Search results for ""author bill"

Offering a fresh perspective on one of the most prolific and well-loved catalogs of songs in the rock 'n' roll canon ÊFleetwood Mac FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Iconic Rock SurvivorsÊ digs deeper than your average music compendium and sidesteps the tediousness of most generalized band histories.ÞProfessional yet playful the book's most unique feature is its structure: a hybrid of historical breakdowns Q&As music criticism and best of lists chronicling the band's influence and legacy. No Fleetwood Mac book would be complete without addressing the sensationalism of ÊRumoursÊ or the mythic psychological breakdown of Peter Green. But ÊFleetwood Mac FAQÊ casts a wide net ä avoiding monotony for longtime fans by presenting new criticism and reporting and engaging with newcomers by addressing the most essential chapters in the band's story.ÞIncluded are interviews with former Fleetwood Mac members (guitarists Rick Vito and Billy Burnette) producers (Ken Caillat Richard Dashut John Shanks and Mike Vernon) studio crew members (Rich Feldman Ray Lindsey and Ken Perry) rock critics who've covered the group (Anthony DeCurtis) and others who've been privileged to join the band's inner circle. Sure the book touches on the band's notorious drug use romantic affairs and brutal in-fighting ä more importantly it also sheds fascinating new light on the band's innovative ever-evolving music.

Read more less

Kevin Plank was relatively small for an American footballer, and when he weighed the cotton T-shirt he wore under his team uniform, he found it weighed three pounds because it was so drenched in sweat. Knowing he couldn't hinder himself in this way, he set about finding a material that wasn't so absorbent. Going to a local fabric shop, he soon learned that synthetic materials would not take in as much sweat, so he had a shirt made and found it added just four ounces over the course of a game. When he gave some team-mates samples to try, they also soon saw the advantages. He began to produce the shirts commercially, and now Under Armour is a $2 billion global brand used by people from every sport. Packed with fascinating and inspirational tales of success, Amy Wilkinson's brilliant book explains the six essential skills required by entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams. Based on in-depth interviews with the founders of numerous global brands, from eBay to Spanx, from LinkedIn to PayPal, she shows just what they did and what set them apart. For the key to being a successful entrepreneur isn't necessarily about being 'first', it is about being the 'only' one, and devising a new formula where none previously existed. Above all, these stories show how - if you follow the right steps - anyone can become a successful entrepreneur.

Read more less

Liberty fabric covered editions bring classics from the Faber backlist together with important modern titles, putting them in conversation and celebrating both the history and the future of Faber & Faber. In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister, our protagonist, is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about her encounter with Milkman. But when first brother-in-law sniffs out her struggle, and rumours start to swell, middle sister becomes 'interesting'. The last thing she ever wanted to be. To be interesting is to be noticed and to be noticed is dangerous.Milkman is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is the story of inaction with enormous consequences.In 2019, Milkman, winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize, will be reissued with a bespoke Liberty fabric cover, created uniquely for Anna Burns; Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar will be reissued as a hardback featuring a Liberty fabric from the year of the novel's first publication (1963).ABOUT THE FABRICLiberty Open Call 2019 winner Duncan Grant's Small Town print is one of his series of 'smalltown' ink designs, drawing inspiration from the homes and billowing chimneys of Grant's childhood in Gravesend. Born out of a doodling style, the design features a world that is by turns childlike, slightly abstract and colourfully simplified

Read more less

The world's most famous mononym, Madonna may be outspoken, but she's never outgunned. With a loyal legion of millions of adoring fans, who have stayed by her side for more than four decades, Madonna has inspired and influenced the hearts, souls, and minds of every generation since her now-mythical arrival in New York in 1978.Continuously reinventing her music and her image, she remains today as every bit as powerful, and iconic, as she did throughout her long reign. With quotes from her earliest interviews to her latest (controversial) award speeches, from virgins to vogue-ing, and material girls to unapologetic bitches, Madonna expresses just a little bit of everything for everyone..."I remember just being frozen... He's male and female and beautiful and elegant and poetic and funny and ironic and other-worldly. And I recognized myself in him somehow and he gave me license to dream a different future for myself." In an interview with Mojo magazine, describing her first concert and the impact David Bowie had on her."I stand before you as a doormat, Oh, I mean, as a female entertainer. Thank you for acknowledging my ability to continue my career for 34 years in the face of blatant sexism and misogyny and constant bullying and relentless abuse." On the music industry, accepting Woman of the Year Award at the Billboard Women in Music 2016.

Read more less

The fourth novel in a brilliant Napoleonic series from acclaimed historian Adrian Goldsworthy.The year is 1809, and the recruiting sergeants are hard at work, as the British army gathers strength for the next phase of the campaign against Bonaparte on the Spanish Peninsula. Captain Billy Pringle of the 106th Foot, however, has a somewhat more urgent reason to leave the country: having become embroiled in an ill-advised duel with a lieutenant in the 14th Light Dragoons, a posting to Spain would avoid any awkwardness for the regiment.Along with his friend Lieutenant Williams - whose sister Kitty was the cause of the duel - and the doughty veteran Sergeant Dobson, Pringle takes on the task of training Spanish troops to stand alongside their British allies. But what seems at first like easy duty soon turns into a desperate fight for survival as they find themselves besieged in the strategic fortress of Cuidad Rodrigo. For Bonaparte, taking the fortress will be the first step towards pushing the British back to the sea, and the task is entrusted to one of his most daring and successful generals, Marshal Ney. And Ney in his turn has found the perfect officer to lead the assault, a man not only desperate for advancement but also thirsting for revenge - a man whom Williams knows only too well.

Read more less

In the spellbinding sequel to “breath of fresh air for the genre” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) Blood Like Magic, Voya fights to save her witch community from a terrible future, perfect for fans of Legendborn and Cemetery Boys.Voya Thomas may have passed her Calling to become a full-fledged witch, but the cost was higher than she’d ever imagined.Her grandmother is gone.Her cousin hates her.And her family doesn’t believe that she has what it takes to lead them.What’s more, Voya can’t let go of her feelings for Luc, sponsor son of the genius billionaire Justin Tremblay—the man that Luc believes Voya killed. Consequently, Luc wants nothing to do with her. Even her own ancestors seem to have lost faith in her. Every day Voya begs for their guidance, but her calls go unanswered.As Voya struggles to convince everyone—herself included—that she can be a good Matriarch, she has a vision of a terrifying, deadly future. A vision that would spell the end of the Toronto witches. With a newfound sense of purpose, Voya must do whatever it takes to bring her shattered community together and stop what's coming for them before it’s too late.Even if it means taking down the boy she loves—who might be the mastermind behind the coming devastation.

Read more less

'I thoroughly enjoyed Splash! It's a delicious confection of excellent plotting, an inventively bonkers cast of characters, subtle insights into the world of newspapers and a satisfying ending which invokes the great Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece, Scoop. A fine comedy of manners by a writer who knows the media inside out' BEL MOONEYSam Blunt is a drunken, broken-down tabloid reporter, working for a once-mighty newspaper struggling to come to terms with the digital age. With the assistance of Benedict, an earnest though clever wet-behind-the-ears young intern on the paper, Sam grapples to uncover the story of the century which reveals the political corruption and cynicism at the heart of a rotten Establishment.As they try to nail the story amid a series of capers, Sam and Benedict are frustrated by the self-serving proprietor of the Daily Bugle, various self-appointed do-gooders who want to rein in the Press, and Trevor Yapp, the malign and untrustworthy editor of Bugle Online. Splash! is a satire of the Press and politics in a modern London peopled by a Chinese billionaire would-be press proprietor, a worldly bishop, neglected immigrants, a corrupt and plaintive Prime Minister, and journalists who are often most interested in doing one another down.Yet however self-serving newspapers may sometimes be, Sam and Benedict are ultimately on the side of the angels as they battle to write their triumphant story.

