Leverage benefits of machine learning techniques using Python About This Book Improve and optimise machine learning systems using effective strategies. Develop a strategy to deal with a large amount of data. Use of Python code for implementing a range of machine learning algorithms and techniques. Who This Book Is For This title is for data scientist and researchers who are already into the field of data science and want to see machine learning in action and explore its real-world application. Prior knowledge of Python programming and mathematics is must with basic knowledge of machine learning concepts. What You Will Learn Learn to write clean and elegant Python code that will optimize the strength of your algorithms Uncover hidden patterns and structures in data with clustering Improve accuracy and consistency of results using powerful feature engineering techniques Gain practical and theoretical understanding of cutting-edge deep learning algorithms Solve unique tasks by building models Get grips on the machine learning design process In Detail Machine learning and predictive analytics are becoming one of the key strategies for unlocking growth in a challenging contemporary marketplace. It is one of the fastest growing trends in modern computing, and everyone wants to get into the field of machine learning. In order to obtain sufficient recognition in this field, one must be able to understand and design a machine learning system that serves the needs of a project. The idea is to prepare a learning path that will help you to tackle the real-world complexities of modern machine learning with innovative and cutting-edge techniques. Also, it will give you a solid foundation in the machine learning design process, and enable you to build customized machine learning models to solve unique problems. The course begins with getting your Python fundamentals nailed down. It focuses on answering the right questions that cove a wide range of powerful Python libraries, including scikit-learn Theano and Keras.After getting familiar with Python core concepts, it’s time to dive into the field of data science. You will further gain a solid foundation on the machine learning design and also learn to customize models for solving problems. At a later stage, you will get a grip on more advanced techniques and acquire a broad set of powerful skills in the area of feature selection and feature engineering. Style and approach This course includes all the resources that will help you jump into the data science field with Python. The aim is to walk through the elements of Python covering powerful machine learning libraries. This course will explain important machine learning models in a step-by-step manner. Each topic is well explained with real-world applications with detailed guidance.Through this comprehensive guide, you will be able to explore machine learning techniques.

Learn to solve challenging data science problems by building powerful machine learning models using Python About This Book Understand which algorithms to use in a given context with the help of this exciting recipe-based guide This practical tutorial tackles real-world computing problems through a rigorous and effective approach Build state-of-the-art models and develop personalized recommendations to perform machine learning at scale Who This Book Is For This Learning Path is for Python programmers who are looking to use machine learning algorithms to create real-world applications. It is ideal for Python professionals who want to work with large and complex datasets and Python developers and analysts or data scientists who are looking to add to their existing skills by accessing some of the most powerful recent trends in data science. Experience with Python, Jupyter Notebooks, and command-line execution together with a good level of mathematical knowledge to understand the concepts is expected. Machine learning basic knowledge is also expected. What You Will Learn Use predictive modeling and apply it to real-world problems Understand how to perform market segmentation using unsupervised learning Apply your new-found skills to solve real problems, through clearly-explained code for every technique and test Compete with top data scientists by gaining a practical and theoretical understanding of cutting-edge deep learning algorithms Increase predictive accuracy with deep learning and scalable data-handling techniques Work with modern state-of-the-art large-scale machine learning techniques Learn to use Python code to implement a range of machine learning algorithms and techniques In Detail Machine learning is increasingly spreading in the modern data-driven world. It is used extensively across many fields such as search engines, robotics, self-driving cars, and more. Machine learning is transforming the way we understand and interact with the world around us. In the first module, Python Machine Learning Cookbook, you will learn how to perform various machine learning tasks using a wide variety of machine learning algorithms to solve real-world problems and use Python to implement these algorithms. The second module, Advanced Machine Learning with Python, is designed to take you on a guided tour of the most relevant and powerful machine learning techniques and you’ll acquire a broad set of powerful skills in the area of feature selection and feature engineering. The third module in this learning path, Large Scale Machine Learning with Python, dives into scalable machine learning and the three forms of scalability. It covers the most effective machine learning techniques on a map reduce framework in Hadoop and Spark in Python. This Learning Path will teach you Python machine learning for the real world. The machine learning techniques covered in this Learning Path are at the forefront of commercial practice. This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: Python Machine Learning Cookbook by Prateek Joshi Advanced Machine Learning with Python by John Hearty Large Scale Machine Learning with Python by Bastiaan Sjardin, Alberto Boschetti, Luca Massaron Style and approach This course is a smooth learning path that will teach you how to get started with Python machine learning for the real world, and develop solutions to real-world problems. Through this comprehensive course, you’ll learn to create the most effective machine learning techniques from scratch and more!

