Primul prieten.Prima iubire.Ultimele cuvinte.?NAINTE. Miles Halter – un adolescent singuratic pasionat de cuvintele rostite de personaje celebre ?n ultimele lor clipe de via?? – pleac? la ?coala cu internat Culver Creek ?n c?utarea a ceea ce Rabelais numea ?Marele Necunoscut“.Acest Necunoscut se dovede?te mai tulbur?tor dec?t ?i-ar fi imaginat vreodat? c?nd ?n noul s?u cerc de prieteni ??i face intrarea seduc?toarea Alaska Young. Inteligent?, amuzant?, imprevizibil?, Alaska ?l atrage ?ntr-o lume misterioas? de lumini ?i umbre, ce st? sub semnul ultimelor cuvinte ale lui Simón Bolívar, faimosul general imortalizat de Gabriel García Márquez: ?Cum o s? mai ies eu din labirintul ?sta?“DUP?. Nimic nu va mai fi la fel.?Fetele vor pl?nge, iar b?ie?ii vor g?si dragoste, atrac?ie ?i dorin?? ?n parfumul de vanilie ?i ?ig?ri pe care ?l r?sp?nde?te Alaska.“ – Kirkus Review?C?ut?nd-o pe Alaska surprinde perfect intensitatea tr?irilor ?i disperarea care definesc adolescen?a.“ – teenreads.com?Frumuse?ea acestui roman st? ?n faptul c? nu ascunde nimic.“ – The Guardian?Iar acum cred c? e momentul prielnic s? spun c? era frumoas?. ?n ?ntunericul de l?ng? mine, Alaska mirosea a sudoare ?i a raze de soare ?i a vanilie, iar ?n acea noapte luminat? de o lun? firav? vedeam doar silueta ei, excep?ie f?c?nd momentele ?n care fuma, c?nd tutunul aprins al ?ig?rii ei ?i ?nv?luia fa?a ?ntr o lumin? ro?iatic?. Dar, chiar ?i pe ?ntuneric, ?i vedeam ochii — dou? smaralde arz?toare. Avea acel soi de privire p?trunz?toare care te f?cea s?-i cedezi.“

Administra?ia Na?ional? pentru Aeronautic? ?i Spa?iu (NASA) a fost ?nfiin?at? pe 29 iulie 1958. ?nc? din primele zile, aceasta s-a aflat ?n avangarda eforturilor de explorare a spa?iului cosmic, iar rezultatele acestora s-au v?zut ?n misiunile selenare Apollo, ?n sta?ia spa?ial? Skylab, precum ?i ?n naveta spa?ial?, a?a cum o ?tim noi ast?zi. De-a lungul timpului, de NASA au fost legate multe opera?iuni de mu?amalizare ?i ascundere a adev?rului la cele mai ?nalte niveluri. Iat? c?teva dintre faimoasele ?secrete“ p?strate de NASA:Ipoteza c? aseleniz?rile Apollo din perioada 1969-1972 au fost, de fapt, simulate, ca parte a efortului de a demonstra superioritatea militar? ?i tehnologic? fa?? de fosta Uniune Sovietic?.Controversatul ?Chip uman de pe Marte“ – despre care mul?i cred c? ar fi o structur? sculptat?, creat? ?n trecutul ?ndep?rtat de mar?ienii indigeni, care ?ntre timp au disp?rut.Numele informatorilor secre?i din cadrul NASA care au ?ncercat s? deconspire cele mai stra?nic p?zite secrete ale organiza?iei cu privire la interac?iunile dintre guvernul american ?i extratere?tri.Cuprins:Mul?umiriIntroducereImplicarea extratere?trilorDe la Mercury la GeminiPr?bu?irea de la KecksburgApollo. Zboruri imaginare?Conexiunea cu Zona 51O epidemie de origine extraterestr?Europa anilor 1970Fra?ii din spa?iuMac Tonnies fa?? ?n fa?? cu mar?ieniiOZN-uri pr?bu?ite ?n BoliviaSabotarea navetelor spa?ialeR?pirile extraterestre ?i NASAMon?trii NASADeschiderea dosarelor X ale NASARoswell ?i astronautulFotografii cenzurateAtacul computerelor NASA Concluzie: Trecut, prezent ?i viitor NoteBibliografie

