Toddlers will love guessing who will be at the door in this "Knock, Knock" book featuring a little owl and his friends and family.

    Far too frequently, patients leave the doctor’s office or hospital feeling confused, angry, or neglected. Healthcare leaders recognize this problem, but in their focus on patients (and sometimes financials), they often overlook the true key to lasting patient loyalty and satisfaction: their employees. Patients Come Second shakes up the traditional healthcare model, arguing that in order to care for and retain patients, leaders must first create exceptional teams and find ways to engage nurses, administrative staff, physicians, supervisors, and even housekeeping staff and switchboard operators. By connecting employees’ work with a higher purpose and equipping them with the tools to become leaders themselves, patient care can be dramatically transformed. And with continuing healthcare changes on the horizon and ever-rising pressure to acquire and keep patients, doing so now is more important than ever. Britt Berrett, president of an 898-bed hospital, and Paul Spiegelman, founder and CEO of a successful patient-experience company, are the perfect guides to the changes needed in healthcare leadership. With a rich combined experience in their field, they have filled each chapter with an abundance of engaging, insightful stories and write with a humor and friendliness that balances and enhances the urgency of their message.

    Commencing with real battles, actions and characters, each scenario has been carefully constructed to reveal how at points of decision a different choice or minor incident could have set in motion an entirely new train of events altering history forever. What if Sherman was stalled outside Atlanta, and Lincoln lost the crucial 1864 election? Or if Stuart's Cavalry at Gettysburg arrived in time to give Lee the freedom of operation he lacked in reality? These and many more convincing scenarios are played out against the dramatic and colorful backdrop of this critical and bloody era of American history.

    Delaney accepted, and became Bobby Covert, the president of Alamo Trucking, a fully-operational business used by law enforcement as flypaper for snagging crooks. At the height of The Godfather era, Delaney wore a wire and lived among wiseguys who modeled themselves on their on-screen counterparts, quoting lines from “The Movie” and boasting of how often they’d seen it. Delaney even crossed paths with Joe Pistone, the real-life Donnie Brasco (though neither knew the other was undercover), knowing all the while that a single slip could get him killed.Ultimately gathering enough evidence to convict 30 members of the Bruno and Genovese crime families, Project Alpha was a success, but Delaney struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and traces of Stockholm syndrome after getting too close to those he investigated. Therapy helped him come to terms with all he’d endured during his three tense years undercover, and, once a college basketball star, Delaney began officiating high school and intramural games as a way to rebuild his life—eventually working his way up to the NBA, where he has been a referee for more than two decades.

    From early concepts of whether the world was a disk floating in water (Thales) or pear-shaped (Columbus), Davis explains earthquakes, rain forests, Atlantis and whether there are canaries on the Canary Islands. In short, he covers the scientific, physical, and political history of the Earth and does his level best to raise our collective geographic IQ while entertaining us.

    For seven years he lived in Pyongyang enjoying privileged access to the ruling classes and enjoying the confidence of the country's young elite. In this fascinating insight into the culture of North Korea he describes the hospitality of his hosts, how they were shaken by the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and many of the fascinating characters he met from South Korean and American GI defectors to his Korean minder and socialite friends. After seven years and having been caught passing South Korean music tapes to friends and going out without his minder to places forbidden to foreigners, he was asked to leave the country.

    Decadence is defined as "the act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state; deterioration; decay" or my favorite, "unrestrained or excessive self-indulgence." For a decade that brought us Cabbage Patch Kids, Garbage Pail Kids, leg-warmers and New Wave, was it really a state of deterioration?! For one kid growing up in the Central Valley of California, it was a time of self-discovery . . . a transformation from a kid, to a teenager, to a young adult . . . his growing up years. At times utterly hilarious, at times poignant and powerful, Tom relives his teenage years in this true-to-the-last-word memoir. Where were you when John Lennon died? When the Space Shuttle blew up? When Lawrence Taylor ended Joe Theisman's career on live TV? When the Loma Prieta earthquake rocked Game 3 of the 1989 World Series? Tom will tell you where he was and what it meant to him. You'll also hear about first kisses, first loves, a joke about your Uranus, avoiding fistfights, the joys of minimum-wage jobs, college roommates, and WHOLE LOT MORE. If you're one of the 70 million Americans who can claim at least one teen year in the decade, you can relate to the era . . . if your kids can't understand your fondness for your Breakfast Club and Princess Bride DVDs, this book may teach them a thing or two about YOUR growing up years.

    It did not seem fit to us that such a one as he should trouble his head about spondees and dactyls, or care to know who signed Magna Charta. When he said in open class that King Alfred was the man, we little boys all felt that very likely it was so, and that perhaps Jim knew more about it than the man who wrote the book. Well, it was this business of the burglar that drew his attention to me; for he patted me on my head, and said that I was a spunky little devil, which blew me out with pride for a week on end. For two years we were close friends, for all the gap that the years had made between us, and though in passion or in want of thought he did many a thing that galled me, yet I loved him like a brother, and wept as much as would have filled an ink bottle when at last he went off to Edinburgh to study his father's profession. Five years after that did I bide at Birtwhistle's, and when I left I had become cock myself, for I was as wiry and as tough as whalebone, though I never ran to weight and sinew like my great predecessor. It was in Jubilee Year that I left Birtwhistle's, and then for three years I stayed at home learning the ways of the cattle; but still the ships and the armies were wrestling, and still the great shadow of Bonaparte lay across the country. How could I guess that I too should have a hand in lifting that shadow forever from our people?