Read more less

'Extraordinary' TONY BLAIR'Riveting' - PHILIPPE SANDS'Brutal, brilliant and scurrilously funny' - MISHA GLENNYThe real scoop isn't on the front page'As FT editor, I was a privileged interlocutor to people in power around the world, each offering unique insights into high-level decision-making and political calculation, often in moments of crisis. These diaries offer snapshots of leadership in an age of upheaval...'Lionel Barber was Editor of the Financial Times for the tech boom, the global financial crisis, the rise of China, Brexit, and mainstream media's fight for survival in the age of fake news.In this unparalleled, no-holds-barred diary of life behind the headlines, he reveals the private meetings and exchanges with political leaders on the eve of referendums, the conversations with billionaire bankers facing economic meltdown, exchanges with Silicon Valley tech gurus and pleas from foreign emissaries desperate for inside knowledge, all against the backdrop of a wildly shifting media landscape.The result is a fascinating - and at times scathing - portrait of power in our modern age; who has it, what it takes and what drives the men and women with the world at their feet. Featuring close encounters with Trump, Cameron, Blair, Putin, Merkel and Mohammed Bin Salman and many more, this is a rare portrait of the people who continue to shape our world and who quite literally, make the news.

Read more less

This beautiful hardback Ladybird edition of The Princess and the Pea is a perfect first illustrated introduction to this classic fairy tale for young readers from 3+. The tale is sensitively retold, retaining all the key parts of the story beginning with the princess finding her way to the castle one stormy night, through to her sleepless night on top of twenty mattresses!Other exciting titles in the Ladybird Tales series include The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Man, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Rapunzel, The Magic Porridge Pot, The Enormous Turnip, Puss in Boots, The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Big Pancake, Dick Whittington, The Princess and the Frog, Chicken Licken, The Ugly Duckling and The Little Red Hen. Ladybird Tales are based on the original Ladybird retellings by Vera Southgate, with beautiful pictures of the kind children like best - full of richness and detail. Children have always loved, and will always remember, these classic fairy tales and sharing them together is an experience to treasure. Ladybird has published fairy tales for over forty-five years, bringing the magic of traditional stories to each new generation of children.

Read more less

From the prize-winning screenwriter of The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour, The Two Popes is a fascinating, revealing and gripping tale of two very different men whose destinies converge with each other - they both live in the Vatican - and the wider world.On 28 February 2013, a 600-year-old tradition was shattered: the conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement. He would resign. Reeling from the news, the College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to congregate in the Sistine Chapel to pick his successor. Their unlikely choice? Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, a one time tango club bouncer, a passionate football fan and a man with the common touch.How did these two men become two of the most powerful people on Earth?What's it like to be the Pope?What does the future hold for the Catholic Church and its 1 billion followers?The Two Popes is a dual biography that masterfully combines these two popes' lives into one gripping narrative. From Benedict and Francis' experiences of war in their homelands - when they were still Joseph and Jorge - and the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Church to its foundations, to the intrigue and the occasional comedy of life in the Vatican, The Pope glitters with the darker and the lighter details of life inside one of the world's most opaque but significant institutions.

Read more less

THE INCREDIBLE NINTH BOOK IN THE ORPHAN-X SERIES WILL THRILL YOU FROM PAGE ONE . . .AN ASSASSIN IN FREEFALLFollowing a career in which he was always the most dangerous man in the room, ex-government assassin Evan Smoak is the last person his friends should ever have to worry about. But when Evan, formerly codenamed Orphan X, drops out of sight they’re concerned. They were right to be. A personal crisis has left him on his knees.A RECLUSIVE BILLIONAIREIf anyone remembered his first name they never cared to use it. But Allman’s lack of empathy hasn’t proven any barrier to building a tech empire whose tentacles reach into every aspect of people’s lives. And in the rush to praise his genius, no one’s asking what it could mean for humanity. Nor what Allman’s got coming next.A KILLER AT LARGESomeone is leaving a trail of dead in their wake. Apparently chosen at random, their deaths dressed up as accidents or suicides. The woman responsible is known only as the Wolf and looks to be every bit Evan’s equal. She now has him in her sights.How does it all connect? What is at stake? And will Evan rediscover the instinct and skill he needs to prevail? Or die trying . . .Praise for the Orphan X series'Feels like a missile launch' DAVID BALDACCI'Outstanding in every way' LEE CHILD'Weapons-grade thriller writing' GUARDIAN'An immensely entertaining adventure' THE TIMES

Read more less

_________________________________________'Great fun' The Times'The smell of chat and kachoris seems to waft from the page' Daily TelegraphMeet Vish Puri, India's most private investigator.Portly, persistent and unmistakably Punjabi, he cuts a determined swathe through modern India's swindlers, cheats and murderers.In hot and dusty Delhi, where call centres and malls are changing the ancient fabric of Indian life, Puri's main work comes from screening prospective marriage partners, a job once the preserve of aunties and family priests. But when an honest public litigator is accused of murdering his maidservant, it takes all of Puri's resources to investigate. How will he trace the fate of the girl, known only as Mary, in a population of more than one billion? Who is taking pot shots at him and his prize chilli plants? And why is his widowed 'Mummy-ji' attempting to play sleuth when everyone knows Mummies are not detectives?With his team of undercover operatives - Tubelight, Flush and Facecream - Puri ingeniously combines modern techniques with principles of detection established in India more than two thousand years ago -- long before 'that Johnny-come-lately' Sherlock Holmes donned his Deerstalker.The search for Mary takes him to the desert oasis of Jaipur and the remote mines of Jharkhand. From his well-heeled Gymkhana Club to the slums where the servant classes live, Puri's adventures reveal modern India in all its seething complexity.

Read more less

‘When a man walks on to a pitch there’s always a chance something magic can happen, that’s what keeps us coming back…’In A Man Walks On To a Pitch, Harry shares a lifetime’s experience of obsessing over football, during which he has seen it all first hand – the good, the bad and the unbelievable. Harry started in an age where players were ordinary blokes who might live on the same street as you and earn a similar wage. Now he manages in an era of player power, multi-million pound wages and teams assembled from around the globe.As he shares stories of some of the legends and journeymen he played, coached, argued and drank with, Harry picks a team for each decade from the 1950s to the present. He gets to the heart of what was right and wrong with each era and explores the changes in the game from lifestyle to tactics. He weaves his choices together with unforgettable tales from the training pitches, boot rooms and card schools.There are tales of the untutored genius of Duncan Edwards and Tom Finney, legendary tough Scots like Bobby Collins, Dave Mackay and Billy Bremner, the world-beaters of 1966, unpredictable one-off wizards from Sir Stanley Matthews to Matt Le Tissier, natural-born goalscorers from Greaves to Dalglish and the greatest foreign players to grace our game from Trautmann to Bergkamp. It is one of the best informal histories of the British game you’ll ever read.

