Jack Hamm

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Illinois

A How-To Handbook That Makes Drawing Easy

A how-to handbook that makes drawing easy. Offers simplified techniques and scores of brand-new hints and helps. Step by step procedures. Hundreds of illustrations.

Drawing the Head and Figure

b80b5656-d39a-43b8-9467-a59d93f593b3-1

Susan Buckley

Elspeth Leacock

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

A New Look at America's Story

Follow in the foorsteps of young people as they walk through American history.

Kids Make History

58846b6e-16b3-4a36-8e79-3ad3ffac4ac3-0

Avinash K. Dixit

Barry J. Nalebuff

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life

The authors of Thinking Strategically demonstrate how to apply the principles in game theory to achieve greater personal and professional successes, drawing on a diverse array of case studies to explain how to develop a win-oriented way of seeing the world.

The Art of Strategy

cf52f08d-1bb2-44e4-b743-e96f7dfe0c41-1

Ernest R. Norling

Perspective is easy; yet, surprisingly few artists know the simple rules that make it so. Now they can remedy that situation with this step-by-step book, the first devoted entirely to clarifying the laws of perspective. Using over 250 simple line drawings, the author leads the reader through every important concept. 256 illustrations.

Perspective Made Easy

220dc415-a61b-4cfb-b822-5f79926de58a-1

Albert Einstein

A survey of Einstein's scientific achievements follows excerpts from letters, speeches, and interviews that reveal his thoughts on religious, political, cultural, social, and economic issues.

Ideas and Opinions

9cb26231-8029-4ed8-920c-a1fdeca35291-1

Dana Thomas

How Luxury Lost Its Luster

"With Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, [Dana] Thomas--who has been the cultural and fashion writer for Newsweek in Paris for 12 years--has written a crisp, witty social history that's as entertaining as it is informative." --New York Times

From the author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes 

Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci, and Burberry don't want us to know. Deluxe is an uncompromising look behind the glossy façade that will enthrall anyone interested in fashion, finance, or culture.

Deluxe

ade72eb5-517d-463d-9751-460fe1faad28-1

Nick Bostrom

Paths, Dangers, Strategies

The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. Other animals have stronger muscles or sharper claws, but we have cleverer brains. If machine brains one day come to surpass human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become very powerful. As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on us humans than on the gorillas themselves, so the fate of our species then would come to depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence. But we have one advantage: we get to make the first move. Will it be possible to construct a seed AI or otherwise to engineer initial conditions so as to make an intelligence explosion survivable? How could one achieve a controlled detonation? To get closer to an answer to this question, we must make our way through a fascinating landscape of topics and considerations. Read the book and learn about oracles, genies, singletons; about boxing methods, tripwires, and mind crime; about humanity's cosmic endowment and differential technological development; indirect normativity, instrumental convergence, whole brain emulation and technology couplings; Malthusian economics and dystopian evolution; artificial intelligence, and biological cognitive enhancement, and collective intelligence. This profoundly ambitious and original book picks its way carefully through a vast tract of forbiddingly difficult intellectual terrain. Yet the writing is so lucid that it somehow makes it all seem easy. After an utterly engrossing journey that takes us to the frontiers of thinking about the human condition and the future of intelligent life, we find in Nick Bostrom's work nothing less than a reconceptualization of the essential task of our time.

Superintelligence

2e1f78f5-0f5b-4c8e-853a-2f9f05e88317-1

Benjamin Franklin

One of the most popular works of American literature, this charming self-portrait has been translated into nearly every language. It covers Franklin's life up to his prewar stay in London as representative of the Pennsylvania Assembly, including his boyhood years, work as a printer, experiments with electricity, political career, much more.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

81e3319a-2c81-43ca-9612-495f994ebfda-1

John Schlimm

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

The Unlikely Friendship That Answered Life's Greatest Questions

What is heaven on earth? The answer lies in this true story of one young man's journey to find hope and purpose with the help of an unlikely teacher--a compassionate and wise old nun, whom the world had long-forgotten.
 
By the time Harvard-educated John Schlimm turned 31 years old, he had worked with some of the biggest superstars in Nashville and served under the most powerful people in the White House. But something was missing. His life had come to a standstill, lost in a whirl of questions about belonging, faith, rejection, and purpose. He soon decides to return to his small-town roots in search of a new beginning.

Returning home, John meets 87-year-old Sister Augustine, the beguiling self-taught artist-in-residence at the ceramic shop on the sprawling grounds of the local 150-year-old convent. John is instantly bowled over by Sister's quiet grace and vision. Before long, his weekly visits to Sister's shop become a master's class in the meaning of life, love, humility, and second chances. As she directed him on the road to self-discovery and salvation, John returned the favor by putting Sister Augustine on the front page of newspapers and showing his friend that her life still had one very important and unexpected final chapter yet to go.

In Five Years in Heaven, John shares the wisdom, humor, grace, and inspiration he experienced during his hundreds of visits with Sister Augustine. Five Years in Heaven reminds us that we can find love and joy in the most unlikely of places, and that the building blocks of peace and happiness are always within our reach.

