Create fast, scalable, and high performance applications with C#, ASP.NET Core 1.0, and MVC 6 About This Book Learn the importance of measuring, profiling, and locating the most impactful problems Discover the common areas you might encounter performance problems and areas you don’t need to worry about Understand the differences between development workstations and production infrastructure and how these can amplify problems Design workflows that run asynchronously and are resilient to transient performance issues Who This Book Is For This book is for ASP.NET and C# developers who have experience with the MVC framework for web application development and are looking to deploy applications that will perform well in live production environments. These could be virtual machines or hosted by a cloud service provider such as AWS or Azure. What You Will Learn Why performance matters and when it should be considered Use different tools to measure performance Spot common performance issues, their root causes, and how to easily mitigate them Improve performance at the network level and I/O level, and how to optimize the application as a whole Work with caching and message queuing tools, including patterns and strategies Discover the dark side of performance improvement and find out how to manage complexity Monitor performance as part of continuous integration and regression testing Assess and solve performance issues with other advanced technologies In Detail ASP.NET Core is the new, open source, and cross-platform, web-application framework from Microsoft. It's a stripped down version of ASP.NET that's lightweight and fast. This book will show you how to make your web apps deliver high performance when using it. We'll address many performance improvement techniques from both a general web standpoint and from a C#, ASP.NET Core, and .NET Core perspective. This includes delving into the latest frameworks and demonstrating software design patterns that improve performance. We will highlight common performance pitfalls, which can often occur unnoticed on developer workstations, along with strategies to detect and resolve these issues early. By understanding and addressing challenges upfront, you can avoid nasty surprises when it comes to deployment time. We will introduce performance improvements along with the trade-offs that they entail. We will strike a balance between premature optimization and inefficient code by taking a scientific- and evidence-based approach. We'll remain pragmatic by focusing on the big problems. By reading this book, you'll learn what problems can occur when web applications are deployed at scale and know how to avoid or mitigate these issues. You'll gain experience of how to write high-performance applications without having to learn about issues the hard way. You'll see what's new in ASP.NET Core, why it's been rebuilt from the ground up, and what this means for performance. You will understand how you can now develop on and deploy to Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux using cross-platform tools, such as Visual Studio Code. Style and approach Starting with a drill down into the nuts and bolts of various performance parameters, you will get an understanding of the ASP.NET MVC 6 framework with the help of rich code-based examples that will equip you to build highly scalable and optimized applications.

Build scalable microservices with Spring, Docker, and Mesos About This Book Learn how to efficiently build and implement microservices in Spring, and how to use Docker and Mesos to push the boundaries of what you thought possible Examine a number of real-world use cases and hands-on code examples. Distribute your microservices in a completely new way Who This Book Is For If you are a Spring developers and want to build cloud-ready, internet-scale applications to meet modern business demands, then this book is for you Developers will understand how to build simple Restful services and organically grow them to truly enterprise grade microservices ecosystems. What You Will Learn Get to know the microservices development lifecycle process See how to implement microservices governance Familiarize yourself with the microservices architecture and its benefits Use Spring Boot to develop microservices Find out how to avoid common pitfalls when developing microservices Be introduced to end-to-end microservices written in Spring Framework and Spring Boot In Detail The Spring Framework is an application framework and inversion of the control container for the Java platform. The framework's core features can be used by any Java application, but there are extensions to build web applications on top of the Java EE platform. This book will help you implement the microservice architecture in Spring Framework, Spring Boot, and Spring Cloud. Written to the latest specifications of Spring, you'll be able to build modern, Internet-scale Java applications in no time. We would start off with the guidelines to implement responsive microservices at scale. We will then deep dive into Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Docker, Mesos, and Marathon. Next you will understand how Spring Boot is used to deploy autonomous services, server-less by removing the need to have a heavy-weight application server. Later you will learn how to go further by deploying your microservices to Docker and manage it with Mesos. By the end of the book, you'll will gain more clarity on how to implement microservices using Spring Framework and use them in Internet-scale deployments through real-world examples. Style and approach The book follows a step by step approach on how to develop microservices using Spring Framework, Spring Boot, and a set of Spring Cloud components that will help you scale your applications.