Read more less

This ECLAC annual report sets out and analyses the main foreign direct investment (FDI) trends in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In the region, FDI inflows were up (by 13.2%) year on year for the first time in five years, at US 184.287 billion. This performance is explained by higher flows into just a few countries, however, mainly Brazil and Mexico. Moreover, it does not reflect equity investment, but higher inflows in the form of intercompany loans and, to a lesser extent, reinvestment of earnings. Manufactures and services were the sectors receiving most equity, although there was a slight rise in investment in natural resource sectors compared with 2018

Read more less

Memorable Stories From a Half Century of Sports Journalism For the last half century.For the last half century, Pulitzer Prize–winning sportswriter Ira Berkow has been at the centre of some of the most memorable moments in sports history. From the World Series, NBA Finals, and Super Bowl, to Heavyweight Title Fights, the Olympics, and The Masters, he has seen and covered them all. After fifty years covering sports, with more than twenty-five as a journalist for the New York Times, How Life Imitates Sports shares how these events—and their participants—have significantly shaped how we as a nation have come to understand and perceive our culture (and even our politics). They are a historical record of one significant sphere of our life and times: sports.From Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson, Michael Jordan to LeBron James, Jackie Robinson to Derek Jeter, Billie Jean King to Tonya Harding, O. J. Simpson to Tiger Woods and beyond, this collection is a historical record of our times over this past half century, in terms of society, race and gender, politics, legal issues, and the fabric of our sports passions and human condition, ranging from pathos to humor, from introspection to perception.Including additional commentary on when these events first occurred and how they have impacted us today, Berkow shares the knowledge of someone who sat ringside, in the press box, and on the sidelines for some of the most notable moments in our history. So whether you're a fan of baseball and basketball, or tennis and soccer, How Life Imitates Sports shows you our history from someone who witnessed it first-hand; a worthy collection for anyone who appreciates the highest quality sports journalism.

Read more less

This chock-full how-to photography book from the experts at National Geographic covers everything from composition and camera basics to professional techniques of timing and lighting, as well as pointers on smartphone cameras, social media posting, and digital editing. With more than two billion pictures taken every day, everyone is a photographer now--and we all want to get better at it. This definitive guide shares top secrets and skills from National Geographic's most talented photojournalists, all sure to help you capture the best pictures of what matters most.Created to help a good photographer become even better, this authoritative guide ranges from basics like lens technology and image composition to more complex matters of lighting, filters, and digital editing, with ample advice on best practices including: lighting & exposure aperture & depth of field choosing lenses smartphone techniques photo editing software social media posting archiving photos You’ll also learn how a photographer looks at the world, with nuanced commentaries from photo editors on what makes an image great, using examples from celebrated National Geographic photojournalists like Joel Sartore, Brian Skerry, Lynn Johnson, and Ami Vitale. Finally, a fascinating illustrated time line of photography tracks progress from daguerreotypes to smartphones.Practical and inspiring, this is the perfect how-to, how-it-works, and how-to-get-better guide from National Geographic, the ultimate source for everything photographic. For more photography guidance and inspiration from Nat Geo experts, check out National Geographic Photo Basics by Joel Sartore as well as our many books showcasing National Geographic photography, including National Geographic The 21st Century, America the Beautiful: A Story in Photographs, and Women: The National Geographic Image Collection.

Read more less

This text introduces a group of young black artists who painted their way out of the despair awaiting them in the citrus groves and packing houses of 1950s Florida. As their story recaptures the imagination of Floridians and their paintings fetch ever-escalating prices, the legacy of their freshly conceived landscapes exerts a new and powerful influence on the popular conception of the Sunshine State. Emerging in the late 1950s, the Highwaymen created idyllic, quickly realized images of the Florida dream and peddled some 100,000 of them from the trunks of their cars. Working with inexpensive materials, the Highwaymen produced an astonishing number of landscapes that depict a romanticized Florida - a faraway place of wind-swept palm trees, billowing cumulus clouds, wetlands, lakes, rivers, ocean, and setting sun. With paintings still wet, they loaded their cars and travelled the state's east coast, selling the images door-to-door and store-to-store, in restaurants, offices, courthouses and bank lobbies. Sometimes characterized as motel art, the work is a hybrid form of landscape painting, corrupting the classically influenced ideas of the Highwaymen's white mentor, A.E. ""Bean"" Backus. At first, the paintings sold like boom-time real estate. In succeeding decades, however, they were consigned to attics and garage sales. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as the work of American folk artists. Gary Monroe tells the story behind the Highwaymen, a loose association of 25 men and one woman from the Ft. Pierce area - a fascinating mixture of individual talent, collective enterprise and cultural heritage. He also offers a critical look at the paintings and the movement's development. Added to this are personal reminiscences by some of the artists, along with a gallery of 63 full-colour reproductions of their paintings.

Read more less

The latest and greatest in ESPN.com baseball guru Rob Neyer's Big Book series, Legends is a highly entertaining guide to baseball fables that have been handed down through generations.The well-told baseball story has long been a staple for baseball fans. In Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends, Neyer breathes new life into both classic and obscure stories throughout twentieth-century baseball—stories that, while engaging on their own, also tell us fascinating things about their main characters and about the sport's incredibly rich history. With his signature style, Rob gets to the heart of every anecdote, working through the particulars with careful research drawn from a variety of primary sources. For each story, he asks: Did this really happen? Did it happen, sort of? Or was the story simply the wild invention of someone's imagination? Among the scores of legends Neyer questions and investigates... -Did an errant Bob Feller pitch really destroy the career of a National League All-Star? -Did Greg Maddux mean to give up a long blast to Jeff Bagwell? -Was Fred Lynn the clutch player he thinks he was? -Did Tommy Lasorda have a direct line to God? -Did Negro Leaguer Gene Benson really knock Indians second baseman Johnny Berardino out of baseball and into General Hospital? -Did Billy Martin really outplay Jackie Robinson every time they met? -Oh, and what about Babe Ruth's “Called Shot”? Rob checks each story, separates the truths from the myths, and places their fascinating characters into the larger historical context. Filled with insider lore and Neyer's sharp wit and insights, this is an exciting addition to a superb series and an essential read for true fans of our national pastime.

Read more less

This book reviews recent innovations in the smart agriculture space that use the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensing to deliver Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutionsto agricultural productivity in the agricultural production hubs. In this regard, South and Southeast Asia are one of the major agricultural hubs of the world, facing challenges of climate change and feeding the fast-growing population. To address such challenges, a transboundary approach along with AI and BIG data for bioinformatics are required to increase yield and minimize pre- and post-harvest losses in intangible climates to drive the sustainable development goal (SDG) for feeding a major part of the 9 billion population by 2050 (Society 5.0 SDG 1 & 2). Therefore, this book focuses on the solution through smart IoT and AI-based agriculture including pest infestation and minimizing agricultural inputs for in-house and fields production such as light, water, fertilizer and pesticides to ensure food security aligns with environmental sustainability. It provides a sound understanding for creating new knowledge in line with comprehensive research and education orientation on how the deployment of tiny sensors, AI/Machine Learning (ML), controlled UAVs, and IoT setups for sensing, tracking, collection, processing, and storing information over cloud platforms for nurturing and driving the pace of smart agriculture in this current time. The book will appeal to several audiences and the contents are designed for researchers, graduates, and undergraduate students working in any area of machine learning, deep learning in agricultural engineering, smart agriculture, and environmental science disciplines. Utmost care has been taken to present a varied range of resource areas along with immense insights into the impact and scope of IoT, AI and ML in the growth of intelligent digital farming and smart agriculture which will give comprehensive information to the targeted readers.

