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Flow Leadership: Unleash the Power of People, Purpose, and Performance
by Gaelle DevinsFlow Leadership: Unleash the Power of People, Purpose, and Performance Revolutionize your team's productivity, well-being, and organizational culture. In Flow Leadership, Gaëlle Devins—experienced executive and founder of FlowFusion—delivers a groundbreaking approach to unlocking the full potential of your team. This book introduces the 3P Assessment & Model, a powerful framework built on years of hands-on leadership, workshops, and academic research, helping leaders balance the three essential elements of high-performing teams: People, Purpose, and Performance. When these three forces align, they create a sustained state of FLOW@WORK—where individuals, teams, and entire organizations thrive. Gaëlle Devins explains how to ensure the people you lead at work feel their best, are at their best, and produce their best work. You'll learn how, when embraced by individuals, Flow Leadership naturally leads to cohesive teams united by a common purpose, where the collective outcome transcends individual contributions. When you, as a leader, shift your focus from performance to people and purpose, you will nurture the extraordinary. You'll also discover how to build a culture rooted in authenticity and resilience that attracts and retains top talent. It is time to change the workplace, putting its most valuable gem — PEOPLE — back in the centre. What You'll Learn Inside: How to lead with purpose and people-first strategies—shifting from outdated top-down models to an engaging, resilient, and high-impact leadership style. The Zone of Natural Excellence—unlocking and sustaining peak performance through a deep understanding of strengths, motivation, and skills. The 3P Assessment Model—a proven, research-backed tool that enables leaders to assess and enhance team dynamics for maximum success. Practical leadership strategies—from attracting and retaining top talent to fostering a culture of authenticity, trust, and collaboration. Essential leadership questions—the key prompts that will unlock hidden potential in your team and organization. More Than Just Theory—A Practical Guide for Immediate Impact Unlike abstract leadership books, Flow Leadership is both pragmatic and research-driven, providing real-world applications that help leaders create tangible, lasting change. Whether you're a seasoned executive, founder, or emerging leader, this book is your strategic advantage in building high-performance teams and future-proof organizations. Embrace the principles within these pages and witness how it can and will transform your career and, ultimately your life. Transform Your Leadership. Transform Your Organization. Transform Your Life. Are you ready to unlock the full potential of your people and build a thriving, purpose-driven workplace? Start reading today and experience the power of Flow Leadership.
Access, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Cultural Organizations: Insights from the Careers of Executive Opera Managers of Color in the US (Routledge Research in the Creative and Cultural Industries)
by Antonio C. CuylerAnalyzing the lack of diversity among opera executives, this book examines the careers of executive opera managers of color in the U.S. By interrogating the impact of race on arts managers’ careers, the author contemplates how opera might attract and retain more racially diverse arts managers to ensure its future.With a focus on the U.S., research is contextualized via qualitative data to explore, enhance, and institutionalize access, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in the opera industry. In a revealing series of expert-conducted interviews, the author poses illuminating questions, such as: what if an inability to recruit and retain diverse executives is the primary source of opera’s challenges? if more racially diverse opera executives existed, would the art form persist in struggling to find its place in contemporary society? from where will the next generation of diverse opera managers emerge? As the magnitude of the global diversity problem grows within the creative and cultural industries, this book serves as a guide for Arts Management practitioners and students who may view their class, different ability, ethnicity, gender, race, or sexual orientation as a liability in their pursuit of executive careers.
Experimental Vibro-acoustics: In situ and blocked force methods for component-based simulation and virtual prototyping
by Joshua Meggitt Andrew MoorhouseExperimental Vibro-acoustics is the first comprehensive practical engineering guide for the effective use of measured vibro-acoustic data in a component-based approach to the analysis, simulation, virtual prototyping and ‘digital twinning’ of machines and mechanical systems.The book provides practical techniques which cover measurement, data processing and uncertainties and includes many ‘tricks of the trade.’ It also includes a range of case studies and a detailed walk-through example in a tutorial style. Further, it focuses on the in situ blocked force method, now a full international standard, through which many of the developments in the component-based approach have been based.This book is essential for design engineers in vibration, acoustics and structural dynamics diagnosing and troubleshooting vibro-acoustic problems in machines and mechanical systems, as well as simulation of existing and virtual assemblies. It extends beyond the core of the automotive industries, to new applications in air, rail and marine transport, as well as for domestic and industrial equipment and buildings and is relevant to both researchers and industrial engineers.
