One day in Ventura, California, Jonell McLain saw a beautifuldiamond necklace in a jewelry store window and wondered: Why arepersonal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if weshared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, andone great leap of faith later, Jonell and twelve other women boughtthe necklace together–to be passed along among them all. The dazzling treasure weaves in and out of each woman’s life,reflecting her past, defining her present, making promises for herfuture. Lending sparkle in surprising and unexpected ways, thenecklace comes to mean something dramatically different to each ofthe thirteen women. With vastly dissimilar histories and lives,they transcend their individual personalities and politics to jointogether in an uncommon journey–and what started as a quirky socialexperiment becomes something far richer and deeper.

"Calm Birth is a sublime gift to all of us. It contains theblueprint for reconnecting with birth wisdom on all levels. Readingthough this book and doing the practices will transform the birthprocess and imprint a peaceful beginning on both mother and child.The positive impact of this on society can’t beoverestimated."-Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Mother-DaughterWisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause and Women’s Bodies, Women’sWisdom"Calm Birth: New Method of Conscious Childbirth successfullybridges ancient feminine healing wisdom and meditation tocontemporary birth practices…This book is a must for anyoneinterested in childbirth."- Barbara Findeisen, MFT, president ofthe Association fo Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health

The Ultimate Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Dorm Dorm life offers you a great chance to meet new people and trynew things. But leaving the comforts of home for the first time toenter the roommate-having, small-room-sharing,possibly-coed-bathroom-using world of the dorms can be overwhelmingand intimidating. The College Dorm Survival Guide offers expert advice and theinside scoop on: ? Choosing the right residence hall for you ? Getting along with your roommate (and handling conflict) ? Bathroom, laundry, and dining hall survival ? Dealing with stress, depression, and safety issues From avoiding the dreaded Freshman 15 to decorating your space,this informative and funny guide gives experts' advice oneverything you need to know to enjoy dorm living to thefullest.

The cyberspace revolution, globalization, and the ever more rapid pace at which new knowledge is created are among the recent developments which challenge our universities. While they have adapted rather slowly in the past to changing circumstances, there is now an urgent need for them to adjust rapidly in order to fulfill their mission. Success will heavily depend on the presence of an appropriate system of governance, which is becoming more complex as the cyberspace revolution makes university structures less hierarchical. This book examines the contours and dimensions of university governance in research-intensive universities, seeks to develop cogent governance principles, and offers appropriate initiatives and recommendations. The authors, current and former heads of leading research-intensive universities in Western Europe and the United States, all share the defining concern that the fundamental changes of today pose serious challenges for universities and their system of governance. Contributors inclu

A fascinating look at some fascinating people who show howdemocracy advances hand in hand with crime in Japan.--MarioPuzo In this unorthodox chronicle of the rise of Japan, Inc., RobertWhiting, author of You Gotta Have Wa, gives us a fresh perspectiveon the economic miracle and near disaster that is modernJapan. Through the eyes of Nick Zappetti, a former GI, former blackmarketer, failed professional wrestler, bungling diamond thief whoturned himself into "the Mafia boss of Tokyo and the king ofRappongi," we meet the players and the losers in the high-stakesgame of postwar finance, politics, and criminal corruption in whichhe thrived. Here's the story of the Imperial Hotel diamond robbers,who attempted (and may have accomplished) the biggest heist inTokyo's history. Here is Rikidozan, the professional wrestler whoalmost single-handedly revived Japanese pride, but whose ownethnicity had to be kept secret. And here is the story of theintimate relationships shared by Japan's ruling party, itsf

Ludwig van Beethoven lay dying in 1827, a young musician namedFerdinand Hiller came to pay his respects to the great composer. Inthose days, it was customary to snip a lock of hair as a keepsake,and this Hiller did a day after Beethoven's death. By the time hewas buried, Beethoven's head had been nearly shorn by the manypeople who similarly had wanted a lasting memento of the great man.Such was his powerful effect on all those who had heard hismusic. For a century, the lock of hair was a treasured Hiller familyrelic, and perhaps was destined to end up sequestered in a bankvault, until it somehow found its way to the town of Gilleleje, inNazi-occupied Denmark, during the darkest days of the Second WorldWar. There, it was given to a local doctor, Kay Fremming, who wasdeeply involved in the effort to help save hundreds of hunted andfrightened Jews. Who gave him the hair, and why? And what was thefate of those refugees, holed up in the attic of Gilleleje'schurch? After Fremming's death, his d

