When it was over, there were a lot of questions. The detectives were embarrassed but they still wanted answered, "How did a 15-year-old runaway successfully pose as a world traveled countess?" The newspapers turned it back on them, practically sneering, "How did she do it while under investigation by the FBI, DEA, and Interpol?" The Mafia had been demanding the same thing for six months, "What is your real name?" And the psychologists asked the question they always ask, "Why?" It's the why of it that will keep a girl in trouble.

Assuming Names is the true story of a young con artist. It's the tale of a runaway that assumed the title of Countess and then went on to fool the FBI, DEA, and Interpol—as well as a number of other celebrities and institutions—with an elaborate tale of world intrigue.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Hello everyone. This is Tanya. You may find yourself reading my book and saying, "No, this did not happen." You may be inclined to say it is too far-fetched and, quite frankly, impossible. I have provided evidence at my website that what I write is the truth. I mention it at the front of the book but it may be easy to overlook, so I am reiterating here.

At my website are copies of the newspaper and magazine articles mentioned in the book. The articles are from the Austin American Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, and Woman's World Magazine. They are all nationally recognized media for news. Previous reviewers were concerned I may have gone to Photoshop to create them, and while my book does paint me as the sort that would do such a thing, the reality is that those media institutions would sue me into submission before the cache could be cleared.

In the end, you may not believe me, but you can surely believe what the papers wrote.

The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum is a groundbreaking exploration into the science of autism, authored by the renowned Temple Grandin and Richard Panek.

Weaving her own experiences with remarkable new discoveries, Grandin introduces the neuroimaging advances and genetic research that link brain science to behavior. She even shares her own brain scans from numerous studies. Readers will meet the scientists and self-advocates who are introducing innovative theories about what causes autism, how it is diagnosed, and how best to treat it.

Grandin highlights long-ignored sensory problems and the treatments that might help them, and warns of the dangers of politics defining the diagnosis of autism spectrum.

Most excitingly, in the science that has begun to reveal the long-overlooked strengths conferred by autism, she finds a route to more effective mainstreaming and a way to unleash the unique advantages of autistic people. From the "aspies" in Silicon Valley to the five-year-old without language, Grandin understands the true meaning of the word spectrum.

The Autistic Brain is essential reading from one of the most respected and beloved voices in the field.

The Thing with Feathers is an entertaining and profound look at the lives of birds, illuminating their surprising world—and deep connection with humanity. Birds are highly intelligent animals, yet their intelligence is dramatically different from our own and has been little understood.

As scientists come to understand more about the secrets of bird life, they are unlocking fascinating insights into memory, game theory, and the nature of intelligence itself. This book explores the astonishing homing abilities of pigeons, the good deeds of fairy-wrens, the influential flocking abilities of starlings, the deft artistry of bowerbirds, the extraordinary memories of nutcrackers, the lifelong loves of albatross, and other mysteries—revealing why birds do what they do, and offering a glimpse into our own nature.

Noah Strycker, a birder and naturalist who has traveled the world in pursuit of his flighty subjects, draws deep from personal experience, cutting-edge science, and colorful history. He spins captivating stories about the birds in our midst and reveals the startlingly intimate coexistence of birds and humans.

With humor, style, and grace, Strycker shows how our view of the world is often, and remarkably, through the experience of birds. Beautiful and wise, funny and insightful, The Thing with Feathers is a gripping and enlightening journey into the lives of birds.

Benny Lewis, the creator of the largest language learning blog in the world, www.fluentin3months.com, introduces his unconventional approach to language learning. His techniques shatter common language learning myths and introduce practical "language hacks" that leverage the skills we already have.

Fluent in 3 Months is not just a book, but a blueprint for learning new languages quickly and effectively. Lewis, a full-time "language hacker," shares his insights from mastering over ten languages through self-teaching. He makes a compelling argument that you don't need an exceptional memory or a special "language gene" to become fluent in a new language. Instead, Lewis debunks misconceptions, such as the notion that adults cannot learn languages as effectively as children.

This guide is designed to help anyone—regardless of age—speak any language from anywhere in the world, and to do so with speed, intuition, and fun.

Wise Craft is a guide to the homemade life, turning old things into special new objects that enhance the home. Based on the popular blog of the same name, this guide focuses on creating a homemade atmosphere that reflects your family, without spending a fortune.

Instead of throwing away old shirts and boring dishes, or passing up thrift store finds that aren't quite right, author Blair Stocker teaches how to remake, adding special touches to make them work for her home—and yours.

The book is divided into four seasonal chapters, with designs that reflect different holidays and the changing seasons, allowing you to update your home according to the weather outside.

Many projects are portable or perfect to do during a family movie night, making the Wise Craft lifestyle an easy one to attain.

Sixty projects include May Day cones and recycled floral mirror frames—perfect for a teenager’s room—plus throw pillow updates, a picnic blanket made from a pile of men’s shirts, spooky Halloween dishes, advent calendars, and recycled gift jars.

