide

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Book SynopsisIn the new remote-first and hybrid workplace, many organizations are struggling to catch up with new tooling and ways of working. Many are discovering for the first time that the physical office was covering up poorly defined teams and poorly defined areas of focus, threatening their DevOps transformation efforts and the overall health and success of their business. Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, coauthors of the highly successful Team Topologies, provide proven patterns for a successful remote-first approach to teams. Using simple tools for dependency tracking and patterns from Team Topologies, such as the Team API, organizations will find that well-defined team interactions are key to effective IT delivery in the remote-first world.This workbook explores several aspects of team-first remote work, including: How the new “remote-first” world is highlighting existing poor team interactions within organizations. Why organizations should use the Team API pattern to define and communicate the focus of teams. How organizations can track and remove team-level dependencies. How and why organizations should design inter-team communications consciously. How and why organizations can use the three team interaction modes from Team Topologies (collaboration, x-as-a-service, and facilitating) to help. The ideas and patterns presented here will help your organization become more effective with a team-based, remote-first approach to building and running software systems.

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Book Synopsis** A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK **''Fascinating . . . The history of the world through the eye of a needle . . . I recommend this book to anyone'' THE SPECTATOR''A charming, absorbing and history that takes us on a journey from the silk roads to sportswear, from ruffs to spacesuits . . . I devoured this quietly feminist book'' SUNDAY TIMES''Joyful and beautiful'' NATURE''Will make you rethink your relationship with fabric'' ELLE DECORATIONAll textiles begin with a twist. From colourful 30,000-year old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to what the linen wrappings of Tutankhamun''s mummy actually meant; from the Silk Roads to the woollen sails that helped the Vikings reach America 700 years before Columbus; from the lace ruffs that infuriated the puritans to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution, our continuing reinvention of cloth tells fascinating stories of human ingenuity. When we talk of lives hanging by a thread, being interwoven, or part of the social fabric, we are part of a tradition that stretches back many thousands of years. Fabric has allowed us to achieve extraordinary things and survive in unlikely places, and this book shows you how -- and why.With a cast that includes Chinese empresses, Richard the Lionheart and Bing Crosby, Kassia St Clair takes us on the run with escaped slaves, climbing the slopes of Everest and moonwalking with astronauts. Running like a bright line through history, The Golden Thread offers an unforgettable adventure through our past, present and future.Trade ReviewA history of fabric might not sound immediately exciting, but St Clair's book is a refreshing treat, every page bursting with surprising insights. Clothing, she argues, is central to history, from myths and legends to trade and technology. The threads woven by the Greek Fates, the bandages that wrapped Egyptian mummies, the wool that made medieval England rich, the lace in Vermeer's paintings : it all makes for a smart and entertaining historical tapestry * SUNDAY TIMES, History Book of the Year *The history of the world through the eye of a needle... Fascinating... I recommend this book to anyone * THE SPECTATOR *A charming, absorbing and quietly feminist history that takes us on a journey from the silk roads to sportswear, from ruffs to spacesuits... I devoured this book * SUNDAY TIMES *Remarkable . . . hugely ambitious, sparklingly erudite and wonderfully engaging -- Peter Frankopan, Book of the Year * HISTORY TODAY *A joyful commingling of text and textiles in 13 beautifully wrought stories. We visit a cave where dyed fibres more than 30,000 years old have been discovered; goggle at the starched intricacy of sixteenth-century lace ruffs; flinch over astronauts' nappies and the sodden sleeping bags of early polar expeditions; and savour the idea of materials spun from spiders' webs. * NATURE *The Golden Thread will make you rethink your relationship with fabric * ELLE DECORATION *Superb... this dazzling book puts fabric at the very heart of human history. * STRONG WORDS *A curious and illuminating history of fabric * HOUSE AND GARDEN *Vividly drawn . . . this beautifully presented tome is perfect for dipping in and out of * HISTORY REVEALED *The Golden Thread is worth a read for informing your political thinking, and it will entertain you far more than most 'political' books * Resurgence and Ecologist Magazine *Such a captivating read its likely you'll want to devour this engrossing patchwork of textile history in one sitting * Embroidery *

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Book SynopsisA practical guide to those bewildered or exhausted by management, written for bosses and those who manage bosses. Drawing on years of first-hand experience, Radical Candor shows you how to be successful while retaining your integrity and humanity. From Kim Scott, former manager at Google and Apple, and CEO coach to Silicon Valley.'Reading Radical Candor will help you build, lead, and inspire teams to do the best work of their lives.' – Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean InIf you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all . . . right?While this advice may work for home life, as Kim Scott has seen first hand, it is a disaster when adopted by managers in the work place.Scott earned her stripes as a highly successful manager at Google before moving to Apple where she developed a class on optimal management. Radical Candor draws directly on her experiences at these cutting edge companies to reveal a new approach to effective management that delivers huge success by inspiring teams to work better together by embracing fierce conversations.Radical Candor is the sweet spot between managers who are obnoxiously aggressive on the one side and ruinously empathetic on the other. It is about providing guidance, which involves a mix of praise as well as criticism – delivered to produce better results and help your employees develop their skills and increase success.Great bosses have a strong relationship with their employees, and Scott has identified three simple principles for building better relationships with your employees: make it personal, get stuff done, and understand why it matters.Radical Candor is the perfect handbook for those who are looking to find meaning in their job and create an environment where people love both their work and their colleagues, and are motivated to strive to ever greater success.Featuring a new preface, afterword and Radically Candid Performance Review Bonus Chapter, the fully revised & updated edition of Radical Candor is packed with even more guidance to help you improve your relationships at work.Trade ReviewReading Radical Candor will help you build, lead, and inspire teams to do the best work of their lives -- Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean InKim Scott has a well-earned reputation as a kickass boss and a voice that CEOs take seriously. In this remarkable book, she draws on her extensive experience to provide clear and honest guidance on the fundamentals of leading others: how to give (and receive) feedback, how to make smart decisions, how to keep moving forward, and much more. If you manage people - whether it be 1 person or a 1,000 - you need Radical Candor. Now. -- Daniel Pink, author of the New York Times bestseller DriveI raced through Radical Candor - it's thrilling to learn a framework that shows how to be both a better boss and a better colleague. Radical Candor is packed with illuminating truths, insightful advice, and practical suggestions, all illustrated with engaging (and often funny) stories from Kim Scott's own experiences at places like Apple, Google, and various start-ups. Indispensable. -- Gretchen Rubin, author of the New York Times bestseller The Happiness ProjectTable of ContentsIntroduction - i: INTRODUCTION Section - ii: HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Unit - 1: PART I A NEW MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY Chapter - 1: BUILD RADICALLY CANDID RELATIONSHIPS: Bringing your whole self to work Chapter - 2: GET, GIVE, AND ENCOURAGE GUIDANCE: Creating a culture of open communication Chapter - 3: UNDERSTAND WHAT MOTIVATES EACH PERSON ON YOUR TEAM: Helping people take a step in the direction of their dreams Chapter - 4: DRIVE RESULTS COLLABORATIVELY: Telling people what to do doesn’t work Unit - 2: PART II TOOLS & TECHNIQUES Chapter - 5: RELATIONSHIPS: An approach to establishing trust with your direct reports Chapter - 6: GUIDANCE: Ideas for getting/giving/encouraging praise & criticism Chapter - 7: TEAM: Techniques for avoiding boredom and burnout Chapter - 8: RESULTS: Things you can do to get stuff done together—faster Section - iii: GETTING STARTED Acknowledgements - iv: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Index - v: INDEX

