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The Assistants
The Assistants
Williams, Robin Lynn
¥83.93
In this wicked, laugh-out-loud debut novel, five miserable souls struggle to make their mark on Hollywood, the city of the soulless. Rachel Burt, starry-eyed and clueless, has left behind tiny Sugarland, Texas, and her position as Starbucks employee of the month, to pursue her dreams of becoming a screenwriter. The madness begins when she eagerly accepts a position as assistant to Victoria Rush, an aging television diva with "a little pill-popping problem that two tours of duty at Betty Ford couldn't remedy." Rachel learns the ropes from Michaela Marsh, a never-say-die, plastic-surgery perfect "midget Tai-Bo Barbie." Michaela has spent years (and years and years: she is -- gasp -- over thirty!) trying to break into Hollywood, which has given her a healthy respect for the casting couch; but even sleeping with her slimy agent hasn't landed her a meaty role, and the last pilot she almost got, some ten years ago, went to that little nobody, Lisa Kudrow. Jeb, who operates on pure rage, has been fired from more assistant jobs than he cares to count, and he currently teeters on the edge of insanity under Randall Blume, one of the sleaziest agents in Hollywood. Kecia Christy, a no-nonsense Pisces pining for love and addicted to Krispy Kremes, works for Travis Trask, the hottest teen heartthrob since "that other white boy, Leo." More interested in smoking prizewinning pot with his bonehead buddies than in his next movie, Travis is always looking for the next good party -- until his ex-con brother shows up at the front door. Griffin's intelligence and ambition fail to shield him from endless humiliation at the hands of Johnny Treadway, a crass A-list manager with pec and cheek implants and a perpetual tan, courtesy of the Tropical Rays tanning bed he keeps in his office. Johnny takes all the credit while Griffin does all the real work, and Griffin has begun to suspect that selling his soul might not be worth that overdue promotion after all. Once a week, Rachel, Michaela, Jeb, Griffin, and Kecia meet at a dark, unhip watering hole to commiserate. Soon enough, however, the system spits them out, and they must learn to survive through sheer determination, hard-won industry savvy, and luck. At turns hilarious, poignant, and sinfully gossipy, The Assistants will keep you glued to your seat until the final page is turned.
Half Life
Half Life
Jackson, Shelley
¥83.93
Nora and Blanche are conjoined twins. Nora is strong, funny, and deeply independent, thirsting for love and adventure. Blanche, by contrast, has been asleep for twenty years. Sick of carrying her sister's dead weight, Nora wants her other half gone for good—a desire that takes her from San Francisco to London in search of the Unity Foundation, a mysterious organization that promises to make two one. But once in England, Nora's past begins to surface in surprising and disturbing ways, pushing her to the brink of insanity and forcing her to question her own—and Blanche's—grip on the truth.
The Good Neighbor
The Good Neighbor
Kowalski, William
¥83.93
When Francie and Colt Hart drive past an abandoned 150-year-old farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, they both fall head-over-heels in love with it -- but for entirely different reasons. Colt, an ambitious, hard-charging stock trader, sees it as a potential showcase for his wealth. Francie, long dependent on antidepressants, hopes it will inspire her to resume the literary life she abandoned when she married Colt ten years before; perhaps, she thinks, it will save their faltering marriage. But the more they learn about the house, and especially the tragic history of its previous occupants (whose descendants are their new neighbors), the more it threatens to drive them apart.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Lunch Lessons
Lunch Lessons
Cooper, Ann
¥83.93
Remember how simple school lunches used to beYou'd have something from every major food group, run around the playground for a while, and you looked and felt fine. But today it's not so simple. Schools are actually feeding the American crisis of childhood obesity and malnutrition. Most cafeterias serve a veritable buffet of processed, fried, and sugary foods, and although many schools have attempted to improve, they are still not measuring up: 78 percent of the school lunch programs in America do not meet the USDA's nutritional guidelines. Chef Ann Cooper has emerged as one of the nation's most influential and most respected advocates for changing how our kids eat. In fact, she is something of a renegade lunch lady, minus the hairnet and scooper of mashed potatoes. Ann has worked to transform cafeterias into culinary classrooms. In Lunch Lessons, she and Lisa Holmes spell out how parents and school employees can help instill healthy habits in children. They explain the basics of good childhood nutrition and suggest dozens of tasty, home-tested recipes for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The pages are also packed with recommendations on how to eliminate potential hazards from the home, bring gardening and composting into daily life, and how to support businesses that provide local, organic food. Yet learning about nutrition and changing the way you run your home will not cure the plague of obesity and poor health for this generation of children. Only parental activism can spark widespread change. With inspirational examples and analysis, Lunch Lessons is more than just a recipe book—it gives readers the tools to transform the way children everywhere interact with food.
