Three of the greatest plays in American literature collected in one volume This important new omnibus edition features an illuminating foreword by playwright John Guare and an extensive afterword for each play drawing on unpublished letters and other unique documentary material prepared by Tappan Wilder.Our Town Wilder's timeless 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning look at love, death, and destiny is celebrated around the world and performed at least once each day in the United States.The Skin of our Teeth Wilder's 1942 romp about human follies and human endurance starring the Antrobus family of Excelsior, New Jersey. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1943.The Matchmaker Wilder's brilliant 1954 farce about money and love starring that irrepressible busybody Dolly Gallagher Levi. This play inspired the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!.

Your Guide to Managing the Real Dollars and the Real Emotions of Your Relationship Too often with money, couples face two choices: fight and risk making the situation worse, or keep quiet and risk making the situation worse. Financially Ever After offers a third option: family financial fluency the insight, knowledge, and vocabulary every couple needs to communicate effectively about money. Jeff D. Opdyke, previously The Wall Street Journal's syndicated "Love Money" columnist, covers any and all financial issues that couples face, including budgeting, deciding on whether to have joint or individual accounts, dividing up family financial chores, confronting debt, making major purchases, as well as handling mortgages, employment, children, and even engagement rings. He offers dozens of real-life scenarios between couples, with *s and suggestions for how to broach delicate money-related subjects with your significant other, whether he or she has a shaky credit history or is feeling left out of family financial decision-making.The book also provides helpful tools to organize your financial life, such as a budgeting chart, a "scorecard" to track spending, and an "affordability calculator" to help you figure out how much buying a house will cost you.A must-read for any couple starting out, Financially Ever After lays the groundwork for building a healthy and thriving financial life together.

An unstoppable collection of the most hardcore figures who ever strapped on chain mail and ran screaming into battle Throughout history from the bone-crushing age of antiquity to the sack-tearing modern era there have been larger-than-life ass-kickers with a natural talent for unleashing their epic bloodlust on anyone who crossed them. They built empires, smashed armies, and ravaged civilizations for wealth, glory, and ultimate supremacy. Sometimes villains, sometimes heroes, sometimes criminally insane, they had one thing in common: They were all . . . Badass!Chandragupta MauryaAn Indian warlord who commanded an army of drunken war elephants and employed an elite detachment of highly trained female bodyguardsPeter FranciscoAn unsung hero of the American Revolution, this powerful giant battled the British with a massive five-foot-long broadswordWolf the QuarrelsomeA mysterious barbarian leader who only appears in history twice and both times he's kicking someone's assBhanbhagta Gurung A fearless Gurkha who won the Victoria Cross by clearing out six Japanese foxholes with nothing more than grenades, a bayonet, and a knifeFrom Alexander the Great to George S. Patton, from Genghis Khan to Bruce Lee, this pantheon of ass-kicking awesomeness should inspire you to quit your stupid job and dive headfirst into a new career as a professional badass.

Billboard hits come and go, but once in a blue moon a song comes along that captures people's hearts and stands the test of time. Country / Pop sensation LeAnn Rimes' "What I Cannot Change" released to radio in August 2008 and immediately topped the charts. The song's simple message of peace and acceptance speaks to people from all walks of life: I will learn to let go what I cannot change I will learn to forgive what I cannot change I will learn to love what I cannot change But I will change, I will change Whatever I, whenever I can The book WHAT I CANNOT CHANGE is an elegant counterpart to the song that will include an introduction by Rimes, lyrics, interior photographs, stories from people who have experienced their own journeys of change, and an accompanying CD. With a charming 6 x 6 format, this special book will make a wonderful gift-not only for Rimes' enormous and devoted fan base, but also for casual admirers of this deeply inspiring song.