Beautiful photography and illustrations make each project a snap, no matter your crafting background.

More American women are childless than ever before—nearly half those of childbearing age don’t have children. While our society often assumes these women are “childfree by choice,” that’s not always true. In reality, many of them expected to marry and have children, but it simply hasn’t happened. Wrongly judged as picky or career-obsessed, they make up the “Otherhood,” a growing demographic that has gone without definition or visibility until now.

In Otherhood, author Melanie Notkin reveals her own story as well as the honest, poignant, humorous, and occasionally heartbreaking stories of women in her generation—women who expected love, marriage, and parenthood, but instead found themselves facing a different reality. She addresses the reasons for this shift, the social and emotional impact it has on our collective culture, and how the “new normal” will affect our society in the decades to come.

Notkin aims to reassure women that they are not alone and encourages them to find happiness and fulfillment no matter what the future holds. A groundbreaking exploration of an essential contemporary issue, Otherhood inspires thought-provoking conversation and gets at the heart of our cultural assumptions about single women and childlessness.

My dream then was to play baseball for the New York Yankees. I was on the Stuyvesant baseball team, but because of my working hours, my playing time was limited. My first dream to become a corporate president by the time I was 35 years of age was fulfilled.

Experience the ups and downs of a life well lived in Bill Morgenstein's compelling new memoir, The Crazy Life of a Kid from Brooklyn. While first reminiscing upon his childhood in Brooklyn during the depression, Morgenstein traces his life through times of war, peace, and everything in between.

At times funny and heartbreaking, The Crazy Life of a Kid in Brooklyn details Morgenstein's enlistment in the US Army, his days running a $55 million dollar company, his despair at losing it all to a scam, and much more. His chance encounters with such historical figures as Sergeant York, Cordell Hull, Sid Gordon, Jomo Kenyatta, and Vince Camuto provide amusing cultural touchstones that reveal a willingness to embrace everything life has to offer.

Through all the successful, disappointing, dangerous, educational, and enlightening experiences that have shaped his life, Morgenstein remains philosophical as he explores the roles of ethics, honesty, and unfailing determination in shaping the human experience.

Like dewdrops from a silent night, writings in Letters from Your Soul are distinctly brilliant, and resonate with our sense of beauty and wonder. They contain the condensed wisdom of years of soul-searching before Victor’s awakening, and years of compassionate attempts since, by him, to remind others of their own journey towards self-realisation. The messages are relevant to anyone who has ever pondered about existence and the possibilities of improving this life-experience, the only thing that truly belongs to us.

The style of writing interweaves between storytelling, conversation and prose-poetry. The uniqueness of these expressions of timeless truths lies in the fact that throughout his spiritual search, and the years following his awakening, Victor continues to remain in the chaos of an average urban life. And, for this reason, his messages act as a perfect bridge between the unworldly and worldly quests of human mind, giving immense hope to finding a life full of freedom, joy and love by remaining exactly where we are.

Your journey didn't begin when you were born, or, even when you thought you have arrived; Your journey begins, when you stop, and look for new eyes, to see you. Your journey didn't begin, when you fulfilled your dreams; Your journey begins, when you reject dreams that you bought in your sleep. Your journey didn't begin, when you were told that you have made it; Your journey begins when you reject the notion 'what you have become, is the best you can be'. Your journey awaits for a path never travelled before. Start making your path from here; and start walking towards a new 'you' now. Beauty, Wonder, and Faith; you will find them all, on your way.

Readings in the Letters from Your Soul are filled with sparks to ignite a flame of self-renewal, but, the readiness to burn, and be new, needs to come from within you.

Waking Up White is the book Irving wishes someone had handed her decades ago. By sharing her sometimes cringe-worthy struggle to understand racism and racial tensions, she offers a fresh perspective on bias, stereotypes, manners, and tolerance.

As Irving unpacks her own long-held beliefs about colorblindness, being a good person, and wanting to help people of color, she reveals how each of these well-intentioned mindsets actually perpetuated her ill-conceived ideas about race. She also explains why and how she's changed the way she talks about racism, works in racially mixed groups, and understands the antiracism movement as a whole.

Exercises at the end of each chapter prompt readers to explore their own racialized ideas. Waking Up White's personal narrative is designed to work well as a rapid read, a book group book, or support reading for courses exploring racial and cultural issues.

On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.

This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the desperate battle in the mountains that led, ultimately, to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. But it is also, more than anything, the story of his teammates, who fought ferociously beside him until he was the last one left-blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and still breathing. Over the next four days, badly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell fought off six al Qaeda assassins who were sent to finish him, then crawled for seven miles through the mountains before he was taken in by a Pashtun tribe, who risked everything to protect him from the encircling Taliban killers.

A six-foot-five-inch Texan, Leading Petty Officer Luttrell takes us, blow-by-blow, through the brutal training of America's warrior elite and the relentless rites of passage required by the Navy SEALs. He transports us to a monstrous battle fought in the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered American team plummeted headlong a thousand feet down a mountain as they fought back through flying shale and rocks.

