For anyone who wants to communicate effectively in business,this is your complete reference guide for any form of written communication. Packed with over 500 sample documents, over 100 tips for better business writing and useful templates you can apply to your writing immediately, Model Business Letters will help you put the key rules of good business writing into action.
Of all Nick's ideas, the frindle is his most successful. It's a pen, or what used to be called a pen. Soon, much of the nation is crazy about frindles--except for Mrs. Granger, Nick's teacher, who, although she doesn't realize it, was the inspiration for the idea.
Take a face carving course with one of the best caricature carvers in America, Harold Enlow. Harold Enlow, one of America's foremost caricature carvers, shares the woodcarving tips and techniques that make his carvings stand out in this information packed book. Inside, you'll follow along as Harold teaches you how to carve faces with life and expression.
This title offers a withering and clear-eyed critique about (but not for) intellectuals that explores their impact on public opinion, policy, and society at large. It has not been by shaping the opinions or directing the actions of the holders of power that modern intellectuals have most influenced the course of events, but by shaping public opinion in ways that affect the actions of power holders in democratic societies, whether or not those power holders accept the general vision or the particular policies favored by intellectuals. In "Intellectuals and Society", Thomas Sowell not only examines the track record of intellectuals in the things they have advocated but also analyzes the incentives and constraints under which their views and visions have emerged. Ultimately, he shows how often intellectuals have been proved not only wrong, but grossly and disastrously wrong in their prescriptions for the ills of society.
A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process The Single-Source, Comprehensive Guide to Scrum for All Team Members, Managers, and Executives If you want to use Scrum to develop innovative products and services that delight your customers, Essential Scrum is the complete, single-source reference you've been searching for. Leading Scrum coach and trainer Kenny Rubin illuminates the values, principles, and practices of Scrum, and describes flexible, proven approaches that can help you implement it far more effectively. Whether you are new to Scrum or years into your use, this book will introduce, clarify, and deepen your Scrum knowledge at the team, product, and portfolio levels. Drawing from Rubin's experience helping hundreds of organizations succeed with Scrum, this book provides easy-to-digest descriptions enhanced by more than two hundred illustrations based on an entirely new visual icon language for describing Scrum's roles, artifacts, and activities. Essential Scrum will provide every team member, manager, and executive with a common understanding of Scrum, a shared vocabulary they can use in applying it, and practical knowledge for deriving maximum value from it.
First published in 1958, John von Neumann's classic work "The Computer and the Brain" explored the analogies between computing machines and the living human brain. Von Neumann showed that the brain operates both digitally and analogically, but also has its own unique statistical language. And more than fifty years after its inception the "von Neumann architecture" - an organizational framework for computer design - still lies at the heart of today's machines. In his foreword to this new edition, Ray Kurzweil, a futurist famous for his own musings on the relationship between technology and consciousness, places von Neumann's work in a historical context and shows how it remains relevant today.
Tissue Salts are a group of 12 minerals that should be present in our bodies to ensure good health and well-being. These salts are found naturally in the earth's rocks and soil, and are present in food grown organically in mineral-rich soils. This title explains how the 12 tissue salts (each presented in its own chapter) can be used to supplement our diet, not only to promote good health but also to treat specific ailments. It details how we can boost our intake of these salts both with tablets or drops, and by eating appropriate fruit and vegetables. The title ends with an 'Ailment chart' for quick referencing. In her easy, down-to-earth manner, Margaret Roberts laces her advice with case studies and personal anecdotes. For anyone interested in boosting or maintaining their health by natural means.
Cedilla continues the story of John Cromer; one of the most memorable and delightful characters in contemporary literature. In Cedilla our physically - challenged hero launches himself into the worlds of international travel, spiritual enlightenment and higher education, tackling friendships and sex and railing against institutional regulations and flights of stairs along the way. "Cedilla" is a wholly original and exhilarating novel by one of our brightest literary talents.
'The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares the way for this, or results from this.' This is the key statement of 'Miracles', in which C. S. Lewis shows that a Christian must not only accept but rejoice in miracles as a testimony of the unique personal involvement of God in his creation. Using his characteristic lucidity and wit to develop his argument, Lewis challenges the rationalists, agnostics and deists on their own grounds and provides a poetic and joyous affirmation that miracles really do occur in our everyday lives.
