An International Bestseller Over 3 Million Copies Sold! With translations in more than thirty languages, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man is the definitive relationship guide for women. Steve Harvey can't count the number of impressive women he met over the years the many incredible women who can run a business, have three kids, maintain a household in tiptop shape, and chair a church group all at the same time. So, when it comes to relationships, why can't these same women figure out what makes men commitAccording to Steve, it because they're asking other women for advice when they should be going directly to the source. In this expanded edition, Steve includes an added section of all new advice, with tips on dealing with your partner exes, spicing up your relationship, ensuring you're ready for that walk down the aisle, and much more. Sometimes funny, often unflinchingly direct, but always truthful, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man is a book you must read if you want to understand how men think when it comes to relationships, intimacy, and love.

Over 80 hands-on recipes to unleash full potential for Xamarin in development and monetization of feature-packed, real-world Android apps About This Book Create a number of Android applications using the Xamarin Android platform Extensively integrate your Android devices with other Android devices to enhance your app creation experience A comprehensive guide packed with real-world scenarios and pro-level practices and techniques to help you build successful Android apps Who This Book Is For If you are a Xamarin developer who wants to create complete Android applications with Xamarin, then this book is ideal for you. No prior knowledge of Android development is needed, however a basic knowledge of C# and .NET would be useful. What You Will Learn Install and use Xamarin.Android with Xamarin Studio and Visual Studio Design an app’s user interface for multiple device configurations Store and protect data in databases, files, and on the cloud Utilize lists and collections to present data to the user Communicate across the network using NFC or Bluetooth Perform tasks in the background and update the user with notifications Capture and play multimedia, such as video and audio, with the camera Implement In-App Billing and Expansion Files and deploy to the store In Detail Xamarin is used by developers to write native iOS, Android, and Windows apps with native user interfaces and share code across multiple platforms not just on mobile devices, but on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Developing apps with Xamarin.Android allows you to use and re-use your code and your skills on different platforms, making you more productive in any development. Although it’s not a write-once-run-anywhere framework, Xamarin provides native platform integration and optimizations. There is no middleware; Xamarin.Android talks directly to the system, taking your C# and F# code directly to the low levels. This book will provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills to be part of the mobile development era using C#. Covering a wide range of recipes such as creating a simple application and using device features effectively, it will be your companion to the complete application development cycle. Starting with installing the necessary tools, you will be guided on everything you need to develop an application ready to be deployed. You will learn the best practices for interacting with the device hardware, such as GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth. Furthermore, you will be able to manage multimedia resources such as photos and videos captured with the device camera, and so much more! By the end of this book, you will be able to create Android apps as a result of learning and implementing pro-level practices, techniques, and solutions. This book will ascertain a seamless and successful app building experience. Style and approach This book employs a step-by-step approach to Android app creation, explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. A wide range of examples are listed to ensure a complete understanding of how to deploy competent apps on the Android market.

Olive Barstow was dead. She‘d been hit by a car on Monroe Street while riding her bicycle weeks ago. That was about all Martha knew. Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends. But they weren't -- and now all that is left are eerie connections between two girls who were in the same grade at school and who both kept the same secret without knowing it. Now Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. A family summer on Cape Cod should help banish those thoughts; instead, they seep in everywhere. And this year Martha routine at her beloved grandmother beachside house is complicated by the Manning boys. Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke, and Leo. But especially Jimmy. What if, what if, what if, what ifThe world can change in a minute.

"Did Mama sing every day?" Caleb asks his sister Anna. "Every-single-day," she answers. "Papa sang, too." This Newbery Medal winning book is the first of five books in Patricia MacLachlan's chapter book series about the Witting family. Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna's point of view, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of how Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton comes from Maine to the prairie to answer Papa's advertisement for a wife and mother. Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be niceWill she singWill she stayThis children's literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love. Supports the Common Core State Standards