The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, Volume 1: Language (The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms)
by Ernst Cassirer"The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms is a milestone in twentieth century philosophy. Promoting a philosophical vision informed by Kant, it incorporates the philosophical advances achieved in the nineteenth century by German Idealism and Neo-Kantianism, whilst acknowledging the contributions made by his contemporary phenomenologists. It also encompasses empirical and historical research on culture and the most contemporary work on myth, linguistics and psychopathology. As such, it ranks in philosophical importance along with other major works of the twentieth century, such as Edmund Husserl’s Logical Investigations, Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time, and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.In the first volume, Cassirer explores the symbolic form of language. Already recognized by thinkers in the tradition of German Idealism, such as Wilhelm von Humboldt, language is the primary medium by which we interact with others and form a common world. As Cassirer emphasizes in the famous Davos Debate with Heidegger, 'there is one objective human world, in which a bridge is built from individual to individual. That I find in the primal phenomenon of language.' The famous trias Cassirer discerns in the functioning of language – the functions of expression (Ausdruck), presentation (Darstellung), and signification (Bedeutung) – has become paradigmatic for accounts of language, philosophical, linguistic, and anthropological alike."Sebastian Luft, Professor of Philosophy, Marquette University, USA.This new translation makes Cassirer’s seminal work available to a new generation of scholars. Each volume includes a translator’s introduction by Steve G. Lofts, a foreword by Peter E. Gordon, a glossary of key terms, and an index.
Routledge Handbook on Global China
by Xin Zhang Maximilian Mayer Emilian Kavalski Marina RudyakThis innovative Routledge Handbook sheds light on the complex and transformative nature of Global China, prompting a re- evaluation of existing theories on global and regional dynamics. It encourages theoretical innovation, methodological reflection and analytical transformation, providing new avenues for critical engagement with China’s global interactions. The chapters propose three key commitments for the study of Global China: Advocating for diverse viewpoints and non- binary frameworks, employing nuanced analysis to understand Beijing’s transnational relations and utilizing alternative methodological approaches to explore different trajectories for China in international affairs.The Handbook also identifies and avoids epistemic traps that hinder the understanding of Global China, such as othering and strategic narcissism. It suggests five analytical frameworks related to relationality, global capitalist processes, language and discourse power, planetary- scale modernization and experimentalism to guide future research. By adopting these frameworks, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the multifaceted factors shaping Global China within the broader global context of cooperation, competition and crisis.Chapter 21 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
The Routledge Companion to Caste and Cinema in India
by Joshil K. Abraham Judith Misrahi-BarakThis companion is the first study of caste and its representation in Indian cinema. It unravels the multiple layers of caste that feature directly and indirectly in Indian movies, to examine not only the many ways caste pervades Indian society and culture but also how the struggle against it adopts multiple strategies.The companion: Critiques Indian cinema production through the lens of anti-caste discourse Traces the history of films beginning from the early twentieth century, focusing on caste representations across India, including Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil as well as silent films Makes a foray into OTT media Includes analysis of popular films such as Padmaavat, Masaan, Fandry, Sairat, Sujata, Article 15, Chomana Dudi, Lagaan, Court, Ee.Ma.Yau, Kaala, Pariyerum Perumal, Perariyathavar, among many others, to critique and problematise the idea of caste A major intervention, this book alters traditional approaches to ‘caste’ in Indian cinemas and society and explores new political strategies implemented through cinematic creation and aesthetics. It will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of film studies, social discrimination and exclusion studies, human rights, popular culture, and South Asian studies. It will also be of interest to enthusiasts of Indian cinematic history.