Between 1850 and 1900, Boston underwent a stunningmetamorphosis from an insulated New England town into one of theworld’s great metropolises—one that achieved worldwide prominencein politics, medicine, education, science, social activism,literature, commerce, and transportation. In A City So Grand, Stephen Puleo chronicles this remarkableperiod in Boston’s history. He takes readers through the ferocityof the abolitionist movement of the 1850s, the thirty-five-yearengineering and city-planning feat of the Back Bay project,Boston’s explosion in size through immigration and annexation, thedevastating Great Fire of 1872, and the glorious opening ofAmerica’s first subway station in 1897. This lively journey paintsa portrait of a half century of progress, leadership, andinfluence.

Why is it that even though we might maintain our high schoolweight, few of us maintain our high school belt size? In your twenties and thirties, the layers of fat on top of yourabs were the problem–but once you reach middle-age, the enemyshifts. The 6-Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle is the firstbook to deal specifically with the issues we face in the next stageof life, providing a plan for eliminating the unhealthy fat thataccumulates around the organs–visceral fat–that is the true causeof the middle-aged bulge. The good news is that with the right diet, visceral fat can bequickly reduced and eliminated, enhancing both your looks and yourhealth. Even after twenty years researching and refining thescience of weight loss and management, bestselling authors Drs.Michael and Mary Dan Eades fell victim to the middle-aged middlethemselves. Although otherwise fit and healthy, both lost the flatbelly that signals youth. In The 6-Week Cure for the Middle-AgedMiddle, they share the simple d

When Locke High School opened its doors in 1967, the residentsof Watts celebrated it as a sign of the changes promised by LosAngeles. But four decades later, first-year Teach for Americarecruits Rachelle, Phillip, Hrag, and Taylor are greeted by aschool that looks more like a prison, with bars, padlocks, andchains all over. With little training and experience, these four will be asked toproduce academic gains in students who are among the mostdisadvantaged in the country. Relentless Pursuit lays bare theexperiences of these four teachers to evaluate the strengths andpeculiarities of Teach for America and a social reality that hasbecome inescapable.

The story of the race to the North Pole is told throughmemoirs, letters, ships' logs, and diaries of Arctic explorers,documenting the motives, modes of travel, and remarkable men whoendured the extremes of physical hardship and grim competition,including Robert Peary, Richard Byrd, Fridtjof Nans

"Dr. Gundry has crafted a wise program with a powerful trackrecord.” –Mehmet Oz, M.D., professor and vice chair of surgery, NYPresbyterian/Columbia Medical Center Does losing weight and staying healthy feel like a battle? Well,it’s really a war. Your enemies are your own genes, backed bymillions of years of evolution, and the only way to win is tooutsmart them. Dr. Steven Gundry’s revolutionary book shares thehealth secrets other doctors won’t tell you: ? Why plants are “good” for you because they’re “bad” for you,and meat is “bad” because it’s “good” for you ? Why plateauing on this diet is actually a sign that you’re onthe right track ? Why artificial sweeteners have the same effects as sugar onyour health and your waistline ? Why taking antacids, statins, and drugs for high blood pressureand arthritis masks health issues instead of addressing them Along with the meal planner, 70 delicious recipes, andinspirational stories, Dr.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER The three Great Premises of Idiot America: · Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, orotherwise moves units · Anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough · Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determinedby how fervently they believe it With his trademark wit and insight, veteran journalist CharlesPierce delivers a gut-wrenching, side-splitting lament about theglorification of ignorance in the United States. Pierce asks how a country founded on intellectual curiosity hassomehow deteriorated into a nation of simpletons more apt to votefor an American Idol contestant than a presidential candidate. Buthis thunderous denunciation is also a secret call to action, as hehopes that somehow, being intelligent will stop being a stigma, andthat pinheads will once again be pitied, not celebrated. Eruditeand razor-sharp, Idiot America is at once an invigorating historylesson, a cutting cultural critique, and a bullis

