(He died on July 31st, 2012 at the age of 86.) The triumphant arc of Vidal’s literary career wasn’t solely a mastery of language, though that never hurts. Handsome, poised, slim, charismatic, able to hold his own in verbal fisticuffs without losing his imperious cool, Vidal was the premiere star author of his generation, the one who elevated the role of talk-show guest to a command performance--a theatrical event. He brought the electronic crackle of the TV screen to his prose and the tactical precision of his prose to combat debate on TV. His near-violent altercations on camera with William F. Buckley, Jr. and Norman Mailer are the stuff of YouTube legend and the secret to The Gore Supremacy. A contributing writer to Vanity Fair, a partisan observer of pop culture, and the author of the New York-in-the-70s memoir Lucking Out (which comes out in paperback this fall), James Wolcott has been a closeup observer of Vidal on-camera and off for more years than seems respectable. This, his first Kindle Single, is his way of paying homage--and saying goodbye.

    We have tremendous influence in the home; corporate world; the church; and society as a whole. But some how we have begun to lose sight of power and influence that we posses. God gave us the ability not only to birth life, but to speak life to every circumstance and situation that we face. It's time for us as women of God to embrace our purpose and power. Its time to stop bashing others and talking bad about ourselves. We have to take our words and communication more seriously. Just as Eve was a gift to Adam, we are a gift to the body of Christ. Its time for us to unleash the power of God's word in our lives.

    

    If your garage, attic, closets, and surfaces are filled with clutter, all that extra stuff can get in the way of a full experience of life as it was meant to be lived. Minimalist Living covers not only techniques for decluttering, but how to fill your newfound space with meaningful activities that add joy to your life and support your goals. This guide to simplifying for health, joy, and creativity teaches: • Why you should define your own sense of minimalism • How to create your "Minimalist Mission Statement" • How to use the techniques of "blazing" and "gazing" to declutter • Why decluttering now can lead to a happier, healthier, and more creative life • How to deal with sentimental items without losing their meaning • The amazing connection between minimalism and living your soul's deepest purpose And much more...

    It's about falling in love with books again and discovering the habits to help you read more. Author Kevin D. Hendricks read 137 books in 2012 without giving up TV, a day job or becoming completely antisocial. He shares what worked for him, including carrying a book everywhere (including church), reclaiming idle moments (software loading), and not being ashamed of genre (he's partial to post-apocalyptic sci-fi). It's a quick read so you can absorb the ideas, figure out what might work for you and fall in love with reading again.

    This "making" process is anything but easy. But LeClaire offers honest, accessible counsel to help you move into your prophetic call. Her spiritual insights will help you overcome the fear of man, identify and eliminate wrong motives and, above all, pursue intimacy with God.Many prophets are called . . . but not everyone endures the "making process" to his or her prophetic destiny. God is looking for people to entrust with the secrets of His heart.Embrace the journey toward your call with this comprehensive, practical guide, and experience the awesome process of being formed into a mouthpiece for the God of the universe."A clean read filled with good information. LeClaire covers a wide range of issues that affect prophetic ministry, tackling them biblically and with practical wisdom."--R. Loren Sandford, senior pastor, New Song Church and Ministries"Written for this hour! Whether you just have some small inkling or have ministered a long time in the prophetic, there is much wisdom to be mined like treasure from its page. Destined to be a classic for generations to come."--Cindy Jacobs, Generals International; Dallas"Whatever the sacrifice, take The Making of a Prophet into your hands and into your heart. I can assure you it will not let you go until your questions are answered."--Steve Hill, evangelist; author, Spiritual Avalanche

    Only twenty years old and not long qualified as a nurse, she had signed up to serve in the Burma Campaign. She would be based on the Indian border, near the frontline where a fierce battle was raging between Allied forces and the Japanese.As Madge arrived in Chittagong, she wondered how she would adapt to the ever present danger of invasion and to life in a military hospital. She spent long, exhausting hours nursing the badly-injured young soldiers in her care, but found strength in her friendship with the other nurses. And then, one day, she met Captain Basil Lambert . . . Could their fragile, new found romance survive the terrifying final months of war? Heart-warming and poignant, Some Sunny Day by Madge Lambert is a story of courage, sacrifice and the power of true love.

    T. J. O'Sullivan is sent to Honolulu by her boss to track down a client's missing daughter, it seems like a simple missing person case. O'Sullivan is excited by the prospect of mixing a little business with some pleasure on the beaches of Waikiki. But the case turns out to be anything but routine. In fact, it becomes a regular mare's nest of extortion, betrayal, and murder.Only after arriving in Hawaii does T. J. learn from the client his daughter didn't actually go missing. Instead, she has been abducted and is being held for ransom. To make matters worse, while T. J. tries to get a lead on the daughter, she has to fend off the sexual advances of her predatory client. The client gets murdered, and T. J. gets framed. Now she must solve at least one murder to prove her own innocence, resolve a criminal conspiracy involving her dead client's own family, and save herself from the clutches of some serious bad guys.

