Business, Finance & Law Books

Book SynopsisIs Franchising Right For You?Why start a business from scratch when you can have a piece of the greatest expansion strategy ever conceived? Franchising is BIG and getting bigger in every sector—from restaurants and coffee chains to pet care and insurance. There is a franchise for everything and everyone.As a potential franchise owner, you can be in charge of your own success while being supported by a known brand. Franchising gives you that ability, along with the satisfaction that comes only with building something that can last a lifetime and beyond. And, if you are successful, you eventually stop sweating the details and have the freedom to enjoy your life in a way that most around you cannot.In The Franchisee Handbook, franchise expert Mark Siebert walks you through the process of vetting and buying a franchise, helps you ask the right questions of franchisors and yourself, and gives you the resources you need to decide if franchising is right for you. Siebert shows you how to do your homework before making what could be the greatest financial decision of your life. You will learn how to: Accurately assess the risks of buying a franchise Determine if a franchise is a good fit for your personal goals Research and vet potential franchise opportunities Create a startup plan that meets your business goals Prepare your franchise for success Why dream about owning a franchise when you can take concrete steps to make it happen today? With The Franchisee Handbook as your guide, you have the power in your hands to start your own franchise journey right now.Table of ContentsContentsForeword by Robert Cresanti, CFE, president & CEO of the International Franchise AssociationIntroductionChapter 1: The Franchise MythChapter 2: The Secret Ingredient: YouChapter 3: Understanding RiskChapter 4: Narrowing the FieldChapter 5: A Deeper DiveChapter 6: Meeting the FranchisorChapter 7: How Much Can I Make?Chapter 8: Making the LeapChapter 9: The Die is CastAppendix A: ResourcesAppendix B: Where to Obtain an FDDAppendix C: Sample Confidential Information Request Form (CIRF)GlossaryAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorIndex

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Book SynopsisThe cat’s out of the bag – the pet industry is booming. From grooming to pet sitting, spas to nutrition, the pet business is teaming with consistent clientele who want the best for their balls of joy. Animal lovers and aspiring entrepreneurs look no further, Start Your Own Pet Business is here to unlock your pet-tential. Detailing how to find your market, create your specific business plan, finance your venture, and obtain permits, Rich Mintzer and the experts at Entrepreneur guide you every step of the way, so you can dig your paws into the meat of the matter and maximize your profits. Using this comprehensive blueprint, you’ll discover how to: Locate and enhance your customer base Establish your business as a legal entity Navigate insurance, licensing, and expenditures Construct your individualized business plan Set up your base of operations for maximum productivity Every dog has its day, and today is yours! Join the pack of successful entrepreneurs with Start Your Own Pet Business as your go-to guide.Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter 1: Your Customers Are HumanChapter 2: Putting the Parts of Your Business in PlaceChapter 3: Basic ServicesChapter 4: Putting Your Best Paw ForwardChapter 5: Useful CredentialsChapter 6: Contracts, Insurance, and Legal MattersChapter 7: Financial ConsiderationsChapter 8: Raining Cats and DogsChapter 9: Other Common House PetsChapter 10: Barn-Animal CareChapter 11: Jungle FeverChapter 12: Expanding Your BusinessAppendixGlossaryAbout the AuthorIndex

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Book SynopsisStart a Business—We’ll Show You How. Entrepreneur magazine’s Startup series presents everything you need to know about starting and running more than 55 of today’s hottest businesses. As a successful import/export agent, you can net a healthy six-figure income by matching buyers and sellers from around the globe, right from your own home. This book is loaded with valuable insights and practical advice for tapping into highly lucrative global markets. You’ll learn every aspect of the startup process, including: Choosing the most profitable goods to buy and sell Setting up and maintaining a trade route Using the internet to simplify your transactions How the government can help you find products and customers Essential trade law information to keep your business in compliance How to choose a customs broker The latest government policies Proven methods for finding contacts in the United States and abroad Plus, you'll gain the tricks of the trade from successful importers/exporters and hundreds of valuable resources help you become a player in the lucrative world of international exchange.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Trading Around the Globe Chapter 2: Import/Export 101 Chapter 3: Keeping Tabs on Politics and the Global Economy Chapter 4: Tricks of the Trade for Startups Chapter 5: Daily Operations Chapter 6: Rituals and Red Tape Chapter 7: Market Research Chapter 8: Trade Dollars and Sense Chapter 9: Employees, Insurance, and Other Facts of Life Chapter 10: Tools of the Trade Chapter 11: Advertising, Marketing, and Distribution Chapter 12: Effectively Controlling Your Finances Chapter 13: Fair Winds or Foul Seas Appendix: Trade Resources Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisZero Dark Thirty meets 127 Hours - a riveting war journal from photographer Paul Conroy, who accompanied Marie Colvin (called by her peers &ldquothe greatest war correspondent of her generation”) during her ill-fated final assignment in Syria.Marie Colvinwas an internationally recognized American foreign war correspondent who was killed in a rocket attack in 2012 while reporting on the suffering of civilians inside Syria. She was renowned for her iconic flair and her fearlessness: wearing the pearls that were a gift from Yasser Arafat and her black eye-patch, she reported from places so dangerous no other hard-core correspondent would dare to go. Paul Conroy, who had forged a close bond with Colvin as they put their lives on the line time and time again to report from the world's conflict zones, was with her when she died. Under the Wire is Paul's gripping, visceral, and moving account of their friendship and the final year he spent alongside her. When Marie and Paul were smuggled into Syria by rebel forces, they found themselves trapped in one of the most hellish neighbourhoods on earth. Fierce barrages of heavy artillery fire rained down on the buildings surrounding them, killing and maiming hundreds of civilians. Marie was killed by a rocket which also blew hole in Paul's thigh big enough to put his hand through. Bleeding profusely, short of food and water, and in excruciating pain, Paul then endured five days of intense bombardment before being evacuated in a daring escape in which he rode a motorbike through a tunnel, crawled through enemy terrain, and finally scaled a 12-foot-high wall. Astonishingly vivid, heart-stoppingly dramatic and shot through with dark humour, in Under the Wire Paul Conroy shows what it means to a be a war reporter in the 21st century. His is a story of two brave people drawn together by a shared compulsion to bear witness.Trade ReviewBookviews "Anyone who has spent any time in a war zone, in combat, or just wondering what it is like will thoroughly enjoy this book. One might say they shared a foxhole or two together and the story he tells is gripping and a great tribute to his friend, a great journalist." Sunday Times "A fine and gripping account of how the brave, rackety band of war reporters and photographers bring the human consequences of war to our breakfast tables." The Times, UK "Paul Conroy's touching memoir...is a tribute to the metier of reporting conflict...It's a touching, if heartbreaking story." Humphrey Hawksley, BBC "A masterpiece, possibly the finest account of war of this generation." Books Examiner "This is an eye-opening account of what journalists go through to tell the world about the atrocities going on in war-torn countries like Syria." Another Opinion David Remnick, The New Yorker "Colvin devoted her life--and gave her life--for the proposition that the truth of history demands witnesses. Her death, like that of so many others, is yet another reminder, as if any more were needed, that experience in the field is no shelter from disaster." Tom Fletcher, British ambassador to Lebanon "Paul's experience is a chilling testimony to what families in Homs are experiencing. We need renewed focus on humanitarian support and to put an end to violence." Booklist "In this tense, hour-by-hour account, he takes readers back to Syria and the events that led to their being behind the battle lines... Colvin was a significant voice in international journalism and will be sorely missed, and Conroy's account is unforgettable." Vanity Fair "In Under the Wire, Conroy relives their odyssey and its harrowing final hours." Publisher's Weekly "Conroy's visceral account is provides readers with a greater appreciation for the work of war correspondents and insight into the sacrifices they make."

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Book SynopsisWith in-depth information on feeding, housing, behavior, and health care, this comprehensive guide also provides proven strategies for creating a profitable business plan and marketing your products. Whether you’re about to acquire your first ducks or are interested in experimenting with rare breeds, Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks will help you achieve your duck-raising goals.

