Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall—From America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness


Frank Brady - 2011
    and remarkable powers of concentration, Bobby memorized hundreds of chess books in several languages, and he was only 13 when he became the youngest chess master in U.S. history.   But his strange behavior started early.  In 1972, at the historic Cold War showdown in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he faced Soviet champion Boris Spassky, Fischer made headlines with hundreds of petty demands that nearly ended the competition.  It was merely a prelude to what was to come. Arriving back in the United States to a hero’s welcome, Bobby was mobbed wherever he went—a figure as exotic and improbable as any American pop culture had yet produced.  No player of a mere “board game” had ever ascended to such heights.  Commercial sponsorship offers poured in, ultimately topping $10 million—but Bobby demurred.  Instead, he began tithing his limited money to an apocalyptic religion and devouring anti-Semitic literature.   After years of poverty and a stint living on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, Bobby remerged in 1992 to play Spassky in a multi-million dollar rematch—but the experience only deepened a paranoia that had formed years earlier when he came to believe that the Soviets wanted him dead for taking away “their” title.  When the dust settled, Bobby was a wanted man—transformed into an international fugitive because of his decision to play in Montenegro despite U.S. sanctions.  Fearing for his life, traveling with bodyguards, and wearing a long leather coat to ward off knife attacks, Bobby lived the life of a celebrity fugitive – one drawn increasingly to the bizarre.  Mafiosi, Nazis, odd attempts to breed an heir who could perpetuate his chess-genius DNA—all are woven into his late-life tapestry.  And yet, as Brady shows, the most notable irony of Bobby Fischer’s strange descent – which had reached full plummet by 2005 when he turned down yet another multi-million dollar payday—is that despite his incomprehensible behavior, there were many who remained fiercely loyal to him.  Why that was so is at least partly the subject of this book—one that at last answers the question: “Who was Bobby Fischer?”

Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses


Robb Walsh - 2002
    They love to make it. They love to eat it. And they love to argue about it-igniting as many feuds as fires from Houston to El Paso. Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook delivers both a practical cookbook and a guided tour of Texas barbecue lore, giving readers straightforward advice right from the pit masters themselves. Their time-honored tips, along with 85 closely guarded recipes, reveal a lip-smacking feast of smoked meats, savory side dishes, and an awesome array of mops, sauces, and rubs. Their opinions are outspoken, their stories outlandish and hilarious. Fascinating archival photography looks back over more than 100 years of barbecue history, from the first turn of the century squirrel roasts to candid shots of Lyndon Johnson chowing down on a plate of ribs. A list of the best barbecue joints and a month-by-month rundown of the most influential statewide cook-offs round out this glorious celebration of barbecue found deep in the heart of Texas.

Chair Yoga: Sit, Stretch, and Strengthen Your Way to a Happier, Healthier You


Kristin McGee - 2017
    For the majority of Americans living a sedentary lifestyle (from the card-carrying couch potatoes to the 86% of American workers who sit all day at their job) comes a comprehensive guide to the most accessible form of yoga…Chair yoga! - Desk-bound? You can do chair yoga!- Have limited range of motion? You can do chair yoga!- Never done yoga before? You can do chair yoga!- Don’t own a pair of stretchy pants? You can do chair yoga!- Own plenty of athleisure or loungewear, but haven’t moved much in weeks/months/years? You can do chair yoga!Chair yoga is exactly what it sounds like: exercises you can do sitting down. In Chair Yoga, celebrity yoga instructor Kristin McGee takes you through 100 yoga poses and exercises that are easy enough for all levels and will help readers stay active, alert, and healthy. Divided into chapters organized by body part (say goodbye to back pain and hello to better posture), each exercise includes step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow photos. Plus, bonus chapters on 5-, 10-, and 15-minute routines help readers put it all together and find the time to perform these exercises. Now with Chair Yoga, anyone can benefit from just a few moves a day—and garner the remarkable physical and mental health rewards. “Kristin’s classes strike a perfect balance of effort and letting go, seriousness and lightheartedness, movement and stillness. She is among the best teachers in the city and I consider myself lucky to be among her students.”—Ellie Krieger

The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language


Melvyn Bragg - 2003
    It is democratic, everchanging and ingenious in its assimilation of other cultures. English runs through the heart of the world of finance, medicine and the Internet, and it is understood by around two thousand million people across the world. It seems set to go on. Yet it was nearly wiped out in its early years.Embracing elements of Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi and Gullah, this 1500-year story covers a huge range of countries and people. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion and trade, but also the story of people, and how their day-to-day lives shaped and continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.