Get to grips with 3D printing and learn to model designs using Blender About This Book From the author who brought you the first practical look at 3D printing with 3D Printing Blueprints Get a comprehensive coverage of the prototyping techniques you need to know to start printing your own 3D designs Rekindle your mathematical genius to design personalized objects for complex puzzles Who This Book Is For If you’re new to the world of 3D printing, this is the book for you. Some basic knowledge of Blender and geometry would be helpful, but is not necessary. What You Will Learn Get to know about the different types of 3D printers and their limitations See how Y, H, and T shapes illustrate different ideas of successful 3D design for home 3D printers Set up and configure Blender to model a file for 3D printing Understand material characteristics, printing specifications, tolerances, and design tips Work through the techniques of editing complex meshes, smoothing, combining shapes, and exporting them into STL files for printing Break down complex geometries into multiple simple shapes and model them in layers using Blender Design, manipulate, and export 3D models for 3D printing with Blender Master the art of creating meshes, scaling, subdivision, and adding detail with the Boolean modifier as well as sculpting a custom shape Cut a model into small pieces and understand how to design complex interlocking joints that form a part of a jigsaw puzzle In Detail 3D printing has revolutionized the way that global industries conceptualize and design products for mass consumption. Considered as the next “trillion-dollar” business, every industry is in the race to equip its personnel with techniques to prototype and simplify complex manufacturing process. This book will take you through some simple to complex and effective principles of designing 3D printed objects using Blender. There is a comprehensive coverage of projects such as a 3D print-ready octopus pencil holder, which will teach you how to add basic geometric shapes, and use techniques such as extruding and subdividing to transform these shapes into complex meshes. Furthermore, you’ll learn to use various techniques to derive measurements for an object, model these objects using Blender, organize the parts into layers, and later combine them to create the desired object with the help of a 3D printable SD card holder ring design project. The final project will help you master the techniques of designing simple to complex puzzles models for 3D printing. Through the course of the book, we'll explore various robust sculpting methods supported by Blender to create objects. You’ll move, rotate, and scale the object, and manipulate the view. You’ll edit objects with actions such as bends or curves, similar to drawing or building up a clay structure of different shapes and sizes. By the end of the book, you will have gained thorough practical hands-on experience to be able to create a real-world 3D printable object of your choice. Style and approach This is a hands-on guide to the world of 3D printing. With the help of simple to complex projects, you'll learn various techniques to design 3D printable objects using Blender.

Over 75 practical recipes to confidently design an efficient virtual datacenter with VMware vSphere 6.x About This Book Get the first book on the market that helps you design a virtualized data center with VMware vSphere 6 Achieve enhanced compute, storage, network, and management capabilities for your virtual data center Exciting and practical recipes help you to design a virtual data easily by leveraging the features of VMware vSphere 6 Who This Book Is For If you are an administrator or consultant interested in designing virtualized datacenter environments using VMware vSphere 6.x or previous versions of vSphere and the supporting components, this book is for you. It will help both new and experienced architects deliver professional VMware vSphere virtual datacenter designs. What You Will Learn Identify key factors related to a vSphere design and apply them to every step of the design process Mitigate security risks and meet compliance requirements in a vSphere design. Create a vSphere conceptual design by identifying technical and business requirements Determine the type of database to use based on the deployment size. Design for performance, availability, recoverability, manageability, and security Map the logical resource design into the physical vSphere design Create professional vSphere design documentation to ensure a successful implementation of the vSphere design Leverage the latest vSphere 6.x features to ensure manageability, performance, availability, and security in a virtual datacenter design In Detail VMware is the industry leader in data center virtualization. The vSphere 6.x suite of products provides a robust and resilient platform to virtualize server and application workloads. With the release of 6.x a whole range of new features has come along such as ESXi Security enhancements, fault tolerance, high availability enhancements, and virtual volumes, thus simplifying the secure management of resources, the availability of applications, and performance enhancements of workloads deployed in the virtualized datacenter. This book provides recipes to create a virtual datacenter design using the features of vSphere 6.x by guiding you through the process of identifying the design factors and applying them to the logical and physical design process. You’ll follow steps that walk you through the design process from beginning to end, right from the discovery process to creating the conceptual design; calculating the resource requirements of the logical storage, compute, and network design; mapping the logical requirements to a physical design; security design; and finally creating the design documentation. The recipes in this book provide guidance on making design decisions to ensure the successful creation, and ultimately the successful implementation, of a VMware vSphere 6.x virtual data center design. Style and Approach The book follows a recipe-based approach that consists of practical recipes to effectively design a virtual data center.

