Double Down: Game Change 2012

by Mark Halperin    (Find this book)
Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"
"Those hungry for political news will read "Double Down" for the scooplets and insidery glimpses it serves up about the two campaigns, and the clues it offers about the positioning already going on among Republicans and Democrats for 2016 ... The book testifies to its authors' energetic legwork and insider access... creating a novelistic narrative that provides a you-are-there immediacy... They succeed in taking readers interested in the backstabbing and backstage maneuvering of the 2012 campaign behind the curtains, providing a tactile... sense of what it looked like from the inside."
In their runaway bestseller "Game Change," Mark Halperin and John Heilemann captured the full drama of Barack Obama's improbable, dazzling victory over the Clintons, John McCain, and Sarah Palin. With the same masterly reporting, unparalleled access, and narrative skill, "Double Down" picks up the story in the Oval Office, where the president is beset by crises both inherited and unforeseen--facing defiance from his political foes, disenchantment from the voters, disdain from the nation's powerful money machers, and dysfunction within the West Wing. As 2012 looms, leaders of the Republican Party, salivating over Obama's political fragility, see a chance to wrest back control of the White House--and the country. So how did the Republicans screw it up? How did Obama survive the onslaught of super PACs and defy the predictions of a one-term presidency? "Double Down" follows the gaudy carnival of GOP contenders--ambitious and flawed, famous and infamous, charismatic and cartoonish--as Mitt Romney, the straitlaced, can-do, gaffe-prone multimillionaire from Massachusetts, scraped and scratched his way to the nomination.
"Double Down" exposes blunders, scuffles, and machinations far beyond the klieg lights of the campaign trail: Obama storming out of a White House meeting with his high command after accusing them of betrayal. Romney's mind-set as he made his controversial "47 percent" comments. The real reasons New Jersey governor Chris Christie was never going to be Mitt's running mate. The intervention held by the president's staff to rescue their boss from political self-destruction. The way the tense detente between Obama and Bill Clinton morphed into political gold. And the answer to one of the campaign's great mysteries--how did Clint Eastwood end up performing Dada dinner theater at the Republican convention?
In" Double Down," Mark Halperin and John Heilemann take the reader into back rooms and closed-door meetings, laying bare the secret history of the 2012 campaign for a panoramic account of an election that was as hard fought as it was lastingly consequential. -- Publisher Marketing

Modernist Cuisine at Home

by Nathan Myhrvold    (Find this book)
The culinary revolution that has transformed restaurant menus around the world is also making its way into home kitchens. The Cooking Lab, publisher of the encyclopedic six-volume set Modernist Cuisine, which immediately became the definitive reference for this revolution, has now produced a lavishly illustrated guide for home cooks, complete with all-new recipes tailored for cooking enthusiasts of all skill levels.Modernist Cuisine at Home, by Nathan Myhrvold with Maxime Bilet, is destined to set a new standard for home cookbooks. The authors have collected in this 456-page volume all the essential information that any cook needs to stock a modern kitchen, to master Modernist techniques, and to make hundreds of stunning recipes. The book includes a spiral-bound Kitchen Manual that reprints all of the recipes and reference tables on waterproof, tear-resistant paper. Drawing on the same commitment to perfection that produced Modernist Cuisine, Modernist Cuisine at Home applies innovations pioneered by The Cooking Lab to refine classic home dishes, from hamburgers and wings to macaroni and cheese. More than 400 new recipes are included, most with step-by-step photos that make it easy to bring dining of the highest quality to your own dinner table.Among the amazing techniques you'll find are: how to cook fish and steak perfectly every time, whether you're in the kitchen, the backyard, or tailgating in a parking lot;how to use a pressure cooker to make stocks in a fraction of the usual time while capturing more of the flavor;the secret to making quick, sumptuous caramelized vegetable soups and purees;how to outfit your home oven to make pizzas as crispy as you would get from a wood-fired brick oven along with recipes for: perfect eggs and breathtaking omelets that remove the guesswork for stress-free breakfasts, even for a crowd;gravies and a hollandaise sauce that are wonderfully rich, perfectly smooth, and never separate;a flawless cheeseburger and an ultrafrothy milk shake;chicken wings made better with Modernist techniques, plus seven great sauces and coatings for them;macaroni and cheese, including stove-top, baked, and fat-free versions, that can be made with any cheese blend you like, from gouda and cheddar to jack and Stilton.Cooking like a Modernist chef at home requires the right set of tools, but they're less expensive and easier to find than you might think. You'll also learn how to get the best out of the kitchen appliances you already own. Learn how to use your microwave oven to steam fish and vegetables to perfection, make exceptional beef jerky, and fry delicate herbs.The first 100 pages of the book are a trove of useful information, such as: how to test the accuracy of a thermometer, and why it's time to switch to digital;how to use (and not to use) a blowtorch to sear food fast and beautifully;how to marinate meats more quickly evenly by injecting the brine;the myriad uses for a whipping siphon beyond whipped cream;why those expensive copper pans may not be worth the price;how to deep-fry without a deep fryer;how to stop worrying and get the most out of your pressure cooker;how to cook sous vide at home with improvised equipment, a special-purpose water bath, or a home combi oven.Modernist Cuisine at Home is an indispensable guide for anyone who is passionate about food and cooking.  -- Publisher Marketing

