Search results for ""Games""

As featured in Grazia's 21 of the Best Parenting Books in 2020'Joanna's books give you every answer to every question you have as a parent with practical methods to tackle every obstacle and connect with your child and help them flourish.' Madeleine Shaw 'When I tried Joanna's approach during the first lockdown, I was both comforted and excited by how such a small change could have such a big impact.' Dr. Suzanne McCleanA mindful and practical parenting roadmap for busy, time-poor parents. Based on a simple and effective formula, it will transform family life in just fifteen minutes of daily play, resulting in less tears and more laughter. Middle childhood, the period for those aged 8-12 years old, is often the most overlooked phase of a child's development but it's the age where play continue to serve an important role in their emotional growth. It's also an age where we are most likely to stop playing with our children.With over twenty years of clinical expertise and neuroscientific research, psychotherapist and parenting expert Joanna Fortune shares her proven techniques that will enable you to better understand your relationship with your children as they grow and ensure that your parenting is developing with them.Packed with 15-minute games and activities that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine, Joanna also explores the neurological, physical and emotional development of 8-12 year olds and offers parents hands-on advice on how to deal with:Friendships and bullyingSibling relationships Difficult conversations (the ones that catch you off guard!)Risk-taking behaviourBuilding independence, self-esteem and emotional resilience Resistance15-Minute Parenting 8-12 years will show you how to keep play alive with your child, foster great communication and help to secure strong foundations for adolescence.Praise for the 15-Minute Parenting series:'Now that we have to be teachers and coaches as well as parents - and feel guilty and overburdened - it's the perfect time for psychotherapist Joanna Fortune's new book.' Sunday Independent'In an "Age of Anxiety" for parents, Joanna was able to dispense reassuring advice and practical tips from her 15 Minute Parenting Model for time-pressed parents who want the very best for their children's development and well-being.' Marena Duffy, Chairperson of Cuidiu (the National Parent to Parent Voluntary support network) Dublin North West'Absolutely love this! I've read multiple parenting books as a daddy blogger and this is BY FAR one of my favorites!' Amazon Reviewer'A must read for all parents! Absolutely loving this book. Joanna has a no frills, relaxed attitude towards parenting & brings fun into it. She made me realise that we don't need to question ourselves as much as we do.' Amazon Reviewer'All of my friends love this. It's expert advice but... accessible and smart and actually kind of fun. All the exercises are easily implemented and kids respond to them immediately... this book is well broken down so that whatever crisis you're dealing with today you can check the chapter outline and jump straight to the few pages (and solutions) about that issue...' Amazon Reviewer'Simple and effective reading. Totally love this book... Fabulous chapter on relationships covering how to stay connected to your partner which I feel gets left out from other books I've read... my friend already has her hands on it so I will definitely be passing on.' Amazon Reviewer'A well thought out and written book to nudge you and guide you to better parenting without any self-flagellation... a gentle and kind written piece of work...Certainly think it can help parents that feel they can't find their own way back.' Goodreads Reviewer

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"This is a must-read book for anyone ready to transcend fear and imagine a new reality."--Tikkun Disposable Futures makes the case that we have not just become desensitized to violence, but rather, that we are being taught to desire it. From movies and other commercial entertainment to "extreme" weather and acts of terror, authors Brad Evans and Henry Giroux examine how a contemporary politics of spectacle--and disposability--curates what is seen and what is not, what is represented and what is ignored, and ultimately, whose lives matter and whose do not. Disposable Futures explores the connections between a range of contemporary phenomena: mass surveillance, the militarization of police, the impact of violence in film and video games, increasing disparities in wealth, and representations of ISIS and the ongoing terror wars. Throughout, Evans and Giroux champion the significance of public education, social movements and ideas that rebel against the status quo in order render violence intolerable. "Disposable Futures poses, and answers, the pressing question of our times: How is it that in this post-Fascist, post-Cold War era of peace and prosperity we are saddled with more war, violence, inequality and poverty than ever? The neoliberal era, Evans and Giroux brilliantly reveal, is defined by violence, by drone strikes, 'smart' bombs, militarized police, Black lives taken, prison expansion, corporatized education, surveillance, the raw violence of racism, patriarchy, starvation and want. The authors show how the neoliberal regime normalizes violence, renders its victims disposable, commodifies the spectacle of relentless violence and sells it to us as entertainment, and tries to contain cultures of resistance. If you're not afraid of the truth in these dark times, then read this book. It is a beacon of light."--Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination "Disposable Futures confronts a key conundrum of our times: How is it that, given the capacity and abundance of resources to address the critical needs of all, so many are having their futures radically discounted while the privileged few dramatically increase their wealth and power? Brad Evans and Henry Giroux have written a trenchant analysis of the logic of late capitalism that has rendered it normal to dispose of any who do not service the powerful. A searing indictment of the socio-technics of destruction and the decisions of their deployability. Anyone concerned with trying to comprehend these driving dynamics of our time would be well served by taking up this compelling book."