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Book SynopsisThe Small-Scale Dairy includes everything you need to know in order to successfully produce nourishing, healthy, farm-fresh milk. Whether for home use, direct sale to the consumer, or sale to an artisanal cheesemaker, high-quality raw milk is a delicate, desirable product. Successful and sustainable production requires the producer to consider and tackle many details, ranging from animal care to microbiology to good hygienic practices–and, for those with commercial aspirations, business plans, market savvy, and knowledge of the regulations. Applicable to keepers of cows, goats, or sheep, The Small-Scale Dairy offers a holistic approach that explores the relationships between careful, conscientious management and the production of safe, healthy, and delicious milk. A historical overview offers readers a balanced perspective on the current regulatory environment in which raw milk lovers find themselves. Included are options for designing a well-functioning small dairy, choosing equipment, and understanding myriad processes—such as the use of low-temperature pasteurization where raw milk sales are prohibited. Whether you have a one-cow home dairy, a fifty-goat operation, or are simply a curious consumer, The Small-Scale Dairy is an accessible and invaluable resource for achieving your goals.Trade ReviewBooklist- "Many an urban or suburban dweller has dreamed about producing milk that comes not from a bottle but from one’s own animal, be it cow, goat, or sheep. Launching such an operation may daunt, but, as Caldwell details, it’s far from an impossible challenge given the proper resources, knowledge, and pluck. Even a few animals can produce enough milk daily to bottle one’s own, or process it into salable secondary products such as cheese or yogurt. Selecting, feeding, and sheltering dairy animals are complex processes to get actual milking underway. Local and national governments closely regulate production and distribution of dairy products with an eye to protecting the public from all manner of transmittable diseases. Learning about these regulations and regional variances is critical to commercial viability. With burgeoning interest in locavorism, this book may prove to have a much larger audience than one might anticipate.”Publishers Weekly- "Whether you’re considering opening a small commercial dairy, daydreaming about adding a couple of miniature milking goats to your urban homestead, or just curious about the hoopla over raw milk, Caldwell (Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking) has the lowdown. She can’t repress her own lifelong passion for dairy animals and milk—she was raised from birth on raw milk from a neighbor’s cow and kept her own 4H cow before her current ownership of a goat’s milk dairy farm—but her hardheaded, gritty descriptions of the realities of keeping dairy livestock will filter out all aspirants but those most suited to what Caldwell calls a '‘lifestyle business’ rather than a growth or investment business.' She offers comprehensive advice about business plans and licensing; choosing and caring for animals; building and managing a dairy; and maintaining impeccable dairy hygiene. She also profiles a variety of appealing small dairies; but perhaps most fascinating to prospective milkmaids, artisanal cheese eaters, and quotidian milk-drinkers are her chronicles of the checkered history of small dairies and extensive coverage of the biology and chemistry of that precious, astoundingly complex white liquid called milk.”“What a pleasure to read a book about milk production that is at once engaging, nonpolitical, and full of level-headed advice on how to start a small milking operation. I love the practical information on everything from pecking order to water troughs to animal nutrition to finding markets outside the commodity-processing system. I can see dog-eared copies of this book becoming staple references in the back pockets of their owners’ overalls.”--David E. Gumpert, author of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights"Caldwell doesn't try to convince you that dairy farming is easy (it's not), but she does give you the tools and information you need to make your hard work pay off. From choosing equipment, to caring for your cows, goats, or sheep, to making your own kefir or yogurt, Caldwell covers it all in clear, layperson's terms. An excellent companion for any new or wannabe small-scale dairy farmer."--Abigail Gehring, author of The Homesteading Handbook and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Living“Raw milk is today’s fastest growing agricultural market, a niche product poised to become mainstream. In The Small-Scale Dairy, Gianaclis Caldwell provides those wishing to meet the demand for unprocessed milk everything they need to produce safe, healthy, raw dairy products. From cow and goat care to milk sanitation and testing, Caldwell answers all your questions and provides reliable advice based on years of experience. For both producers and consumers, The Small-Scale Dairy is a must read and a valuable contribution to a growing movement.”--Sally Fallon Morell, president, The Weston A. Price Foundation, and founder, A Campaign for Real Milk“If you’re considering taking your passion for dairying full time, this is absolutely the book for you. Gianaclis Caldwell’s The Small-Scale Dairy expertly and comprehensively guides you through the entire process of making milk products for home and market. From the science of microbiology and the function of udders, to what’s needed to create a milking parlor and even sample floor plans for dairies of all sizes and scales, everything you need to run a dairy is here.”--Ashley English, author of Home Dairy with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Make Cheese, Yogurt, Butter & More, and Handmade Gatherings: Recipes and Crafts for Seasonal Celebrations and Potluck Parties

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Book SynopsisThere has never been a better time to be making and selling great cheese. People worldwide are consuming more high-quality, handmade cheese than ever before. The number of artisan cheesemakers has doubled in recent years, and many of the industry’s newcomers are “farmstead” producers–those who work only with the milk of their own animals. Today, more than ever before, the people who choose to become farmer-cheesemakers need access to the knowledge of established cheese artisans who can help them build their dream. Few career choices lead to such extremes of labor, emotion, and monetary challenge. In The Small-Scale Cheese Business (originally published in 2010 as The Farmstead Creamery Advisor), respected cheesemaker, instructor, and speaker Gianaclis Caldwell walks would-be producers through the many, and often confusing, steps and decisions they will face when considering a career in this burgeoning cottage industry. This book fills the gap that exists between the pasture and cheese plate. It goes far beyond issues of caring for livestock and basic cheesemaking, explaining business issues such as: * Analyzing your suitability for the career; * Designing and building the cheese facility; * Sizing up the market; * Negotiating day-to-day obstacles; * Ensuring maximum safety and efficiency. Drawing from her own and other cheesemakers’ experiences, Caldwell brings to life the story of creating a successful cheesemaking business in a practical, organized manner. Absolutely essential for anyone interested in becoming a licensed artisan cheesemaker, The Small-Scale Cheese Business will also appeal to the many small and hobby-farm owners who already have milking animals and who wish to improve their home dairy practices and facilities.Trade Review"Here's a nuts-and-bolts, no-nonsense, and essential guide for anyone curious about starting a farmstead dairy. Who better to explain the intricacies and pitfalls of the cheesemaking business than a true practitioner—a woman with a lifetime of experience caring for cows and goats."--Brad Kessler, author of Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese"Where there's a will, there's a 'whey.' For both the dreamer and those who've already set their sights on the beauty of being a cheesemaker, here is all the information to get started in business and survive. Caldwell's first-hand knowledge takes the reader from their fledgling idea to selling their finished product, and is presented in an easy-to-understand format. Watch out—you may start a venture that just might succeed! This is a brilliant how-to guide, and just what us stewards and entrepreneurs need during a time when our farmland must be saved."--Ricki Carroll, Owner of cheesemaking.com"The Small-Scale Cheese Business is an authoritative, yet friendly and approachable, guide to the process of establishing a farmstead creamery. Simply a must-have for anyone who wants to realize their dream of making and selling cheese."--Tami Parr, Author of Artisan Cheese of the Pacific Northwest"There have been many books written, and classes given on the subject of cheesemaking, but primarily from the process-oriented view. Little has been written about how to get started, or the answer to, "What are we up against here?" The Small-Scale Cheese Business fills in those blanks. One of the best pieces of advice in this book is for cheesemakers to build a base foundation beginning with proper business management. No matter how good the cheese, or how much you love your animals; everything depends upon a good business plan to eventually turn a profit. Especially useful, in addition, is Caldwell's chapter on developing an aging space in light of increasing energy costs. This has been a not-so-well thought out part of many cheesemaking projects, and could be some of the most important information in this book. To be sure, Gianaclis Caldwell asks the big questions that need to be considered before beginning to develop such a project; it's a true reality check every aspiring cheesemaker needs. In fact, this book should be in all their libraries."--Jim Wallace, cheesemaking.com"The Small-Scale Cheese Business is thorough, eloquent, and generous—a must-have book for anyone considering establishing a creamery. Each point is covered in detail: from the fundamental reasons for going into the business to begin with, to the design of the make room, all the way to the often-neglected exit strategy. This is a good business book for any-sized dairy."--Max McCalman, author of Mastering Cheese: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maitre Fromager"This delightful book is a road map to success for aspiring farmstead cheesemakers. It will help them plan, implement, and develop their new businesses. Passionate stories of experience are revealed, giving great insight into becoming a sustainable, conscientious, and entrepreneurial cheesemaker—including common pitfalls and how best to avoid them. It's about time someone writes such a comprehensive guide! I will recommend this book to every aspiring cheesemaker I know. We would have saved numerous hours and dollars with such an invaluable resource."--David Gremmels, President of The American Cheese Society; Co-owner of Rogue Creamery

