On October 12, 2011, Theo Epstein became the new Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations, flipping a switch on the lovable-loser franchise and initiating a plan to accomplish in Chicago what he'd succeeded in as general manager of the Boston Red Sox: ending a World Series drought. It would require a complete team tear-down and turnover, a new farm system foundation of young talent which Epstein and Cubs GM Jed Hoyer gradually added to with gutsy trades and timely signings. After year...

Tennessee Williams in Provincetown is the story of Tennessee Williams's four summer seasons in Provincetown, Massachusetts - 1940, '41, '44 and '47. During that time he wrote plays, short stories, and jewel-like poems. In Provincetown, Williams fell in love unguardedly for perhaps the only time in his life. He had his heart broken there, perhaps irreparably. The man he thought might replace his first lover tried to kill him there, or at least Williams thought so. Williams drank in Provincetow...

Known for their striking full-body tattoos and severed fingertips, Japan's gangsters comprise a criminal class eighty thousand strong--more than four times the size of the American mafia. Despite their criminal nature, the yakuza are accepted by fellow Japanese to a degree guaranteed to shock most Westerners. Yakuza is the first book to reveal the extraordinary reach of Japan's Mafia. Originally published in 1986, it was so controversial in Japan that it could not be published the...

Food is a challenging subject. There is little consensus about how and what we should produce and consume. It is not even clear what food is or whether people have similar experiences of it. On one hand, food is recognized as a basic need, if not a basic right. On the other hand, it is hard to generalize about it given the wide range of practices and cuisines, and the even wider range of tastes.This book is an introduction to the philosophical dimensions of food. David M. Kaplan ex...

This comprehensive book examines the crucial connections between national identity, territory, and scale. Providing a powerful theoretical and organizational framework, the volume identifies four ways in which scale operates dynamically in the formation and maintenance of national identity. Consolidating identities considers the strategies necessary to keep all parts within the fold through educational systems, minority policies, immigration controls, and other forms of traditional state p...

This book covers the principles of advanced 3D fabrication techniques, stem cells and biomaterials for neural engineering. Renowned contributors cover topics such as neural tissue regeneration, peripheral and central nervous system repair, brain-machine interfaces and in vitro nervous system modeling. Within these areas, focus remains on exciting and emerging technologies such as highly developed neuroprostheses and the communication channels between the brain and prostheses, enabling tech...

How Much Have YOU Changed Since Childhood?From the makers of the acclaimed Mortified podcast, stage show and documentary series, this interactive diary is part time machine, part confession booth. Discover how much you've changed (and haven't) as you answer questions about your:• Love life• Family life• Best days• Worst days• Fears• Vices• Unfortunate fashion history (no, that Hypercolor shirt will never be cool again)• And beyond!With prompts that encourage you to compare your life THEN v...

This collection highlights the most important ideas and concepts from Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, authors of The Balanced Scorecard, a revolutionary performance measurement system that allows organizations to quantify intangible assets such as people, information, and customer relationships. Also included are Strategy Maps, which enables companies to describe the links between intangible assets and value creation with a clarity ...

In a world of stiffening competition, business strategy is more crucial than ever. Yet most organizations struggle in this area—not with formulating strategy but with executing it, or putting their strategy into action. Owing to execution failures, companies realize just a fraction of the financial performance promised in their strategic plans.It doesn't have to be that way, maintain Robert Kaplan and David Norton in The Execution Premium. Building on their breakthrough wo...

The creators of the revolutionary performance management tool called the Balanced Scorecard introduce a new approach that makes strategy a continuous process owned not just by top management, but by everyone. In The Strategy-Focused Organization, Robert Kaplan and David Norton share the results of ten years of learning and research into more than 200 companies that have implemented the Balanced Scorecard. Drawing from more than twenty in-depth case studies--including Mobil, CIGNA,...

Perfect for fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, Echo, and Hour of the Bees, this charming time-travel story from husband-and-wife team Marisa de los Santos and David Teague follows one girl's race to change the past in order to save her father's future.Thirteen-year-old Margaret knows her father is innocent, but that doesn't stop the cruel Judge Biggs from sentencing him to death. Margaret is determined to save her dad, even if it means using her f...

Anthropological theory has been much discussed in recent years, yet the crucial questions still remain--how can it be defined, how is it developed, how is it to be applied, and how can one confirm it? The editors of Anthropological Theory answer these questions by presenting essays relating to various aspects of anthropological theory. Their selections from widely scattered and often difficult-to-obtain sources present a comprehensive set of writings that describe the current position and ...