Ilario: The Lion's Eye
Ilario: The Lion's Eye
Gentle, Mary
¥83.93
Abandoned and alone, the fosterling Ilario grows up as the King's Freak, surrounded by all the pomp, intrigue, and danger of the Iberian court. Fleeing a failed treacherous attack, Ilario crosses the sea to Carthage, where the mysterious Penitence shrouds the sky in darkness. There, a strange and awful destiny awaits the would-be painter, one that spans continents and kingdoms. Filled with intrigue, sex, and mystery, Ilario: The Lion's Eye is a stunning tale of secret histories and self-discovery. The adventure continues in Book Two: The Stone Golem.
Kids & Sports
Kids & Sports
Small, Eric
¥83.93
Readable, practical, a much-needed resource—from a pediatric sports medicine specialist—the only book that focuses on all aspects of sports, exercise, nutrition, and physical activity for kids of all ages and abilities, from infancy through adolescence.One of the few pediatricians specializing in sports medicine, Dr. Small reminds us that children are not miniature adults; they are physiologically and psychologically different. Parents and coaches need to know what sports are suitable for which age, how to prevent and treat injuries, how to plan sports programs for children with chronic conditions such as asthma or diabetes, and the importance of good nutrition and exercise.Written, organized, and designed for easy reading and reference with Q&As, charts, instructional drawings, and a detailed index, Dr. Small's book addresses kids' needs from infancy through teenage, plus devotes one section to Sports for Every Kid: covering The Young Female Athlete, The Elite Athlete, The Unnatural Athlete, The Overweight Child, The Hyperactive Child, and the Child with a Chronic Disease.
Got What It Takes?
Got What It Takes?
Boggs, Bill
¥83.93
Beyond talent, what factors have determined and defined the careers of well-known individualsTrainingRisk-takingLuckEmmy Award-winning interviewer Bill Boggs shares success secrets he uncovered in candid conversations with 44 leaders in entertainment and the arts, sports, fashion, the business world, and more, including: Mark Burnett, Craig Newmark (Craigslist.com), Matt Lauer, Anna Quindlen, Rene Zellweger, Sir Richard Branson, Bobby Flay, Brooke Shields, Diane von Furstenberg, Norman Lear, Donald Trump, and Joe Torre, among others. They reveal crucial influences, how they deal with adversity and stress, and the choices they made that helped them to prevail in their careers and in their lives. This is an inside view of what makes the most successful people tick and a lessons-in-life career guide from accomplished stars at the top of their game.
Using Terri
Using Terri
Eisenberg, Jon
¥83.93
The Terri Schiavo case was a key battle in a larger political struggle over abortion, stem-cell research, physician-assisted suicide, gay rights, and the appointment of federal judges. The religious Right chose to make it a national spectacle because they thought they could win. They were wrong. But there are many more battles to come. Jon Eisenberg, who served as one of the lead attorneys on Michael Schiavo's side, exposes the religious Right's strategies and follows the money trail to reveal how they are organized, who is funding the movement, and where we can expect future legal maneuvers to combat the American traditions of autonomy and freedom.Jon Eisenberg has experienced the family struggle of removing a feeding tube from a loved one and witnessed firsthand the Florida drama that will continue to have national legal and political consequences for years to come. What tactics can we expect to see in courtrooms and state legislatures all across this country in the days aheadWho is behind the funding and what do they hope to accomplish and whenWhat are the religious and bioethical issues that are at the center of these debates and how will they affect future legal battlesUsing Terri gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what happened -- and what's coming.