This book is written in simple, easy to understand format with lots of screenshots and step-by-step explanations. If you are a Project manager or a consultant, who wants to master the core concepts of Primavera P6 and the new features associated with version 8, then this is the best guide for you. This book assumes that you have a fundamental knowledge of working in the Primavera P6 environment.

Get savvy with R language and actualize projects aimed at analysis, visualization and machine learning About This Book Proficiently analyze data and apply machine learning techniques Generate visualizations, develop interactive visualizations and applications to understand various data exploratory functions in R Construct a predictive model by using a variety of machine learning packages Who This Book Is For This Learning Path is ideal for those who have been exposed to R, but have not used it extensively yet. It covers the basics of using R and is written for new and intermediate R users interested in learning. This Learning Path also provides in-depth insights into professional techniques for analysis, visualization, and machine learning with R – it will help you increase your R expertise, regardless of your level of experience. What You Will Learn Get data into your R environment and prepare it for analysis Perform exploratory data analyses and generate meaningful visualizations of the data Generate various plots in R using the basic R plotting techniques Create presentations and learn the basics of creating apps in R for your audience Create and inspect the transaction dataset, performing association analysis with the Apriori algorithm Visualize associations in various graph formats and find frequent itemset using the ECLAT algorithm Build, tune, and evaluate predictive models with different machine learning packages Incorporate R and Hadoop to solve machine learning problems on big data In Detail The R language is a powerful, open source, functional programming language. At its core, R is a statistical programming language that provides impressive tools to analyze data and create high-level graphics. This Learning Path is chock-full of recipes. Literally! It aims to excite you with awesome projects focused on analysis, visualization, and machine learning. We’ll start off with data analysis – this will show you ways to use R to generate professional analysis reports. We’ll then move on to visualizing our data – this provides you with all the guidance needed to get comfortable with data visualization with R. Finally, we’ll move into the world of machine learning – this introduces you to data classification, regression, clustering, association rule mining, and dimension reduction. This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: R Data Analysis Cookbook by Viswa Viswanathan and Shanthi Viswanathan R Data Visualization Cookbook by Atmajitsinh Gohil Machine Learning with R Cookbook by Yu-Wei, Chiu (David Chiu) Style and approach This course creates a smooth learning path that will teach you how to analyze data and create stunning visualizations. The step-by-step instructions provided for each recipe in this comprehensive Learning Path will show you how to create machine learning projects with R.

