We are born and raised to serve our lord and shogun. Our code dictates selflessness and death to be more honorable than failure, whether on the battlefield or even over the most insignificant dispute.In eighteenth-century Japan, the lord of a samurai clan is sentenced to death for an assault on castle grounds. As dictated by law, the clan must exact revenge on the one responsible for their lord’s death. However due to circumstances, the shogun forbids any such act, placing a band of masterless samurai at odds with themselves and the martial code by which they live and die. After much trial and hardship, the clan does the unthinkable and defies the shogun’s mandate in order to fulfill their duty to their late lord. In doing so, these legendary warriors will be forever remembered for inspiring the Way of the Warrior back into the hearts of their countrymen.If you like historical novels set in old Japan, martial arts action adventure stories or samurai films, discover 47 Ronin.

    Although each instance of creativity is singular and specific, Kyna Leski tells us, the creative process is universal. Artists, architects, poets, inventors, scientists, and others all navigate the same stages of the process in order to discover something that does not yet exist. All of us must work our way through the empty page, the blank screen, writer's block, confusion, chaos, and doubt. In this book, Leski draws from her observations and experiences as a teacher, student, maker, writer, and architect to describe the workings of the creative process.Leski sees the creative process as being like a storm; it slowly begins to gather and take form until it overtakes us--if we are willing to let it. It is dynamic, continually in motion; it starts, stops, rages and abates, ebbs and flows. In illustrations that accompany each chapter, she maps the arc of the creative process by tracing the path of water droplets traveling the stages of a storm.Leski describes unlearning, ridding ourselves of preconceptions; only when we realize what we don't know can we pose the problem that we need to solve. We gather evidence--with notebook jottings, research, the collection of objects--propelling the process. We perceive and conceive; we look ahead without knowing where we are going; we make connections. We pause, retreat, and stop, only to start again. To illustrate these stages of the process, Leski draws on examples of creative practice that range from Paul Klee to Steve Jobs, from the discovery of continental drift to the design of Antoni Gaud�'s Sagrada Familia.Creativity, Leski tells us, is a path with no beginning or end; it is ongoing. This revelatory view of the creative process will be an essential guide for anyone engaged in creative discovery.The Creative ProcessUnlearningProblem MakingGathering and TrackingPropellingPerceiving and ConceivingSeeing AheadConnectingPausingContinuing

    Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Title: The Indian Captive a Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of Matthew Brayton in His Thirty-Four Years of Captivity Among the Indians of North-Western America;

    From childhood in the Great Depression to opening esteemed eateries, it’s quite a story to tell. When she and her family launched Commander’s Palace, it became the city’s most popular restaurant, where famous chefs such as Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, and James Beard Award winner Troy McPhail got their start.Miss Ella of Commander’s Palace describes the drama, the disasters, and the abundance of love, sweat, and grit it takes to become the matriarch of New Orleans’ finest restaurant empire.

    Together, Frog and Sienna hold Kema down and wreak havoc as they discover an immeasurable degree of love in each other.

    Worse, a secret society operating outside the law is intent on bringing the monsters back to life and restoring the creatures as rulers of mankind.Joshua and his ex-girlfriend soon find themselves pitted against vicious assassins, Russian Spetsnaz troops, and cold-blooded giants hungry for human flesh as they journey around the planet in their efforts to stop the secret society.But that’s only the start of their nightmare: Those reviving the army of giants have gained control of ancient stargates enabling an invasion of the seats of power around the globe including the Kremlin and White House. It's a massive power play that leaves the fate of the human race hanging in the balance.This fast-paced, spellbinding novel is a page-turner, with entertaining plot twists and surprises.“Adventure and mayhem, told with style!”“The characters showed personality and the book had imagination. I felt like I was watching a movie. The story line was great…. If you enjoy Stargate type movies I believe you'll like this book.”

