Illustrated with hundreds of photographs, this visual documentary of Michael Jackson presents all the facts and includes his records, concerts, videos and awards, his public appearances and performances, memorabilia and records you never knew existed.

    Hundreds of thousands of pianos are bought and sold each year, yet most people buy a piano with only the vaguest idea of what to look for as they make this major purchase. The Piano Book evaluates and compares every brand and style of piano sold in the United States. There is information on piano moving and storage, inspecting individual new and used pianos, the special market for Steinways, and sales gimmicks to watch out for. An annual supplement, sold separately, lists current prices for more than 2,500 new piano models.

    Chess Bitch, written by the 2004 U.S. Woman's Chess Champion, is an eye-opening account of how today's young female chess players are successfully knocking down the doors to this traditionally male game, infiltrating the male-owned sporting subculture of international chess, and giving the phrase "play like a girl" a whole new meaning. Through interviews with and observation of the young globetrotting women chess players who challenge male domination, Chess Bitch shines a harsh light on the game's gender bias. For those who think of chess as two people sitting quietly across a table, Shahade paints a colorful world that most chess fans never knew existed.

    I also hope that it will serve as a useful reference too for the many workers engaged in one type of solid state research activity or another, who may be without formal training in the subject.

     Meticulously compiled by two crossword professionals with a combined fifty years in the field and based on a massive analysis of current crosswords, there has never been a crossword dictionary with the breadth, depth, and currency of this one. From Jim Carrey to Sister Carrie, Homer Simpson to Homer’s Iliad, the wide-ranging entries include 500,000+ synonyms, 3,000+ literary works, 3,000+ films, 20,000+ famous people from all fields, and more than 50,000 fill-in-the-blank clues so popular in today’s crosswords.Featuring an introduction by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, The Million Word Crossword Dictionary makes every other crossword dictionary obsolete.This updated edition offers thousands of new entries, including slang terms; brand names; celebrity names; and the latest films, novelists’ works, sports Hall of Famers, automobile models, and more. The new, larger type size makes finding the answers easier than ever.

    It includes sections on viniculture and viticulture, Old World and New World wines, beer and other fermented beverages, and all varieties of spirits. Review questions, key terms, a pronunciation guide, maps, and even sample wine labels provide invaluable test prep information for acing the major sommelier certification exams. For each type of beverage, author Michael Gibson covers the essential history, manufacturing information, varieties available, and tasting and pairing information. He also includes sections on service, storage, and wine list preparation for a full understanding of every aspect of beverage service. - An ideal test prep resource for anyone studying for certification by The Court of Master Sommeliers, The Society of Wine Educators, or The International Sommelier Guild - An excellent introduction to wine and beverages for bartenders, beverage enthusiasts, and students - Based on education materials developed by the author for his culinary and hospitality students at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale With concise, accessible information from an expert sommelier, this is the most complete guide available to all the wines, beers, and spirits of the world.

    The 2009 edition contains critical essays on each of the thirty teams and player comments for some sixty players for each of those teams. Each player’s statistics are projected for the coming season using the groundbreaking PECOTA projection system, called “perhaps the game’s most accurate projection model” (Sports Illustrated). Baseball Prospectus 2009 also contains cutting-edge essays on performance analysis, the likes of which have inspired twenty-nine of the thirty major league teams to hire current and formerBaseball Prospectus writers and analysts as consultants. The baseball bible for fantasy players and devoted fans, Baseball Prospectus can be relied upon to once again hit it out of the park.

    Enhancements to this edition include a more thorough coverage of transport processes, plus new or expanded coverage of separation process applications, fluidized beds, non-Newtonian fluids, membrane separation processes and gas-membrane theory, and much more. The book contains 240+ example problems and 550+ homework problems.

    This handbook provides everything you need for hours of adventure in the DC Universe, including all the rules of the game, an overview of the original comic-book setting, and details on major heroes and villains, complete with game information.