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Book SynopsisLean Logic is David Fleming’s masterpiece, the product of more than thirty years’ work and a testament to the creative brilliance of one of Britain’s most important intellectuals. A dictionary unlike any other, it leads readers through Fleming’s stimulating exploration of fields as diverse as culture, history, science, art, logic, ethics, myth, economics, and anthropology, being made up of four hundred and four engaging essay-entries covering topics such as Boredom, Community, Debt, Growth, Harmless Lunatics, Land, Lean Thinking, Nanotechnology, Play, Religion, Spirit, Trust, and Utopia. The threads running through every entry are Fleming’s deft and original analysis of how our present market-based economy is destroying the very foundations—ecological, economic, and cultural— on which it depends, and his core focus: a compelling, grounded vision for a cohesive society that might weather the consequences. A society that provides a satisfying, culturally-rich context for lives well lived, in an economy not reliant on the impossible promise of eternal economic growth. A society worth living in. Worth fighting for. Worth contributing to. The beauty of the dictionary format is that it allows Fleming to draw connections without detracting from his in-depth exploration of each topic. Each entry carries intriguing links to other entries, inviting the enchanted reader to break free of the imposed order of a conventional book, starting where she will and following the links in the order of her choosing. In combination with Fleming’s refreshing writing style and good-natured humor, it also creates a book perfectly suited to dipping in and out. The decades Fleming spent honing his life's work are evident in the lightness and mastery with which Lean Logic draws on an incredible wealth of cultural and historical learning—from Whitman to Whitefield, Dickens to Daly, Kropotkin to Kafka, Keats to Kuhn, Oakeshott to Ostrom, Jung to Jensen, Machiavelli to Mumford, Mauss to Mandelbrot, Leopold to Lakatos, Polanyi to Putnam, Nietzsche to Næss, Keynes to Kumar, Scruton to Shiva, Thoreau to Toynbee, Rabelais to Rogers, Shakespeare to Schumacher, Locke to Lovelock, Homer to Homer-Dixon—in demonstrating that many of the principles it commends have a track-record of success long pre-dating our current society. Fleming acknowledges, with honesty, the challenges ahead, but rather than inducing despair, Lean Logic is rare in its ability to inspire optimism in the creativity and intelligence of humans to nurse our ecology back to health; to rediscover the importance of place and play, of reciprocity and resilience, and of community and culture. ------ Recognizing that Lean Logic’s sheer size and unusual structure could be daunting, Fleming’s long-time collaborator Shaun Chamberlin has also selected and edited one of the potential pathways through the dictionary to create a second, stand-alone volume, Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy. The content, rare insights, and uniquely enjoyable writing style remain Fleming’s, but presented at a more accessible paperback-length and in conventional read-it-front-to-back format.Trade ReviewChoice- "The late author, who passed away suddenly in 2010, was a prominent UK Green Party theorist and advocate. This book—thoughtfully edited by his protégé Chamberlin—represents the distillation of a life's work. Fleming is best known for introducing the economic concept of "Tradable Energy Quotas" (TEQs), which aims to plot the means for a vast reduction of carbon emissions and energy consumption. Even though the book is laid out in a dictionary format, it is best viewed as a series of interconnected essays. The overall goal is to detail the self-destructiveness of the market economy's dependence on sustained growth and at the same time paint a picture of a much less dynamic economy of the future. The notion of "lean logic," i.e., thinking small and local, exemplifies the public policies that he predicted will emerge pursuant to the implosion of the market economy. Fleming claims an optimistic vision, yet the stark overhaul of existing social ties he foresees has a strong chiliastic bent. His idea of the market economy is the polar opposite of the recent work of Deirdre McCloskey, Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World (CH, Oct'16, 54-0926). Nonetheless, this is a welcome work with a distinctive and well-articulated point of view. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.”“A monumental achievement, David Fleming’s Lean Logic is an encyclopedic guide to the crisis of industrial civilization. I challenge anyone to read as much as a page of it without finding at least one insight worth serious reflection. Individuals, families, and communities will find it invaluable as a guide to navigating the troubled waters of the future.”--John Michael Greer, author of The Long Descent and After Progress“The only scientific question left to us: how can we ensure a future for humanity? That includes: how do we free ourselves from capitalism, the form of social organisation that is destroying us? And how do we create something else? This book is a thoughtful and imaginative contribution to the debate about humanity’s future.”--John Holloway, sociologist; author of Change the World Without Taking Power and Crack Capitalism“David Fleming’s eye was sharp, and his words had a way of getting right to the heart of the matter. This book is remarkable and scintillating; the product of a truly original mind.”--Paul Kingsnorth, cofounder, The Dark Mountain Project; author of The Wake“In my words it's half encyclopaedia, half commonplace book, half a secular bible, half survival guide, half . . . yes, that's a lot of halves, but I hope you get the picture. I have never encountered a book that is so hard to characterise yet so hard, despite its weight, to put down. Lean Logic is neither a policy manifesto nor a dry technical guide. It's an incredibly nourishing cultural and scientific treasure trove.”--John Thackara, founder and director, Doors of Perception; author of How to Thrive in the Next Economy“David Fleming was a walking encyclopaedia of ecological knowledge and wisdom. His brilliance, good humour, and deep insight were legendary and unforgettable. His writing, too, was of the highest calibre—witty, entertaining, profound, informative, and transformative. These books of his give us the opportunity to savour the great treasure that was his mind. To read them is to gain a superb education in ecology from one of the greatest masters in the field.”--Dr. Stephan Harding, resident ecologist, Schumacher College; author of Animate Earth"A splendid smorgasbord, Lean Logic provides rare insight into some of the key issues of our time! Fleming's underlying vision of a future founded in a reclaimed richness of community, culture, and conversation is both heartening and timely."--Helena Norberg-Hodge, author of Ancient Futures; director of The Economics of Happiness“David Fleming predicts environmental catastrophe but also proposes a solution that stems from the real motives of people and not from some comprehensive political agenda. He writes lucidly and eloquently of the moral and spiritual qualities on which we might draw in our 'descent' to a Lean Economy. His highly poetic description of these qualities is neither gloomy nor self-deceived but tranquil and inspiring. All environmental activists should read him and learn to think in his cultivated and nuanced way.”--Roger Scruton, writer and philosopher; author of over thirty books, including Green Philosophy“This is an extraordinary book, uncategorisable, driven by a great rolling intellectual curiosity. Fleming fathomed the depth of the mess in which we find ourselves and left us clues as to how we might find our way through that mess.”--Dougald Hine, cofounder, The Dark Mountain Project“David Fleming’s lifework is nothing less than an encyclopedia of the timeless art of living, encompassing the art of building enlivening communities, the art of allowing the economy to serve life and creativity, and the art of unmasking invisible brainwashing. Fleming has written a guide to becoming an authentic individual and to recognizing toxic relationships on every level of material and personal exchange. This is a serious guide to health on every level of relationships and at the same time a deeply humorous read. Whether the breakdown of technical civilisation will come (as Fleming is convinced) or humanity will just carry on muddling through as always, this encyclopedia of manners, grace, and style will make the reader’s life more wonderful and thus inevitably help to build a saner society.”--Andreas Weber, PhD, author of The Biology of Wonder“David Fleming was the soul of provocative, exciting, and creative thought, and it was always a thought-provoking and pleasure-promoting experience to meet him. Amongst many virtues, his approach to climate change and ecology embraced the commons. Seeing this as a solution, with collective decision-making leading to a better future, was at the heart of his work. I am sure that Elinor Ostrom, who won a Nobel Prize for her work on the commons, would have appreciated David's comment that putting government in charge of commons was like placing the fox in control of the chicken coop. It is so sad that David is no longer with us, but his words are; these books are full of insight and enjoyment. I hope his laughter and enlightenment spread far and wide through new readers as well as those of us familiar with his thoughts already.”--Derek Wall, author of Economics After Capitalism and the forthcoming Elinor Ostrom’s Rules for Radicals“For me originality, passion, commitment, and sincerity are the words which describe David Fleming. All these qualities are present in his writing. His lifelong championing of Tradable Energy Quotas, one of the very few instruments which promote sustainable consumption in a progressive rather than regressive way thereby combining environmental gain with a simultaneous transfer of resources from richer to poorer people, propels him to an honoured place in the pantheon of green campaigners.”--Tim Yeo, former UK Minister for the Environment and Chair of the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee“Our current public discourse on such problems as resource depletion, climate change, and the economy is often hopelessly muddled; this book brings light and transparency. David Fleming didn’t tell us what to think but rather how to avoid cognitive fallacies that masquerade as reason. Lean Logic is an instant classic that was many years in the making, and it should be essential reading for environmentalists, economists, policy makers, and anyone who wants greater clarity in understanding the most important issues of our time.”--Richard Heinberg, senior fellow, Post Carbon Institute“David Fleming gives a remarkable overview of our present situation and of possible future scenarios. His writing is clear, witty, insightful, and wise. Lean Logic is a delight to dip into, and every time I do so I feel refreshed. It is a work of genius.”--Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, author of The Science Delusion

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Book SynopsisIt’s all but certain that the next fifty years will bring enormous, not to say cataclysmic, disruptions to our present way of life. World oil reserves will be exhausted within that time frame, as will the lithium that powers today’s most sophisticated batteries, suggesting that transportation is equally imperiled. And there’s another, even more dire limitation that is looming: at current rates of erosion, the world’s topsoil will be gone in sixty years. Fresh water sources are in jeopardy, too. In short, the large-scale agricultural and food delivery system as we know it has at most a few decades before it exhausts itself and the planet with it. Farming for the Long Haul is about building a viable small farm economy that can withstand the economic, political, and climatic shock waves that the twenty-first century portends. It draws on the innovative work of contemporary farmers, but more than that, it shares the experiences of farming societies around the world that have maintained resilient agricultural systems over centuries of often-turbulent change. Indigenous agriculturalists, peasants, and traditional farmers have all created broad strategies for survival through good times and bad, and many of them prospered. They also developed particular techniques for managing soil, water, and other resources sustainably. Some of these techniques have been taken up by organic agriculture and permaculture, but many more of them are virtually unknown, even among alternative farmers. This book lays out some of these strategies and presents techniques and tools that might prove most useful to farmers today and in the uncertain future.Trade ReviewForeword Reviews— “A valuable historical and societal perspective on farming in the United States and internationally. Foley’s observations are insightful and at times startling….In some respects, this book paints a bleak picture of farming’s future. Climate change and the degradation of soil have hampered food productivity, the costs of farming are rising, and small farmers are being 'forced to occupy marginal lands.’ Foley believes nothing less than 'a profound reversal of course' will be necessary for farming to survive long- term. Still, the book is grounded in cautious optimism—based primarily on local farmers helping themselves. Food hubs controlled by farmers, urban farming, and grassroots organizations run by farmers are hopeful evidence. Foley concludes his excellent book with the belief that traditional agriculture 'is here to stay,' and that 'it will sustain humanity, provided we take its many lessons to heart.' One can only hope the prediction is accurate."“Michael Foley’s passion and his lifetime of research and lived experience comes through in this primer of agricultural history and personal philosophy that is sure to prompt an important dialogue about the future of agriculture and the political economy. Agriculture is a shared expression of who we are, and I believe we need more people thinking deeply, questioning, and sharing their insights. This book provides many tools and references to ask informed questions and encourage a richer discussion about progress.”—Dorn Cox, farmer; founding member of Farm Hack“Globally, humanity urgently needs to transform the way we make our livelihoods if we’re to thrive into the future. In Farming for the Long Haul, Michael Foley shows that food and farming are at the heart of this, and he gives us some fine tools for rethinking them. There’s a heft to his book that speaks of hard work—both in the study and on the land—but there’s also a lightness to the writing that makes it a pleasure to read. The world badly needs more farmer-scholars like Foley.”—Chris Smaje, Small Farm Future, Somerset, UK“This book is a modern peasant’s manifesto! Small farmers today have a stark choice, Michael Foley tells us. We can either buy into the current agricultural and food system and fail utterly, or we can try to change the system entirely. This book outlines the history of agriculture, shows where we’ve gone wrong, and recounts the practices and values of the most resilient long-haul farmers throughout the world. Then Foley sets up a visionary solution aimed at helping small farmers both survive the dwindling stages of our current system and position themselves for the dramatic changes the future holds. Farming for the Long Haul extends, expands, and updates Wendell Berry’s The Unsettling of America, then puts forth a vision of a land of resilient small farms ready to survive the present and thrive into the future.”—Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener