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Book Synopsis"David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing our toughest problems."—Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline Concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning—for everyone! Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation. How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results. Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert. Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts on complex problems like: ending homelessness improving public health strengthening education designing a system for early childhood development protecting child welfare developing rural economies facilitating the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society resolving identity-based conflicts and more! The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want. Trade Review “I don't know of another book in this field that presents the ideas of systems thinking in such a clear and practical way, with so many real-world examples."--Janice Molloy, managing editor, Reflections: The SoL NorthAmerica Journal on Knowledge, Learning, and ChangePublishers Weekly- "This dense volume will be of genuine use to many in the nonprofit world ... Stroh has a valuable insight to impart: Becoming a more effective systems thinker is not just an analytical task 'but also an emotional, physical, and ultimately spiritual one.' For those dedicated enough to stay with Stroh's message, this book will be a useful beginning.”“Stroh has offered an important gem in his new book, Systems Thinking for Social Change. Both illuminating and immediately useful, the book shares the key dynamics and success factors gleaned from his long career of working with organizations struggling with society’s most persistent issues. A must read for anyone whose aim is to make a difference on the ground.”--Kristina Wile, co-president, Leverage Networks, and managing partner, Systems Thinking Collaborative“If there is only one book you read on systems thinking, it should be Systems Thinking for Social Change. If you’re new to systems thinking, I consider this a must read. If you’ve been involved in systems thinking for some time and want a renewed and extended perspective, I highly recommend it. Stroh’s new work covers all the relevant areas appropriate for a solid introduction to systems thinking, though it doesn’t stop there. It makes a serious contribution by detailing a number of real-world situations that have been investigated and improved using the approach presented in the book. And it does very well something that I’ve not seen done before: it not only shows how to map the current system, but also shows how to then create a revised map of how the system is intended to work in the future. This approach ends up identifying where measurements should be made on an ongoing basis to ascertain whether the system is undergoing the intended transformation.”--Gene Bellinger, director, Systems Thinking World, Inc.“The philanthropic sector has shifted from a ‘charity’ mindset to a focus on changing systems to create sustainable change. Systems Thinking for Social Change offers practical tools for those serious about improving communities and organizations. It doesn’t minimize the complexity, but rather empowers social-change agents with tools to understand the complexity and identify the leverage points.”--Teresa Behrens, director, Institute for Foundation and Donor Learning“Over fifteen years ago, David Stroh was instrumental in introducing systems thinking to the peace-building field, using tools that have proven to be powerful for improving the effectiveness of our work. This book is a valuable resource for our field — a must read for all practitioners who have been seeking practical and easy-to-understand guidance on using systems thinking for conflict analysis and strategic planning for better impacts.”--Diana Chigas, professor of practice, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and co-director of collaborative learning, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects“This is a must read for public leaders and citizens who are interested in the learning disciplines required for a sustainable, proactive approach to preserving our shared resources.”--Georgianna Bishop, president, The Public Sector Consortium“For those who have worked for many years in the social-service sector, and who have grown cynical or disillusioned as to whether it is even possible to effect major social change, David Peter Stroh’s book, Systems Thinking for Social Change, is a must read—a clear, thoughtful, and practical guide for those desiring to create lasting social change. But reader beware! Systems thinking is more than a new way of thinking. As Stroh puts it, it is a new way of being. It requires the ability to look at things in a new way, to interact with others differently, to have a clear vision of where you want to go, a willingness to see things the way they are and, finally, the courage to take responsibility for why the system as is isn’t working. If you want to help create long-lasting, effective social change, if you want to say ‘we’re doing it—we’re actually making progress,’ then read this book.”--Anne Miskey, executive director, Funders Together to End Homelessness“David Stroh, in his invaluable new book, shows that good intentions are not enough for those who aspire to make lasting progress on fundamental social issues—and also how the language and tools of systems theory can provide a deeper understanding of the root causes and help identify the leverage points for productive and sustainable change.”--Russell Eisenstat, executive director, Center for Higher Ambition Leadership“Societal problems are a swirl of causes, effects, interactions, and contributing relationships. Yet, too often, simplistic answers are applied by the well-intended that only touch on one strand of what is (in reality) a complex and interconnected web. Stroh’s work provides an actionable guide on how to model these relationships—and more importantly how to have a meaningful and lasting impact on them.”--Jason E. Glass, superintendent and chief learner, Eagle County Schools "With this book Stroh has produced an essential —and long overdue—guide to applied systems thinking. A few well-selected examples of initiatives that turned from ‘working’ to ‘transformative' lay the foundation for how change makers can address chronic, complex social problems and deepen their impact. After helping the reader recognize what might be holding their interventions back, the book moves with ease into ways of finding leverage, the use of systems stories, and the power of visioning. In Stroh’s capable hands, systems thinking becomes a tool for defining personal or organizational priorities, for planning, and for evaluating success through measurable indicators. But the book is much more than a formidable toolbox from which to draw on a daily basis. It is, at its deeper level, a warm invitation to cultivate systems thinking as 'a way of being, not just doing' so that on the way to long-lasting, desirable outcomes, change makers can become more and more the change they want to see."--Marta Ceroni, executive director, Donella Meadows Institute“As philanthropic organizations increasingly seek to strengthen their impact, the perspectives, methods, and tools described in Stroh’s book provide us with critical guidance for thinking and action to address complex social problems and for building ‘all-in’ approaches to problem solving. Anyone in government, nonprofits, or philanthropy can benefit from this approach to solutions. And while it might take a lifetime to master the use of systems thinking for social change, reorienting how we think about problems in this way can immediately set us on a new path toward sustainability and greater likelihood of success.”--Lexi Nolen, vice president, Episcopal Health Foundation“It is not hard for people to appreciate that fragmented, piecemeal efforts to solve complex problems are ineffective. But having concrete approaches to an alternative is another matter. After almost four decades of applying practical systems-thinking tools in diverse settings, David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing our toughest problems.”--Peter Senge, senior lecturer, MIT, and author of The Fifth Discipline "Systems Thinking for Social Change uses clear, down-to-earth language to explain and illustrate systems thinking, why it matters, and how it can lead to greater success in the social sector. The book is brief yet deep, big picture yet rigorously analytical. Stroh displays considerable narrative skill, especially when he shares numerous stories from his practice of applying various systems tools that led groups to new and startling conclusions. Reading this book will test the reader substantially, as the author invites us to a deeper level of introspection about our own role in systems failures of every kind—organizational and societal—and gently asks us to embrace a new way, not merely of thinking but of being in the world. A remarkable book."--David Nee, Growth Philanthropy Network; and former executive director, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund"Drawing on a deep well of experience, Stroh masterfully weaves metaphor, story, and practical tools, modeling for us all effective systems thinking in action. Read it and get ready to take your game up a notch."--Linda Booth Sweeney, author of Connected Wisdom, and coauthor of the The Systems Thinking Playbook“Systems thinking quickly gets very abstract and technical, often underplaying the social and storytelling dimensions. For a long time I’ve been looking for a more practical, readable, and engaging introductory book for my classes. Now, finally, here it is!”--Per Espen Stoknes, author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming, and senior lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School“David Peter Stroh has been a pioneer in the effort to bring principles of systems into the service of those striving for constructive social change. (I took a course from him over thirty years ago.) Many books tell you how to engage in systems thinking but not how to apply it. This is a very useful exception. Peter draws on many years of professional engagement with the important problems of our society. Of course reading his book won’t let you banish all those problems. But it will help you focus your effort where you can have the best impact, and it will show you how to enlist others in the effort.”--Dennis Meadows, coauthor, Limits to Growth, and former director, Institute for Policy and Social Science Research

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Divergent Mind explores powerful and positive ways to understand our fundamental differences. Its focus on women is much needed and timely. The book de-pathologizes those of us who most profoundly and intensely think and feel the world around us. I found it to be eye-opening and healing.” — Mary Pipher, New York Times bestselling author of Women Rowing North and Reviving Ophelia "American psychiatry has increasingly taught our society to think that people can be divided into two categories: those who are 'normal' and those who are 'not normal.' In Divergent Mind, Jenara Nerenberg powerfully writes of an urgent need to scrap that way of thinking, and replace it with a societal appreciation for the many gifts that people with divergent minds bring to our world. Hers is a clarion call for change." — Robert Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of Anatomy of an Epidemic and Mad in America “This book is powerful, much-needed for our times, and Jenara Nerenberg offers a unique blend of personal, scientific, and societal analysis. Divergent Mind is really for all women, giving them the chance to understand each others’ invisible differences and gifts.” — Elaine Aron, PhD, bestselling author of The Highly Sensitive Person “What is ‘normal’? Who gets to decide? Jenara Nerenberg’s wide-ranging Divergent Mind asks and answers these and other essential questions, offering a vision for how individuals and society can take better advantage of the many ways in which we are human.” — Louise Aronson, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life “This wonderfully positive and accessible introduction to the neurodiversity paradigm is packed with life-changing insight for anyone whose way of experiencing the world diverges from the ordinary.” — Nick Walker, PhD, autistic neurodiversity scholar and aikido teacher “Empowering…. This important book not only advocates for research and innovation; it demonstrates the power of acceptance, kindness, and the celebration of differences.” — Booklist “An extraordinary, jaw-dropping take on a topic with which many women will identify.” — Library Journal STARRED review

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Book SynopsisIf you've never readThe 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, you've been missing out on one of the best-selling leadership books of all time. If you have read the original version, then you'll love this new expanded and updated one.

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Book SynopsisPamela Anderson''s first cookbook is available to pre-order now!Pamela Anderson invites you into her kitchen and down-to-earth family fairy kingdom on Vancouver Island, offering a whimsical and entertaining collection of more than 80 recipes that will nourish your heart. With a career that has spanned Hollywood fame and activism, Pamela''s journey has taken her from a humble upbringing to the forefront of show business. Today, she resides in her cherished family home, where she is rooted in her passions: cooking, sustainable design, and gardening. Now, Pamela shares her first cookbook full of treasured homegrown and world-influenced recipes with a warm and inclusive spirit; it started out merely as a housewarming gift for her sons and their girlfriends. Her recipes are a testament to the fact that cooking only with vegetables can be both indulgent and comforting, offering a luxurious fantasy experience.The book features her unique and delicio