Learn how you can put the features of OpenStack to work in the real world in this comprehensive path About This Book Harness the abilities of experienced OpenStack administrators and architects, and run your own private cloud successfully Learn how to install, configure, and manage all of the OpenStack core projects including topics on Object Storage, Block Storage, and Neutron Networking services such as LBaaS and FWaaS Get better equipped to troubleshoot and solve common problems in performance, availability, and automation that confront production-ready OpenStack environments Who This Book Is For This course is for those who are new to OpenStack who want to learn the cloud networking fundamentals and get started with OpenStack networking. Basic understanding of Linux Operating System, Virtualization, and Networking, and Storage principles will come in handy. What You Will Learn Get an introduction to OpenStack and its components Store and retrieve data and images using storage components, such as Cinder, Swift, and Glance Install and configure Swift, the OpenStack Object Storage service, including configuring Container Replication between datacenters Gain hands on experience and familiarity with Horizon, the OpenStack Dashboard user interface Learn how to automate OpenStack installations using Ansible and Foreman Follow practical advice and examples for running OpenStack in production Fix common issues with images served through Glance and master the art of troubleshooting Neutron networking In Detail OpenStack is a collection of software projects that work together to provide a cloud fabric. Learning OpenStack Cloud Computing course is an exquisite guide that you will need to build cloud environments proficiently. This course will help you gain a clearer understanding of OpenStack’s components and their interaction with each other to build a cloud environment. The first module, Learning OpenStack, starts with a brief look into the need for authentication and authorization, the different aspects of dashboards, cloud computing fabric controllers, along with 'Networking as a Service' and 'Software defined Networking'. Then, you will focus on installing, configuring, and troubleshooting different architectures such as Keystone, Horizon, Nova, Neutron, Cinder, Swift, and Glance. After getting familiar with the fundamentals and application of OpenStack, let's move deeper into the realm of OpenStack. In the second module, OpenStack Cloud Computing Cookbook, preview how to build and operate OpenStack cloud computing, storage, networking, and automation. Dive into Neutron, the OpenStack Networking service, and get your hands dirty with configuring ML2, networks, routers, and distributed virtual routers. Further, you'll learn practical examples of Block Storage, LBaaS, and FBaaS. The final module, Troubleshooting OpenStack, will help you quickly diagnose, troubleshoot, and correct problems in your OpenStack. We will diagnose and remediate issues in Keystone, Glance, Neutron networking, Nova, Cinder block storage, Swift object storage, and issues caused by Heat orchestration. This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: Learning OpenStack by Alok Shrivastwa, Sunil Sarat OpenStack Cloud Computing Cookbook - Third Edition by Kevin Jackson , Cody Bunch, Egle Sigler Troubleshooting OpenStack by Tony Campbell Style and approach This course aims to create a smooth learning path that will teach you how to get started with setting up private and public clouds using a free and open source cloud computing platform—OpenStack. Through this comprehensive course, you'll learn OpenStack Cloud computing from scratch to finish and more!"

Unleash the power of Swift and discover the skills required to build incredible robust iOS applications About This Book Write expressive, understandable, and maintainable Swift 2 code with this hands-on course Unveil the complex underpinnings of Swift to turn your app ideas into reality Specialize in developing real iOS apps, and 2D and 3D video games using Swift and Cocoapods Dive deep into protocol extensions, learn new error handling model and use featured Swift design patterns to write more efficient code Who This Book Is For This course would be for app developers who are new to developing for iOS or OSX and are trying to get grips with Swift for the first time. What You Will Learn From a solid understanding of the Swift 2 language Get to know the practical aspects of how a computer program actually works Understand the paradigms used by Apple’s frameworks, so you are not intimidated by them Create a server in Swift to deliver JSON data to an iOS app Take advantage of Cocoapods to use third-party libraries Build games with SpriteKit and SceneKit Develop an app running on the cloud to act as an API server for your client’s apps Dive into the core components of Swift 2 including operators, collections, control flow, and functions Create and use classes, structures, and enums including object-oriented topics such as inheritance, protocols, and extensions Develop a practical understanding of sub*s, optionals, and closures Master Objective-C interoperability with mix and match Access network resources using Swift Implement various standard design patterns in the Swift language In Detail The Swift––Developing iOS Applications course will take you on a journey to become an efficient iOS and OS X developer, with the latest trending topic in town. Right from the basics to the advanced level topics, this course would cover everything in detail. We’ll embark our journey by dividing the learning path into four modules. Each of these modules are a mini course in their own right; and as you complete each one, you’ll gain key skills and be ready for the material in the next module. The first module is like a step-by-step guide to programming in Swift 2. Each topic is separated into compressible sections that are full of practical examples and easy-to-understand explanations. Each section builds on the previous topics, so you can develop a proficient and comprehensive understanding of app development in Swift 2. By the end of this module, you’ll have a basic understanding of Swift 2 and its functionalities. The second module will be the an easy-to-follow guide filled with tutorials to show you how to build real-world apps. The difficulty and complexity level increases chapter by chapter. Each chapter is dedicated to build a new app, beginning from a basic and unstyled app through to a full 3D game. The last two chapters show you how to build a complete client-server e-commerce app right from scratch. You’ll be able to build well-designed apps, effectively use AutoLayout, develop videogames, and build server apps. The third and the last module of our course will take an example-based approach where each concept covered is supported by example code to not only give you a good understanding of the concept, but also to demonstrate how to properly implement it. Style and approach This course includes all the resources that will help you jump into the app development .This course covers all the important aspects Swift application development and is divided into individual modules so that you develop your skill after the completion of a module and get ready for the next. Through this comprehensive course, you'll learn how to use Swift programming with hands-on examples from scratch to finish!