'Can books conduct electricity?' 'My children are just climbing your bookshelves: that's ok...isn't it?' A John Cleese Twitter question ['What is your pet peeve?'], first sparked the "Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops" blog, which grew over three years into one bookseller's collection of ridiculous conversations on the shop floor. From 'Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?' to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year's weather; and from 'I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter' to 'Excuse me...is this book edible?' This full-length collection illustrated by the Brothers McLeod also includes top 'Weird Things' from bookshops around the world.
Hired gunslinger William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave - until the day he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he'd spend eternity protecting the humans he'd once considered prey. Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised with one belief: Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, William and Abigail must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they've sworn to protect.
In this Very Short Introduction, Kenneth Morgan provides a wide-ranging and thematic introduction to modern Australia; examining the main features of its history, geography, and culture and drawing attention to the distinctive features of Australian life and its indigenous population and culture.
This is the "Penguin English Library Edition" of "Where Angels Fear to Tread" by E. M. Forster. 'I had got an idea that everyone here spent their lives in making little sacrifices for objects they didn't care for, to please people they didn't love; that they never learned to be sincere - and, what's as bad, never learned how to enjoy themselves'. E. M. Forster's first novel is a witty comedy of manners that is tinged with tragedy. It tells the story of Lilia Herriton, who proves to be an embarrassment to her late husband's family as, in the small Tuscan town of Monteriano, she begins a relationship with a much younger Italian man - classless, uncouth and highly unsuitable. A subtle attack on decorous Edwardian values and a humanely sympathetic portrayal of the clash of two cultures, "Where Angels Fear to Tread" is also a profound exploration of character and virtue. "The Penguin English Library" contains 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
This is the "Penguin English Library Edition" of "Evelina" by Frances Burney. 'O Sir, how much uneasiness must I suffer, to counterbalance one short morning of happiness!' In this comic and sharply incisive satire of excess and affectations, beautiful young Evelina falls victim to the rakish advances of Sir Clement Willoughby on her entrance to the world of fashionable London. Colliding with the manners and customs of a society she doesn't understand, she finds herself without hope that she should ever deserve the attention of the man she loves. Frances Burney's first novel brilliantly sends up eighteenth-century society - and its opinions of women - while enticingly depicting its delights. "The Penguin English Library" - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
Muriel Spark's classic "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" features a schoolmistress you'll never forget, in this beautifully repackaged "Penguin Essentials" edition. 'Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life...' Passionate, free-thinking and unconventional, Miss Brodie is a teacher who exerts a powerful influence over her group of 'special girls' at Marcia Blaine School. They are the Brodie set, the creme de la creme, each famous for something - Monica for mathematics, Eunice for swimming, Rose for sex - who are initiated into a world of adult games and extracurricular activities they will never forget. But the price they pay is their undivided loyalty..."The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" is a brilliantly comic novel featuring one of the most unforgettable characters in all literature. "Muriel Spark's novels linger in the mind as brilliant shards". (John Updike). "Spark's most celebrated novel". ("Independent"). "There is no question about the quality and distinctiveness of her writing, with its quirky concern with human nature, and its comedy". (William Boyd). "A brilliant psychological figure". ("Observer"). Muriel Spark was born and educated in Edinburgh.She was active in the field of creative writing since 1950, when she won a short-story writing competition in the "Observer", and her many subsequent novels include "Memento Mori" (1959), "The Ballad of Peckham Rye" (1960), "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1961), "The Girls of Slender Means" (1963) and "Aiding and Abetting" (2000). She also wrote plays, poems, children's books and biographies. She became Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1993, and died in 2006.
On 10 June 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in Tahoe, California. It was the last her family and friends saw of her for over eighteen years. On 26 August 2009, Dugard, her daughters, and Phillip Craig Garrido appeared in the office of her kidnapper's parole officer in California. Their unusual behaviour sparked an investigation that led to the positive identification of Jaycee Lee Dugard, living in a tent behind Garrido's home. During her time in captivity, at the age of fourteen and seventeen, she gave birth to two daughters, both fathered by Garrido. Dugard's memoir covers the period from the time of her abduction in 1991 up until the present. In her stark, compelling narrative, Jaycee opens up about what she experienced, including how she feels now and the struggle to re-build her life after eighteen years in captivity. Garrido and his wife Nancy have since pleaded guilty to their crimes.
