With strict admission standards and a progressive curriculum, Brooklyn's Edward R. Murrow High School has long been one of New York's public-education success stories, serving a diverse neighborhood of immigrants and minorities and ranking among the nation's best high schools. At Murrow, there are no sports teams, and the closest thing to jocks are found on the school's powerhouse chess team, which annually competes for the national championship.In "The Kings of New York" sportswriter Michael Weinreb follows the members of the Murrow chess team through an entire season, from cash games in Washington Square Park to city and state tournaments to the SuperNationals in Nashville, where this eclectic bunch competes against private schoolers and suburbanites. Along the way, Weinreb brings to life a number of colorful characters: the Yale-educated calculus teacher (and former semipro hockey player) who guides the savants while struggling to find funding for his team; an aspiring rapper and tournament hustler who plays with cutthroat instinct; the team's lone girl, a shy Ukrainian immigrant; the Puerto Rican teen from the rough neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant who plays an ingenious opening gambit named the Orangutan; and the Lithuanian immigrant and team star whose chess rating is climbing toward grandmaster status.In the bestselling tradition of such books as "Word Freak" and "Friday Night Lights, The Kings of New York" is a riveting look inside the world of competitive chess and an inspiring profile of young genius.

    Newly revised and expanded by the author, this study of epic fantasy analyzes the genre from its earliest beginnings in Medieval romances, on through practitioners like Tolkien, up to today's brightest lights.

    Now, in this beautiful hardcover, Blizzard Entertainment reveals the creative process behind one of the most popular FPS games of all time! Filled with never-before-seen art as well as commentary provided by the game's development team, this book is sure to please any Overwatch fan.- Never-before-seen artwork!- Essential companion to the international best-selling game Overwatch!- Introduction and commentary provided by the game's development team!- Overwatch is a global phenomenon with 30 million players!- Produced in close partnership with Blizzard Entertainment!- Behind-the-scenes look at your favorite characters!- Overwatch creation revealed!

    Written by Harvard students for students, since its inception SparkNotes(TM) has developed a loyal community of dedicated users and become a major education brand. Consumer demand has been so strong that the guides have expanded to over 150 titles. SparkNotes'(TM) motto is Smarter, Better, Faster because: - They feature the most current ideas and themes, written by experts. - They're easier to understand, because the same people who use them have also written them. - The clear writing style and edited content enables students to read through the material quickly, saving valuable time. And with everything covered--context; plot overview; character lists; themes, motifs, and symbols; summary and analysis, key facts; study questions and essay topics; and reviews and resources--you don't have to go anywhere else!

    It wasn't until chess became a popular pastime for European royals during the Middle Ages that the queen was born and was gradually empowered to become the king's fierce warrior and protector.Birth of the Chess Queen examines the five centuries between the chess queen's timid emergence in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire to her elevation during the reign of Isabel of Castile. Marilyn Yalom, inspired by a handful of surviving medieval chess queens, traces their origin and spread from Spain, Italy, and Germany to France, England, Scandinavia, and Russia. In a lively and engaging historical investigation, Yalom draws parallels between the rise of the chess queen and the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe, presenting a layered, fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power.

    With full-color photographs, MYST / RIVEN: The Art of the Game gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the luminous art and fantastic creation of the world's bestselling CD-ROM phenomenon, MYST, and its stunning sequel, RIVEN.

    It's a role-playing story-telling game of outrageous originality and swashbuckling exaggeration, stretching the bounds of truth until they twang. How is this possible? If Baron Munchausen is involved, anything is possible. The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen contains full rules, more than two hundred adventures ready to be played, mechanics that replace dice and pencils with money and fine wine, and many insults against the inhabitants of various nations, but principally the French. This expanded edition is a facsimile of a suppressed volume originally published in 1808. It contains additional rules for playing in an Arabian style and a complete supplementary game, 'My Uncle the Baron', designed for children, the inbred and those who are very drunk. "The original edition of The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen was unique and marvellous. This new edition is even better. If you are a clever person with clever friends, you will enjoy reading and playing it. Let's not consider the alternative." -Steve Jackson, creator of Munchkin "Utter brilliance in RPG form!" -John Kovalic, creator of Dork Tower Nominated for Best New RPG in the 1999 Origins Awards Nominated for Best Family/Party Game in the 2009 Origins Awards Nominated for Best Writing in the 2009 ENnie Awards

    Featuring concept art and commentary by BioWare on the games' characters, locations, vehicles, weapons, and more, "The Art of the Mass Effect Universe" is the most complete companion available to gaming's most compelling series.