Read more less

Uncovers the surprising ways math shapes our lives—from whom we date to what we learn.How do dating sites match compatible partners? What do cell phones and sea coasts have in common? And why do computer scientists keep ant colonies? Jeff Suzuki answers these questions and more in Patently Mathematical, which explores the mathematics behind some of the key inventions that have changed our world.In recent years, patents based on mathematics have been issued by the thousands—from search engines and image recognition technology to educational software and LEGO designs. Suzuki delves into the details of cutting-edge devices, programs, and products to show how even the simplest mathematical principles can be turned into patentable ideas worth billions of dollars. Readers will discover • whether secure credit cards are really secure• how improved data compression made streaming video services like Netflix a hit• the mathematics behind self-correcting golf balls• why Google is such an effective and popular search engine• how eHarmony and Match.com find the perfect partner for those seeking a mate• and much more!A gifted writer who combines quirky historical anecdotes with relatable, everyday examples, Suzuki makes math interesting for everyone who likes to ponder the world of numerical relationships. Praise for Jeff Suzuki's Constitutional Calculus"Presents an entertaining and insightful approach to the mathematics that underlies the American system of government. The book is neatly organized, breaking down the United States Constitution by article, section, and amendment. Within each piece, Suzuki reviews the mathematical principles that went into the underlying framework."—Mathematical Reviews"A breath of fresh air. . . . A reaffirmation that mathematics should be used more often to make general public policy."—MAA Reviews

Read more less

A real-world framework for driving capital project success Capital Projects provides an empirically-based framework for capital project strategy and implementation, based on the histories of over 20,000 capital projects ranging from $50,000 to $40 billion. Derived from the detailed, carefully normalized database at preeminent project consultancy IPA, this solid framework is applicable to all types of capital investment projects large and small, in any sector, including technology, life sciences, petroleum, consumer products, and more. Although grounded in empirical research and rigorous data analysis, this book is not an academic discussion or a conceptual dissertation; it's a practical, actionable, on-the-ground guide to making your project succeed. Clear discussion tackles the challenges that cause capital projects to fail or underperform, and lays out exactly what it takes to successfully manage a project using real-world methods that apply at any level. Businesses report that 60 percent of their projects fail to meet all business objectives, and IPA's database shows that projects' final average net present value undershoots initial estimates by 28 percent. This book provides concrete, actionable solutions to help you avoid the pitfalls and lead the way toward a more positive outcome. Avoid the missteps that make capital projects fail Learn the specific practices that drive project success Understand what effective capital project management entails Discover real-world best practices that generate more value from capital When capital projects fail, it is almost always preventable. Inefficiency, underestimated timelines, and unforeseen costs are the primary weights that drag a project down—and they are all avoidable with good management. Capital Projects gives you the insight and practical tools you need to drive a successful project.

Read more less

From a certain perspective, the biggest political story of 2016 was how the candidate who bought three-quarters of the political ads lost to the one whose every provocative Tweet set the agenda for the day’s news coverage. With the arrival of bot farms, microtargeted Facebook ads, and Cambridge Analytica, isn’t the age of political ads on local TV coming to a close? You might think. But you’d be wrong to the tune of $4.4 billion just in 2016. In U.S. elections, there’s a lot more at stake than the presidency. TV spending has gone up dramatically since 2006, for both presidential and down-ballot races for congressional seats, governorships, and state legislatures—and the 2020 campaign shows no signs of bucking this trend. When candidates don’t enjoy the name recognition and celebrity of the presidential contenders, it’s very much business as usual. They rely on the local TV newscasts, watched by 30 million people every day—not Tweets—to convey their messages to an audience more fragmented than ever. At the same time, the nationalization of news and consolidation of local stations under juggernauts like Nexstar Media and Sinclair Broadcasting mean a decreasing share of time devoted to down-ballot politics—almost 90 percent of 2016’s local political stories focused on the presidential race. Without coverage of local issues and races, ad buys are the only chance most candidates have to get their messages in front of a broadcast audience. On local TV news, political ads create the reality of local races—a reality that is not meant to inform voters but to persuade them. Voters are left to their own devices to fill in the space between what the ads say—the bought reality—and what political stories used to cover.

Read more less

How does a bird experience a city? A backyard? A park? As the world has become more urban, noisier from increased traffic, and brighter from streetlights and office buildings, it has also become more dangerous for countless species of birds. Warblers become disoriented by nighttime lights and collide with buildings. Ground-feeding sparrows fall prey to feral cats. Hawks and other birds-of-prey are sickened by rat poison. These name just a few of the myriad hazards. How do our cities need to change in order to reduce the threats, often created unintentionally, that have resulted in nearly three billion birds lost in North America alone since the 1970s? In The Bird-Friendly City, Timothy Beatley, a longtime advocate for intertwining the built and natural environments, takes readers on a global tour of cities that are reinventing the status quo with birds in mind. Efforts span a fascinating breadth of approaches: public education, urban planning and design, habitat restoration, architecture, art, civil disobedience, and more. Beatley shares empowering examples, including: advocates for "catios," enclosed outdoor spaces that allow cats to enjoy backyards without being able to catch birds; a public relations campaign for vultures; and innovations in building design that balance aesthetics with preventing bird strikes. Through these changes and the others Beatley describes, it is possible to make our urban environments more welcoming to many bird species. Readers will come away motivated to implement and advocate for bird-friendly changes, with inspiring examples to draw from. Whether birds are migrating and need a temporary shelter or are taking up permanent residence in a backyard, when the environment is safer for birds, humans are happier as well.

Read more less

Everybody is aware, all seven billion of us. We are aware of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. All people share the experience of being aware, but relatively few people are aware that they are aware. Most people's lives consist of a flow of thoughts, images, ideas, feelings, sensations, sights, sounds, and so on. Very few people ask, "What is it that knows this flow of thoughts, feelings, and perceptions? With what am I aware of my experience?"The knowing of our being-or rather, awareness's knowing of its own being in us-is our primary experience, our most fundamental and intimate experience. It is in this experience that all the peace, happiness, and love we have ever longed for reside. The happiness we have sought for so long outside of ourselves, in situations, objects, and relationships, turns out to be always present, always available, in the simple knowing of our own being as it is. The knowing of our own being shines in each one of us as the experience "I am" or "I am aware," or simply as the thought "I." Because this simplest, most obvious, most familiar, and intimate experience is to the mind not a thing, or nothing, it is overlooked or forgotten by the vast majority of humanity. The overlooking of our own being is the root cause of all unhappiness and, therefore, the root cause of our search for happiness. What is the nature of this experience of being aware? The contemplations in this collection will lead readers toward their own experiential understanding of that which we all call "I."Being Aware of Being Aware is the first and introductory volume in the Essence of Meditation series of collected meditations on the fundamentals of non-duality. Each volume will include six essays, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at retreats. Future titles include The Nature of Mind, I Am, and The Nature of Happiness.

Read more less

This book must not be ignored. It really is our final warning. Mark Lynas delivers a vital account of the future of our earth, and our civilisation, if current rates of global warming persist. And it’s only looking worse. We are living in a climate emergency. But how much worse could it get? Will civilisation collapse? Are we already past the point of no return? What kind of future can our children expect? Rigorously cataloguing the very latest climate science, Mark Lynas explores the course we have set for Earth over the next century and beyond. Degree by terrifying degree, he charts the likely consequences of global heating and the ensuing climate catastrophe. At one degree – the world we are already living in – vast wildfires scorch California and Australia, while monster hurricanes devastate coastal cities. At two degrees the Arctic ice cap melts away, and coral reefs disappear from the tropics. At three, the world begins to run out of food, threatening millions with starvation. At four, large areas of the globe are too hot for human habitation, erasing entire nations and turning billions into climate refugees. At five, the planet is warmer than for 55 million years, while at six degrees a mass extinction of unparalleled proportions sweeps the planet, even raising the threat of the end of all life on Earth. These escalating consequences can still be avoided, but time is running out. We must largely stop burning fossil fuels within a decade if we are to save the coral reefs and the Arctic. If we fail, then we risk crossing tipping points that could push global climate chaos out of humanity’s control. This book must not be ignored. It really is our final warning.