The Routledge Companion to Marketing and Sustainability (Routledge Companions in Marketing, Advertising and Communication)
by Roberta De Angelis Ken Peattie Carolyn Strong Nicole Koenig-LewisThis state-of-the-art handbook provides a comprehensive review of recent research and academic thought on the relationship between marketing and sustainability. It combines a ‘micro-marketing’ approach considering how to market more sustainable goods and services, with a more critical perspective considering the implications of our marketing systems for the future of the planet and humankind. It also balances a traditional socio-economic perspective on marketing with a physical systems perspective considering how the consequences of our consumption and production systems play out over time and space.Bringing together a range of leading international experts from more than a dozen countries, this unique collection addresses both the environmental side of the sustainability agenda, through topics such as product development, packaging and circular economy initiatives, and its social side through topics such as fair trade marketing, bottom-of-the-pyramid initiatives and marketing ethics. A range of key market contexts are discussed including food, mobility, tourism, luxury consumption and sports along with important developments in the field around social marketing, sustainable lifestyles, new information technologies and the need for better marketing of sustainability.Exploring how marketing can meet the challenge of the transition towards a more sustainable economy and a fairer society, this unique volume will be welcomed by researchers, students and practitioners from a variety of fields including marketing, business ethics, sociology and environmental studies.Chapter 23 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.
Autodesk Civil 3D 2024 from Start to Finish: Build scalable, real-world infrastructure projects using Civil 3D's full design and modeling toolkit
by Stephen Walz Tony SabatStreamline your entire civil design workflow—from data management to sheet automation—using Civil 3D 2024Key FeaturesLeverage Civil 3D and partner tools for seamless project integrationMaximize productivity with scalable team workflows and automationEnhance your Civil 3D workflow with smarter design and modeling toolsBook DescriptionCivil infrastructure projects demand precision, collaboration, and the ability to adapt to design changes quickly. This book shows how Civil 3D 2024 can help you streamline workflows, reduce rework, and improve project accuracy—whether you're working solo or in a large engineering team. You'll learn how to set up your environment, manage survey data, and model surfaces, alignments, profiles, and utilities using Civil 3D’s comprehensive toolset. With a strong focus on real-world design practices, this book demonstrates how to use intelligent objects and dynamic documentation features to handle changes efficiently across distributed teams. You’ll also work with partner tools that enhance Civil 3D’s capabilities, ensuring you can manage data at scale, produce accurate documentation, and deliver designs that meet stakeholder expectations. Written by seasoned civil engineers and Autodesk-certified professionals, this book brings together best practices, project-specific workflows, and insights into maximizing productivity with Civil 3D and its companion tools.What you will learnSet up a Civil 3D environment tailored to your project needsConfigure survey data and create intelligent objectsModel surfaces, alignments, profiles, and utilities accuratelyAutomate sheet creation and streamline documentationCollaborate with teams using data shortcuts and shared referencesApply Civil 3D tools to real-world infrastructure challengesUse partner software for extended design and analysis workflowsWho this book is forThis book is for Civil Engineers, Environmental Engineers, Surveyors, and Infrastructure Designers seeking to optimize their design workflows with Civil 3D. A basic understanding of civil engineering practices and AutoCAD is required.
Communication in Everyday Life: A Survey of Communication
by Steve Duck David T. McMahanCommunication in Everyday Life explores fundamental concepts, theories, and skills, enabling students to apply the material to their personal and professional lives. With a thematic integration of the relational perspective and a focus on demonstrating its direct relevance to their own everyday communication, authors Steve Duck and David T. McMahan help students build a strong foundation in communication concepts, theory, and research, while developing practical skills such as listening, critical thinking, effective use of technology, understanding nonverbal communication, creating persuasive strategies, and managing group conflicts. With updated coverage of media and technology, new examples, and updated references, the Fifth Edition offers timely insights into modern communication topics central to everyday life.
Communication in Everyday Life: A Survey of Communication
by Steve Duck David T. McMahanCommunication in Everyday Life explores fundamental concepts, theories, and skills, enabling students to apply the material to their personal and professional lives. With a thematic integration of the relational perspective and a focus on demonstrating its direct relevance to their own everyday communication, authors Steve Duck and David T. McMahan help students build a strong foundation in communication concepts, theory, and research, while developing practical skills such as listening, critical thinking, effective use of technology, understanding nonverbal communication, creating persuasive strategies, and managing group conflicts. With updated coverage of media and technology, new examples, and updated references, the Fifth Edition offers timely insights into modern communication topics central to everyday life.