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Book SynopsisEveryone knows Warren is the greatest investor of our time. . . .This book for the first time captures his genius as a manager. Jack Welch The first book to reveal the investment and management strategies of the Berkshire Hathaway all-star management team. Much has been written about Warren Buffett and his investment philosophy; little has been made public about the inside management of Berkshire Hathaway. With a market cap exceeding 100 billion , Berkshire Hathaway has a market value surpassing many icons of American business such as Dell, AT&T, Disney, Ford, Gillette, American Express, and GM. Drawing on his personal experiences as well as those of Berkshire''s chief executives, officers, and directors interviewed for this book, Berkshire insider Robert P. Miles provides a unique look at the Berkshire Hathaway culture and its management principles.Table of ContentsPART ONE: THE BUFFETT CEO. Introduction—The Warren Buffett CEO. Buffett CEO Selection. PART TWO: BERKSHIRE'S CAPITAL SOURCE—THE INSURERS. The Administrator—Tony Nicely, GEICO Insurance. The Back-Up Capital Allocator—Lou Simpson, GEICO Insurance. The Accidental Manager—Ajit Jain, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Division. PART THREE: BERKSHIRE'S FOUNDERS. The Natural—Rose Blumkin, Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM). The Visionary—Al Ueltschi, FlightSafety International. The Innovator—Rich Santulli, Executive Jet. PART FOUR: BERKSHIRE'S CEO FAMILY—CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. The Disciple—Don Graham, The Washington Post. The Third-Generation Family Successor—Irvin Blumkin, NFM. The Retired Manager—Frank Rooney, H.H. Brown Shoe. The Principled Manager—Bill Child, R.C. Willey Home Furnishings. The Partner for Life—Melvyn Wolff, Star Furniture. The Shoppertainers—Eliot and Barry Tatelman, Jordon's Furniture. PART FIVE: BERKSHIRE'S CEO SUCCESSORS—THE PROFESSIONAL MANAGERS. The Turnaround Manager—Stan Lipsey, The Buffalo News. The Loyalist—Chuck Huggins, See's Candies. The Professional—Ralph Schey, Scott Fetzer Companies. The Appointed One—Susan Jacques, Borsheim's Fine Jewelry. The Gem of a Retail Merchant—Jeff Comment, Helzberg Diamonds. The Newcomers—Randy Watson, Justin Brands; and Harrold Melton, Acme Building Brands. Buffett CEO Comparisons. Buffett CEO Evaluation and Compensation. Buffett CEO Opportunity. Berkshire Post Buffett. Buffett CEO Interview List. Buffett CEO Family Tree. Buffett CEO SIC Codes. Buffett CEO Timeline. Notes. Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Universal Principles of Successful Trading clearly andunambiguously articulates trading principles that distinguish thewinners from the losers.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments. Preface. Foreword. Introduction. Chapter 1 A Reality Check. Why Do 90 Percent of Traders Lose? Common Mistakes—Year One. Common Mistakes—Year Two. Common Mistakes—Year Three. How to Join the 10 Percent Winners' Circle. In Summary. Chapter 2 The Process of Trading. The Process of Trading. Chapter 3 Principle One: Preparation. Maximum Adversity. Emotional Orientation. Losing Game. Random Markets. Best Loser Wins. Risk Management. Trading Partner. Financial Boundaries. In Summary. Chapter 4 Principle Two: Enlightenment. Avoiding Risk of Ruin. Embracing Trading's Holy Grail. Expectancy. Opportunities. Pursuing Simplicity. Treading Where Most Fear. Validation. In Summary. Chapter 5 Principle Three: Trading Style. Trading Mode. Time Frames. Choosing Your Trading Style. Long-term Trend Trading. Short-term Swing Trading. Long-term Trend Trading Versus Short-term Swing Trading. In Summary. Chapter 6 Principle Four: Markets. Good Operational Risk Management Attributes. Good Trading Attributes. In Summary. Chapter 7 Principle Five: The Three Pillars. Money Management. Methodology. Psychology. Chapter 8 Money Management. Martingale Money Management. Anti-Martingale Money Management. Key Concepts. History. Anti-Martingale Money Management Strategies. Trading Forex_Trader Using a Single Contract with No Money Management. Forex_Trader Using Fixed-Risk Money Management. Forex_Trader Using Fixed-Capital Money Management. Forex_Trader Using Fixed-Ratio Money Management. To Chase $18,000,000 in Profits or to Chase $1,500,000 in Profits, That is the Question. Forex_Trader Using Fixed-Units Money Management. Forex_Trader Using Williams Fixed-Risk Money Management. Forex_Trader Using Fixed-Percentage Money Management. Forex_Trader Using Fixed-Volatility Money Management. Which Money Management Strategy to Choose? Trading Equity Momentum. In Summary. Chapter 9 Methodology. Discretionary or Mechanical Trading. Creating a Methodology. Trend Trading. Not All Indicators are Bad. But Don't Markets Change? Multiple Methodologies. Basic Attributes of Winning Methodologies. Example of a Winning Methodology—The Turtle Trading Strategy. Example of an Objective Trend Tool. Fibonacci: Fact or Fiction. Placebo Traders. In Summary. Chapter 10 Psychology. The Consensus View. Managing Hope. Managing Greed. Managing Fear. Managing Pain. Maximum Adversity. In Summary. Chapter 11 Principle Six: Trading. Putting it All Together. Trading: Order Placement. In Summary. Chapter 12 Just One Piece of Advice. Balance. The Market Masters. Ramon Barros. Mark D. Cook. A Diverse Group of Traders. Michael Cook. Kevin Davey. Tom DeMark. Lee Gettess. Daryl Guppy. Richard Melki. Geoff Morgan. Gregory L. Morris. Nick Radge. Brian Schad. Andrea Unger. Larry Williams. Dar Wong. A Wealth of Advice. Chapter 13 A Final Word. Appendix A Risk-of-Ruin Simulator. Simulator Variables. Model Logic. Simulator. DIY Simulator. Appendix B Risk-of-Ruin Simulator. DIY VBA Risk-of-Ruin Simulator. VBA Code for Risk-of-Ruin Simulator. Appendix C Risk-of-Ruin Simulations. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides valuable insights for CEOs, as well as financial, commercial, and marketing directors/managers, business owners, startups, and students. Businesses are on the lookout for the one methodology that singlehandedly helps to achieve their goals, and definitively address issues such as “what needs to done” and “which activities to avoid”. With BITSING, a scientifically proven methodology, you are able to predict results by using facts in order to be 100% certain of achieving goals. This book enables factual insight into (positive) financial returns, in advance of executing strategies accordingly. BITSING can be applied by the biggest multinational to the smallest startup. The 7 laws in this book guide you through the process of improving your business strategy. With chapters like How to be Unbeatable, Realise Effective Campaigns, and Ensure That You Reach Your Goals, the author explains how this methodology works and how to implement it in your own business. By using examples, illustrations, and insights, this book provides multiple entry points for readers who want to execute the BITSING strategy accordingly. As a result of working closely with several universities, the methodology is scientifically validated, in addition to its proven performance within numerous organisations and businesses. Shell International, Hewlett Packard EMEA, and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen are amongst those that have benefited from this method, by using it to meet targets time and time again. Some have experienced exponential growth and reached the magic level of 300%. This book offers advice, tools, and direction in what is required in your organisation to achieve goals. The methodology increases efficiency without sacrificing jobs, and has even helped to stimulate employment, including recruiting top talent. BITSING has also boosted employee performance, changed stakeholder behaviour, and optimised work-life balance.

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Book SynopsisJeffrey D. Sachs presents timely and achievable plans to foster global economic growth and shift from war making to peacemaking. A New Foreign Policy explores both the danger of the “America first” mindset and the concrete steps the United States must take to build a multipolar world that is prosperous, peaceful, fair, and resilient.Trade ReviewForceful and angry, Sachs verges on hyperbole in his indictment of America past and present, but he does highlight the perils of continuing on the same path. * New York Times Book Review *His new book is entitled A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism, and there is much inside to be celebrated. I never thought I would utter the words “I agree with Jeff Sachs,” let alone put them in print, yet here we are. * American Conservative *Highly recommended. * Choice *A challenging departure from the Beltway assumption that America has acted as a force for good in the world. * Financial Times *Sachs provides a broad alternative vision not only to the Trump administration’s foreign policy, but to past U.S. foreign policy more generally. * LSE Review of Books *A worthwhile read, in which Sachs demonstrates expertise on vastly different policy fields and makes a convincing case that abdicating the toxic intersection of militarism and exceptionalism is key to building a brighter future, both in the U.S. and around the world. * Global Policy *Jeffrey Sachs is one of the few prominent American academics who dares to make the bold case that the US has been on the wrong track for decades. Its non-academic style makes this book accessible to any reader who wants to gain a broad understanding of what is driving American grand strategy * International Spectator *Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionPart I: U.S. Exceptionalism in a Changing World 1. From Exceptionalism to Globalism2. Exceptionalism as the Civic Religion3. The Era of Global Convergence4. Eurasia on the Rise, America on the Sidelines5. Russia-U.S. Relations in the Changing World Order Part II: America’s Wars 6. American Imperialism and “Wars of Choice”7. Contradictory Promises and a Century of Conflict in the Middle East8. North Korea and the Doomsday Clock9. Trump's National Security Strategy Part III: U.S. Foreign Economic Statecraft 10. The Economic Balance Sheet on “America First”11. Foreign Policy Populism12. Economic War with China13. Will Trump Hand China the Technological Lead?14. Toward a World Economy of Regions Part IV: Renewing American Diplomacy 15. From Diplomatic Leader to Rogue Nation16. The Ethics and Practicalities of Foreign Aid17. Managing Migration and Immigration18. Achieving Sustainable Development19. A New Foreign Policy for American Security and Well-BeingNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisAuster''s novel of love and forgiveness from the author of contemporary classic The New York Trilogy: ''a literary voice for the ages'' (Guardian) Sunset Park is set in the sprawling flatlands of Florida, where twenty-eight-year-old Miles is photographing the last lingering traces of families who have abandoned their houses due to debt or foreclosure. Miles is haunted by guilt for having inadvertently caused the death of his step-brother, a situation that caused him to flee his father and step-mother in New York seven years ago.What keeps him in Florida is his relationship with a teenage high-school girl, Pilar, but when her family threatens to expose their relationship, Miles decides to protect Pilar by going back to Brooklyn, where he settles in a squat to prepare himself to face the inevitable confrontation with his father - a confrontation he has been avoiding for years.Set against the backdrop of the devastating global rece