Read more less

Keith Haring (1958 -1990) is widely recognised for his colourful paintings, drawings, sculptures and murals. Haring exploded onto the early 1980s New York art scene with his vivid graffiti-inspired drawings, many of which found exposure in the public realm, such as the Times Square billboard broadcast of his famous Radiant Child in 1982. Haring's instantly recognisable `cartoon-like' imagery not only drew on the iconography of contemporary pop and club culture but also looked back to the patterns and rhythms of Islamic and Japanese art, and primitive wall-paintings,. Furthermore his work also reflected a profound commitment to social justice and activism, and raised numerous issues that remain relevant today, including the AIDS crisis, the Cold War and fear of nuclear attack, racism, the excesses of capitalism and environmental degradation. Featuring around fifty works supported by rarely seen photography, film and archival documents from the Keith Haring Foundation, this accessible book will not only introduce Haring to a new audience but also throw fresh light on an artist whose work remains symptomatic of the subcultural and creative energy of 1980s New York. Three short texts exploring various aspects of Haring's practice will be interspersed with illustrations of his works and a rolling time-line featuring key social and political events of the 1980s (from the election of Reagan in 1980 and the explosion of hip hop from underground movement to global phenomenon to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989) and Haring's responses to them. The publication also aims to include select and unpublished reminiscences from those who collaborated and interacted with Haring, including performers such as Madonna and Grace Jones and artists Jenny Holzer and Yoko Ono.

Read more less

The Times Best Literary Non-fiction Books 2021 - 'a super yarn' 'Rick Gekoski's encyclopaedic knowledge of rare books is matched only by the enthusiasm and brio with which he writes about them' Ian Rankin Rick Gekoski has been traversing the rocky terrain of the rare book trade for over fifty years. The treasure he seeks is scarce, carefully buried and often jealously guarded, knowledge of its hiding place shared through word of mouth like the myths of old. In Guarded by Dragons, Gekoski invites readers into this enchanted world as he reflects on the gems he has unearthed throughout his career. He takes us back to where his love of collecting began - perusing D.H. Lawrence first editions in a slightly suspect Birmingham carpark. What follows are dizzying encounters with literary giants as Gekoski publishes William Golding, plays ping-pong with Salman Rushdie and lunches with Graham Greene. A brilliant stroke of luck sees Sylvia Plath's personal copy of The Great Gatsby fall into Gekoski's lap, only for him to discover the perils of upsetting a Poet Laureate when Ted Hughes demands its return. Hunting for literary treasure is not without its battles and Gekoski boldly breaks the cardinal rule never to engage in a lawsuit with someone much richer than yourself, while also guarding his bookshop from the most unlikely of thieves. The result is an unparalleled insight into an almost mythical world where priceless first editions of Ulysses can vanish, and billionaires will spend as much gold as it takes to own the manuscript of J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard. Engaging, funny and shrewd, Guarded by Dragons is a fascinating discussion on value and worth. At the same time, Gekoski artfully reveals how a manuscript can tell a thousand stories.

Read more less

They make an odd gang: football thugs, gay activists, French celebrities, Jewish academics, uneasy alliances of feminists and conservatives, politicians hungry for power. The only thing they have in common is a belief that Islam will overrun the West. The movement was born with 9/11. As coalition troops invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, iconoclastic journalists like Oriana Fallaci and Melanie Phillips warned that Muslims in the West were a potential enemy within. They got their ideological ammunition from a mysterious woman called Bat Ye’or, a Jewish-Egyptian ideologue with a career on the fringes of academia. An online underground community spread the message. Soon sites like Jihadwatch and Little Green Footballs were warning the world that Islam posed a threat to democracy. In 2007 the Counter-Jihad Conference in Brussels brought activists face-to-face with mentors like Bat Ye’or for the first time. Then British conference attendees hooked up with football hooligans and an Evangelical Christian millionaire to form the English Defence League. Similar anti-Islamic groups blossomed across Europe – until a massacre by Norwegian Anders Breivik disillusioned many. The Arab Spring, a series of Islamist terrorist attacks and the European migrant crisis reinvigorated the movement. By this time prominent American counter-jihad bloggers had jobs writing for Breitbart News, a right-wing news outlet with the ear of a New York billionaire considering a run in the 2016 Presidential election. Donald J. Trump would get elected on a platform of populist nationalism and counter-jihad policies. Far-right movements across Europe took note. Christopher Othen weaves together current events and history into a compelling account of the counter-jihad movement.

Read more less

Storytelling is pop culture’s `weapon’ of choice to connect, engage and ultimately convince. Every TV ad a compelling movie? Every Facebook post a contagious piece of content? Every infographic a work of art? Yes, please. Tell me where to sign up! Right now, this very minute, a junior copywriter is adding “storyteller” to his Facebook profile. There is a gaming developer doing the same on LinkedIn. A PR agent is casually including “teller of stories” in his Twitter bio. Graphic designers, journalists, editors, broadcasters, coders, model makers, set designers, ginormous brands, ocean explorers, astronauts, schoolteachers, CEOs, marketing directors, creative consultants and trend watchers are peppering their websites, blogs and email signatures with the word “storytelling.” In Storytelling on Steroids, editor and adman John Weich finds out why. Where did all this storytelling come from? Why are so many professionals suddenly so eager to spread the storytelling gospel? And who blazed the trail for an Age of Storytelling in mainstream communication? In his compact, fast-moving book, Weich explores the iconic brands, cultural movements and social technologies that have contributed most to storytelling’s rise in mainstream creativity and communication. Along the way, he calls out countless pop culture darlings to make his case: Batman, Banksy, Tomb Raider, TED Talks, Radiohead, Jay-Z, BMW and New York Times infographics. He even raves about a powerful little campaign about the worst hotel in the world. What we’re experiencing isn’t a radical new movement but a storytelling renaissance, one fueled by addictive technologies, the abundance of choice and … you! You and the billion others engaged in the most massive and shamelessly personal storytelling experiment in the history of humankind: social media.

Read more less

"One might argue that nothing is sacred in Caroline Knox's work, but it would be truer to its spirit to say that everything is sacred here-and all are welcome."-Rebecca Frank, Boston Review "Caroline Knox reminds us how whangy and interesting it all is."-C.D. Wright "She is often obscure, but her allusions are as much a sign of camaraderie as of scholarly pretension, her poems a pert crystallization impossible in more narrative poetry."-The New Yorker Caroline Knox once again demonstrates that she is a master at lyrical billiards, sending all levels of diction in surprising and comedic directions. No subject matter is off-limits for her examination. Her vast range of experiment is exciting, and the ensuing poems are games, dreams, and riddles. This collection is art on the page for the eye and the ear. From "Poem": Of milk, these persons make the butter until have what are cheeses when they're at home; of cheese, hors d'oeuvres of sandwich are manufactured sandwich islands. The workforce custom subsume draft cereal. Forasmuch as we are not birdlike, we pig out, crikey, put away comestibles big-time. Caroline Knox's most recent publications are Flemish (Wave Books, 2013), and Nine Worthies (Wave Books, 2010). Quaker Guns (Wave Books, 2008) received a Recommended Reading Award 2009 from the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Six poems are anthologized in The Norton Anthology of Postmodern American Poetry, Second Edition. She has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council (1996, 2006), The Fund for Poetry, and the Yale/Mellon Visiting Faculty Program.

Read more less

Phosphorus has played a critical role in some of the most lethal substances on earth: firebombs, rat poison, nerve gas. But it’s also the key component of one of the most vital: fertilizer, which has sustained life for billions of people. In this major work of explanatory science and environmental journalism, Pulitzer Prize finalist Dan Egan investigates the past, present, and future of what has been called “the oil of our time.” The story of phosphorus spans the globe and vast tracts of human history. First discovered in a seventeenth-century alchemy lab in Hamburg, it soon became a highly sought-after resource. The race to mine phosphorus took people from the battlefields of Waterloo, which were looted for the bones of fallen soldiers, to the fabled guano islands off Peru, the Bone Valley of Florida, and the sand dunes of the Western Sahara. Over the past century, phosphorus has made farming vastly more productive, feeding the enormous increase in the human population. Yet, as Egan harrowingly reports, our overreliance on this vital crop nutrient is today causing toxic algae blooms and “dead zones” in waterways from the coasts of Florida to the Mississippi River basin to the Great Lakes and beyond. Egan also explores the alarming reality that diminishing access to phosphorus poses a threat to the food system worldwide—which risks rising conflict and even war. With The Devil’s Element, Egan has written an essential and eye-opening account that urges us to pay attention to one of the most perilous but little-known environmental issues of our time.