Astronomy 101: From the Sun and Moon to Wormholes and Warp Drive, Key Theories, Discoveries, and Facts about the Universe (Adams 101 Series)
by Carolyn Collins PetersenExplore the curiosities of our galaxy with this comprehensive, digestible guide to astronomy!Too often, textbooks obscure the beauty and wonder of outer space with tedious discourse that even Galileo would oppose. Astronomy 101 cuts out the boring details and lengthy explanations, and instead, gives you a lesson in astronomy that keeps you engaged as you discover what's hidden beyond our starry sky. From the Big Bang and nebulae to the Milky Way and Sir Isaac Newton, this celestial primer is packed with hundreds of entertaining astronomy facts, charts, and photographs you won't be able to get anywhere else. So whether you&’re looking to unravel the mystery behind black holes, or just want to learn more about your favorite planets, Astronomy 101 has all the answers—even the ones you didn&’t know you were looking for.
The Well-Grounded Python Developer: How the pros use Python and Flask
by Doug FarrellIf you&’re new to Python, it can be tough to understand when, where, and how to use all its language features. This friendly guide shows you how the Python ecosystem fits together, and grounds you in the skills you need to continue your journey to being a software developer.Summary Inside The Well-Grounded Python Developer you will discover: Building modules of functionality Creating a well-constructed web server application Integrating database access into your Python applications Refactor and decoupling systems to help scale them How to think about the big picture of your application The Well-Grounded Python Developer builds on Python skills you&’ve learned in isolation and shows you how to unify them into a meaningful whole. It helps you understand the dizzying array of libraries and teaches important concepts, like modular construction, APIs, and the design of a basic web server. As you work through this practical guide, you&’ll discover how all the bits of Python link up as you build and modify a typical web server application—the kind of web app that&’s in high demand by modern businesses. About the technology As a new programmer, you&’re happy just to see your code run. A professional developer, on the other hand, needs to create software that runs reliably. It must be fast, maintainable, scalable, secure, well designed and documented, easy for others to update, and quick to ship. This book teaches you the skills you need to go from Python programmer to Python developer. About the book The Well-Grounded Python Developer shows you why Python, the world&’s most popular programming language, is a fantastic tool for professional development. It guides you through the most important skills, like how to name variables, functions, and classes, how to identify and write a good API, and how to use objects. You&’ll also learn how to deal with inevitable failures, how to make software that connects to the internet, core security practices, and many other professional-grade techniques. What's inside Create a web application Connect to a database Design programs to handle big tasks About the reader For experienced beginners who want to learn professional-level skills. About the author Doug Farrell has been a professional developer since 1983, and has worked with Python for over 20 years. Table of Contents 1 Becoming a Pythonista PART 1 - GROUNDWORK 2 That&’s a good name 3 The API: Let&’s talk 4 The object of conversation 5 Exceptional events PART 2 - FIELDWORK 6 Sharing with the internet 7 Doing it with style 8 Do I know you? Authentication 9 What can you do? Authorization 10 Persistence is good: Databases 11 I&’ve got something to say 12 Are we there yet?
Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg: Girl Genius, Book Four (Girl Genius #4)
by Phil Foglio Kaja FoglioIn a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, mad science rules the world—with mixed success. In Agatha H and the Siege of Mechanicsburg, Agatha Heterodyne, the last of the Heterodyne family, has returned to her family&’s hereditary town with the might of the Wulfenbach Empire hot on her heels. The only thing holding off an outright attack is Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, the heir to the Empire, who has joined Agatha and her friends inside the great artificially intelligent fortress of Castle Heterodyne. Now they must race to repair the mechanisms that once allowed the Castle to defend Mechanicsburg, before the rest of Europa shows up to take all the revenge the mad Heterodynes of the past so richly earned. From the Hugo Award–winning Girl Genius online comics comes this fourth book in the Agatha H. series, and like the previous three books, it will engage you in a unique world of adventure, romance, and mad science!