--David Theo Goldberg, author of The Threat of Race: Reflections on Racial Neoliberalism "Disposable Futures is an utterly spellbinding analysis of violence in the later 20th and early 21st centuries. It strikes me as a new breed of street-smart intellectualism moving through broad ranging theoretical influences of Adorno, Arendt, Bauman, Deleuze, Foucault, Zizek, Marcuse, and Reich. I especially appreciated a number of things, including: the discussion of representation and how it functions within a broader logics of power; the descriptions and analyses of violence mediating the social field and fracturing it through paralyzing fear and anxiety; the colonization of bodies and pleasures; and the nuanced discussion of how state violence, surveillance, and disposability connect. Big ideas explained using a fresh straightforward voice."--Adrian Parr, author of The Wrath of Capital: Neoliberalism and Climate Change Politics Brad Evans and Henry A. Giroux are internationally renowned educators, authors, and intellectuals. Together, they curate a forum for Truthout.com that explores the theme of "Disposable Futures." Evans is director of histories of violence project at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Giroux holds McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest, and is the Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A thrilling read from one of my favorite writers' KARIN SLAUGHTER 'Read this book' DAVID BALDACCI 'One of the absolute best thrillers of the year' JEFFERY DEAVER 'You will find it hard to put down' MARK BOWDEN *** EVERY BODY HAS SECRETS It’s sweltering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Temperance Brennan, still recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm, is battling nightmares, migraines, and what she thinks might be hallucinations when she receives a series of mysterious text messages, each containing a new picture of a corpse that is missing its face and hands. Immediately, she’s anxious to know who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her. An identified corpse soon turns up, only partly answering her questions. To win answers to the others, including the man’s identity, she must go rogue. With help from a number of law enforcement associates including her Montreal beau Andrew Ryan and the always-ready-with-a-smart-quip, ex-homicide investigator Skinny Slidell, and utilizing new cutting-edge forensic methods, Tempe draws closer to the astonishing truth. But the more she uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes . . .***Don't miss the new high-stakes Temperance Brennan thriller –​ THE BONE HACKER is available for pre-order now . . .*** Praise for A Conspiracy of Bones and Kathy Reichs: 'A Conspiracy of Bones shows off Kathy Reichs’ dazzling new level of plotting mastery. A thrilling read from one of my favorite writers' KARIN SLAUGHTER, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Last Widow and The Good Daughter 'One of the absolute best thrillers of the year! Both Temperance Brennan and Kathy Reichs are at the top of their games in this brilliant rollercoaster of a tale. I can’t recall when this many twists have been so masterfully woven into a novel. But, of course, it’s not all about plot. The characters, too—good, bad and in between—come breathtakingly alive with heart-gripping effect. A great series has just gotten greater' JEFFERY DEAVER, #1 internationally bestseller author of The Bone Collector and The Never Game 'Don't miss this one! The corpse is ghastly. The investigation is intense. So many pulse-pounding twists and surprises—it kept me guessing till the end!' R.L. STINE, bestselling author Goosebumps and Fear Street 'Tempe Brennan is back, dealing with health issues, career setbacks, and the nagging—and driving—fear of inadequacy that is the flipside of her talent. Reich's fast-paced, tightly-constructed, and very contemporary story dives underground here, both literally and virtually, as she follows the thinnest of threads deeper and deeper into a shocking conspiracy. You will find it hard to put down' MARK BOWDEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Stone and Black Hawk Down 'No face, no hands, and a ton of breathtaking questions. I dare you to figure out all the red herrings. So utterly good! This is Kathy Reichs doing what she does best: sorting through the bones until the shocking end' BRAD MELTZER, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist 'Kathy Reichs writes smart—no, make that brilliant—mysteries that are as realistic as non-fiction and as fast-paced as the best thrillers about Jack Reacher or Alex Cross' JAMES PATTERSON 'Nobody does forensics thrillers like Kathy Reichs. She’s the real deal' DAVID BALDACCI 'Kathy Reichs continues to be one of the most distinctive and talented writers in the genre. Her legions of readers worldwide will agree with me when I declare that the more books she writes, the more enthusiastic fans she’ll garner' SANDRA BROWN 'Each book in Kathy Reichs’s fantastic Temperance Brennan series is better than the last. They’re filled with riveting twists andturns. No matter how many novels she writes, I just can’t get enough!' LISA SCOTTOLINE 'Every minute in the morgue with Tempe is golden' THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Brennan is a winner, and so is Reichs' DAILY NEWS

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Wiley Online Trading for a Living When to get in-when to get out Build, test & trade a winning system Online brokers, research & market data For those who are well suited to day trading and short-term trading, the futures market is one of the best games in town. As the original short-term vehicle, the futures market allows the trader to collapse the time frame in which he or she can reach the desired profit target-or pain threshold. As a result, wins and losses are compounded much more quickly than in stock trading-and, in the case of wins, often more profitably. The ability to gain leverage with very little on margin gives you, the trader, the ability to earn more off smaller swings. And enough home runs could allow you to become your own boss, work from home in your bathrobe, or even work from your cell phone while lying on the beach. So far, so good. But what does it take to win? In Day Trade Futures Online, award-winning veteran futures trader Larry Williams gives a no-holds-barred view of the risks and rewards of this increasingly accessible arena. His straightforward approach to helping you determine your trading personality is the first step. Then he offers traders what they really need: strategies and tactics designed to beat the futures markets. From hardware and software setup to trading psychology and successful strategizing, this highly readable book covers all the bases needed