Master the art of building analytical models using R About This Book Load, wrangle, and analyze your data using the world's most powerful statistical programming language Build and customize publication-quality visualizations of powerful and stunning R graphs Develop key skills and techniques with R to create and customize data mining algorithms Use R to optimize your trading strategy and build up your own risk management system Discover how to build machine learning algorithms, prepare data, and dig deep into data prediction techniques with R Who This Book Is For This course is for data scientist or quantitative analyst who are looking at learning R and take advantage of its powerful analytical design framework. It’s a seamless journey in becoming a full-stack R developer. What You Will Learn Describe and visualize the behavior of data and relationships between data Gain a thorough understanding of statistical reasoning and sampling Handle missing data gracefully using multiple imputation Create diverse types of bar charts using the default R functions Familiarize yourself with algorithms written in R for spatial data mining, text mining, and so on Understand relationships between market factors and their impact on your portfolio Harness the power of R to build machine learning algorithms with real-world data science applications Learn specialized machine learning techniques for text mining, big data, and more In Detail The R learning path created for you has five connected modules, which are a mini-course in their own right. As you complete each one, you'll have gained key skills and be ready for the material in the next module! This course begins by looking at the Data Analysis with R module. This will help you navigate the R environment. You'll gain a thorough understanding of statistical reasoning and sampling. Finally, you'll be able to put best practices into effect to make your job easier and facilitate reproducibility. The second place to explore is R Graphs, which will help you leverage powerful default R graphics and utilize advanced graphics systems such as lattice and ggplot2, the grammar of graphics. You'll learn how to produce, customize, and publish advanced visualizations using this popular and powerful framework. With the third module, Learning Data Mining with R, you will learn how to manipulate data with R using code snippets and be introduced to mining frequent patterns, association, and correlations while working with R programs. The Mastering R for Quantitative Finance module pragmatically introduces both the quantitative finance concepts and their modeling in R, enabling you to build a tailor-made trading system on your own. By the end of the module, you will be well-versed with various financial techniques using R and will be able to place good bets while making financial decisions. Finally, we'll look at the Machine Learning with R module. With this module, you'll discover all the analytical tools you need to gain insights from complex data and learn how to choose the correct algorithm for your specific needs. You'll also learn to apply machine learning methods to deal with common tasks, including classification, prediction, forecasting, and so on. Style and approach Learn data analysis, data visualization techniques, data mining, and machine learning all using R and also learn to build models in quantitative finance using this powerful language.

