Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History
Patrick Hunt - 2007
The Rosetta Stone, Troy, Nineveh's Assyrian Library, King Tut's Tomb, Machu Picchu, Pompeii, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Thera, Olduvai Gorge, and the Tomb of 10,000 Warriors--Hunt reveals the fascinating stories of these amazing discoveries and explains the ways in which they added to our knowledge of human history and permanently altered our worldview. Part travel guide to the wonders of the world and part primer on ancient world history, Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History captures the awe and excitement of finding a lost window into ancient civilization.
Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth
Mark Hertsgaard - 2010
For twenty years, Mark Hertsgaard has investigated global warming for outlets including theNew Yorker, NPR, Time, Vanity Fair, and The Nation. But the full truth did not hit home until he became a father and, soon thereafter, learned that climate change had already arrived―a century earlier than forecast―with impacts bound to worsen for decades to come. Hertsgaard's daughter Chiara, now five years old, is part of what he has dubbed "Generation Hot" -- the two billion young people worldwide who will spend the rest of their lives coping with mounting climate disruption. HOT is a father's cry against climate change, but most of the book focuses on solutions, offering a deeply reported blueprint for how all of us―as parents, communities, companies and countries―can navigate this unavoidable new era. Combining reporting from across the nation and around the world with personal reflections on his daughter’s future, Hertsgaard provides "pictures" of what is expected over the next fifty years: Chicago’s climate transformed to resemble Houston’s; dwindling water supplies and crop yields at home and abroad; the redesign of New York and other cities against mega-storms and sea-level rise. Above all, he shows who is taking wise, creative precautions. For in the end, HOT is a book about how we’ll survive.
Beyond Civilization: Humanity's Next Great Adventure
Daniel Quinn - 1999
We all know there's no one right way to build a bicycle, no one right way to design an automobile, no one right way to make a pair of shoes, but we're convinced that there must be only one right way to live -- and the one we have is it, no matter what. Beyond Civilization makes practical sense of the vision of Daniel Quinn's best-selling novel Ishmael. Examining ancient civilizations such as the Maya and the Olmec, as well as modern-day microcosms of alternative living like circus societies, Quinn guides us on a quest for a new model for society, one that is forward-thinking and encourages diversity instead of suppressing it. Beyond Civilization is not about a "New World Order" but a "New Personal World Order" that would allow people to assert control over their own destiny and grant them the freedom to create their own way of life right now -- not in some distant utopian future.
How to Read Better and Faster
Norman Lewis - 1951
Some evidence of shelf wear on book cover, otherwise in good shape.
The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
Mark Mazzetti - 2013
The Way of the Knife is the untold story of that shadow war: a campaign that has blurred the lines between soldiers and spies and lowered the bar for waging war across the globe. America has pursued its enemies with killer drones and special operations troops; trained privateers for assassination missions and used them to set up clandestine spying networks; and relied on mercurial dictators, untrustworthy foreign intelligence services, and proxy armies.This new approach to war has been embraced by Washington as a lower risk, lower cost alternative to the messy wars of occupation and has been championed as a clean and surgical way of conflict. But the knife has created enemies just as it has killed them. It has fomented resentments among allies, fueled instability, and created new weapons unbound by the normal rules of accountability during wartime.
Managing Oneself
Peter F. Drucker - 2007
But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren't managing their knowledge workers careers. Instead, you must be your own chief executive officer. That means it's up to you to carve out your place in the world and know when to change course. And it's up to you to keep yourself engaged and productive during a career that may span some 50 years. In Managing Oneself, Peter Drucker explains how to do it. The keys: Cultivate a deep understanding of yourself by identifying your most valuable strengths and most dangerous weaknesses; Articulate how you learn and work with others and what your most deeply held values are; and Describe the type of work environment where you can make the greatest contribution. Only when you operate with a combination of your strengths and self-knowledge can you achieve true and lasting excellence. Managing Oneself identifies the probing questions you need to ask to gain the insights essential for taking charge of your career. Peter Drucker was a writer, teacher, and consultant. His 34 books have been published in more than 70 languages. He founded the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, and counseled 13 governments, public services institutions, and major corporations.