Read more less

It began as poisonous rotgut in Medieval Russia—Ivan the Terrible liked it, Peter the Great loved it—but this grain alcohol "without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color" has become our uncontested king of spirits. Over a thousand brands fight for market share, shelved in glass skulls, Tommy guns, bulletproof bottles; flavored with pears, currants, chipotle; or quintuple distilled by Donald Trump. But it wasn't always thus. For 200 years, America drank the brown stuff, which gave us Colonial rumrunners, the Whiskey Rebellion, and Bourbon County, Kentucky. So how did Russia's "little water," originally a medieval rotgut medicine, unseat America's favorite hooch? Vic Matus takes us on an incredible visual journey from vodka's humble American origins in a Depression-era Connecticut factory—using the family recipe from a poor Russian exile in France named Vladimir Smirnov—through its rise to glamour and fame at the hands of James Bond and the 1990s boom enshrined in Sex and the City's Grey Goose Cosmos to today's craft distillery movement, which approaches the drink as an art form. You'll see in clear, intoxicating detail how hippie culture, women's lib, and an absolutely ingenious Swedish company all played their part, transforming the booze into a status symbol. By 1975, the war had ended: Vodka officially became our favorite spirit. Today, a third of all cocktails ordered contain it. Last year $20 billion in sales poured in from more than 140 million gallons of the stuff. Here is the crisply distilled, bracing story of how risk-taking entrepreneurs defied the odds and turned medieval medicine into a multibillion-dollar industry.

Read more less

“[I] can’t recommend this joint enough. ... An illuminating and discomfiting read.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates "Essential reading." —New York Review of BooksA shocking, heart-wrenching investigation into America’s housing crisis and the modern-day robber barons who are making a fortune off the backs of the disenfranchised working and middle class—among them, Donald Trump and his inner circle. Two years before the housing market collapsed in 2008, Donald Trump looked forward to a crash: “I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy,” he said. But our future president wasn’t alone. While millions of Americans suffered financial loss, tycoons pounced to heartlessly seize thousands of homes—their profiteering made even easier because, as prize-winning investigative reporter Aaron Glantz reveals in Homewreckers, they often used taxpayer money—and the Obama administration’s promise to cover their losses. In Homewreckers, Glantz recounts the transformation of straightforward lending into a morass of slivered and combined mortgage “products” that could be bought and sold, accompanied by a shift in priorities and a loosening of regulations and laws that made it good business to lend money to those who wouldn’t be able to repay. Among the men who laughed their way to the bank: Trump cabinet members Steve Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross, Trump pal and confidant Tom Barrack, and billionaire Republican cash cow Steve Schwarzman. Homewreckers also brilliantly weaves together the stories of those most ravaged by the housing crisis. The result is an eye-opening expose of the greed that decimated millions and enriched a gluttonous few.

Read more less

“[I] can’t recommend this joint enough. ... An illuminating and discomfiting read.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates "Essential reading." —New York Review of BooksA shocking, heart-wrenching investigation into America’s housing crisis and the modern-day robber barons who are making a fortune off the backs of the disenfranchised working and middle class—among them, Donald Trump and his inner circle. Two years before the housing market collapsed in 2008, Donald Trump looked forward to a crash: “I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy,” he said. But our future president wasn’t alone. While millions of Americans suffered financial loss, tycoons pounced to heartlessly seize thousands of homes—their profiteering made even easier because, as prize-winning investigative reporter Aaron Glantz reveals in Homewreckers, they often used taxpayer money—and the Obama administration’s promise to cover their losses. In Homewreckers, Glantz recounts the transformation of straightforward lending into a morass of slivered and combined mortgage “products” that could be bought and sold, accompanied by a shift in priorities and a loosening of regulations and laws that made it good business to lend money to those who wouldn’t be able to repay. Among the men who laughed their way to the bank: Trump cabinet members Steve Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross, Trump pal and confidant Tom Barrack, and billionaire Republican cash cow Steve Schwarzman. Homewreckers also brilliantly weaves together the stories of those most ravaged by the housing crisis. The result is an eye-opening expose of the greed that decimated millions and enriched a gluttonous few.

Read more less

This book is about the convergence of trends in two American institutions – the economy and the criminal justice system. The American economy has radically transformed in the past half-century, led by advances in automation technology that have permanently altered labor market dynamics. Over the same period, the U.S. criminal justice system experienced an unprecedented expansion at great cost. These costs include not only the $80 billion annually in direct expenditures on criminal justice, but also the devastating impacts experienced by justice-involved individuals, families, and communities. Recently, a widespread consensus has emerged that the era of “mass incarceration” is at an end, reflected in a declining prison population. Criminal justice reforms such as diversion and problem-solving courts, a renewed focus on reentry, and drug policy reform have as their goal keeping more individuals with justice system involvement out of prisons, in the community and subsequently in the labor force, which lacks the capacity to accommodate these additional would-be workers. This poses significant problems for criminal justice practice, which relies heavily on employment as a signal of offenders’ intentions to live a law-abiding lifestyle. The diminished capacity of the economy to utilize the labor of all who have historically been expected to work presents significant challenges for American society. Work, in the American ethos is the marker of success, masculinity and how one “contributes to society.” What are the consequences of ignoring these converging structural trends? This book examines these potential consequences, the meaning of work in American society, and suggests alternative redistributive and policy solutions to avert the collision course of these economic and criminal justice policy trends.

Read more less

When Tony Roper discovered at the age of twenty- seven that acting could be a proper job, it changed his life forever. Having drifted from occasional schooling to various adventures on the bread vans, down the mines and in the shipyards, Tony then saw an advert in the newspaper for part-time actors to star opposite glamorous actresses. He liked the sound of that, and it was to be the start of a whole new life. Now, for the first time, Tony tells his colourful life story. There's his large extended family which had more than its fair share of characters, his father's secret war record, the incident with the bread knife and his brother, his narrow escapes from death, and plenty of unexpected family revelations. Then there's his time as the legendary Jamesie Cotter in Rab C. Nesbitt , his enduring friendship (and the odd fallout) with Rikki Fulton, hilarious appearances in Only an Excuse?, Scotch & Wry and Naked Video , in-depth discussions with Billy Connolly about who really makes the best pies, how he came to write his classic play The Steamie - and why it nearly didn't make it to the stage. Tony also describes his shocking recent health scares and his agonising decision about whether to go for a life-saving operation or play one last game for Dukla Pumpherston. I'll No Tell You Again is the inspiring and hilarious autobiography of one of our funniest and best-loved actors, known to millions as Tony Roper and to his family as... well, read it and you'll find out!