The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You

by Ella Berthoud    (Find this book)
In times of trouble, a good book can soothe any kind of pain. Longtime friends Berthoud and Elderkin take that notion to a new level in their delightful reference guide to "bibliotherapy" "the prescribing of fiction for life's ailments." In each case, the authors (who have run a bibliotherapy service since 2008) prescribe a book or two to propel readers to action, bring about awareness or diversion, or show that things are not as bleak as they might seem. They tackle serious and not-so-serious ailments with equal verve, delving into such topics as "Scars, Emotional" (Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night or Antonya Nelson's Bound), "Pessimism" (Robinson Crusoe), and "Burning the dinner" (Zola's The Belly of Paris). Eclectic top 10 lists are peppered throughout, such as the "Ten Best Novels to Lower Your Blood Pressure" or the "Ten Best Novels to Make You Weep." Abundant indices allow the reader to browse by author or title and to search for reading problem advice. Berthoud and Elderkin's elegant prose and discussions that span the history of 2,000 years of literature will surely make readers seek out these books. Taking two novellas and calling the bibliotherapist in the morning sounds welcome indeed. Agent: Claire Alexander, Aitken Alexander Associates. (Sept.) Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Beyond Winning: Smart Parenting in a Toxic Sports Environment

by Kim John Payne    (Find this book)
These days it seems everyone has a youth sports horror story--whether it's about a tyrant coach obsessed with his team record that only plays the best kids on the team, or a parent who publicly berates his kid for not making a goal. But should it really only be all about winning? What about having fun, learning a sport, and developing athletic skills? "Beyond Winning with Whole Child Sports" offers an alternative approach to teaching sports to kids. It deemphasizes short-term goals like winning and youth championships and discourages the introduction of adult-oriented, league-structured competition. Instead it emphasizes training techniques and coaching strategies aimed at improving core strength, balance, and creativity in aspiring athletes, using an age-appropriate four-stage timeline, based on a child's physical, psychological, and neurological development. "Beyond Winning with Whole Child Sports" provides frustrated parents with help in the form of advice and concrete solutions to common questions, and step-by-step instructions for helping young children develop athletic ability in an environment that's less structured while encouraging athletic and personal growth. It also reveals how to avoid bullying, trash talk, and elitism.  -- Publisher Marketing

The Best American Infographics 2013

by Mariner Books   ( Find this book)
The rise of infographics across virtually all print and electronic media--from a striking breakdown of classic cocktails to a graphic tracking 200 influential moments that changed the world to visually arresting depictions of Twitter traffic--reveals patterns in our lives and our world in fresh and surprising ways. In the era of big data, where information moves faster than ever, infographics provide us with quick, often influential bursts of art and knowledge--on the environment, politics, social issues, health, sports, arts and culture, and more--to digest, to tweet, to share, to go viral.
"The Best American Infographics" captures the finest examples from the past year, including the ten best interactive infographics, of this mesmerizing new way of seeing and understanding our world. -- Publisher Marketing

Roth Unbound: A Writer and His Books

by Claudia Roth Pierpont    (Find this book)
In 2012, acclaimed novelist Philip Roth famously declared that he was retiring, sending shudders of disbelief through the literary world. Drawing on conversations with Roth and featuring insightful close readings of his entire oeuvre, longtime New Yorker staff writer Pierpont (Passionate Minds: Women Rewriting the World) offers a dazzling chronicle that traces moments from the author's life and explores the "life of his art." Pierpont develops the story of Roth's writing chronologically, summarizing the plots and critical reception of each of his many novels, from Goodbye, Columbus (1959) to Nemesis (2010). For example, "When She was Good is a book as harsh and plain as the world that Roth depicts.... Roth was no longer standing outside the Americans' he'd been observing... he was burrowing within them, even if only to discover a resistance to admitting depths." Pierpont declares Sabbath's Theater "a masterpiece of twentieth-century American literature: coursing with life, dense with character and wisdom, it gives the deepest experiences we face dying, remembering, holding on to each other the startling impact of first knowledge." Exit Ghost is about the "mystification between young and old, " while Nemesis is about "conscience and duty as much as it is about the randomness of fate." Her luminous and graceful study achieves what all good criticism should: it drives us to reread Roth's work anew. Agent: Robert Cornfield, Robert Cornfield Literary Agency. (Oct.) Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

