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Charlotte Moss Decorates: The Art of Creating Elegant and Inspired Rooms

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:53:34 +0000

The interior designer’s singular vision revealed through an extraordinary collection of her acclaimed rooms. With her inimitable flair for style, Charlotte Moss has led a celebrated career in the interior design world. Recently honored with Elle Decor’s Vision Award, Moss’s design philosophy of “couture living” describes her preference for gracefully curated spaces in which one is meant to live, enjoy, and entertain. Charlotte Moss Decorates affords the reader a glimpse into the methods behind her magic. For each of the rooms featured—from a sumptuous Directoire-style bedroom inspired by the incomparable Pauline de Rothschild to a gentlemen’s billiard room with rich details and a smart tailored feel—Moss breaks down the various stages of her design process, revealing her inspiration and storyboards, as well as sketches and notes she develops for every project. In each chapter, she offers the reader quick “doses” of decorating advice with her signature “Why Not?” decorating maxims. The book also includes Moss’s recommendations for her favorite flowers and fragrances for the final flourish in creating the perfect room. Her interiors, with a nod to both the historical elegance of the past and the modern necessities of today (comfort and livability), are truly sublime spaces. With over 200 sumptuous photographs, Moss graciously invites the reader to be engaged, inspired, and “ready to decorate.”

Charlotte Moss Decorates: The Art of Creating Elegant and Inspired Rooms is available at Amazon for $29.04. To order click here.

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Drawing Conclusions: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:14:34 +0000

Nearly twenty years ago, when a conductor was poisoned and the Questura sent a man to investigate, readers first met Commissario Guido Brunetti. Since 1992’s Death at La Fenice, Donna Leon and her shrewd, sophisticated, and compassionate investigator have been delighting readers around the world. For her millions of fans, Leon’s novels have opened a window into the private Venice of her citizens, a world of incomparable beauty, family intimacy, shocking crime, and insidious corruption. This internationally acclaimed, bestselling series is widely considered one of the best ever written, and Atlantic Monthly Press is thrilled to be publishing the twentieth installment, Drawing Conclusions, this spring.

Late one night, Brunetti is called away from dinner to investigate the death of a widow in her modest apartment. Though there are some signs of a struggle, the medical examiner rules that she died of a heart attack. It seems there is nothing for Brunetti to investigate. But he can’t shake the feeling that something or someone may have triggered her heart attack, that perhaps the woman was threatened. Conversations with the woman’s son, her upstairs neighbor, and the nun in charge of the old-age home where she volunteered, do little to satisfy Brunetti’s nagging curiosity. With the help of Inspector Vianello and the ever-resourceful Signorina Elettra, perhaps Brunetti can get to the truth and find some measure of justice.

Insightful and emotionally powerful, Drawing Conclusions reaffirms Donna Leon’s status as one of the masters of literary crime fiction.

Drawing Conclusions: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery (Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteries) is available at Amazon for $12.93. To order click here.

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Behind the Palace Doors: Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, and Folly from Royal Britain

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:35:34 +0000

Spanning 500 years of British history, a revealing look at the secret lives of some great (and not-so-great) Britons, courtesy of one of the world’s most engaging royal historians

Beleaguered by scandal, betrayed by faithless spouses, bedeviled by ambitious children, the kings and queens of Great Britain have been many things, but they have never been dull. Some sacrificed everything for love, while others met a cruel fate at the edge of an axman’s blade. From the truth behind the supposed madness of King George to Queen Victoria’s surprisingly daring taste in sculpture, Behind the Palace Doors ventures beyond the rumors to tell the unvarnished history of Britain’s monarchs, highlighting the unique mix of tragedy, comedy, romance, heroism, and incompetence that has made the British throne a seat of such unparalleled fascination.

Featuring:
• stories covering every monarch, from randy Henry VIII to reserved Elizabeth II
• historical myths debunked and surprising “Did you know . . . ?” anecdotes
• four family trees spanning every royal house, from the Tudors to the Windsors

Behind the Palace Doors: Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, and Folly from Royal Britain is available at Amazon for $8.82. To order click here.

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The 7 Day Energy Surge

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:59:02 +0000

We all know what it feels like to be “on”—to wake up feeling refreshed and rested, to bound through the day feeling like you can conquer the world as you bounce between work, family, and friends, and go to bed feeling relaxed and satisfied with your accomplishments. What made all the difference during those highly productive days? It’s simple—energy.

You can’t buy it at the store, but you can control your energy levels. Here for the first time is a simple program to increase your energy immediately—and keep it up throughout the day, every day. Through his work with more than 500 clients, Jim Karas has identified the 10 components that contribute to your personal balance-of-energy equation—and created the 7-Day Energy Surge to help you put all 10 to work for you. He exposes the bad habits that sabotage energy, lays out the principles for increasing your energy and offers simple strategies that are easily customizable for anyone to use anywhere . . . at any time.