In this rich, moving chronicle of courage, honor, and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers one of the most powerful narratives ever written about modern warfare -- and a tribute to his teammates, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Demi Lovato wakes up each morning and affirms her commitment to herself—to her health, her happiness, her being. Those commitments are the bedrock of her recovery and her work helping other young people dealing with the issues she lives with every single day. Demi is a platinum-selling recording artist whose latest album—DEMI—is already a smash hit. She's about to embark on her second season as a judge on X-Factor, and just launched The Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program. And she is an outspoken advocate for young people everywhere.

Demi is also a young woman finding her way in the world. She has dealt deftly with her struggles in the face of public scrutiny, and she has always relied, not just on friends and family, but daily affirmations of her self-worth and value. Affirmations that steady her days and strengthen her resolve. Those affirmations have grown into STAYING STRONG, a powerful 365-day collection of Demi's most powerful, honest, and hopeful insights. Each day will provide the readers with a quote, a personal reflection and a goal. These are Demi's words. Words she lives by and shares with the people she loves and total strangers alike. They are a powerful testament to a young woman standing up and fighting back.

Frequent reports of honor killings, disfigurement, and sensational abuse have given rise to a consensus in the West, propagated by human rights groups, that Muslim women need to be rescued. Lila Abu-Lughod boldly challenges this conclusion.

An anthropologist who has been writing about Arab women for thirty years, she delves into the predicaments of Muslim women today, questioning whether generalizations about Islamic culture can explain the hardships these women face, and asking what motivates particular individuals and institutions to promote their rights.

In recent years, Abu-Lughod has struggled to reconcile the popular image of women victimized by Islam with the complex women she has known through her research in various communities in the Muslim world. Here, she renders that divide vivid by presenting detailed vignettes of the lives of ordinary Muslim women and showing that the problem of gender inequality cannot be laid at the feet of religion alone.

Poverty and authoritarianism—conditions not unique to the Islamic world, and produced out of global interconnections that implicate the West—are often more decisive. The standard Western vocabulary of oppression, choice, and freedom is too blunt to describe these women's lives.

Do Muslim Women Need Saving? is an indictment of a mindset that has justified all manner of foreign interference, including military invasion, in the name of rescuing women from Islam, as well as a moving portrait of women's actual experiences and the contingencies with which they live.

What do we do when life lurches out of balance? How can we reconnect to one another and to what's sustaining, when evil and catastrophe seem inescapable?

These questions lie at the heart of Stitches, Anne Lamott's profound follow-up to her New York Times-bestselling work, Help, Thanks, Wow. In this book, she explores how we find meaning and peace in these loud and frantic times; where we start again after personal and public devastation; how we recapture wholeness after loss; and how we locate our true identities in this frazzled age.

We begin, Lamott says, by collecting the ripped sheets of our emotional and spiritual fabric and sewing them back together - one stitch at a time. It's in these stitches that the quilt of life begins, and embedded in them are strength, warmth, humour and humanity.

Rude Bitches Make Me Tired is an always sensible and mildly profane etiquette manual for the modern age. Celia Rivenbark addresses real-life quandaries ranging from how to deal with braggy playground moms to wondering if you can have sex in your aunt's bed on vacation to correctly grieving the dearly departed (hint: it doesn't include tattoos or truck decals).

This book will provide answers to all your mannerly questions as Celia discusses the social conundrums of our day and age, including:

• Navigating the agonies of check splitting ("Who had the gorgonzola crumbles and should we really care?")
• The baffling aspects of airline travel (such as "Recline Monster" and other animals)
• The art of the visit (always leave them wanting more . . . much more)
• Gym and locker etiquette (hint: no one wants to talk to you while you're buck naked)
• Office manners ("Loud talkers, cake hawkers, and Britney Sue's unfortunate cyst")

Good manners have never been so wickedly funny!

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee, a leading cancer physician and researcher, selects the year’s top science and nature writing from journalists who dive into their fields with curiosity and passion. This collection delivers must-read articles from a wide array of fields, showcasing the brilliance and diversity of contemporary science and nature writing.

The Story of the Human Body offers a fascinating exploration of how the human body has evolved over millions of years. Daniel E. Lieberman, a leader in the field of human evolutionary biology, presents a lucid and engaging account of the evolutionary transformations that have shaped our bodies.

The book delves into the rise of bipedalism, the shift to a non-fruit-based diet, and the advent of hunting and gathering, which led to our superlative endurance athleticism. Lieberman also discusses the development of our large brains and the emergence of cultural proficiencies.

Moreover, the book examines how cultural evolution differs from biological evolution and how it has further transformed our bodies during the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. While these changes have brought numerous benefits, they've also created conditions to which our bodies are not entirely adapted, leading to increased incidences of obesity and new, avoidable diseases like type 2 diabetes.

Lieberman introduces the concept of "dysevolution," where only the symptoms of chronic illnesses are treated rather than their causes. He advocates for using evolutionary information to help create a healthier environment.