Adevrata putere, scrie tnrul erudit Balot, se afl n puterea fr glorie, n puterea ascuns, n fecunditatea tinuit. Nimic manifest, smna este ngropat adnc. n somnul seminei e puterea fr glorie. nsi pasivitatea ei e rodnic. Seceriul, gloria trzie a seminei dincolo de orizontul ei. Smna e puternic n timpul agoniei sale subterane”. Aceste note – ce pot fi considerate un manifest indirect – sunt scrise n ianuarie 1955 […] E captivant incursiunea efectuat n ’91-’98 n sumbrul an ’54-’55; ochiul lucid al eruditului Balot l privete” pe junele de atunci, l judec, l trateaz cu iubire, cu nelegere, cu ranchiun de crturar. Se obine astfel un efect al stranietii; e ca i cum ai nainta printr-un labirint al timpului, labirint ce are n loc de ziduri – oglinzi. n timp ce vezi diferite chipuri reale n oglind, asiti la descrierea lor luxuriant, memorabil, iar numai peste cteva clipe ai ansa s vezi aceleai chipuri vii, descrise de acelai spirit... ce a acumulat o experien – de la primul jurnal, de la primul segment de timp – de patruzeci de ani aproape. Cuceritoare, asprimea unui guru ntoars mpotriva sa, asprime ce denot faptul c rzboiul subteran, nceput acum cteva decenii, e n toi; Maestrul i este fidel siei, se nfrupt imperial din mizeria oricrei autodepiri (Nietzsche). Atingnd o dat un ideal – kantian vorbind, un lucru individual, determinabil sau chiar determinat numai prin idee” –, Nicolae Balot, l depete exemplar, inventnd idealuri ce dau largi fiori de sfnt mister. (Lucian Blaga)” (Aura Christi) Caietul albastru – un fragment memorabil din istoria mentalitilor autohtone – apare pentru prima dat n Colecia Ediii definitive.

Unul dintre cei mai de seam romancieri americani contemporani.“ – (Graham Greene) Teribil de amuzant... La fel de bun precum cele mai bune romane ale sale, Leagnul pisicii, Abatorul cinci...“ – (John Irving) Un adevrat triumf. Probabil cel mai bun dintre romanele sale.“ – (Joseph Heller) Romanul cel mai actual, cel mai realist din cte a scris Vonnegut. Un mare scriitor satiric i un moralist pus pe otii.“ – (The New York Times) Vonnegut este George Orwell, doctorul Caligari i Flash Gordon, amestecai laolalt ntr-un singur scriitor – un savant dement, caraghios, dar de o nalt inut etic.“ – (Time)

Reducerea efectelor adverse ale chimioterapiei i radioterapiei Creterea beneficiilor tratamentelor ntrirea sistemului imunitar Meninerea energiei i a vitalitii STIMULAI-V CAPACITATEA NATURAL DE A LUPTA MPOTRIVA CANCERULUI Dumneavoastr sau cineva apropiat ai fost diagnosticat cu cancer. Dei oncologul v va prescrie un tratament care poate include chimioterapie i radioterapie, trebuie s nelegei c aceste arme puternice au adesea consecine nedorite, chiar periculoase, pentru care, aa cum arat cele mai recente cercetri, avei nevoie de un puternic fundament nutriional ca s le facei fa. O alimentaie corect, cu proporii echilibrate de hran sntoas, vitamine i minerale i suplimente nutriionale, v va oferi, alturi de chimioterapie i radioterapie, o arm extraordinar de puternic n lupta mpotriva bolii. Autorul, medic american respectat i asistent universitar de neurochirurgie, v arat ct de uor v putei fortifica organismul n aceast perioad critic. Vei afla, printre altele: Care dintre alimentele pe care le consumai zilnic au proprieti redutabile de lupt mpotriva cancerului i cum s le pregtii cel mai bine. Ce suplimente v pot spori – sau scdea – ansele de nsntoire. Cum pot crete anumite grsimi i uleiuri capacitatea natural de aprare a organismului. Despre aciunea extraordinar a flavonoidelor, care sporesc eficacitatea chimioterapiei, adugnd un strat protector celulelor sntoase. Cum s facei fa problemelor specifice cu care se confrunt pacienii suferinzi de cancer – oboseala, cderea prului, scderea n greutate, afeciunile digestive i alte efecte secundare.