Megan Disgraced
Viktor Redreich - 2020
I’m just his maid, he’ll never love me…Late at night he sits at his desk, necktie loosened, the sleeves of his crisp cotton shirt rolled up to his bulging biceps.How I wish I could run my fingers through his hair, graze my nose against his cheek and massage his tense, muscular shoulders.How I’ve tried to get his attention.Prancing around him in cute little dresses, my cheeks a rosy shade of pink.Dropping a crumpled tissue on the floor to give him a peek as I bend over to pick it up.Spending half my salary on expensive perfumes just to give him a whiff of me as he rushes past.Anything to make him grab me and kiss me as he does to Stacey!Instead, all I ever get is a polite smile when I pour his morning coffee.The only time he notices me is when I burn his toast.Then his eyes turn red, his fists clench, and his powerful voice rumbles from deep within his chest.It makes my heart race…Maybe I should burn his toast again this morning.Smolder it to ashes.Then he’ll really give it to me.
The Complete World of Greek Mythology
Richard Buxton - 2004
From the first millennium BC until today, the myths have been repeated in an inexhaustible series of variations and reinterpretations. They can be found in the latest movies and television shows and in software for interactive computer games. This book combines a retelling of Greek myths with a comprehensive account of the world in which they developed their themes, their relevance to Greek religion and society, and their relationship to the landscape."Contexts, Sources, Meanings" describes the main literary and artistic sources for Greek myths, and their contexts, such as ritual and theater."Myths of Origin" includes stories about the beginning of the cosmos, the origins of the gods, the first humans, and the founding of communities."The Olympians: Power, Honor, Sexuality" examines the activities of all the main divinities."Heroic exploits" concentrates on the adventures of Perseus, Jason, Herakles, and other heroes."Family sagas" explores the dramas and catastrophes that befall heroes and heroines."A Landscape of Myths" sets the stories within the context of the mountains, caves, seas, and rivers of Greece, Crete, Troy, and the Underworld."Greek Myths after the Greeks" describes the rich tradition of retelling, from the Romans, through the Renaissance, to the twenty-first century.Complemented by lavish illustrations, genealogical tables, box features, and specially commissioned drawings, this will be an essential book for anyone interested in these classic tales and in the world of the ancient Greeks.
About Face: Odyssey Of An American Warrior
David H. Hackworth - 1989
Hackworth presents a vivid and powerful portrait of a life of patriotism.From age fifteen to forty David Hackworth devoted himself to the US Army and fast became a living legend. In 1971, however, he appeared on television to decry the doomed war effort in Vietnam. With About Face, he has written what many Vietnam veterans have called the most important book of their generation.From Korea to Berlin, from the Cuban missile crisis to Vietnam, Hackworth’s story is that of an exemplary patriot, played out against the backdrop of the changing fortunes of America and the American military. It is also a stunning indictment of the Pentagon’s fundamental misunderstanding of the Vietnam conflict and of the bureaucracy of self-interest that fuelled the war.Heavily decorated Colonel Hackworth narrates his life and disillusionment during Vietnam. Orphaned before he was a year old, he found his home at 15 in the Army. In Korea, heroism gave him a battlefield commission at 20. During the Cold War, he commanded at the Berlin wall and the Cuban missile crises. But Vietnam led to disillusionment.