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Book SynopsisThe art avengers...took on toxic debt culture – and won the Guardian These artists want to blow up the whole financial system The New York Times Meet the Bonnie and Clyde of bad debt! When art meets finance, 'The Big Bang' takes on a whole new meaning. This is brilliant performative protest. Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics Bank Job is a white-knuckle ride into the dark heart of the global financial system. Artist and filmmaker duo Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn discover that behind the opaque language of loans and the defunct diagrams of money and debt is a system flawed by design and ripe for hacking. They assemble a team and bring a community together by printing their own money in a disused bank in East London, in order to buy up and abolish local debt. Part daring tale, part personal memoir and part economic education, this book is perfect for fans of Grace Blakely and David Graeber. Bank Job shows how the financial system can be changed to meet the needs of the many, not just the few one bank job at a time.Trade Review‘When art meets finance, “The Big Bang” takes on a whole new meaning. This is brilliant performative protest.’—Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics‘Banks rob us blind every day, and so Powell and Edelstyn started one that did exactly the opposite. It became a truly great work of art, and this book is a remarkable record of what we should learn from their achievement about the urgent need for debt abolition and peoples’ financing.’—Andrew Ross, author of Creditocracy: And the Case for Debt Refusal‘Hilary and Dan are the Bonnie and Clyde of renegade economics, bringing a deeply imaginative, beautiful, rebel swagger to staid debate about debt. I love absolutely everything about Bank Job: its persistence, its guts, its compassion, its attention to detail and beauty. My visit to the Bank will stay with me always, and the ripples from this brave and brilliant project have only just begun.’—Rob Hopkins, founder, Transition movement; author of From What Is to What If ‘In the adventure Dan and Hilary take us on, we see the antiquated architecture of the financial system for what it is and are motivated to join in with them to pull it down so that a new system can be built to meet the great challenges of the 21st century – earth-systems breakdown and obscene levels of inequality. This is a timely book, written with passion and verve, that shows how political will, creativity and the arts were deployed to transform the lives of debtors. Dan and Hilary’s lived experience will inspire and strengthen the global movement for economic and ecological justice.’—Ann Pettifor, author of The Case for The Green New Deal‘I can’t think of any more exciting exposé of the role of debt in blighting people’s lives than this book. As the spectre of debt looms over us in all its forms, from personal to sovereign debt, this book couldn’t be more timely. As establishment politicians seek to load the economic burden of the pandemic onto people’s shoulders across the globe, this exhilarating tale inspires the resistance we desperately need.’—John McDonnell, MP and former Shadow Chancellor‘We’re all going around feeling something is wrong but it often ends up veering off in reactionary directions. I think this is wonderful because it marshals that sense of unease and builds it into a community and I love the way you are using it to create ties with each other and cancel debt and expose the sheer hypocrisy of the morality of debt.’—David Graeber, anthropologist and author of Bullshit Jobs and Debt: The First 5,000 Years‘Art pirates, debt destroyers and dreamers for a new economy unite! Hilary and Dan show us how the power of creativity can be a catalyst for grassroots activism when we need it the most. This book will be treasured by all those who are convinced that the radical imagination can triumph against capitalism.’—Max Haiven, Canada Research Chair in Culture, Media and Social Justice; author of Revenge Capitalism and Art After Money, Money After Art‘The UK economy is weighed down by billions of pounds worth of unpayable debt – much of it owed by low-income households struggling to get by. With the COVID-19 pandemic slashing people’s incomes – after a decade of wage stagnation – many households are now on the brink of default, even as the government pumps unprecedented sums of money into our financial system. Bank Job is a vivid portrait of the UK’s debt crisis, which also answers the question as to what we should do with all this debt: blow it up!’—Grace Blakeley, author of Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialisation‘One of the greatest obstacles to change is our inability to believe in or visualise the world being different. That’s where the creative activists and film makers Hilary Powell and Daniel Edelstyn succeed. Their work rips the veil from a banking and financial system which has normalised economic deception and destructive and irresponsible gambling on a vast scale. More than a simple exposé of the ludicrous rewards going to handful of speculators for risking other people’s money, Bank Job shows how a community can come together to reimagine the economy to meets their own needs.’—Andrew Simms, author, co-director of New Weather Institute, coordinator of Rapid Transition Alliance‘They didn’t just blow the bl**dy doors off: the whole van went up, and with it, the full sorry story of debt and its stranglehold on ordinary lives across the world. While countries and corporations wallow in the red, it’s a black day indeed for millions when the balance of payments tips against them. Now, Powell and Edelstyn, the Thelma and Louise of finance hacking, deliver a rock n’ roll history of where it all went wrong, and how it can start to go right. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for the cunning collaborative creativity of their project, but it’s not over yet. Much more action is needed, and Bank Job gives you all the tools to finish what they started. Right here’s where we start paying . . . in sweat! Keep the engine running, we’re going in. . . .’—Gareth Evans, producer, Patience after Sebald

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Book SynopsisProject success rates haven't changed in 20 years...Learn why, and what you can do to improve them in your organization!Using examples and lessons learned from the failures and achievements of Antarctic explorers Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and Mount Everest expedition leader John Hunt and others, this captivating guide provides powerful insights into the causes of project and program failure and how to manage them to significantly improve project success rates. This title has been recognized by the global PM community for its contribution and ingenuity. It has received the following industry honors: -Nomination for the prestigious PMI David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award; WInner of the 2016 RiskNZ National Awards of Excellence Exemplar Award (RiskNZ is the peak sector and professional body in New Zealand bringing together those people and organisations managing risk); Chosen as The Book of the Month in PMI's inaugural Projectmanagement.com Book Club.Trade Review"I loved how the exciting stories from the high risk mountain top explorations demonstrated the CORA triangle (capabilities, outcomes, and risk appetite). Grant Avery then applied modern tools to business high-risk projects and led us down a path for improving project success. Project managers, organizational leaders, board members, and team players can all benefit from the valuable lessons to improve project success by understanding decisions that influence how projects are selected and implemented. Leadership skills and behaviors can positively or negatively influence outcomes in high-risk environments. There are principles shared from a wide variety of recognized organizations and highly regarded experts." -Jan Watson, MBA, PMP (from PM World Journal); "Avery has written a fascinating and unique book about the challenges of project management in high-risk environments. The lessons learned from various high-risk adventures from the past should give project managers new insights into the challenges they face in their current project environments." -Prof. Michael Elmes, Ph.D., Professor of Organization Studies, Foisie School of Business, WPI, Worcestor, MA, USA; "...a genuinely insightful book that confronts the real reasons behind the constant unacceptable failure rate of so many large projects. I strongly commend it." -Professor Brad Jackson, Head of School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington; "... a book filled with inspiring and useful lessons." -Margot Morrell, Author of New York Times best seller Shackleton's Way; "Wonderful, instructive, and exciting reading... from mountain top to ice field to business boardroom, Avery carefully analyzes the wide landscape of risk and opportunity, hubris, aspirations, and failure."-Dr. Gerald J. S. Wilde, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Queen's UniversityTable of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: The constancy of FailureChapter 2: A Risk-Rich EnvironmentChapter 3: Risk Homeostasis TheoryChapter 4: Risk AppetiteChapter 5: The CORA TriangleChapter 6: Managing Risk AppetiteChapter 7: DenialChapter 8: The Death ZoneChapter 9: The Level 3 OrganizationChapter 10: The Heroic ManagerChapter 11: Advanced BasicsChapter 12: The Circle of PM EthosChapter 13: Strong Humble ServantsChapter 14: Epilogue

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Book SynopsisAddresses the challenges that organisations face surrounding the sponsorship of projects and change initiatives. This long overdue book provides techniques, remedies, and approaches to improve the way these initiatives are sponsored, led, and executed to ensure context, alignment, and a focus on value creation.

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Book SynopsisA lively look at an underexplored niche in the history of American ads: pop-ups. Drawing from Ellen G. K. Rubin’s extensive collection of more than 7,000 pop-up books and related ephemera, Animated Advertising demonstrates how animated and dimensional paper devices have been used throughout US history to promote products, art, entertainment, and ideas. The book displays the creativity of advertisers in food, fashion, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, travel, music, politics, and more. Rubin’s diverse examples of historical paper pop-ups show how they leaped from the pack of standard marketing materials to catch the eye and inform patrons and clientele about the items being sold. Illustrated with two hundred and fifty color images, and published to coincide with a Winter 2023 exhibition at the Grolier Club’s New York headquarters, Animated Advertising is a lively look at an underexplored niche in the history of American marketing, graphic design, and paper engineering.Table of ContentsA Passion for Pop-ups: 40 Years of WOW!IntroductionCATALOG OF THE EXHIBITIONPharmaceuticals and Health CareFood Kellogg’s Brand Cereals Other Cereals Chocolate Other FoodIndustrial Design and InnovationPrinting and PublishingAutomotivePromoting Business Business CardsAlcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Absolut Vodka TobaccoFashion and BeautyClothingBeauty and AccessoriesHolidaysTravelArts, Entertainment, and PoliticsCulture Entertainment Music Sports PoliticsGlossary of Pop-up and Movable Paper Terms

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors introduce Decision Equity as a breakthrough, overarching metric that can help free marketing managers from their existing mental models, and provide avenues to efficiently convert the vast amounts of data at their disposal into powerful information to make informed long-term and short-term decisions about products, customers, markets, and overall business health. There are four key objectives that we wish to achieve through this book.First, they to introduce the underpinnings of a new flow-based measurement and management process that can promote truly unshackled thinking both within the marketing function as well as at its interface with other functional areas. Second, they demonstrate how firms can win by learning to conceptualize and discover the linkages between marketing and related non-marketing actions and their ultimate marketplace and financial consequences. Third, they provide guidance for how marketing managers and CMOs can significantly improve the outcomes of their decisions by following a verification-based linkage discovery process to connect marketing actions to profits. And fourth, they provide evidence for the efficacy of verification-based thinking centered on the principles of Decision Equity from successful marketing interventions and implementations in well-known organizations.