In this important book from the newly elected president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy sets forth his personal vision of France's role in world affairs and his plans for modernizing the country and equipping it for the twenty-first century. With unusual candor, President Sarkozy describes the difficulties France has faced in recent years high unemployment, social tensions, inadequate education, a government that has not been responsive or responsible when confronting economic and social problems. In international relations, he calls for a new approach to the way France positions itself in the world. He is a great admirer of the United States, an unorthodox position for a French leader, and his vision for Europe is ambitious and far-reaching. His iconoclastic views on Israel and the Arab world, Africa, globalization, immigration, and the environment promise a sharp break with the past. The ideas of France's new president are probably more daring, coherent, and compelling than those of any French leader in decades. Furthermore, he remains optimistic about France, insisting that the country is eager to embrace profound change. Bold, pragmatic, a risk-taker, President Sarkozy sets forth an exciting new direction for France as it enters the world of the twenty-first century.

Everyone who has ever been disappointed in Love knows how hard it is to find the "right" person. All too often we fall for people who seem too good to be true...and then discover they are. True romance is a gamble. But now there's a way to greatly reduce the odds. In LoveTypes, relationship expert Dr. Alexander Avila declares a dating revolution with his groundbreaking LoveType system -- the scientifically proven and effective method for instantly recognizing your true soul mate when you meet him or her. Based on the theory behind the most popular personality test today -- the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator -- and years of extensive research, the remarkable LoveType system is exactly what you need to cut through the dating maze. By first taking a brief quiz, you determine your unique LoveType profile. From there, the system guides you toward the LoveType best for you and provides specific answers to your most pressing relationship questions: ?Which of the 16 LoveTypes is most compatible with me psychologically, emotionally and sexuallyWhat four questions can I ask to determine instantly if someone is right for meWhere can I meet my ideal mateHow can I break the ice naturally and smoothly, even if I'm shyWhat dating strategies will win the heart of my ideal LoveType ?and ensure a Long-term relationshipLasting love no longer has to be hit or miss with LoveTypes, your complete and indispensable guide to a happy and fulfilling romantic life.

In this new collection, Oxford theologian George Pattison translates and selects Sren Kierkegaard's previously neglected writings on spirituality works that greatly deepen our understanding of the influential thinker. In philosophy and literature, Kierkegaard ("By far the most profound thinker of the nineteenth century" Ludwig Wittgenstein) is generally perceived as epitomizing existential angst. However, there is much moreto Kierkegaard than the popular image of the melancholy Dane or the iconoclastic critic of established Christendom. Alongside the pseudonymous books for which he is largely known, Kierkegaard also wrote many devotional works, which he called "upbuilding" or "edifying" discourses. Taken as a whole, these writings offer something very different from the popular view they embody a spirituality grounded in a firm sense of human life as a divine gift.

One of the First Books to Demonstrate the Power of Positive Thoughts Fresh with contemporary relevance, this classic of positive thinking from one of the world's greatest motivational writers offers stirring insights on self-transformation. Based on Emmet Fox's simple message that thoughts are things and all potential rests in their creative and constructive use, these thirty-one inspiring essays show how to have it all health, success, happiness, and a liberated spirit through the power of constructive thought. First published in 1940, Power Through Constructive Thinking has been a never-failing source of strength and renewal for generations of readers.

"This shit would be really interesting if we weren't in the middle of it." Barack Obama, September 2008In 2008, the presidential election became blockbuster entertainment. Everyone was watching as the race for the White House unfolded like something from the realm of fiction. The meteoric rise and historic triumph of Barack Obama. The shocking fall of the House of Clinton and the improbable resurrection of Hillary as Obama's partner and America's face to the world. The mercurial performance of John McCain and the mesmerizing emergence of Sarah Palin. But despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of this spellbinding drama, remarkably little of the real story behind the headlines has yet been told. In Game Change, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, two of the country's leading political reporters, use their unrivaled access to pull back the curtain on the Obama, Clinton, McCain, and Palin campaigns. How did Obama convince himself that, despite the thinness of his resume, he could somehow beat the odds to become the nation's first African American presidentHow did the tumultuous relationship between the Clintons shape and warp Hillary's supposedly unstoppable bidWhat was behind her husband's furious outbursts and devastating political miscalculationsWhy did McCain make the novice governor of Alaska his running mateAnd was Palin merely painfully out of her depth or troubled in more serious ways?Game Change answers those questions and more, laying bare the secret history of the 2008 campaign. Heilemann and Halperin take us inside the Obama machine, where staffers referred to the candidate as "Black Jesus." They unearth the quiet conspiracy in the U.S. Senate to prod Obama into the race, driven in part by the fears of senior Democrats that Bill Clinton's personal life might cripple Hillary's presidential prospects. They expose the twisted tale of John Edwards's affair with Rielle Hunter, the truth behind the downfall of Rudy Giuliani, and the doubts of those responsible for vetting Palin about her readiness for the Republican ticket along with the McCain campaign staff's worries about her fitness for office. And they reveal how, in an emotional late-night phone call, Obama succeeded in wooing Clinton, despite her staunch resistance, to become his secretary of state.Based on hundreds of interviews with the people who lived the story, Game Change is a reportorial tour de force that reads like a fast-paced novel. Character driven and dialogue rich, replete with extravagantly detailed scenes, this is the occasionally shocking, often hilarious, ultimately definitive account of the campaign of a lifetime.

