The Jewish Book of Why has sold more than three million copies to date and has been translated into several languages. In this bestseller turned Miniature Edition™, scholar Rabbi Alfred J. Kolatch explains the significance and origin of nearly every symbol and practice known to Jewish culture. It's an essential guide for both Jews and non-Jews alike, and will answer a wide spectrum of questions on every aspect of Jewish custom, tradition, and life.

Where does the story of the Owens family begin? With a baby abandoned in a snowy field in the 1600s. Under the care of Hannah Owens, little Maria learns about the Unnamed Arts. Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And it's is here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The classic work that predicted the anxieties of a world upended by rapidly emerging technologies—and now provides a road map to solving many of our most pressing crises. “Explosive . . . brilliantly formulated.” — The Wall Street Journal Future Shock is the classic that changed our view of tomorrow. Its startling insights into accelerating change led a president to ask his advisers for a special report, inspired composers to write symphonies and rock music, gave a powerful new concept to social science, and added a phrase to our language. Published in over fifty countries, Future Shock is the most important study of change and adaptation in our time. In many ways, Future Shock is about the present. It is about what is happening today to people and groups who are overwhelmed by change. Change affects our products, communities, organizations—even our patterns of friendship and love. But Future Shock also illuminates the world of tomorrow by exploding countless clichés about today. It vividly describes the emerging global civilization: the rise of new businesses, subcultures, lifestyles, and human relationships—all of them temporary. Future Shock will intrigue, provoke, frighten, encourage, and, above all, change everyone who reads it.

"'Magical thinking' can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: Think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain's coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven. Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the 'Halo effect' cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger than life celebrities, to how the 'Sunk cost fallacy' can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we've realized they're not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell's prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it"--

"This is a set of books that belongs on every infant and preschool-aged child's bookshelf. This would also make a wonderful baby shower gift." — San Francisco Book Review Three adorable characters in three adorable board books: These clever twists on dinnertime, bedtime, and clean-up time will delight all the little mess-makers, picky eaters, and night owls in your life. In a hilarious and ironic take on classic parent predicaments, kids and adult alike will enjoy the amusing storylines and relatable dilemmas. • This box set includes three bestselling board books: Little Pea , Little Owl , and Little Oink • Featuring sweet story lines with beautifully simplistic illustrations, they will quickly become a family favorite Readers familiar with Duck! Rabbit! , I Wish You More , and Wumbers will also enjoy A Little Books Box Set. Bestselling author Amy Krouse Rosenthal was a Chicago-based writer. She is the author of all three books included here, as well as several other children's and adult trade books. Jen Corace graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. A New Jersey native, she now lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Makes an excellent addition to any children's book collection.

In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball, Kobe "The Black Mamba" Bryant shares his vast knowledge and understanding of the game. Citing an obligation to teach young players, hardcore fans, and devoted students of the game how to play it "the right way," The Mamba Mentality takes us inside the mind of one of the most analytical and creative basketball players ever. Bryant reveals his famously detailed approach and the steps he took to prepare mentally and physically to not just succeed at the game, but to excel. Readers learn how Bryant studied an opponent, how he channeled his passion for the game, how he played through injuries. They also get granular detail as he breaks down specific plays and match-ups from throughout his career.

In this legendary business book and Silicon Valley staple, the former chairman and CEO of Intel shares his perspective on how to build and run a company. A practical handbook for navigating real-life business scenarios and a powerful management manifesto with the ability to revolutionize the way we work. The essential skill of creating and maintaining new businesses—the art of the entrepreneur—can be summed up in a single word: managing. Born of Grove’s experiences at one of America’s leading technology companies (as CEO and employee number three at Intel), High Output Management is equally appropriate for sales managers, accountants, consultants, and teachers, as well as CEOs and startup founders. Grove covers techniques for creating highly productive teams, demonstrating methods of motivation that lead to peak performance. "Generous enough with advice and observations to be required reading." — The Wall Street Journal

* Selected as One of the Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times * * WINNER of the National Book Critics Circle Award * Books for a Better Life Award * The New York Times Book Review ’s 10 Best Books of the Year * This masterpiece by the National Book Award–winning author of The Noonday Demon features stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children, but also find profound meaning in doing so—“a brave, beautiful book that will expand your humanity” ( People ). Solomon’s startling proposition in Far from the Tree is that being exceptional is at the core of the human condition—that difference is what unites us. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, or multiple severe disabilities; with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, and Solomon documents triumphs of love over prejudice in every chapter. All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent should parents accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on ten years of research and interviews with more than three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges. Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original and compassionate thinker, Far from the Tree explores how people who love each other must struggle to accept each other—a theme in every family’s life.