Why is the sky blue? Why is pink for girls and blue for boys? Why do prisoners wear orange? And why can one color have so many opposite meanings? If lobsters are a red emblem of privilege, how is it that a red flag can also be the banner of Communism?

Jude Stewart, a design expert and writer, digs into this rich subject with gusto, telling her favorite stories about color as she discovers what it can really mean. Each chapter is devoted to a color, opening with an infographic map that links such unlikely pairings as fox-hunting and flamingos. From there on in, you're plunged into a kaleidoscopic tour of the universe that encompasses everything from wildflowers to Japanese warriors. The links between them reveal hidden realities that you never would have suspected.

ROY G. BIV is a reference and inspiration for everyone, with sidebars and graphics galore. The aim is simple: to tantalize and inform, and to make you think about color in a completely new way.

What is the most important ingredient for an effective speech or presentation? Whether you are one who speaks only on rare occasions or you find yourself addressing an audience every day, this book will be an invaluable tool. Beneficial to the experienced pro as well as the new beginner, Secrets of Dynamic Communication is a practical and effective handbook for powerful presentations of all kinds. It takes the reader through the process of selecting and developing a theme, giving it focus, fleshing it out, and communicating well with the audience. The first half is devoted to preparation, the second to delivery.

Author Ken Davis is frequently hired by individuals and companies around the world to bring his humor and expertise to others in the speaking field, and he is now bringing those concepts to the wider community as well. No abstract theories here, only step-by-step help in preparing and delivering speeches that get results! You’ll soon develop the dynamic speaking skills associated with the very best in the field.

Three Horizons: The Patterning of Hope is a simple and intuitive framework for thinking about the future. It explains how people often manage to disagree so vehemently about their visions of the future and how to achieve them. The book offers a practical way to begin constructive conversations about the future at home, in organizations, and in society at large.

The three horizons framework is about much more than simply stretching our thinking to embrace the short, medium, and long term. They offer a coordinated way of managing innovation, creating transformational change with a chance of succeeding, dealing with uncertainty, and seeing the future in the present.

In this beautifully illustrated book, Bill Sharpe introduces the Three Horizons framework as a prompt for developing a 'future consciousness'—a rich and multi-faceted awareness of the future potential of the present moment—and explores how to put that awareness to work to create the futures we aspire to.

Walter Isaacson's worldwide bestselling biography of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs is a compelling account of a man whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized multiple industries, including personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Isaacson's narrative is based on over forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years, as well as conversations with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues. This biography paints an intricate portrait of a creative entrepreneur known for his intense personality and inventive mind.

Jobs's story offers invaluable lessons on innovation, character, leadership, and values, and serves as a source of inspiration for maintaining America's innovative edge in the digital age. His approach to business and the groundbreaking products that resulted are a testament to his belief in the fusion of creativity with technology.

Throughout the biography, Jobs's colleagues provide a candid view of the qualities that shaped his approach to business and innovation. Despite his complex character, Jobs's impact on the tech world remains unmatched, and his story continues to inspire future generations.

Whether it’s the monster in the closet or the fear that arises from new social situations, school, or sports, anxiety can be especially challenging and maddening for children. And since anxiety has a mind of its own, logic and reassurance often fail, leaving parents increasingly frustrated about how to help.

Now, Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D., the author of Playful Parenting, provides a special set of tools to handle childhood anxiety. Offering simple, effective strategies that build connection through fun, play, and empathy, Dr. Cohen helps parents:

• Start from a place of warmth, compassion, and understanding.
• Teach children the basics of the body’s “security system”: alert, alarm, assessment, and all clear.
• Promote tolerance of uncertainty and discomfort by finding the balance between outright avoidance and “white-knuckling” through a fear.
• Find lighthearted ways to release tension in the moment, labeling stressful emotions on a child-friendly scale.
• Tackle their own anxieties so they can stay calm when a child is distressed.
• Bring children out of their anxious thoughts and into their bodies by using relaxation, breathing, writing, drawing, and playful roughhousing.

With this insightful resource of easy-to-implement solutions and strategies, you and your child can experience the opposite of worry, anxiety, and fear and embrace connection, trust, and joy.

With anxiety at epidemic levels among our children, Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents offers a contrarian yet effective approach to help children and teens push through their fears, worries, and phobias to ultimately become more resilient, independent, and happy.

How do you manage a child who gets stomachaches every school morning, who refuses after-school activities, or who is trapped in the bathroom with compulsive washing? Children like these put a palpable strain on frustrated, helpless parents and teachers. One in every five kids suffers from a diagnosable anxiety disorder.

Unfortunately, when parents or professionals offer help in traditional ways, they unknowingly reinforce a child's worry and avoidance. From their success with hundreds of organizations, schools, and families, Reid Wilson, PhD, and Lynn Lyons, LICSW, share their unconventional approach of stepping into uncertainty in a way that is currently unfamiliar but infinitely successful.