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Book SynopsisEvery high-tech sales team today has technical pros on board to "explain how things work," and this success-tested training resource is written just for them. This newly revised and expanded third edition of an Artech House bestseller offers invaluable insights and tips for every stage of the selling process. This third edition features a wealth of new material, including new chapters on business-driven discovery, white boarding, trusted advisors, and calculating ROI. This invaluable book equips new sales engineers with powerful sales and presentation techniques that capitalize on their technical background - all spelled out step-by-step by a pair of technical sales experts with decades of eye-popping, industry-giant success under their belt.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Why Study Sales Consulting; An Overview of the Sales Process; Lead Qualification; The RFP Process; Needs Analysis and Discovery; Business Discovery; Successful Customer Engagement; The Perfect Pitch; The Dash to Demo; Snap Demonstrations; Remote Demonstrations and Webcasts; White Boarding; Evaluation Strategies; Sanity After the Sale; Getting Started; Objection Handling; Answering Questions; The Executive Connection; The Trusted Advisor; Doing the Math; Calculating ROI; The "U" in Technical Sales; Selling with Partners; Competitive Tactics; Using CRM/SFA System; Crossing Over to the Dark Side; Organizational Structure; Building the Infrastructure; Hiring Winners; Time Management for SE's; Managing by the Metrics; Final Words

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Book SynopsisWe've been told for years that the capitalist free market is a self-correcting perpetual growth machine in which sellers always find buyers, precluding any major crisis in the system. Then the credit crunch of August 2007 turned into the great crash of September–October 2008, leading one apologist for the system, Willem Buiter, to write of "the end of capitalism as we knew it." As the crisis unfolded, the world witnessed the way in which the runaway speculation of the "shadow" banking system wreaked havoc on world markets, leaving real human devastation in its wake. Faced with the financial crisis, some economic commentators began to talk of "zombie banks"–financial institutions that were in an "undead state" and incapable of fulfilling any positive function but a threat to everything else. What they do not realize is that twenty-first century capitalism as a whole is a zombie system, seemingly dead when it comes to achieving human goals.Trade Review"This book needs to be read far and wide. It is a clear, incisive warning of the massive dangers posed by a clear, incisive warning of the massive danges posed by a "runaway system" and the threat it poses for the future of humanity." –Gram Turner, author of The Credit Crunch "Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the present–day crisis and its place in the history of capitalism." – Alex Callinicos, author of Bonfire of Illusions "Zombie Capitalism is both timely and hugely valuable. . . . This book is an essential read."—Socialist Review"This book needs to be read far and wide. It is a clear, incisive warning of the massive dangers posed by a clear, incisive warning of the massive danges posed by a "runaway system" and the threat it poses for the future of humanity." –Gram Turner, author of The Credit Crunch "Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the present–day crisis and its place in the history of capitalism." – Alex Callinicos, author of Bonfire of Illusions "Zombie Capitalism is both timely and hugely valuable. . . . This book is an essential read."—Socialist Review

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Book SynopsisMonsters of the Market investigates the rise of capitalism through the prism of the body-panics it arouses. Drawing on folklore, literature and popular culture, the book links tales of monstrosity from early-modern England, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, to a spate of recent vampire and zombie fables from sub-Saharan Africa and it connects these to Marx's persistent use of monster-metaphors in his descriptions of capitalism.Trade Review“This outstanding new work from David McNally is indispensable for serious monster fans and radicals both – and almost giddyingly so for those of us who are both.” —China Miéville, author of Embassytown "McNally delivers a tour de force analysis of global capital from the upper registers of derivatives trading down to popular fables of African monsters … Monsters of the Market is one of the best books I’ve read in years and it will definitely stimulate thinking about the nature of globalization, the labor theory of value and the relationship between commodities and speculative objects, collective fantasy, and other nebulous problems confronting historical materialism in the future." —Mark Worrell, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books "The most vicious of monsters are those with human faces. Monsters of the Market: Zombies, Vampires, and Global Capitalism explores Marx's consistent use of folklore and monster as metaphor in his criticism of capitalism. From Frankenstein and the dissection of the market, vampires that feed off the misery of others, among other ideas ... Monsters of the Market is an intriguing way of explorig economics, very much recommended reading." —Midwest Book Review "David McNally ... has written an excellent book. [He] approaches the topic from a more comprehensive framework. Unlike other works of "monsterology," he links the production of meaning with the economic mode of production while also researching its manifestations across the world ... Monsters of the Market is well worth reading: it demonstrates that the marginalized—those who inevitably become the misshapen—have a long history across different cultures of articulating narratives of resistance to the various modes of night thrown up by a pitiless global system." —Thomas Ponniah, rabble.ca“This outstanding new work from David McNally is indispensable for serious monster fans and radicals both – and almost giddyingly so for those of us who are both.” —China Miéville, author of Embassytown "McNally delivers a tour de force analysis of global capital from the upper registers of derivatives trading down to popular fables of African monsters … Monsters of the Market is one of the best books I’ve read in years and it will definitely stimulate thinking about the nature of globalization, the labor theory of value and the relationship between commodities and speculative objects, collective fantasy, and other nebulous problems confronting historical materialism in the future." —Mark Worrell, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books "The most vicious of monsters are those with human faces. Monsters of the Market: Zombies, Vampires, and Global Capitalism explores Marx's consistent use of folklore and monster as metaphor in his criticism of capitalism. From Frankenstein and the dissection of the market, vampires that feed off the misery of others, among other ideas ... Monsters of the Market is an intriguing way of explorig economics, very much recommended reading." —Midwest Book Review "David McNally ... has written an excellent book. [He] approaches the topic from a more comprehensive framework. Unlike other works of "monsterology," he links the production of meaning with the economic mode of production while also researching its manifestations across the world ... Monsters of the Market is well worth reading: it demonstrates that the marginalized—those who inevitably become the misshapen—have a long history across different cultures of articulating narratives of resistance to the various modes of night thrown up by a pitiless global system." —Thomas Ponniah, rabble.caTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Dissecting the Labouring Body: Frankenstein, Political Anatomy and the Rise of Capitalism ‘Save my body from the surgeons’ The culture of dissection: anatomy, colonisation and social order Political anatomy, wage-labour and destruction of the English commons Anatomy and the corpse-economy Monsters of rebellion Jacobins, Irishmen and Luddites: rebel-monsters in the age of Frankenstein The rights of monsters: horror and the split society 2. Marx’s Monsters: Vampire-Capital and the Nightmare-World of Late Capitalism Dialectics and the doubled life of the commodity The spectre of value and the fetishism of commodities ‘As if by love possessed’: vampire capital and the labouring body Zombie-labour and the ‘monstrous outrages’ of capital Money: capitalism’s second nature ‘Self-birthing’ capital and the alchemy of money Wild money: the occult economies of late-capitalist globalisation Enron: case-study in the occult economy of late capitalism ‘Capital comes into the world dripping in blood from every pore’ 3. African Vampires in the Age of Globalisation Kinship and accumulation: from the old witchcraft to the new Zombies, vampires, and spectres of capital: the new occult economies of globalising capitalism African fetishes and the fetishism of commodities The living dead: zombie-labourers in the age of globalisation Vampire-capitalism in Sub-Saharan Africa Bewitched accumulation, famished roads, and the endless toilers of the Earth Conclusion: Ugly Beauty: Monstrous Dreams of Utopia References Index

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Book SynopsisThe Arab Spring uprisings have been described as a simple expression of mass protest against authoritarian regimes. Adam Hanieh claims that this is more than a cry for democracy. He shows how an analysis of capitalist development in the Middle East is key to understanding these revolutions. This is not quite the first analyses of the Arab Spring; however, it goes in-depth to examine the political economy of the Middle East. Hanieh's research and findings as presented in Lineages of Revolt will be essential to attaining peace in the Middle East.Trade Review“More than three years after the beginning of the uprisings in the Arab world, one is scarcely able to find a commentator with anything good to say about them—least of all one on the Left … Adam Hanieh’s Lineages of Revolt is a bracing corrective to this sort of thinking and deserves its place on the bookshelves and reading lists of students of the region and activists alike. Both meatily empirical and sharply theoretical, Hanieh’s book dispatches several of the clichés that inform the study of the political economy of the Arab world … Lineages of Revolt is, in short, a masterful achievement.” —Jaime Allinson, WorkingUSA Praise for Capitalism and Class in the Gulf Arab States “This important, original work should be read by anyone with an interest in the political economy of the Middle East.” —Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). "Hanieh's groundbreaking book argues that we should not view the Gulf Arab states as anomalies in the worldwide economy.'" —Arab Studies Journal "Insightful, timely, and welcome...the analytical framework and substantial data he puts forward in the book will help readers map out the current and future processes of regional integration, class formations, and contradictions, and to situate these processes within the wider global political economy." —International Socialist Review“More than three years after the beginning of the uprisings in the Arab world, one is scarcely able to find a commentator with anything good to say about them—least of all one on the Left … Adam Hanieh’s Lineages of Revolt is a bracing corrective to this sort of thinking and deserves its place on the bookshelves and reading lists of students of the region and activists alike. Both meatily empirical and sharply theoretical, Hanieh’s book dispatches several of the clichés that inform the study of the political economy of the Arab world … Lineages of Revolt is, in short, a masterful achievement.” —Jaime Allinson, WorkingUSA Praise for Capitalism and Class in the Gulf Arab States “This important, original work should be read by anyone with an interest in the political economy of the Middle East.” —Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). "Hanieh's groundbreaking book argues that we should not view the Gulf Arab states as anomalies in the worldwide economy.'" —Arab Studies Journal "Insightful, timely, and welcome...the analytical framework and substantial data he puts forward in the book will help readers map out the current and future processes of regional integration, class formations, and contradictions, and to situate these processes within the wider global political economy." —International Socialist ReviewTable of ContentsTable of Contents for Lineages of Revolt: Issues of Contemporary Capitalism in the Middle East 1. Introduction (framing and methodology; introduction to major themes - capitalism, imperialism, internationalization; book layout) 2. Framing the Region: Imperialism and the Middle East (ATTACHED) 3. Mapping the Neoliberal Experience (ATTACHED) 4. Land, Class and Neoliberal Change in North Africa (ATTACHED) 5. Class and State in the West Bank: Neoliberalism Under Occupation (ATTACHED) 6. Class, State and Region: Bringing the Gulf Arab States Back In (ATTACHED) 7. Crisis, Revolution and Counter-Revolution (bringing together the arguments of the book in framing the current revolts; looking at the impact of global economic crisis, assessing nature of counterrevolution; discussion of way forward, issues for Left and solidarity movements) Appendices