volumul al III-lea dintr-un interviu de un cristian Trilogia lui Ion Cucu este, deopotriv?, o construc?ie editorial? ?i o demonstra?ie personal?. Ion Cucu nu e, cum s-a crezut, doar un fotograf, iar opera lui cap?t? o cu totul alt? dimensiune dac? iese din tiparul unui album oarecare sau al unei expozi?ii, fie ea ?i permanent?. Interviul ?i portretele spun mai mult dec?t povestea unor fotografii – ?mpreun?, acestea dezv?luie talentul, for?a, patimile ?i d?ruirea fotografului celor zece pre?edin?i. Ai Uniunii Scriitorilor. Pentru c? prin aceast? institu?ie s-a legitimat ?i se reg?se?te, ca artist fotograf, scriitorul Ion Cucu. Trilogia s-a sf?r?it, de-acum urmeaz? Istoria. (un cristian)

A 16. század végén Kandahár tartomány távoli szegletében téli hóvihar tombol. Egy nomád sátorban egy kislány látja meg a napvilágot ezen a zord napon. A Marunissza nevet kapja, melynek jelentése "N?k ragyogó napja". A kislány a mogul császári udvarban nevelkedik, és amikor nyolcévesen el?sz?r megpillantja Dzsahángír császárt, elhatározza, hogy egy nap a felesége lesz. ?lma t?bb mint húsz év múlva válik valóra, amikor egy boldogtalan házasság után végre ?r?k h?séget esküdhet annak a férfinak, akit mindig is szeretett, és huszadik feleségként bek?lt?zhet a pazar császári hárembe. Hála a férfinak, aki megszállottan szerette, az immár Núr Dzsahán nevet visel? fiatal császárné képes volt lerázni magáról a hagyomány béklyóit, és ugyan a fátyol m?gül, de a 17. századi India befolyásos uralkodójává válni. Marunissza pénzt veretett, idegen országokkal kereskedett, pártolta a m?vészeteket, számos császári kert és síremlék, k?ztük a Tádzs Mahal építését engedélyezte, s ezek máig hirdetik hatalmát.

