Birth School Metallica Death is the definitive story of the most significant rock band since Led Zeppelin. Volume 1 covers the band’s formation up to their breakthrough eponymous fifth album, aka “The Black Album.” The intense and sometimes fraught relationship between aloof-yet-simmering singer, chief lyricist, and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and the outspoken and ambitious drummer Lars Ulrich is the saga’s emotional core. Their earliest years saw the release of three unimpeachable classics—Kill ’Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets—genre-defining masterpieces that took hard rock to a new level, both artistically and commercially. During these tumultuous times, the band persevered through line-up changes when guitarist Dave Mustaine was replaced by Kirk Hammet, and their bass player, the beloved Cliff Burton, was tragically killed in a bus crash while on tour in Europe.

For years I was your basic dating nightmare. And then, under the influence of one magical woman my readers came to know as Orange Blossoms, I changed. Now I’m here to blow the lid off what you think you know about the way guys think. Because here’s the big secret I learned from being slayed by Blossoms: Women already have what it takes to get what they want from men; they just need to know how to use that power.

Marilyn & Me, a memoir in words and photographs, is an intimate story of Monroe before her fall and a young photographer on his way to the top. Schiller’s original text and extraordinary photography is a story that has never been told before, and he tells it with tact, humor and compassion. What emerges during the final months of her life is a portrait of an artist self-aware, in control of her image, yet fragile and vulnerable, and uniquely touching.

Alexander tries his hand at behaving in this hilarious companion to the bestselling classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Last night somebody ate a whole box of jelly donuts. That somebody woke up with a terrible bellyache, and that somebody’s mom found the empty box and told that somebody that there are going to be consequences. That somebody is Alexander, and Alexander really hates consequences. So from now on, he is going to try his best to be the Best Boy Ever. For the complete and entire rest of his life. Starting right this very minute. But there are all sorts of things that you can’t do when you’re being the Best Boy Ever. Fun things. Very important things. Things that Alexander might—just might—like a little bit more than he hates consequences.

"Gai See" is the Cantonese term for Chinese outdoor street markets. You never know just what you may find. Join a little boy as he shops with his family members throughout the seasons and discovers the many magical curiousities found there - from fresh noodles and velvety slippers in the springtime, to tofu and tanks of fish, exotic starfruits and lychees in the summer, and from incense, sweets and roasted duck in the autumn to herbs and vegetables and firecrackers for Chinese New Year in the winter! This cultural and multi-generational tour of "Chinatown" will delight readers with its rhyming text and lush, colourful illustrations. An author's note and glossary is also featured in the back.

Professors in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Thomas N. Bradbury and Benjamin R. Karney are among the world’s leading scholars of social relationships, interpersonal communication, marriage, and well-being. Through in-depth interviews and detailed observations of thousands of couples, Drs. Bradbury and Karney have discovered the surprising ways in which personal histories, current life circumstances, and specific forms of interpersonal communication all combine to determine the quality and course of couples’ intimate lives. Their findings have been reported in more than 250 scientific articles and book chapters, and their 1995 review article is now the most widely-cited theoretical analysis of marriage published in the past century. On two separate occasions, the National Council on Family Relations has recognized Bradbury and Karney with the Reuben Hill Research and Theory Award for Outstanding Contributions to Family Science, and their co-authored text and accompanying video series, Intimate Relationships, has been used by thousands of undergraduates across the US and Canada. Translating and communicating research findings is central to their mission as scholars, and toward this end they founded and co-direct the Relationship Institute at UCLA, a center dedicated to engaging the general public with lectures, seminars, and workshops on new discoveries in the field of relationship science.

Dr. Varady is an associate professor of nutrition at my alma mater, the University of Illinois in Chicago, and in this interview, she reveals how intermittent fasting can help you achieve optimal health and weight without starving yourself every day. She explains what prompted her to investigate, and eventually write a book on this topic.