    When we read about their demise, it often seems inevitable--a natural part of creative destruction. But closer examination reveals a disturbing truth: Companies large and small are shuttering more quickly than ever. What does it take to buck this trend?The simple answer is: ambidexterity. Firms must remain competitive in their core markets, while also winning in new domains. Innovation guru Clayton M. Christensen has been pessimistic about whether established companies can prevail in the face of disruption, but Charles A. O'Reilly III and Michael L. Tushman know they can! The authors explain how shrewd organizations have used an ambidextrous approach to solve their own innovator's dilemma. They contrast these luminaries with companies which--often trapped by their own successes--have been unable to adapt and grow.Drawing on a vast research program and over a decade of helping companies to innovate, the authors present a set of practices to guide firms as they adopt ambidexterity. Top-down and bottom-up leaders are key to this process--a fact too often overlooked in the heated debate about innovation. But not in this case. Readers will come away with a new understanding of how to improve their existing businesses through efficiency, control, and incremental change, while also seizing new markets where flexibility, autonomy, and experimentation rule the day.

    With unprecedented access to the inner working of Toyota, the authors spent six years researching the company, interviewing hundreds of executives and employees, and discovering the company's secret of success. What they uncovered will surprise you and change the way you think about business. Simultaneously rigidly traditional and seriously innovative, it is precisely those internal contradictions that make the company so successful and admired.

    The six core strategies to elevate any business-and how to implement them-made simpleWhat do the world's most successful companies and organization have in common? And what can you actually take away and use from their examples? Distilling the best fundamental business strategies, trusted advisor and strategist John Spence helps you take a hard look at your business and together develop specific plans and action steps that will allow you to dramatically improve the success of your company.Delivered in Spence's approachable and straightforward manner, Awesomely Simple reveals the six key strategies that create a foundation for achieving business excellence: Vivid Vision, Best People, A Performance-Oriented Culture, Robust Communication, A Sense of Urgency, and Extreme Customer Focus.Filled with case studies and clear action items, includes easy-to-follow guidelines for implementing the strategies in any organization no matter its mission or size After concisely breaking down each strategy, Spence gives specific examples, tips, tools, discussion questions and exercises for how to execute them successfully A perfect resource for business leaders, Awesomely Simple will help you turn ideas into positive action and achieve lasting business success.

    Across the globe, it has become increasingly accepted dogma that economic activities should be dominated by market forces, not political concerns. With chapters on Europe, the US, Britain, the Third World, the Arab States, Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the former communist countries, Yergin and Stanislaw provide an incisive overview of the state of the economy, and of the battles between governments and markets in each region. Now updated throughout and with two new chapters, The Commanding Heights explains a revolution which is unfolding before our very eyes.

    Isabella is a beautiful Mexican woman that everyone in town loves, including the hapless Pete and the wealthy, powerful Jack...but most of all, Carl.Part romance, part police procedural, IN THE SHADOW OF EL PASO contains two short stories by Frank Zafiro. Both stories explore love, race, class and the ambiguity that exists on the southern border.

    When the rays reached our planet, they killed virtually all of the human population overnight, leaving only a handful of survivors. Sergeant major Tim Flannery was left to fend for himself in a dead and decaying world. He thought he’d fought his last battle for humanity on the atoll of Volivoli. Now he only wants to be left in peace, with his new family and a growing new society in northern Arizona. But he faces another battle. A new evil has risen from the ashes of a dead United States, threatening to take what little he has left and destroy his small enclave. Flannery must again take up arms to preserve what little sanity is left in a world gone mad.

    During our journey we will explore stories from Babylon, Greece, Ireland, Ethiopia, and various other cultures to fill in the missing pieces to one of the biggest mysteries on our planet. This 2nd Edition includes 40+ hours of additional audio and video content for your enjoyment. Make sure you download a free QR code scanner for your smart phone or tablet so you can take full advantage of the features in this book.

    Yet they should be asking what the global economy will look like in the years to come—where will the long-term risks and opportunities arise? These are the questions that Daniel Altman confronts in his provocative and indispensable book.The fate of the global economy, Altman argues, will be determined by deeper factors than those that move markets from moment to moment. His incisive analysis brings together hidden trends, societal pressures, and policy endgames to make twelve surprising but logical predictions about the years ahead. And his forecasts for the future raise a pressing question for today: With so many challenges awaiting us, are our political and economic institutions up to the task?Outrageous Fortunes tells which industries will grow, which economies will crumble, which investments will pay off, and where the next big crisis may occur. Altman's carefully reasoned text is an essential guide for the road ahead.

    Her tyrant of a boss hated the holiday and now she was stuck with him for two weeks at his house during a snow storm.CEO of Director Enterprises Preston Scott wasn’t a man known to celebrate the Christmas Holiday. So, why after one day of having Layla in his house he wanted to celebrate the holiday in a whole different way?