Build robust and highly scalable web applications with Google App EngineAbout This BookGet an in-depth look at how Google App Engine works under the hoodDesign and model your application around Google's highly scalable distributed NoSQL datastore to unlock its full potentialA comprehensive guide to ensure your mastery of Google App Engine Who This Book Is For If you have been developing web applications in Python or any other dynamic language but have always wondered how to write highly scalable web applications without getting into system administration and other plumbing, then this is the book for you. No experience in writing scalable applications is required.What You Will LearnScale and develop your applications with Google App Engine's runtime environmentGet to grips with request handling mechanism and write request handlersDeep dive into Google's distributed NoSQL and highly scalable datastore and design your application around itImplement powerful search with scalable datastorePerform long-running tasks in the background using task queuesWrite compartmentalized apps using multi tenancy, memcache, and other Google App Engine runtime servicesHandle web requests using the CGI, WSGI, and multi-threaded configurationsDeploy, tweak, and manage apps in production on Google App Engine In Detail Developing web applications that serve millions of users is no easy task, as it involves a number of configurations and administrative tasks for the underlying software and hardware stack. This whole configuration requires not only expertise, but also a fair amount of time as well. Time that could have been spent on actual application functionality. Google App Engine allows you develop highly scalable web applications or backends for mobile applications without worrying about the system administration plumbing or hardware provisioning issues. Just focus writing on your business logic, the meat of the application, and let Google's powerful infrastructure scale it to thousands of requests per second and millions of users without any effort on your part. This book takes you from explaining how scalable applications work to designing and developing robust scalable web applications of your own, utilizing services available on Google App Engine. Starting with a walkthrough of scalability is and how scalable web applications work, this book introduces you to the environment under which your applications exist on Google App Engine. Next, you will learn about Google's datastore, which is a massively scalable distributed NoSQL solution built on top of BigTable. You will examine the BigTable concepts and operations in detail and reveal how it is used to build Google datastore. Armed with this knowledge, you will then advance towards how to best model your data and query that along with transactions. To augment the powerful distributed dataset, you will deep dive into search functionality offered on Google App Engine. With the search and storage sorted out, you will get a look into performing long running tasks in the background using Google App Engine task queues along with sending and receiving emails. You will also examine the memcache to boost web application performance, image processing for common image manipulation tasks. You will then explore uploading, storing, and serving large files using Blobstore and Cloud storage. Finally, you will be presented with the deployment and monitoring of your applications in production along with a detailed look at dividing applications into different working modules.Style and approach This book is an in-depth guide where you will examine the problems in the context of highly scalable web applications. This book will take you through the libraries, services, and required configuration and finally puts everything together into a small web application that showcases all the capabilities of Google App Engine.

Over 70 recipes to get you started with popular Python libraries based on the principal concepts of data visualization About This Book Learn how to set up an optimal Python environment for data visualization Understand how to import, clean and organize your data Determine different approaches to data visualization and how to choose the most appropriate for your needs Who This Book Is For If you already know about Python programming and want to understand data, data formats, data visualization, and how to use Python to visualize data then this book is for you. What You Will Learn Introduce yourself to the essential tooling to set up your working environment Explore your data using the capabilities of standard Python Data Library and Panda Library Draw your first chart and customize it Use the most popular data visualization Python libraries Make 3D visualizations mainly using mplot3d Create charts with images and maps Understand the most appropriate charts to describe your data Know the matplotlib hidden gems Use plot.ly to share your visualization online In Detail Python Data Visualization Cookbook will progress the reader from the point of installing and setting up a Python environment for data manipulation and visualization all the way to 3D animations using Python libraries. Readers will benefit from over 60 precise and reproducible recipes that will guide the reader towards a better understanding of data concepts and the building blocks for subsequent and sometimes more advanced concepts. Python Data Visualization Cookbook starts by showing how to set up matplotlib and the related libraries that are required for most parts of the book, before moving on to discuss some of the lesser-used diagrams and charts such as Gantt Charts or Sankey diagrams. Initially it uses simple plots and charts to more advanced ones, to make it easy to understand for readers. As the readers will go through the book, they will get to know about the 3D diagrams and animations. Maps are irreplaceable for displaying geo-spatial data, so this book will also show how to build them. In the last chapter, it includes explanation on how to incorporate matplotlib into different environments, such as a writing system, LaTeX, or how to create Gantt charts using Python. Style and approach A step-by-step recipe based approach to data visualization. The topics are explained sequentially as cookbook recipes consisting of a code snippet and the resulting visualization.