Designing Web APIs: Building APIs That Developers Love


Brenda Jin - 2018
    But building a popular API with a thriving developer ecosystem is also one of the most challenging. With this practical guide, developers, architects, and tech leads will learn how to navigate complex decisions for designing, scaling, marketing, and evolving interoperable APIs.Authors Brenda Jin, Saurabh Sahni, and Amir Shevat explain API design theory and provide hands-on exercises for building your web API and managing its operation in production. You'll also learn how to build and maintain a following of app developers. This book includes expert advice, worksheets, checklists, and case studies from companies including Slack, Stripe, Facebook, Microsoft, Cloudinary, Oracle, and GitHub.Get an overview of request-response and event-driven API design paradigmsLearn best practices for designing an API that meets the needs of your usersUse a template to create an API design processScale your web API to support a growing number of API calls and use casesRegularly adapt the API to reflect changes to your product or businessProvide developer resources that include API documentation, samples, and tools

You Have the Right to Remain Innocent


James Duane - 2016
    Duane became a viral sensation thanks to a 2008 lecture outlining the reasons why you should never agree to answer questions from the police—especially if you are innocent and wish to stay out of trouble with the law. In this timely, relevant, and pragmatic new book, he expands on that presentation, offering a vigorous defense of every citizen’s constitutionally protected right to avoid self-incrimination. Getting a lawyer is not only the best policy, Professor Duane argues, it’s also the advice law-enforcement professionals give their own kids.Using actual case histories of innocent men and women exonerated after decades in prison because of information they voluntarily gave to police, Professor Duane demonstrates the critical importance of a constitutional right not well or widely understood by the average American. Reflecting the most recent attitudes of the Supreme Court, Professor Duane argues that it is now even easier for police to use your own words against you. This lively and informative guide explains what everyone needs to know to protect themselves and those they love.

The Leader Phrase Book: 3,000+ Powerful Phrases That Put You In Command


Patrick Alain - 2011
    You will be in command of your words and always stay ahead of the game. With this passport to success, you will begin a new journey on which you are among the charismatic, the untouchable...the elite.This easy-to-use reference book will give you a new image you can take pride in helping you to quickly reach your full leadership potential. You will have all the weapons to effectively succeed whenever vibrant, forceful language is required. It works like magic!The Leader Phrase Book will teach you how to:•    Speak like a leader•    Master all conversations•    Attain a charismatic presence•    Gain the respect of others•    Achieve a lightning-fast rhetoric•    Find the right phrases instantly•    Argue effectively•    Be the envy of all you meetThe Leader Phrase Book is the culmination of ten years of Patrick's personal research on how leaders communicate. It is the summation of his efforts to share one of the most invaluable skills in life: "how to put yourself in command."

Game Programming Gems


Mark DeLoura - 2000
    But instead of spending hours and hours trying to develop your own answers, now you can find out how the pros do it! Game Programming Gems is a hands-on, comprehensive resource packed with a variety of game programming algorithms written by experts from the game industry and edited by Mark DeLoura, former software engineering lead for Nintendo of America, Inc. and now the newly appointed editor-in-chief of Game Developer magazine. From animation and artificial intelligence to Z-buffering, lighting calculations, weather effects, curved surfaces, mutliple layer Internet gaming, to music and sound effects, all of the major techniques needed to develop a competitive game engine are covered. Game Programming Gems is written in a style accessible to individuals with a range of expertise levels. All of the source code for each algorithm is included and can be used by advanced programmers immediately. For aspiring programmers, there is a detailed tutorial to work through before attempting the code, and suggestions for possible modifications and optimizations are included as well.