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Book SynopsisTim Davenport and David Walters have extracted the essential core of Debs’s life work, illustrating his intellectual journey from conservative editor of the magazine of a racially segregated railway brotherhood to his role as the public face and outstanding voice of social revolution in early twentieth-century America. Well over 1,000 Debs documents will be republished as part of this monumental project, the vast majority seeing print again for the first time since the date of their original publication. Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926) was a trade unionist, magazine editor, and public orator widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of American socialism.Trade Review"Tim Davenport and David Walters have given us, as they did with the first volume of the series, a real treasure, and a restoration." —Paul Buhle, for DSAUSA.org "Gene Debs tirelessly urged the self-organization of working people in the United States as their only sure road to freedom. His role in the formation of the Socialist Party particularly provides lessons for our day." —Mark Lause

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Book SynopsisIn Marx at the Arcade, acclaimed researcher Jamie Woodcock delves into the hidden abode of the gaming industry. In an account that will appeal to hardcore gamers, digital skeptics, and the joystick-curious, Woodcock unravels the vast networks of artists, software developers, and factory and logistics workers whose seen and unseen labor flows into the products we consume on a gargantuan scale. Along the way, he analyzes the increasingly important role the gaming industry plays in contemporary capitalism and the broader transformations of work and the economy that it embodies.Trade Review"Rejecting both fanboy boosterism and moralistic denunciations, Marx at the Arcade offers a refreshing approach to video games analysis. Woodcock never loses sight of the fact that the material conditions behind game production shapes the stories games tell and how they tell them, but does not reduce its analysis of the medium to these material conditions. The book highlights how it feels to actually play a game, what makes it fun, and why that participatory aspect matters when discussing what a game communicates as a cultural product." —Jacobin "Marx at the Arcade. Consoles, Controllers, and Class Struggle by Jamie Woodcock is a seminal text if you want to understand the power dynamics behind the production, distribution and consumption of video games, seen as cultural products through a Marxist lens." —Il Manifesto "Jamie Woodcock has written a book as fun and engrossing as any game. Not only does he bring a sharp Marxist analysis to the videogames industry--in turn, he uses games to further our understanding of Marx. Whether you game or not, an indispensable book." —Sarah Jaffe, author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt "In his delightful Marx at the Arcade, Jamie Woodcock launches an urgently-needed workers’ inquiry into video and computer games—investigating both the work that goes into producing such games and the play in which so many of us seek relief from constant work. Lucid, scholarly, energetic and itself playful, Marx at the Arcade sets a new frontier for radical political understanding of the digital game." —Nick Dyer-Witheford "Marx at the Arcade is an important, brilliant and timely read that reveals the oft-ignored lives of overworked and exploited game workers, as well as the rise of the global Game Workers Unite movement that is fighting for change. Placing games within the context of a wider cultural and political struggle, Woodcock makes a compelling case for combating the toxic and reactionary elements of games culture, and pushing games towards a more positive, radical role in the world." —Karn Bianco, Games Workers Unite "Combining the unalloyed enthusiasm of the gamer with the critical gaze of the historical materialist, Jamie Woodcock's book cracks open the console to reveal the struggles over value, labour and the meaning of play that haunt the world of videogames. Even readers who last played a videogame in an arcade will gain much from this lucid and combative exploration of the industry that organizes the "free time" of countless millions."—Alberto Toscano, Reader in Critical Theory, Goldsmiths, University of London, author of Fanaticism: On the Uses of an Idea “In this highly readable, up-to-the-minute counter-guide to videogame work and play, Jamie Woodcock skillfully breaks play out of the “magic circle,” not only revealing capitalism’s shaping influence on digital game culture but also restoring a political perspective on games as a site of struggle. Whether revisiting game history, analyzing individual games, unpacking the distinctiveness of the game commodity, or reporting on the increasingly contested working conditions of game developers, Woodcock richly illustrates the use value of Marxian concepts to the critical study of game media.” —Greig de Peuter, co-author of Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games “We, as people broadly on the left, have neglected gaming at our peril. Jamie Woodcock’s Marx at the Arcade represents an important step into that fray—theorizing play, games, and their labour from the left.” –Manchester Gaming Studies Network “On the face of it, Marxists might not seem to have all that much to say about video games and gamers might not necessarily have all that much interest in Marx. But Jamie Woodcock’s brilliant book explains why they both should.” –Morning Star “Jamie Woodcock is perhaps one of England's most interesting researchers right now . . . Marx that the Arcade should . . . be read by anyone who ever controlled a bunch of pixels over a screen.” –Flammen

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive guide to getting published and building a literary reputation through small presses and magazines ? and taking ownership of your own publishing life This essential guide is the first of its kind to chart a path to publication that is writer led, community based, and accessible to all. How to Submit speaks to writers who want to publish short stories, essays, or poems in literary magazines, as well as to those looking for a fresh route to publishing a full-length book. Whether you?re a first-time submitter or you have experience sending out your work, How to Submit provides you with the tools and knowledge to successfully share your writing. It?s also a manifesto for finding joy in the process, arguing that seeking publication should give writers energy, not take it from them. In clear and encouraging chapters, veteran small press author and instructor Dennis James Sweeney shares the secrets of his success, such as: ? practical advice on formulating a submissions plan, including choosing where to submit and whether to submit to contests ? tips for writing a standout cover letter, as well as using an encouraging rejection letter to greatest advantage ? strategies on how to manage wait times and payment ? suggestions for building connections with editors, readers, and fellow writers and increasing your involvement in the literary world Perfect for writers of any genre, How to Submit demystifies the small press and literary magazine landscape for those seeking a place for their work that really feels like home.

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Book SynopsisThe eighth edition of this industry standard for textile terminology is fully revised and expanded featuring approximately 100 new entries and over 14,000 definitions of fibers, fabrics, laws and regulations affecting textile materials and processing, inventors of textile technology, and business and trade terms relevant to textiles. Trademark information has been thoroughly updated to reflect the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS), and current definitions from the industry associations American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists and American Society for Testing and Materials are included. Fully illustrated with over 400 photographs and line drawings, entries include pronunciation, derivation, definition, and uses. An extensive appendix provides a list of national and internationalindustry associations and organizations. From Abaca to Zyex, The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Textiles contains essential reference information for professionals and scholars involved in the textile industry.Trade ReviewThis is a must for any library, group or individual, who is seriously working with textiles at all stages of production and use. * Textile Research Centre *Table of ContentsHow to Use the Dictionary A - Z Appendix References

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive text focuses on the fashion segment of the retail industry. It begins with a broad overview of fashion retailing, then focuses on on-site and off-site environments, management and control functions, merchandising fashion products, and ends with communicating with and servicing the clientele. In this new edition, the authors focus on the globalization of the retail industry with emphasis on US retail expansion into foreign markets as well as global brands’ proposed expansion into the US market. This edition has been extensively updated to include current trends including sustainable fashion, the growth of the multi-cultural market, and the impact of new technology and e-commerce. With many engaging photographs and examples to illustrate the concepts, Fashion Retailing is ideal for learning the fundamentals of global fashion retailing and the basic business concepts involved. New to this Edition: ~All new Chapter 17 on Communicating to Customers Through Electronic Media ~New Happening Now feature in each chapter covers the latest retailing methods with such items as The Growth of Mobile Commerce, Gap's overseas explosion in Latin American Countries, and J. Crew’s global push, among many others ~Full color insert featuring the entire photo program in vibrant color Teaching Resources ~Instructor’s Guide \provides suggestions for planning the course and using the text in the classroom, supplemental assignments, and lecture notes. ~A new Test Bank includes more than 350 questions featuring true/false, multiple choice, short answer or essay questions and midterm and final exam questions. ~PowerPoint® presentations include images from the book and provide a framework for lecture and discussionTrade Review[This book] is informative, interesting to read, gives current statistics, has good, thorough content on the subject, and offers good questions at the end of [each] chapter. This definitely brings retail concepts to the 21st century and makes the book more relevant to students today. -- Diane Ellis, Meredith College, US[The book] is on point in giving clear, current detail about how the impact of communicating to customers through electronic media has really taken over the more traditional formats of connecting to the consumer. Key strengths are that this is current information that students can use and apply to career opportunities with today’s retail platform. -- Joy H. Royal, Art Institute of Atlanta, USExcellent content. Very easy to read, to the point, good bullet points. [This book's] subject matter is relevant to all retail classes. -- Priscilla Fong, City College of New York, USThe author presents a clear case for the use of electronic tools and, in particular, social media. -- Robert Ogilvie, Yorkville University, CATable of ContentsPreface SECTION I INTRODUCTION TO FASHION RETAILING Chapter 1 The Nature of the Fashion Retailing Industry Chapter 2 The Global Impact of Fashion Retailing Chapter 3 Organizational Structures Chapter 4 The Fashion Consumer Chapter 5 Retail Research Directions in Today’s Retail Environment Chapter 6 Ethical Practices and Social Responsibility by Retailers SECTION II THE FASHION RETAILER’S ENVIRONMENTS Chapter 7 On-Site and Off-Site Locations Chapter 8 Designing and Fixturing Brick and Mortar Premises Chapter 9 The Importance of Visual Merchandising to Stores SECTION III MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL Chapter 10 The Human Resources Division Chapter 11 Merchandise Distribution and Loss Prevention Section IV Merchandising Fashion Products Chapter 12 Planning and Executing the Purchase Chapter 13 Purchasing in the Global Marketplace Chapter 14 Private Label Importance to the Merchandise Mix Chapter 15 Inventory Pricing Chapter 16 The Importance of Advertising and Promotion Chapter 17 Communicating to Customers Through Electronic MediaChapter 18 Servicing the Fashion Shopper Appendix Bibliography Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisFrom large-scale cattle farming to water pollution, meat— more than any other food—has had an enormous impact on our environment. Historically, Americans have been among the most avid meat-eaters in the world, but long before that meat was not even considered a key ingredient in most civilizations’ diets. Labor historian Wilson Warren, who has studied the meat industry for more than a decade, provides this global history of meat to help us understand how it entered the daily diet, and at what costs and benefits to society.Spanning from the nineteenth century to current and future trends, Warren walks us through the economic theory of food, the discovery of protein, the Japanese eugenics debate around meat, and the environmental impact of livestock, among other topics. Through his comprehensive, multifaceted research, he provides readers with the political, economic, social, and cultural factors behind meat consumption over the last two centuries. With a special focus on East Asia, Meat Makes People Powerful reveals how national governments regulated and oversaw meat production, helping transform virtually vegetarian cultures into major meat consumers at record speed.As more and more Americans pay attention to the sources of the meat they consume, Warren’s compelling study will help them not only better understand the industry, but also make more informed personal choices. Providing an international perspective that will appeal to scholars and nutritionists alike, this timely examination will forever change the way you see the food on your plate.