"I wanted to do a PhD in the area of calorie restriction and fasting," she says. "I wanted to find out: do you really have to diet every single day to lose weight? I noticed that people just weren't able to stick to calorie restriction programs for more than about a month or two. Everyone dropped off of their diet. I thought: 'is there a way to manipulate that eating pattern that will allow people to stick to it longer? Maybe you could diet every other day?' That way you can always look forward to the next day, where you can eat whatever you want. Maybe that would help people kind of stick to these diets?"

As it turns out, her hunch was correct. Alternate-day fasting has a far greater retention- and compliance rate compared to conventional all-day fasting regimens. The preferred version of intermittent fasting, which simply calls for restricting your eating to a narrower window of about six to eight hours or so each day, also has a far greater success rate than more extensive fasting protocols.  

"What happens when three financial industry whiz kids and certified baseball nuts take over an ailing major league franchise and implement the same strategies that fueled their success on Wall Street? In the case of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, an American League championship happens--the culmination of one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history. In The Extra 2%, financial journalist and sportswriter Jonah Keri chronicles the remarkable story of one team's Cinderella journey from divisional doormat to World Series contender. When former Goldman Sachs partners Stuart Sternberg and Matthew Silverman assumed control of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005, it looked as if they were buying the baseball equivalent of a penny stock. But the incoming regime came armed with a master plan: to leverage their skill at trading, valuation, and management to build a model twenty-first-century franchise that could compete with their bigger, stronger, richer rivals--and prevail. Together with "boy genius" general manager Andrew Friedman, the new Rays owners jettisoned the old ways of doing things, substituting their own innovative ideas about employee development, marketing and public relations, and personnel management. They exorcized the "devil" from the team's nickname, developed metrics that let them take advantage of undervalued aspects of the game, like defense, and hired a forward-thinking field manager as dedicated to unconventional strategy as they were. By quantifying the game's intangibles--that extra 2% that separates a winning organization from a losing one--they were able to deliver to Tampa something that Billy Beane's "Moneyball" had never brought to Oakland: an American League pennant. A book about what happens when you apply your business skills to your life's passion, The Extra 2% is an informative and entertaining case study for any organization that wants to go from worst to first"--

The perplexing state of the business landscape is beautifully summed up by journalist Bob Garfield and strategic consultant Doug Levy in their new book Can’t Buy Me Like: How Authentic Customer Connections Drive Superior Results. They write that the current era “is a confounding paradox: an economic revolution that in one critical aspect takes us backward.” Social media and other digital tools enable any business to reach tens of millions of people. Capturing the attention and purchasing power of those individuals in large quantities remains an almost unapproachable mountain for the majority of businesses. In the recently released Soundview Executive Book Summary of Can’t Buy Me Like, Garfield and Levy offer a better method to grow your business in the age they call the “Relationship Era.”

In a time when all the news seems bad, people are searching for a little dose of hope. For those in the thick of troubling times, Ronda Rich offers heaping helpings of comfort and sound advice in There's A Better Day A-Comin'. Here Rich shares stories of courage, spunk, and perseverance that she has either witnessed or (as in the case of Paula Deen and race car champion Dale Earnhardt), learned in conversation with them as they personally told their stories of dark times that turned brighter than their wildest imaginations. Rich knows that there is incredible power in stories, especially those that are true and have strong, wise lessons to impart. Incorporating her Southern storytelling style and vernacular, There's A Better Day A-Comin' is a collection of Rich's feel-good true stories that folks can use for inspiration and encouragement.

Baking is a rewarding experience for home cooks of all abilities. Create comforting treats that your friends and family will find irresistible. With some simple cupboard ingredients you can bake delicious sweet and savoury creations. Inside are 100 mouthwatering recipes for everyday staples and more indulgent options each with easy to follow ingredient lists, step by step methods and beautiful photography. Ideal for: A fantastic recipe book with some delicious options, perfect for the novice baker.

Patty Chang Anker chronicled her quest to conquer her fears and embrace life—and to inspire others to do the same—in her book Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave. Drawing on interviews with teachers, therapists, coaches, and clergy, Anker imparts both practical advice and profound wisdom. Through her own journey and the stories of dozens of others who have triumphed over common fears, she conveys with humor and infectious exhilaration the most vital lesson of all: Fear isn’t an end point, but the point of entry to a life of incomparable joy.

