By Niven Busch
2 used and new from $22.79
First tagged by Susan Q "Dream aLittle Dream"
Customer tags: biographies, nonfiction, art, drawings
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
21 Americans: Being Profiles of some Famous People in Our Time w/Characterized Drawings (Hardcover)
By Niven Busch
2 used and new from $22.79
First tagged by Susan Q "Dream aLittle Dream"
Customer tags: biographies, nonfiction, art, drawings
Monday, 15 August 2011
Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories Of College Students With Autism (Paperback)
By Dawn Prince-Hughes
Buy new: $10.38
48 used and new from $0.05
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First tagged by not a natural "Bob Bickel"
Customer tags: aspergers syndrome(7), autism(4), aspie nonfiction(3), book recommendations, autistic women, dawn prince-hughes, autistic author, asd, biographies, easy to read, adults, social cognition
Review & Description
The first book to be written by autistic college students who have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, or High Functioning Autism, Aquamarine Blue 5 demonstrates their unique way of looking at and solving problems and the challenges they face. These readable essays detail the struggles of a highly sensitive group and show that there are gifts specific to autistic students that enrich the university system, scholarship, and the world as a whole. Containing the stories of a dozen autistic students, the book deals with everything from learning to eat in dormitory dining halls to making friends to exploring sexuality. Read more
Friday, 12 August 2011
Steve Jobs: The Apple of Our i (Kindle Edition)
By Daniel Alef
Buy new: $2.84
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Customer tags: ipods(2), biographies(2), ipad(2), iphone, itunes, apple, steve jobs, famous, rich, business, personal computers, scientists
Review & Description
Biographical profile of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computers and the man who led an evolution in American technology and culture. He ushered in the world of personal computing with the Apple and Mac line of computers, changed the way we buy and listen to music with the iPod, iTunes and the iTunes Store, introduced us to a new wave of animated films and technology through Pixar, with such hits as "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo" and gave us a new paradigm for mobile telephones and computing with the iPhone. Fortune Magazine named Steve Jobs CEO of the decade. It wasn't his greatest accolade. In 2006, American Heritage magazine published historian James Gordon Steele's list of the top 100 most influential Americans in history. He listed Steve Jobs as number nine, evoking a heated debate with author, and former Democratic congressional candidate, Joshua Heitz--not because Steve Jobs did not merit listing, but because he was ranked higher than F.D.R, who was 14th on the list. Whether Jobs merits listing in the pantheon of the top 100 most influential Americans in history may be debatable, but his standing at the pinnacle of marketing and technology's Olympus is not. Steve Jobs is perhaps the most successful marketing and sales guru the world has ever known. Business Week called him "the world's greatest storyteller," and noted that he " has raised product launches to an art form." The frequent appearance of his name in major magazines and newspapers, at times on a daily basis, is a profound testament to the surreal and mythical standing he evokes. Even a pronouncement of a forthcoming public appearance by the head of Apple sends the blogosphere into hyperdrive, with speculation on what new product he will introduce. So who exactly is Steve Jobs? Award-winning author and former syndicated columnist Daniel Alef tells the fascinating tale of one of America's most intriguing and complex titans of fortune. [6,283-word Titans of Fortune Article]Biographical profile of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computers and the man who led an evolution in American technology and culture. He ushered in the world of personal computing with the Apple and Mac line of computers, changed the way we buy and listen to music with the iPod, iTunes and the iTunes Store, introduced us to a new wave of animated films and technology through Pixar, with such hits as "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo" and gave us a new paradigm for mobile telephones and computing with the iPhone. Fortune Magazine named Steve Jobs CEO of the decade. It wasn't his greatest accolade. In 2006, American Heritage magazine published historian James Gordon Steele's list of the top 100 most influential Americans in history. He listed Steve Jobs as number nine, evoking a heated debate with author, and former Democratic congressional candidate, Joshua Heitz--not because Steve Jobs did not merit listing, but because he was ranked higher than F.D.R, who was 14th on the list. Whether Jobs merits listing in the pantheon of the top 100 most influential Americans in history may be debatable, but his standing at the pinnacle of marketing and technology's Olympus is not. Steve Jobs is perhaps the most successful marketing and sales guru the world has ever known. Business Week called him "the world's greatest storyteller," and noted that he " has raised product launches to an art form." The frequent appearance of his name in major magazines and newspapers, at times on a daily basis, is a profound testament to the surreal and mythical standing he evokes. Even a pronouncement of a forthcoming public appearance by the head of Apple sends the blogosphere into hyperdrive, with speculation on what new product he will introduce. So who exactly is Steve Jobs? Award-winning author and former syndicated columnist Daniel Alef tells the fascinating tale of one of America's most intriguing and complex titans of fortune. [6,283-word Titans of Fortune Article] Read more
Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views from the #1 Fan Site (Kindle Edition)
By Emerson Spartz
1 used and new from $9.99
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First tagged by Nancy McFadden
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Born to Run (Kindle Edition)
By Christopher Mcdougall
Buy new: $9.99
135 used and new from $9.23
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First tagged by Nancy McFadden
Customer tags: running(46), barefoot running(23), tarahumara(22), adventure(15), athletics(12), kindle(10), endurance(10), jogging(7), injury(5), sports(2), barefoot(2), text-to-speech disabled(2)
Review & Description
An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt?
Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his readers from science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to a climactic race in the Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners against the tribe. McDougall’s incredible story will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.
From the Trade Paperback edition.Book Description
Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.
Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.
With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.
Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Christopher McDougall
Christopher McDougall: The key secret hit me like a thunderbolt. It was so simple, yet such a jolt. It was this: everything I’d been taught about running was wrong. We treat running in the modern world the same way we treat childbirth—it’s going to hurt, and requires special exercises and equipment, and the best you can hope for is to get it over with quickly with minimal damage.
Then I meet the Tarahumara, and they’re having a blast. They remember what it’s like to love running, and it lets them blaze through the canyons like dolphins rocketing through waves. For them, running isn’t work. It isn’t a punishment for eating. It’s fine art, like it was for our ancestors. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain. And when our ancestors finally did make their first cave paintings, what were the first designs? A downward slash, lightning bolts through the bottom and middle—behold, the Running Man.
The Tarahumara have a saying: “Children run before they can walk.” Watch any four-year-old—they do everything at full speed, and it’s all about fun. That’s the most important thing I picked up from my time in the Copper Canyons, the understanding that running can be fast and fun and spontaneous, and when it is, you feel like you can go forever. But all of that begins with your feet. Strange as it sounds, the Tarahumara taught me to change my relationship with the ground. Instead of hammering down on my heels, the way I’d been taught all my life, I learned to run lightly and gently on the balls of my feet. The day I mastered it was the last day I was ever injured.
Q: You trained for your first ultramarathon—a race organized by the mysterious gringo expat Caballo Blanco between the Tarahumara and some of America’s top ultrarunners—while researching and writing this book. What was your training like?
CM: It really started as kind of a dare. Just by chance, I’d met an adventure-sports coach from Jackson Hole, Wyoming named Eric Orton. Eric’s specialty is tearing endurance sports down to their basic components and looking for transferable skills. He studies rock climbing to find shoulder techniques for kayakers, and applies Nordic skiing’s smooth propulsion to mountain biking. What he’s looking for are basic engineering principles, because he’s convinced that the next big leap forward in fitness won’t come from strength or technology, but plain, simple durability. With some 70% of all runners getting hurt every year, the athlete who can stay healthy and avoid injury will leave the competition behind.
So naturally, Eric idolized the Tarahumara. Any tribe that has 90-year-old men running across mountaintops obviously has a few training tips up its sleeve. But since Eric had never actually met the Tarahumara, he had to deduce their methods by pure reasoning. His starting point was uncertainty; he assumed that the Tarahumara step into the unknown every time they leave their caves, because they never know how fast they’ll have to sprint after a rabbit or how tricky the climbing will be if they’re caught in a storm. They never even know how long a race will be until they step up to the starting line—the distance is only determined in a last-minute bout of negotiating and could stretch anywhere from 50 miles to 200-plus.
Eric figured shock and awe was the best way for me to build durability and mimic Tarahumara-style running. He’d throw something new at me every day—hopping drills, lunges, mile intervals—and lots and lots of hills. There was no such thing, really, as long, slow distance—he’d have me mix lots of hill repeats and short bursts of speed into every mega-long run.
I didn’t think I could do it without breaking down, and I told Eric that from the start. I basically defied him to turn me into a runner. And by the end of nine months, I was cranking out four hour runs without a problem.
Q: You’re a six-foot four-inches tall, 200-plus pound guy—not anyone’s typical vision of a distance runner, yet you’ve completed ultra marathons and are training for more. Is there a body type for running, as many of us assume, or are all humans built to run?