to prepare you to trade online, including: * Assessing your risk threshold * Streamlining the glut of trading and price information to make it work for you * The importance of knowing how to manage your money * Choosing an online broker and utilizing other online resources, such as news, chat rooms, and message boards * When to get out of your trades * Building a system based on Larry's time-tested strategies . . . and that's just for starters. Also included are an appendix of basic futures concepts and a select bibliography of some of the best learning resources. With good humor and brutal honesty, Williams guides you in building the trading system that will work best for you. GET IN ON THE ORIGINAL SHORT-TERM GAME WITH BIG-TIME PROFITS With unflinching honesty and decades of trading experience, award-winning veteran futures trader Larry Williams lends his expertise to the many aspects of futures trading online, including: * Winning strategies * Determining your trading personality * The art of using the Internet * Hardware and software solutions * History and development of short-term trading Praise for Larry Williams and day trade futures online "Larry Williams, the astute and experienced trader, has presented the reader with many computer-tested patterns that should give one an edge up in the hard world of day trading. He not only gives the patterns, he explains the 'why' of market action and what it takes to be successful from a psychological and money management standpoint. This is one of the best practical books ever written on trading by a veteran trader. Buy it."-John Hill, President, Futures Truth Co. "Larry possesses an incredible talent to differentiate between what is important in life as well as in the markets. In his book, he shares insights into market behavior and short-term price dynamics that are useful to beginning and experienced traders alike. Whereas most day trading books merely discuss the market in generalities, Larry focuses on computer-tested techniques that can actually help make traders profitable. This is Larry at his best and finest!"-Tom DeMark, President, Market Studies Inc., author of New Science of Technical Analysis and New Market Timing Techniques "Day Trade Futures Online is another must-have Larry Williams trading book. That's because nearly all the profitable futures traders I've known have attributed their trading success to an idea or concept learned from Larry. When Larry speaks, you better listen."-Gary Smith, author of How I Trade for a Living

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"I don't even help [my children] with their homework in the evening because I'm in the chat rooms, and I don't help put them to bed because I don't realize how late it is. I also don't help them get ready for school in the morning like I used to do because I'm checking my e-mail. And I just can't stop myself."-Raymond, an Internet addict. Internet addiction is real. Like alcoholism, drug addiction, or compulsive gambling, it has devastating effects on the lives of addicts and their families: divorce, job loss, falling productivity at work, failure in school, and, in extreme cases, criminal behavior. The problem has already reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and the number of "netaholics" continues to grow rapidly as more households and businesses go on-line. Yet, until now, no one from the mental health community has come forward with a specific description of Internet addiction and its effects or a strategy for treatment and recovery. In Caught in the Net, Kimberly Young shares the results of her three-year study of Internet abuse. Often using the words of the Internet addicts themselves, she presents the stories of dozens of lives that were shattered by an overwhelming compulsion to surf the Net, play MUD games, or chat with distant and invisible neighbors in the timeless limbo of cyberspace. Why is the Internet so seductive? What are the warning signs of Internet addiction? Is recovery possible? Dr. Young answers these questions and many more. She provides a questionnaire to help Net users determine whether they are addicts, and offers concrete steps to help problem users regulate Internet usage and devise a more balanced place for it in their daily lives. For Internet addicts as well as their parents, spouses, friends, and employers, Caught in the Net offers guidance on where and how to seek help from counselors, therapists, and other professionals who take this affliction seriously. For mental health professionals, this book provides insights into the nature and causes of Internet addiction and encourages counselors and therapists to expand their addiction recovery programs to address the specific problems of Internet addicts. "Think that computer addiction is a joke? Think again. This groundbreaking book is the first to explore on-line addiction in a serious way and to consider the effects on individuals and their families. Caught in the Net is an important book for anyone who spends mornings and evenings connected to the Net."-Clifford Stoll, author of The Cuckoo's Egg and Silicon Snake Oil. "An excellent account of the dangers of the burgeoning Internet industry. Dr. Young carefully outlines the traps into which people can fall and offers pragmatic self-help suggestions. Caught in the Net is valuable for both consumers and the professionals who deal with them."-Maressa Hecht Orzack, PhD, Founder and Coordinator, Computer Addiction Services, McLean Hospital Lecturer, Harvard University Medical School "I don't mean to spend all my time this way, but I can't stop. It's the only place my opinion matters and I feel important."-bobage38.automechanic.internet.addict "I feel guilty about it, but when I tried to break free, I simply didn't have the strength....I'm a long-time smoker, but I've found the craving to go on the Internet first thing every morning is stronger than my urge to light a cigarette."-marylouage40.motheroffour.internet.addict "When you're talking about the Internet, you're talking about power. It's the most powerful information tool I have ever known. When I explore the on-line world, I feel like that robot in the movie Short Circuit. I need more input! More input!"-daveage28.militarytelecommunicationsexpert.internet.addict "I feel the rush every time my mind gets connected to this intensely powerful information whirlpool. When I enter cyberspace, I become one with my mind. It's like Mr. Spock doing the Vulcan mind meld."-joshage29.computerprogrammer.internet.addict itt.edu and view her website at: www.netaddiction.com.