Create, analyze, maintain, and share 2D and 3D maps with the powerful tools of ArcGIS Pro About This Book Visualize GIS data in 2D and 3D maps Create GIS projects for quick and easy access to data, maps, and analysis tools A practical guide that helps to import maps, globes, and scenes from ArcMap, ArcScene, or ArcGlobe Who This Book Is For This book is for anyone wishing to learn how ArcGIS Pro can be used to create maps and perform geospatial analysis. It will be especially helpful for those that have used ArcMap and ArcCatalog in the past and are looking to migrate to Esri’s newest desktop GIS solution. Though previous GIS experience is not required, you must have a solid foundation using Microsoft Windows. It is also helpful if you understand how to manage folders and files within the Microsoft Windows environment. What You Will Learn Install ArcGIS Pro and assign Licenses to users in your organization Navigate and use the ArcGIS Pro ribbon interface to create maps and perform analysis Create and manage ArcGIS Pro GIS Projects Create 2D and 3D maps to visualize and analyze data Author map layouts using cartographic tools and best practices to show off the results of your analysis and maps Import existing map documents, scenes, and globes into your new ArcGIS Pro projects quickly Create standardized workflows using Tasks Automate analysis and processes using ModelBuilder and Python In Detail ArcGIS Pro is Esri’s newest desktop GIS application with powerful tools for visualizing, maintaining, and analyzing data. ArcGIS Pro makes use of the modern ribbon interface and 64-bit processing to increase the speed and efficiency of using GIS. It allows users to create amazing maps in both 2D and 3D quickly and easily.This book will take you from software installation to performing geospatial analysis. It is packed with how-to’s for a host of commonly-performed tasks. You will start by learning how to download and install the software including hardware limitations and recommendations. Then you are exposed to the new Ribbon interface and how its smart design can make finding tools easier.After you are exposed to the new interface, you are walked through the steps to create a new GIS Project to provide quick access to project resources. With a project created, you will learn how to construct 2D and 3D maps including how to add layers, adjust symbology, and control labeling. Next you will learn how to access and use analysis tools to help you answer real-world questions.Lastly, you will learn how processes can be automated and standardized in ArcGIS Pro using Tasks, Models, and Python Scripts.This book will provide an invaluable resource for all those seeking to use ArcGIS Pro as their primary GIS application or for those looking to migrate from ArcMap and ArcCatalog. Style and approach This book includes detailed explanations of the GIS functionality and workflows in ArcGIS Pro. These are supported by easy-to-follow exercises that will help you gain an understanding of how to use ArcGIS Pro to perform a range of tasks.

Design, build, and create your own applications using the full range of features available in Android 6 About This Book Learn how to utilize the robust features of Android 6 to design, develop, and publish better Android applications Get useful guidance on creating new apps or migrating existing apps to support features such as app permissions, app links, fingerprint authentication, etc A fast paced guide, packed with hands-on examples that ties all the features such as API, audio, video, camera, tab customization together under a single cover Who This Book Is For This book is for Android developers who are looking to move their applications into the next Android version with ease. What You Will Learn Familiarize yourself with the features of Android 6 Code with the new Android permissions model Use apps auto backup and restore lost data automatically Increase user engagement with apps through an assistant using triggers and providing contextual assistance Assess and handle proper usage of the API Work with Audio, Video,Camera in Android 6 Utilize the new features in Android for professional purposes Understand and code Chrome’s custom tabs In Detail Android 6 is the latest and greatest version of the Android operating system, and comes packed with cutting edge new features for you to harness for the benefit of building better applications. This step-by-step guide will take you through the basics of the Android Marshmallow permissions model and beyond into other crucial areas such as the Audio,Video,Camera API and Android’s at work features. Learn how to create, deploy, and manage Android applications with Marshmallow’s API and the latest functionalities. The combination of instructions and real-world examples will make your application deployment and testing a breeze. Style and approach This easy-to-follow, step-by-step tutorial provides explanations and examples to add the new Android 6 features to your skill set. Each chapter provides sequential steps and detailed information about the API, as well as best practices and testing options.

