Professional blackjack player Kevin Blackwood shares his million-dollar winning strategies for mastering the odds and consistently beating the house at their own game. Play Blackjack Like the Pros is the requisite introduction to the modern game of blackjack, including high and low stakes casino, shoe games (several decks shuffled together), online, and tournaments. Blackwood begins with the basic rules of play and then moves on to teach his proven card-counting method, broken-down into three levels: novice, recreational, and professional. He also covers camouflaging techniques (it's perfectly legal to count cards, but if the house catches you they will kick you out), money management, and team play. Blackwood includes many stories of his and other professionals' triumphs at the tables and keeps the highly technical language that bogs down most gaming books to an absolute minimum. Play Blackjack Like the Pros is written in the style of Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros using easy-to-understand lessons that all levels of players can quickly benefit from. Blackwood is one of the world's top card counters. He began with only a few hundred dollars and has won over a million playing blackjack. In Play Blackjack Like the Pros he demonstrates how to earn over $10,000 a month from just a few days work. Blackjack is set to balloon in popularity. Ben Mezrich's book on the MIT card counting team Bringing Down the House was on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks and is being made into a movie staring Kevin Spacey. Blackjack Tournaments are growing in popularity with many of the top casinos offering large prize pools. Online Blackjack is currently a multi-million dollar industry. Blackwood keeps the highly technical language that bogs down most gaming books to an absolute minimum. Foreword by Stanford , author of Professional Blackjack and the master of modern card counting.

Why is ancient Greece importantBecause, quite simply, if we want to understand the modern Western world, we need to look back to the Greeks. Consider the way we think about ethics, about the nature of beauty and truth, about our place in the universe, about our mortality. All this we have learned from the ancient Greeks. They molded the basic disciplines and genres in which we still organize thought, from poetry to drama, from medicine to philosophy, from history to ethnography.Packed with useful facts, including a timeline, a "mythology for dummies," a who's who, a guide to Homer's epics, and a handy map for those struggling to know their Lemnos from their Lesbos, It's All Greek to Me is an entertaining and insightful tour through the world of the ancient Greeks. Why are some laws DraconianWhat is an Achilles' heelWhy were the Spartans spartanCharlotte Higgins provides these answers and more, arming average readers with the knowledge they need to understand the Greeks and their tremendous contributions to our lives. This book aims to unlock the richness of a fascinating culture and place it where it should be in the mainstream of life.

Hailed by ESPN as the world's most famous female basketball player, Brittney Griner has been shattering stereotypes and breaking boundaries ever since she burst onto the national scene as a dunking high school phenom. Now, she shares her coming-of-age story, revealing how she found the strength to overcome bullies and to embrace her authentic self.Brittney Griner, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, is a once-in-a-generation player, possessing a combination of size and athleticism never before seen in women's basketball. But the sport's "most transformative figure" (Sports Illustrated) is equally famous for making headlines off the court, for speaking out on issues of gender, sexuality, body image, and self-esteem.At six foot eight with an eighty-eight-inch wingspan and a size 17 men's shoe, the Phoenix Mercury star and three-time All-American has heard every vicious insult in the book. Bullied for being different, she has endured years of taunting, from middle school to the present day. Through the highs and lows, Brittney has learned to remain true to herself, rising above the haters who try to take her down.The journey has often been lonely. Feeling uncomfortable in her own skin for much of her adolescence, Brittney struggled with anger, the Achilles heel that often got her into trouble, usually with her fists. Her transformation began when she discovered basketball in high school. "The court has almost always been a safe place for me, a space where I can rejuvenate myself," she says. "It has always been the one place I feel free."In this heartfelt memoir, Brittney reflects on painful episodes in her life, from the confrontations she dealt with as a kid, to the infamous on-court punch she threw during her freshman season at Baylor University, to the final moments of her college career and the crushing loss to Louisville that ended her dream of back-to-back national championships. Brittney also explores her complicated relationships with two people she loves and respects her father, Ray, and her coach at Baylor, Kim Mulkey as well as her mixed feelings about playing for a school that has a policy against homosexuality.Here, too, are the highs: Brittney's close bonds with her mother, Sandra, and her supportive siblings and friends; her amazing accomplishments at Baylor, including the team's 74-2 record her last two seasons; her adventurous new life as a pro in the WNBA; and her distinct sense of style, exemplified by the tattoos she proudly wears. Throughout the book, Brittney describes how she came to celebrate what makes her unique inspiring lessons she now shares with readers.Filled with all the humor and personality that Brittney Griner has become known for, In My Skin is more than a glimpse into one of the most original people in sports; it's a powerful call to readers to be true to themselves, to love who they are on the inside and out.