Advance your skills in efficient data analysis and data processing using the powerful tools of Scala, Spark, and Hadoop About This Book This is a primer on functional-programming-style techniques to help you efficiently process and analyze all of your data Get acquainted with the best and newest tools available such as Scala, Spark, Parquet and MLlib for machine learning Learn the best practices to incorporate new Big Data machine learning in your data-driven enterprise to gain future scalability and maintainability Who This Book Is For Mastering Scala Machine Learning is intended for enthusiasts who want to plunge into the new pool of emerging techniques for machine learning. Some familiarity with standard statistical techniques is required. What You Will Learn Sharpen your functional programming skills in Scala using REPL Apply standard and advanced machine learning techniques using Scala Get acquainted with Big Data technologies and grasp why we need a functional approach to Big Data Discover new data structures, algorithms, approaches, and habits that will allow you to work effectively with large amounts of data Understand the principles of supervised and unsupervised learning in machine learning Work with unstructured data and serialize it using Kryo, Protobuf, Avro, and AvroParquet Construct reliable and robust data pipelines and manage data in a data-driven enterprise Implement scalable model monitoring and alerts with Scala In Detail Since the advent of object-oriented programming, new technologies related to Big Data are constantly popping up on the market. One such technology is Scala, which is considered to be a successor to Java in the area of Big Data by many, like Java was to C/C++ in the area of distributed programing. This book aims to take your knowledge to next level and help you impart that knowledge to build advanced applications such as social media mining, intelligent news portals, and more. After a quick refresher on functional programming concepts using REPL, you will see some practical examples of setting up the development environment and tinkering with data. We will then explore working with Spark and MLlib using k-means and decision trees. Most of the data that we produce today is unstructured and raw, and you will learn to tackle this type of data with advanced topics such as regression, classification, integration, and working with graph algorithms. Finally, you will discover at how to use Scala to perform complex concept analysis, to monitor model performance, and to build a model repository. By the end of this book, you will have gained expertise in performing Scala machine learning and will be able to build complex machine learning projects using Scala. Style and approach This hands-on guide dives straight into implementing Scala for machine learning without delving much into mathematical proofs or validations. There are ample code examples and tricks that will help you sail through using the standard techniques and libraries. This book provides practical examples from the field on how to correctly tackle data analysis problems, particularly for modern Big Data datasets.

A finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for NonfictionFor two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, Oahu's paradisical North Shore turns into a fiery hell. Its normal population of sixteen thousand more than triples and this explosion of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans creates one of the most combustible milieus on earth. Waves, like gold and oil, are a limited resource and, as such, are fiercely fought over by the visiting hordes, the surf industry, other Hawaiian islanders, and North Shore residents. The otherwise sleepy North Shore becomes a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.It takes uniquely fearless men to paddle into thirty-foot waves breaking over a razor-sharp reef hidden beneath three feet of water. Death and maiming are regular occurrences during North Shore winters. Yet when the sun dips, the fearless become truly scared. You see, the ocean has rules. The men who haunt the land do not. And so they whisper about helter-skelter violence dished out by larger-than-life Hawaiians. They whisper about being choked, slapped, and bloodied for breaking unspoken codes of conduct. About the protection money extracted from the surf brands that want to hold their contests on the North Shore. About drug running, fights, and maybe even murders. And then they return to multimillion-dollar beachfront homes and drown their anxiety with cocaine and booze. But they know they are not safe. Because no one is ever safe here.The surf world is far more volatile and complex than outsiders know or popular depictions would have us believe, and the North Shore during winter is its most extreme representation. It is downright dangerous but also exhilarating, and this story paints a true picture of what it feels like to be in the middle of it all. It is both a breathtaking and wildly funny tale of beauty, wickedness, and the unyielding allure of ocean waves in all their glory.

Discover a Life Filled with Passion, Meaning, and Purpose New York Times bestselling author Debbie Ford leads us into the heart of the duality that unknowingly operates within each one of us. Providing the tools to end self-sabotage, Ford ultimately knocks down the fade of the false self and shows us how to heal the split between light and dark and live the authentic life within our reach.

How Does She Do ItWe all know-and envy-women who appear to live "charmed" lives. They seem to unhurriedly and effortlessly manage the whirlwind of their busy lives with grace and poise. Good things happen to them, and their lives are filled with serendipity, joy, and prosperity. But it's not a matter of luck, according to Victoria Moran; a charmed life isn't something that happens to you-it's something you create! In Creating a Charmed Life, Victoria Moran unveils practical, spiritual secrets for expanding your capacity to love, know, and experience a fuller, richer life. Her insight, humor, and unassailable wisdom shine through each page to illuminate the magic in all our lives.Relish the calmCreate miraclesNurture your dreamsSavor simplicityInvite adventureNourish your spirit

From the inspirational leader and author of the international bestsellers Your Sacred Self and the classic Your Erroneous Zones comes this mind-awakening guidebook for making your desires reality. Based on ancient principles and spiritual practices, Manifest Your Destiny introduces the Nine Spiritual Principles that will help you overcome the barriers--both within and around you--that prevent you from getting what you want, including: Developing spiritual awareness Trusting yourself Reconnecting to your environment Attracting your desires Accepting your own worthiness Practicing unconditional love Meditating to unlock the power within you Letting go of demands Filled with warmth and insight, this invaluable book will help you achieve your goals--and take you to a level higher than you've ever dreamed.