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Book SynopsisRelief Supply Chain for Disasters: Humanitarian, Aid and Emergency Logistics furthers the scholarly understanding of SCM in disaster relief. Recent natural and manmade disasters have brought relief SCM to the forefront of the global response to tragedy, establishing the central role of logistics in averting and limiting unnecessary hardships. The lessons learned during these crises have far-reaching applications for both daily logistics and worst case scenarios and they are represented in this book as a much-needed reference for the advancement of the field.

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Book SynopsisAs Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the early 1980s, David Stockman was a chief architect of the Reagan Revolution,a bold plan to cut taxes and reduce the scope and cost of government. The Triumph of Politics was Stockman's frontline report of the miscalculations, manipulations, and political intrigues that led to its failure. A major publishing event and New York Times bestseller in its day, The Triumph of Politics is still startling relevant to the conduct of Washington politics today.

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Book SynopsisIn its history since Independence, India has seen widely different economic experiments: from Jawharlal Nehru's pragmatism to the rigid state socialism of Indira Gandhi to the brisk liberalization of the 1990s. So which strategy best addresses India's, and by extension the world's, greatest moral challenge: lifting a great number of extremely poor people out of poverty?Bhagwati and Panagariya argue forcefully that only one strategy will help the poor to any significant effect: economic growth, led by markets overseen and encouraged by liberal state policies. Their radical message has huge consequences for economists, development NGOs and anti-poverty campaigners worldwide. There are vital lessons here not only for Southeast Asia, but for Africa, Eastern Europe, and anyone who cares that the effort to eradicate poverty is more than just good intentions. If you want it to work, you need growth. With all that implies.

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Book SynopsisAs the director of the MIT AgeLab, Joseph Coughlin has studied trends in demographics and technology, and has spearheaded groundbreaking research and innovation on improving the quality of life for older people and those who care for them. Now, in The Longevity Economy, he uses this expertise to break new ground in understanding this market, which composes an ever-increasing share of the total population.While companies see the size and wealth of this market, they all too often use an outdated narrative to figure out what it really wants. Coughlin debunks conventional wisdom and provides the framing needed to be in sync with this influential and lucrative market. He uses fascinating examples from a wide variety of sectors, from financial services to housing, health care, consumer products, and personal relationships. He showcases the work of companies like PillPack, an online pharmacy that delivers medicine presorted to your home; OXO, which makes ergonomic utensils; and edX, an online learning platform that makes it easy for older people to learn from home. Coughlin's insights will help businesses connect with older consumers, who continue to defy expectations, contribute to economic growth, and build a better, enduring vision of old age.

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Book SynopsisThe epitome of effervescence and centrepiece of celebration, Champagne has become a universal emblem of good fortune, and few can resist its sparkleIn Champagne, Uncorked , Alan Tardi journeys into the heartland of the world's most beloved wine. Anchored by the year he spent inside the prestigious and secretive Krug winery in Reims, the story follows the creation of the superlative Krug Grande Cuvée.Tardi also investigates the evocative history, quirky origins, and cultural significance of Champagne. He reveals how it became the essential celebratory toast ( merci Napoleon Bonaparte!), and introduces a cast of colourful characters, including Eugène Mercier, who in 1889 transported his Cathedral of Champagne," the largest wine cask in the world, to Paris by a team of white horses and oxen, and Joseph Krug, the reserved son of a German butcher who wound up in France, fell head over heels for Champagne, and risked everything to start up his own eponymous house.In the vineyards of Champagne, Tardi discovers how finicky grapes in an unstable climate can lead to a nerve-racking season for growers and winemakers alike. And he ventures deep into the caves , where the delicate and painstaking alchemy of blending takes place,all of which culminates in the glass we raise to toast life's finer moments.Trade Review"Knowledgeable and meticulously researched...[Tardi] takes the reader through the whole process, from picking and pressing the grapes--the vendange--through the storing, tasting and blending of the wine to its bottling and aging...A colorful history of Champagne." --Moira Hodgson, Wall Street Journal "Sparkles with information about the beverage of celebration and specifically the making of Krug Grande Cuvee, a great Champagne from arguably the greatest producer. History, harvesting, tasting, blending, marketing, presented with easy going style. You'll want to make a pilgrimage to Le Mesnil-sur-Oger." --Peter Gianotti, Newsday "In Tardi's fabulous new book, he explains the history of the Champagne region and why the land produces the grapes it does...while weaving together a rich cultural overview of the sparkling elixir's wild rise to becoming the world's symbol of celebration. When people try [Krug] for the first time, they talk about it effusively like love-struck Romeos. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself. But first read Tardi's book." --San Antonio Express-News "A book as effervescent and fascinating as the product it describes. Readers gain insight into a world as complex as the blending of a fine bottle of Champagne." --Galveston County Daily News "Champagne, Uncorked is a page-turner that offers up the wine's history, the characters who made it and, with appealing intimacy, those of the House of Krug from top to bottom. It is a must read for any Champagne lover and of course for 'Krugistes.'" --Stephen Spurrier, consulting editor of Decanter "A fascinating account of the making of one of the world's great wines, and one that will thrill both novice and connoisseur alike. This is one of the best books to ever be written about champagne, and it should be on the reading list of anyone interested in wine." --Peter Liem, senior correspondent for Wine & Spirits and founder of Champagneguide.net "Alan Tardi's background as a restaurateur, chef, and wine writer makes him uniquely qualified to write this exceptional book on Champagne. Throughout, he integrates the history of Champagne, the making of Champagne, along with the production of Krug's Grande Cuvee, one of the world's greatest Champagnes. Alan is a truly gifted writer, not only teaching us, but weaving a story that is fascinating and illuminating." --Ed McCarthy, author of Champagne For Dummies "The fascinating story of the most loved wine." --The Washington Book Review "Tardi chronicles his time following a tense year in the life cycle of champagne, from harvest to bottling, at the renowned Krug house, expertly balancing his personal experiences with extensive historical research of the development and sophistication of champagne as well as the establishment of the Krug winery. Part memoir and part history, Tardi's love letter to champagne can inspire the reader to delve deeper into viticulture." --Booklist, Starred Review "Champagne, Uncorked packs an enormous amount of detail and complexity (historical, chemical, biological, emotional) into a rather small package--a fitting tribute to the nuance and complexity found in every glass of champagne Krug has produced...A fascinating and detailed history." --Shelf Awareness "An unprecedented look into the process of crushing grapes, fermenting, tasting, blending, bottling, and aging that leads to the Krug Grande Cuvee, one of the most prestigious non-vintage champagnes on the market...Compelling and interesting...[Champagne, Uncorked] carries a wealth of information for a reader at any level of wine expertise." --Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisIn the past year, crowdfunding platforms helped generate a staggering $34 billion dollars in funding. But the harsh reality is that the majority of crowdfunding campaigns fail-only 40% meet their goals. And failing means failing hard. If you fall short of your goal by the deadline, not only won't you see any of the money you've worked so hard to raise, but you might actually tarnish your shiny idea.Alex Daly is a hugely successful crowdfunding expert who has run some of Kickstarter's biggest campaigns, from TLC's new album to Neil Young's music player to Joan Didion's documentary "We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live." In this book, she shows you how to: * Build a deep fan base prior to launch * Understand the psychology of why people give and create the right narrative around your project * Find the right platform on which to raise funds * Deal with unfulfilled promises and angry backers * Create intimacy and promote shareability of your project * Best use influence and exclusivity to get funded.Woven throughout is Alex's own entrepreneurial story-the unconventional career path she took to ultimately start her business, Vann Alexandra, thanks to crowdfunding. And she will take readers deep into her most successful campaigns, showing them how she helped them get funded. As someone who's spent lots of time in the trenches, she has learned the hard way how to communicate and connect with people on the Internet-and offers tangible tools to run your own crowdfunding campaigns. Above all, this is a book about how to fully connect with the crowd, get people to pay attention, and inspire them to act.

