Book picks similar to
Backgammon for Losers by Simon Hill


non-fiction
games
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A Man's World: The Double Life of Emile Griffith


Donald McRae - 2015
    However, I love a man and many say this makes me an evil person.' On 24 March 1962, when Emile Griffith stepped into the ring in Madison Square Garden to defend his world title against Benny Paret, he was filled with rage. During their weigh-in, the Cuban challenger had denounced Griffith as a 'faggot' and minced towards him. In the macho world of boxing, where fighters know they are engaged in the hurt game, there could be no greater insult. At that time, it was illegal for people of the same gender to have sex, or even for a bar to knowingly serve a drink to a gay person. It was an insinuation that could have had dangerous consequences for Griffith - especially as it was true. In the fight that followed, Griffith pounded Paret into unconsciousness, and the Cuban would die soon after, leaving Griffith haunted by what he had done. Despite this, he went on to fight more world championship rounds than any other fighter in history in a career that lasted for almost 20 years. In Donald McRae's first sports book in more than a decade, he weaves a compelling tale of triumph over prejudice - Griffith was black, so doubly damned by contemporary society, but refused to cower away as society wished. A Man's World, longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, is sure to become a classic piece of sports writing.

Splash!: 9 Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith


Valerie ComerJan Thompson - 2015
    Come visit Scotland, Zambia, Australia, Canada, and several American states, including Alaska, in these inspirational romance novellas. You'll love each refreshing contemporary romance as the characters enjoy the water on hot summer days, whether it be in a river, lake, ocean... or a swimming pool! His Perfect Catch by Narelle Atkins, author of the Snowgum Creek series A holiday romance isn’t part of the plan when Mia Radcliffe temporarily moves to Sapphire Bay and lives next door to Pete McCall, her secret crush from years ago. Pete prefers the simple life. Can Mia leave behind her big-city dreams and settle with Pete in the seaside town? Sweet Serenade by Valerie Comer, author of the Farm Fresh Romance series Carly and Reed thrive on the rush of running rapids in a canoe until they capsize in both river and romance. Will secrets from the past drown their future, or can this idyllic summer romance lead to a lifetime of sweet serenades? More than Friends by Autumn Macarthur, author of the Love in Store series When nurse Catriona asks for help with her Vacation Bible School for disabled children, she never imagines how much could go wrong on a simple seaside day out — or that the colleague she's secretly loved for years might come to see her as more than his best friend's little sister. Love Flies In by Heidi McCahan, author of the Emerald Cove series He’s a seaplane pilot determined to honor his convictions. She’s a kayak guide who mocked his faith for sport. One small lakeside cabin in Alaska can’t house them both.  Testing the Waters by Lesley Ann McDaniel, author of the Madison Falls series After breaking up with her ultra-critical boyfriend, Teresa decides to reinvent herself. She meets a nice guy named Curt on the beach in Crescent Cove, Oregon, and tells him she’s Terése from Paris. Pretending to be someone else is fun until the unthinkable happens — she starts to fall for him. The Lifeguards, the Swim Team, and Frozen Custard by Carol Moncado, author of the CANDID Romance series Lifeguard Alivia Collins looks forward to another summer on the guard stand at the Serenity Landing Aquatic Center. This year, she’s going to have to keep herself from falling for the cute, new guard - or realize it’s time to give love another chance. Time and Tide by Lynette Sowell, author of the Lone Star Hearts series When out-of-work fashion journalist Karyn Lewis uses the summer to regroup on the coast of Virginia, she plans to lie low at Pine Breezes campground. She doesn't plan for her heart to be on a collision course with old friend Brodie Reed. They must decide if the past that looms between them will be too much for them to have a future together.  Draw You Near by Jan Thompson, author of the Savannah Sweethearts series Savannah artist Abilene Dupree keeps her personal life out of her commercial paintings except one. That one painting has now brought Londoner Lars Cargill back to the coastal town and into her art world. Can she hold him at bay before he invades her personal space and her heart? Orphaned Hearts by Marion Ueckermann, author of the Heart of Africa series His faith buried with his wife,  Simon devotes himself to raising his daughter

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) User Guide


Amazon Web Services - 2012
    This is official Amazon Web Services (AWS) documentation for Amazon Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2).This guide explains the infrastructure provided by the Amazon EC2 web service, and steps you through how to configure and manage your virtual servers using the AWS Management Console (an easy-to-use graphical interface), the Amazon EC2 API, or web tools and utilities.Amazon EC2 provides resizable computing capacity—literally, server instances in Amazon's data centers—that you use to build and host your software systems.