Using current research and contemporary examples, the book exposes the most common anxiety-enhancing patterns—including reassurance, accommodation, avoidance, and poor problem solving—and offers a concrete plan with 7 key principles that foster change.

Since new research reveals how anxious parents typically make for anxious children, the book offers exercises and techniques to change both the children's and the parental patterns of thinking and behaving. This book challenges our basic instincts about how to help fearful kids and will serve as the antidote for an anxious nation of kids and their parents.

Released for the first time in paperback, this landmark social and political volume on feminism is credited with being responsible for raising awareness, liberating both sexes, and triggering major advances in the feminist movement. Reprint.

In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of “madness” along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may wish to admit, and that a mugger in a dimly lit parking lot may well, in fact, have the same nerveless poise as a titan of industry.

Dutton argues that there are indeed “functional psychopaths” among us—different from their murderous counterparts—who use their detached, unflinching, and charismatic personalities to succeed in mainstream society, and that shockingly, in some fields, the more “psychopathic” people are, the more likely they are to succeed. Dutton deconstructs this often misunderstood diagnosis through bold on-the-ground reporting and original scientific research as he mingles with the criminally insane in a high-security ward, shares a drink with one of the world’s most successful con artists, and undergoes transcranial magnetic stimulation to discover firsthand exactly how it feels to see through the eyes of a psychopath.

As Dutton develops his theory that we all possess psychopathic tendencies, he puts forward the argument that society as a whole is more psychopathic than ever: after all, psychopaths tend to be fearless, confident, charming, ruthless, and focused—qualities that are tailor-made for success in the twenty-first century. Provocative at every turn, The Wisdom of Psychopaths is a riveting adventure that reveals that it’s our much-maligned dark side that often conceals the trump cards of success.

A nameless character. A faceless figure. A disturbing, thought-provoking journey through the facts of the world we live in that we often refuse to acknowledge.

By taking full advantage of their author's lack of identity and extreme levels of introspection, The Unwords unleash a full scale attack on all fronts of cultural and social decay. Education, religion, politics, language, relationships and common every day social activities are stripped down to their bare foundations and deconstructed through the eyes of a man who has rejected any notion of self in his quest for truth and justice.

Written in fluent poetic verse which expands into full-page illustrations that carry the theme into artistic territory, the words blend seamlessly with the arts as they form novel-like chapters; a new, refreshing form of writing known as "Graphic-verse."

Originally published in 2012, The Unwords introduced Graphic-verse to the public and readers quickly embraced this newly created genre. This expanded second edition of The Unwords features 35 pages of additional material, including 54 full color illustrations as well as an introduction by the author himself, revealing his entire creative process, his influences, as well as his motivations and the reasoning behind the book's unusual structure.

Words are meant to be spoken. In a dishonest world, what remains unspoken can only be the truth. In a dishonest world... the pen is never mightier than the sword!

Once upon a time, salad was iceberg lettuce with a few shredded carrots and a cucumber slice, if you were lucky. A vegetable side was potatoes—would you like those baked, mashed, or au gratin? A nice anniversary dinner? Would you rather visit the Holiday Inn or the Regency Inn?

In Grand Forks, North Dakota, a small town where professors moonlight as farmers, farmers moonlight as football coaches, and everyone loves hockey, one woman has had the answers for more than twenty-five years: Marilyn Hagerty. In her weekly Eatbeat column in the local paper, Marilyn gives the denizens of Grand Forks the straight scoop on everything from the best blue plate specials—beef stroganoff at the Pantry—to the choicest truck stops—the Big Sioux (and its lutefisk lunch special)—to the ambience of the town's first Taco Bell. Her verdict? A cool pastel oasis on a hot day.

No-nonsense but wry, earnest but self-aware, Eatbeat also encourages the best in its readers—reminding them to tip well and why—and serves as its own kind of down-home social register, peopled with stories of ex–postal workers turned café owners and prom queen waitresses.

Filled with reviews of the mom-and-pop diners that eventually gave way to fast-food joints and the Norwegian specialties that finally faded away in the face of the Olive Garden's endless breadsticks, Grand Forks is more than just a loving look at the shifts in American dining in the last years of the twentieth century—it is also a surprisingly moving and hilarious portrait of the quintessential American town, one we all recognize in our hearts regardless of where we're from.

A practical look at how play therapy can promote mental health wellness in children and adolescents. Revised and expanded, The Therapeutic Powers of Play, Second Edition explores the powerful effects that play therapy has on different areas within a child or adolescent's life, such as communication, emotion regulation, relationship enhancement, and personal strengths.

Editors Charles Schaefer and Athena Drewes—renowned experts in the field of play therapy—discuss the different interventions and components of treatment that can move clients to change. Leading play therapists contributed to this volume, supplying a wide repertoire of practical techniques and applications in each chapter for use in clinical practice, including:

• Direct teaching
• Indirect teaching
• Self-expression
• Relationship enhancement
• Attachment formation
• Catharsis
• Stress inoculation
• Creative problem solving
• Self-esteem

Filled with clinical case vignettes from various theoretical viewpoints, the second edition is an invaluable resource for play and child therapists of all levels of experience and theoretical orientations.