With more than half of Americans now overweight, this country is in the throes of an epidemic.  But addiction expert Tennie McCarty says the problem isn’t what we’re eating, it’s what’s eating us.  This epidemic isn’t simply about calories or food choices or portion control.  It’s about having a tortured relationship with food and weight, and it’s all rooted in the unprocessed emotions of an unexamined life. McCarty ought to know.  She has spent a lifetime of dealing with addictions: her parents’, her husband’s, her daughter’s and her own, including a battle with bulimia that nearly killed her.   In the bruising aftermath, she tackled a forty-year food addiction, lost 150 pounds, and has kept it off for more than fifteen years.

Darrell Hammond is best known for taking over the late Phil Hartman’s role on Saturday Night Live as the resident Bill Clinton impressionist. But perhaps the most influential sketch of Hammond’s career was as Al Gore in the first presidential debate of the 2000 election, opposite Will Ferrell as George W. Bush. Everyone who saw the piece remembers each candidate’s final statement—“lockbox” for Hammond as Gore—but few know that Hammond cut himself before going onstage that night when he couldn’t remember how to do Gore’s voice. Those are the stories that make Hammond’s memoir, God, If You’re Not Up There, I’m F*cked, worth reading, even though most of his memories don’t live up to that one.

Cupcakes are everyone’s favorite little indulgences. They’re loved by kids and adults alike because they’re playfully sweet as well as utterly charming. These days, cupcakes can be found in bakeries everywhere, but with just a little know-how, you can easily bake your own tempting boutique-bakery cupcakes at home and decorate them with flair. Cupcakes contains recipes for every palate: Here you’ll find classic Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream for the traditionalist, Triple Chocolate Cupcakes for the chocaholic, PB&J Cupcakes for the kids, Salted Caramel Cupcakes for the epicurean, as well as seasonal holiday cupcakes, and dozens more. Whether you are a novice or experienced baker, inside these pages you’ll find friendly advice about ingredients and equipment, cupcake-making and baking tips, and a collection of ideas for decorating your cupcakes with either elegant minimalism or grand flourishes.

A renowned authority on the secret world of opium recounts his descent into ruinous obsession with one of the world’s oldest and most seductive drugs, in this harrowing memoir of addiction and recovery. A natural-born collector with a nose for exotic adventure, San Diego–born Steven Martin followed his bliss to Southeast Asia, where he found work as a freelance journalist. While researching an article about the vanishing culture of opium smoking, he was inspired to begin collecting rare nineteenth-century opium-smoking equipment. Over time, he amassed a valuable assortment of exquisite pipes, antique lamps, and other opium-related accessories—and began putting it all to use by smoking an extremely potent form of the drug called chandu. But what started out as recreational use grew into a thirty-pipe-a-day habit that consumed Martin’s every waking hour, left him incapable of work, and exacted a frightful physical and financial toll. In passages that will send a chill up the spine of anyone who has ever lived in the shadow of substance abuse, Martin chronicles his efforts to control and then conquer his addiction—from quitting cold turkey to taking “the cure” at a Buddhist monastery in the Thai countryside. At once a powerful personal story and a fascinating historical survey, Opium Fiend brims with anecdotes and lore surrounding the drug that some have called the methamphetamine of the nineteenth-century. It recalls the heyday of opium smoking in the United States and Europe and takes us inside the befogged opium dens of China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The drug’s beguiling effects are described in vivid detail—as are the excruciating pains of withdrawal—and there are intoxicating tales of pipes shared with an eclectic collection of opium aficionados, from Dutch dilettantes to hard-core addicts to world-weary foreign correspondents. A compelling tale of one man’s transformation from respected scholar to hapless drug slave, Opium Fiend puts us under opium’s spell alongside its protagonist, allowing contemporary readers to experience anew the insidious allure of a diabolical vice that the world has all but forgotten.