Xanathar's Guide to Everything


Wizards of the Coast - 2017
    In addition, you’ll find and valuable advice for those of nefarious intent who must deal with such meddling do-gooders, including the Xanathar’s personal thoughts on how to dispatch anyone foolish enough to interfere with his business dealings. Alongside observations on “heroes” themselves, the beholder fills the pages of this tome with his personal thoughts on tricks, traps, and even treasures and how they can be put to villainous use.Complete rules for more than twenty new subclasses for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, including the cavalier, the inquisitive, the horizon walker, and many more. Dozens of new feats and spells, and a system to give your character a unique, randomized backstory. A variety of systems and tools that provide Dungeon Masters new ways to personalize their home games, while also expanding the ways players can engage in organized play and shared world campaigns.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but evil is in its heart!The Xanathar…Waterdeep’s most infamous crime lord, and a beholder to boot…You’d be shocked to discover just how much he knows about you…Yes, you… adventurers.

Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest


Jennifer Crusie - 2007
    With the show in its seventh season on the fledgling CW, Coffee at Luke's is the perfect look at what has made the show such a clever, beloved part of the television landscape for so long.What are the risks of having your mother be your best friend? How is Gilmore Girls anti-family, at least in the traditional sense? What’s a male viewer to do when he finds both mother and daughter attractive? And how is creator Amy Sherman-Palladino like Emily Gilmore? From the show’s class consciousness to the way the characters are shaped by the books they read, the music they listen to and the movies they watch, Coffee at Luke's looks at the sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking underpinnings of smart viewer’s Tuesday night television staple, and takes them further into Stars Hollow than they’ve ever been before.

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America


Jeff Ryan - 2011
     Nintendo has continually set the standard for video-game innovation in America, starting in 1981 with a plucky hero who jumped over barrels to save a girl from an ape. The saga of Mario, the portly plumber who became the most successful franchise in the history of gaming, has plot twists worthy of a video game. Jeff Ryan shares the story of how this quintessentially Japanese company found success in the American market. Lawsuits, Hollywood, die- hard fans, and face-offs with Sony and Microsoft are all part of the drama. Find out about: * Mario's eccentric yet brilliant creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who was tapped for the job because was considered expendable. * Minoru Arakawa, the son-in-law of Nintendo's imperious president, who bumbled his way to success. * The unexpected approach that allowed Nintendo to reinvent itself as the gaming system for the non-gamer, especially now with the Wii. Even those who can't tell a Koopa from a Goomba will find this a fascinating story of striving, comeuppance, and redemption.

A Classical Education: The Stuff You Wish You'd Been Taught in School


Caroline Taggart - 2009
    Perfect for parents who wish to teach their children and for those who would like to learn or relearn the facts themselves, A Classical Education is informative and educational, but in a completely accessible way, including:• Latin and Greek• Logic and philosophy• Natural sciences• Art and architecture• Poetry and drama• History and Classical literatureAlso including suggestions for further reading and entertaining tit-bits of information on the classics, A Classical Education is a must for anyone feeling let down by modern schooling.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python: Best Practices for Development


Kenneth Reitz - 2016
    More than any other language, Python was created with the philosophy of simplicity and parsimony. Now 25 years old, Python has become the primary or secondary language (after SQL) for many business users. With popularity comes diversity--and possibly dilution.This guide, collaboratively written by over a hundred members of the Python community, describes best practices currently used by package and application developers. Unlike other books for this audience, The Hitchhiker's Guide is light on reusable code and heavier on design philosophy, directing the reader to excellent sources that already exist.

Game Project Completed: How Successful Indie Game Developers Finish Their Projects


Thomas Schwarzl - 2014
    They teach you how to make games. This book does not show you how to make games. It shows you how to take your game project to the finish line. Many game projects never make it beyond the alpha state.Game Development Success Is All About The Inner Game.Being a successful game developer does not (just) mean being a great programmer, a smart game designer or a gifted artist. It means dominating the inner game of game making. This separates the pros from the wannabes. It's the knowledge of how to stay focused, motivated and efficient during your game projects. It's the skillset of keeping things simple and avoiding misleading dreams of the next overnight success. Finally it's about thinking as a salesperson, not just as a designer, programmer or artist.

How Music Works


David Byrne - 2012
    In the insightful How Music Works, Byrne offers his unique perspective on music - including how music is shaped by time, how recording technologies transform the listening experience, the evolution of the industry, and much more.