The Richest Man in Babylon


Robert B. Goodman - 1974
    Goodman & Robert A. Spicer from an original story by George S. Clason ; illustrated by Joseph Feher.-WorldCat

The Magic Square - Tricking Your Way to Mental Superpowers (Faking Smart Book 3)


Lewis Smile - 2012
    Perform this genius seemingly-mathematical feat on any napkin, any receipt, or even on your friend's arm.You can learn the famous Magic Square, and you can learn it in under 10 minutes.You will have a magician's Grand Finale, in your hands at any moment. This gets audible gasps, and you can wow people with this for the rest of your life...**************************THE PERFORMANCE:**************************Your friend will name a random number. You then speedily write 16 different numbers into a 4x4 grid. With a smug flourish, you then reveal that all combinations and directions within the grid add up to their chosen number. It is simply mind-blowing.Effortlessly perform a trick that it seems only a computer could perform, and learn how in 10 minutes from right now.

The World of Cycling According to G


Geraint Thomas - 2015
    Along the way he reveals cycling's clandestine codes and secret stories, tales from the peloton, the key characters like Wiggins, Hoy and Cav, the pivotal races and essential etiquette. Geraint Thomas is treasured for treating his sport just as the rest of us see it: not a job but an escape and an adventure. He's been with Team Sky since its inception, and is one of our most successful and gifted track and road riders, but Geraint reminds us that getting on the bike still puts a smile on your face and fire in the legs like nothing else.Funny, informative, diverting and droll, this is a joyful celebration of the world of cycling.

Making Friends with the Menopause: A clear and comforting guide to support you as your body changes. 2016 edition reflecting the new 'NICE' guidelines


Sarah Rayner - 2015
     Written with Sarah Rayner's trademark warmth and humour, this new edition of Making Friends with the Menopause has been updated to reflect the latest National Institute for Health and Care guidelines on diagnosis and management of the menopause. Together with Dr Patrick Fitzgerald, she explores why stopping menstruating causes such profound chemical changes in the body, leading us to react in a myriad of ways physically and mentally. There is practical advice on hot flushes and night sweats, anxiety and mood swings, muscular aches and loss of libido, early-onset menopause, hysterectomy and more, plus a simple explanation of each stage of the menopause so you'll know what to expect in the years before, during and after. You’ll find details of the treatment options available and their pros and cons, together with tips and insights from women keen to share their wisdom on a subject many still find hard to talk about. Whether you’re worried about feeling invisible, weight gain or loss of fertility, or simply want to take care of yourself well, knowledge is power, and Making Friends with the Menopause will give you a greater understanding of the process, so you can enjoy your body and your sexuality as you age. * From the author of the international bestselling novel One Moment, One Morning * And the word-of-mouth success Making Friends with Anxiety, a warm, supportive book to ease worry and panic * Includes advice on all the major health issues that can arise as a result of hormone change * Thoroughly researched and bang-up-to-date * Includes traditional and complementary medicine * Gives guidance on how to get the most from your GP appointments and finding good alternative practitioners * Useful links throughout, plus details of helplines and recommended reads * Fully illustrated with photographs by the author * Ongoing online support group available PRAISE FOR MAKING FRIENDS WITH ANXIETY 'Simple, lucid advice on how to accept your anxiety' Matt Haig, bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive 'Reads like chatting with an old friend; one with wit, wisdom and experience' ,Brighton and Hove Independent PRAISE FOR SARAH RAYNER: ‘Explores an emotive subject with great sensitivity’ Sunday Express ‘You'll want to inhale it in one breath' Easy Living 'Brilliant... Warm and approachable' Essentials ‘Carefully crafted and empathetic’ The Sunday Times ‘Brilliant…Warm and approachable’ Essentials ‘A sympathetic insight into the causes and effects of mental ill-health as it affects ordinary people. Powerful’ My Weekly