Twelve years ago, Richard Yancey answered a blind ad in the newspaper offering a salary higher than what he’d made over the three previous years combined. It turned out that the job was for the Internal Revenue Service -- the most hated and feared organization in the federal government.So Yancey became the man who got in his car, drove to your house, knocked on your door, and made you pay. Never mind that his car was littered with candy wrappers, his palms were sweaty, and he couldn't remember where he stashed his own tax records. He was there on the authority of the United States government.With "a rich mix of humor, horror, and angst [and] better than most novels on the bestseller lists" (Boston Sunday Globe), Confessions of a Tax Collector contains an astonishing cast of too-strange-for-fiction characters. But the most intriguing character of all is Yancey himself who -- in detailing how the job changed him and how he managed to pull himself back from the brink of moral, ethical, and spiritual bankruptcy -- reveals what really lies beneath those dark suits and mirrored sunglasses.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Saint Augustine -- the celebrated theologian who served as Bishop of Hippo from 396 C.E. until his death in 430 C.E. -- is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the Western world. His autobiography, Confessions, remains among the most important religious writings in the Christian tradition. In this eye-opening and eminently readable biography, renowned historical scholar James J. O Donnell picks up where Augustine himself left off to offer a fascinating, in-depth portrait of an unparalleled politician, writer, and churchman in a time of uncertainty and religious turmoil.Augustine is a triumphant chronicle of an extraordinary life that is certain to surprise and enlighten even those who believed they knew the complex and remarkable man of God.

A memoir of being young and female in the clinton White HouseStacy Parker Aab was born in Detroit in 1974, the only daughter of a white Kansas farm girl and a young black Detroiter fresh from two tours of Vietnam. An excellent student, Aab gravitated toward public service and moved to Washington, D.C., for college in the hopeful days of 1992. Not only would Aab study political communication at The George Washington University, but she would also intern at the White House. For three years, she worked for George Stephanopoulos. In 1997 she became White House staff, serving as Paul Begala's special assistant. At first, life was charmed, with nurturing mentors, superstar politicos, and handsome Secret Service agents. In January 1998, the world of the Clinton White House changed radically. Monica Lewinsky became a household name, and Aab learned quickly that in Washington, protectors can become predators, investigators will chase you like prey, and if you make mistakes with a powerful man, the world will turn your name into mud.Government Girl is a window into the culture of the Clinton White House, as seen through the eyes of an idealistic young female aide. Stacy Parker Aab's intimate memoir tells of her coming-of-age in the lion's den. Her story provides a searing look at the dynamics between smart young women and the influential older men who often hold the keys to their dreams.

Doris Lessing's love affair with cats began at a young age, when she became intrigued with the semiferal creatures on the African farm where she grew up. Her fascination with the handsome, domesticated creatures that have shared her flats and her life in London remained undiminished, and grew into real love with the awkwardly lovable El Magnifico, the last cat to share her home.On Cats is a celebrated classic, a memoir in which we meet the cats that have slunk and bullied and charmed their way into Doris Lessing's life. She tells their stories their exploits, rivalries, terrors, affections, ancient gestures, and learned behaviors with vivid simplicity. And she tells the story of herself in relation to cats: the way animals affect her and she them, and the communication that grows possible between them a language of gesture and mood and desire as eloquent as the spoken word. No other writer conveys so truthfully the real interdependence of humans and cats or convinces us with such stunning recognition of the reasons why cats really matter.