CM: Yeah, I’m a big’un. But isn’t it sad that’s even a reasonable question? I bought into that bull for a loooong time. Why wouldn’t I? I was constantly being told by people who should know better that “some bodies aren’t designed for running.” One of the best sports medicine physicians in the country told me exactly that—that the reason I was constantly getting hurt is because I was too big to handle the impact shock from my feet hitting the ground. Just recently, I interviewed a nationally-known sports podiatrist who said, “You know, we didn’t ALL evolve to run away from saber-toothed tigers.” Meaning, what? That anyone who isn’t sleek as a Kenyan marathoner should be extinct? It’s such illogical blather—all kinds of body types exist today, so obviously they DID evolve to move quickly on their feet. It’s really awful that so many doctors are reinforcing this learned helplessness, this idea that you have to be some kind of elite being to handle such a basic, universal movement.
Q: If humans are born to run, as you argue, what’s your advice for a runner who is looking to make the leap from shorter road races to marathons, or marathons to ultramarathons? Is running really for everyone?
CM: I think ultrarunning is America’s hope for the future. Honestly. The ultrarunners have got a hold of some powerful wisdom. You can see it at the starting line of any ultra race. I showed up at the Leadville Trail 100 expecting to see a bunch of hollow-eyed Skeletors, and instead it was, “Whoah! Get a load of the hotties!” Ultra runners tend to be amazingly healthy, youthful and—believe it or not—good looking. I couldn’t figure out why, until one runner explained that throughout history, the four basic ingredients for optimal health have been clean air, good food, fresh water and low stress. And that, to a T, describes the daily life of an ultrarunner. They’re out in the woods for hours at a time, breathing pine-scented breezes, eating small bursts of digestible food, downing water by the gallons, and feeling their stress melt away with the miles. But here’s the real key to that kingdom: you have to relax and enjoy the run. No one cares how fast you run 50 miles, so ultrarunners don’t really stress about times. They’re out to enjoy the run and finish strong, not shave a few inconsequential seconds off a personal best. And that’s the best way to transition up to big mileage races: as coach Eric told me, “If it feels like work, you’re working too hard.”
Q: You write that distance running is the great equalizer of age and gender. Can you explain?
CM: Okay, I’ll answer that question with a question: Starting at age nineteen, runners get faster every year until they hit their peak at twenty-seven. After twenty-seven, they start to decline. So if it takes you eight years to reach your peak, how many years does it take for you to regress back to the same speed you were running at nineteen?
Go ahead, guess all you want. No one I’ve asked has ever come close. It’s in the book, so I won’t give it away, but I guarantee when you hear the answer, you’ll say, “No way. THAT old?” Now, factor in this: ultra races are the only sport in the world in which women can go toe-to-toe with men and hand them their heads. Ann Trason and Krissy Moehl often beat every man in the field in some ultraraces, while Emily Baer recently finished in the Top 10 at the Hardrock 100 while stopping to breastfeed her baby at the water stations.
So how’s that possible? According to a new body of research, it’s because humans are the greatest distance runners on earth. We may not be fast, but we’re born with such remarkable natural endurance that humans are fully capable of outrunning horses, cheetahs and antelopes. That’s because we once hunted in packs and on foot; all of us, men and women alike, young and old together.
Q: One of the fascinating parts of Born to Run is your report on how the ultrarunners eat—salad for breakfast, wraps with hummus mid-run, or pizza and beer the night before a run. As a runner with a lot of miles behind him, what are your thoughts on nutrition for running?
CM: Live every day like you’re on the lam. If you’ve got to be ready to pick up and haul butt at a moment’s notice, you’re not going to be loading up on gut-busting meals. I thought I’d have to go on some kind of prison-camp diet to get ready for an ultra, but the best advice I got came from coach Eric, who told me to just worry about the running and the eating would take care of itself. And he was right, sort of. I instinctively began eating smaller, more digestible meals as my miles increased, but then I went behind his back and consulted with the great Dr. Ruth Heidrich, an Ironman triathlete who lives on a vegan diet. She’s the one who gave me the idea of having salad for breakfast, and it’s a fantastic tip. The truth is, many of the greatest endurance athletes of all time lived on fruits and vegetables. You can get away with garbage for a while, but you pay for it in the long haul. In the book, I describe how Jenn Shelton and Billy “Bonehead” Barnett like to chow pizza and Mountain Dew in the middle of 100-mile races, but Jenn is also a vegetarian who most days lives on veggie burgers and grapes.
Q: In this difficult financial time, we’re experiencing yet another surge in the popularity of running. Can you explain this?
CM: When things look worst, we run the most. Three times, America has seen distance-running skyrocket and it’s always in the midst of a national crisis. The first boom came during the Great Depression; the next was in the ‘70s, when we were struggling to recover from a recession, race riots, assassinations, a criminal President and an awful war. And the third boom? One year after the Sept. 11 attacks, trailrunning suddenly became the fastest-growing outdoor sport in the country. I think there’s a trigger in the human psyche that activates our first and greatest survival skill whenever we see the shadow of approaching raptors.