The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History


Jayson Stark - 2007
    But how about Alex Rodriguez, Jeter's teammate, former American League MVP, and probable future Hall of Famer? Many would argue he's even better than Jeter. And what about Jeter's seemingly unassailable status as one of the greatest Yankees of all time? Such discussions highlight one of the great joys of being a baseball fan: arguing over who's really great and who falls just short, who doesn't get the respect he deserves and who gets too much. In other words, who's overrated and who's underrated. In The Stark Truth, baseball analyst, writer, and researcher Jayson Stark of ESPN considers the entire history of professional baseball and picks the most overblown and underappreciated players in the history of the game. His results, based on extensive research using both traditional and more modern methods of evaluating baseball players and performance, are provocative, entertaining, and go a long way toward settling many of baseball's most persistent debates. No book can hope to settle every baseball argument, but The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History takes one of baseball's most enduring debates and provides some compelling and stunning clarity.

CRACK99: The Takedown of a $100 Million Chinese Software Pirate


David Locke Hall - 2015
    Navy intelligence officer, David Locke Hall was a federal prosecutor when a bizarre-sounding website, CRACK99, came to his attention. It looked like Craigslist on acid, but what it sold was anything but amateurish: thousands of high-tech software products used largely by the military, and for mere pennies on the dollar. Want to purchase satellite tracking software? No problem. Aerospace and aviation simulations? No problem. Communications systems designs? No problem. Software for Marine One, the presidential helicopter? No problem. With delivery times and customer service to rival the world’s most successful e-tailers, anybody, anywhere—including rogue regimes, terrorists, and countries forbidden from doing business with the United States—had access to these goods for any purpose whatsoever.But who was behind CRACK99, and where were they? The Justice Department discouraged potentially costly, risky cases like this, preferring the low-hanging fruit that scored points from politicians and the public. But Hall and his colleagues were determined to find the culprit. They bought CRACK99's products for delivery in the United States, buying more and more to appeal to the budding entrepreneur in the man they identified as Xiang Li. After winning his confidence, they lured him to Saipan—a U.S. commonwealth territory where Hall’s own father had stormed the beaches with the marines during World War II. There they set up an audacious sting that culminated in Xiang Li's capture and imprisonment. The value of the goods offered by CRACK99? A cool $100 million.An eye-opening look at cybercrime and its chilling consequences for national security, CRACK99 reads like a caper that resonates with every amazing detail.

Pandora's Box - A Man's Guide To The Female Mind - Get INSIDE HER MIND, Know Her Better Than She Knows Herself!


Vin DiCarlo - 2011
    Yes, wehave the same instincts and the same sexual desires but our personal preferencesare as different as grains of sand in the desert. (That’s why the saying goes thatpeople are as unique as snowflakes)All women don’t like the same food, they don’t like the same clothes… They don’teven like the same COLOR. So how can all women be interested in the same thingfrom a man? Think about it Some women like funny men. Some women like cockymen. Other women like gothic men, jocky men or men of a certain race, age orfinancial status.So approaching women with the same techniques for starting conversation, or eventhe same techniques when it comes to the bedroom is a losing bet… But it’s been ourbest guess to date! It’s like playing the roulette wheel at the casino, and only placingyour chips on either red or black.Yeah, you’ll win 50% of the time, and maybe you’ll get her a little attracted to you…But it’s better than playing the numbers in the middle where your chances of successare slim and you’re likely to lose your shirt. It’s not the best way to play the game,however, it’s the SAFEST way. With the skills you have know, it’s the EASIEST way to win.What if there was a BETTER way?What if you could confidently bet all of your chips on a number in the middle? You’d winevery time and you’d make a KILLING in profits. It’s the same way with women: Whenyou know exactly what she likes; the deepest, darkest thoughts she thinks; and whenyou know what she secretly CRAVES from men, you can match her dating and sexualneeds perfectly.You’ll be the guy she’s been looking for. You’ll appear like a mind reader. You’ll seem likeyou know her better than she knows herself. Even if you just met her a few minutes ago.Until now, you couldn’t get this information about her unless you stole her diary and read it.But recent insights into Female Psychology have cracked her mind right open, and you canpeek into the Pandora’s Box to see her secret thoughts and read the contents. For example:Did you know that there are two ways women like to be approached? 50% of women respondwell to a compliment while the other 50% of women wouldn’t DREAM of falling for a line like that.If the beautiful woman you just met likes the compliment you gave her, she’ll start to connectwith you and find her attractive.If she doesn’t vibe with your line You’re dead where you stand. You won’t get another chanceto win her heart, and she’ll go back to whatever she was doing.You can have THAT GIRL! You can save that conversation! With the new Pandora’s Box TechniquesVin DiCarlo discovered, you’ll know whether she’s a compliment girl or not before you everapproach her.