A father's exhilarating and inspiring love letter to his daughter with Down syndrome, whose vibrant and infectious approach can teach us all how to live a little better"Jillian was born October 17, 1989. It was the last bad day."Jillian Daugherty was born with Down syndrome. The day her parents, Paul and Kerry, brought her home from the hospital, they were flooded with worry and uncertainty, but also with overwhelming love, which they channeled to "the job of building the better Jillian." They knew their daughter had special needs, but they refused to have her grow up needy. They were resolved that Jillian's potential would not be limited by preconceptions of who she was or what she could be.In this charming and often heart-stirring book, Paul tells stories about Jillian making her way through the world of her backyard and neighborhood, going to school in a "normal" classroom, learning to play soccer and ride a bike. As she grows older, he traces her journey to find happiness and purpose in her adult life, including vignettes about her inspiring triumphs and the guardian angels teachers, neighbors, friends who believed in Jillian and helped her become the exceptional young woman she is today.In An Uncomplicated Life, the parent learns as much about life from the child as the child does from the parent. Being with Jillian, Paul discovered the importance of every moment and the power of the human spirit how we are each put here to benefit the other. Through her unmitigated love for others, her sparkling charisma, and her boundless capacity for joy, Jillian has inspired those around her to live better and more fully. As Paul writes, "Jillian is a soul map of our best intentions," a model of grace, happiness, and infectious enthusiasm. She embraces all that she is, all that she has "I love my life. I just love my life," she says. In her uncomplicated life, we see the possibility, the hope, and the beauty of our own.

Oprah Winfrey calls Amy Purdy her inspiration. Now, read Amy's story in her own words and prepare to be inspired . . .America fell in love with Amy Purdy as the incredible girl with bionic legs who managed to out-dance her competitors all the way to the season 18 finale of Dancing with the Stars with her partner, Derek Hough. But viewers were only given a glimpse into her past and how she managed to get there. Now, for the first time, Amy reveals the powerful, moving story of her personal spiritual awakening as a result of a sudden and often fatal blood infection that caused her to lose both of her legs. When the Las Vegas native was just nineteen, she contracted the deadly bacterial meningitis and was given less than a two percent chance of survival. In a near-death experience that Amy has never talked about until now, she saw three beings who told her: "You can come with us, or you can stay. No matter what happens in your life, it's all going to make sense in the end." As she hovered between life and death, Amy knew she had to make a choice. And in that moment, she chose life.In On My Own Two Feet, Amy takes readers inside her childhood and up to the defining life or death moment. Despite the grim prognosis, she was determined to not just beat the odds and walk again but to create a life filled with bold adventures, big dreams, and boundless vitality and share that spirit with the world. Amy seized her second chance at life and earned a bronze medal in adaptive snowboarding at the 2014 Paralympic Games. Her life is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity we all have to defy expectations and rewrite our stories. Amy's poignant, uplifting memoir reminds us to live life to the fullest, because we are all much more capable than we could ever imagine.

Father Jonathan Morris, Fox News religion analyst, bestselling author, and parish priest, has seen firsthand how easily our day-to-day lives are consumed with anxiety and stress as we focus on our failures and troubles, while peace feels unattainable. When he re-discovered the Serenity Prayer, he realized that this little prayer can be, in fact, a powerful roadmap for our spiritual journey toward God. As he began to share this prayer with others, he saw that living these simple lines became a source of profound peace and happiness: Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,The courage to change the things I can,And the wisdom to know the difference. For years a mainstay of recovery programs, this prayer has proven it can change lives. What's more, through it we all can find comfort and support, including an active collaboration with God's grace as he works alongside us to grant the serenity we seek. Unpacking the prayer phrase by phrase, Father Jonathan shows how we can gain a deeper spiritual understanding by practicing its message. Through powerful personal stories, illuminating historical anecdotes, and biblical passages that show us God's plan for our lives, The Way of Serenity will help us grow closer to God and find serenity, regardless of our circumstances.Join Father Jonathan and the many others who have made this prayer an integral part of their lives, and find lasting peace and happiness today.