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Book SynopsisJoint Gold medallist of the Axiom Business Book Award 2019 - Personal Finance/Retirement Planning/InvestingHow does money figure into a happy life?In The Geometry of Wealth, behavioral finance expert Brian Portnoy delivers an inspired answer, building on the critical distinction between being rich and being wealthy. While one is an unsatisfying treadmill, the other is the ability to underwrite a meaningful life, however one chooses to define that. Truly viewed, wealth is funded contentment.At the heart of this groundbreaking perspective, Portnoy takes readers on a journey toward wealth, informed by disciplines ranging from ancient history to modern neuroscience. He contends that tackling the big questions about a joyful life and tending to financial decisions are complementary, not separate, tasks.These big questions include:- How is the human brain wired for two distinct experiences of happiness? And why can money buy one but not the other?- What are the touchstones of a meaningful life, and are they affordable?- Why is market savvy among the least important sources of wealth but self-awareness is among the most?- How does one strike a balance between striving for more while being content with enough?This journey memorably contours along three basic shapes: A circle, triangle and square help us to visualize how we adapt to evolving circumstances, set clear priorities, and find empowerment in simplicity. In this accessible and entertaining book, Portnoy reveals that true wealth is achievable for many including those who despair it is out of reach but only in the context of a life in which purpose and practice are thoughtfully calibrated.Trade Review"Managing one's money is an emotionally fraught job, and comes with a confusing lexicon to boot. Is it any wonder so many individuals devote less time to their personal finances than they do planning their next vacation? Brian Portnoy's The Geometry of Wealth makes a bracing assertion: it doesn't have to be this way. In this elegant and insightful volume, he imparts the crucial message that building "wealth" isn't strictly about money, but finding the intersection between our life's purpose and the funds needed to achieve it. It's essential reading for serious and novice investors alike." -Christine Benz, Morningstar, Director of Personal Finance ; "In the Geometry of Wealth, Brian Portnoy has done something wholly unique and framed the conversation around money in a manner never before previously considered. Using a simple framework to make profound points, Dr. Portnoy has crafted a work that is simultaneously educational and poignant. For those looking to revolutionize their approach to money and even life, this book receives my highest recommendation." -Dr. Daniel Crosby, NYT bestselling author of The Laws of Wealth ; "In The Geometry of Wealth, Brian Portnoy has used his incredible talent for translating financial drudgery into simple, accessible, and entertaining prose to help us re-define our satisfaction with money. He has written a book that will leave you truly wealthier for reading it." -Corey Hoffstein, Chief Investment Officer, Newfound Research ; "The Geometry of Wealth walks you through what really matters in our relationship with money. In clear language, simple enough for my kids to understand and sophisticated enough for professionals, Portnoy gets to the heart of the issue. And that's the point - our relationship with money is about what's in our heart and what troubles our mind. Geometry brings it all together in a framework that every reader can follow to live a more contented life." -Ted Seides, Managing Partner, Hidden Brook Investments ; "Good books about money are few and far between. Great books about money - which provide useful investment analysis and helpful personal insight presented powerfully and engagingly - are as rare as a bad investment by Warren Buffett, largely because the universe of terrific writers with the academic power and practical experience to write such a book is vanishingly small. The Geometry of Wealth is a great book about money because of who Brian Portnoy is, what he knows, and how well he writes. Don't miss it." -Bob Seawright, Chief Investment Officer, Madison Avenue Securities ; "The Geometry of Wealth is told in three parts, with each part matched with a shape that represents a journey from purpose to priorities to tactics. At each respective step, we adapt to life’s evolving circumstances, set clear and actionable priorities, and render difficult decisions easier through the act of simplification. Creating a seamless narrative, not accomplished elsewhere, as money tends to be addressed either in broad philosophical terms or wonky technical details and Portnoy is considered an expert at simplifying the complex world of money." -Brian Tramuel, Contributor for Retirement Savvy

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Book Synopsis''You won''t find a more honest, raw and helpful look into the trenches of founding a tech startup than this book'' Nir Eyal, author of Hooked''Rand Fishkin is the real deal'' Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author -----------Everyone knows how a startup story is supposed to go: a young, brilliant entrepreneur has an cool idea, drops out of college, defies the doubters, overcomes all odds, makes billions and becomes the envy of the technology world. This is not that story.Rand Fishkin, the founder and former CEO of Moz, is one of the world''s leading experts on SEO. Moz is now a $45 million a year business, but Fishkin''s business and reputation took 15 years to grow, and his startup began not in a Harvard dorm room but as a mother-and-son family business that fell deeply into debt. Now Fishkin pulls back the curtain on tech startup mythology, exposing the ups and downs of startup life that most CEOs would rather keep secret. For instance: a minimally viable product can be destructive if you launch at the wrong moment. Growth hacking may be the buzzword du jour, but initiatives to your business can fizzle quickly. Revenue and profitability won''t protect you from layoffs. And venture capital always comes with strings attached. In Lost and Founder Fishkin reveals the mostly awful, sometimes awesome truth about startup culture with the transparency and humour that his hundreds of thousands of blog readers have come to love. Fishkin''s hard-won lessons are applicable to any kind of business environment and this book can help solve your problems, and make you feel less alone for having them.-----------''This is a truly courageous book. It''s one part business-building guide and two parts Indiana Jones-style adventure memoir'' Chris Guillebeau, author of Side Hustle and The $100 Startup''Rand Fishkin is like the industry friend we all wish we had - funny, warm, and refreshingly honest about the rollercoaster ride that is founding your own company'' Julie Zhou, VP of Product Design at FacebookTrade ReviewThis is a truly courageous book. It's one part business-building guide and two parts Indiana Jones-style adventure memoir. And if you've ever wondered if the 'timeless wisdom' you often hear about startups is bullsh*t, here's the proof -- Chris Guillebeau * author of SIDE HUSTLE and THE $100 STARTUP *You won't find a more honest, raw, and helpful look into the trenches of founding a tech startup than this book. Rand Fishkin shares the rare hard-won insight no one else dares tell you -- Nir Eyal * author of HOOKED *Most books on founders and entrepreneurship sell a Silicon Valley perspective. Yet the inclusive, egalitarian vision of tech that Rand shares is the one that will truly dent the world -- Nilofer Merchant * author of THE POWER OF ONLYNESS *Rand Fishkin is like the industry friend we all wish we had - funny, warm, and refreshingly honest about the rollercoaster ride that is founding your own company -- Julie Zhou * VP of Product Design at Facebook *Rand Fishkin is the real deal. This book is an honest, generous and useful look at what actually happens when you build a company, including the downs as well as the ups... I wish I had read it thirty years ago - -- Seth Godin * entrepreneur and author *

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Book SynopsisMoore presents his summation of 15 years of research, observation, and teaching about what public-sector executives should do to improve the performance of public enterprises. This book explicates some of the richest cases used at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and illuminates their broader lessons for government managers.Trade ReviewIf you haven’t been able to slip out to Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government for the latest in public management training, Mark Moore’s book…will bring you up to speed. * National Journal *Basing extended and thoughtful analyses and comments on a series of cases in managing an assortment of federal, state, and local public agencies (libraries, the EPA, a department of child and youth services, a redevelopment agency, the Centers for Disease Control, a housing authority, and a police department), Kennedy School professor Mark Moore seeks to expand the traditional bureaucratic conceptions of public administration. * ARNOVA News *[An] important argument to counter the image of the rigid bureaucrat, with case studies of youth services, a library, a redevelopment project, a police department, and a housing authority. * Future Survey *This is at once the most broadly thoughtful and specifically useful book I’ve read in the field of public management. -- Hale Champion, former Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and WelfareTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Purposes Sources and Methods Tests 1. Managerial Imagination The Town Librarian and the Latchkey Children Public Managers and Public Management An Alternative Approach to Public Administration PART I ENVISIONING PUBLIC VALUE 2. Defining Public Value The Aim of Managerial Work Different Standards for Reckoning Public Value Municipal Sanitation: An Example Toward a Managerial View of Public Value 3. Organizational Strategy in the Public Sector William Ruckeishaus and the Environmental Protection Agency Jerome Miller and the Department of Youth Services Managerial Discretion and Leadership in the Public Sector Defining Mission and Goals in the Private Sector Defining Mission and Goals in the Public Sector The Mission of the EPA: Pollution Abatement The Mission of DYS: Humanizing the Treatment of Children The Managerial Utility of Mission Statements Evaluative Criteria for Organizational Strategies PART II BUILDING SUPPORT AND LEGITIMACY 4. Mobilizing Support, Legitimacy, and Coproduction: The Functions of Political Management Miles Mahoney and Park Plaza David Sencer and the Threat of Swine flu Political Management: A Key Managerial Function Who Is Important in Political Management Combining Diverse Interests and Values The Dynamics of the Authorizing Environment The Challenge of Political Management 5. Advocacy, Negotiation, and Leadership: The Techniques of Political Management Mahoney's Initiatives Sencer's Initiatives Evaluation The Ethics and Techniques of Political Management Entrepreneurial Advocacy Managing Policy Development Negotiation Public Deliberation, Social Learning, and Leadership Public Sector Marketing and Strategic Communication Helping to Define and Produce Public Value PART III DELIVERING PUBLIC VALUE 6. Reengineering Public Sector Production: The Function of Operational Management Harry Spence and the Boston Housing Authority Lee Brown and the Houston Police Department The Function of Operational Management Defining Organizational Mission and Product Redesigning Production Processes Using Administrative Systems to Influence Operations Innovating and Capitalizing From Diagnosis to Intervention 7. Implementing Strategy: The Techniques of Operational Management Spence: Rehabilitating Public Housing in Boston Brown: Exploring the Frontiers of Policing Reengineering Organizations: What Strategic Managers Think and Do Acting in a Stream Conclusion: Acting for a Divided, Uncertain Society Ethical Challenges of Public Leadership Psychological Challenges of Public Leadership Notes Index

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Book SynopsisHow do you develop products that people will actually use and buy? This practical guide shows you how to validate product and company ideas through customer development researchbefore you waste months and millions on a product or service that no one needs or wants.