Four Truths and a Lie
by Lauren BarnholdtA tween goes to an all-girls boarding school for a fresh start only to get entangled in a series of dares from a mysterious pen pal in this bestselling middle grade drama—now with a fresh new look!Scarlett&’s got a secret—one so big her mother&’s shipping her off to a prestigious all-girls boarding school. There, everyone is into academics and extracurriculars, and nobody knows about what she&’s trying to leave behind. But Scarlett is out of her depth. Her interests (beauty, fashion, and romance novels) seem to put her at a disadvantage here, and her popular, studious roommate Crissa dislikes her immediately. As Scarlett struggles to settle in, she gets assigned a pen pal at the all-boys boarding school for class—and starts receiving mysterious letters assigning ominous tasks with threatening consequences if she messes up. As Scarlett navigates friendships, academics, her place on the basketball team she was forced into, and the mysterious game she can&’t escape, she realizes that maybe an all-girls school isn&’t so boring after all.
gRPC Microservices in Go
by Hüseyin BabalBuild super fast and super secure microservices with the gRPC high-performance messaging protocol and powerful Go language.In gRPC Microservices in Go you&’ll learn: Designing and implementing resilient microservice architecture Testing microservices Deploying microservices to the cloud with modern orchestration tools Monitoring and overseeing microservices The powerful gRPC Remote Procedure Call framework delivers superior speed and security over protocols like REST. When paired with Golang&’s low-level efficiency and flexibility, gRPC and Go become a killer combination for latency-sensitive microservices applications. gRPC Microservices in Go shows you how to utilize these powerful tools to build production-grade microservices. You&’ll learn to develop microservice inter-service communication patterns that are powered by gRPC, design backward compatible APIs, and apply hexagonal architecture to microservices. About the technology Go is perfect for writing fast, reliable microservices code, but that&’s only half the story. You also need a communications framework like gRPC to connect your services and handle load balancing, tracing, health checking, and authentication. Together, Go and gRPC accelerate the development process and eliminate many of the challenges you face when building and deploying microservices. About the book gRPC Microservices in Go teaches you how to build production-ready microservices using Go and gRPC. In it, you&’ll learn to create efficient APIs in Go, use gRPC for network communication, and deploy on cloud and Kubernetes. Helpful examples, including a complete eCommerce web app, make it easy to grasp each concept. You&’ll also get an inside look at testing, deployment, and efficient DevOps practices for microservices. What's inside Designing and implementing resilient microservice architecture Testing microservices Cloud deploying microservices with orchestration tools Monitoring and overseeing microservices About the reader For software developers who know the basics of Go. About the author Hüseyin Babal has been using Go in production since 2017 to build and maintain SaaS platforms. Table of Contents PART 1 - GRPC AND MICROSERVICES ARCHITECTURE 1 Introduction to Go gRPC microservices 2 gRPC meets microservices PART 2 - DEVELOPING, TESTING, AND DEPLOYING A GRPC MICROSERVICE APPLICATION 3 Getting up and running with gRPC and Golang 4 Microservice project setup 5 Interservice communication 6 Resilient communication 7 Testing microservices 8 Deployment PART 3 - GRPC AND MICROSERVICES ARCHITECTURE 9 Observability
The Astrology Dictionary: Cosmic Knowledge from A to Z
by Donna WoodwellGo beyond the horoscope and master the meaning of the stars with this illustrated gift book that features more than 100 definitions for popular astrology terms that you need to know! There&’s more to understanding the stars than you might think! Whether you&’re just learning the basics of the zodiac or are looking to delve deeper into some new concepts, The Astrology Dictionary has easy-to-understand explanations for over 100 of the most common (and important!) astrological terms. Answer questions like: —What is the cusp between two Sun signs? —What does it mean if your Sun sign is mutable? (Gemini and Sagittarius take note!) —What can your natal chart reveal about your life? (Hint: a lot!) —And if you want to start at the very beginning, what is the zodiac anyway? The Astrology Dictionary has all the answers to your most important astrology questions, from birthing charts and retrograde, to sun signs and elements, and everything in between. This fascinating and practical dictionary explains it all, so you can spend more time discovering what the zodiac means to you.