The Happiness of Pursuit: A Father's Courage, a Son's Love and Life's Steepest Climb


Davis Phinney - 2011
    He won two stages at the Tour de France and an Olympic medal. But after years of feeling off, he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s. The body that had been his ally was now something else: a prison. The Happiness of Pursuit is the story of how Davis sought to overcome his Parkinson’s by reaching back to what had made him so successful on the bike and adjusting his perspective on what counted as a win. The news of his diagnosis began a dark period for this vibrant athlete, but there was also light. His son Taylor’s own bike-racing career was taking off. Determined to beat the Body Snatcher, Davis underwent a procedure called deep brain stimulation. Although not cured, his symptoms abated enough for him to see Taylor compete in the Beijing Olympics. Davis Phinney had won another stage. But the joy, he discovered, was in the pursuit. With humor and grace, Phinney weaves the narrative of his battle with Parkinson’s with tales from his cycling career and from his son’s emerging career. The Happiness of Pursuit is a remarkable story of fathers and sons and bikes, of victories large and small.

But Will the Planet Notice?: How Smart Economics Can Save the World


Gernot Wagner - 2011
    Whatever you or I do personally--eat tofu in a Hummer or hamburgers in a Prius--the planet doesn't notice. In our confrontation with climate change, species preservation, and a planet going off the cliff, it is what several billion people do that makes a difference. The solution? It isn't science, politics, or activism. It's smarter economics.The hope of mankind, and indeed of every living thing on the planet, is now in the hands of the dismal science. Fortunately, we've been there before. Economists helped crack the acid rain problem in the 1990's (admittedly with a strong assist from a phalanx of lawyers and activists). Economists have helped get lead out of our gas, and they can explain why lobsters haven't disappeared off the coast of New England but tuna is on the verge of extinction. More disquietingly, they can take the lessons of the financial crisis and model with greater accuracy than anyone else the likelihood of environmental catastrophe, and they can help save us from global warming, if only we let them.