7 Myths about Women and Work

by Catherine Fox    (Find this book)
Australian journalist Fox investigates common misconceptions and biases that prevent women from reaching high level employment. She begins with the insidious myth that workplaces are meritocracies with an "even playing field" and those with top jobs are "simply better equipped." In reality, studies show that women are paid less than men, are underrepresented in accelerated development programs, and blatantly discriminated against at all levels. Fox questions the belief that women lack ambition and have a "natural inclination to focus on their family," noting that women internalize these sexist messages and equate ambition with selfishness and lack of femininity. High profile women are attacked by the media as either too cold or too emotional. Meanwhile, working mothers are responsible for child-rearing and most housework in 70% of households, resulting in underemployment for many highly skilled, well-educated women. Fox deconstructs the fraudulent "pipeline myth," which asserts that as more women graduate with higher degrees the imbalance in upper level jobs will correct itself, and also presents "Case Studies" featuring businesses working on solutions to the gender gap. This book is a terrific resource for those who seek real solutions to diversity problems or even a better understanding of the often subtle psychology of discrimination. (Mar.) Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Robert's Rules for Dummies

by C. Alan Jennings    (Find this book)
Discover why Robert's Rules "rule"
If you belong to any type of organization--from school board to garden club to bowling league to trade association--chances are this book can save you many boring meeting minutes. This friendly guide translates "Robert's Rules of Order, " the essential guide for conducting meetings of all types, into principles you can understand and apply the next time "Billy Bully" tries to dominate the discussion or "Debbie Dictator" issues another edict.
If you've ever been frustrated at the way condominium association business was (or wasn't) conducted or fidgeted while PTA members debated whether to have goldfish or pencils as prizes for the elementary school carnival, this is the book for you. Written by a Professional Registered Parliamentarian, it covers everything from the basics of bylaws that establish the real framework of your organization to the requirements for a legal meeting, from how to use an agenda to plan your next meeting and keep things on track to voting procedure and putting ideas into motion--and so much more.This new edition is published in response to the revised 11th edition of "Robert's Rules of Order" Techniques for following parliamentary procedures to effectively manage meetings of any size.  Helps you stay current with the latest updates to the rules of order and parliamentary procedure.
Complete with a glossary of parliamentary terms and sample agendas, reports, and minutes, this guide has everything you need but a gavel. Whether you belong to an elite country club or a civic organization, an investment club or a volunteer fire department, when you use the principles in this book, meetings won't be dominated by the loudest or pushiest member or go on and on and on and on and on . . . -- Publisher Marketing

Robert's Rules of Order

by Henry M. Robert    (Find this book)
"Robert's Rules of Order" is "the" book on parliamentary procedure for parliamentarians and anyone involved in an organization, association, club, or group and the authoritative guide to smooth, orderly, and fairly conducted meetings and assemblies. This newly revised edition is the only book on parliamentary procedure to have been updated since 1876 under the continuing program of review established by General Henry M. Robert himself, in cooperation with the official publisher of "Robert's Rules." The eleventh edition has been thoroughly revised to address common inquiries and incorporate new rules, interpretations, and procedures made necessary by the evolution of parliamentary procedure, including new material relating to electronic communication and "electronic meetings."  Publisher Marketing

Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words

by John W Pilley    (Find this book)
The amazing story of a very smart Border collie who is redefining animal intelligence.
Chaser has a way with words. She knows over a thousand of them--more than any other animal of any species except humans. In addition to common nouns like house, ball, and tree, she has memorized the names of more than one thousand toys and can retrieve any of them on command. Based on that learning, she and her owner and trainer, retired psychologist John Pilley, have moved on to further impressive feats, demonstrating her ability to understand sentences with multiple elements of grammar and to learn new behaviors by imitation.
John's ingenuity and tenacity as a researcher are as impressive as Chaser's accomplishments. His groundbreaking approach has opened the door to a new understanding of animal intelligence, one that requires us to reconsider what actually goes on in a dog's mind. Chaser's achievements reveal her use of deductive reasoning and complex problem-solving skills to address novel challenges.
Yet astonishingly, Chaser isn't unique. John's training methods can be adopted by any dog lover. Through the poignant story of how he trained Chaser, raised her as a member of the Pilley family, and proved her abilities to the scientific community, he reveals the positive impact of incorporating learning into play and more effectively channeling a dog's natural drives.
John's work with Chaser offers a fresh perspective on what's possible in the relationship between a dog and a human. His story points us toward a new way of relating to our canine companions that takes into account our evolving understanding of the way animals and humans learn. -- Publisher Marketing

Fix-It and Forget-It New Cookbook: 250 New Delicious Slow Cooker Recipes!

by Phyllis Good    (Find this book)
*Starred Review* Fans of Good's best-selling slow-cooker recipe books won't be disappointed with her latest installment. Good provides plenty of practical tips about what she calls a near miracle appliance. For example, take time to get acquainted with a new slow cooker, fill it two-thirds full for best results, and try out recipes for the first time when at home for the day. And she dispels two big myths: that her beloved machine is a winter-time appliance and that it's mainly just for beef stew. Fuggedaboutit. True, many of the 250 recipes are for main dishes made with chicken, turkey, pork, or beef. But she gives even more space to pasta, soups, quiches, appetizers, breakfasts, breads, and desserts. Why not wake up to steel-cut oatmeal that's been slow cooking overnight? The slow cooker can even bake peach cobbler or a fudgy chocolate cake. Each recipe comes with a photo, some (such as mashed potatoes) get a quick and easy label, and several get a bonus tip from Good (such as cooking wine is wine with salt added). With good recipes and good vibes, the latest Fix-It and Forget-It cookbook is bound to be a best-seller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)