In Eye of My Heart, twenty-seven smart, gutsy writers explode myths and stereotypes and tell the whole crazy, complicated truth about being a grandmother in today's world. Among the contributors: Anne Roiphe learns the hard way to keep her mouth shut and her opinions to herself.Elizabeth Berg marvels at witnessing her child give birth to her child.Beverly Donofrio makes amends for her shortcomings as a teenage mother.Judith Viorst exposes the high-stakes competition for Most Fabulous Grandchild.Jill Nelson grapples with mother-daughter tensions triggered by the birth of her grandson.Judith Guest confesses her failed attempt to emulate her own saintly grandmother.Bharati Mukherjee transcends her strict Hindu upbringing to embrace her adopted Chinese grand-daughters.Lynn Lauber finds joy in grandmotherhood that she missed out on as a mother.Sallie Tisdale pays a high price financially and emotionally for her fast-growing brood of grandkids.Ellen Gilchrist reveals how grandparenthood has eased her fear of death.Molly Giles is spurned by her toddler granddaughter during a trip to Paris.Susan Shreve finally accepts that she's the grandmother, not the mother.Roxana Robinson realizes, with relief, that she doesn't have to worry so much anymore.Abigail Thomas plots her escape when she can't bear to bake one more cake.Letty Cottin Pogrebin longs to leave a lasting impression on her grandchildren.Mary Pipher explores the primal role of grandmothers in a fast-changing world.In this groundbreaking collection, you will encounter the real stories that usually go untold. Free of platitudes and clichs, the essays in Eye of My Heart are linked by a common thread: a love for grandchildren that knows no bounds, despite inescapable obstacles and limitations.

Double take A rapid or surprised second look, either literal or figurative, at a person or situation whose significance has not been completely grasped at first.Kevin Michael Connolly is a twenty-three-year-old man who has seen the world in a way most of us never will. Whether swarmed by Japanese tourists at Epcot Center as a child or holding court at the X Games on his mono-ski, Kevin Connolly has been an object of curiosity since the day he was born without legs. Growing up in rural Montana, he was raised like any other kid (except, that is, for his fathers MacGyver-like contraptions such as the butt boot). As a college student, Kevin traveled to seventeen countries on his skateboard, including Bosnia, China, Ukraine, and Japan. In an attempt to capture the stares of others, he took more than 33,000 photographs of people staring at him. In this dazzling memoir, Connolly casts the lens inward to explore how we view ourselves and what it is to truly see another person. We also get to know his quirky and unflappable parents and his girlfriend. From the home of his family in Helena, Montana, to the streets of Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur, Kevin's remarkable journey will change the way you look at others, and the way you see yourself.