Juliet Schor breaks a taboo by exposing Americans' shoppinghabits to moral society. Schor disapproves of unfettered privateconsumption, not only because we already use up so much, but alsobecause overspending to bolster a sense of self does not lead tohappiness. Along with her critique, Schor suggests intriguing ideasfor making 'status' goods accessible for all--for example, imposinghigh taxes on expensive items to subsidize lines of affordable'luxury' goods. A firestorm of responses follow from economistRobert Frank and others. The New Democracy Forum is a series of short paperback originalsexploring creative solutions to our most urgent nationalconcerns. "A civic treasure. . . . A truly good idea, carried out withintelligence and panache." --Robert Pinsky

Book De*ion The "unwritten" final chapter of Anne Frank: The Diary of a YoungGirl tells the story of the time between Anne Frank's arrest andher death through the testimony of six Jewish women who survivedthe hell from which Anne Frank never retumed. From Publishers Weekly With approximately 30% more material than the original 1947edition, revealing a more rebellious and complex narrator, the newedition of Frank's classic diary spent five weeks on PW'sbestseller list. From School Library Journal Lindwer presents the tran*s of six in-depth interviewsconducted in preparation for his film documentary, The Last SevenMonths of Anne Frank . Although "Lies Goosens," real name HannahElisabeth Pick-Goslar, will be the most familiar to readers of AnneFrank: The Diary of a Young Girl , each of these women'sfirst-person accounts is compelling. They relate their backgrounds,their capture, details of the concentration camp experience, andde*ions of the time immediately following liberation. Eachincludes her relationship

They invented slums. They invented child labor. They putSaddam Hussein in power. They burned Joan of Arc at the stake, andthey enslaved the globe to get their tea fix. We're talking aboutEngland, of course, and the terrible evils they've set loose on theworld. In The Evil Empire, American author Steven Grasse documentsthe 101 worst atrocities of Mother England everything fromfoxhunting to the invention of the concentration camp. With anirreverent mix of historical facts, smart commentary, andred-blooded American arrogance, Grasse offers a devastatingcritique of the country that gave us the machine gun, factorylabor, and the metric system. Publishing just in time for theQueen's birthday (April 21), The Evil Empire is essential readingfor true-blue Americans and others oppressed by the Englishthroughout history.

What does it really mean to be a good father? What did yourfather tell you, that has stayed with you throughout your life? Wasthere a lesson from him, a story, or a moment that helped to makeyou who you are? Is there a special memory that makes you smilewhen you least expect it? After the publication of Tim Russert’s number one New York Timesbestseller about his father, Big Russ Me, he received anavalanche of letters from daughters and sons who wanted to tell himabout their own fathers, most of whom were not superdads or heroesbut ordinary men who were remembered and cherished for some oftheir best moments–of advice, tenderness, strength, honor,discipline, and occasional eccentricity. Most of these daughters and sons were eager to express thegratitude they had carried with them through the years. Otherswanted to share lessons and memories and, most important, pass themdown to their own children. This book is for all fathers, young or old, who can learn fromthe men in these pages

For the student who has already mastered the basic postures,this book addresses itself to the philosophy behind the system ofmovements and to all the variations possible.

Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the UnitedStates, tells his personal stories about more than thirty years offighting for social change, from teaching at Spelman College torecent protests against war. A former bombardier in WWII, Zinn emerged in the civil rightsmovement as a powerful voice for justice. Although he's a fiercecritic, he gives us reason to hope that by learning from historyand engaging politically, we can make a difference in theworld.

“There are lives lost in this book, and there are lives saved,too, if salvation means a young man or woman begins to feeldeserving of a place on the planet. . . . What could be moresoul-satisfying? These are the most influential professionals mostof us will ever meet. The effects of their work will lastforever.” –from the foreword by Anna Quindlen Now depicted in a bestselling book and a feature film, theFreedom Writers phenomenon came about in 1994 when Erin Gruwellstepped into Room 203 and began her first teaching job out ofcollege. Long Beach, California, was still reeling from the deadlyviolence that erupted during the Rodney King riots, and the kids inErin’s classroom reflected the anger, resentment, and hopelessnessof their community. Undaunted, Erin fostered an educationalphilosophy that valued and promoted diversity, tolerance, andcommunication, and in the process, she transformed her students’lives, as well as her own. Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writerswent on to establish t