Create your own massively scalable Cassandra database with highly responsive database queries About This Book Create a Cassandra cluster and tweak its configuration to get the best performance based on your environment Analyze the key concepts and architecture of Cassandra, which are essential to create highly responsive Cassandra databases A fast-paced and step-by-step guide on handling huge amount of data and getting the best out of your database applications Who This Book Is For If you are a developer who is working with Cassandra and you want to deep dive into the core concepts and understand Cassandra’s non-relational nature, then this book is for you. A basic understanding of Cassandra is expected. What You Will Learn Install and set up your Cassandra Cluster using various installation types Use Cassandra Query Language (CQL) to design Cassandra database and tables with various configuration options Design your Cassandra database to be evenly loaded with the lowest read/write latencies Employ the available Cassandra tools to monitor and maintain a Cassandra cluster Debug CQL queries to discover why they are performing relatively slowly Choose the best-suited compaction strategy for your database based on your usage pattern Tune Cassandra based on your deployment operation system environment In Detail Apache Cassandra Essentials takes you step-by-step from from the basics of installation to advanced installation options and database design techniques. It gives you all the information you need to effectively design a well distributed and high performance database. You’ll get to know about the steps that are performed by a Cassandra node when you execute a read/write query, which is essential to properly maintain of a Cassandra cluster and to debug any issues. Next, you’ll discover how to integrate a Cassandra driver in your applications and perform read/write operations. Finally, you’ll learn about the various tools provided by Cassandra for serviceability aspects such as logging, metrics, backup, and recovery. Style and approach This step-by-step guide is packed with examples that explain the core concepts as well as advanced concepts, techniques, and usages of Apache Cassandra.

Utilize the powerful ingredients of Raspberry Pi to bring to life your amazing robots that can act, draw, and have fun with laser tagsAbout This BookLearn to implement a number of features offered by Raspberry Pi to build your own amazing robotsUnderstand how to add vision and voice to your robots.This fast-paced practical guide comprises a number of creative projects to take your Raspberry Pi knowledge to the next level Who This Book Is For This all-encompassing guide was created for anyone who is interested in expanding their knowledge in applying the peripherals of Raspberry Pi. If you have a fancy for building complex-looking robots with simple, inexpensive, and readily available hardware, then this book is ideal for you. Prior understanding of Raspberry Pi with simple mechanical systems is recommended.What You Will LearnAdd sensors to your robot so that it can sense the world around itKnow everything there is to know about accessing motors and servos to provide movement to the robotic platformExplore the feature of adding vision to your robot so it can “see” the world around itRefine your robot with the skill of speech recognition so that it can receive commandsPolish your robot by adding speech output so it can communicate with the world around itMaximize the use of servos in Raspberry Pi to create a drawing robotStrengthen your robot by adding wireless communication skills so you can see what the robot is seeing and control it from a distanceBuild an unbelievable autonomous hexcopter controlled by Raspberry Pi In Detail The Raspberry Pi is a series of credit card-sized single-board computers developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intention of promoting the teaching of basic computer science in schools. The Raspberry Pi is known as a tiny computer built on a single circuit board. It runs a Linux operating system, and has connection ports for various peripherals so that it can be hooked up to sensors, motors, cameras, and more. Raspberry Pi has been hugely popular among hardware hobbyists for various projects, including robotics. This book gives you an insight into implementing several creative projects using the peripherals provided by Raspberry Pi. To start, we’ll walk through the basic robotics concepts that the world of Raspberry Pi offers us, implementing wireless communication to control your robot from a distance. Next, we demonstrate how to build a sensible and a visionary robot, maximizing the use of sensors and step controllers. After that, we focus on building a wheeled robot that can draw and play hockey. To finish with a bang, we’ll build an autonomous hexcopter, that is, a flying robot controlled by Raspberry Pi. By the end of this book, you will be a maestro in applying an array of different technologies to create almost any imaginable robot.Style and approach This book is an easy-to-follow, project-based guide that throws you directly into the action of creating almost any imaginable robot through blueprints. It is full of step by step instructions and screenshots to help you build amazing robots in no time at all.