p>Descoperi?i al patrulea volum dintr-o serie de c?r?i pentru copii a c?ror popularitate a dep??it orice a?tept?ri! ?Pisicile r?zboinice” s-au v?ndut ?n mai mult de 14 milioane de volume ?n peste 20 de ??ri ?i au ap?rut pe lista New York Times a celor mai v?ndute titluri. De genera?ii ?ntregi, patru clanuri de pisici s?lbatice convie?uiesc ?n p?dure, departe de oameni. Au un cod al onoarei ?i pre?uiesc loialitatea. Se antreneaz? ca r?zboinici pentru a-?i proteja Clanurile. Se vindec? de boli cu remedii naturiste. Respect? legile statornicite de ?nainta?i. Sunt ghida?i ?n ac?iunile lor de spiritele str?mo?ilor r?zboinici, reuni?i ?n Clanul Stelelor. Ro?covanul este un fost pisoi de cas? care s-a dovedit a fi tare puternic ?i descurc?re? ?n s?lb?ticie. Mai ?nt?i a fost acceptat ca ucenic ?n Clanul Tunetului, apoi a devenit r?zboinic sub numele Inim? de Foc, iar ?n cele din urm? vitejia l-a adus p?n? la pozi?ia de secund ?n clan. Dar Inim? de Foc nu poate sta prea mult lini?tit c?t? vreme Ghear? de Tigru, fostul secund, poate ataca oric?nd. ?i conduc?toarea Stea Albastr? ?i-a pierdut ?ncrederea ?n r?zboinicii clanului dup? ce Ghear? de Tigru s-a dovedit a fi un tr?d?tor. De aceea, Stea Albastr? ?i Inim? de Foc pornesc spre Pietrele ?nalte pentru a se sf?tui cu ?n?elep?ii din Clanul Stelelor. Dar drumul trece pe teritoriul Clanului V?ntului, o patrul? de r?zboinici condus? de Ghear? de N?mol le iese amenin??tor ?n cale ?i sunt nevoi?i s? se ?ntoarc? ?n tab?ra lor. Vara sose?te cu noi provoc?ri pentru Inim? de Foc. Ucenicul lui, Lab? de Nor, face un gest necugetat merg?nd la oameni dup? m?ncare ?i este r?pit pe loc. Dar pericolul abia acum urmeaz?. Canicula devine din ce ?n ce mai puternic? ?i un incendiu devastator cuprinde p?durea, distrug?nd tab?ra Clanului Tunetului. Volumul cuprinde h?r?i ?i simboluri din via?a pisicilor r?zboinice. ?Un episod palpitant din aventurile pisicilor r?zoinice, care va fi cu siguran?? pe placul cititorilor.“ - ALA Booklist ?Povestea este mereu surprinz?toare; personajele sunt ?nzestrate cu tabieturi ?i comportamente feline autentice.” - VOYA ?O carte plin? de suspans, pentru to?i cei care se ?ntreab? ce visuri de grandoare nutre?te mot?nelul de pe pre?ul de la u??.“ - Publishers Weekly ?Dup? ce cite?ti Pisicile r?zboinice, nu mai ai ?ncredere nici m?car ?n Motanul ?nc?l?at.“ - Kirkus Reviews Din aceea?i serie: PISICILE R?ZBOINICE. CARTEA I - ?N INIMA P?DURII PISICILE R?ZBOINICE. CARTEA A II-A - FOC ?I GHEA?? PISICILE R?ZBOINICE. CARTEA A III-A - P?DUREA SECRETELOR PISICILE R?ZBOINICE. CARTEA A V-A - O CALE PRIMEJDIOAS?

In between her fairy-tale wedding and her premature death, there lived the most beloved royal presence of our century, surely as multifaceted as any celebrity of our time. The radical twists and turns in her brief life drew the fascination of millions. Yet the most photographed woman in the world was also the least quoted--her actual words were seldom heard, and never gathered, until now. This unique book is the result of a scrupulous worldwide search for every one of Diana's significant quotes. Upon reading this collection, one will find that behind her shy veneer dwelled a woman of extraordinary resourcefulness, stamina, and, perhaps above all, vulnerability. In fact, her open frankness about the events and people around her is both disarming and startling. The reader will discover the sharp clarity, endless warmth, and ready wit that she brought to her legendary life in this intimate self-portrait. This is the closest we will ever get to an autobiography from the People's Princess.

Reengineering has captured the imagination of managers and shareholders alike, sending corporations on journeys of radical business redesign that have already begun to transfigure global industry. Yet aside from earning them improvements in their business performance, the shift into more-process-centered organizations is causing fundamental changes in the corporate world, changes that business leaders are only now beginning to understand. What will the revolutions final legacy beBeyond Reengineering addresses this question, exploring reengineering's effects on such areas as: Jobs: What does process-centering do to the nature of jobsWhat does a process-centered workplace feel likeManagers: What is the new role of the manager in a process-centered companyEducation: What skills are vital in the process-centered working world, and how can young or inexperienced workers prepareSociety: What are the implications of process-centering for employment and the economy as a wholeInvestment: What are the characteristics of a successful 21st-century corporationAn informed look at one of the most profound changes to ever sweep the corporate world, Beyond Reengineering is the business manual for the 21st century.