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Book SynopsisIn many jobs people work their way up through a hierarchy, an experience that prepares them for managing a team. In some professions, such as law, finance, accountancy, academia, engineering, education and healthcare, individuals may find themselves managing a team of equals. This book uses 50 simple lessons to show the reader in concise, pithy prose how to manage a team of equals with intelligence and diplomacy. Each lesson features a short introduction and example from the authors' experience, showing you how skills can be acquired. These are then followed by 6-10 action points to implement immediately. Core leadership skills are reevaluated for the leader of a smart team. The book teaches you core skills such as decision making and delegating, but also soft skills such as delivering good and bad news to team members and how to realise more general aims such as building trust and growing your team. The authors also offer advice on how to look after yourself as a team leader, how to build resilience in tough situations, but also how to develop creativity and extend your skill base so that you are constantly learning.

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Book SynopsisIn Excellence Wins, cofounder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Horst Schulze shares the visionary and disruptive principles that have produced immense global successes over the course of his still prolific fifty-year career.Trade ReviewFor an inspiring, practical approach to becoming a preeminent leader in business, nonprofits, government, and academia alike, Excellence Wins fills the bill. This engaging memoir depicts a philosophy of leadership that has become the signature trademark of iconic hotelier Horst Schulze, the premier service guru and top visionary thought leader in the hospitality world today. As an academic dean speaking to college students everywhere, I encourage you to read this book and adopt its teachings to spark your own passion for excellence, creating a pathway to tremendous success in your personal and professional lives. -June Henton, dean of the College of Human Sciences, Auburn UniversityHorst Schulze created a culture of service that should be a model for all of us. By committing to the highest standards of professionalism--and creating the right systems to achieve them--he inspired thousands of people to embrace and embody the core ideal of sheer unadulterated excellence. With this profoundly useful book, Schulze now shares his story, and his methods, so that the rest of us can be uplifted and taught by the master himself. -Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and coauthor of Built to LastHorst Schulze is one of the most beloved, creative, and successful hoteliers in the world. His reputation for excellence in all he pursues has generated a global following among stakeholders in his various hotels and other businesses that is legendary and real. People today, regardless of whether they worked with him directly or have learned of his charismatic leadership from others, rightfully honor and revere him as one of the most important and esteemed original thinkers in human development our world has seen. -Richard J. Stephenson, founder and chairman of the board, Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaHorst Schulze's influence on my family and our business is undeniable. His approach to customer service revolutionized the hotel industry and set a high bar for all of us. His new book, Excellence Wins, weaves Horst's personal story with the practical wisdom he's gleaned from an incredible career of servant leadership. It's a must-read for leaders and anyone passionate about serving people. -Dan Cathy, chairman, president, and CEO of Chick-fil-AIn Excellence Wins, Horst Schulze's inspirational story and experienced wisdom gives you the road map to success at the highest levels. This book is a must-read for every manager, executive, and anyone who strives for excellence in their life. -Kay C. James, president of the Heritage FoundationIndustry luminaries regard Horst Schulze as the leading hotelier in the world, but his influence extends far beyond the hospitality business. There's a reason for that. He has been the thought leader on customer service for decades. We now have the Rosetta Stone of superior customer service--his new book. Excellence Wins can only be described as profoundly helpful to any leader who aspires for his or her organization to be the best. -Dr. Tim Irwin, New York Times bestselling author and leadership authority

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Book SynopsisThere are four roles we play in life---Victim, Villain, Hero, and Guide. New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller teaches us how to recognize when we are playing the Victim or the Villain and how to shift to become the Hero or the Guide.

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Book SynopsisIntroducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience classics which will endure for generations to come.When No Logo was first published, it became an instant bestseller and international phenomenon. Its riveting exposé of the branded and corporate world in which we live became a rallying cry for rebellion and self-determination.Engaging, humanising and inspiring, No Logo is a book that defined both a generation and its language of protest. Its analysis is as timely and powerful as ever.Trade Review‘The Das Kapital of the growing anti-corporate movement’ Guardian ‘Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful fighters already out there. No Logo is an invigorating call to arms for everybody who wants to save money, justice, or the universe’ Gloria Steinem ‘What corporations fear most are consumers who ask questions. Naomi Klein offers us the arguments with which to take on the superbrands’ Billy Bragg

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Book SynopsisMaster key spreadsheet and business analytics skills with SPREADSHEET MODELING AND DECISION ANALYSIS: A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANALYTICS, 9E, written by respected business analytics innovator Cliff Ragsdale. This edition's clear presentation, realistic examples, fascinating topics and valuable software provide everything you need to become proficient in today's most widely used business analytics techniques using the latest version of Excel in Microsoft Office 365 or Office 2019. Become skilled in the newest Excel functions as well as Analytic Solver and Data Mining add-ins. This edition helps you develop both algebraic and spreadsheet modeling skills. Step-by-step instructions and annotated, full-color screen images make examples easy to follow and show you how to apply what you learn about descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics to real business situations. WebAssign online tools and author-created videos further strengthen understanding.Table of Contents1. Introduction to Modeling and Decision Analysis. 2. Introduction to Optimization and Linear Programming. 3. Modeling and Solving LP Problems in a Spreadsheet. 4. Sensitivity Analysis and the Simplex Method. 5. Network Modeling. 6. Integer Linear Programming. 7. Goal Programming and Multiple Objective Optimization. 8. Nonlinear Programming & Evolutionary Optimization. 9. Regression Analysis. 10. Data Mining. 11. Time Series Forecasting. 12. Introduction to Simulation. 13. Queuing Theory. 14. Decision Analysis. 15. Project Management (Online).

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Book SynopsisA Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide is the go-to resource for project management practitioners. Over the past few years, the project management profession has significantly evolved due to emerging technology, new approaches and rapid market changes. Reflecting this evolution, The Standard for Project Management enumerates 12 principles of project management and the PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition is structured around eight project performance domains. Both the standard and the guide reflect the wide range of development approaches that lead to value delivery. This edition is designed to address practitioners’ current and future needs and to help them be more proactive, innovative and nimble in enabling desired project outcomes. This edition of the PMBOK® Guide: Reflects the full range of development approaches (predictive, adaptive, hybrid, etc.) Provides an entire section devoted to tailoring the development approach and processes Includes an expanded list of models, methods, and artifacts Focuses on not just delivering project outputs but also enabling outcomes; and Integrates with PMIstandards+ for information and standards application content based on project type, development approach, and industry sector.

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Book Synopsis Are you driven to distraction at work?Bestselling author Edward M. Hallowell, MD, the world’s leading expert on ADD and ADHD, has set his sights on a new goal: helping people feel more in control and productive at work.You know the feeling: you can’t focus; you feel increasingly overwhelmed by a mix of nonstop demands and technology that seems to be moving at the speed of light; and you’re frustrated just trying to get everything done well—and on time. Not only is this taking a toll on performance, it’s impacting your sense of well-being outside the office. It’s time to reclaim control.Dr. Hallowell now identifies the underlying reasons why people lose their ability to focus at work. He explains why commonly offered solutions like “learn to manage your time better” or “make a to-do list” don’t work because they ignore the deeper issues that are the true causes of mental distraction. BasedTrade Review"Why do so many people have trouble focusing on the job in hand? This ADD guru tackles the problem of attention deficit in the workplace with tips on braking the habits that undermine effectiveness." -- Qantas The Australian Way " a practical, encouraging guide." -- Booklist "This book deals with a topic of pressing concern for most of us, offering clarity, wisdom and plenty of ideas for getting out of the maelstrom. Each section is built around stories from Dr. Hallowell's practice that seem taken from the people around us, making it all the more compelling." -- Harvey Schachter, The Globe & Mail "When it comes to distraction, Hallowell knows his business." -- HR Professional magazine Many workers will recognize themselves in Hallowell's descriptions and will be game to try his solutions." -- BizEd magazine "Hallowell has sensible advice, and infuses his narrative style with deep knowledge and medical rigour." -- The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development "... the book provides an easy-to-follow recipe for teaching yourself to focus in the midst of the workplace chaos." -- Inc.com ADVANCE PRAISE for Driven to Distraction at Work: Jeffrey F. Rayport, faculty, Harvard Business School; strategic adviser; and investor-- "Driven to Distraction at Work is an essential survival guide to life in the modern world." Larry Weber, Chairman and CEO, Racepoint Global; founder, Weber Shandwick; and bestselling author, Marketing to the Social Web-- "Dr. Hallowell's stunning new book takes the maze of distraction at work away forever!" Dan L. Monroe, Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO, Peabody Essex Museum-- "If you feel like you never have time to do the things you want or, for that matter, to even think about the things you might want--get this book." Marie Brenner, author, Apples and Oranges; writer-at-large, Vanity Fair-- "A must-read for any and all of us who cherish our ability to connect deeply with others as well as to think." Ellen Miley Perry, author, A Wealth of Possibilities; founder, Wealthbridge Partners-- "This book provides explanations, antidotes, and solutions so important that it should be required reading for everyone." Suzy Welch, New York Times bestselling author, 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea-- "Read this book and regain the focus you've inadvertently given away." Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO, AOL-- "Productivity is the long-term strategic advantage in today's world, and Dr. Hallowell clearly defines the road map to that advantage--getting things done."