Inventive, (mostly) edible DIY gadgets and projects guaranteed to captivate The Hungry Scientist Handbook brings DIY technology into the kitchen and onto the plate. It compiles the most mouthwatering projects created by mechanical engineer Patrick Buckley and his band of intrepid techie friends, whose collaboration on contraptions started at a memorable 2005 Bay Area dinner party and resulted in the formation of the Hungry Scientist Society a loose confederation of creative minds dedicated to the pursuit of projects possessing varying degrees of whimsy and utility.Featuring twenty projects ranging from edible origami to glowing lollipops, cryogenic martinis to Tupperware boom boxes, the book draws from the expertise of programmers, professors, and garden-variety geeks and offers something to delight DIYers of all skill levels.

Crossing the boundaries of philosophy, theology, psychology, and literature, the Danish writer Soren Kierkegaard is regarded as one of the most significant and influential figures in contemporary thought. In Kierkegaard's view, faith is the most essential task of life. Faith is not a matter of dogmatic adherence, but rather of subjective passion. In Purity of Heart, Kierkegaard discusses different aspects of living, particularly the responsibility of single-minded spiritual seeking and ethical integrity, offering clues to the nature of the good while insisting that each reader must work this out for themselves.

The shocking, never-before-told story of the bizarre world inside the legendary Playboy Mansion - and finally the secret truth about the man who holds the key - from one of the few people who truly knows: Hef's former number-one girlfriend and star of The Girls Next Door. A spontaneous decision at age 21 transformed small-town Oregon girl Holly Sue Cullen into Holly Madison, Hugh Hefner's number-one girlfriend. But like Alice's journey into Wonderland, after Holly plunged down the rabbit hole, what seemed like a fairy tale life inside the Playboy Mansion - including A-list celebrity parties and her own number-one-rated television show for four years - quickly devolved into an oppressive routine of strict rules, manipulation, and battles with ambitious, backstabbing bunnies. Life inside the notorious mansion wasn't a dream at all - and quickly became her nightmare. After losing her identity, her sense of self-worth, and her hope for the future, Holly found herself sitting alone in a bathtub, contemplating suicide. But instead of ending her life, Holly chose to take charge of it. In this shockingly candid and surprisingly moving memoir, this thoughtful and introspective woman opens up about life inside the mansion, the drugs, the sex, the abuse, the infamous parties, and her real behind-the-scenes life with Bridget, Kendra, and, of course, Mr. Playboy himself. With great courage Holly shares the details of her subsequent troubled relationship, landing her own successful television series, and the hard work of healing, including her turn on Dancing with the Stars. A cautionary tale and a celebration of personal empowerment, Down the Rabbit Hole reminds us of the importance of fighting for our dreams - and finding the life we deserve.

Sure, you know all about the birds and bees. But did Dad ever tell you that it wasn't a stork that put that shiny can opener in your kitchen drawerOr paperclips started out as proud, Nazi-fighting warriorsAnd did he tell you how cruise control was originally conceived by a blind geniusFrom mullets to Silly Putty, lie detectors to karaoke, we've got the true stories behind everything you didn't think had stories. Because if you're looking for answers, In the Beginning is the place to start.