Read more less

DON'T MISS OLLIE OLLERTON'S MUST-HAVE SURVIVAL GUIDE, HOW TO SURVIVE (ALMOST) ANYTHING! PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW.THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLEROLLIE OLLERTON CO-HOSTS SAS: WHO DARES WINS ALONGSIDE ANT MIDDLETON, JASON FOX and MARK BILLINGHAM. THIS IS HIS INCREDIBLE TRUE STORYWhere is your break point?Is it here? Facing the gruelling SAS selection process on one leg, with a busted ankle and the finish line nowhere in sight?Or here? Under heavy fire from armed kidnappers while protecting journalists en route to Baghdad.Or is it here? At the bottom of a bottle, with a family in pieces, unable to adapt to a civilian lifestyle, yearning for a warzone?Ex-Special Forces soldier and star of TV's SAS: Who Dares Wins, Ollie Ollerton has faced many break points in his life and now he tells us the vital lessons he has learnt. His incredible story features hardened criminals, high-speed car chases, counter-terrorism and humanitarian heroics - freeing children from a trafficking ring in Thailand.Ollie has faced break points in his personal life too, surviving a freak childhood attack, run-ins with the law as a teenager rebelling against a broken home, his self-destructive battles with alcohol and drug addiction, and his struggles with anxiety and depression. His final redemption as an entrepreneur and mental health charity ambassador has seen him overcome adversity to build a new and better life.'Everyone has the capacity for incredible achievement, because it's only when it's crunch time, when you're down to your last bullet - when you're at break point - that you find out who you really are.'

Read more less

'a SERIOUSLY creepy thriller. I may never venture into the loft again' - MARK BILLINGHAM 'Disturbing, blackly funny and completely compulsive' - ALEX NORTH 'A brilliantly chilling story with tension on every page' - T.M. LOGAN ________________________________________ THERE'S A SERIAL KILLER ON THE RUN AND HE'S HIDING IN YOUR HOUSE Thomas Brogan is a serial killer. With a trail of bodies in his wake and the police hot on his heels, it seems like Thomas has nowhere left to hide. That is until he breaks into an abandoned house at the end of a terrace on a quiet street. And when he climbs up into the loft, he realises that he can drop down into all the other houses through the shared attic space. That's when the real fun begins. Because the one thing that Thomas enjoys even more than killing is playing games with his victims - the lonely old woman, the bickering couple, the tempting young newlyweds. And his new neighbours have more than enough dark secrets to make this game his best one yet... Do you fear The Resident? Soon you'll be dying to meet him. ________________________________________ 'Brilliant. So twisted, clever and funny. Highly recommended' - MARK EDWARDS 'Clever, addictive and brazenly terrifying. I slept with the lights on after reading this one' - CHRIS WHITAKER 'Dark and disturbing yet so absorbing. Jackson knows how to reel you in' - MEL SHERRATT 'A brilliantly creepy, edge-of-your-seat, tense thriller' - WILL CARVER 'Superb. Creepy, pacy, and oh so witty' - CAZ FREAR 'A chilling psycho thriller with a very novel twist' - PAUL FINCH 'Utterly compelling and impossible to put down. Incredible' - LUCA VESTE 'Twisted as hell. I loved it!' - MANDASUE HELLER

Read more less

On November 4th 2016 the Paris Agreement entered into force. The warming of the climate system, first recognized over a century ago, has become one of the key political and social issues of our time. Some still deny it is happening, others are incensed by the slow pace of change, while most are left confused and uncertain not just by the science, but by the panoply of solutions put forward by politicians, business people, academics and activists. At its most ambitious, the Paris Agreement implies a transition within the global energy system such that carbon dioxide emissions fall rapidly from 40 billion tonnes per annum in 2016, to net-zero by the middle of the century. Yet our fossil fuel based energy system which ushered in the Industrial Revolution nearly 200 years ago continues to grow and evolve even as new sources of energy come into the market and compete. The principal economic instrument for change is clear and has been for over two decades, but in 2017 only a fraction of the global economy actively employs government led carbon pricing policies and within that only a handful of systems operate at a level commensurate with the pace and scale of change that is necessary. As deployment of new energy technologies accelerates, can solutions be found to cover the full range of services delivered by fossil fuels and can warming be limited to the agreed global goals? Putting the Genie Back explores the climate issue from its very beginnings through to the end of end of the 21st Century and looks in depth at the transition challenge we collectively face.

Read more less

Take a trip beyond this Earth to explore the myths of The Mandalorian and uncover the anatomy of the newest space western in the Star Wars Universe.Star Wars dominates the film world. The combined box office revenue of the Star Wars movies equates to over $10 billion, making it the second highest-grossing film franchise of all time. But this franchise is no blaster from the past. Its fantastically successful films have now been followed by multiple television series set in that same galaxy far, far away. The franchise’s flagship television series, and likely the firmest fan favorite for some time to come, is The Mandalorian. Tracing the tale of the titular bounty hunter, traveling across the furthest reaches of that mythic galaxy, The Mandalorian has been greatly praised and highly acclaimed for creating characters with gravitas and originality, worlds with depth and impact, resulting in some of the best Star Wars content ever. Even though it’s set in deep space, The Mandalorian has as much in common with Western movies as it does with science fiction. Saloons. Bandits. “Gun” duels. Bounty hunters. Outlaws with a price on their heads. Space exploration as a “final frontier.” And a wild hero who doesn’t quite belong in a lawless part of the Galaxy after the fall of the Empire.The Science of The Mandalorian takes you on a badass journey with a mysterious, lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, where your beskar armor will protect you from many things, but not the sight of a small, green, carnivorous humanoid with big black eyes and mysterious powers. This is the way.

Read more less

An essential guide for board members and executives who need to understand the impact of digital on their thinking and decision making Duty of Care: An Executive's Guide for Corporate Boards in the Digital Era offers a much needed guide for board directors and leaders who need to get up-to-speed and close their digital knowledge gap in order to make the right decisions about digital technology investment and deployments. Written in easy-to-read language, this book targets directors and executives who want to protect themselves from risks ranging from massive cyber security breaches to digital infrastructure investment mistakes. Most board members don’t have the information they need to understand digital information systems, modern high-speed networks, and rapidly evolving software and hardware ecosystems. They also don’t have the time to seek out or filter what they need from the many diverse sources. Their lack of knowledge can lead to disastrous decisions that can cost shareholders billions of dollars in lost income or risk liability. Written by a globally recognized experienced business executive and expert in cyber security, this essential guide and blueprint can serve the strategic and governance needs of every company. Written by an noted expert in cyber security and digital strategy Designed to be accessible for board members unfamiliar with digital technology, with case studies and smart questions to support leaders on every topic Helps board directors, corporate officers, and corporate investors with the digital knowledge needed to make informed decisions Duty of Care is a comprehensive yet accessible book that helps board members close their “digital knowledge gap” in order to better serve their corporations.

Read more less

Named Best Baseball Book of 2020 by Sports Collectors Digest 2021 SABR Seymour Medal Finalist In the summer of 1932, at the beginning of the turbulent decade that would remake America, baseball fans were treated to one of the most thrilling seasons in the history of the sport. As the nation drifted deeper into the Great Depression and reeled from social unrest, baseball was a diversion for a troubled country—and yet the world of baseball was marked by the same edginess that pervaded the national scene. On-the-field fights were as common as double plays. Amid the National League pennant race, Cubs’ shortstop Billy Jurges was shot by showgirl Violet Popovich in a Chicago hotel room. When the regular season ended, the Cubs and Yankees clashed in what would be Babe Ruth’s last appearance in the fall classic. After the Cubs lost the first two games in New York, the series resumed in Chicago at Wrigley Field, with Democratic presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt cheering for the visiting Yankees from the box seats behind the Yankees’ dugout. In the top of the fifth inning the game took a historic turn. As Ruth was jeered mercilessly by Cubs players and fans, he gestured toward the outfield and then blasted a long home run. After Ruth circled the bases, Roosevelt exclaimed, “Unbelievable!” Ruth’s homer set off one of baseball’s longest-running and most intense debates: did Ruth, in fact, call his famous home run? Rich with historical context and detail, The Called Shot dramatizes the excitement of a baseball season during one of America’s most chaotic summers.