A Curious Discovery is one of the most complete and honest accounts of entrepreneurship and the building of a giant corporation ever written. Media visionary John Hendricks takes the reader on his unforgettable journey from founding Discovery Communications over a breakfast table to establishing the organization as the world's largest provider of television content. Hendricks tells this remarkable story from the triumphs to the failures with unflinching candor. In the process, he shares what he's learned over the past three decades, from the obstacles and successes of the early years to the very real and very different challenges that exist today. The result is not only a powerful autobiography and corporate history, but also a valuable primer for all budding entrepreneurs.A Curious Discovery goes behind the scenes, telling the fascinating stories of some of the network's most popular shows: Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, The Crocodile Hunter, Planet Earth, Dirty Jobs, and Trading Spaces. It also draws lessons from the network's setbacks, including the unsuccessful collaboration with the New York Times, and explains the company's high-profile decisions, such as Discovery's partnership with Oprah Winfrey and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.Hendricks reveals that his achievements would not have been possible without one crucial factor that has informed his life since childhood: curiosity. Ever eager to learn, to uncover even to take enormous risks his questioning mind has guided his development and success, and continues to shape his outlook today as he works to improve education around the world.

A global-innovation expert offers a new perspective on how consumers think and how to develop products and services that affect their everyday lives.Who are your next customers not just the ones you are serving today but the ones you'll need three, five, or ten years from nowHow do you figure out what goods and services will attract them in the future before your competitors do?According to Jan Chipchase whom Fast Company has called the James Bond of design research and Fortune has called the Indiana Jones of technology for the developing world most of the clues are right in front of us. The key is learning to see the ordinary in a revolutionary new way. As the executive creative director of Global Insights at frog, an award-winning global design and innovation company, Chipchase draws on everyday objects and patterns to show us how to see the world differently, from making a phone call to filling up a gas tank to ascertaining whether it's actually half-and-half you're pouring into your coffee. Chipchase is always looking for opportunities gaps, anomalies, and contradictions that will give his clients, some of the world's largest and most successful companies, a distinct competitive advantage, whether they're delivering the most low-tech bar of soap or the most high-tech wireless network.In Hidden in Plain Sight, Chipchase takes readers on his journeys around the globe and shares his methods for identifying the unmet needs of customers. No matter where he stops whether Cleveland or Kabul his goals are the same: to spot and decode the routines of daily life and to help readers use the very same tools that he and his team use to see, and capitalize upon, what is hidden in plain sight today to create businesses tomorrow.

This fascinating guide to the history and mythology of woman-related symbols features: Unique organization by shape of symbol or type of sacred object 21 different sections including Round and Oval Motifs, Sacred Objects, Secular-Sacred Objects, Rituals, Deities' Signs, Supernaturals, Body Parts, Nature, Birds, Plants, Minerals, Stones and Shells, and more Introductory essays for each section 753 entries and 636 illustrations Alphabetical index for easy reference Three-Rayed Sun The sun suspended in heaven by three powers, perhaps the Triple Goddess who gave birth to it (see Three-Way Motifs).Corn Dolly An embodiment of the harvest to be set in the center of the harvest dance, or fed to the cattle to `make them thrive year round' (see Secular-Sacred Objects).Tongue In Asia, the extended tongue was a sign of life-force as the tongue between the lips imitated the sacred lingam-yoni: male within female genital. Sticking out the tongue is still a polite sign of greeting in northern India and Tibet (see Body Parts).Cosmic Egg In ancient times the primeval universe-or the Great Mother-took the form of an egg. It carried all numbers and letters within an ellipse, to show that everything is contained within one form at the beginning (see Round and Oval Motifs).