Eat, Pray, Love is the captivating memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert that chronicles her journey of self-discovery following a devastating divorce. Feeling lost and uncertain about the future, Gilbert makes a bold decision to step away from her life in America and embark on a year-long trip around the world.

In Italy, she indulges in the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and delighting in the country's culinary offerings. Her experience is not just about savoring good food and wine, but also about embracing joy and giving herself permission to feel good again.

India offers a stark contrast, where Gilbert dives deep into the art of devotion. It is here, in an ashram, that she commits to exploring her spiritual side, seeking peace and a sense of connection that had long eluded her.

The final leg of her journey takes her to Bali, Indonesia, where she seeks balance between the material and the spiritual. Under the guidance of an elderly medicine man and through an unexpected romance, Gilbert finds a harmony she had been missing.

An honest and transformative narrative, Eat, Pray, Love is a testament to the healing power of travel and the courage it takes to confront one's own truths. It's a story of embracing change, pursuing happiness, and discovering a life worth living on one's own terms.

Inspired by David Simon’s award-winning HBO series Treme, this book is a vibrant celebration of the culinary spirit of post-Katrina New Orleans. It features recipes and tributes from both real and fictional characters who highlight the Crescent City’s rich foodways.

From chef Janette Desautel’s own Crawfish Ravioli and LaDonna Batiste-Williams’s Smothered Turnip Soup to the city’s finest Sazerac, New Orleans’ cuisine is a mélange of influences from Creole to Vietnamese—at once new and old, genteel and down-home. In the words of Toni Bernette, it is all "seasoned with delicious nostalgia."

As visually rich as the series itself, the book includes 100 heritage and contemporary recipes from the city’s heralded restaurants such as Upperline, Bayona, Restaurant August, and Herbsaint. It also features original recipes from renowned chefs like Eric Ripert and David Chang, alongside other Treme guest stars.

For the six million who come to New Orleans each year for its food and music, this book is the ultimate homage to the traditions that make it one of the world’s greatest cities.

How We Do It: The Evolution and Future of Human Reproduction delves into the fascinating world of human reproduction. Primatologist Robert Martin draws on forty years of research to explore the origins of everything from our sex cells to the way we care for newborns.

Despite our endless fascination, the origins of our reproductive lives remain a mystery. Why are a quarter of a billion sperm cells needed to fertilize one egg? Are women really fertile for only a few days each month? How long should babies be breast-fed?

Martin examines the history of humans and our primate relatives to reveal what's truly natural in making and raising babies. Although it's not feasible to raise children exactly like our ancestors, Martin's insights shed light on modern practices.

Discover why choosing a midwife over an obstetrician might impact your birthing experience, the benefits of breast-feeding, and why babies might be ready for toilet training sooner than expected.

This book provides much-needed context for our reproductive and child-rearing practices and shows that by understanding our evolutionary past, we can better consider what works for our future.

For readers of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit and Unbroken, the dramatic story of the American rowing team that stunned the world at Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Daniel James Brown's robust book tells the story of the University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.

The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.

Drawing on the boys' own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant.

The End of Your Life Book Club is a moving narrative that unfolds the story of a son and his mother who form a unique book club that becomes a medium of connection as the mother, Mary Anne Schwalbe, faces the end of her life due to cancer.

During her treatments, Will Schwalbe and his mother begin sharing books, which leads to profound discussions on a wide range of topics. Their book selections are diverse, spanning from classics to contemporary hits, and encompassing both fiction and spiritual texts. The dialogues that emerge from these shared reading experiences are deeply personal, offering insights into their lives, their love for each other, and the role that books play in shaping our human experience.

Through this heartfelt testament, readers witness the enduring bond between parent and child, and the transformative power of literature. The End of Your Life Book Club is not just an account of Mary Anne's battle with cancer, but also a celebration of life, a source of comfort, and a reminder of the joy that reading can bring, especially when shared.

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER! Learn to create world-class logistics and supply chains in any industry using kaizen's seven main principles. At a time when businesses are restructuring to become more competitive, Kaizen in Logistics and Supply Chains is at the forefront of this journey--and can point you in the right direction to help your company in implementing innovative production and logistics systems and changing its culture for the better.

Based on the themes of Masaaki Imai's bestseller, Gemba Kaizen, considered the "bible" of the quality/management movement, this new work provides the first highly detailed explanation of how to create world-class logistics and supply chains regardless of industry. It includes more than 200 photographs, flow diagrams, value stream maps, and tables--and features a case study that illustrates how a company became more competitive by successfully implementing kaizen principles. There's never been a better guide to lead your company's quest for improvement.