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The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller!The new secret to driving LOYALTY THAT PAYSOnce revolutionary, loyalty programs designed todifferentiate products quickly became commoditized. And yet, billions of dollars are still spent every year on programs that are doomed to fail. These programs, it turns out, don't inspire long-term loyalty. Once a better deal comes along, customers will gladly defect. Can you blame them?Silicon Valley start-up Bunchball, the pioneer and innovator in gamification, is light years ahead when it comes to the concept of loyalty--and using it to drive business profits and growth. Focusing not only on customer loyalty, but also the loyalty of employees and partners, Bunchball combines behavioral economics, big data, social media, and gamification to inspire loyalty that lasts--fromeveryone involved in the success of a business.Now, in Loyalty 3.0, Bunchball founder Rajat Paharia reveals how you can use these same techniques to seize the competitive edge for your business.Paharia shows you how to create a system powered by human motivation and digital technology that creates ongoing, persistent engagement among customers, employees, and partners. Loyalty 3.0 arms you with everything you need to know in order to build a loyalty and engagement program that drives a sustainable advantage for your business, including: The building blocks of motivation, big data, andgamification necessary for creating a powerful strategy that drives long-term loyalty Case studies from today’s most innovative companiesthat are already driving customer engagement, learningand skill development, and employee motivation withLoyalty 3.0 methods Step-by-step guidance on how to plan, design, build,and optimize your program Now is the time to abandon your traditional loyalty programs and start taking all your stakeholders seriously--so they will take your company seriously.Loyalty 3.0 is the game-changing leap you'vebeen waiting for. When you create true loyalty amongcustomers, employees, and business partners, you will generate a sustainable competitive advantageand win in your industry.Praise for Loyalty 3.0“Relationships are the single greatest asset for all organizations. Relationships with customers, relationships with employees, relationships with partners. In Loyalty 3.0, Rajat Paharia reveals the newscience of relationship building through big data and gamification.”—TIM BROWN, CEO, IDEO"Loyalty 3.0 is filled with major insights and does a brilliant job of grounding the reader in fundamental concepts around motivation, big data, and gamification--building on these concepts through real-worldcase studies that bring the combinations to life. It finishes with actionable ideas and next steps that enable you to test and operationalize these ideas in your own workplace and personal life." -- BRAD SMITH, CEO, Intuit"A fascinating insight into how companies are exploiting big data." -- MARK READ, CEO, WPP Digital"Rajat pioneered the business use of big data and game mechanics to transform the customer experience. A decade before anyone else, he saw that the same techniques that video game designers had used for years--fast feedback, badges, competition, goals, and leveling up—were also incredibly powerful for motivating behavior outside of games, and an industry was born. This book shares his secrets." -- CLARA SHIH, CEO of Hearsay Social, author of The Facebook Era, and board member at Starbucks"Rajat Paharia comprehensively explains how to create loyalty in the modern world full of data andconnectivity. If you want to learn how to motivate and inspire employees, you must read this book." -- DAVE KERPEN, New York Times bestselling author of Likeable Social Media and Likeable Business"In this powerful and groundbreaking book, Rajat Paharia clearly demonstrates how big data, motivation, and gamification can be utilized to create true engagement and loyalty. We believe Loyalty 3.0 will be a game changer for our associates and guests." -- RAY BENNETT, Chief Lodging Services Officer, Marriott International“The journey to Loyalty 3.0 is real. Rajat’s vision shows why right time relevancy and context will transform how organizations engage with customers and truly craft relationships.”-—R. RAY WANG, Principal Analyst and CEO at Constellation Research“Adoption is a critical component when creating an exceptional customer experience or smarter workforce, and gamification has proven to be a powerful driver for success. The insights Rajat shares in Loyalty 3.0 will help guide the next wave of deeper relationshipsacross the enterprise.”-—SANDY CARTER, IBM Vice President, Social Business Evangelism and Sales

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Complete Guide to Sport Education, Third Edition, offers a thoroughly updated version of the evidence-based curriculum and instruction model pioneered by Daryl Siedentop, universally acknowledged as the Father of Sport Education. Lead author Siedentop first articulated his Sport Education model back in the late 1970s; it has evolved ever since and has been expressed through three editions of this book. This third edition is backed by substantial research that supports the idea that Sport Education is a valuable and motivating approach to delivering quality physical education experiences for students from the early elementary grades through the university years.New and Revised MaterialComplete Guide to Sport Education, Third Edition, offers readers a significant amount of revised and new material, including enhanced guidance for Sport Education programming across a year. Also noteworthy is the updated alignment of Sport Education’s goals and objectives with the SHAPE America standards and the national learning objectives from other countries. In addition, the text provides six brand-new chapters on the following topics: Including students with special needs Implementing Sport Education beyond physical education (e.g., school-based after-school programs, intramurals, community-based programs, and university basic instruction programs) Evidence-based research on Sport