The Sun Dog: The Sun Dog (Bride Series)
by Stephen King#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King&’s novella The Sun Dog, published in his award-winning 1990 story collection Four Past Midnight, now available for the first time as a standalone publication.The dog is loose again. It is not sleeping. It is not lazy. It&’s coming for you. Kevin Delavan wants only one thing for his fifteenth birthday: a Polaroid Sun 660. There&’s something wrong with his gift, though. No matter where Kevin Delevan aims the camera, it produces a photograph of an enormous, vicious dog. In each successive picture, the menacing creature draws nearer to the flat surface of the Polaroid film as if it intends to break through. When old Pop Merrill, the town&’s sharpest trader, gets wind of this phenomenon, he envisions a way to profit from it. But the Sun Dog, a beast that shouldn&’t exist at all, turns out to be a very dangerous investment.
Deep Learning with PyTorch
by Luca Pietro Antiga Eli Stevens Thomas Viehmann&“We finally have the definitive treatise on PyTorch! It covers the basics and abstractions in great detail. I hope this book becomes your extended reference document.&” —Soumith Chintala, co-creator of PyTorch Key Features Written by PyTorch&’s creator and key contributors Develop deep learning models in a familiar Pythonic way Use PyTorch to build an image classifier for cancer detection Diagnose problems with your neural network and improve training with data augmentation Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.About The Book Every other day we hear about new ways to put deep learning to good use: improved medical imaging, accurate credit card fraud detection, long range weather forecasting, and more. PyTorch puts these superpowers in your hands. Instantly familiar to anyone who knows Python data tools like NumPy and Scikit-learn, PyTorch simplifies deep learning without sacrificing advanced features. It&’s great for building quick models, and it scales smoothly from laptop to enterprise. Deep Learning with PyTorch teaches you to create deep learning and neural network systems with PyTorch. This practical book gets you to work right away building a tumor image classifier from scratch. After covering the basics, you&’ll learn best practices for the entire deep learning pipeline, tackling advanced projects as your PyTorch skills become more sophisticated. All code samples are easy to explore in downloadable Jupyter notebooks. What You Will Learn Understanding deep learning data structures such as tensors and neural networks Best practices for the PyTorch Tensor API, loading data in Python, and visualizing results Implementing modules and loss functions Utilizing pretrained models from PyTorch Hub Methods for training networks with limited inputs Sifting through unreliable results to diagnose and fix problems in your neural network Improve your results with augmented data, better model architecture, and fine tuning This Book Is Written For For Python programmers with an interest in machine learning. No experience with PyTorch or other deep learning frameworks is required. About The Authors Eli Stevens has worked in Silicon Valley for the past 15 years as a software engineer, and the past 7 years as Chief Technical Officer of a startup making medical device software. Luca Antiga is co-founder and CEO of an AI engineering company located in Bergamo, Italy, and a regular contributor to PyTorch. Thomas Viehmann is a Machine Learning and PyTorch speciality trainer and consultant based in Munich, Germany and a PyTorch core developer. Table of Contents PART 1 - CORE PYTORCH 1 Introducing deep learning and the PyTorch Library 2 Pretrained networks 3 It starts with a tensor 4 Real-world data representation using tensors 5 The mechanics of learning 6 Using a neural network to fit the data 7 Telling birds from airplanes: Learning from images 8 Using convolutions to generalize PART 2 - LEARNING FROM IMAGES IN THE REAL WORLD: EARLY DETECTION OF LUNG CANCER 9 Using PyTorch to fight cancer 10 Combining data sources into a unified dataset 11 Training a classification model to detect suspected tumors 12 Improving training with metrics and augmentation 13 Using segmentation to find suspected nodules 14 End-to-end nodule analysis, and where to go next PART 3 - DEPLOYMENT 15 Deploying to production
Ascendance: The DemonWars Saga, Book 5 (DemonWars series #5)
by R. A. SalvatoreYears have passed since the great miracle atop Mount Aida, and Corona is a different place—yet a threat looms, one Kilseponie could never have anticipated in this next installment in the DemonWars series from bestselling author R. A. Salvatore.Much to the seething dismay of his long-time mistress, King Danube has asked Julsepnie Wyndon to become his queen. But she is torn. How can she love any man as completely as she did the Ranger Elbryan, the father of the child she lost? But unknown to Jilseponie, that child never died. Aydrian was stolen away by the queen of the elves. A headstrong boy secretly raised to be a weapon, Aydrian shows great promise in the arts of combat, and he is as powerful with the gemstone as his mother. Now, De&’Unnero, the weretiger and mortal enemy of Jilseponie, will join forces with Aydrian, who is hungry for power and on a collision course with destiny. Building upon the events in Mortalis, #1 New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore continues the fresh second trilogy within the DemonWars saga with his fifth book in the series.