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Book SynopsisIn the first edition of this landmark book, business loyalty guru Fred Reichheld revealed the question most critical to your company’s future: “Would you recommend us to a friend?” By asking customers this question, you identify detractors, who sully your firm’s reputation and readily switch to competitors, and promoters, who generate good profits and true, sustainable growth.You also generate a vital metric: your Net Promoter Score. Since the book was first published, Net Promoter has transformed companies, across industries and sectors, constituting a game-changing system and ethos that rivals Six Sigma in its power.In this thoroughly updated and expanded edition, Reichheld, with Bain colleague Rob Markey, explains how practitioners have built Net Promoter into a full-fledged management system that drives extraordinary financial and competitive results. With his trademark clarity, Reichheld:• Defines the fundamenTrade Review“This year, Reichheld, who is a fellow at Bain & Company as well as the founder of its loyalty practice, and Rob Markey, head of the company's global strategy and marketing practice, published The Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World, an updated and expanded version of The Ultimate Question. The original lit the spark for the Net Promoter fire in 2006.” — CRM magazine “wonderful new book” – FORBES.com “A variety of companies have started using this: Charles Schwab, Apple, Progressive, Virgin Media, and more. Check out the book and see how to use it for your company.” – 800 CEO READ

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Book SynopsisAutism is associated with many qualities that are highly sought after by employers such as reliability, persistence, attention to detail, creativity in problem solving and many others. The key to success in the workplace is understanding these strengths and identifying the support you need to help you flourish.This self-guided workbook provides advice, strategies and activities to manage the difficulties that can arise at work. You will be given the tools to help minimise anxiety, sensory overload, unhelpful thinking patterns, difficulties with social communication, and organisation and planning problems.The activities are interactive, and you can approach them on your terms. They can be dispersed throughout the day or week, and the workbook and accompanying videos include everything you need to set and achieve your employment goals. The course can also be undertaken with the assistance of a mentor, and the workbook includes resources and videos to help them support you.

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive manual will help musicians and those working in live music to identify and cope with the various physical and psychological difficulties that can occur during, or as a result of, touring. It covers topics including mental health, peak performance and performance anxiety, addiction, group dynamics, relationship problems, dealing with the media, physical health, diversity and inclusion, crisis management and post-tour recovery. Written by health and performance professionals, this timely and essential book provides robust clinical advice, cutting edge research, practical strategies, resources and detailed illustrations. Each chapter is underpinned with personal recollections from musicians and prominent touring personnel, including Nile Rodgers, Justin Hawkins, Philip Selway, Charles Thompson, Katie Melua , Kieran Hebden, Jake Berry, Tina Farris, Taylor Hanson, Trevor Williams, Lauren Mayberry, Pharoahe Monch, Jim Digby, Will Young, Angie Warner, Dale 'Opie' Skjerseth and many more. Touring and Mental Health is designed to be picked up, put down, read at length and passed around the tour bus.

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Book SynopsisCommunist and capitalist states alike were scarred by the economic shocks of the 1970s. Why did only communist governments fall in their wake? Fritz Bartel argues that Western democracies were insulated by neoliberalism. While austerity was fatal to the legitimacy of communism, democratic politicians could win votes by pushing market discipline.Trade ReviewWhat distinguishes the exceptionally well-researched…The Triumph of Broken Promises is [Bartel’s] parallel analysis of how the crisis was handled in the democratic West and the authoritarian East, and how it ultimately led to the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism. It is this unified framework, plus its implications for several eminently political events: the break up of the Soviet Union and other Communist federations, the unification of Germany, etc., that represents, in in my opinion, the book’s greatest strength. -- Branko Milanovic * Global Inequality and More 3.0 *The best structural account yet of the end of the Cold War, the rise of neoliberalism, and the emergence of the current world order. An elegant work of critical historical analysis, the book is essential reading for those invested in building a better, more equitable future. -- Sean T. Byrnes * Jacobin *Striking in its hardheaded realism…[A] tremendously sharp work. -- Alex Hochuli * American Affairs *As the title of the book suggests, the post–Cold War world would be indelibly marked by a retraction of social democratic commitments. Liberal democracy and neoliberal economies prevailed, according to Bartel, because ‘they were the best political and economic systems for breaking promises.’ -- Andre Pagliarini * New Republic *Why did the West win the Cold War? In this powerful new interpretation, Bartel argues that the struggle between democracy and communism was fundamentally a contest over which system of government could best harness industrial modernity to improve the lives of its people…The book’s originality lies in how it weaves together Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s program of reform, known as perestroika, and the conservative economic turn under U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. -- G. John Ikenberry * Foreign Affairs *A provocative, incisive, and lucid account of the end of the Cold War and the onset of neoliberalism. -- Melvyn P. Leffler * H-Diplo *Bartel retells the familiar narratives of nuclear and conventional arms control, the collapse of state socialism and Germany’s unification in a context where energy, finance and economic theory played a decisive role. -- John Nilsson-Wright * Global Asia *Challenging conventional narratives that focus on Reagan’s military-ideological assertiveness or Gorbachev’s openness to reform, the book gives a material and structural explanation of Western victory and Eastern defeat. This makes for fascinating history: finance and energy emerge as silent but vital battlegrounds, unlikely connections—like those between Japanese investors and Hungarian central bankers—come to the fore, and several East-West similarities surprise the reader. -- Max Krahé * Phenomenal World *How did the Cold War, which began as a competition to make promises, mutate into a race to break them? And why did the West win? Bartel offers a bold and compelling interpretation that links the history of the Cold War and neoliberalism to dramatic effect. The Triumph of Broken Promises will be essential reading. -- Adam Tooze, author of Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the WorldA pleasure to read with many short stories that illustrate the points being made on a more general level, thus making it more accessible to a broader audience. -- Ludoš Studený * Czech Journal of Contemporary History *If the Cold War began with a competition to provide welfare, it ended as both sides imposed austerity and discipline on their populations. Bartel’s brilliantly conceived and researched study renovates our understanding of how and why the Soviet Union was driven toward collapse precisely as the United States, faced with slowdown after the oil shock, moved toward neoliberal governance. Few books explain the makings of our times as well as this thrilling debut. -- Samuel Moyn, author of The Last Utopia: Human Rights in HistoryA deeply significant history of how the way in which the Cold War ended gave rise to the hegemony of neoliberal capitalism. Bartel traces this trajectory through personal narratives from East and West and through deep archival research. His book is a must-read for anyone interested in how the Cold War and its immediate aftermath produced the world we live in today. -- Odd Arne Westad, author of The Cold War: A World HistoryAn excellent work, attractively written, with a powerful argument that carries a large narrative arc from the oil shocks and international monetary confusion of the 1970s to the end of the Cold War. Promises were broken because governments could not meet the expectations of their populations, generated during the postwar economic miracle, about continuously rising incomes. The result was disaffection, but governments’ hands were tied. Well supported by fascinating archival materials, including from the IMF, this is a compelling story. -- Harold James, author of The Creation and Destruction of Value: The Globalization CycleThe Triumph of Broken Promises is a stimulating book: conceptually sophisticated, full of archival finds, and profoundly illuminating of connections between the Cold War's end and neoliberalism's ascent. -- Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era

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Book SynopsisMeet the challenges of life and master your future Do you ever feel like you re just floating through life with a lack of direction? Or get that nagging feeling that things could be better? Then it s time you thought about your life plan.Trade Reviewif you want to create a life you will love then look to new book Your Life Plan by Erica Sosna (Wiley). It is a fun and helpful support as you take even the smallest steps. (Daily Express, March 2014)Table of ContentsPART 1The Call 45Finding AYou Motive 47Hearing The Call 65PART 2The Commitment 79Letting Go of the Uncertain 81Stepping Into the New 99PART 3The Quest 119Questing in Action 121Building your Dream Team 143The External Battle 159The Internal Battle 179PART 4The Return 193Coming Home 195Being the Hero in Everyday Life 209

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Book SynopsisA motivational kick in the pants to get the most out of your life Have you got an itch? To start your own business, go to the North Pole, retrain, lose weight, get promoted, learn to play the ukulele? Or do you just have a nagging sense that there must be more to life? If there is something you really want to do, but secretly fear you''ll never do it then you need this book. The original Stop Talking Start Doing helped readers to move from talking to doing. To climb into the ring and face their fears about making their thing happen. It helped readers to understand why they had fears and why starting was easier than they thought. It encouraged them to start somewhere, anywhere. The Stop Talking Start Doing Action Book will help you to identify where or what that starting point should be, and how to build from there to make your thing happen. It will help you to evaluate why you have procrastinated until now and identify the small steps you neTrade Review“This book descales you of excuses, removes stubborn resistance and eliminates a messy life of torpor and replaces it with one of excitement and meaning. Every life and home should have one.” (Daily Express, May 2016)Table of ContentsChapter 1 Tick Tock Chapter 2 The ITCH Chapter 3 Fear and Regret Chapter 4 Start Chapter 5 The Art of Decision-Making Chapter 6 …and Action Chapter 7 Accreditations