Her mother was a brainy knockout with the sultry beauty of Marilyn Monroe, a raconteur whose fierce wit could shock an audience into hilarity or silence. Her father was a distinguished figure in American letters, the National Book Award–winning author of four of the greatest novels of World War II ever written. A daughter of privilege with a seemingly fairy-tale-like life, Kaylie Jones was raised in the Hamptons via France in the 1960s and '70s, surrounded by the glitterati who orbited her famous father, James Jones. Legendary for their hospitality, her handsome, celebrated parents held court in their home around an antique bar an eighteenth-century wooden pulpit taken from a French village church playing host to writers, actors, movie stars, film directors, socialites, diplomats, an emperor, and even the occasional spy. Kaylie grew up amid such family friends as William Styron, Irwin Shaw, James Baldwin, and Willie Morris, and socialized with the likes of Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, and Kurt Vonnegut.Her beloved father showed young Kaylie the value of humility, hard work, and education, with its power to overcome ignorance, intolerance, and narrow-mindedness, and instilled in her a love of books and knowledge. From her mother, Gloria, she learned perfect posture, the twist, the fear of abandonment, and soul-shattering cruelty. Two constants defined Kaylie's childhood: literature and alcohol. "Only one word was whispered in the house, as if it were the worst insult you could call someone," she writes, "alcoholic was a word my parents reserved for the most appalling and shameful cases drunks who made public scenes or tried to kill themselves or ended up in the street or in an institution. If you could hold your liquor and go to work, you were definitely not an alcoholic." When her father died from heart failure complicated by years of drinking, sixteen-year-old Kaylie was broken and lost. For solace she turned to his work, looking beyond the man she worshipped to discover the artist and his craft, determined that she too would write. Her loss also left her powerless to withstand her mother's withering barbs and shattering criticism, or halt Gloria's further descent into a bottle one of the few things mother and daughter shared. From adolescence, Kaylie too used drink as a refuge, a way to anesthetize her sadness, anger, and terror. For years after her father's death, she denied the blackouts, the hangovers, the lost days, the rage, the depression. Broken and bereft, she began reading her father's novels and those writers who came before and after him and also pursued her own writing. With this, she found the courage to open the door on the truth of her own addiction.Lies My Mother Never Told Me is the mesmerizing and luminously told story of Kaylie's battle with alcoholism and her struggle to flourish despite the looming shadow of a famous father and an emotionally abusive and damaged mother. Deeply intimate, brutally honest, yet limned by humor and grace, it is a beautifully written tale of personal evolution, family secrets, second chances, and one determined woman's journey to find her own voice and the courage to embrace a life filled with possibility, strength, and love.

150 of the World's Funniest and Most Delightful Christmas CardsKaren Robert has spent the last several years tracking down the wonderful and wacky Christmas cards represented in this book the best out of tens of thousands she has reviewed. Featuring everything from young couples in love, classic kids-'n'-dogs, and quirky workplace situations to every incarnation of Santa fat, thin, young, old, canine these cards will surprise you with their irrepressible creativity. Some are heartwarming, some are hilarious, some are simply strange but every single one was actually sent out as a Christmas card. So whether you're one of the millions of people who love all things Christmas, looking for inspiration for your own holiday card, or just a desperate Scrooge on the hunt for the perfect stocking stuffer, pick up Merry Christmas from . . . for a holiday pick-me-up.

Uniquely fusing practical advice on writing with his own insights into the craft, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes constructs beautiful prose about the issues would-be writers are most afraid to articulate: How do I dare writeWhere do I beginWhat do I do with this story I have to tell that fills and breaks my heartRich with personal vignettes about Rhode's sources of inspiration, How to Write is also a memoir of one of the most original and celebrated writers of our day.

"Save me! My child is acting like a brat!"What parent hasn't thought her child was a brat at one point or anotherWhether your child really is a brat, is at risk of becoming one, or is simply trying to grow up in a world filled with temptations and distractions, you'll love this book! It's the ultimate hands-on guide to cultivating character traits that are tried-and-true "bratbusters." Full of no-nonsense, practical "Tips and Scripts," You're Not the Boss of Me offers just the help you need to deal with many of the more challenging behaviors typical of four- to twelve-year-olds. With Betsy Brown Braun's humorous, supportive, and authoritative voice as a guide, navigating some of the most exasperating aspects of these formative years with confidence and laying the groundwork for your child's future just got a whole lot easier! It's All Here What to Say and Do to Help Your Child: Get Over the Gimmes Tell the Truth Be Self-Reliant Develop Empathy Show Gratitude Be Respectful Take Responsibility Be Independent Exercise Humor and Not Be Spoiled!