Five Years in Heaven

9b055f6e-5778-44fd-a928-86688e2cd40c-1

Oz Clarke

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

An Indispensable Guide to the Wines of the World

Clarke's extraordinary wine-tasting talents and eloquence combine in this beautifully illustrated book to produce a resource for every wine lover, whether a newcomer or a longtime aficionado. With his trademark combination of hard facts and breezy practical advice, Clarke outlines what makes each wine work - what it tastes like, why it's different from its neighbors, and most important, whether or not it is worth seeking out. Each chapter covers a different wine-producing region of the world and includes a lively introduction to the region, with useful maps and a full description of grape varieties cultivated and wine styles produced; evocative descriptions of the taste of the region's wines, explanations of how to read the local wine labels, evaluations of recent vintages, and recommendations for enjoying these wines with food; and vintage ratings and tasting notes, along with useful summaries of the value-for-money and availability of specific wine styles.

The Essential Wine Book

e2a46df5-1bd6-45a1-8164-0dffbc098d0c-1

Bill Bryson

"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it." After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestsellingauthor of The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to returnto the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out ona grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile. "Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it." After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestselling author of ,i>The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.

Notes from a Small Island

9095f2a1-2cda-4e97-8575-75f50ed9c3b2-1

Brian Goetz

Tim Peierls

Joshua Bloch

Joseph Bowbeer

David Holmes

Doug Lea

Java Concurrency in Practice

c7061ee9-46ca-45c5-87eb-468aa03b3158-0

Walter Isaacson

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Draws on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs, as well as interviews with family members, friends, competitors, and colleagues to offer a look at the co-founder and leading creative force behind the Apple computer company.

Steve Jobs

5ea1c1b9-cb39-4a29-ac6b-9f761170744e-1

Hacking - Basic Security, penetration Tesing and How to Hack

Sarah McHarry

How to Build a WordPress Website on Your Own Domain, from Scratch, Even If You Are a Complete Beginner

If you want to make a website that looks like it was designed by a pro then WordPress is the ideal tool to use. Designing a website need not be difficult or expensive if you have the right guidance. Sarah's WordPress tutorial walks you through creating a website yourself using step-by-step lessons that are easy to follow. Making a website as a beginner has never been easier!

WordPress to Go

a9999acf-a564-485b-9985-f3c92aeb3c21-0

Kerry Patterson

Joseph Grenny

Ron McMillan

Al Switzler

The New York Times and Washington Post bestseller that changed the way millions communicate “[Crucial Conversations] draws our attention to those defining moments that literally shape our lives, our relationships, and our world. . . . This book deserves to take its place as one of the key thought leadership contributions of our time.” —from the Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People “The quality of your life comes out of the quality of your dialogues and conversations. Here’s how to instantly uplift your crucial conversations.” —Mark Victor Hansen, cocreator of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Chicken Soup for the Soul® The first edition of Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene and revolutionized the way millions of people communicate when stakes are high. This new edition gives you the tools to: Prepare for high-stakes situations Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue Make it safe to talk about almost anything Be persuasive, not abrasive

Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition

f6d6e5ec-4dca-441c-a92e-1ed820447748-1

Neil MacGregor

Traces the stories of one hundred human innovations to explain their pivotal role in shaping civilization, from weapons and the domestication of cows to currency and music.

A History of the World in 100 Objects

19ca5fa0-94ca-46a4-903c-39c220d63398-1

Are you looking for a deeper understanding of the Java(tm) programming language so that you can write code that is clearer, more correct, more robust, and more reusable? Look no further! Effective Java(tm), Second Edition, brings together seventy-eight indispensable programmer's rules of thumb: working, best-practice solutions for the programming challenges you encounter every day.

 

This highly anticipated new edition of the classic, Jolt Award-winning work has been thoroughly updated to cover Java SE 5 and Java SE 6 features introduced since the first edition. Bloch explores new design patterns and language idioms, showing you how to make the most of features ranging from generics to enums, annotations to autoboxing.

 

Each chapter in the book consists of several "items" presented in the form of a short, standalone essay that provides specific advice, insight into Java platform subtleties, and outstanding code examples. The comprehensive descriptions and explanations for each item illuminate what to do, what not to do, and why.

 

Highlights include:

 * New coverage of generics, enums, annotations, autoboxing, the for-each loop, varargs, concurrency utilities, and much more
 * Updated techniques and best practices on classic topics, including objects, classes, libraries, methods, and serialization
 * How to avoid the traps and pitfalls of commonly misunderstood subtleties of the language
 * Focus on the language and its most fundamental libraries: java.lang, java.util, and, to a lesser extent, java.util.concurrent and java.io

Simply put, Effective Java(tm), Second Edition, presents the most practical, authoritative guidelines available for writing efficient, well-designed programs.

Effective Java

dec49395-843c-4936-b108-96ce2a1ccc07-1

Business & Economics

The Deming Dimension

amanda_zong

Browse by categories