What’s more, energy-positive habits also translate into weight loss. Plus, by maintaining that lower weight, exercising regularly, sleeping well, breathing deeply, and keeping a positive mind-set, you will not only experience a surge of energy but you will fight pain, fatigue, headaches, stress, depression, disease, and aging.

In just a few minutes a day, you can jump-start your weight loss, reduce your stress, and enhance your sex life. Get ready for the 7-Day Energy Surge. It starts now. In no time, you will possess a huge bank of enriching energy—and feel better than you ever have before!

The 7 Day Energy Surge is available at Amazon for $10.11. To order click here.

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A Knitting Wrapsody: Innovative Designs to Wrap, Drape, and Tie

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:20:02 +0000

Designer Kristin Omdahl is one of the most innovative designers working today, and in this collection, she showcases her signature motif designs and experimental construction in 18 original patterns—five scarves, six wraps, five shawls, and two skirts—that provide new ways to think about knitting pieces that wrap, drape, or tie.

Unlike other wrap books, this collection offers ingenious ways for wrapping your knitting, whether around the neck, shoulders, or waist. The designs for these garments are just what you’ve been waiting for—inspirational, creative patterns that advance your skills, explore shape and silhouette, and are beautiful to wear year-round.

All of the garments incorporate interesting elements, from reversible stitch patterns and unique knitted edgings to interesting closures. Each project is knitted, but much of the aesthetic draws inspiration from the geometry, motifs, and techniques of crochet.

Some of the techniques are quite unusual and the enclosed DVD will demonstrate them in-depth before you cast on for a project.

With her passionate attention to stitch detail and one-of-a-kind motif designs, Kristin offers a wide range of projects in A Knitting Wrapsody for a variety of skill levels and time commitments. Expand your wardrobe with bold, stylish shapes and add form-flattering pieces perfect for layering.

A Knitting Wrapsody: Innovative Designs to Wrap, Drape, and Tie is available at Amazon for $16.47. To order click here.

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Get Your Photography on the Web: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Show and Sell Your Work

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:37:55 +0000

For today’s photographer, a clean, professional-looking website is a must. But for most, the thought of having a site that displays your work like a pro seems either too expensive or too hard to create. How can you develop an eye-catching website that looks professional, updates quickly, and even helps you make some money in the process when your passion is photography and not coding? It’s easier than you think.

In Get Your Photography on the Web, RC Concepcion, curriculum developer for Kelby Media Group and one of the Photoshop Guys, takes you through an easy step-by-step process so you can build your own site from the ground up and have it look like you paid someone a lot of money to do it for you. Even if you know nothing about Web programming, this book will have you building a website in hours, not weeks.

You’ll learn:

How to secure your own domain names and hosting space
How to install WordPress on your website in as little as seven clicks
How to add pictures, galleries, and Flash portfolios without learning any code How to sell your images online without having to make a single print
How to incorporate Lightroom and Flash galleries into an already existing website

You’ll also find interviews and inspirational tips from people you will meet “Along the Way” to making your website. Plus, RC gives you free templates and Flash portfolio components to get you up and running without emptying your wallet.

The techniques RC shares in Get Your Photography on the Web are the very same ones he uses for some of the biggest names in photography—it’s like designing your website with a trusted expert looking over your shoulder. Best of all, you’ll walk away with the satisfaction of knowing that you did it all yourself!

Get Your Photography on the Web: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Show and Sell Your Work is available at Amazon for $26.12. To order click here.

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Dragon Age II: The Complete Official Guide

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:58:55 +0000

• A dedicated Side Quests chapter presents all side missions, random encounters and all additional optional activities with a checklist to reach 100% completion

• The Walkthrough features annotated area maps with step-by-step action on the left-hand page and expanded strategies and advanced tactics on the right

• The Strategy & Analysis chapter focuses on high-level playing strategies and in-depth analysis of the game’s underlying mechanics.

• All-encompassing Inventory chapter features exhaustive lists and tables covering: weapons, armor, accessories, special items, shops, runes, crafting, consumables and gifts

• All-encompassing Bestiary chapter presents all details on: enemy ranks, locations, attributes, resistances, loot drops and more

• A feature-packed Extras chapter covers every Achievement, every Trophy, every Secret and also presents a Dragon Age encyclopaedia and a story recap

Dragon Age II: The Complete Official Guide is available at Amazon for $14.43. To order click here.