Songs of Nashville: The Real Stories Behind Country Music's Greatest Hits
by Jake Brown"Jake Brown puts the songwriter in the spotlight." —Billboard Country Here are the untold stories behind country&’s most influential songs from the tunesmiths themselves—featuring interviews with Jelly Roll, Taylor Swift cowriters Liz Rose and Lori McKenna, Luke Combs cowriter Drew Parker, Morgan Wallen hit writer Josh Thompson, chart-toppers Clint Black and Vince Gill, legends and trendsetters like the late Merle Haggard and Kinky Friedman, Americana troubadour Jim Lauderdale, and song crafters with scores in film and television like A Star Is Born Oscar nominees Hillary Lindsey and Natalie Hemby and Songland judge Shane McAnally.Songs of Nashville is a look inside the lives and work of the artists who&’ve shaped Nashville and the sound of country. It reveals the emotional fuel, melodic and lyrical science, and pure magic of the Music Row hitmaking machine. Through in-depth profiles and conversations, country artists reveal the birth stories of the songs you know and love—and some you may not, but you definitely should!—from spontaneous moments of inspiration to the chemistry of collaboration. Songs of Nashville is a must-read to discover the secrets of the creative process and the enduring power of storytelling that makes country music timeless.
The Demon Awakens: The DemonWars Saga, Book 1 (DemonWars series #1)
by R. A. Salvatore#1 New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore brings an astonishing world to life and the intrepid hero, Elbryan Wynden, leads the way as he confronts the dark tides of destiny in his epic search for justice and peace.A great evil has awakened in the land of Corona, a terrible demon determined to spread death and misery. His goblin armies and fearsome giants ravage the settlements of the frontier, and in the small village of Dundallis, their merciless attack leaves behind two shattered orphans: Pony and her lifelong friend, the youth Elbryan. Taken in by elves, Elryan is raised to become a formidable ranger—a fateful role that will lead him into harrowing confrontations. Meanwhile, on a far-off island, a shower of gemstones will fall onto the black-sand shores. These heaven-sent stones carry within them an incredible power—the key to all that is good in the world and all that is evil, and it is up to one young monk to liberate them from the corrupt monastery that harvests them. Pray they don&’t fall into the wrong clawed hands.
Stay-at-Work Mom: Marriage, Kids, and Other Disasters
by Liz Astrof&“The parenting genre is never going to be the same&” (Jancee Dunn, author of How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids) after this candid and hilarious collection of essays on motherhood from the award-winning television comedy writer and producer of 2 Broke Girls and The King of Queens, who swears she loves her kids—when she&’s not hiding from them.Some women feel that motherhood is a calling and their purpose on earth. They somehow manage to make pregnancy look effortless, bring out the beauty in a screaming child, and keep the back seat of their cars as spotless as their kitchens. And then there are women like Liz Astrof—who originally had children because &“everyone else was.&” In this blunt and side-splittingly funny book of essays (previously published as Don&’t Wait Up), Liz Astrof embraces the realities of motherhood (and womanhood) that no one ever talks about: like needing to hide from your kids in your closet, your car, or a yoga class on the other side of town, letting them eat candy for dinner because you just can&’t deal, to the sheer terror of failing them or at the very least losing them in a mall. And sometimes, many times, wondering if the whole parenting thing wasn&’t for you. Perfect for fans of Let&’s Pretend This Never Happened and I Heart My Little A-Holes, Stay-At-Work Mom is a soul-baring and honest look at parenting and relationships for moms who realize that motherhood doesn&’t have to be your entire life—just an amazing part of it.