KEY FEATURES: Explanation of how the seven main kaizen principles can be applied to transform world-class logistics and worldwide supply chains; Prerequisites for implementing these systems, including stabilization and change management activities; Concrete steps to implementing kanban systems, internal and external logistics loops, design flow production lines, and supermarket systems; Detailed real-world case study to illustrate successful implementation of the book's theories, and scorecards so readers can evaluate their progress in practice. Foreword by Masaaki Imai, Founder and Chairman of the Kaizen Institute, and author of the bestseller Gemba Kaizen.

Zones of social abandonment are emerging everywhere in Brazil's big cities—places like Vita, where the unwanted, the mentally ill, the sick, and the homeless are left to die. This haunting, unforgettable story centers on a young woman named Catarina, increasingly paralyzed and said to be mad, living out her time at Vita.

Anthropologist João Biehl leads a detective-like journey to know Catarina; to unravel the cryptic, poetic words that are part of the "dictionary" she is compiling; and to trace the complex network of family, medicine, state, and economy in which her abandonment and pathology took form. As Biehl painstakingly relates Catarina's words to a vanished world and elucidates her condition, we learn of subjectivities unmade and remade under economic pressures, pharmaceuticals as moral technologies, a public common sense that lets the unsound and unproductive die, and anthropology's unique power to work through these juxtaposed fields.

Vita's methodological innovations, bold fieldwork, and rigorous social theory make it an essential reading for anyone who is grappling with how to understand the conditions of life, thought, and ethics in the contemporary world.

A guy walks into a bar car and...

From here, the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and intelligence and leave you deeply moved.

Sedaris remembers his father's dinnertime attire (shirtsleeves and underpants), his first colonoscopy (remarkably pleasant), and the time he considered buying the skeleton of a murdered Pygmy.

With Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, David Sedaris shows once again why his work has been called hilarious, elegant, and surprisingly moving.

In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt and Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills surrounding Florence, Italy.

In 2000, Douglas Preston fulfilled a dream to move his family to Italy. Then he discovered that the olive grove in front of their 14th century farmhouse had been the scene of the most infamous double-murders in Italian history, committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence. Preston, intrigued, meets Italian investigative journalist Mario Spezi to learn more.

This is the true story of their search for—and identification of—the man they believe committed the crimes, and their chilling interview with him. And then, in a strange twist of fate, Preston and Spezi themselves become targets of the police investigation. Preston has his phone tapped, is interrogated, and told to leave the country. Spezi fares worse: he is thrown into Italy's grim Capanne prison, accused of being the Monster of Florence himself. Like one of Preston's thrillers, The Monster of Florence, tells a remarkable and harrowing story involving murder, mutilation, and suicide—and at the center of it, Preston and Spezi, caught in a bizarre prosecutorial vendetta.

No Kidding, comedy writer Henriette Mantel, along with Jennifer Coolidge, tackles the topic of actually not having kids. This fascinating collection features a star-studded group of contributors—including Margaret Cho, Wendy Liebman, Laurie Graff, and other accomplished, funny women—writing about why they opted out of motherhood.

Whether their reasons have to do with courage, apathy, monetary considerations, health issues, or something else entirely, the essays featured in the pages of No Kidding honestly (and humorously) delve into the minds of women who have chosen what they would call a more sane path.

Hilarious, compelling, and inspiring, No Kidding reveals a perspective that has too long been hidden, shamed, and silenced—and celebrates an entire population of women who have decided that kids are just not right for them.

Dead Wrong is a study of the scientific and forensic facts of four assassinations of the 1960s (President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black Panther leader Fred Hampton), as well as an examination of new and incriminating evidence indicative of murder, not suicide, in the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, White House Counsel Vincent Foster, U.N. Weapons Inspector Dr. David C. Kelly and bioweapons expert Frank Olson.

It also examines the cases of two murders directly linked to Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States.

For years, the government has put out hits on people that they found “expendable,” or who they felt were “talking too much,” covering up their assassinations with drug overdoses and mysterious suicides. The extensive research shows how our government has taken matters into its own hands, plotting murder whenever it saw fit. “Big Brother” is watching you—through the scope of a sniper rifle.

Dead Wrong will give you the straight facts on some of the most controversial and famous deaths this country has ever seen. The harsh reality is that our government only tells us what we want to hear, as they look out for their own best interests and eliminate anyone who gets in their way.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen is a vibrant, food-themed memoir from beloved indie cartoonist Lucy Knisley. Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly.

In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe—many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy's original inventions.

A welcome read for anyone who ever felt more passion for a sandwich than is strictly speaking proper, Relish is a book for our time: it invites the reader to celebrate food as a connection to our bodies and a connection to the earth, rather than an enemy, a compulsion, or a consumer product.

The irresistible, ever-curious, and always bestselling Mary Roach returns with a new adventure into the invisible realm that people carry around inside. America’s funniest science writer takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour.

The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: the questions explored in Gulp are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars.

Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? In Gulp, we meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks of—or has the courage to ask.

We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. With Roach at our side, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbis and terrorists—who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts.

Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.