As America is finding out, soy is the most complete and versatile protein in existence. It has no cholesterol or saturated fat but plenty of vitamins and fiber and offers amazing health benefits for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Based on the simple idea that food is your best medicine, The Soy Zone shows you how to maintain peak mental alertness, increase your energy, and reduce the likelihood of chronic disease -- all while losing excess body fat. Dr. Barry Sears brings all the life-enhancing benefits of the Zone to a mouthwatering collection of delicious soy-based Zone meals, featuring:Soy Zone-perfect breakfasts, lunches, appetizers, dinners, and snacksAppetizing new recipes from top chefs, such as Red Bean Chill, Hong Kong Burger, and Soy Zone-friendly Vegetarian Pad ThaiThe ultimate healthful food plan, with quick and easy fat-burning alternatives to dangerous high-carb dietsAn exercise and longevity plan for men and womenHelpful recommendations for Soy Zoning your kitchenA scientifically proven plan for achieving perfect hormonal balance while losing weight

In this invaluable book, Mike McGetrick, one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teaching Professionals in America and 1999 National PGA Teacher of the Year, shows how to make the best shot possible and shave strokes off your game. Sharing the same methods he uses when coaching some of the best players in the world, McGetrick outlines 12 basic shots you can incorporate into your game without overhauling your technique."Shotmaking is much more than simply curving the ball or hitting it low and high," explains Mike McGetrick, personal instructor to top golf professionals such as Juli Inkster, Brandt Jobe, and Meg Mallon. "It's understanding how the lie, the wind, the contour of the target and the hazards of the course will affect your decision making process." To reach full scoring potential on a course, you have to be a scrambler at heart, a master who can read a course's shifting challenges-from weather and terrain to pin positions-and adapt accordingly.Following the clear advice in The Scrambler's Dozen, you will learn to be a great scrambler-to trust your decisions and your ability to execute shots to get the greatest rewards from the game. Like the pros, you too can learn when and how to chip or pitch or putt from off the green, and know how to practice so you're rarely in unfamiliar situations on the golf course. The Scramblers Dozen is the secret for squeezing every ounce out of your game and reaching your full scoring potential.

In “Educational Disobedience,” educationist, Dr. Annise Mabry, offers a compelling, unique and refreshing insight into how she helps her children overcome the limitations of what she terms “a broken education system,” in the State of Georgia. Her decision to homeschool them were borne largely due to the fact that they were not receiving the best of education, and more because protection from the unending problem of bullying in public schools was lacking. She soon realized that only a crucial intervention could save her family from falling apart, and it was a decision that proved timely because not only did she achieve her objectives, but she also ended up saving her community! She has helped many parents to transform their children from struggling students to homeschool high school graduates!This isn't the guide for how to homescool--it's the story of survival because of homeschool.

The authors of Christmas Miracles deliver true stories that show just how enduring a mother's remarkable love can be.

Last holiday season, Christmas Miracles touched the hearts of thousands with its inspiring true stories of real people and their miraculous encounters. With The Magic of Christmas Miracles we have a second collection of amazing true stories of people whose lives were forever changed by small, yet wondrous, Yuletide events. Among them are:The Red Cap: Santa leaves behind a calling card to convince a doubting child.Epiphany: A walk in the woods with an angel gives a lonely woman new hope.Lost at Sea: Two racing yachtsmen put aside rivalry in a dramatic Christmas Day rescue in the Indian Ocean.Fly Away Home: A private plane carrying an unconscious pilot lands safely in an empty field.. . . and many more to brighten the spirit. The Magic of Christmas Miracles will uplift readers' hearts for this and many future holiday seasons.

Lisa EdwardsThis Prada-wearing magazine editor thinks her life is over when her "fabulous" new job turns out to be a deportation to Dublin to launch Colleen magazine. The only saving grace is that her friends aren't there to witness her downward spiral. Might her new boss, the disheveled and moody Jack Devine, save her from a fate worse than hell?Ashling KennedyAshling, Colleen's assistant editor, is an award-winning worrier, increasinglyaware that something fundamental is missing from her life -- apart from a boyfriendand a waistline.Clodagh "Princess" KellyAshling's best friend, Clodagh, lives the domestic dream in a suburban castle.So why, lately, has she had the recurring urge to kiss a frog -- or sleep with afrog, if truth be told?As these three women search for love, success, and happiness, they willdiscover that if you let things simmer under the surface for too long, sooneror later they'll boil over.Discover the Keyes to a Great Read!