Education Developing effective program-level policies and procedures Managing equipment, facilities, and supplies Sport Education’s link with international objectives Unique Approach to Sport EducationComplete Guide to Sport Education represents a departure from traditional curriculum and instruction (C&I) models because it takes an effective student-centered approach, providing students with opportunities to take ownership and responsibility for various aspects of their class experiences. This approach better prepares students to be lifelong participants in healthy physical activity and sport—and to be more engaged in class. The text targets more in-depth and authentic learning experiences than most C&I models, giving students time to develop the skills they need and to learn to fulfill the team roles required for successful seasons. This latest edition introduces new readers to the idea of Sport Education and gives previous users of the model some fresh ways to expand their seasons and make them even more engaging and attractive to their students. Through Sport Education, students are shown effective and meaningful ways to learn about sport, to take part in sport, and to view sport as something they can connect with and find meaning in.Updated AncillariesComplete Guide to Sport Education comes with several useful and updated ancillaries: A web resource that provides a wealth of examples to support the book content; this resource includes forms, charts, assessments, and other tools A test package that houses 447 multiple-choice and short-answer questions A presentation package with 225 slides outlining the book’s content, including select tables and illustrations from the book An instructor guide that includes course syllabus templates for instructors of undergraduate and graduate students, and provides core course assignments, optional course assignments, graduate student course assignments, and signature assignments Book Organization The text is organized into three parts, with part I outlining the essential features of the Sport Education model and identifying the key aspects upon which the model is based. The importance of sport as a cultural phenomenon is then introduced to explain why it should be a part of school physical education programs. This part also addresses how to identify and select season outcomes, how to use instructional alignment to gain quality season experiences, and how to promote physical activity beyond physical education.Part II explores all the important considerations in designing and implementing Sport Education seasons. This includes modifying games and activities, designing competition formats, selecting teams and roles, teaching fair play, developing competent players, and more.Part III delves into key program design considerations, showing the links between Sport Education and U.S. content standards as well as learning objectives from a number of other countries, guiding readers through the assessment process, and examining the various aspects involved in managing a physical education program based on Sport Education. It also shows how to integrate classroom content with Sport Education.Authoritative and Affordable This popular text, whose first edition was published in 1994, is very affordable compared to similar texts. But the greatest benefit is the enduring quality of an evidence-based, student-centered text that has proven to be of high value to instructors and students alike. Through the book’s Sport Education model, students develop sport skills, grow in leadership and responsibility, and learn about the nonplaying roles of the sport experience (e.g., coach, trainer, publicist, equipment manager, choreographer). All of this leads to being more engaged in class—and to continuing a healthy physical activity engagement beyond the school years.

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Half a century ago I left a country, the red color of which dominated a large portion of the world map. One way or another, the fate of almost every single person described in this book is forever linked with that now none-existent empire. Many of them ended up beyond its borders too. Cultures and traditions, and certainly not least of all a Soviet mentality, couldn’t have just left them without a trace. Having been transplanted into a different environment, they had to play the role of themselves apart from certain corrections with regard to the tastes and customs of a new society. Nevertheless, every one of them, both those who left the Soviet Union, and those who stayed behind, were forever linked by one common united phenomenon: they all belonged to the Soviet school of chess. This school of chess was born in the 20’s, but only began to count its true years starting in 1945, when the representatives of the Soviet Union dominated an American squad in a team match. Led by Mikhail Botvinnik, Soviet Grandmasters conquered and ruled the world, save for a short Fischer period, over the course of that same half century. In chess as well as ballet, or music, the word “Soviet” was actually a synonym for the highest quality interpretation of the discipline. The Soviet Union provided unheard of conditions for their players, which were the sort of which their colleagues in the West dare not even dream. Grandmasters and even Masters received a regular salary just for their professional qualifications, thereby raising the prestige of a chess player to what were unbelievable heights. It was a time when any finish in an international tournament, aside from first, was almost considered a failure when it came to Soviet players, and upon their return to Moscow they had to write an official explanation to the Chess Federation or the Sports Committee. The isolation of the country, separated from the rest of the world by an Iron Curtain, was another reason why, talent and energy often manifested themselves in relatively neutral fields. Still if with music, cinematography, philosophy, or history, the Soviet people were raised on a strict diet, that contained multiple restrictions, this did not apply to chess. Grandmasters, and Masters, all varied in terms of their