Over 100 recipes exploring the new and exciting features of Unity 5 to spice up your Unity skillsetAbout This BookBuilt on the solid foundation of the popular Unity 4.x Cookbook, the recipes in this edition have been completely updated for Unity 5Features recipes for both 2D and 3D gamesProvides you with techniques for the new features of Unity 5, including the new UI system, 2D game development, new Standard Shaders, and the new Audio Mixer Who This Book Is For From beginners to advanced users, from artists to coders, this book is for you and everyone in your team! Programmers can explore multimedia features, and multimedia developers can try their hand at *ing. Basic knowledge and understanding of the Unity platform, game design principles, and programming knowledge in C# is essential.What You Will LearnImmerse players with great audio, utilizing Unity 5's audio features including the new Audio Mixer, ambient sound with Reverb Zones, dynamic soundtracks with Snapshots, and balanced audio via DuckingCreate better materials with Unity’s new, physically-based, Standard ShaderMeasure and control time, including pausing the game, displaying clocks and countdown timers, and even implementing “bullet time” effectsImprove ambiance through the use of lights and effects such as reflection and light probesCreate stylish user interfaces with the new UI system, including power-bars, clock displays, and an extensible inventory systemSave and load text and media assets from local or remote sources, publish your game via Unity Cloud, and communicate with websites and their databases to create online scoreboardsDiscover advanced techniques, including the publisher-subscriber and state patterns, performance bottleneck identification, and methods to maximize game performance and frame ratesControl 2D and 3D character movement, and use NavMeshAgents to write NPC and enemy behaviors such as seek, flee, flock, and waypoint path following In Detail Unity 5 is a flexible and intuitive multiplatform game engine that is becoming the industry’s de facto standard. Learn to craft your own 2D and 3D computer games by working through core concepts such as animation, audio, shaders, GUI, lights, cameras, and *ing to create your own games with Unity 5. Completely re-written to cover the new features of Unity 5, this book is a great resource for all Unity game developers, from those who have recently started using Unity right up to Unity professionals. The first half of the book focuses on core concepts of 2D game design while the second half focuses on developing 3D game development skills. In the first half, you will discover the new GUI system, the new Audio Mixer, external files, and animating 2D characters in 2D game development. As you progress further, you will familiarize yourself with the new Standard Shaders, the Mecanim system, Cameras, and the new Lighting features to hone your skills towards building 3D games to perfection. Finally, you will learn non-player character control and explore Unity 5's extra features to enhance your 3D game development skills.Style and approach Each chapter first introduces the topic area and explains how the techniques covered can enhance your games. Every recipe provides step-by-step instructions, followed by an explanation of how it all works, and useful additional refinements or alternative approaches. Every required resource and C# * (fully commented) is available to download, enabling you to follow each recipe yourself.

Create robust and scalable applications along with responsive UI using concurrency and the multi-threading infrastructure in .NET and C#About This BookLearn to combine your asynchronous operations with Task Parallel LibraryMaster C#’s asynchronous infrastructure and use asynchronous APIs effectively to achieve optimal responsiveness of the applicationAn easy-to-follow, example-based guide that helps you to build scalable applications using concurrency in C# Who This Book Is For If you are a C# developer who wants to develop modern applications in C# and wants to overcome problems by using asynchronous APIs and standard patterns, then this book is ideal for you. Reasonable development knowledge, an understanding of core elements and applications related to the .Net platform, and also the fundamentals of concurrency is assumed.What You Will LearnApply general multithreading concepts to your application’s designLeverage lock-free concurrency and learn about its pros and cons to achieve efficient synchronization between user threadsCombine your asynchronous operations with Task Parallel LibraryMake your code easier with C#’s asynchrony supportUse common concurrent collections and programming patternsWrite scalable and robust server-side asynchronous codeCreate fast and responsible client applicationsAvoid common problems and troubleshoot your multi-threaded and asynchronous applications In Detail Starting with the traditional approach to concurrency, you will learn how to write multithreaded concurrent programs and compose ways that won't require locking. You will explore the concepts of parallelism granularity, and fine-grained and coarse-grained parallel tasks by choosing a concurrent program structure and parallelizing the workload optimally. You will also learn how to use task parallel library, cancellations, timeouts, and how to handle errors. You will know how to choose the appropriate data structure for a specific parallel algorithm to achieve scalability and performance. Further, you'll learn about server scalability, asynchronous I/O, and thread pools, and write responsive traditional Windows and Windows Store applications. By the end of the book, you will be able to diagnose and resolve typical problems that could happen in multithreaded applications.Style and approach An easy-to-follow, example-based guide that will walk you through the core principles of concurrency and multithreading using C#.