In this long-anticipated, groundbreaking guide to building a portfolio, acclaimed stock pickers and Internet pioneers David and Tom Gardner lay bare the simple philosophy that they have used to help millions of grateful individual investors outfox the professionals on Wall Street. The research, the stories, and the results that underpin this book stem from the revolutionary and wildly successful "Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio"" a one-of-a-kind Web experiment in which individual investors follow along as Motley Fool co-founder Tom Gardner invests and manages $1 million of The Motley Fool's own money. In page after page of sound, sensible investment advice, readers are offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of The Motley Fool machine and offered a first-class education in building, growing, and defending an individual portfolio, one investment strategy at a time. From learning to think like an investor to finding a first stock, from dividend investing to blue-chip bargains to small-cap treasures, from international investing to community-based online tools that are revolutionizing stock selection and asset allocation, this book takes the reader through the essential strategies for building any portfolio no matter how small its start or how big its ambitions.

Woman Power: for the woman who wants to ensure for herself -- and for her man -- the marital happiness and success everyone dreams of! The immediate feedback to Dr. Laura Schlessinger's seventh bestseller, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, affirmed that Dr. Laura helped hundreds of thousands of readers make good marriages even better and saved many from the brink of divorce. Now, due to overwhelming response from her readers and listeners who wanted to know more about the special power women have to transform their husbands, their marriages, and their lives, Dr. Laura has written Woman Power. Through a series of provocative chapters and Q&As, Dr. Laura guides women on how to assess what is valuable and what is vulnerable in their marriages, and stimulates women to think about what is really important about being a woman, a wife, and a mother. In addition, readers will find inspirational stories and tips, thought-provoking essays, and plenty of room for entries, thoughts, and journals. There are even fascinating Q&As for husbands and wives to do together!

The story of the changing face of baseball and the inner workings of its finest organization After a hundred "cursed" years, the Boston Red Sox rose gloriously to baseball domination. Under the leadership of manager Terry Francona, an extraordinary team of wildly disparate personalities from the inscrutable Manny Ramirez to the affable David "Big Papi" Ortiz pulled off two improbable post-season comebacks to make it to the World Series twice in three years . . . and ultimately emerged victorious. In Red Sox Rule, Michael Holley, bestselling author of Patriot Reign, provides a fascinating, insightful, and surprising inside look at how it all happened.With the exclusive cooperation of Terry Francona and stories from the clubhouse and the conference room, Holley reveals the private sessions and the dugout and front-office strategies that have made the Red Sox a budding dynasty, overtaking their archrivals, the powerful New York Yankees, as the American League's elite team.

Unlocking the Sky tells the extraordinary tale of the race to design, refine, and manufacture a manned flying machine, a race that took place in the air, on the ground, and in the courtrooms of America. While the Wright brothers threw a veil of secrecy over their flying machine, Glenn Hammond Curtiss -- perhaps the greatest aviator and aeronautical inventor of all time -- freely exchanged information with engineers in America and abroad, resulting in his famous airplane, the June Bug, which made the first ever public flight in America. Fiercely jealous, the Wright brothers took to the courts to keep Curtiss and his airplane out of the sky and off the market. Ultimately, however, it was Curtiss's innovations and designs, not the Wright brothers', that served as the model for the modern airplane.

In the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods and A. J. Jacobs's The Know-It-All, Craig J. Heimbuch takes a wry look at some of our most deeply cherished cultural beliefsCraig J. Heimbuch had never even thought of owning a gun when, in his early thirties, he was given a twelve-gauge Winchester over-under shotgun by his father. The black sheep, so to speak, of his Midwestern family, Craig was possibly the only male Heimbuch never to have taken an animal. But now that he had a shotgun, he figured he might as well try it out, and in so doing, explore the meaning of manhood while getting closer to his hunting-enthusiast dad.And Now We Shall Do Manly Things is the witty, moving, and insightful story of one man's quest to free himself from the shackles of his domesticated suburban lifestyle by immersing himself for one year in the hunting culture his family has always cherished. Along the way Heimbuch learns what putting food on the table once entailed and what it means to be a man in America and discovers that it's possible to be a committed father, a loving spouse, and a hunter without being mistaken for a gun-toting lunatic.