upbringing, education, and mentality and were judged solely on their talent and mastery at the end of the day. Maybe that’s why the Soviet school of chess was full of such improbable variety not only in terms of the style of play of its representatives, but also their different personality types. Built was a gigantic chess pyramid, at the base of which were school championships, which were closely followed by district ones. Later city championships, regions, republics, and finally-the ultimate cherry on top-the national event itself. The Championships of the Soviet Union were in no way inferior to the strongest international tournaments, and collections of the games played there came out as separate publications in the West. That huge brotherhood of chess contained its very own hierarchy within. Among the millions, and multitudes of parishioners-fans of the game-there were the priests-candidate masters. Highly respected were the cardinals-masters. As for Grandmasters though well…they were true Gods. Every person in the USSR knew their names, and those names sounded with just as much adoration, and admiration as those of the nation’s other darlings-the country’s best hockey players. In those days the coming of the American genius only served to strengthen the interest and attention of society towards chess, never mind the fact that by that point it had already been fully saturated by it. The presence of tons of spectators at a chess tournament in Moscow as shown in the series “The Queen’s Gambit” is in no way an exaggeration. That there truly was the golden age of chess. Under the constant eye, and control of the government, chess in the USSR was closely interwoven with politics, much like everything else in that vanished country. Concurrently, the closed, and isolated society in which it was born only served to enable its development, creating its very own type of culture-the giant world of Soviet chess. I was never indifferent to the past. Today, when there is that much more of it then the future, this feeling has become all the sharper. The faster the twentieth century sprints away from us, and the thicker the grass of forgetting grows, soon enough, and under the verified power of the most powerful engines that world of chess will be gone as well. It was an intriguing, and colorful world, and I saw it as my duty to not let it disappear into that empty abyss. Genna Sosonko, May 2021.

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Half a century ago I left a country, the red color of which dominated a large portion of the world map. One way or another, the fate of almost every single person described in this book is forever linked with that now none-existent empire. Many of them ended up beyond its borders too. Cultures and traditions, and certainly not least of all a Soviet mentality, couldn’t have just left them without a trace. Having been transplanted into a different environment, they had to play the role of themselves apart from certain corrections with regard to the tastes and customs of a new society. Nevertheless, every one of them, both those who left the Soviet Union, and those who stayed behind, were forever linked by one common united phenomenon: they all belonged to the Soviet school of chess. This school of chess was born in the 20’s, but only began to count its true years starting in 1945, when the representatives of the Soviet Union dominated an American squad in a team match. Led by Mikhail Botvinnik, Soviet Grandmasters conquered and ruled the world, save for a short Fischer period, over the course of that same half century. In chess as well as ballet, or music, the word “Soviet” was actually a synonym for the highest quality interpretation of the discipline. The Soviet Union provided unheard of conditions for their players, which were the sort of which their colleagues in the West dare not even dream. Grandmasters and even Masters received a regular salary just for their professional qualifications, thereby raising the prestige of a chess player to what were unbelievable heights. It was a time when any finish in an international tournament, aside from first, was almost considered a failure when it came to Soviet players, and upon their return to Moscow they had to write an official explanation to the Chess Federation or the Sports Committee. The isolation of the country, separated from the rest of the world by an Iron Curtain, was another reason why, talent and energy often manifested themselves in relatively neutral fields. Still if with music, cinematography, philosophy, or history, the Soviet people were raised on a strict diet, that contained multiple restrictions, this did not apply to chess. Grandmasters, and Masters, all varied in terms of their upbringing, education, and mentality and were judged solely on their talent and mastery at the end of the day. Maybe that’s why the Soviet school of chess was full of such improbable variety not only in terms of the style of play of its representatives, but also their different personality types. Built was a gigantic chess pyramid, at the base of which were school championships, which were closely followed by district ones. Later city championships, regions, republics, and finally-the ultimate cherry on top-the national event itself. The Championships of the Soviet Union were in no way inferior to the strongest international tournaments, and collections of the games played there came out as separate publications in the West. That huge brotherhood of chess contained its very own hierarchy within. Among the millions, and multitudes of parishioners-fans of the game-there were the priests-candidate masters. Highly respected were the cardinals-masters. As for Grandmasters though well…they were true Gods. Every person in the USSR knew their names, and those names sounded with just as much adoration, and admiration as those of the nation’s other darlings-the country’s best hockey players. In those days the coming of the American genius only served to strengthen the interest and attention of society towards chess, never mind the fact that by that point it had already been fully saturated by it. The presence of tons of