Transcendence: The DemonWars Saga, Book 6 (DemonWars series #6)
by R. A. SalvatoreThe next novel in bestselling author R.A. Salvatore&’s second DemonWars saga, Transcendence is an extraordinary adventure that introduces a remarkable new hero—and explores the mysteries of enlightenment and the art of war in a dazzling epic of imagination.Brave and beautiful Brynn Dharielle has ventured on a daring mission to free her beloved homeland from tyrannical rule. But she cannot imagine the depths of chaos and betrayal that seethes amid a ruthless sect of warrior priests led by an evil chieftain who conceals a dark, age-old secret. For Brynn and her trusted elven companion, the way to Behren turns into a fierce and illuminating voyage. But by the time Brynn reaches the land where she once saw her parents murdered, the seeds of revolution are already flourishing. The first salvo of a sweeping battle has begun—one that will threaten to destroy the heart and soul of her world. In book six of the DemonWars saga, #1 New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore continues the second trilogy of the saga in what Booklist raves &“outstanding…Brynn Dharielle is a first-rate female high-fantasy protagonist.&”
iPhone Unlocked
by David PogueMake the most of your iPhone with this witty, authoritative, full-color guide to iOS 14.Apple has sold over 2.2 billion iPhones—but not one has come with a user guide. And with each annual update of iOS, Apple piles on more and more features; at this moment, the Settings app alone bristles with over 1,000 options. In iPhone Unlocked, the #1 bestselling iPhone author David Pogue offers a curated guide to the essential and useful features of the new iPhone 12 family—and all other models that can run the iOS 14 software. A former New York Times tech columnist and bestselling how-to author, no one is better equipped than Pogue to offer expert instruction to this complicated iPhone. With his trademark humor, crystal-clear prose, and 300 full-color illustrations, Pogue guides readers through everything in iOS 14: Home-screen widgets, the new App Library, the all-new Translate app, the redesigned Search, FaceTime, and calling screens, and much more. Whether you&’re a new iPhone user or a seasoned veteran, iPhone Unlocked is a gorgeous, authoritative, all-in-one master class on all things iPhone.
A Shamanic Herbal: Plant Teachers and Animal Medicines
by Matthew Wood• Explores the alphabet of Nature personified in animals and the spiritual lessons of animal medicines—animals personified in plants—including Turtle, Bear, Deer, Wolf, Alligator, and Horse Medicine teachings• Shares profound experiences from the author&’s long career as an herbalist and his first years growing up on a remote Seminole reservation in the Everglades• Offers shamanic adventures interwoven with comparisons to the psychology of Freud and Jung, the visions of Castaneda, and the occult teachings of Steiner and GurdjieffSharing profound experiences from his long career as well as his first years growing up on a remote Seminole reservation in the Everglades, renowned herbalist Matthew Wood interweaves practical herbalism and the spiritual potency of Nature to deeply explore the plant teachers, animal medicines, and foundational principles of shamanism as a spiritual path.Wood describes a universal &“language of the shamans,&” based on direct, sometimes supernatural experiences as well as case studies from his practice. He examines the alphabet of Nature and spiritual lessons personified in animals and plants, especially &“animal medicines&”—when the plant looks like an animal. He shares accounts of Turtle Medicine plants for self-examination, Bear Medicine plants to open the imagination, and Wolf Medicine plants for wholeness and magic. He explores the plants of Alligator Medicine for healthful prosperity, Horse Medicine plants to bring the conscious self in harmony with the animal self, Badger Medicine plants to strengthen gut instincts, and many other herb and animal teachers. He also looks at plants associated with journeying to the spirit world through the medicine of Crane, Dragon, and Bat.Revealing the shamanic roots of his herbal teachings, Matthew Wood provides not only an inside view of his lifelong spiritual path but also an immersive and experiential guide to the shamanic wisdom of countless plant and animal teachers.