Learn how to navigate life with the effortless savior faire of a true daughter of the South with The Southern Belle's Handbook.Sissy LeBlanc's rules to live by will teach you how to hook, hold on to, and handle any man as well as conquer any personal situation with the poise and confidence of a sophisticated southern stunner.And because every woman possesses her own sassy instincts, you can also record your own rules for unstoppable fabulousness and success.

According to her colorful Mami Dearest, the life of young Gigi Anders will be simple if she can remember three maxims be pretty, get married, and always drink TaB. Thus begins her instruction in the art of being a lady and the side effects of falling in love. As the granddaughter of Eastern European and Russian shtetl-reared grandparents who immigrated as teenagers in the early 1920s to the fierce tropical beauty of Cuba, Anders is heir apparent to a legacy of transatlantic alienation. With dazzling wit and hilarity mined from the depths of loss and yearning, Anders chronicles her journey from beach baby to ostracized exile to vibrant intellectual, along the way balancing her obsession with killer outfits and zaftig, orgasmic meals always with a can of TaB! with the more serious pursuits of love, sanity, and lipstick in perfect siren red.

Two superstar New York Times bestsellers, Stephanie Laurens and Christina Dodd, join forces with one exciting rising star, Elizabeth Boyle, to create this sexy anthology with an exciting new theme. In an innovative new twist for anthologies, each author is reintroducing a secondary character from a previous book to star in his own story!

On the outside, Lauren Fairfield appears the very picture of cool, contained nobility and blueblood British sophistication. Inside, however, she longs for Tom, the charming rogue she loved and lost.Now a sinfully handsome would-be gentleman has arrived in London and Lauren nearly swoons when she realizes it is her Tom, grown to magnificent manhood. He has come to claim his lost title as Earl of Sachse . . .and to fulfill an oath once made by two young lovers beneath a long-ago moon, a scandalous promise no proper lady would dare honor.Lauren could never love a staid and stifling lord, and Tom's future is the aristocracy. So she will teach him their ways before she exits his life forever. But the wildness she adored still lives in Tom's heart and he will not rest until he proves to the proud, resisting beauty that "forever" is a promise that must be kept . . .

Katherine Fleming has lived her life without even a hint of indiscretion. So she is devastated to discover the nobleman she's engaged to has a secret he's kept from her: a wife! Suddenly Katherine's enmeshed in a scandal that has the ton buzzing and forced to accept a most unconventional proposal from the notorious seducer Dominic Mallory, her faithless fiance's brother and precisely the sort of rake she has sworn to avoid! Charming and dangerously sensual, Dominic has desired the stunning beauty from the first moment he spied her. Now, with Katherine's reputation in tatters, it's the ideal opportunity to bed her though it will take wedding vows to do so. But can a rogue be reformed by the unleashed passion of a normally reserved ladyAnd can a marriage made for all the wrong reasons flame into the love match of the season?

As stubborn as she is beautiful,Phadra Abbott will not be deterred when she sets her mind on something. And now that the reckless heiress has decided to track down her spendthrift explorer father, nothing is going to stand in her way -- not even her handsome, long-sufferingguardian Grant Morgan. Though strong and level-headed, Grant has watched his own life go disastrously awry since he first tried to arrange the irrepressible Miss Abbott's future. And he has no choice now but to accompany Phadra on her latest misadventure -- for it's not only his sworn duty that compels him, but a raging, newly born desire to hold his maddening, enchanting adversary in his arms .. and to love her for all time.

The countess of Briarburn craves excitement, adventure, and passion ...But she never dreamed she'd find it in the arms of a warrior from centuries past.

