About this product: Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. Soon it became unclear what tics were symptoms of his disease and what were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman's life was a living hell.
AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE is the true story of Cory and his family's decades-long battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a maddening medical establishment. It is a heart-rending story of struggle and triumph with a climax as dramatic as any James Patterson thriller. (2008)
About this product: Finally, a how-to guide, in the guise of a Q&A advice column, for marching, flying, or slithering into the battle of the sexes, whatever your species. In this entertaining and informative book, evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson presents "letters" from sexually frustrated animals, birds, and insects who ask "Dr. Tatiana" to explain some sexual oddity. For example, "Don't Wanna Be Butch in Botswana" writes, "I'm a spotted hyena, a girl. The only trouble is, I've got a large phallus. I can't help feeling that this is unladylike. What's wrong with me?" Each question leads Dr. T. into a fascinating explanation about the sex life of this species, sprinkled with sprightly stories about other species with similar attributes or behavior.
You'll learn why one stick-insect copulation lasts for 10 weeks (to prevent other males from gaining access to the fertile female) and why the black-winged damselfly's penis has bristles (to scrape out his rival's sperm). You'll learn that male and female orangutans masturbate with sex toys fashioned from leaves and twigs, that slugs are hermaphrodites with penises on their heads, and that females in more than 80 species eat their lovers before, during, or after sex. You'll also ponder human sexuality when you learn that "monogamy is one of the most deviant behaviors in biology" (although jackdaws, chinstrap penguins, California mice, and some termites swear by it) and "natural selection, it seems, often smiles on strumpets."
Highly recommended--you'll read this through just for the fun of it and have plenty of odd facts with which to dazzle your dinner companions. --Joan Price
About this product: Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934) was an incredible scientist--he made invaluable contributions to neuroanatomy, including some of the most beautiful scientific illustrations since Vesalius. He was also a popular author, and above all a dedicated teacher, offering fatherly advice to students and young researchers on a wide range of topics. After he achieved success as a scientist, he wrote the first edition of Reglas y Consejos sobre Investigación Biológia (los tonicos de la voluntad) (1916). That work has been retranslated and presented by MIT Press as Advice for a Young Investigator. Although the wisdom contained in this slim, elegant volume is almost a century old, it is as fresh and useful today as it no doubt was then. What student or researcher wouldn't benefit from advice given by a mentor who has carefully examined his own life and career? Translator Larry Swanson writes in the foreword:
Hard work, ambition, patience, humility, seriousness, and passion for work, family, and country were among the traits he considered essential. But above all, master technique and produce original data; all the rest will follow.
Cajal's guidance on such things as the scientific method, resolve, undue admiration of authority, passion for reputation, reading, and "diseases of the will" is priceless. Every page of this little book is filled with read-aloud gems:
If a solution fails to appear after all of this, and yet we feel success is just around the corner, try resting for a while.... Like the early morning frost, this intellectual refreshment withers the parasitic and nasty vegetation that smothers the good seed. Bursting forth at last is the flower of truth.
Whether you're writing a dissertation, conquering writer's block to get that paper submitted to a journal, beginning a new research project, or just starting out in a scientific career, Advice for a Young Investigator will inspire, edify, and amuse you. --Therese Littleton
About this product: It's amazing the myths one can find in some resume books. Scott Bennett has hired hundreds of people in a variety of industries, and he knows firsthand what kinds of resumes spark the interest of employers. In The Elements of Resume Style, Bennett explains why some of the most popular "tricks" backfire more often than they work, and offers clear, smart strategies for creating resumes and cover letters that get people jobs. From entry-level to executive, users of this invaluable guide will: * See their resume from the employer's perspective * Avoid the errors most candidates make * Handle job-hopping, employment gaps, and other touchy subjects honestly and effectively * Write cover letters that stand out -- and learn the untapped power of the inquiry letter 1,400+ Sample Action Words, Action Statements, and Position Descriptions/Blurbs 200+ Vague Claims to Avoid and 500+ More Words and Phrases to Avoid Sample Resume Format, Sample Response Letter, Sample Inquiry Letter Sample Informational Interview Request Letter Sample Response to Request for Salary Requirements Sample Salary History, Sample References The battle for jobs is tighter than ever. The Elements of Resume Style can help you make sure your first salvo is as powerful and on-target as possible.