(Photo © James Rexroad)
An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt?Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his readers from science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to a climactic race in the Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners against the tribe. McDougall’s incredible story will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Read more
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Augustus John: A Biographny (Hardcover)
By Michael Holroyd
2 used and new from $8.00
First tagged by Yellow Forest Books "Yellow Forest Books"
Customer tags: biographies, augustus john a biographny, augustus john, michael holroyd
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom (Paperback)
By Conrad Black
5 used and new from $2.49
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First tagged by brainiacbooks
Customer tags: biographies, conrad black, fdr, franklin delano roosevelt, american history, us presidents
Review & Description
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only US president elected for four terms. Conrad Black has long been fascinated by Roosevelt and his achievement. Struck down in the early 1920s with polio following a promising legal and political career he recovered, but without the use of his legs, to lead the United States out of the depression. First elected in 1932, his 'New Deal' alone would have put him among the most revered of American presidents, but then came World War II. From the earliest days he supported Britain through Lend-Lease. He and Churchill became close friends as well as allies. After Pearl Harbor the two leaders met in Washington over Christmas 1941 to plan the war against the Axis powers. Although his health deteriorated, FDR, as he was known, stood for an unprecedented fourth term in 1944 and represented the US at the great allied peace conferences at Yalta and Teheran. Conrad Black sees him as the 'Champion of Freedom' and the greatest individual of the twentieth century. Read more
The Pope's Daughter: The Extraordinary Life of Felice della Rovere (Hardcover)
By Caroline Murphy
49 used and new from $1.06
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Customer tags: women(4), religion(3), italian renaissance(2), biographies(2), history(2), roman catholicism(2)
Review & Description
The illegitimate daughter of Pope Julius II, Felice della Rovere became one of the most powerful and accomplished women of the Italian Renaissance. Now, Caroline Murphy vividly captures the untold story of a rare woman who moved with confidence through a world of popes and princes.
Using a wide variety of sources, including Felice's personal correspondence, as well as diaries, account books, and chronicles of Renaissance Rome, Murphy skillfully weaves a compelling portrait of this remarkable woman. Felice della Rovere was to witness Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel, watch her father Pope Julius II lay the foundation stone for the new Saint Peter's, and see herself immortalized by Raphael in his Vatican frescos. With her marriage to Gian Giordano Orsini--arranged, though not attended, by her father the Pope--she came to possess great wealth and power, assets which she turned to her advantage. While her father lived, Felice exercised much influence in the affairs of Rome--even negotiating for peace with the Queen of France--and after his death, Felice persevered, making allies of the cardinals and clerics of St. Peter's and maintaining her control of the Orsini land through tenacity, ingenuity, and carefully cultivated political savvy. She survived the Sack of Rome in 1527, but her greatest enemy proved to be her own stepson Napoleone. The rivalry between him and her son Girolamo had a sudden and violent end, and brought her perilously close to losing everything she had spent her life acquiring.
With a marvelous cast of characters, this is a spellbinding biography set against the brilliant backdrop of Renaissance Rome. Read more
Life with Ben: A Story of Friendship and Feathers (Kindle Edition)
By Jessica Hagedorn
Buy new: $9.99
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First tagged by Jessica A. Hagedorn
Customer tags: depression, pets, amazon parrot, memoirs, parrots, biographies, birds, life with ben, book, jessica hagedorn, anxiety
Review & Description
College was supposed to be a time of excitement and freedom. For one young woman, however, it became the source of entrapment when her anxiety disorder spiraled out of control and threatened to end her life. Desperate for a way out, she turned to an unusual place for help and ended up discovering the one thing that would allow her to find happiness...a parrot named Ben. Through the challenges and laughter of living with a parrot, Jessica found a way to live life once again.College was supposed to be a time of excitement and freedom. For one young woman, however, it became the source of entrapment when her anxiety disorder spiraled out of control and threatened to end her life. Desperate for a way out, she turned to an unusual place for help and ended up discovering the one thing that would allow her to find happiness...a parrot named Ben. Through the challenges and laughter of living with a parrot, Jessica found a way to live life once again. Read more
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Billy Graham: The Authorized Biography (Hardcover)
By John Pollock
75 used and new from $0.01
First tagged by Yellow Forest Books "Yellow Forest Books"
Customer tags: biographies, billy grahm biography, john pollock, billy grahm, billy graham the authorized biography
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