Every teenager wants to fit in and be just like everybody else. So imagine how hard that is when your father runs a taxidermy business out of the family home, your mother runs the student cafeteria, and your sister has just been elected high school mascot, which means she walks the halls in a giant bird costume. But as Jenny Lawson grows up, falls in love, gets engaged – in a way that is as disastrous as it is romantic – and starts a family of her own, she learns that life’s most absurd and humiliating moments, the ones we wish we could pretend had never happened, are the very same moments that make us who we are.

This is an often poignant, sometimes disturbing, but always hilarious book from a writer that dares to say your deepest and strangest thoughts out loud. Like laughter at a funeral, it is both highly irreverent and impossible to stop once you’ve started . . .

From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly precision from rooftops and stealth positions during the Iraq War, called him “The Legend”; meanwhile, the enemy feared him so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head.

Kyle, who was tragically killed in 2013, writes honestly about the pain of war—including the deaths of two close SEAL teammates—and in moving first-person passages throughout, his wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their family, as well as on Chris.

Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.

When Nicole Georges was two years old, her family told her that her father was dead. When she was twenty-three, a psychic told her he was alive. Her sister, saddled with guilt, admits that the psychic is right and that the whole family has conspired to keep him a secret. Sent into a tailspin about her identity, Nicole turns to radio talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger for advice.

Packed cover-to-cover with heartfelt and disarming black-and-white illustrations, Calling Dr. Laura tells the story of what happens to you when you are raised in a family of secrets, and what happens to your brain—and heart—when you learn the truth from an unlikely source. Part coming-of-age and part coming-out story, Calling Dr. Laura marks the arrival of an exciting and winning new voice in graphic literature.

Bill is an IT manager at Parts Unlimited. It's Tuesday morning and on his drive into the office, Bill gets a call from the CEO. The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is massively over budget and very late. The CEO wants Bill to report directly to him and fix the mess in ninety days or else Bill's entire department will be outsourced.

With the help of a prospective board member and his mysterious philosophy of The Three Ways, Bill starts to see that IT work has more in common with manufacturing plant work than he ever imagined. With the clock ticking, Bill must organize work flow, streamline interdepartmental communications, and effectively serve the other business functions at Parts Unlimited.

In a fast-paced and entertaining style, three luminaries of the DevOps movement deliver a story that anyone who works in IT will recognize. Readers will not only learn how to improve their own IT organizations, they'll never view IT the same way again.

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam M. Grant is a groundbreaking work that challenges conventional wisdom about success. Grant, a professor at Wharton Business School, introduces the concept of reciprocity styles—takers, matchers, and givers—and reveals how these styles impact our success.

In the workplace, givers, who contribute to others without expecting anything in return, can sometimes be exploited or burn out. However, Grant's research demonstrates that givers are often the most successful people in their fields. The book shows how a revolutionary approach to work, networking, and collaboration can lead to greater personal success and transform organizations and communities.

Through engaging stories and cutting-edge evidence, Grant illustrates the power of giving and how smart givers avoid becoming doormats. He also explores how successful networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills are intertwined. Give and Take not only presents a new model for success but also provides insights into how to build more productive and rewarding relationships.

«Éste es un libro sobre la vida... apasionado y alegre, sentimental y burlón.» ROSA MONTERO.

Cuando Rosa Montero leyó el maravilloso diario que Marie Curie comenzó tras la muerte de su esposo, y que se incluye al final de este libro, sintió que la historia de esa mujer fascinante que se enfrentó a su época le llenaba la cabeza de ideas y emociones. La ridícula idea de no volver a verte nació de ese incendio de palabras, de ese vertiginoso torbellino. Al hilo de la extraordinaria trayectoria de Curie, Rosa Montero construye una narración a medio camino entre el recuerdo personal y la memoria de todos, entre el análisis de nuestra época y la evocación íntima. Son páginas que hablan de la superación del dolor, de las relaciones entre hombres y mujeres, del esplendor del sexo, de la buena muerte y de la bella vida, de la ciencia y de la ignorancia, de la fuerza salvadora de la literatura y de la sabiduría de quienes aprenden a disfrutar de la existencia con plenitud y con ligereza.

Vivo, libérrimo y original, este libro inclasificable incluye fotos, remembranzas, amistades y anécdotas que transmiten el primitivo placer de escuchar buenas historias. Un texto auténtico, emocionante y cómplice que te atrapará desde sus primeras páginas.

Your Turn for Care is the first book specifically designed for adults who were abused and maltreated by older family members, and who are now faced with the aging and death of those abusive elders.

This book delves into the reasons why this normal life passage is particularly challenging for adult survivors. It draws on psychological research about the long-term effects of childhood maltreatment and provides insights on how adult survivors can navigate this period and turn it into an opportunity for their own healing.

Specific suggestions for self-care and strategies for decision-making are presented throughout the book. An extensive list of written and online resources on a variety of related topics is also included, offering further support and guidance.

Your Turn for Care is unique in its focus on the special concerns of adult survivors of childhood maltreatment who find themselves at this critical juncture in their lives.