Why do some projects deliver under budget and ahead of schedule, while others cost more and take longer than expectedMore important, which products work better: the quick and thrifty or the slow and expensive?In a story-filled blend of quirky pop culture and practical engineering insight, Dan Ward's F.I.R.E. answers those questions and more. Ward's extensive research and firsthand experience show how the world's top technologists consistently deliver best-in-class results on shoestring budgets and cannonball schedules, and using skeleton crews.This remarkable book will make you laugh, make you think, and equip you to leverage the power of constraints. Discover the secrets of F.I.R.E. and learn how to:Build strategies for speed that enhance accountability and ensure your products are well aligned with the market's needs.Design your organizations, products, and processes with thrift in mind, solving problems with intellectual capital, not financial capital.Unleash the power of small budgets and small teams, using short schedules, short meetings, and short documents.Streamline your designs and cut through unnecessary, unproductive layers of bureaucracy.But this is not just a book about how to win. With unflinching candor, Ward shows how the F.I.R.E. method, even when followed wisely and well, can result in a flop. Taking a deep look at several negative outcomes, he shows how to make failures optimal rather than epic.F.I.R.E. provides strategic concepts for leaders, decision-making principles for managers, and practical tools for people working on anything from spacecraft and fighter jets to websites and children's toys. Technology professionals and curious amateurs alike will come away with a deeper understanding of effective product design. Plus, there's a funny story about a dishwasher that just may change the way you buy major appliances.

Here for the first time the famous food of Louisiana is presented in a cookbook written by a great creative chef who is himself world-famous. The extraordinary Cajun and Creole cooking of South Louisiana has roots going back over two hundred years, and today it is the one really vital, growing regional cuisine in America. No one is more responsible than Paul Prudhomme for preserving and expanding the Louisiana tradition, which he inherited from his own Cajun background.Chef Prudhomme's incredibly good food has brought people from all over America and the world to his restaurant, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. To set down his recipes for home cooks, however, he did not work in the restaurant. In a small test kitchen, equipped with a home-size stove and utensils normal for a home kitchen, he retested every recipe two and three times to get exactly the results he wanted. Logical though this is, it was an unprecedented way for a chef to write a cookbook. But Paul Prudhomme started cooking in his mother's kitchen when he was a youngster. To him, the difference between home and restaurant procedures is obvious and had to be taken into account.So here, in explicit detail, are recipes for the great traditional dishes—gumbos and jambalayas, Shrimp Creole, Turtle Soup, Cajun "Popcorn," Crawfish Etouffee, Pecan Pie, and dozens more—each refined by the skill and genius of Chef Prudhomme so that they are at once authentic and modern in their methods.Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen is also full of surprises, for he is unique in the way he has enlarged the repertoire of Cajun and Creole food, creating new dishes and variations within the old traditions. Seafood Stuffed Zucchini with Seafood Cream Sauce, Panted Chicken and Fettucini, Veal and Oyster Crepes, Artichoke Prudhomme—these and many others are newly conceived recipes, but they could have been created only by a Louisiana cook. The most famous of Paul Prudhomme's original recipes is Blackened Redfish, a daringly simple dish of fiery Cajun flavor that is often singled out by food writers as an example of the best of new American regional cooking.For Louisianians and for cooks everywhere in the country, this is the most exciting cookbook to be published in many years.Some text and images that appeared in the print edition of this book are unavailable in the electronic edition due to rights reasons.

A photographic journey through the landscape immortalized in bestselling author Tony Hillerman' s beloved mystery series featuring the legendary Navajo police officers Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee Step into the world of Tony Hillerman's Chee and Leaphorn novels with this stunning collection of original photography of the landscape integral to his writing. Alongside these breathtaking photos are brief synopses of Hillerman's novels, de*ive text from his works, his own comments about the land, and information about the sites pictured. Compiled with remembrances by his eldest daughter, Anne Hillerman, and original photos by Don Strel, here is a timely showcase of a hauntingly beautiful region that captured one man's imagination for a lifetime.In Tony Hillerman's Landscape, Anne Hillerman pays loving tribute to her father and his work. For seasoned Hillerman fans, and those discovering his work for the first time, this book offers an intimate and unique look at this beloved author and his world.