Every Week a Season: A Journey Inside Big-Time College Football


Brian Curtis - 2004
    He brings the meetings, practice sessions, recruiting calls and game day experience to light like never before. Fans who want to know what goes on behind the scenes will find out in this book.”–RON ZOOK, head football coach, the University of FloridaIn Every Week a Season, acclaimed sports reporter and author Brian Curtis takes readers on an unprecedented whirlwind tour of NCAA Division I football. It’s a world that breeds great drama, a world that millions watch but few understand. It is a multibillion-dollar business. It is an obsession.To get to the beating heart of college football, Curtis embarked on a breakneck itinerary that took him where all red-blooded college football fans long to be: behind the scenes at nine big-time programs. In nine weeks, Curtis visited Colorado State University, the University of Georgia, Boston College, the University of Tennessee, the University of Maryland, the University of Wisconsin, Louisiana State University, Florida State University, and Arizona State University. He braved the rain to watch Wisconsin pull off the upset of the year; he was at Neyland Stadium to see Tennessee manage a thrilling overtime victory; he was in Tallahassee to witness Florida State’s dramatic double overtime battle for the ACC title. As added bonuses, he was with Georgia when the team fought for the SEC Championship, and on the LSU sideline when the boys from Baton Rouge defeated Oklahoma to capture the BCS National Championship. At each stop, he brings us inside the game’s inner sanctum: in team meetings and scouting sessions; on the field and on the sidelines, during scrimmages, practices, and games; at pre-game traditions, meals, and religious services; in the locker room before the game and at half-time. Virtually nothing and no one was off-limits. Along with the players, Curtis got to know the coaches–from the young guns to the legends–spending time with them in their offices and on the road. We see firsthand the challenges of running a major college football program–when called on, coaches must serve as CEOs, PR gurus, lawyers, politicians, and policemen. We also learn of the sacrifices made by wives and children that enable coaches to keep the numerous young athletes under their supervision focused, secure, and happy. Brian Curtis gives a no-holds-barred insider’s account that will rank as one of the most honest and accurate books on big-time sports in America. Short of strapping on a helmet, you’ll never get closer to the game.From the Hardcover edition.

The Old Farmer's Almanac 2014


Old Farmer's Almanac - 2013
    This is the one, the only, Old Farmer’s Almanac! Recognized for generations by its familiar yellow cover, the Almanac for 2014 promises to be "useful, with a pleasant degree of humor," fulfilling once again (for the 222nd time) the mission set forth in 1792 by its founder, Robert B. Thomas. In addition to its 80 percent–accurate weather, this year’s signature mix of wit and wisdom, tips and advice, forecasts and fun includes . . . • an astronomy quiz to test your Sky-Q • anglers’ six favorite fish and secrets to hooking them • vegetables and other perennial edibles to grow • the time in our lives: where it goes, ways to make the most of it, and more • the whole truth about whole grains • how to get bitten by a pet (if you’re not careful) • rings around Earth (think Saturn) that might influence our weather • health tips for each zodiac sign • envelope and napkin jottings that changed the world • plus: Moon phases and other celestial sightings, tides, historic trivia, gardening tables, best days, and too much more to mention! Added value this year: • 80 full-color pages • full-color winter and summer weather maps • updated Reference section

The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team


Wayne Coffey - 2005
    They were the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, a blue-collar bunch led by an unconventional coach, and they engineered what Sports Illustrated called the greatest sports moment of the twentieth century. Their “Miracle on Ice” has become a national fairy tale, but the real Cinderella story is even more remarkable. Wayne Coffey casts a fresh eye on this seminal sports event, giving readers an ice-level view of the amateurs who took on a Russian hockey juggernaut at the height of the Cold War. He details the unusual chemistry of the Americans—formulated by their fiercely determined coach, Herb Brooks—and seamlessly weaves portraits of the boys with the fluid action of the game itself. Coffey also traces the paths of the players and coaches since their stunning victory, examining how the Olympic events affected their lives.Told with warmth and an uncanny eye for detail, The Boys of Winter is an intimate, perceptive portrayal of one Friday night in Lake Placid and the enduring power of the extraordinary.Also available as an eBook

Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich


Mark Kriegel - 2007
    It's the stuff of classic novels: the story of a boy transformed by his father's dream -- and the cost of that dream. Even as Pete Maravich became Pistol Pete -- a basketball icon for baby boomers -- all the Maraviches paid a price. Now acclaimed author Mark Kriegel has brilliantly captured the saga of an American family: its rise, its apparent ruin, and, finally, its redemption. Almost four decades have passed since Maravich entered the national consciousness as basketball's boy wizard. No one had ever played the game like the kid with the floppy socks and shaggy hair. And all these years later, no one else ever has. The idea of Pistol Pete continues to resonate with young people today just as powerfully as it did with their fathers.In averaging 44.2 points a game at Louisiana State University, he established records that will never be broken. But even more enduring than the numbers was the sense of ecstasy and artistry with which he played. With the ball in his hands, Maravich had a singular power to inspire awe, inflict embarrassment, or even tell a joke.But he wasn't merely a mesmerizing showman. He was basketball's answer to Elvis, a white Southerner who sold Middle America on a black man's game. Like Elvis, he paid a terrible price, becoming a prisoner of his own fame.Set largely in the South, Kriegel's "Pistol," a tale of obsession and basketball, fathers and sons, merges several archetypal characters. Maravich was a child prodigy, a prodigal son, his father's ransom in a Faustian bargain, and a Great White Hope. But he was also a creature of contradictions: always the outsider but a virtuoso in a team sport, anexuberant showman who wouldn't look you in the eye, a vegetarian boozer, an athlete who lived like a rock star, a suicidal genius saved by Jesus Christ.A renowned biographer -- "People" magazine called him "a master" -- Kriegel renders his subject with a style that is, by turns, heartbreaking, lyrical, and electric.The narrative begins in 1929, the year a missionary gave Pete's father a basketball. Press Maravich had been a neglected child trapped in a hellish industrial town, but the game enabled him to blossom. It also caused him to confuse basketball with salvation. The intensity of Press's obsession initiates a journey across three generations of Maraviches. Pistol Pete, a ballplayer unlike any other, was a product of his father's vanity and vision. But that dream continues to exact a price on Pete's own sons. Now in their twenties -- and fatherless for most of their lives -- they have waged their own struggles with the game and its ghosts."Pistol" is an unforgettable biography. By telling one family's history, Kriegel has traced the history of the game and a large slice of the American narrative.

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero


David Maraniss - 2006
    David Maraniss now brings the great baseball player brilliantly back to life in "Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero," a book destined to become a modern classic. Much like his acclaimed biography of Vince Lombardi, "When Pride Still Mattered," Maraniss uses his narrative sweep and meticulous detail to capture the myth and a real man. Anyone who saw Clemente, as he played with a beautiful fury, will never forget him. He was a work of art in a game too often defined by statistics. During his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he won four batting titles and led his team to championships in 1960 and 1971, getting a hit in all fourteen World Series games in which he played. His career ended with three-thousand hits, the magical three-thousandth coming in his final at-bat, and he and the immortal Lou Gehrig are the only players to have the five-year waiting period waived so they could be enshrined in the Hall of Fame immediately after their deaths.

The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football


Jeff Benedict - 2013
    Millions fill 100,000-seat stadiums every Saturday; tens of millions more watch on television every weekend. The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama had a viewership of 26.4 million people, second only to the Super Bowl. Billions of dollars from television deals now flow into the game; the average budget for a top-ten team is $80 million; top coaches make more than $3 million a year; the highest paid, more than $5 million.     But behind this glittering success are darker truths: “athlete-students” working essentially full-time jobs with no share in the oceans of money; players who often don’t graduate and end their careers with broken bodies; “janitors” who clean up player misconduct; football “hostesses” willing to do whatever it takes to land a top recruit; seven-figure black box recruiting slush funds. And this: Despite the millions of dollars pouring into the game, 90 percent of major athletic departments still lose money. Yet schools remain caught up in an ever-escalating “arms race”—at the expense of academic scholarships, facilities and faculty.     Celebrated investigative journalists Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian were granted unprecedented access during the 2012 season to programs at the highest levels across the country at a time of convulsive change in college football. Through dogged reporting, they explored every nook and cranny of this high-powered machine, and reveal how it operates from the inside out. The result: the system through the eyes of athletic directors and coaches, high-flying boosters and high-profile TV stars, five-star recruits and tireless NCAA investigators and the kids on whom the whole vast enterprise depends.     Both a celebration of the power and pageantry of NCAA football and a groundbreaking, thought-provoking critique of its excesses, The System is the definitive book on the college game.