Sister to Anne Boleyn and seduced by two kings, Mary Boleyn has long been the subject of scandal and myth. Her affair with Henry VIII fuelled the shocking annulment of his marriage to Anne, and Mary is rumoured to have borne his child in secret. In this, the first full-length biography of Mary Boleyn, Alison Weir explodes much of the mythology that surrounds her subject's notoriety. Her extensive research gives us a new and detailed portrayal, revealing Mary as one of hte most misunderstood figures of the Tudor age. From the internationally bestselling author of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is smart, cynical, loyal - and well aware that she's not the hot one in her group of friends. But when high-school jock and all round moron Wesley Rush tells her she's a DUFF - a Designated, Ugly Fat Friend - Bianca does not the see funny side. She may not be a beauty but she'd never stoop so low as to go anywhere near the likes of Wesley ...Or would she? Bianca is about to find out that attraction defies looks and that sometimes your sworn enemies can become your best friends ...With a wry and tell-it-like-it-is voice, The Duff is a witty and poignant story of a teenager struggling with the rules of high school attraction, along with the breaking down of her relationships with family and friends. It is a novel about what it means to be sexy, in a world where we feel we have to be perfect! A Hamilton High School story from Kody Keplinger.
When the fire alarm goes off, it's Pete the Cat to the rescue This fun 8x8 storybook includes over 30 groovy stickers.In Pete the Cat: Firefighter Pete from New York Times bestselling author and artist James De
Tender is the Night is a story set in the hedonistic high society of Europe durinthe 'Roaring Twenties'. A wealthy schizophrenic, Nicole Warren, falls in love with Dick Diver - her psychiatrist. The resulting saga of the Divers' troubled marriage, and their circle of friends, includes a cast of aristocratic and beautiful people, unhappy love affairs, a duel, incest, and the problems inherent in the possession of great wealth. Despite cataloguing a maelstrom of interpersonal conflict, Tender is the Night has a poignancy and warmth that springs from the quality of Fitzgerald's writing and the tragic personal experiences on which the novel is based. Six years separate Tender is the Night and The Last Tycoon, the novel Fitzgerald left unfinished at his death in December 194 Fitzgerald lived in Hollywood more or less continuously from July 1937 until his death, and a novel about the film industry at the height of 'the studio system' centred on the working life of a top producer was begun in 1939. Even in its incomplete state The Last Tycoon remains the greatest American novel about Hollywood and contains some of Fitzgerald's most brilliant writing.
'Market Leader' is the major business English course for tomorrow's business leaders. Incorporating material from 'The Financial Times', it brings real business issues right into the classroom.
Shortlisted for The Orange Prize for Fiction 2012 If it hadn't been for the child then none of this might have happened. She saw me kissing her father. She saw her father kissing me. The fact that a child got mixed up in it all made us feel that it mattered, that there was no going back.
Focusing is a gentle yet powerful skill that lets you tap into your body's wisdom and make positive changes in your life. "The Power of Focusing" shows readers how they can train themselves to learn this vital technique of self-exploration and self-discovery.
The book to raise all books-a celebration of the reading life through an unexpected and compelling compendium of a thousand great books to get lost in.
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But what about relativity? Physics professor Chad Orzel and his inquisitive canine companion, Emmy, tackle the concepts of general relativity in this irresistible introduction to Einstein's physics. Through armchair-and sometimes passenger-seat-conversations with Emmy about the relative speeds of dog and cat motion or the logistics of squirrel-chasing, Orzel translates complex Einsteinian ideas-the slowing of time for a moving observer, the shrinking of moving objects, the effects of gravity on light and time, black holes, the Big Bang, and of course, E=mc2-into examples simple enough for a dog to understand. A lively romp through one of the great theories of modern physics, How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about space, time, and anything else you might have slept through in high school physics class.