People say I was brave to write such a revealing book, but I wrote it because I needed to personally reflect on my own life. I know everyone will see themselves somewhere in this book, and where my story might take them is why I'm sharing it.Well known for his onstage persona, the Starchild, Paul Stanley has written a memoir with a gripping blend of personal revelations and gritty war stories about the highs and lows both inside and outside of KISS. Born with a condition called microtia (an ear deformity rendering him deaf on the right side), Stanley's traumatic childhood experiences produced an inner drive to succeed in the most unlikely of places: music. Taking readers through the series of events that led to the founding of KISS, the personal relationships that helped shape his life, and the turbulent dynamics among his bandmates over the past forty years, this book leaves no one unscathed including Stanley himself.With never-before-seen photos and images throughout, Face the Music is a colorful portrait of a man and the band he helped create, define, and sustain made larger than life in artfully told stories that are shocking, funny, inspirational, and honest.

Peter Robinson, the acclaimed author of the bestselling series Stephen King calls “the best now on the market,” returns with a gripping, emotionally charged mystery in which the revered detective Alan Banks must find the truth about a murder with possible racial overtones—and save a friend from ruin. In Eastvale, a young Middle Eastern boy is found dead, his body stuffed into a wheelie bin on the East Side Estate. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team know they must tread carefully to solve this sensitive case, but tensions rise when they learn that the victim was stabbed somewhere else and dumped. Who is the boy, and where did he come from?Then, in a decayed area of Eastvale scheduled for redevelopment, a heroin addict is found dead. Was this just another tragic overdose, or something darker?To prevent tensions from reaching a boiling point, Banks must find answers quickly. Yet just when he needs to be at his sharpest, the seasoned detective finds himself distracted by a close friend’s increasingly precarious situation. Banks needs a break—and gets one when he finds a connection to a real estate developer who could be the key to finding the truth. With so many loose ends dangling, there is one thing Banks is sure of—solving the case will come at a terrible cost.

As famous during his lifetime as after his death, Rembrandt (1606-1669) was one of the greatest masters of the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. His portraits not only transport us back to that fascinating time, but also represent, above all, a human adventure; beneath every dab of paint the spirit of the model seems to stir. Yet these portraits are only the tip of the Rembrandt iceberg, which consists of over 300 canvasses, 350 engravings, and 2,000 drawings. Throughout his oeuvre, the influence of Flemish Realism is as powerful as that of Caravaggio. He applied this skilful fusion of styles to all his works, conferring biblical subjects and everyday themes alike with an unparalleled and intimate emotional power.?mile Michel remains a reference in Flemish painting. A result of years of research, Rembrandt: Painter, Engraver and Draftsman is one of his major works.

There is no other artist who represents the Dutch Golden Age like Rembrandt. With his realistic oil paintings, detailed engravings, and exquisite drawings he is the figurehead of an entire generation. As famous during his lifetime as after his death, Rembrandt (1606-1669) was one of the greatest masters of the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. His portraits not only transport us back to that fascinating time, but also represent, above all, a human adventure; beneath every dab of paint the spirit of the model seems to stir. Yet these portraits are only the tip of the Rembrandt iceberg, which consists of over 300 canvasses, 350 engravings, and 2,000 drawings. Throughout his oeuvre, the influence of Flemish Realism is as powerful as that of the Caravaggists. He applied this skillful fusion of styles to all his works, conferring biblical subjects and everyday themes alike with an unparalleled and intimate emotional power.

Raphael (1483-1520), the Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, was a genius in and ahead of his time. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he formed the classical trinity of this era and elaborated a rich style of harmony and geometry. As one of the great masters of the Renaissance and artist to European royalty and the Papal court in Rome, his works comprise various themes of theology and philosophy, including but not limited to famous illustrations of the Madonna. His surroundings and experience gave rise to his propensity to combine the ideals of humanism with those of religion, and firmly established in him a conviction that art is a necessary medium to reveal the beauty of nature.

For many people, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was undoubtedly the most important artist of the 20th century. Born in Málaga, Spain, Picasso revealed his genius at a very early age and was quick to make contact with the most advanced art circles of his time, first in Barcelona and later in Paris. In the modernist quest for novelty, Picasso turned to pre-modern history and ?primitive? art for inspiration. We owe him and his colleague Georges Braque the invention of Cubism, not just one of many avant-garde movements but the aesthetic that would change the art of painting forever. Once free from traditional values, Picasso produced an outstanding oeuvre, both in terms of variety and quality.