    Written by the man who started the adventure, Behind Deep Blue reveals the inside story of what happened behind the scenes at the two historic Deep Blue vs. Kasparov matches. This is also the story behind the quest to create the mother of all chess machines. The book unveils how a modest student project eventually produced a multimillion dollar supercomputer, from the development of the scientific ideas through technical setbacks, rivalry in the race to develop the ultimate chess machine, and wild controversies to the final triumph over the world's greatest human player.In nontechnical, conversational prose, Feng-hsiung Hsu, the system architect of Deep Blue, tells us how he and a small team of fellow researchers forged ahead at IBM with a project they'd begun as students at Carnegie Mellon in the mid-1980s: the search for one of the oldest holy grails in artificial intelligence--a machine that could beat any human chess player in a bona fide match. Back in 1949 science had conceived the foundations of modern chess computers but not until almost fifty years later--until Deep Blue--would the quest be realized.Hsu refutes Kasparov's controversial claim that only human intervention could have allowed Deep Blue to make its decisive, "uncomputerlike" moves. In riveting detail he describes the heightening tension in this war of brains and nerves, the "smoldering fire" in Kasparov's eyes. Behind Deep Blue is not just another tale of man versus machine. This fascinating book tells us how man as genius was given an ultimate, unforgettable run for his mind, no, not by the genius of a computer, but of man as toolmaker.

    Deciding on exactly the right strategy in any particular situation can be very difficult. Perhaps this is why very few authors have attempted to analyze this game even though it is widely played. In 1989, the first edition of this text appeared. Many ideas, which were only known to a small, select group of players, were now made available to anyone who was striving to become an expert, and a major gap in the poker literature was closed. It is now a new century, and the authors have again moved the state of the art forward by adding over 100 pages of new material, including an extensive section on "loose games." Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should become a significant winner. Some of the other ideas discussed in this 21st century edition include the cards that are out, the number of players in the pot, ante stealing, playing big pairs, playing little and medium pairs, playing three-flushes, playing three-straights, randomizing your play, fourth street, pairing your door card on fourth street, proper play on fifth, sixth, and seventh streets, defending against a possible ante steal, playing against a paired door card, scare card strategy, and buying a free card.

    It was a fertile era for new genres, from alt-rock to Afropop, hip hop to techno. Rock critic Robert Christgau's obsessive ear and authoritative pen have covered it all-over 3,800 albums graded and classified, from A+s to his celebrated turkeys and duds. A rich appendix section ensures that nothing's been left out-from "subjects for further research" to "everything rocks but nothing ever dies." Christgau's Consumer Guide is essential reading and reference for any dedicated listener.

    We provide strategy for every action-packed mission.Learn everything there is to know about the three playable characters, Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. Each character has his own personality, motivations, and skillsets.Mission maps identify key objectives, specify targets, and chart the fastest path to success.Complete coverage of all off-mission activities and sophisticated mini-games.Our maps cover every square mile of this enormous world that’s bigger than Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas combined.

    Unlike other logic puzzle books, every puzzle includes statistics - such as the average completion time, the record completion time, and the percentage of people to complete the puzzle - to bring out the competitor in each puzzler and better inform them on how easy or difficult each puzzle is.?Features 200 grid-based logic puzzles?Includes puzzles statistics for added excitement?Ideal for kids and adults

    With 100,000 references and over 90,000 translations, plus an easy-to-use grammar section this is the the ideal translation tool.Compatibility & Functionality• Basic Text Search works on all Kindle devices• Index lookup works on all Kindles except Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD• Setting as Default Dictionary works on all Kindles except Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD and Kindle for AndroidCollins French-English Dictionary & Grammar is designed for all learners of French, whether at school, at home, or for business. It will help those learning French take their language skills to the next level.This Kindle edition of Collins French-English Dictionary & Grammar has been revised and updated to offer extensive and relevant coverage of today's English and French, with thousands of phrases and examples guiding the user to the most appropriate translation.A comprehensive grammar guide presents detailed examples and translations to help users to understand French grammar – the perfect complement to the dictionary.To provide for full English and French indexes on Kindle, Collins French Dictionary & Grammar is available as two separate English-French and French-English Kindle Books.