Rick Pitino is a basketball icon: the only coach in college history to lead three different schools to the Final Four, the winner of the 1996 NCAA championship, the owner of a sparkling career record, a bestselling author, and a lock for the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Yet Pitino's journey has not been without life-altering adversity: He's experienced profound personal and professional losses. In 2001, after three losing seasons as coach and president of the Boston Celtics, Pitino resigned, walking away from the $23 million left in his contract. And while recovering from the only breakdown in his extraordinary basketball career, Pitino who had previously suffered the devastating loss of his infant son, Daniel endured additional tragedies: His brother-in-law and best friend Billy Minardi, a trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, perished in the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11, less than a year after another brother-in-law had been fatally struck by a taxi. Pitino writes, "From that point on, my life changed forever. Nothing will ever be the same."This realization gave Pitino a new perspective. With it, the innovative leader felt the freedom to act even more dynamically than he ever had in the past. Returning to college basketball, he has rebuilt and revitalized the storied program at Louisville, guiding the Cardinals to a history-making Final Four appearance in 2005 that stamped him the only coach in history to take three schools that far. And in 2008, he rallied an injury-plagued Louisville team from a disappointing start and led it to the Elite Eight, setting the stage for greater success to come.The failures and tragedies he recounts make this book unique. More than just a recitation of what works and why, it's about how to succeed after you've failed; how to pick yourself up after being knocked down; and how to reframe yourself and see the world in a new light. This is a comeback story, a manual for overcoming life's difficulties. Pitino has experienced success as an author with his tremendously popular books Success Is a Choice and Lead to Succeed, but in Rebound Rules: The Art of Success 2.0, he's crafted a book that's more deeply personal, more inspiring, more practical, and more powerful than any he's written before.

A rare glimpse into the private lives of your favorite athletes and what gives these champion sportsmen and women a deeper satisfaction than any trophy or championship ring. It's no surprise that the stories in Wish Granted are profoundly inspiring. What is unexpected is how the life lessons have unfolded for the athletes with each wish granted. These athletes set about to make a difference for a child . . . but found, instead, that the child changed them.In Wish Granted, you'll become the confidant to twenty-five elite athletes as they share their most heartfelt thoughts. At the center of these stories, you'll find the victories, challenges, triumphs, and tears that sum up the experience of wish granting. Packed with compelling, never-before-published photos, Wish Granted focuses on the uplifting power people have to offer hope and joy to others both athlete to child, and child to athlete.Wish Granted celebrates the strength and courage of the human spirit in the face of adversity and a celebration you can be a part of. Every book sold will help grant life-changing wishes.

Everything you thought you knew about saving, managing risk, and securing your financial future has changed. The world is very different in the wake of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Retirement accounts have been eviscerated, risk appetites diminished, and questions raised about age-old personal finance strategies such as "buy and hold" and the efficacy of relying heavily on stock mutual funds.In The Wall Street Journal Guide to the New Rules of Personal Finance, Dave Kansas offers guidelines for understanding the new regulations for finance firms, the rising importance of international investing, and the very different environment that now exists for home buyers. With valuable chapters on debt reduction, diversification, retirement planning, real estate, commodities, and other vital topics, this essential volume is designed to help the individual determine which tenets of an investing strategy remain sound and which deserve re-examination. It is the ultimate guide to profitably investing your money in a world that has fundamentally changed.

The definitive account of Wall Street's stunning collapse From critically acclaimed investigative journalist and CNBC personality Charles Gasparino comes a sweeping examination of the most recent volatile, anxiety-ridden era in our nation's socioeconomic history. The Sellout traces the implosion of the financial services business back to its roots in the late 1970s when Wall Street embraced a new business model predicated on taking enormous risks. It shows how a backwater business involving the trading of risky bonds packed with mortgages showered countless billions in profits on the financial industry but sowed the seeds of its ultimate demise. Gasparino walks readers through Wall Street's three-decades' love affair with risk, revealing a trail of culpability from the government bureaucrats who crafted housing policies that encouraged homeownership, to the Wall Street firms that underwrote and invested in risky debt, to the mortgage sellers who handed out loans to people without the financial wherewithal to pay them back, to the homeowners who became convinced they could afford mansions on blue-collar wages. The ongoing tumult in financial markets and the global economy began when some of our most esteemed financial institutions, our government, and even average citizens abdicated their collective responsibilities, eventually selling out investors and selling off the American Dream itself. In the spirit of classics such as Barbarians at the Gate and Liar's Poker, this page-turning narrative captures how avarice, arrogance, and sheer stupidity eroded Wall Street's dominance and profoundly weakened the financial security of millions of middle-class Americans. Eye-opening and engrossing, The Sellout provides the most thorough investigation to date of this latest gilded era.