Set in a world of luxury and power, this is the story of two remarkable women and a friendship that changed both their lives forever.For more than two decades, Mariana Pasternak and Martha Stewart were nearly inseparable. They first met over a garden gate in Westport, Connecticut, two suburban wives wedded to successful men but with grand aspirations of their own. Their bond only deepened after their marriages ended in divorce. Struggling as a single mother, but drawn into a seductive world of privilege and adventure, Pasternak watched with admiration as her friend built an empire that would make her one of the richest women in America.A European migr with sophisticated tastes, Pasternak helped to smooth Stewart's rough edges, while Stewart drew Pasternak into a rarefied world, where together they navigated the sometimes hilarious and often difficult challenges of being single. The depth of their friendship not only benefited them both but also influenced how they defined themselves, through good times and bad. Friendship between women is never simple and this one was no exception.With Stewart's newfound success and Pasternak's zest for adventure, the two women's friendship was based on their mutual quest for wonder and discovery. They rode horses through the desert dunes of Egypt, hiked the winding Inca Trail to the mysterious Machu Picchu, paddled at night in dugout canoes through the Amazonian jungle. They toasted the good life with thin-stemmed champagne glasses and sipped jade dew" green tea in Martha's Turkey Hill kitchen. This was no ordinary life.As time passed, money, men, and the arrogance of wealth frayed the bonds they had built so carefully over more than twenty years. The final break came when Pasternak was called as a witness in the high-profile trial that brought about Stewart's conviction and prison sentence. Pasternak's deeply personal memoir tells the story of their friendship with honesty and candor, reflecting on the power of such intense relationships to change our lives, and the devastating aftermath when those relationships end.

From Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long the man who coaches all-stars like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano comes this indispensable guide to hitting, full of practical advice, behind-the-scenes baseball action, and an enduring, inspiring love for America's national pastimeThe legendary Ted Williams often said that "hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in sport." If hitting a baseball is that hard to do, imagine trying to teach how to hit. Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long does just that every day to some of the best players in the game.In Cage Rat, Long draws on more than twenty years of experience playing and coaching professional baseball to demonstrate to readers the techniques, practices, and habits of great hitting. From bat angle to grip, and from plate coverage to athletic stance and hitting drills, Long takes us into the Yankees' batting cage, where he shows us how major-league players hone their hitting and refine their skills. Not just a practical guide to hitting, Cage Rat is also a dynamic, engaging, and moving portrait of a man realizing his goals. From his early days in the minor leagues to his major league dreams of playing with the Kansas City Royals, from the dramatic decision to turn to coaching to the fateful call from the New York Yankees, Kevin Long's story is a quintessentially American narrative that celebrates hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude.Chock-full of practical advice, behind-the-scenes action, instructional photographs, and inspirational stories, Cage Rat is a must-read for aspiring players, Yankees fans, and anyone who loves baseball.

The Greatest Generation meets Bloods in this revealing oral history of the unrecognized contributions of African American veterans.Award-winning journalist Yvonne Latty never bothered to find out the extent of her father's service until it was almost too late. Inspired by his moving story -- and eager to uncover the little-known stories of other black veterans, from those who served in the Second World War to the War in Iraq -- Latty set about interviewing veterans of every stripe: men and women; army, navy, and air force personnel; prisoners of war; and brigadier generals.In a book that has sparked discussions in homes, schools, and churches across America, Latty, along with acclaimed photographer Ron Tarver, captures not only what was unique about the experiences of more than two dozen veterans but also why it is important for these stories to be recorded. Whether it's the story of a black medic on Omaha Beach or a nurse who ferried wounded soldiers by heli-copter to medical centers throughout Asia during the Vietnam War, We Were There is a must-have for every black home, military enthusiast, and American patriot.