About this product: "The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan
About this product: "I have lost 50 pounds over the last nine months by eating less, moving more, and changing the way I think. I am 62 and look better and feel better and have more energy than in the last 15 years."—Ron T.
" I read the wisdom put forth by Chris and Harry . . . [and] my next physical blew my doctor away. I am 74 and in better shape than when I was 50."—Jack S.
"Not a week goes by that I do not utter a silent prayer of thanks that Younger Next Year came into my life. You guys are saving the world one body at a time."—T. G.
Announcing the paperback edition of Younger Next Year, the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestseller, co-written by one of the country’s most prominent internists, Dr. Henry "Harry" Lodge, and his star patient, the 73-year-old Chris Crowley. These are the books that show us how to turn back our biological clocks—how to put off 70% of the normal problems of aging (weakness, sore joints, bad balance) and eliminate 50% of serious illness and injury. The key to the program is found in Harry's Rules: Exercise six days a week. Don't eat crap. Connect and commit to others. There are seven rules all together, based on the latest findings in cell physiology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and experimental psychology. Dr. Lodge explains how and why they work—and Chris Crowley, who is living proof of their effectiveness (skiing better today, for example, than he did twenty years ago), gives the just-as-essential motivation.
Both men and women can become functionally younger every year for the next five to ten years, then continue to live with newfound vitality and pleasure deep into our 80s and beyond.
About this product: McConnell and Brue’s Microeconomics: Principles, Problems, and Policies is the leading Principles of Economics textbook because it is innovative and teaches students in a clear, unbiased way. The 17th Edition builds upon the tradition of leadership by sticking to 3 main goals: help the beginning student master the principles essential for understanding the economizing problem, specific economic issues, and the policy alternatives; help the student understand and apply the economic perspective and reason accurately and objectively about economic matters; and promote a lasting student interest in economics and the economy.
The phenomenal number-one New York Times bestselling author is back with a spine-tingling novel about a woman who walks fearlessly into dangerbut must draw on her courage to let love into her life.
About this product: ESL students, TOEFL and TOEIC test takers, and all others for whom English is a second language and who want to improve their pronunciation will find this book and compact disc combination especially instructive. The new second edition presents a significantly increased number of exercises, all of them providing practice in every sound that is specific to American-style English. Emphasis is on stress and intonation patterns in conversational English. Recognition of these patterns is essential to fluent speech and listening comprehension. Four compact discs replace the first editions audiocassettes, and have been increased by 50 minutes in playing time to a total of 5 hours and 20 minutes.
About this product: Updated with brand-new entries to describe the most recent major motion pictures, this critically-acclaimed volume spans more than a century of moviemaking, concisely describing 1001 of the best films from around the world. New in this edition are entries to describe such film hits as Lord of the Rings, Mystic River, Farenheit 9/11, and Million Dollar Baby. But in fact, this volume's team of critics goes back to 1902, describing such films as The Great Train Robbery, and progressing chronologically across the decades to cover the best cinematic dramas, comedies, westerns, musicals, suspense and horror films, gangster classics, films noir, sci-fi epics, documentaries, and adaptations of novels and stage plays made by filmmakers around the world. Each entry includes a full list of cast and credits, awards won by the film, an essay summarizing the story line and screen-history, and still shots of the film's memorable scenes. At the back of the book, both an alphabetical index and a genre index will help readers find any film they're looking for. Movie fans will find descriptions of great musicals like Singing in the Rain, westerns like High Noon, science-fiction classics like Star Wars, dramas like Chinatown and Schindler's List, and international classics from master directors who include Fellini, Antonioni, Resnais, Truffaut, Eisenstein, Kurosawa, and many others. Here is a volume that belongs in the personal library of film buffs, movie reviewers, collectors of DVDs-and every reader who enjoys reminiscing over great movies of the past and present. Hundreds of movie still shots in color and black and white. "... a great motivating guide to cinema. After reading one of its engaging, often profound entries on a missed film, you want to ... rent it. Best of all, it includes international, silent, animated, and recent films." --Dallas Morning News
About this product: With his signature in-your-face, no-holds-barred advice, the Godfather of Independent Film teaches readers everything they need to know to create full-length feature films. From screenwriting ('There are two types of scripts: It's great or it sucks!') to distribution ('Who are the whores of Hollywood?'), Simens provides encyclopedic, precise, and creative instruction for making a vision a reality. By the end of the book, readers will know exactly what to do to make their films.
About this product: Appearances are deceiving in this psychological thriller . . . a compelling read. The Boston Globe
The memory starts here, in my apron pocket, with the gun.
So begins The Doctors Wife, a stunning debut novel about four people and the cataclysmic intersection of their lives. Michael is a rising OB/GYN at a prominent private practice in Albany, New York; he also moonlights at a local womens health clinic. But Annie, his wife, has become tired of her workaholic husbands absences, and the soccer-mom lifestyle has worn thin. She begins a passionate love affair with bad-boy, fading celebrity painter Simon Haasan affair that quickly goes awry when Simons wife Lydia, who is also the model upon whom he built his career, discovers the truth.
Abortion, local evangelism, marital disenchantment, and the rifts of social class: Brundage takes on the fault lines of our era with a deft hand.
A fine debut, full of psychological suspense, plot twists and turns, malice disguised as religion, the taint of incest, and cheating spouses.Library Journal
No character inhabiting this story will escape unscathed from the choices theyve made... [a] well-crafted work. Ms. Magazine
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