Read more less

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, not so long ago a diagnostic tool of last resort, has become pervasive in the landscape of consumer medicine; images of the forbidding tubes, with their promises of revelation, surround us in commercials and on billboards. Magnetic Appeal offers an in-depth exploration of the science and culture of MRI, examining its development and emergence as an imaging technology, its popular appeal and acceptance, and its current use in health care. Understood as modern and uncontroversial by health care professionals and in public discourse, the importance of MRI—or its supposed infallibility—has rarely been questioned. In Magnetic Appeal, Kelly A. Joyce shows how MRI technology grew out of serendipitous circumstances and was adopted for reasons having little to do with patient safety or evidence of efficacy. Drawing on interviews with physicians and MRI technologists, as well as ethnographic research conducted at imaging sites and radiology conferences, Joyce demonstrates that current beliefs about MRI draw on cultural ideas about sight and technology and are reinforced by health care policies and insurance reimbursement practices. Moreover, her unsettling analysis of physicians' and technologists' work practices lets readers consider that MRI scans do not reveal the truth about the body as is popularly believed, nor do they always lead to better outcomes for patients. Although clearly a valuable medical technique, MRI technology cannot necessarily deliver the health outcomes ascribed to it. Magnetic Appeal also addresses broader questions about the importance of medical imaging technologies in American culture and medicine. These technologies, which include ultrasound, X-ray, and MRI, are part of a larger trend in which visual representations have become central to American health, identity, and social relations.

Read more less

Over the years the high walls of Liverpool's Walton Gaol have contained some of the most infamous criminals from the north of England. Taking over from the fearsome Kirkdale House of Correction as the main centre of execution for Liverpool and other parts of Lancashire and neighbouring counties, a total of sixty-two murderers paid the ultimate penalty here. The history of execution at Walton began with the hanging of an Oldham nurse in 1887, and over the next seventy years many infamous criminals took the short walk to the gallows here. They include Blackburn child killer Peter Griffiths, whose guilt was secured following a massive fingerprint operation; Liverpool's Sack Murderer George Ball; George Kelly, since cleared of the Cameo Cinema murders, as well as scores of forgotten criminals: soldiers, gangsters, cut-throat killers and many more.Steve Fielding has fully researched all these cases, and they are collected here in one volume for the first time. Infamous executioners also played a part in the gaol's history. James Berry of Bradford was the first to officiate here, followed in due course by the Billington family of Bolton, Rochdale barber John Ellis and three members of the well-known Pierrepoint family, whose names appeared on the official Home Office list for over half a century. In 1964 one of the last two executions in the county took place at Liverpool. Fully illustrated with photographs, new cuttings and engravings, Hanged at Liverpool is bound to appeal to anyone interested in the darker side of both Liverpool and the north of England's history.

Read more less

A look at the extraordinary ways the brain turns thoughts into actions—and how this shapes our everyday livesWhy is it hard to text and drive at the same time? How do you resist eating that extra piece of cake? Why does staring at a tax form feel mentally exhausting? Why can your child expertly fix the computer and yet still forget to put on a coat? From making a cup of coffee to buying a house to changing the world around them, humans are uniquely able to execute necessary actions. How do we do it? Or in other words, how do our brains get things done? In On Task, cognitive neuroscientist David Badre presents the first authoritative introduction to the neuroscience of cognitive control—the remarkable ways that our brains devise sophisticated actions to achieve our goals. We barely notice this routine part of our lives. Yet, cognitive control, also known as executive function, is an astonishing phenomenon that has a profound impact on our well-being.Drawing on cutting-edge research, vivid clinical case studies, and examples from daily life, Badre sheds light on the evolution and inner workings of cognitive control. He examines issues from multitasking and willpower to habitual errors and bad decision making, as well as what happens as our brains develop in childhood and change as we age—and what happens when cognitive control breaks down. Ultimately, Badre shows that cognitive control affects just about everything we do.A revelatory look at how billions of neurons collectively translate abstract ideas into concrete plans, On Task offers an eye-opening investigation into the brain’s critical role in human behavior.

Read more less

Human civilizations' longest lasting artifacts are not the great Pyramids of Giza, nor the cave paintings at Lascaux, but the communications satellites that circle our planet. In a stationary orbit above the equator, the satellites that broadcast our TV signals, route our phone calls, and process our credit card transactions experience no atmospheric drag. Their inert hulls will continue to drift around Earth until the Sun expands into a red giant and engulfs them about 4.5 billion years from now. The Last Pictures, co-published by Creative Time Books, is rooted in the premise that these communications satellites will ultimately become the cultural and material ruins of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, far outlasting anything else humans have created. Inspired in part by ancient cave paintings, nuclear waste warning signs, and Carl Sagan's Golden Records of the 1970s, artist/geographer Trevor Paglen has developed a collection of one hundred images that will be etched onto an ultra-archival, golden silicon disc. The disc, commissioned by Creative Time, will then be sent into orbit onboard the Echostar XVI satellite in September 2012, as both a time capsule and a message to the future. The selection of 100 images, which are the centerpiece of the book, was influenced by four years of interviews with leading scientists, philosophers, anthropologists, and artists about the contradictions that characterize contemporary civilizations. Consequently, The Last Pictures engages some of the most profound questions of the human experience, provoking discourse about communication, deep time, and the economic, environmental, and social uncertainties that define our historical moment. Copub: Creative Time Books

Read more less

At a time of global economic crisis and disillusionment with capitalism, Adodo offers refreshing and positive insight into a more integral way of business management, enterprise and community development as well as holistic healing in Africa. For over three decades, Africa was the recipient of billions of dollars in aid funds that were meant to catapult the continent from undeveloped to developed status. Yet the more the aid poured in, the poorer African countries became. The devastating effect of western economic models in Africa that followed is well documented. Integral Community Enterprise in Africa exposes the limitations of existing theories, such as capitalism, socialism and communism, and shows how western theories were imposed on Africa. Such imposition of concepts and ideas is not only demeaning but also unsustainable, serving only the interest of the elite. Father Anselm Adodo argues for the need to have a southern theory to serve as an alternative to western theories. The majority of African intellectuals and activists, while criticizing existing theories, often do not provide alternative theories to address the prevalent inadequacies entrenched in conventional social, political and economic systems. This revolutionary book aims to address this lapse and proposes the theory of communitalism as a more indigenous, sustainable and integral approach to tackling the social, political, economic and developmental challenges of today’s Africa. There is an African alternative to capitalism, socialism and communism – a surer path to sustainable development in and from Africa.This is a book that is positioned at the very core of a much needed African Renaissance. A profoundly new approach to development in Africa, this is essential reading for anyone concerned with authentic development in Africa and in the world.

Read more less

Asia is home to 60 per cent of the world's population, including the world's two most populous nations, China and India. The region's economic gains and rising middle class are accelerating demand for more consumer goods and a better quality of life. For further economic growth to be realised, the region will need a massive supply of additional energy, three- to five-fold 2020’s amount by 2050. These changes create new business and investment opportunities for domestic companies and overseas participants. Asia’s energy market, already the world’s biggest, will soon be the most advanced. There will be mass adoption of digital technologies, like artificial intelligence, to make the distribution of solar, wind and other clean resources, smarter and more efficient. Led by China, billions of dollars in capital investment will drive the region's shift to green, sustainable energy, replacing polluting and expensive fossil fuels, which will help to rein in climate change. In Asia’s Energy Revolution, leading energy markets analyst and practitioner Joseph Jacobelli explains why Asia is the world’s most important territory for energy transition, how developments in the region will drive change in the rest of the world as well as how it will all be financed. The book discussion includes: Analysis of past events and forward-looking analysis of the industry in the region encompassing commercial, economic, and financial aspects Appraisal of new energy technologies, such as electric vehicles, and digital solutions, such as blockchain for energy Review of the capital flows and sustainable financing channels needed to fund energy infrastructure and tech growth

Read more less