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Book SynopsisThe Devil's Financial Dictionary skewers the plutocrats and bureaucrats who gave us exploding mortgages, freakish risks, and banks too big to fail. And it distills the complexities, absurdities, and pomposities of Wall Street into plain truths and aphorisms anyone can understand.An indispensable survival guide to the hostile wilderness of today's financial markets, The Devil's Financial Dictionary delivers practical insights with a scorpion's sting. It cuts through the fads and fakery of Wall Street and clears a safe path for investors between euphoria and despair. Staying out of financial purgatory has never been this much fun.Definitions include:DAY-TRADER, n. See IDIOT.FEE, n. A tiny word with a teeny sound, which nevertheless is the single biggest determinant of success or failure for most investors. Those who keep fees as low as possible will, on average, earn the highest possible returns.Trade Review"Part social commentary, part instruction manual, Zweig's book is must-reading for anyone who presumes or desires to understand the investment world... Like the book in which they're contained, each of Zweig's entries is pointed, witty, and revealing of important and useful truths. The Devil himself, a.k.a., [Ambrose] Bierce, would be proud." --TIME "The perfect stocking stuffer for anyone remotely interested in finance." --Business Insider "The Devil's Financial Dictionary is witty, irreverent, skeptical and humorous--making it an entertaining read for those within and outside the financial industry." --Manhattan Book Review "Consistently yields pleasure and insight... Thanks to the author's staggering command of his subject, readers of this book will shed costly misconceptions and acquire wisdom that, if accompanied by patience, could pay off richly. The serious message embedded in the book's humor is that investors who pay attention to stock market lore and Wall Street hype are their own worst enemies in securing their financial future." --BARRONS "Inspired by Ambrose Bierce's masterpiece The Devil's Dictionary, Jason Zweig takes an equally beautiful and cynical view of the entire finance industry." --Farnam Street "This is the most amusing presentation of the principles of finance that I have ever seen." --Robert J. Shiller, professor of finance, Yale University; Nobel laureate in economics; author of Irrational Exuberance "Someone had to write a short, punchy book on the fibs and fables of Wall Street during this second Gilded Age for the extravagantly-paid manipulators of our financial system. Happily for readers--whether wise, naive, or victimized--journalist Jason Zweig picked up the challenge, and ran for the winning touchdown with it. Laugh, cry, and learn as you enjoy the sparkling Devil's Financial Dictionary." --John C. Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group; author of Common Sense on Mutual Funds "A delightfully humorous and stunningly irreverent Ambrose Bierce for financial markets. This satirical critique of what passes for wisdom on Wall Street belongs on the bookshelf of every serious investor." --Burton G. Malkiel, professor of finance emeritus, Princeton University; author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street "Open this wonderful book to any page. Try not to laugh. I dare you." --James Grant, Grant's Interest Rate Observer "Jason Zweig's book is absolutely marvelous. It combines wicked humor, scholarly etymology, and superb advice. If you have money invested, you must read this book; if you don't, read it anyway for pure fun." --William F. Sharpe, emeritus professor of finance, Stanford University; Nobel laureate in economics "You'll love this book. Zweig cuts through financial hypocrisy to expose Wall Street's cynical core, and does it hilariously. You'll also get some super-smart investment tips. One of my favorite devilish definitions: 'Broker: Buys and sells stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other assets for people who are under the delusion that the broker is doing something other than guesswork.'" --Jane Bryant Quinn, author of Making the Most of Your Money Now "Both witty and wise--with just a refreshing dash of cynicism--The Devil's Financial Dictionary should be on every desk on both Wall Street and Main Street." --John Steele Gordon, author of An Empire of Wealth and The Business of America "Vintage Jason Zweig: entertaining, truthful and oh so telling about Wall Street. The definition of Day Trader -' n. See IDIOT' - says it all. Any investor who does not read this witty, insightful and rueful reminder of Wall Street's financial follies is an IDIOT!" --Consuelo Mack, anchor and executive producer, Consuelo Mack WealthTrack "Jason Zweig has long been a brilliant financial journalist. People who have listened to Jason have shielded their assets from the purveyors of costly and useless advice. In The Devil's Financial Dictionary, Jason turns his wit and insight to arming us with an understanding of the financial terms that too many professionals use to intentionally baffle investors." --Max H. Bazerman, co-director, the Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; author of The Power of Noticing "Jason Zweig, one of the great truth-tellers in financial journalism, is the spiritual heir to Ambrose Bierce, one of the great satirists in American letters. Both use piercing wit to reveal important truths." --Gary Belsky, coauthor of Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them "Broad experience, thorough conversance with history, unusual insight, and dashes of humor and cynicism. This is what you need to understand the world of investing, and this is what you'll find in The Devil's Financial Dictionary by Jason Zweig." --Howard Marks, Co-Chairman, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.; author, The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor "Wall Street frequently uses complex terminology to keep its own customers in the dark. That is why Jason Zweig's The Devil's Financial Dictionary is so refreshing. Zweig, who has a lifetime of experience covering finance, exposes the language of Wall Street with sharp wit, historical perspective, and a skeptic's eye." --Tadas Viskanta, founder and editor, Abnormal Returns, and author of Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere "THE DEVIL'S FINANCIAL DICTIONARY, n. A compendium of financial jargon observed to induce in its readers nearly continuous spasms of raucous laughter. Has also been known to produce near-fatal episodes of cognitive dissonance in brokers, advisors, and money managers, who should consume its contents with care. Normal individuals, in contrast, may incur a deepening of financial wisdom, a fattening of the wallet, and an uncontrollable urge to steal entire passages for later use." --William J. Bernstein, author of The Four Pillars of Investing and A Splendid Exchange "If finance were stand-up comedy, Jason Zweig would be its Groucho Marx--a serious man with a wild sense of humor: 'Dog: A stock that obeys no command except DOWN'...need I say more?" --Laurence B. Siegel, research director, CFA Institute Research Foundation "'Witty' and 'fun' are two adjectives that may never have been used to describe a dictionary, but they apply to this one. But it is not just jokes; I learned a lot browsing around in this clever little book." --Richard H. Thaler, professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; author of Misbehaving and co-author of Nudge "Cynical and exceptionally witty, this book shines a light into the unlit corners of finance. After a lot of laughs, I walked away with a less distorted view of reality." --Shane Parrish, CEO of Farnam Street Media "Jason Zweig is a journalist known for his wise investment counsel. But he also has a wicked wit, which is on full display in The Devil's Financial Dictionary. A fun romp for those who don't take themselves too seriously." --Michael J. Mauboussin, head of global financial strategies, Credit Suisse; author of The Success Equation and Think Twice "Fun, interesting, irreverent, and well-informed, Jason Zweig scores again. You'll laugh and cry--and send copies to your friends." --Charles D. Ellis, founder, Greenwich Associates; author of Winning the Loser's Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing "Finally, in language every investor can understand, The Devil's Financial Dictionary lays waste to the hubris of Wall Street. The definition of INDEX FUND should be read over and over again. --Gregory Berns, distinguished professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University; author, Iconoclast and How Dogs Love Us "I tried to write definitions wittier than Jason Zweig's but couldn't. Instead, I laughed, chuckled, and chortled through the book. I bet you will too." --Meir Statman, professor of finance, Santa Clara University; author of What Investors Really Want

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Book SynopsisA funny thing happened on the way to the digital utopia. We've begun to fall back in love with the very analog goods and ideas the tech gurus insisted that we no longer needed. Businesses that once looked outdated, from film photography to brick-and-mortar retail, are now springing with new life. Notebooks, records, and stationery have become cool again. Behold the Revenge of Analog.David Sax has uncovered story after story of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and even big corporations who've found a market selling not apps or virtual solutions but real, tangible things. As e-books are supposedly remaking reading, independent bookstores have sprouted up across the country. As music allegedly migrates to the cloud, vinyl record sales have grown more than ten times over the past decade. Even the offices of tech giants like Google and Facebook increasingly rely on pen and paper to drive their brightest ideas.Sax's work reveals a deep truth about how humans shop, interact, and even think. Blending psychology and observant wit with first-rate reportage, Sax shows the limited appeal of the purely digital life - and the robust future of the real world outside it.

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Book SynopsisEvery company wants to grow, and the most proven way is through innovation. The conventional wisdom is that only disruptive, nimble startups can innovate; once a business gets bigger and more complex corporate arteriosclerosis sets in. Gary Pisano's remarkable research conducted over three decades, and his extraordinary on-the ground experience with big companies and fast-growing ones that have moved beyond the start-up stage, provides new thinking about how the scale of bigger companies can be leveraged for advantage in innovation.He begins with the simply reality that bigger companies are, well, different. Demanding that they "be like Uber" is no more realistic than commanding your dog to speak French. Bigger companies are complex. They need to sustain revenue streams from existing businesses, and deal with Wall Street's demands. These organizations require a different set of management practices and approaches--a discipline focused on the strategies, systems and culture for taking their companies to the next level. Big can be beautiful, but it requires creative construction by leaders to avoid the creative destruction that is all-too-often the fate of too many.

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Book SynopsisThis is a book for anyone who has to market their expertise, and there are more of us out there than you might think--lawyers, consultants, marketers, and accountants, but also photographers, Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructors, graphic designers, chiropractors, and book editors. If you're good at doing something, and if you need to connect with paying clients in order to keep doing it, this book will teach you how to sell yourself without selling your soul.In The Snowball System, Mo Bunnell offers powerful and proven tools for business development. Whether you are gregarious or introverted, whether you are a part of a small consulting practice or a multinational company, Bunnell's system is effective and practical, and easily adapted into your day-to- day work. Elements include:Protemoi Tool: From the Greek word meaning "first among equals," this tool helps you highlight and prioritize relationships that matter most to your business.Opportunity List: Use this list to methodically move potential projects forward, incrementally, based on a clear understanding of the phases of the buying process. Give To Gets: This is a systematic approach to using giving as an effective business development tool that actually advances the buying process. With The Snowball System, you will not only succeed at growing your business, you'll learn to enjoy doing the activities that drive that growth. You'll be happier, and so will your clients.

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Book SynopsisParks and recreation systems have evolved in remarkable ways over the past two decades. No longer just playgrounds and ballfields, parks and open spaces have become recognised as essential green infrastructure with the potential to contribute to community resiliency and sustainability. To capitalise on this potential, the parks and recreation system planning process must evolve as well. In Parks and Recreation System Planning, David Barth provides a new, step-by-step approach to creating parks systems that generate greater economic, social, and environmental benefits. Barth first advocates that parks and recreation systems should no longer be regarded as isolated facilities, but as elements of an integrated public realm. Each space should be designed to generate multiple community benefits. Next, he presents a new approach for parks and recreation planning that is integrated into community-wide issues. Chapters outline each step, evaluating existing systems, implementing a carefully crafted plan, and more, necessary for creating a successful, adaptable system. Throughout the book, he describes initiatives that are creating more resilient, sustainable, and engaging parks and recreation facilities, drawing from his experience consulting in more than 100 communities across the U.S. Parks and Recreation System Planning meets the critical need to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive approach for planning parks and recreation systems across the country. This is essential reading for every parks and recreation professional, design professional, and public official who wants their community to thrive.

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