A Timeless Philosophy on Personal Success§One of the true classics of international literature, the Tao Te Ching is still a source of inspiration and guidance for millions. The oldest scripture of Taoism, its focus on attunement, rather than mindless striving, offers an alternative to commence-and-control leadership and a different way to seeing and achieving personal success.§This keepsake edition includes and introduction by Tom Butler-Bowdon, drawing out lessons for the contemporary reader, showing how the Tao Te Ching remains vital reading for anyone seeking to win without conflict, and to achieve a balanced and productive life.
In this beautiful, collectible new volume, street artist Matt Sewell offers his own unique take on 52 of our favourite British garden birds. Since its first appearance in July 2009, Matt's 'Bird of the Week' feature for the Caught by the River website has quickly become a cult hit. His pop-art watercolours are distinctive and enchanting, as are his innovative descriptions, which see great tits 'bossing the other birds around', the 'playful yet shy buoyancy' of bullfinches and the 'improbable' nature of the waxwing ('like a computer-generated samurai finch'). With 52 birds, one for each week of the year, this delightful gift book will appeal to bird watching enthusiasts, children and adults, and art and illustration fans alike.
An impossible choice - Jorge Salcedo was trapped. For years, he had climbed the ladder inside the Cali drug cartel, the world's most powerful crime syndicate, and risen to Head of Security. But he'd kept clean, avoided the dirty work, managed to sleep at night. Until now. He'd finally received the order he'd long dreaded, and it meant one thing: kill or be killed. The hard way - Salcedo was a family man, a man with a conscience, a father - he was no cold-blooded murderer. He was left with the last resort. It meant risking his life, his family's life, and the lives of everyone he cared for. He would have to take the whole syndicate down. It was the price to pay for salvation. Would you risk your life to save your soul?
In 2006, while travelling in Argentina, young entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie encountered children too poor to afford shoes, who developed injuries on their feet that often led to serious health problems. Blake knew he wanted to help, but rather than start a charity, he went against conventional wisdom and created a for profit business to help the children who he met. With the help of a local shoemaker, Blake struck out to merge activism and fashion in the form of a local canvas shoe worn by farmers and gauchos alike, called the alpargata. Blake called his creation TOMS Shoes (which stands for "Tomorrow's Shoes") and promised to give a pair of new shoes to a child in need for every pair that he sold. Starting with only two hundred pairs of handmade shoes, optimism, and entrepreneurial charisma, Blake successfully launched TOMS into the high fashion world. They can now be seen adorning the feet of celebrities such as Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson, and Tobey Maguire. Blake's mission is to prove that you can achieve financial success and make the world a better place at the same time.In this book, he shares the six counterintuitive principles that have guided the growth of TOMS for the past three years: Make business personal Be resourceful without resources Reverse retirement Keep it simple Stay humble Give more, advertise less The result is an inspiring account of a young man whose entrepreneurial spirit was able to affect change in the world, and a call to others to be inspired to do the same. As part of the One for One initiative, Random House will provide a new book to a child in need with every copy of Start Something That Matters purchased.
Simon Baron-Cohen's "The Essential Difference: Men, Women and the Extreme Male Brain" is an unflinching look at the scientific evidence behind the innate sex differences of the mind. Men and women have always seemed to think in entirely different ways, from conversation and communication to games and gadgets. But are these differences created by society, or do our minds come ready-wired one way or another, with female brains tending towards interaction and male towards organisation? And could this mean that autism - rather than being a mental anomaly - is in fact simply an extreme male brain? Why are female brains better at empathasing? How are male brains designed to analyse systems? And what really makes men and women different? Simon Baron-Cohen explores list-making, lying and two decades of research in a ground-breaking examination of how our brains can be male or female but always completely fascinating. "Compelling...Inspiring". ("Guardian"). "This is no Mars/Venus whimsy, but the conclusion from twenty years of experiment". ("Evening Standard"). "A devastating contribution to the gender debate". ("Mail on Sunday"). "A fascinating, thought-provoking book". ("Observer").Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor at Cambridge University in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. He is also the Director of Cambridge's internationally renowned Autism Research Centre. He has carried out research into social neuroscience over a career spanning twenty years. He is the author of "Mindblindness" and "Zero Degrees of Empathy".