    It features a biography of the author (including an interview), a full-length analysis of the novel, and a great deal more. If you're studying this novel, reading it for your book club, or if you simply want to know more about it, you'll find this guide informative and helpful. This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from ‘The Remains of the Day' to ‘White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.

    Avoiding complex charts of muscles and bones that are more helpful to doctors than to artists, this book’s refreshing approach teaches anatomy from a cartoonist/illustrator’s point of view. For example, there are many large and small muscles in the neck, all rendered in great detail in most anatomy books, but here, master teacher Christopher Hart shows only the four that are visible and need to be drawn. His clear instruction helps readers to visualize and portray shifting body weight in a pose without the need of a model, and instead of showing a mass of facial muscles and bones, he translates them into the simple planes an artist needs to draw a range of expressive faces.

    R. Martin and Maze Runner author James Dashner, won a Locus Award and an Alex Award, and claimed best-of-the-year honors in Time, The Washington Post, and BuzzFeed. From a crippled slave whose appearance belies his dangerous ambitions, to “a girl who makes Katniss Everdeen look like Dorothy” (Chicago Tribune), an unforgettable cast of characters populate this addictive series, now together in one epic ebook bundle:   HALF A KING HALF THE WORLD HALF A WAR   Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains, and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea. And he must do it all with only one good hand. Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge. Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could. But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi learns that his path may end as it began—in twists, and traps, and tragedy.   Praise for the Shattered Sea series   “The Shattered Seas trilogy has worked its way into a very exclusive group of my favorite fantasy novels of all time. The pacing is perfect, the characters deep and true and real, the world rich and authentic, the plot full of twists and turns. Perhaps my favorite part is that no one is purely good or evil: Each and every character has layers upon layers that are a joy to discover. I tore through all three books and truly hope that someday Joe Abercrombie returns to this magnificent, captivating world.”—James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maze Runner   “A fast-paced tale of betrayal and revenge that grabbed me from page 1 and refused to let go.”—George R. R. Martin, on Half a King   “Abercrombie’s Shattered Sea is a fantastic yet believable backdrop to Yarvi’s struggle, a vivid imaginary land.” —The Seattle Times , on Half a King   “An excellent page-turner . . . full of drama and energy.”—New York Daily News, on Half the World   “Compelling . . . [Thorn] makes Katniss Everdeen look like Dorothy.”—Chicago Tribune, on Half the World   “A fantasy for all ages, and all times, [that] rends the soul as compulsively as anything Abercrombie has written to date . . . Half a War is a success in every way, putting a stupendous capstone on the entire Shattered Sea Trilogy.”—Tor.com   “Abercrombie piles on shocking betrayals and charges his characters a high price for vengeance in this powerful and fitting final volume.”—Publishers Weekly, on Half a War

    --Dr. Patricia Mitchell, University of San FranciscoMeeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow, Third Edition identifies the unique ethical demands of leadership and then equips readers to meet these challenges. This new edition retains the elements of the text that have contributed to its success while broadening its appeal. Written in an informal, accessible style, author Craig E. Johnson takes an interdisciplinary approach to leadership ethics while blending research and theory with practical application. This unique text promotes ethical decision-making and action through skill development, self-assessment, and application exercisesNew to the Third EditionPresents Focus on Follower boxes that broaden coverage of the text and introduce concepts students can apply to their role as followersProvides a new reference section at the end of the book that serves as a starting point for further research and explorationIncludes a new chapter on ethical influenceExpands coverage to reflect the growing interest in leadership ethics, incorporating new topics, theory, and research findingsUpdates cases retained from previous editions and includes new cases that cover such topics as the tenure of Hewlett Packard′s CEO Carly Fiorina and scandals involving stock options and student loansFeatures new films in the Leadership Ethics at the Movies casesAccompanied by High-Quality Ancillaries!Instructors Resources on CD include teaching strategies, a test bank, sample syllabi, assignment descriptions, and more. Qualified instructors may request a copy by contacting Customer Care at 1-800-818-SAGE (7243) from 6 am - 5 pm, PST.Intended AudienceLooking at the leader′s inner life, including character development and values, this student-friendly book is designed as a core text for undergraduate and graduate courses in Leadership and Ethics in a variety of fields of including business and management, communication, psychology, and education.Looking for other titles for your Leadership courses? SAGE has published over 500 books on Leadership, and we′ve developed a web page to help you find just the right one for your class. Click here to browse our selection.

    As a labor and delivery nurse, she covets the joy and love she sees every day in expectant couples. When she met the owner of the local race shop, Kendall finally felt that spark. She thought he did, too.But he never called. Logan Townsend is a man whose skills are unparalleled. With so many people vying for the racing guru’s attention, Logan doesn’t have much free time to himself. But he knows he needs to find some. Because he can’t stop thinking about the woman who gave him the best night of his life. Just as Kendall decides to move on, Logan reappears. Try as she might to resist the temptation, Kendall fails. Because with a man like Logan, it’s hard to control the burn.

    Here’s a body of new work to cheer about.” Guest's first book, The Resurrection of the Body and the Ruin of the World won the 2002 New Issues Prize in Poetry, and his second book, Notes for My Body Double, won the 2006 Prairie Schooner Book Prize. His memoir, One More Theory About Happiness will be available in May 2010.

    Johnson's critically acclaimed novels - "Alberto Angelo", "Trawl" and "House Mother Normal - A Geriatric Comedy".