Efficiently administer and maintain your development environment with Windows PowerShellAbout This BookExplore *ing and automation techniques with Windows PowerShellGain concrete knowledge of Windows PowerShell *ing to perform professional level *ingDiscover the benefits of the Configuration Management Platform with this step-by-step guide that includes real-world *ing examples Who This Book Is For If you are an IT professional or developer who has worked on the .Net platform and you want to learn automation using Windows PowerShell, then this book is for you. This self-start guide takes you from the basics and gradually moves to an intermediate level to show you how to perform professional *ing.What You Will LearnUnderstand the concepts of building PowerShell *s and the basics of programmingManage the LYNC, Exchange, and SharePoint platformsCreate a Pull server using a SMB file share and HTTP and HTTPSUse .NET classes in Windows PowerShell and C# to manage Exchange OnlineUse PowerShell in C# to manage Exchange Online and work with .NET classes in PowerShellAutomate LYNC clients, consuming Client Server Object Models to administrate SharePoint Online In Detail Windows PowerShell 5.0 for .NET Developers is your self-start guide to performing automation using Windows PowerShell. This book will help you to understand the PowerShell syntax and grammar and will also teach you techniques to remove the rough edges of manual deployments. Packed with PowerShell *s and sample C# codes to automate tasks, it also includes real-world scenarios such as administrating office servers to help you save time and perform deployments swiftly and efficiently. The book begins with the Windows PowerShell basics, explores the significant features of Windows Management Framework 5.0, covers the basic concepts of Desired State Configuration and the importance of idempotent deployments. By the end of the book, you will have a good understanding of Windows PowerShell’s features and will be able to automate your tasks and manage configuration effectively.Style and approach This is an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide with text-enabled screenshots. Each topic is explained with codes and examples. It also includes multiple approaches for a number of tasks to let you choose the best one for you depending on your scenario.

A major historical novel from "one of the great artistic forces of our time" (The Nation ) an eerie, unforgettable story of possession, power, and loss in early-twentieth-century Princeton, a cultural crossroads of the powerful and the damned Princeton, New Jersey, at the turn of the twentieth century: a tranquil place to raise a family, a genteel town for genteel souls. But something dark and dangerous lurks at the edges of the town, corrupting and infecting its residents. Vampires and ghosts haunt the dreams of the innocent. A powerful curse besets the elite families of Princeton; their daughters begin disappearing. A young bride on the verge of the altar is seduced and abducted by a dangerously compelling man a shape-shifting, vaguely European prince who might just be the devil, and who spreads his curse upon a richly deserving community of white Anglo-Saxon privilege. And in the Pine Barrens that border the town, a lush and terrifying underworld opens up. When the bride's brother sets out against all odds to find her, his path will cross those of Princeton's most formidable people, from Grover Cleveland,?fresh out of his second term in the White House and retired to town for a quieter life, to soon-to-be commander in chief Woodrow Wilson,?president of the university?and a complex individual obsessed to the point of madness with his need to retain power; from the young Socialist idealist Upton Sinclair to his charismatic comrade Jack London, and the most famous writer of the era, Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain all plagued by "accursed" visions. An utterly fresh work from Oates, The Accursed marks new territory for the masterful writer. Narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling supernatural elements to stunning effect.

You can't always decide where life will take you--especially when you're a kid. Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again. But against her will and her better judgment, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own Iives. Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again. But against her will and her beter judgement, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own lives.

Abdullah was a young and not very prosperous carpet dealer. His father, who had been disappointed in him, had left him only enough money to open a modest booth in the Bazaar. When he was not selling carpets, Abdullah spent his time daydreaming. In his dreams he was not the son of his father, but the long-lost son of a prince. There was also a princess who had been betrothed to him at birth. He was content with his life and his daydreams until, one day, a stranger sold him a magic carpet. In this stunning sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones has again created a large-scale, fast-paced fantasy in which people and things are never quite what they seem. There are good and bad djinns, a genie in a bottle, wizards, witches, cats and dogs (but are they cats and dogs?), and a mysterious floating castle filled with kidnapped princesses, as well as two puzzling prophecies. The story speeds along with tantalizing twists and turns until the prophecies are fulfilled, true identities are revealed, and all is resolved in a totally satisfying, breathtaking, surprise-filled ending.