Word Fugitives
Word Fugitives
Wallraff, Barbara
¥83.93
Despite the many thousands of dictionary words at our disposal, our language can be dismayingly inadequate. How many times have you searched for a word that means just what you want it to but failed to find anything suitable anywhereMost of us, it turns out, lead lives rife with experiences, people, and things that have no names.At least, they lacked names until now. Word Fugitives comes to the rescue, supplying hundreds of inspired words coined or redefined to meet everyday needs. For instance, wouldn't it be handy to have a word for the momentary confusion people experience when they hear a cell phone ringing and wonder whether it's theirs(How about fauxcellarm, phonundrum, or pandephonium?)Or what about a word for offspring who are adults(Try unchildren or offsprung.) Or a word for the irrational fear when you're throwing a party that no one will show up(That might be guestlessness, empty-fest syndrome, or fete-alism.)This mind- and vocabulary-expanding book grew out -- way out -- of Barbara Wallraff's popular column in The Atlantic Monthly. Brimming with irresistible diversions and pop quizzes; illuminated by contributions and commentary from authors, linguists, and leading language authorities; and enlivened by pleas for help from people whose words have yet to be found, Word Fugitives will captivate and inspire anyone who ever struggles to describe the world that he or she, or they, or thon (thonsee page 141) lives in.
Government Pirates
Government Pirates
Corace, Don
¥83.93
After years of hard work and saving, you finally own a home. But don't get too comfortable. If government officials decide they want your property, they can take it for a wide variety of shady reasons that go far beyond the usual definition of "public purposes." The courts have allowed these injustices to persist. And there is nothing you can do about it not yet.Real estate developer and property rights expert Don Corace offers the first in-depth look at eminent domain abuse and other government regulations that are strangling the rights of property owners across America. Government Pirates is filled with shocking stories of corrupt politicians, activist judges, entrenched bureaucrats, greedy developers, NIMBY (Not-in-My-Backyard) activists, and environmental extremists who conspire to seize property and extort money and land in return for permits. Corace provides the hard facts about individual rights and offers invaluable advice for those whose property may be in danger. It is the one book that every property owner in America has to read.
When Chicago Ruled Baseball
When Chicago Ruled Baseball
Weisberger, Bernard A.
¥83.93
In 1906 the baseball world saw something that had never been done. Two teams from the same city squared off against each other in a World Series that pitted the heavily favored Cubs of the National League against the hardscrabble American League champion White Sox. Now, more than a century later, noted historian Bernard A. Weisberger tells the tale of a unique time in baseball, a unique time in America, and a time when Chicago was at the center of it all.When Chicago Ruled Baseball brings to life a dazzling epoch in a land of the self-made man where A. G. Spalding helped establish baseball as both a national pastime and a thriving business, where Mordecai Three-Finger Brown overcame a horribly disfiguring injury and pitched his way into the Hall of Fame . . . and Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance proved that you could use teamwork to stand out as stars. Weisberger brings to life an unforgettable story of how a city that had rebuilt itself from the ashes of the Great Fire thirty-five years earlier became the focal point of an entire baseball-loving country, and one grand sporting contest staked its claim as one of the most remarkable and electrifying World Series ever to be played. Some images that appeared in the print edition of this book are unavailable in the electronic edition due to rights reasons.
To Have and To Hold
To Have and To Hold
Vaughan, Peggy
¥83.93
From the author of The Monogamy Myth, an essential guide written specifically for married couples to strengthen their relationship and prevent affairs.Based on Peggy Vaughan's 30 years of work with married couples and the issue of affairs, this new handbook challenges the assumption that monogamy can be taken for granted, and provides the tools for building a strong marriage and preventing affairs.Explaining the need to focus on preventing affairs before there is any threat to a marriage, she draws on her survey of 755 people regarding their beliefs to present "What Won't Work" and "What Will Work" to prevent affairs.Throughout To Have and to Hold, Vaughan details specific strategies and techniques, emphasizing that: Relying on attitudes and beliefs is not sufficient to maintain a monogamous relationship over a lifetime. Focusing on actions and behaviors is far more significant to strengthen a relationship. Responsible honesty is the single most important factor in preventing affairs. Everybody (society as a whole) plays a role in supporting couples' efforts to maintain monogamy. Parents have a special responsibility to break the pattern for future generations. Four appendices present Vaughan's survey questionnaire along with detailed breakdowns of responses.