    Justman gave Marc Cushman permission and encouragement to write the definitive history of "Star Trek®: The Original Series". They backed up their stamp of approval by providing Marc exclusive access to all the production documents generated by the series -- everything from the creation of the idea by Gene Roddenberry to the last day of production.

    Political savvy is only one weapon in  Gale's diplomatic arsenal, but she's up against a Sylvanner ambassador who will push her to the brink . . . or over it.        A. M. Dellamonica's previous story for tor.com was a uniquely unusual contemporary fantasy love story set in the real world. "Among the Silvering Herd" takes place in another world, one that exists near ours but is quite different. "Among the Silvering Herd" is about loyalty, tradition, and the things people will do to protect what is theirs. This fantasy adventure shows off Dellamonica's gift for engaging characters and her ability to conjure unusual situations to test those characters' mettle.

    Now Lawrence M. Krauss, an internationally known theoretical physicist and educator, has written the quintessential physics book for Trekkers and non-Trekkers alike.Anyone who has ever wondered, "Could this really happen?" will gain useful insights into the "Star Trek" universe (and, incidentally, the real universe) in this charming and accessible volume. Krauss boldly goes where "Star Trek" has gone -- and beyond. He uses the "Star Trek" future as a launching pad to discuss the forefront of modern physics. From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Janeway, Krauss leads the reader on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it and as it might one day be.Featuring the Top 10 biggest physics bloopers in "Star Trek," as selected by Nobel Prize-winning physicists and other dedicated Trekkers!"This book is fun, and Mr. Krauss has a nice touch with a tough subject...Readers drawn by frivolity will be treated to substance." "--New York Times Book Review""Today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science fact. The physics that underlies "Star Trek" is surely worth investigating. To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit."--Stephen Hawking (in the foreword)A

    Yet we know very little about them, save that they can live forever (barring accidents) and possess the secrets of space and time travel. Their history has been shrouded in myth and mystery. Until now.A Brief History of Time Lords unlocks the secrets of this ancient, legendary alien race - a civilisation that inflicted some of its most notorious renegades and criminals on the universe, but was also the benevolent power that rid the cosmos of its most fearsome enemies. Drawn from the ancient records of Gallifrey, and handed down from generation to generation, this remarkable book reveals the Time Lords in all of their guises: pioneers and power-mad conspirators, time-travellers and tyrants, creators and destroyers. Be careful who you share it with.

     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.

     Discover how to build every major and relative minor scales. Understand how key signatures work and instantly know the notes of any scale An instant trick to tell you the notes in any key, just using by looking at your guitar fretboard! Bonus: Learn to instantly see the relationships six ‘secret’ closely related key changes that you can use in your own writing and playing instantly. Are you Missing part of the puzzle? Most guitarists know a lot of scales, but few actually understand the essential principles of how they are built and how they relate to each other.The Circle of Fifths is like an ancient ‘Rosetta Stone’ of music theory that not only tells you which notes are in any key, but also contains the secret of how every scale is built and how every scale relates to each other.In The Circle of Fifths, you will not only learn how The Circle works, but you will also learn to build it yourself and gain instant access to the deep inner core of theory that governs everything in music.The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists shows how every key, scale, chord and modulation works in music. It’s essential knowledge of any aspiring musician. Hear it! Theory is just knowledge, but once you hear it, it becomes music. The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists contains many supporting audio examples to help you get inside the theory and quickly apply the concepts to your own playing. Get it for free from www.fundamental-changes.com This book is Free on Kindle Unlimited

     This book provides everything players and Dungeon Masters need to play Dungeons & Dragons in Eberron--a war-torn world filled with magic-fueled technology, airships and lightning trains, where noir-inspired mystery meets swashbuckling adventure. Will Eberron enter a prosperous new age or will the shadow of war descend once again?- Dive straight into your pulp adventures with easy-to-use locations, complete with maps of floating castles, skyscrapers, and more.- Explore Sharn, a city of skyscrapers, airships, and noirish intrigue and a crossroads for the world's war-ravaged peoples.- Include a campaign for characters venturing into the Mournland, a mist-cloaked, corpse-littered land twisted by magic.- Meld magic and invention to craft objects of wonder as an artificer--the first official class to be released for fifth edition D&D since the Player's Handbook.- Flesh out your characters with a new D&D game element called a group patron--a background for your whole party.- Explore 16 new race/subrace options including dragonmarks, which magically transform certain members of the races in the Player's Handbook.- Confront horrific monsters born from the world's devastating wars.