    The murders were similar enough that police considered them the result of one person and believed them to be the work of a serial killer. But as quickly as the murders began, the killings seemed to end. Detectives suspected the Spokane River Killer was either dead, incarcerated or had moved out of the area. Six years later, the bodies of murdered women once again began turning up all around the Spokane area. In 1999, Robert Lee Yates was arrested and police hoped they had finally found their killer. In 2000, he plead guilty to killing 11 women from the Spokane area between 1996 and 1998. During the investigation however, Yates was ruled out as a suspect in the 1990 slayings. DNA recovered from underneath the fingernails of the third victim was eventually identified as being from a man. But no match could be found. Their man was still on the loose. In 2009, DNA from a federal inmate was matched to the DNA recovered from underneath the fingernails of the third victim. The inmates fingerprint was also matched to a print recovered from a bottle of vaginal lubricant found in a dumpster along with the second victim’s discarded belongings. Police finally believed they had their man. But did they? The DNA match belonged to a female inmate.

    

    After years of helping “difficult” horses, Mark Rashid understands how to build the foundation of a horse’s training and resolve any problems encountered along the way. He explains how he allows the traditionally firm or assertive approach of the old Western style to take some lessons from the softer conflict resolution and ego reduction approach that the Japanese martial art of aikido teaches. Rashid’s ultimate goal is for harmony between horse and rider.

    Like the bungling burglar who logged on to his own Facebook page at his victim's house - and forgot to turn the computer off when he left, or the stupid bank robber who made his escape in his own car - complete with personalised number plates, or the idiotic criminal who tried to hand himself into the police... in order to collect the reward. Award-winning writer Andrew Penman has scoured the country for this hilarious collection of those who are not just bad, but also dim very dim. 'Andrew Penman enjoys a laugh at the expense of Britain's most stupid burglars' - The Mirror 'Exploits so dim-witted it's surprising they ever managed to keep themselves breathing long enough to commit any crime' - Wales Online Illustrated with cartoons drawn by Neil Kerber.

    But new science reveals fat isn't what's hurting our health. This Spotlight Story from TIME explores America's antifat obsession and how it is impacting our health.

    He was depressed, overweight, and struggling to handle his responsibilities as a husband and father. After undergoing a sleep study, Volk was diagnosed with sleep apnea, a medical condition that afflicts tens of millions, though roughly 80 percent go undiagnosed. For people with sleep apnea — a sleep disorder in which breathing is interrupted during sleep, depriving the brain and body of oxygen — the effects are serious, even deadly.Volk’s doctor explained the grave danger he was in — so oxygen deprived that he could die any night. Unable to secure a life insurance policy because of his condition, and facing a full-fledged break down, Volk determined to do something about it.In Breathless, the acclaimed author of Fringe-ology brings readers along on his quest save his family — and his life. When a radical new surgery offers a cure, Volk must decide whether the chance for a better life outweighs the risks and the strain such a procedure could have on the people he cares about most. Harrowing, intimate, and illuminating, Breathless offers an unprecedented look at one man's desperate journey to overcome a once-chronic diagnosis.Steve Volk is a journalist, author and TV personality, with a book Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable—But Couldn't, and an upcoming History Channel show, “The Dark Files.” Volk is a contributing editor at Discover magazine, and lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and twin sons.

    To the Point. To Help High Performers Become Even More Productive Results are what matter the most to you. You want to be a reliable producer of value in your chosen domain: whether it’s your career, business, sports, studies, non-profit endeavors, or any other undertaking requiring intense focus. You’d like to learn how to become more productive, but your time is precious, and you don’t have time for a five-hundred-page book only to discover that you can summarize it with two sentences. If that’s you, Self-Disciplined Producer is for you. Written with high performers in mind, it’s a concise guide covering the most effective techniques to build self-control, improve your productivity and deliver consistent results day in, and day out. In about an hour and a half of reading you’ll discover: - a confusingly simple strategy of an American novelist and screenwriter that can help you overcome one habit that is most harming your productivity, - how distractions can make you more eager to get to work, - three strategies to ensure that you always finish what you started instead of leaving all your projects half-finished, - five strategies to embrace delayed gratification and become more patient with the process so that you won’t give up prematurely, - a fun mental exercise to help you identify the most important task and reduce time spent on less meaningful activities, - a principle developed in the 14th century by an English philosopher that can help you simplify your workday and become more productive, - a law humorously invented by a British naval historian that can help you perform your most important tasks in half the time usually needed to get them done, - six methods to recharge for higher productivity—because without a proper rest protocol you’ll be unlikely to ever operate at an optimal level. The author of Self-Disciplined Producer has been using these techniques to help him publish sixteen books, create four video courses with over 25,000 enrolled students in total, and translate his books into ten languages—all in the span of two years and a half. If you’re eager to learn how to double, triple, or even quadruple your productivity, don’t hesitate any longer. Invest an amount equivalent to what you pay for a cup of coffee, apply the teachings from this book to your workday and reap the benefits that might lead to thousandfold or higher returns.