Octavian's Undoing
Airicka Phoenix - 2013
But returning it will cost her much more than she bargains for.Abandoned by her mother, raised by an indifferent father, Riley has accepted the fact that she would be alone always. She has no idea that a single act of kindness would propel her into a world where creatures that shouldn’t exist guard the human race from the demons that lurk in the shadows. That it will cost her the lives of those she loves while unearthing a destiny she never imagined with a man who is forbidden to love her. She finds passion, romance and the family she’d been searching for her entire life, but at what cost and what is she willing to sacrifice to find answers and happiness?Octavian Maxwell has always known his place. He is a Caster, a Son of Judgment. His job is to protect the mortal world from the creatures plotting to destroy it. Instead, his world is shattered when a human girl walks into Final Judgment, a girl he has been searching for his entire life, a girl he is forbidden to ever touch. Being with her will break the oath he’s sworn to never love a mortal. But his heart has already found its mate and it refuses to let go.Final Judgment… a place undetected, a gateway to evil and a legend that will undo everything anyone has ever known about our world.
Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths
Mardy Grothe - 2004
See also oxymoron, paradox.examples:"Melancholy is the pleasure of being sad."Victor Hugo"To lead the people, walk behind them." Lao-tzu"You'd be surprised how much it coststo look this cheap."Dolly PartonYou won't find the word "oxymoronica" in any dictionary (at least not yet) because Dr. Mardy Grothe introduces it to readers in this delightful collection of 1,400 of the most provocative quotations of all time. From ancient thinkers like Confucius, Aristotle, and Saint Augustine to great writers like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and G. B. Shaw to modern social observers like Woody Allen and Lily Tomlin, Oxymoronica celebrates the power and beauty of paradoxical thinking. All areas of human activity are explored, including love, sex and romance, politics, the arts, the literary life, and, of course, marriage and family life. The wise and witty observations in this book are as highly entertaining as they are intellectually nourishing and are sure to grab the attention of language lovers everywhere.
The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci
Jonathan D. Spence - 1984
To capture the complex emotional and religious drama of Ricci's extraordinary life, Jonathan Spence relates his subject's experiences with several images that Ricci himself created--four images derived from the events in the bible and others from a book on the art of memory that Ricci wrote in Chinese and circulated among members of the Ming dynasty elite. A rich and compelling narrative about a remarkable life, The Memory Palace Of Matteo Ricci is also a significant work of global history, juxtaposing the world of Counter-Reformation Europe with that of Ming China.
The Ugly American
William J. Lederer - 1958
The book introduces readers to an unlikely hero in the titular “ugly American”—and to the ignorant politicians and arrogant ambassadors who ignore his empathetic and commonsense advice. In linked stories and vignettes set in the fictional nation of Sarkhan, William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick draw an incisive portrait of American foreign policy gone dangerously wrong—and how it might be fixed.Eerily relevant sixty years after its initial publication, The Ugly American reminds us that “today, as the battle for hearts and minds has shifted to the Middle East, we still can’t speak Sarkhanese” (New York Times).
Happiness Express
Khurshed Batliwala - 2018
Art of Living teachers Khurshed and Dinesh have spent the greaterpart of their lives being happy and coaching others to be happy. In Happiness Express they share the secrets behind their smiles.This warm and funny book, which abounds in personalanecdotes and practical tips for everyday well-being,will make Happiness a more integral part of your lifethan ever before. Learn about the importance of rest —keeping your eyes closed is one of the biggest secrets to a long-lasting smile. Figure out the right types of food to eat —a healthy gut oftentranslates into a happier you. Know how physical exercise not only gives you a stronger, healthier body, but even makes your brain younger. Unearth the thrill of learning all over again and give that innatecuriosity you had as a child a second chance. Get over procrastination , the Dark Lord of bad habits, and do thethings that you’ve always wanted to do!
One Thousand Paper Cranes: The Story of Sadako and the Children's Peace Statue
Takayuki Ishii - 2001
Sadako's determination to fold one thousand paper cranes and her courageous struggle with her illness inspired her classmates. After her death, they started a national campaign to build the Children's Peace Statue to remember Sadako and the many other children who were victims of the Hiroshima bombing. On top of the statue is a girl holding a large crane in her outstretched arms. Today in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, this statue of Sadako is beautifully decorated with thousands of paper cranes given by people throughout the world.