This is the first explosive book in Charlie Higson's bestselling "Young Bond" series. Before the name became a legend. Before the boy became a man. Meet Bond. James Bond. There's something in the water at Loch Silverfin. Something deadly. Something that must be kept secret...It's James Bond's first day at Eton, and he's already met his first enemy. This is the start of an adventure that will take him from the school playing fields to the remote shores of Loch Silverfin and a terrifying discovery that threatens to unleash a new breed of warfare.
For four centuries, Logavina Street was a quiet residential road in a cosmopolitan city, home to Muslims and Christians, Serbs and Croats. Then the war tore the street apart. In this extraordinary eyewitness account, Demick weaves together the stories of ten families from Logavina Street. For three and a half years, they were often without heat, water, food or electricity. They had to evade daily sniper fire and witnessed the deaths of friends, neighbours and family. Alongside the horrific realities of living in a warzone, Demick describes the roots of the conflict and explains how neighbours and friends were turned so swiftly into deadly enemies. With the same honest, intimate reporting style which won her so many plaudits for Nothing to Envy, Barbara Demick brilliantly illuminates one of the pivotal events of the twentieth century, and describes how, twenty years later, the residents of Logavina Street are coping with its consequences.
Once a luxury that only the elite could afford, fashion is now accessible to all. High street brands such as Zara, Topshop and H&M have put fashion within the reach of anyone, whilst massive media attention has turned designers such as Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney into brands in their own right. This updated new edition of the international best-seller "Fashion Brands" explores the popularization of fashion and explains how marketers and branding experts have turned clothes and accessories into objects of desire. Full of first hand interviews with key players, it analyses every aspect of fashion from a marketing perspective. With its finger firmly on the fashion pulse, it also looks at the impact of blogging and the rise of celebrity-endorsed products and fashion ranges.
For once in Becky Bloomwood's life, things are going smoothly. She's got the dream job as a personal shopper (spending other people's money - and getting paid for it). She's got a fabulous Manhattan apartment with her boyfriend Luke. They've even opened a joint bank account (although they can't quite agree on whether a Miu Miu skirt counts as a household expense). Then Luke proposes - and all of a sudden life gets hectic. Becky's mum in rural Surrey wants one thing, Luke's mother in New York wants the complete opposite. Becky knows she has to sit down and decide - but to be honest, it's a lot more fun testing cake, trying on dresses and registering wedding presents. But time's ticking by, plans are being made both sides of the Atlantic and soon she realizes she's in trouble...
Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 320, Publishers: Hachette Book Group USA, Author: Andrei Soldatov, ISBN-13: 9781541704459, Date of issue: 2025
Chris Stringer's bestselling "The Origin of our Species" tackles the big questions in the ongoing debate about the beginnings of human life on earth. Do all humans originate from Africa? How did we spread across the globe? Are we separate from Neanderthals, or do some of us actually have their genes? When did humans become 'modern' - are traits such as art, technology, language, ritual and belief unique to us? Has human evolution stopped, or are we still evolving? Chris Stringer has been involved in much of the crucial research into the origins of humanity, and here he draws on a wealth of evidence - from fossils and archaeology to Charles Darwin's theories and the mysteries of ancient DNA - to reveal the definitive story of where we came from, how we lived, how we got here and who we are. "A new way of defining us and our place in history". ("Sunday Times"). "When it comes to human evolution Chris Stringer is as close to the horse's mouth as it gets..."The Origin of Our Species" should be the one-stop source on the subject. Read it now". ("BBC Focus"). "Britain's foremost expert on human evolution ...you need a primer to make sense of the story so far. Here is that book".("Guardian"). "Combines anecdote and speculation with crisp explanation of the latest science in the study of the first humans ...an engaging read". ("New Scientist"). Chris Stringer is Britain's foremost expert on human origins and works in the Department of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum. He also currently directs the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project, aimed at reconstructing the first detailed history of how and when Britain was occupied by early humans. His previous books include "African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity", "The Complete World of Human Evolution" and most recently, "Homo Britannicus", which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book of the Year in 2007.