The body can heal itself. Spontaneous healing is not a miracle but a fact of biology--the result of the natural healing system that each one of us is born with.[Bokinfo]

"A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist explains, with electrifying clarity, why some of her contemporaries have abandoned liberal democratic ideals in favor of strongman cults, nationalist movements, or one-party states. Across the world today, from the U.S. to Europe and beyond, liberal democracy is under siege while different forms of authoritarianism are on the rise. In Twilight of Democracy, prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum argues that we should not be surprised by this change: There is an inherent appeal to political systems with radically simple beliefs, especially when they benefit the loyal to the exclusion of everyone else. People are not just ideological, she contends in this captivating extended essay; they are also practical, pragmatic, opportunist. The authoritarian and nationalist parties that have arisen within modern democracies offer new paths to wealth or power for their adherents. Describing politicians, journalists, intellectuals, and others who have abandoned democratic ideals in the UK, U.S., Spain, Poland, and Hungary, Applebaum reveals the patterns that link the new advocates of illiberalism and charts how they use conspiracy theory, political polarization, social media, and nostalgia to change their societies"-- Provided by publisher.

A new, deluxe edition of Kitchen Confidential to celebrate the life of Anthony Bourdain. The book will feature a brand new introduction, a Q&A with Ecco publisher and Bourdain’s long-time editor Daniel Halpern. Interior pages are hand-annotated by Anthony Bourdain himself. The interior will also feature a brand new drawing by Ralph Steadman. Almost two decades ago, the New Yorker published a now infamous article, “Don’t Eat before You Read This,” by then little-known chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain spared no one’s appetite as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door. The article was a sensation, and the book it spawned, the now classic Kitchen Confidential, became an even bigger sensation, a megabestseller with over one million copies in print. Frankly confessional, addictively acerbic, and utterly unsparing, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business—this time with never-before-published material.

Weasel is ready for his dinner, and poor Mouse is it. Can he stop the weasel from serving up mouse soup for supper?

Tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman and his wife, living and surviving in Hitler's Europe. This title captures the everyday reality of fear and explores the guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation of survival - and how the children of survivors are in their own way affected by the trials of their parents.

Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. Sayuri's story begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. Through her eyes, we see the decadent heart of Gion - the geisha district of Kyoto - with its marvelous teahouses and theaters, narrow back alleys, ornate temples, and artists' streets. And we witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup and hair; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. But as World War II erupts and the geisha houses are forced to close, Sayuri, with little money and even less food, must reinvent herself all over again to find a rare kind of freedom on her own terms. Memoirs of a Geisha is a book of nuance and vivid metaphor, of memorable characters rendered with humor and pathos. And though the story is rich with detail and a vast knowledge of history, it is the transparent, seductive voice of Sayuri that the reader remembers.

The Crucible is a powerful drama written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It is set in Salem, Massachusetts during witch tests of 1692. The story follows a small puritan community that is consumed by fear and doubt when a group of young girls are caught dancing in the forest and accused of practicing Vichakrafts. To protect themselves, girls start accusing others in the witches village, causing a wave of domination and false allegations. In the heart of the play, John Proctor is a local farmer who tries to reveal the truth and stand against insanity. His personal conflict with crime, respect and redemption adds emotional depth to the story. Abigail Williams, a former servant at Proctor House, plays a major role in chaos, as he manipulates his profit, is partially inspired by jealousy and desire to take revenge. Arthur Miller wrote a drama during the McCarthi era in America, when people were being accused of communism without real evidence. In this way, the crucible is not only about the Salem witch tests, but also a powerful criticism of how fear and doubt can destroy life and justice. The play examines subjects such as integrity, power, prestige and mass hysteria, showing how dangerous it can be when people leave the cause and control fear. Crucible is one of the most important tasks in the American theater, known for his intense drama and timely message about the results of truth, courage and false allegations.

New York Times Bestseller | Wall Street Journal Bestseller | Publishers Weekly Bestseller | Publishers Marketplace 2020 Buzz Book | Amazon Best Book of the Year | Longlisted for the 2022 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Harvard's top astronomer lays out his controversial theory that our solar system was recently visited by advanced alien technology from a distant star. "Provocative and thrilling ... Loeb asks us to think big and to expect the unexpected."--Alan Lightman, New York Times bestselling author of Einstein's Dreams and Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine In late 2017, scientists at a Hawaiian observatory glimpsed an object soaring through our inner solar system, moving so quickly that it could only have come from another star. Avi Loeb, Harvard's top astronomer, showed it was not an asteroid; it was moving too fast along a strange orbit, and left no trail of gas or debris in its wake. There was only one conceivable explanation: the object was a piece of advanced technology created by a distant alien civilization. In Extraterrestrial, Loeb takes readers inside the thrilling story of the first interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system. He outlines his controversial theory and its profound implications: for science, for religion, and for the future of our species and our planet. A mind-bending journey through the furthest reaches of science, space-time, and the human imagination, Extraterrestrial challenges readers to aim for the stars--and to think critically about what's out there, no matter how strange it seems.

"My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose." ― Ayn Rand, Anthem Anthem has long been hailed as one of Ayn Rand's classic novels, and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him--a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd--to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word--"I." A True Classic that Belongs on Every Bookshelf!

"Keynote Straight talk and advice on building and running a startup from Ben Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's most respected voices"--