About this product: Advice for New Faculty Members: Nihil Nimus is a unique and essential guide to the start of a successful academic career. As its title suggests (nothing in excess), it advocates moderation in ways of working, based on the single-most reliable difference between new faculty who thrive and those who struggle. By following its practical, easy-to-use rules, novice faculty can learn to teach with the highest levels of student approval, involvement, and comprehension, with only modest preparation times and a greater reliance on spontaneity and student participation. Similarly, new faculty can use its rule-based practices to write with ease, increasing productivity, creativity, and publishability through brief, daily sessions of focused and relaxed work. And they can socialize more successfully by learning about often-misunderstood aspects of academic culture, including mentoring. Each rule in Advice for New Faculty Members has been tested on hundreds of new faculty and proven effective over the long run -- even in attaining permanent appointment. It is the first guidebook to move beyond anecdotes and surmises for its directives, based on the author's extensive experience and solid research in the areas of staff and faculty development. For new teachers.
About this product: An information-packed guide to all the emotional, financial and physical changes the father-to-be may experience during the course of his partner's pregnancy. Incorporating the wisdom of top experts in the field, from obstetricians and birth-class instructors to psychologists and sociologists, this book is filled with sound advice and practical tips for men, as well as New Yorker-style cartoons that will keep anxious fathers-to-be chuckling.
About this product: The dramatic growth of the consulting industry in the last 20 years can, in part, be traced to rapid changes in technology that have provoked dramatic changes in the ways companies compete. Consultants provide companies facing such rapidly changing environments with an important means of developing, acquiring, and processing much-needed know-how. Increasingly, consultants have proved to be a vital strategic weapon that companies rely on to improve their competitiveness in a world characterized by technological convergences, strategic consolidations, and growing interdependence. The Advice Business introduces readers to the art, the practice, and the problems that consultants face. The book sheds light on the complex roles that consultants and consulting firms play in enhancing the effectiveness of their clients. Contributions of both academics and practitioners to this emerging field include original case descriptions based on real consulting assignments, and career advice. For consultants in varying areas of expertise, and for the clients and potential clients in need of their services.
About this product: Wouldn't you like to sit in a room and ask the following people for their investment advice?
-John C. Bogle (Founder, Vanguard Group) -Warren Buffett (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway) -Bill Gross (Founder and CIO, PIMCO) -Susan Ivey (CEO, ReynoldsAmerican Inc.) -A.G. Lafley (Chairman, Procter & Gamble) -Georgette Mosbacher (CEO, Borghese Cosmetics) -John Myers (CEO, GE Asset Management) -Suze Orman (bestselling author) -Steve Forbes (President, Forbes magazine)
These and dozens of other investment professionals offer their personal secrets of success when it comes to making money. And along the way, they provide their own insights on whether you should diversify your portfolio (or put your cash somewhere else), whether you should pick your own stocks (or let a pro do it for you), if investing in real estate is really the answer to great wealth, if saving a few pennies here and there really do add up, and much, much more. The book is edited by Claman to be extremely accessible to all investors, regardless of their financial background.
About this product: Twinspiration combines guidebook how-to with personal diary to lead mothers through pregnancy and the first year of their twins' lives. This carefully laid out book provides an array of information from the basics to the questions you are too afraid to ask with humor and honesty. This is the must have all in one resource for any couple that is expecting twins.
About this product: The nomination of federal judges has always generated intense political conflict, perhaps never more so than during the second presidential term of George W. Bush. In Advice and Consent, two leading legal scholars, Lee Epstein and Jeffrey A. Segal, offer a brief, illuminating Baedeker to this highly important procedure. The authors discuss everything from constitutional background to the crucial differences in the nomination of judges and justices and the role of the Judiciary Committee in vetting nominees. They also shed light on the different roles played by the media, the American Bar Association, and special interest groups in getting judges nominated--or rejected. The authors demonstrate how the appointment of justices and judges has historically been a highly contentious process--one largely driven by ideological and partisan concerns. The book describes how presidents and the senate have tried to remake the bench in the past, ranging from FDR's controversial "court packing" scheme to the Senate's establishment in 1978 of 35 new appellate and 117 district court judgeships, which allowed the Democrats to shape the judiciary for years. The authors conclude with a discussion of the possible "reforms," from the so-called "nuclear option" to the even more dramatic suggestion that Congress eliminate judges' life tenure by introducing term limits or compulsory retirement. Advice and Consent is an invaluable guide through the occasionally murky history of American court appointments, and will prepare you for the many contentious debates that are surely destined to come.
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