Award-winning author Andrea Warren presents a life-changing story of a young boy's struggle for survival in a Nazi-run concentration camp. In this Robert F. Silbert Honor Book, narrated in the voice of Holocaust survivor Jack Mandelbaum, readers will glimpse the dark reality of life during the Holocaust, and how one boy made it out alive. When twelve-year-old Jack Mandelbaum is separated from his family and shipped off to the Blechhammer concentration camp, his life becomes a never-ending nightmare. With minimal food to eat and harsh living conditions threatening his health, Jack manages to survive by thinking of his family. Supports the Common Core State Standards

The Greatest Business Book of All Time (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table. Based on a study of forty-three of America best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that made these organizations successful. Joining the HarperBusiness Essentials series, this phenomenal bestseller features a new Authors' Note, and reintroduces these vital principles in an accessible and practical way for today management reader.

The conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crash trilogy, never before published in any format! A football fantasy. A giant diamond. The modern-day Romeo and Juliet are taking their relationship to the next level. . . . Jude and Lucy are happily engaged, but that doesn't mean life a bed of roses. Once again, the hottest couple around is torn apart, this time by football training and a summer job. Now it Jude with the trust issues. Will Lucy life-changing news bring them back together or end their relationship for goodCan love triumph foreverFind out in the best installment yet in Nicole Williams racy and romantic Crash trilogy!

The story of Mac, Vince, and middle-school organized crime comes to its thrilling conclusion in the third book of Chris Rylander Fourth Stall saga, a series that combines a Godfather -like tale of crime and betrayal with hilarious school comedy à la Jack Gantos. Their business is finished, and Mac and Vince lives have become something they have never been before simple. None of the fortune or the glory, none of the risk or the threat of juvenile prison. There even a new business that has stepped in to take its place (and take the heat off Mac and Vince for once). Things couldn’t be better. But that was before things at their middle school started to go haywire. Before they found out that there a new crime boss at a school another town over trying to consolidate power. And before their old nemesis, Staples, came back to town begging for help after his stint in the clink. Just when Mac and Vince thought they were out, the business pulls them back in. But this time, will they be able to escape with their lives and their permanent records intact?

Create, package, and customize stunning themes using PrimeFacesAbout This BookBuild PrimeFaces themes that meet the industry standardsCustomize your themes for mobile web applications with PrimeFaces MobileA precise, example-oriented guide to help you create interesting themes using the PrimeFaces tools Who This Book Is For If you are a Web Designer who wants to create and modify PrimeFaces themes then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of JSF, CSS, and HTML is assumed.What You Will LearnUse Maven to create JSF ProjectsCreate a custom theme using JQuery UI toolsPackage your theme for distribution and use your PrimeFaces-based web applications as drop in librariesDevelop additional dynamic look and feel elements that themes do not already supplyApply look and feel elements dynamically to views without causing page refreshesReduce code repetition by applying page templates to your JSF project In Detail Developing stunning themes for web applications has never been easier! PrimeFaces delivers a powerful set of features that enables JSF developers to create and customize awesome themes on the web. It is very easy to use because it comes as a single JAR file and requires no mandatory XML configuration. With more than 30 out-of-the-box themes, jQuery integration, a mobile UI toolkit, Ajax Push technology, and much more, PrimeFaces takes JSF application development to a whole new level! This book is a hands-on example-rich guide to creating and customizing PrimeFaces themes using available tools. Beginning with creating a JSF project and integrating the PrimeFaces library, this book will introduce you to the features of theme components, how these are structured, and how PrimeFaces uses JQuery UI to apply a theme to your application. You will learn to examine and change the CSS rules and get creative by setting standard icons and adding new icons to them. You will use a combination of JavaScript and CSS to enhance your application with help of scheduler component and go on to adapt and package your custom theme so that it is compatible with the Resource Manager. Finally, you will explore PrimeFaces mobile apps, ensuring themes are compatible with your mobile applications best practices for theme design.Style and approach This book is a concise, hands-on guide to developing PrimeFaces themes, working from the ground up with examples in each topic implemented in a web application. You will be encouraged to explore areas of your own interest without the requirement to stick to the letter of the chapter.