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface ix Part I Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Threats and Opportunities in a Rapidly Changing World 3 Chapter 2 The Emerging Science of Change 17 Part II There is a Better Way to Accelerate: 37 Chapter 3 “Strategic Planning” That Delivers Results 39 Chapter 4 Digital Transformation That is Truly Transformational 61 Chapter 5 Restructuring Without Killing Innovation and Your Future 79 Chapter 6 Cultural Change That Helps You Adapt 101 Chapter 7 Mergers and Acquisitions That Create Real Value 125 Chapter 8 Agile Methodologies That Build Sustained and Scalable Agility 143 Chapter 9 Broad Social Initiatives That Can Help Billions 159 Part III In the End, It is Mostly About This 175 Chapter 10 More Leadership from More People 177 Chapter 11 The New Normal 199 Notes 209 Acknowledgments 219 About the Authors 223

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Book SynopsisRupert Morrison is an industry leader and entrepreneur in data-driven business. He is the founder and CEO of Arahi and was previously the CEO and co-founder of Concentra Analytics. Based in London, UK, he is also an international conference speaker and industry writer, whose contributions have featured in Forbes, HR Director and Personnel Today. He is the author of Organizational Planning and Analysis, also published by Kogan Page.Trade Review"You've certainly heard the term 'digital transformation'. Yet being more 'digital' or collecting more data won't get you very far if there aren't methods and tools to better inform the management process. Data Driven Organization Design 2nd Edition renews its focus on the most important asset of any organization: its people. It covers everything you need to easily master the concepts, leverage the data, communicate effectively, and successfully make the positive changes necessary to adopt a data-driven organization design." * Stéphane Hamel, Academic Advisor, Faculty of Business Administration, Laval University *"As technology continues to automate work and radically change business models, organization design has become one of the biggest issues on the minds of CEOs. Rupert's book Data-Driven Organization Design is a comprehensive bible on this important topic, and I recommend it for all HR and business leaders." * Josh Bersin, Global Industry Analyst *"We live in a constantly changing world. The pace of change is just going to increase and is now a constant that we all need to live and work with. To be successful in this environment, businesses need to be able to adapt their own operating model, organization design and people strategy not only to respond to these changes, but to pre-empt them. Key to being able to do this is having access to live data that can help inform the changes that could be made, quickly identify the business benefit of doing so and equally the implications of not doing them. An organization then needs the tools and the culture to make the required changes at pace, taking into consideration the people impact. This book is a must-read for those looking to enhance their business (and people) performance." * Annette Andrews, Interim Group Chief People Officer, Impellam Group *"Anyone leading or planning to lead a large business, or who has led a large business in the past does eventually learn how vital to an organization it is to have clear strategy, role design and accountabilities. Rupert connects theory and practice in an accessible way. He has a unique perspective having been a student of the theory, and crucially, having lived through the practice. More important than culture, strategy, finance or marketing, is the way in which senior management in a business structure, plan, organize and effectively manage their most valuable asset, their colleagues." * Ian Kantor, Founder of Investec *"Ever wondered about how to approach designing an organization to get the right people in the right place with the right skills doing the right work in the right way? If so then this richly informative book is for you. With high energy, infectious enthusiasm and vast knowledge, Rupert Morrison shows how good data, thoughtful analysis of it, and careful implementation of the insights it yields, provide the bedrock for design success." * Naomi Stanford, Organization Design Author and Consultant *"Brilliant. There's a well-thumbed copy of the first edition of Data-Driven Organization Design on my bookshelf, and this timely update by one of the genuine thought leaders in our field provides a masterful template for HR leaders looking to drive innovation and value to their business. If you are looking to turn organizational design theory into practice - and align it to data - then this is the book for you." * David Green, co-author of Excellence in People Analytics, Managing Partner at Insight222 and host of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast *"Every organization has a Financial Planning & Analysis capability. Until Data Driven Organization Design, I had found it impossible to get ahead of the ever-changing organization. The concepts, practices, and visualizations in this book convinced me that organizational planning is possible and that we can analyze, design, and plan organizations to meet their objectives." * Ana Coronel, VP Organization, Transformation & Global Services at IGT *"In a world filled with uncertainty, Data-Driven Organization Design is a welcome resource for HR executives who care about building the right organizational structure to compete and win. Rupert offers a framework for identifying the real challenges in organizations, gives clarity to the ambiguity of aligning human behaviour, and lays out solutions that are both actionable and measurable. If you feel like your business has stagnated or your people are not bringing their best thinking to work, this book will give you new insights to reimagine your organizational structure in a way that allows it to evolve with market conditions, adapt with new talent and ideas, and ultimately thrive - a goal on every CEO's wish list." * Beau River, Partner at Vantage Leadership Consulting and Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University’s Masters of Science in Learning and Organizational Change *"It is about time we shift our thinking from static organization structures to dynamic systems. A must-read if you are looking for a practical guide to understand how different parts of the organization continuously confluence together to drive business outcomes." * Shradha Prakash, VP, Future of Work, Org Design and Talent Enablement at Prudential Financial *"This book is the compendium of exceptional ideas with impact. By connecting the six components of an organization with data, organizations will continue to deliver value to all stakeholders. Thorough, timely, and relevant!" * Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan Partner, the RBL Group *Table of Contents Section - ONE: Introduction; Chapter - 01: Data driven organization design; Chapter - 02: Challenges; Chapter - 03: Foundations and core concepts; Section - TWO: Macro design; Chapter - 04: Strategy articulation and design criteria; Chapter - 05: Structural options and business case; Section - THREE: Micro design; Chapter - 06: The data goldmine; Chapter - 07: Objectives management; Chapter - 08: Fixed process design; Chapter - 09: Dynamic process design; Chapter - 10: Competency management; Chapter - 11: Rightsizing; Section - FOUR: Making it real; Chapter - 12: Common traps; Chapter - 13: How will it work in practice (HOWWIP)?; Chapter - 14: Implementation; Chapter - 15: Workforce planning; Chapter - 16: Talent management, succession development and planning; Chapter - 17: Organizational getting things done; Chapter - 18: Sustaining the edge

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Book Synopsis'Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible' In equal measure famous and infamous, Janet Malcolm's book charts the true story of a lawsuit between Jeffrey MacDonald, a convicted murderer, and Joe McGinniss, the author of a book about the crime. Lauded as one of the Modern Libraries "100 Best Works of Nonfiction", The Journalist and the Murderer is fascinating and controversial, a contemporary classic of reportage.Trade ReviewOne of the best journalists writing in English anywhere * Financial Times *It is often overlooked how good a reporter Malcolm is, fearless in her questioning, ruthless in her pursuit of every last witness. The Journalist and the Murderer is a lesson in not courting your subject too much * Guardian *A spare and unsparing account of tragicomic human folly * The Times *A timely reissue for Janet Malcolm's 1990 classic, which caused a storm when it was first published for its uncompromising analysis of the ethics - and otherwise - within the slippery relationship between a journalist and her subject -- Claire Allfree * Metro *Malcolm's seminal 1990 work about the ethics of journalism is at once reportage, a scrutinising look at the practice and a cautionary tale of personal manipulation and betrayal * Big Issue *

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Book SynopsisHarriman Classics with a new foreword by James P. O''ShaughnessyIf you want to get rich, no matter how inexperienced you are in investment, this book can help you. Its message is that you must not avoid risk, nor court it foolhardily, but learn how to manage it - and enjoy it too.The 12 major and 16 minor Zurich Axioms contained in this book are a set of principles providing a practical philosophy for the realistic management of risk, which can be followed successfully by anyone, not merely the ''experts''. Several of the Axioms fly right in the face of the traditional wisdom of the investment advice business - yet the enterprising Swiss speculators who devised them became rich, while many investors who follow the conventional path do not.Max Gunther, whose father was one of the original speculators who devised the Axioms, made his first capital gain on the stock market at the age of 13 and never looked back. Now the rest of us can follow in his footsteps. Startlingly straightforward, the Axioms are explained in a book that is not only extremely entertaining but will prove invaluable to any investor, whether in stocks, commodities, art, antiques or real estate, who is willing to take risk on its own terms and chance a little to gain a lot.

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Book SynopsisIn the 10th Anniversary edition of this No.1 Best Selling property book, experienced property investor Simon Zutshi will share with you some of the secrets behind his Property Mastermind Programme, so that you can learn how to build a property portfolio and replace your income, using other people's time, money and experience.The book is designed to open your mind and stimulate your thinking to make you aware of some of the current possibilities available to you in the world of property investing. It is packed full of inspirational case studies to help build your personal belief of what you could achieve, in a relatively short amount of time, by investing in property.Although this book is focused on investing in the UK property market, the concept of finding and helping motivated sellers to reach an ethical win/win solution, works in every property market all over the world. You can build your personal wealth whilst helping other people solve their property problems.