The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty
The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty
Olney, Buster
¥83.93
For six extraordinary years around the turn of the millennium, the Yankees were baseball's unstoppable force, with players such as Paul O'Neill, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera. But for the players and the coaches, baseball Yankees-style was also an almost unbearable pressure cooker of anxiety, expectation, and infighting. With owner George Steinbrenner at the controls, the Yankees money machine spun out of control. In this new edition of The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, Buster Olney tracks the Yankees through these exciting and tumultuous seasons, updating his insightful portrait with a new introduction that walks readers through Steinbrenner's departure from power, Joe Torre's departure from the team, the continued failure of the Yankees to succeed in the postseason, and the rise of Hank Steinbrenner. With an insider's familiarity with the game, Olney reveals what may have been an inevitable fall that last night of the Yankee dynasty, and its powerful aftermath.
Amarillo Slim's Play Poker to Win
Amarillo Slim's Play Poker to Win
Preston, Amarillo Slim
¥83.93
In this new and completely revised edition, the first reigning World Series of Poker Champion gets down and dirty about how to win big. It's not just about cards. It's about the people who hold them, so you'll need to be a master of human nature.Who better to teach you than American folk hero and gambling legend Amarillo SlimGet his first-hand secrets on everything from counting cards to judging opponents, the laws of probability, betting, bluffing, when to drop, and when to pick up your chips and head home.
Financial Security in Troubled Times
Financial Security in Troubled Times
Edelman, Ric
¥83.93
In troubled times, it is only natural to worry about our financial security. That's why now is the time to act -- to preserve your financial well-being, and that of your family, and to ensure your peace of mind.Financial expert and best-selling author Ric Edelman has written this guide to help all of us quickly safeguard our economic lives. Edelman's eight-point action plan -- actions that you can take right now -- will help you protect yourself and your family, as well as your money, your income, your job, your home, your possessions, and your business. You'll learn how to manage the powerful emotions that can cloud your financial judgment, and find the guidelines you need to make the right investment decisions now that will secure your investments today and prepare you for the future.And because it is more important than ever that we be generous in our charitable giving, you will learn the best ways to give, so you can lend support to all our neighbors who are in such dire need of our help.Financial Security in Troubled Times will help all of us face the future, knowing that our financial house is in order and that we are ready to meet the challenges ahead.
Dr. Weinberg's Guide to the Best Health Resources on the Web
Dr. Weinberg's Guide to the Best Health Resources on the Web
Weinberg, Harlan R., M.D.
¥83.93
The Internet can be a vast, intimidating place when you're looking for honest, informative medical information. Sure, you can look up thousands of sites on Google at the click of a mouse, but how do you know if the advice on a particular site is good, or, if followed, might actually worsen your conditionNow, Harlan Weinberg, a respected critical care doctor, has taken on the challenge to provide up-to-date, helpful information for patients and their families about the resources available on the Internet, exhaustively researching the Web to provide a directory of the best medical websites. Organized by disease or condition, and covering nearly one hundred afflictions from AIDS/HIV medicine to wound care, he offers an annotated list of sites that are both reliable and easy to understand. With Dr. Weinberg's help, you can navigate the Internet with confidence and get the right advice at the right time.