Second Innings: My Sporting Life


Andrew Flintoff - 2015
    The complex and troubled relationship with discipline, alcohol and authority during his exhilarating cricket career. The search for an authentic voice as a player, free from the blandness and conformity of modern professionalism. Is Flintoff the last of his kind, in any sport?Through all his highs and lows, triumphs and reversals, this book reveals a central tension. There is 'Fred' - performer, extrovert, centre of attention. Then there is 'Andrew' - reflective, withdrawn and uncertain. Two people contained in one extraordinary life. And sometimes, inevitably, keeping the two in balance proves too much.We are taken backstage, seeing the mischief and adventure that has defined Andrew Flintoff's story. Above all, we observe the enduring power of fun, friendship and loyalty - the pillars of Flintoff's career. At ease with his faults as well as his gifts, Andrew Flintoff has sought one thing, even more than success: to be himself.

Amelia's Story: A Childhood Lost


D.G. Torrens - 2011
    This is a powerful true story of one young girls struggle to survive the state care system in the 70's and 80's. Amelia has just one wish, to make it to adulthood, to hold her destiny in her own hands. This is a harrowing true story, one of survival and human strength. Amelia has been separated from all her siblings never to see them again for many years, she is moved from one children's home to another, until finally it's just too much for her to bear. Amelia starts to wonder about the peace and finality of her own death.

Just Between Us: Inspiring Stories By Women


Selena Haskins - 2013
    You are invited to share in this short story collection of TM Brown, Tamika Christy, Nicole Dunlap, Selena Haskins, Janice Ross and Adrienne Thompson. These stories are all real, no work of fiction can match the emotional expressions displayed in this heartfelt collection of inspirational stories.

Mastering Photographic Histograms: The key to fine-tuning exposure and better photo editing.


Al Judge - 2016
     Photographic Histograms are unique to Digital Photography. Most books on the subject of Photographic Histograms only discuss the Luminosity Histogram that is projected on the LCD screens of Digital cameras. There are three other types of Histograms that you should know about -- RGB, Colors, and Color Channel.Most books also only describe the basics of how to use the Luminosity Histogram to set exposure. In this relatively short but fact filled book you will learn how histograms are created and their significance to photography.Though they did not exist in the days of film photography, they are closely related to the Exposure Zones System created by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer around 1939. Can you identify with any of these experiences? Do your eyes glaze over when people talk about histograms? Do you feel that histograms are too technical for you? Are you enthused about photography but confused by all the technical jargon? Do you wonder how professional photographers get such great images? Are you tired of well-intentioned friends giving you bad advice about photography? If you answered yes to any of these questions, end the frustration. Just scroll up and grab a copy today.

Life in Strangeways - From Riots to Redemption, My 32 Years Behind Bars


Alan Lord - 2015
    He was drawn to trouble like water to a sponge.After experiencing a troubled childhood during which Alan was in and out of children's homes - after being put into care at the tender age of eighteen months old - Alan was a teenager in 1981 when he was sentenced to life in prison for murder during a robbery that had gone badly wrong. He served thirty-two years in various prisons throughout the United Kingdom. This book tells the truth of what goes on behind prison walls and exposes the level of inhumane treatment and brutality that Alan had to endure throughout his thirty-two year journey, during which he never stopped standing up for human rights.Fighting against the degrading prison system of the late twentieth century, Alan helped change the historical humiliating slop out and weekly shower that hundreds of thousands of prisoners had to adhere to throughout the centuries. The battle came at a cost though as it meant more time behind bars, time spent mainly in the segregation unit.Powerfully detailing the way prisoners are treated on a daily basis, Life in Strangeways is a gripping tale that will change the perception of Alan Lord: convicted murderer and riot leader.

Running Kind: Because running doesn't have to hurt


Christine Stovell - 2019
    Running, she believed, was for elite athletes and hardcore fitness freaks. Then, after causing a local scandal, she found herself hiding in her parents' loft with her two young daughters and decided to try running as a means of escape. That attempt ended so painfully it was four years before she felt brave enough to try another run. Christine's story takes her from running scared to running half marathons. In twenty years, she’s run through sad, bad and good times and dealt with everything from territorial pheasants to scary loos. Above all, she’s discovered not only that running doesn’t have to hurt, but that it has a great capacity to heal. If you’ve ever been tempted to try running but think it isn’t for you, Christine’s experience might just convince you that you too can become the running kind.

Left Foot in the Grave


Garry Nelson - 1997
    Through it all, the former Torquay United player-coach never fails to illuminate his words with sharp comparisons and ironic contrasts that are part and parcel of the game in this country.Following on from his first book, the bestselling Left Foot Forward, Garry Nelson has established himself as an excellent writer and a shrewd and thoughtful analyser of football.