spectators at a chess tournament in Moscow as shown in the series “The Queen’s Gambit” is in no way an exaggeration. That there truly was the golden age of chess. Under the constant eye, and control of the government, chess in the USSR was closely interwoven with politics, much like everything else in that vanished country. Concurrently, the closed, and isolated society in which it was born only served to enable its development, creating its very own type of culture-the giant world of Soviet chess. I was never indifferent to the past. Today, when there is that much more of it then the future, this feeling has become all the sharper. The faster the twentieth century sprints away from us, and the thicker the grass of forgetting grows, soon enough, and under the verified power of the most powerful engines that world of chess will be gone as well. It was an intriguing, and colorful world, and I saw it as my duty to not let it disappear into that empty abyss. Genna Sosonko - May 2021

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The outcome of a brutal war, which took place 1,885 years ago, continues to reverberate in the Near East today. It is a tale largely unknown outside Israel, and yet it helps explain why the region continues to be engulfed by strife. "As a historian I learned about the Bar Kokhba War, but the explanations for why and how it happened seemed confused," said historian and author Lindsay Powell. "As with King Arthur, fact and myth have become muddled. To establish the truth, I travelled across three continents. BAR KOKHBA: The Jew Who Defied Hadrian and Challenged the Might of Rome is the result." This amazing and consequential story involves an epic struggle between the two strong-willed leaders over who would rule a nation. One protagonist was Hadrian, the cosmopolitan ruler of the vast Roman Empire, then at its zenith, who some regarded as divine. He is best known today for the famous wall he built in northern Britain. The other was Shim'on, a Jewish military leader in a district of a minor province; some believed him to be the 'King Messiah' after sage Rabbi Akiba allegedly saw him fulfilling biblical prophecy and named him 'Bar Kokhba' ('Son of a Star'). It is also the tale of the clash of two ancient cultures. One was the conqueror, seeking to maintain control of its hard-won dominion they called Judaea; the other was the conquered, seeking to break free and establish a new nation. Shim'on called his new country Israel. Several causes for the war have been suggested, such as bans on circumcision or studying Torah which Powell evaluates in his book. Most likely it was the decision by Hadrian to rebuild then ruined Jerusalem as a pagan city for retired Roman soldiers. He called it Aelia Capitolina after his own family and the triad of Roman gods whose shrine may have been erected over the remains of the Second Temple. It may or may not have been Hadrian's intention, but the Jews took it as a direct insult. During the ensuing conflict - called the 'Second Jewish War' (AD 132-136) - the highly motivated Jewish militia sorely tested the highly trained - and normally invincible - professional Roman army. Powell said: "Amazingly, the Jewish rebels withstood the Roman onslaught for three-and-a-half years. They established an independent nation with its own administration led by Shim'on as its president (nasi). They minted their own coins by overstriking Roman coins with Jewish iconography, cheerfully obliterating the image of the emperor and pagan gods with every strike of the hammer." Found in caves in the Judaean Desert in the 1950s and 1960s, letters from Shim'on to his lieutenants survive revealing how deeply involved he was in day-to-day actions, and his increasing frustration with their laziness. For reasons Powell explains in his book, the Jews ultimately lost. In retribution, Hadrian expelled the Jews from Judea and barred them from entering Aelia Capitolina and its holy sites. He even changed the name of the Roman province to Syria Palaestina - the origin of Palestine. "The outcome of that David and Goliath contest was of great consequence, both for the people of Judaea and for Judaism itself," said Powell. "Centuries of bloodshed followed." In death, Bar Kokhba became a legend. Over the ages, this flawed rebel with a cause become a hero for the increasingly persecuted Jews in the Diaspora longing to found a new Jewish homeland. Across Europe in the early twentieth century, there were athletic teams competing in sports events under the moniker 'Bar Kochba' as part of a movement to create the image of the 'Muscular Jew'. The last games were held in Berlin in 1936, just two years before Kristallnacht. Eric H. Cline, Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology, George Washington University, writes in the foreword of the book: "There are a very limited number of people whose life, and death, still impact other centuries after they have shuffled off this mortal coil. There are fewer still who inspire entire movements, and migrations, such as the return to what is now modern Israel by the Zionists, after that same length of time." In the interwar years in Palestine, armed Jewish resistance groups championed Bar Kokhba as a figure of inspiration in their own struggle against the British and Palestinian Arabs to establish a new State of Israel; it finally came into being in 1948. Today modern Israelis still celebrate Bar Kokhba with bonfires and songs on the annual Lag B'Omer holiday. In researching his book, Powell went on a journey stretching from Hollywood to London, Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and Caesarea, and Herodium to Ein Gedi. He drew upon archaeology, art, coins, inscriptions, militaria, as well as secular and religious documents, to produce a compelling and complete account of the people and events at a crucial time in world history. Commenting on the new book, Cline said: "Let it be said that Powell's researches have resulted in an enthralling journey through history. It is a marvelous search for the man behind the myth, which is well worth reading. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did."