A most provocative business parable for our troubled times, LeaderShift is the story of how David Mersher, the successful CEO of IndyTech, sets out to discover why the United States is losing its leadership edge and what he can do to turn things around and make America truly great again. In the process, Mersher and his team learn how the Five Laws of Decline are eroding the nation's economy-quietly ruining businesses and big institutions-and what American executives and citizens need to do to put a stop to this. Above all, Mersher and his colleagues discover something few business leaders or citizens of free nations have yet to realize: Our world today is on the verge of a momentous LeaderShift, one which will reframe the twenty-first century and significantly alter the way we govern, lead, and do business. When Mersher and his team get help from a surprising source, the result is stunning and unexpected-and it's one that concerned Americans will certainly reflect upon for decades to come. The next LeaderShift is almost here. Are you ready?

THE HEALING CELL is an easy to read, carefully researched, and clear-eyed view of medicine many decades in the making that is now paying off with treatments that repair damaged hearts, restore sight, kill cancer, cure diabetes, heal burns, and stop the march of such degenerative diseases as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, and Lou Gehrig's disease. The emotionally and intellectually stimulating stories throughout the book dramatically illustrate that stem cell therapies can change the way we live our lives after being afflicted by a disease or trauma. The book is the result of a unique collaboration between the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture and the Stem for Life Foundation. It includes a special address by His Holiness Benedict XVI, urging increased support and awareness for advancements in adult stem cell research.

As a child, Justin Klosky loved to count, analyze, and categorize everything in sight. Eventually diagnosed with OCD, he found ways to tap the benefits of his condition. Today, he’s founded a successful firm, O.C.D. Experience, building on the principals of Organize, Create, Discipline to help high-end clients take control of their lives through time management skills, getting rid of clutter, simplifying their habits, and rethinking storage solutions. Carefully arranged into more than 300 A-to-Z categories, Organize & Create Discipline explains organization methods for everything from laundry to legal documents, shoes, toys, kitchen drawers, medicine cabinets, utility closets, overflowing email inboxes, and dozens of other sources of daily detritus. Klosky’s unique advice yields peace of mind and radically improves productivity. With a clientele that includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Julie Chen, and Saks Fifth Avenue, Klosky now makes his unrivaled techniques to staying organized available to all.

Haiku for the Single Girl by Beth Griffenhagen and Illustrated by Cynthia Vehslage Meyers (review copy) - An uproarious, uplifting and brazenly honest gift book that celebrates the single girl's life in 72 haikus I feel its approach, Inevitable as death: Internet dating. Unsolicited relationship advice from relatives, disastrous dates, men who wear thumb rings, and the moments of deep satisfaction when a single girl realizes that (unlike her smug married friends) she can do whatever she wants with her time - it's all here in this brilliantly incisive and witty collection of haikus. Every woman - whether single or not - will laugh until she cries, and then start laughing all over again.

Written by Josh Richman and Anish Sheth, M.D. (the power poo couple who brought you the adult poo reference version — “What’s Your Poo Telling You”), this book is actually remarkably fascinating and useful.

Pregnancy—unquestionably one of the most pro­found, meaningful experiences of adulthood—can reduce otherwise intelligent women to, well, babies. Pregnant women are told to avoid cold cuts, sushi, alcohol, and coffee without ever being told why these are forbidden. Rules for prenatal testing are similarly unexplained. Moms-to-be desperately want a resource that empowers them to make their own right choices. When award-winning economist Emily Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy, and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, Expecting Bettering is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy—and the occasional glass of wine.

Ian Punnett—a Minneapolis-based Episcopal pastor and radio host—has come out with How To Pray When You're Pissed At God: Or Anyone Else for that Matter. (Admittedly the P word is only PG-13. But still. For a pastor, that's a big deal). Title aside—and the title is significant, as it got the book banned from Christian radio—How to Pray is actually a heavyweight (but funny) look at the meaning of evil, and the importance of righteous anger in our lives—and the Bible's use of naughty words. Punnett gives us many sample prayers, including "An Angry Prayer for the Victim of Corporate Greed" to "An Angry Prayer for Those Who Are Cut Off in Traffic."