Aaron Hernandez's Killing Fields: Exposing Untold Murders, Violence, Cover-Ups, and the NFL's Shocking Code of Silence


Dylan Howard - 2019
    For the first time, Aaron Hernandez’s Killing Fields will reveal the real, hitherto unknown motive for the killing of Odin Lloyd—the only crime for which Hernandez was ever convicted and a revelation so shocking it will shake the foundations of the NFL itself. It will also unpick a pattern of violence and brutality stretching back to his time as a teenager at the University of Florida, revealing further shooting victims, evidence of his involvement in the double murder of Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado in 2012. Featuring new interviews with Hernandez’s cellmates, serving police investigators, prosecutors, psychologists, attorneys—as well as key witnesses including Hernandez’s drug dealer, a male stripper he hired days before the killing of Lloyd—plus extensive testimony from relatives of Hernandez’s victims, Aaron Hernandez’s Killing Fields is the exhaustive, definitive account of the rise and fall of a man undone by his own appetite for violence, gangsterism, power, drugs, and self-destruction. This is the real Aaron Hernandez story—and perhaps just the beginning of a whole new murder investigation.

Go Natural English: Learn to Be Fluent in 15 Minutes a Day


Gabby Wallace - 2015
    A Step-by-Step Guide to Fluency in English ➢ How I use 7 clear steps to go from 0 to 100% in English ➢ Specific notes for learning English and its common mistakes & challenges for non-native speakers 2. Transcripts of real conversations + phrase guides ➢ How to use real conversations to improve your understanding ➢ Real examples of unscripted native conversations on common topics + phrase guides to learn from ➢ How to continue expanding your knowledge 3. How to Succeed with English – Clear & Easy Strategies ➢ Lots of exercises to improve your fluency in just 15 minutes at a time ➢ How to build your confidence and lose your shyness in English ➢ How to build a support team and how to stay fluent forever

Tic Tac Toe: 8 Strategies to Win Every Game


Puzzleland - 2016
    Make the bet more attractive for them: the game could have 10 or 20 rounds, and you’ll give them the privilege of starting first in every s-i-n-g-l-e round. “Piece of cake!” they will think and they will take the bet. Only to discover in despair, 10 or 20 rounds later, that it is impossible to beat you, even once. This book reveals a simple system that will help you never lose a single game from the moment you learn them. Let us repeat that.After reading this book and for the rest of your life, you will never, ever lose a game of Tic-Tac-Toe again! How is it possible never to lose in Tic-Tac-Toe? Tic-Tac-Toe is a “solved” game, meaning that there are mathematically proven strategies to defend yourself against losing. If you play with these optimal strategies in mind, you may win and you can’t lose. If your opponent also plays with the optimal strategies in mind, neither will win, and the game will always end in a draw.However, very few people really know these strategies.This book reveals an easy system of only 8 strategies that will make you a Tic-Tac-Toe Master. If you learn and start applying these 8 strategies, we guarantee that you will never lose a game of Tic-Tac-Toe again. Is it easy to learn these strategies? Very easy! These 8 strategies are presented in 8 mini chapters, with illustrations and step-by-step explanations. Even a kid can read this book and learn the strategies!In just 1 hour you will have learnt all 8 strategies and you will be ready to start applying them. Will I have to think too hard to apply these strategies? As a matter of fact, all you have to do is to memorize our simple system. As soon as you learn this system, every game will be a no-brainer for you. Our system tells you exactly how to play or how to respond to your opponent’s move. Simple as A-B-C.For example, if your opponent plays first and chooses a corner, our system tells you exactly how to respond in order to eliminate any chance of losing the game. Is this for real? Do you guarantee that I will never lose a TTT game again? YES!!! We challenge you to read this book and then immediately start playing Tic-Tac-Toe online, against a computer, applying everything you have learnt. You will discover that even a computer can’t beat you.Your new super powers in Tic-Tac-Toe will blow your mind! Start right now! Buy the book, learn the strategies and NEVER lose a Tic-Tac-Toe game again from that moment and for the rest of your life!Scroll to the top of the page and click the BUY WITH 1-CLICK Button!

Defender of Gallowind


J Donald - 2019
    In the industrial wasteland of future America, Solomon Herrick spends his day wandering the streets and getting into trouble. Staying one step ahead of the local PD, his life is mostly spent immersed in history or aimless exploring -- until Shyft comes along. Whether that's a good thing or not is still up in the air... Shyft 2.0, an immersive open-world RPG, just entered beta, and though Solomon Herrick wasn't on the list, his friends knew a guy who could get them in. A chase and a gunfight later and Sol is deposited into the world with nothing but a few rags on his back and a nearby stick to defend himself. With his friends gone, no knowledge of the game world and zero guidance available, Solomon will have to rely on his ability to learn fast if he wants to not only figure out how to play the game, but figure out how to get out - if he even can. Shyft is a new Gamelit / LitRPG series created by Mike Kraus and Justin Bell, writing under the M Kraus and J Donald pen names. Defenders of Gallowind is the first in a 3-book crunchy LitRPG series in the world, though two more shorts (available for free through signing up for the Shyft newsletter at www.shyft.gg) exist and a range of soft and crunchy stories are already planned for this vast, varied and complex universe.

War Wizard


D.B. King - 2021
    With their power, he can mark his followers and turn them into elite units for his fledgling army.