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Townie: A Memoir

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:19:55 +0000

Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2011: Rarely has the process of becoming a writer seemed as organic and–dare I say it–moral as it does in Andre Dubus III’s clear-eyed and compassionate memoir, Townie. You might think that following his father’s trade would have been natural and even obvious for the son and namesake of Andre Dubus, one of the most admired short story writers of his time, but it was anything but. His father left when he was 10, and as his mother worked long hours to keep them fed, her four children mostly raised themselves, stumbling through house parties and street fights in their Massachusetts mill town, so cut off from the larger world that when someone mentioned “Manhattan” when Andre was in college he didn’t know what they were talking about. What he did know, and what he recalls with detailed intensity, were the battles in bars and front yards, brutal to men and women alike, that first gave him discipline, as he built himself from a fearful kid into a first-punch, hair-trigger bruiser, and then empathy, as, miraculously, he pulled himself back from the violence that threatened to define him. And it was out of that empathy that, wanting to understand the stories of the victims of brutality as well as those whose pain drove them to dish it out, he began to write, reconciling with his father and eventually giving us novels like House of Sand and Fog and now this powerful and big-hearted memoir. –Tom Nissley

Townie: A Memoir is available at Amazon for $14.27. To order click here.

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The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:12:00 +0000

America cannot afford to lose the war in Afghanistan, and yet Americans cannot win it. In this definitive account of the conflict, acclaimed war correspondent and bestselling author Bing West provides a practical way out. Drawing on his expertise as both a combat-hardened Marine and a former assistant secretary of defense, West has written a tour de force narrative that shows the consequences when strategic theory meets tactical reality.

Having embedded with dozens of frontline units over the past two years, he takes the reader on a battlefield journey from the mountains in the north to the opium fields in the south. West—dubbed “the grunt’s Homer”—shows why the Taliban fear the ferocity of our soldiers. Each chapter, rich with vivid characters and gritty combat, illustrates a key component of dogged campaigns that go on for years.

These never-ending battles show why idealistic theories about counterinsurgency have bogged us down for a decade. The official rhetoric denies reality. Instead of turning the population against the Taliban, our lavish aid has created a culture of entitlement and selfishness. Our senior commanders are risk-averse, while our troops know the enemy respects only the brave.

A fighter who understands strategy, West builds the case for changing course. As long as we do most of the fighting, the Afghans will hold back. Yet the Afghan military will crumble without our combat troops. His conclusion is sure to provoke debate: remove most of the troops from Afghanistan, stop spending billions on the dream of a modern democracy, transition to a tough adviser corps, and insist the Afghans fight their own battles. Amid debate about this maddening war, Bing West’s book is a page-turner about brave men and cunning enemies that examines our realistic choices as a nation.

The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan is available at Amazon for $15.96. To order click here.

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A Simple Government: Twelve Things We Really Need from Washington

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:06:07 +0000

“We need a simple government. Don’t get me wrong; I know that many of the nation’s problems are highly complex. But I also know that the governing principles that can solve them, if we work together, are simple.”

Armed with little money but a lot of common sense, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee surprised the nation by coming in second during the 2008 Republican presidential primaries. He connected with millions of voters by calling for a smaller, simpler government that would get out of the way when appropriate. (Unfortunately, there weren’t quite enough of those voters to prevent the election of Barack Obama.)

Since then, President Obama’s message has morphed from “hope and change” to “tax and spend” and “borrow and spend” and “over-regulate and spend.” The stimulus failed to stop the recession, the deficit exploded to unimaginable heights, and the Democrats jammed through Congress a financial “reform” bill that didn’t really reform anything and a healthcare monstrosity that gave the government more power over our personal lives than ever.

Meanwhile, Huckabee has continued to be the voice of common sense conservatism, through his television talk show, his radio commentaries, and his lectures around the country. Now he’s written a book that sums up the twelve things we really need from Washington to get the country back on the right track.

These twelve essential truths will have you nodding in agreement, whether you’re a Republican, an Independent, or even an open-minded Democrat. They can help us put aside our differences, tone down the partisan rancor, and return to the simple principles of the Founding Fathers: liberty, justice, personal freedom, and civic virtue. And they can help us tackle even the most seemingly complicated of today’s problems. For instance:

* You can’t spend what you don’t have; you can’t borrow what you can’t pay back. Families, businesses, towns, cities, and states all have to balance their budgets or face dire consequences. Why shouldn’t the federal government be held to the same standard? And if that means making some hard choices now, it’s a far better alternative than saddling our kids and grandkids. * The further you drift from shore, the more likely you are to be lost at sea. The Founders expected the federal government to be subordinate to state and local governments. How can politicians in DC know the best way to help farmers in Iowa, autoworkers in Michigan, or teachers in California? They can’t. So every problem should be solved at the most local level capable of solving it.

* Bullies in the playground only understand one thing. There’s a time and place for diplomacy, but we can’t protect the country just by negotiating with our enemies. We need a strong national defense and a counterterrorism policy that focuses on effectiveness, not political correctness.

* The most important form of government is the family. In the long run, the only way to ensure prosperity, safety, and equal opportunity is to make sure we raise our children to be ethical and productive citizens. No bureaucracy can replace parents in that essential role, so we have to do everything possible to help parents do their job.

A Simple Government will inspire any American looking forward to a better future.

A Simple Government: Twelve Things We Really Need from Washington (and a Trillion That We Don’t!) is available at Amazon for $14.20. To order click here.

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