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‘Essential reading.’ – ESQUIRE ‘Both absorbing and highly illuminating’ – THE BOOKSELLER ‘No one understands the intricacies of YouTube like Chris Stokel-Walker’ – THE ATLANTIC Two billion people watch YouTube and it reaches deep into everyday lives. Its creators start new trends, popularise new songs and games and make and break new products. Yet while they are famous to billions of mostly young people, they mostly remain a mystery to the general public and mainstream media. What is the secret of their appeal? How do they cope with being in front of the lens – and who is behind their success? More than 100 insiders spoke candidly to teach journalist Chris Stokel-Walker for this first in-depth independent book on YouTube. YouTubers is the only book you need to understand YouTube, its ownership by Google, its deal for stars and its ecosystem of talent managers, advertisers and marketers. It is a richly-layered deep dive into YouTube brimming with lively characters, engaging facts, and influencer case studies. It is an ideal guide for any media studies students, advertisers, brand managers and business people who need to understand YouTube professionally. And for any non-fiction reader interested in a gripping business and technology saga dripping with big money, ruthlessness, determination and ambition. YouTubers starts by charting the platform's launch in a boring 19-second video of the elephant enclosure at San Diego Zoo – which has now had 242 million views. YouTubers then moves onto the first oddball videos before the site found success by showing comedy clips from the TV show Saturday Night Live. YouTubers reveals how YouTube saw off its emerging rivals in the online video battle of the 2000s and was bought by the search engine specialist Google. With Google's billions and boosted by smartphones, YouTube became the dominant video platform. Bloggers started to create engaging, fast-cut videos that capitalised on the intimate relationship between creator and user – a 'parasocial' relationship stronger than the bond between TV presenter and viewer. By ceaselessly urging their followers to tap the like, comment and subscribe buttons, these creators helped YouTube's rise to global domination. YouTubers speaks to YouTube stars KSI, Hank and John Green and delves into the lives of child star MattyB, the training camp for aspiring teenage bloggers, the YouTube stunts that go wrong and the increasing efforts of creators to earn money from Patreon. And it tackles the platform's Muslim extremism, red-pilling, and its content guidelines and censorship. YouTubers asks how YouTube can take on the threat from other big platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. In short, YouTubers tells the riveting story of the exponential growth of YouTube from single home video to global tech phenomenon. It is the best and only book you need to read on YouTube. Extract Introduction One spring afternoon Casey Neistat uploaded a video lasting five minutes and twenty-two seconds to YouTube. In the style of so many YouTubers, he looked straight into the camera and aired his opinion on a matter of importance. As the elder statesman on the platform, Neistat’s words carry weight. He can make or break products and careers — and this video was no different. Seconds after he uploaded his video to YouTube via his superfast broadband at his creative headquarters in New York, it was available worldwide to four billion people: everyone on Earth with an internet connection. Millions of Neistat’s subscribers instantly received a notification telling them that one of YouTube’s most influential stars was again speaking directly to them. Across the world in apartment blocks, restaurants, bedrooms and bathrooms, phones pinged, buzzed and beeped. Hundreds of thousands of people instantly watched what Neistat had to say. Wearing dark glasses, his hair streaked blond, Neistat vented his frustration at the way the media was second-guessing the motivations of YouTubers; and he wanted to single out one journalist in particular. In the comments section underneath his video his fans began discussing the question he posed: did people post videos on YouTube for the fame and fortune — or just to express themselves? YouTube is a kaleidoscope of visual and audio content that mimics the richness, quirkiness, beauty and madness of human life. Every day its users upload videos on everything from pop music to politics, fashion to plumbing, and cars to fishing. The topics are as diverse (and as random) as the world itself. Want to watch racing pigeons, cut a perfect bob, discuss Che Guevara, speak Mandarin, or play guitar? YouTube can offer that, instantly. Want to relax while seeing boiled sweets made the old-fashioned way? Load up Lofty Pursuits. Have a hankering to watch a man meticulously scratch away the foil on 200 lottery playing cards to see if he can win back his outlay? Type ‘moorsey scratchcards’ into your search bar and reap the rewards. Whether giving sex advice, posting football clips or simply splicing together footage to create an action-packed vlog, video makers want to communicate with and be seen by YouTube’s 1.9 billion registered users. Some hope that, like Casey Neistat, they too will one day set off pings across the world. For a few, notifications mean that millions of fans are watching them and their view counters are whirring upwards, along with their bank balances. Elite influencers are creative and dynamic and get to do what they want all day long. Unsurprisingly, becoming a YouTuber is the job children most covet. They understand the platform’s extraordinary growth. YouTube is expanding so fast that outsiders can’t accurately measure its size. An estimated 576,000 hours of video are added daily to YouTube – vastly more than the new releases on Netflix. In October, November and December 2018, Netflix added 781 hours of original content, while 53 million hours of footage likely went onto YouTube. It would take you 35 days to watch the new Netflix content non-stop. You’d still be watching the YouTube uploads in the year 8069. YouTube’s rise has been swift. In little more than a decade, it has moved from an oddity broadcast on bulky grey computer monitors to mass media entertainment viewed on ultra-thin, wall-mounted 55-inch televisions. In the past five years, YouTube viewing has rocketed from 100 million hours a day to one billion hours a day. Buy the book and carry one reading

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