A life can change in an instant . . .No one knows this better than Miss Cleopatra Hadley,who went from poverty to plenty when she discovered one of England's richest men was her true father whowanted her to share his wealth . . . if she married intothe upper echelons of Society. A high price to pay for someone whose mother taught her just howdangerous a marriage could be. An imposing yet impoverished Scots nobleman,Lord Logan McKinney knows he must wed some vapidtitle-hunter with a substantial dowry in order torestore his once-thriving estate. Having the vibrantCleo nearby, however, makes his task even moreunpalatable for she tempts him like no other woman . . .just as he's precisely the sort of man she most fears:exciting, unpredictable, fiercely passionate. But whenattraction proves too powerful, they succumbto a kiss that quickly leads to lessonstoo scandalous for even thedarkest nights . . .

He is notorious.Lord Simon Roxbury is a godsend to gossip columnists everywhere. This notorious rake has recently been caught in an extremely compromising position by none other than The London Weekly's Lady of Distinction. Rumor also has it that Lord R received an ultimatum: be wed or be penniless. She is scandalous.As A Lady of Distinction, Lady Julianna Somerset typically reports on other people's scandals, but soon she finds herself embroiled in a very public battle with an irate Lord Roxbury one that leaves her reputation in tatters and her position at The Weekly on the line.Together they're... respectableWith no other choice available, these two enemies unite in a marriage of convenience to rescue both their reputations and secure his fortune. With their rivals intent on revealing the charade, Lady Julianna and Lord Simon inevitably surrender to temptation. It may just be a love match after all . . .

Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright. Once upon a time, he was Lord Tristan Easton now he is Crimson Jack, a notorious privateer beholden to none, whose only mistress is the sea. But all that will change when exquisite Lady Anne Hayworth hires his protection on a trip into danger and seduction. . .Desperation brought Anne to the bronzed, blue-eyed buccaneer. But after the Captain demands a kiss as his payment, desire will keep her at his side. She has never known temptation like this but to protect her heart, she knows she must leave him behind. Yet Tristan cannot easily forget the beauty and when they meet again in a London ballroom, he vows he won't lose her a second time, as fiery passion reignited takes them into uncharted waters that could lead the second lost lord home. . .

Dean Silverthorne's mother may be dead, but she still has matchmaking to do.When an injury dashes NFL Quarterback Dean Silverthorne's Super Bowl dreams, he heads back to Deer Lick, Montana with a chip on his wounded shoulder, more determined than ever to get back in the game. He loves his kooky family, but this trip home is going to be a very brief Christmas visit. His game plan doesn't include an instant attraction to Emma Hart, a feisty kindergarten teacher who seems to be the only person in Deer Lick not interested in the hometown hero. Or his dearly departed mom popping up with mistletoe in hand and meddling on the mind. Now Dean can't help but wonder if there's more to love than life between the goal posts.

This book is the follow-up to its immediate predecessor, The Quality School. Based on the work of W. Edwards Deming and on Dr. Glasser's own choice theory, it is written for teachers who are trying to abandon the old system of boss-managing, which is effective for less than half of all students. William Glasser, M.D., explains that only through lead-management can teachers create classrooms in which all students not only do competent work but begin to do quality work. These classrooms are the core of a quality school. The book begins by explaining that to persuade students to do quality schoolwork, teachers must first establish warm, totally noncoercive relationships with their students; teach only useful material, which means stressing skills rather than asking students to memorize information; and move from teacher evaluation to student self-evaluation. There are no generalities in this book: It provides the specifics that classroom teachers seek as they begin the move to quality schools.

A memoir of a father obsessed with control and the daughter who fights his suffocating grasp, House Rules explores the complexities of their compelling and destructive relationship as Rachel fights to escape, and, later, to make sense of what remains of her family.

Stephen B. Oates discerns the historical truth from the mythical legend that surrounds Lincoln in this original and fascinating portrait of America's 16th president.

Highly unorthodox questions and answers about life after life from America's most delightful medium Concetta Bertoldi has been communicating with the "Other Side" since childhood. In her previous book, the bestselling Do Dead People Watch You Shower?, she addressed questions about the afterlife that ranged from the poignant to the provocative. Now she returns with Do Dead People Walk Their Dogs?, a second volume of intriguing observations about our beloved deceased. Moving, funny, and fascinating, it will open your eyes to what really comes after life while offering intimate insights into Concetta's own astonishing life and what her gift has meant to her marriage, her friendships, and the path she was destined to take.