My Holocaust
My Holocaust
Reich, Tova
¥83.93
Maurice and Norman Messer, father-and-son business partners, know a good product when they see it. That product is the Holocaust, and Maurice, a Holocaust survivor with an inflated personal history, and Norman, enjoying vicarious victimhood as a participant in the second-generation movement, proceed to market it enthusiastically. Not even the disappearance of Nechama, Norman's daughter and Maurice's granddaughter, into the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz, where she is transformed into a nun, Sister Consolatia of the Cross, deters them from pushing their agenda. Father and son embark on a tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, which Maurice—now the driving force behind the most powerful Holocaust memorialization institution in America—organizes to soften up a potential major donor, and which Norman takes advantage of to embark on a surrealistic search for his daughter. At the death camp they run into assorted groups and individuals all clamoring for a piece of the Holocaust, including Buddhist New Agers on a retreat, Israeli schoolchildren on a required heritage pilgrimage, a Holocaust artifact hustler, filmmakers, and an astonishing collection of others. All hell breaks loose when Maurice's museum is taken over by a coalition of self-styled victims seeking Holocaust status, bringing together a vivid cast of all-too-human characters, from Holocaust professionals to Holocaust wannabees of every persuasion, in the fevered competition to win the grand prize of owning the Holocaust.An inspiringly courageous and shockingly original tour-de-force, My Holocaust dares to penetrate territory until now considered sacrosanct in its brilliantly provocative and darkly comic exploration of the uses and abuses of memory and the meaning of human suffering.
The Geese of Beaver Bog
The Geese of Beaver Bog
Heinrich, Bernd
¥83.93
When award-winning writer and biologist Bernd Heinrich became the unwitting -- but doting -- foster parent of an adorable gosling named Peep, he was drawn into her world. And so, with a scientist's training and a nature lover's boundless enthusiasm, he set out to understand the travails and triumphs of the Canada geese living in the beaver bog adjacent to his home. In The Geese of Beaver Bog, Heinrich takes his readers through mud, icy waters, and overgrown sedge hummocks to unravel the mysteries behind heated battles, suspicious nest raids, jealous outbursts, and more. With deft insight and infectious good humor, he sheds light on how geese live and why they behave as they do. Far from staid or predictable, the lives of geese are packed with adventure and full of surprises. Illustrated throughout with Heinrich's trademark sketches and featuring beautiful four-color photographs, The Geese of Beaver Bog is part love story, part science experiment, and wholly delightful.
Ladies Listen Up
Ladies Listen Up
Coleman, Darren
¥83.93
You'll never hear the truth from your man, so . . . Ladies Listen Up Diego Christian's trail of deceit follows him all the way to the altar. After ruining the life of the woman he was to marry, he continues to find himself in one casual relationship after another with other men's wives and girlfriends. Through his sex-a-thon he meets a magazine editor who helps him develop his own column—"Ladies Listen Up"—dishing out relationship advice to women. When his behavior finally begins to cost him, Diego has to decide if he can—or wants to—change. Jacob Marsh, a teacher at Lyndon B. Johnson High School, is Diego's best friend. Jacob has always been cool under pressure and is a master manipulator. When he makes a critical mistake with a student who has a crush on him, he soon learns that covering it up may cost him everything he's worked so hard to keep. Through their drama-filled trysts, Diego, Jacob, and others give women the lowdown on the way men work.
A Father's Law
A Father's Law
Wright, Richard
¥83.93
Never before published, the final work of one of America's greatest writersA Father's Law is the novel Richard Wright, acclaimed author of Black Boy and Native Son, never completed. Written during a six-week period near the end of his life, it appears in print for the first time, an important addition to this American master's body of work, submitted by his daughter and literary executor, Julia, who writes:It comes from his guts and ends at the hero's "breaking point." It explores many themes favored by my father like guilt and innocence, the difficult relationship between the generations, the difficulty of being a black policeman and father, the difficulty of being both those things and suspecting that your own son is the murderer. It intertwines astonishingly modern themes for a novel written in 1960.Prescient, raw, powerful, and fascinating, A Father's Law is the final gift from a literary giant.
Who by Fire
Who by Fire
Spechler, Diana
¥83.93
Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister, Alena—an incident for which Ash blames himself—caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild-child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again; Alena's remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what's left of their family.Sharp and captivating, Who by Fire deftly explores what happens when people try to rescue one another.