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Book SynopsisThis re-fuelled edition of our bestselling Harley-Davidson book features 32 new pages and several updated chapters, honouring the Harley in all its facets. Ride through the history of the Milwaukee legend, get up close to its pristine design, and explore the Harley-Davidson lifestyle that sees riders on the beach, the ice, or in the mountains. A must-have book for all who agree with the grandson of company founder, Willie G. Davidson: “On the eighth day, God created Harley-Davidson.” Text in English, French, and German.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Gripping and fast-moving... the reporting and the level of detail are astounding… a riveting picture of a figure the world does not know very well, but should.” — Washington Post “Rempel assembles a dizzying amount of information about the deals that made [Kerkorian] one of the richest men in America… Now in this most exhaustive biography, he remains as he was in life, a man of great wealth, power, honor, and mystery.” — New York Journal of Books “The book provides a remarkably detailed and fascinating look at the career of an idiosyncratic tycoon.” — Booklist “Chockablock with dialogue and intimate detail assembled by deep research… All sorts of celebrities—in business, sports, and elsewhere—glide through the text… [The Gambler] is the compelling story of a Horatio Alger.” — Kirkus Reviews “an engrossing story of a self-made man.” — Publishers Weekly “I recommend that every Armenian buy a copy of Kirk’s biography and suggest it to their non-Armenian neighbors, friends and colleagues. Kerkorian’s incredible accomplishments bestow a great honor upon Armenians worldwide!” — The California Courier “A fast-moving, dramatic narrative of [Kerkorian’s] larger-than-life business career.” — Washington Times “The Gambler is an excellent tour de force biography of a true rags-to-riches impressario… A class act of a biography! — Seattle Book Review “Informative and entertaining...Rempel’s The Gambler does justice to Kerkorian’s life and legacy.“ — CDC Gaming Reports, Inc. “With The Gambler, Rempel has done Las Vegas and a generation of business entrepreneurs a great service, adding rich detail to the business titan’s deals and controversies. Kerkorian’s life is a reminder of how far Americans can go” — KNPR

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Book Synopsis''A hot-rod joy ride through mid-20th-century American history'' (The New York Times Book Review), this one-of-a-kind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar''s amplified sound''Leo Fender and Les Paul''and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton to play the instruments they built.In the years after World War II, music was evolving from big-band jazz into rock ''n'' roll''and these louder styles demanded revolutionary instruments. When Leo Fender''s tiny firm marketed the first solid-body electric guitar, the Esquire, musicians immediately saw its appeal. Not to be out-maneuvered, Gibson, the largest guitar manufacturer, raced to build a competitive product. The company designed an ''axe'' that would make Fender''s Esquire look cheap and convinced Les Paul''whose endorsement Leo Fender had sought''to put his name on it. Thus was born the guitar world''s most heated rivalry: Gibson versus Fender, Les versus Leo. While Fender was a quiet, half-blind, self-taught radio repairman, Paul was a brilliant but headstrong pop star and guitarist who spent years toying with new musical technologies. Their contest turned into an arms race as the most inventive musicians of the 1950s and 1960s''including bluesman Muddy Waters, rocker Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton''adopted one maker''s guitar or another. By 1969 it was clear that these new electric instruments had launched music into a radical new age, empowering artists with a vibrancy and volume never before attainable. In ''an excellent dual portrait'' (The Wall Street Journal), Ian S. Port tells the full story in The Birth of Loud, offering ''spot-on human characterizations, and erotic paeans to the bodies of guitars'' (The Atlantic). ''the story of these instruments is the story of America in the postwar era: loud, cocky, brash, aggressively new'' (The Washington Post).Trade ReviewNew York Times Book Review Editors' Choice “In The Birth of Loud, Ian S. Port has sorted out the facts of the electric guitar’s much-mythologized genesis and cultural conquest. He turns them into a hot-rod joy ride through mid-20th-century American history. With appropriately flashy prose, he dismantles some misconceptions and credits some nearly forgotten but key figures. He also summons, exuberantly and perceptively, the look, sound, and sometimes smell of pivotal scenes and songs. The Birth of Loud rightfully celebrates an earlier time, when wood, steel, copper wire, microphones and loudspeakers could redefine reality. Tracing material choices that echoed through generations, the book captures the quirks of human inventiveness and the power of sound.” —Jon Pareles, New York Times Book Review“Fascinating . . . one of Port’s true strengths [is] his ability to marry an agreeably anecdotal writing style to a musician’s ear. The way a Telecaster snaps and sizzles, the way a Les Paul purrs with liquid, violin-like tones; he just gets it. . . The story of these instruments is the story of America in the postwar era: loud, cocky, brash, aggressively new.” —Washington Post“[An] excellent dual portrait . . . In the second half of the book, Mr. Port, a veteran music journalist, touches on the work of every major guitar player of rock’s golden age, from Muddy Waters to Buddy Holly—whose appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” electrified (the pun is unavoidable) Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney and John Lennon—and continuing through Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and, of course, Bob Dylan, whose notorious switch from acoustic to electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival scandalized his fans. Not everyone played a Fender or a Les Paul—the Beatles were Rickenbacker fans, and Gretsch guitars had a significant market share—but, as Mr. Port says, the wildfire popularity of those two guitars fueled a world-changing demand for electric guitars of every type.” —Wall Street Journal“Rich in description . . . full of imagist sound-summonings, spot-on human characterizations, and erotic paeans to the bodies of guitars . . . Port can write lovingly, such as when he describes an early, solid-wood model that belonged to the country twanger Merle Travis. . . And he can write with technical lyricism . . . He even made me like Eric Clapton for a minute. And from the fumbled genesis of the electric guitar to its expressive climax, he draws us a beautiful, educational arc.” —The Atlantic“Ian S. Port’s The Birth of Loud reframes the standard history of rock ’n’ roll around the dual creators of the modern electric guitar. . . . Instead of a parade of frontmen and songwriters dueling it out in the charts, Port presents a ground-up account of an at-times begrudging friendship between two Angelenos who created the sound of what we instinctively understand as ‘rock.’ . . . Port’s research is thorough and his prose is lucid. If the evanescence of the internet and the machine-like qualities of synthpop make you want to put words to that vague cultural hunger for something more tactile, more connected to physical reality, this is your book. . . . The Birth of Loud is a compelling addition to the misremembered history of the time.” —SF Weekly“[Tells] the story of the development of the electric guitar through the lives of its two most famous names….Port deftly toggles between their parallel paths, as if swiveling from one effects pedal to another.” —James Sullivan, San Francisco Chronicle“Ian S. Port knows a thing or two about guitar heroes. . . . [With] lyrical, evocative prose, The Birth of Loud includes vivid scenes of Muddy Waters inventing Chicago blues, the Rolling Stones' sex-drenched appearance on The T.A.M.I. Show, Buddy Holly's TV debut with Ed Sullivan, Bob Dylan going electric at Newport and more. Along the way, Fender and Paul hone their inventions to perfection, vie for endorsements from the hottest players, and engage in that age-old driver of American innovation: cutthroat competition.” —KQED “Arts”“A rip-roaring journey through the early days of rock 'n' roll, told through the lives of the men whose innovative guitars helped usher it into existence . . . A lively, difficult-to-put-down portrait of an important era of American art that enhances readers' appreciation for the music it depicts.” —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)“A page-turning look at two central players [Leo Fender and Les Paul] in the sonic evolution of popular music. Port explores their trials and tribulations with an expert hand. This is a long-overdue cultural biography of music innovation. VERDICT: Thoroughly entertaining and deeply informative, this love letter to American creativity and rock and roll belongs in every library and should be read by all rock fans.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)“This smartly written and genuinely exciting book walks us through the bitter rivalry between Fender and Gibson and, since there is no way to tell this story without telling the story of rock ’n’ roll itself, also provides a jaunty if necessarily abbreviated history of rock. For music buffs, this one is special." —Booklist“[The] definitive history of the electric guitar and its two foundational personalities [Leo Fender and Les Paul]. Theirs is a fascinating and compelling story, especially in the hands of a writer as committed to lively narrative . . . Port can spin out evocative, succinct rock ’n’ roll writing with the best of them.” —The New York Journal of Books“Lushly descriptive and detailed…[the book] is richly illustrative in bringing these rock giants and the tools of their trade to life in a squall of beautiful feedback.” —Publishers Weekly“More than an essential, colorful, and gripping history of the electric guitar, The Birth of Loud introduces Ian Port, the best new non-fiction writer of the past twenty years.” —Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music“Ian Port’s found a way to tell the story of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll—for some of us, among the postwar American stories, those that help define who we feel ourselves to be—in beautifully-evoked dual portraits of the men who made the instruments. In doing so, he re-situates this story in its context so neatly it is as if it had never been told before at all.” —Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude"Ian Port has created a perfect blend of popular history, social commentary, and enough guitar details to satisfy the most rabid six-string geek. This is a fascinating book." —Jonathan Kellerman, bestselling novelist and author of With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars"Guitar players are partly born, partly made, and every one has a story. So, too, are guitars, including the electric guitars that changed the world more than half a century ago. This is their story, and the story of their makers, well-told." —Gary Marcus, author of Guitar Zero“Long before Les Paul and Leo Fender were brand names who revolutionized music and changed culture, they were two guys—obsessively tinkering to recreate sounds in their heads. In The Birth of Loud Ian S. Port vividly captures the compulsion and competition that drove these fascinating oddballs to rock the world.” —Alan Light, former editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin and author of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” “It’s hard for me to think of an invention more crucial to my interior life than the electric guitar, so in a way The Birth of Loud, Ian Port’s moving, riveting account of the instrument’s development and rise to ubiquity, feels like a sacred text—the story of how I came to be. It’s also a rich and fascinating tale of obsession, ingenuity, and American abandon. Thank heavens for Les Paul, thank heavens for Leo Fender, and thank heavens for Ian Port.” —Amanda Petrusich, author Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World's Rarest 78rpm Records“The Birth of Loud is more than history, journalism or criticism—it’s a killer rock ’n’ roll story, complete with money, egos, star power and, yes, electric guitars.” —Steve Knopper, author of MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson and Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age“The Birth of Loud channels trickles of intriguing new information into a confluence of big ideas about the history of the electric guitar. This book is essential reading for guitar history maniacs!” —Deke Dickerson, guitar historian, bandleader, and author of The Strat in the Attic

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