The world stopped in 1970 when Paul McCartney announced that he was through with the Beatles. His statement not only marked the end of the band's remarkable career, but also seemed to signal the demise of an era of unprecedented optimism in social history. Though the Beatles' breakup was widely viewed as a cultural tragedy, one of the most fascinating phases of their story was just about to begin.Now, for the first time, You Never Give Me Your Money tells the behind-the-scenes story of the personal rivalries and legal feuds that have dominated the Beatles' lives since 1969. Journalist Peter Doggett charts the Shakespearean battles between Lennon and McCartney, the conflict in George Harrison's life between spirituality and fame, and the struggle with alcoholism that threatened to take Richard Starkey's life. In vivid detail, Doggett also describes the wild mismanagement of the Beatles' fortune staked largely in Apple Corps. You Never Give Me Your Money is a compelling human drama and an equally rich and absorbing story of the Beatles' creative and financial empire, set up to safeguard their interests but destined to control their lives. From tragedy to triumphant reunion, and chart success to courtroom battles, this meticulously researched work tells the previously untold story of a group and a legacy that will never be forgotten.

A sweeping historical epic and a radical new interpretation of Vasco da Gama’s groundbreaking voyages, seen as a turning point in the struggle between Christianity and Islam In 1498 a young captain sailed from Portugal, circumnavigated Africa, crossed the Indian Ocean, and discovered the sea route to the Indies and, with it, access to the fabled wealth of the East. It was the longest voyage known to history. The little ships were pushed beyond their limits, and their crews were racked by storms and devastated by disease. However, their greatest enemy was neither nature nor even the sheer dread of venturing into unknown worlds that existed on maps populated by coiled, toothy sea monsters. With bloodred Crusader crosses emblazoned on their sails, the explorers arrived in the heart of the Muslim East at a time when the old hostilities between Christianity and Islam had risen to a new level of intensity. In two voyages that spanned six years, Vasco da Gama would fight a running sea battle that would ultimately change the fate of three continents. An epic tale of spies, intrigue, and treachery; of bravado, brinkmanship, and confused and often comical collisions between cultures encountering one another for the first time; Holy War also offers a surprising new interpretation of the broad sweep of history. Identifying Vasco da Gama’s arrival in the East as a turning point in the centuries-old struggle between Islam and Christianity—one that continues to shape our world—Holy War reveals the unexpected truth that both Vasco da Gama and his archrival, Christopher Columbus, set sail with the clear purpose of launching a Crusade whose objective was to reach the Indies; seize control of its markets in spices, silks, and precious gems from Muslim traders; and claim for Portugal or Spain, respectively, all the territories they discovered. Vasco da Gama triumphed in his mission and drew a dividing line between the Muslim and Christian eras of history—what we in the West call the medieval and the modern ages. Now that the world is once again tipping back East, Holy War offers a key to understanding age-old religious and cultural rivalries resurgent today.

very great player knows that success in poker is part luck, part math, and part subterfuge. While the math of poker has been refined over the past 20 years, the ability to read other players and keep your own "tells" in check has mostly been learned by trial and error.But now, Joe Navarro, a former FBI counterintelligence officer specializing in nonverbal communication and behavior analysis or, to put it simply, a man who can tell when someone's lying offers foolproof techniques, illustrated with amazing examples from poker pro Phil Hellmuth, that will help you decode and interpret your opponents' body language and other silent tip-offs while concealing your own. You'll become a human lie detector, ready to call every bluff and the most feared player in the room.

In the follow-up to her beloved, bestselling The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit, Lagnado tells the story of her mother, Edith, coming of age in a magical old Cairo of dusty alleyways and grand villas. Then Lagnado revisits her own years in America as a schoolgirl in Brooklyn's immigrant enclaves, where she dreams of becoming the fearless Mrs. Emma Peel of The Avengers, coming of age in the turbulence of New York City's 1970s, and, later, as an "avenging" reporter for some of America's most prestigious newspapers. Not only a searing account of strangers in a strange land, The Arrogant Years is a lasting "meditation on exile and assimilation, feminism and the enduring ties of family." (San Francisco Chronicle)

The rivalry between the brilliant seventeenth-century Italian architects Gianlorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini is the stuff of legend. Enormously talented and ambitious artists, they met as contemporaries in the building yards of St. Peter's in Rome, became the greatest architects of their era by designing some of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and ended their lives as bitter enemies. Engrossing and impeccably researched, full of dramatic tension and breathtaking insight, The Genius in the Design is the remarkable tale of how two extraordinary visionaries schemed and maneuvered to get the better of each other and, in the process, created the spectacular Roman cityscape of today.