Many of us assume that our creative process is beyond our ability to influence, and pay attention to it only when it isn't working properly. For the most part, we go about our daily tasks and everything just "works." Until it doesn't. Adding to this lack of understanding is the rapidly accelerating pace of work. Each day we are face escalating expectations and a continual squeeze to do more with less. We are asked to produce an ever-increasing amount of brilliance in an ever-shrinking amount of time. There is an unspoken (or spoken!) expectation that we'll be accessible 24/7, and as a result we frequently feel like we're "always on." Now business creativity expert Todd Henry explains how to unleash your creative potential. Whether you're a creative by trade or an "accidental creative," this book will help you quickly and effectively integrate new ideas into your daily life.

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.

"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.

Back in 1998, Dr. Life was sixty years old and a stereotype of the aging man: he was overweight with a noticeable gut and little muscle tone. Even though his own medical practice was thriving, and he thought he knew everything about men's health, the facts proved differently. His libido was low, which was ruining his self-esteem. He felt tired all the time, yet no amount of sleep made him feel well rested. It wasn't until a cardiologist read him the riot act that he even considered that change was possible. He then decided to make critical adjustments to his diet and lifestyle, and the results have been nothing short of astounding. More than a decade later, Dr. Life continues to look and feel younger than ever. He knows that if he can make these changes to his body, his sex life, and his health, any man can. In this revolutionary book, he'll show how you can turn around your health by using the same program he successfully created and follows to this day.

Author Phillip Norman, whose previous bestseller, John Lennon: The Life, was praised as a “haunting, mammoth, terrific piece of work” (New York Times Book Review) and whose classic Shout! is widely considered to be the definitive biography of the Beatles, now turns his attention to the iconic front man of the Rolling Stones, “the greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world.” Norman’s Mick Jagger is an extraordinarily detailed and vibrantly written in-depth account of the life and half-century-long career of one of the most fascinating and complex superstars of rock music—the most comprehensive biography to date of the famously enigmatic musician. Keith Richards had his say in Life. Now it’s time to get to know intimately the other half of the duo responsible for such enduring hits as “Paint It Black,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Gimme Shelter,” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Mick Jagger is a must read for Stones fans, and everyone who can’t get enough of the serious memoirs and biographies of popular musicians, like Patti Smith’s Just Kids, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? by Steven Tyler, and the Warren Zevon story, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.

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.

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.

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.

Naked wine is wine stripped down to its basics-wine as it was meant to be: wholesome, exciting, provocative, living, sensual, and pure. Naked, or natural, wine is the opposite of most New World wines today; Alice Feiring calls them “overripe, over-manipulated, and overblown” and makes her case that good (and possibly great) wine can still be made, if only winemakers would listen more to nature and less to marketers, and stop using additives and chemicals. But letting wine make itself is harder than it seems.

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.

Not For Turning is the first volume of Charles Moore's authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century and one of the most influential political figures of the postwar era. Charles Moore's biography of Margaret Thatcher, published after her death on 8 April 2013, immediately supersedes all earlier books written about her. At the moment when she becomes a historical figure, this book also makes her into a three dimensional one for the first time. It gives unparalleled insight into her early life and formation, especially through her extensive correspondence with her sister, which Moore is the first author to draw on. It recreates brilliantly the atmosphere of British politics as she was making her way, and takes her up to what was arguably the zenith of her power, victory in the Falklands. (This volume ends with the Falklands Dinner in Downing Street in November 1982.) Moore is clearly an admirer of his subject, but he does not shy away from criticising her or identifying weaknesses and mistakes where he feels it is justified. Based on unrestricted access to all Lady Thatcher's papers, unpublished interviews with her and all her major colleagues, this is the indispensable, fully rounded portrait of a towering figure of our times.

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.

Dr. Thomas is at the forefront of a strong nationwide movement to reframe “life after adulthood” as an exciting stage of human growth and development. In Second Wind, he explores the dreams and disappointments, the struggles and triumphs of a generation of 78 million people who once said they would never grow old and never trust anyone over thirty. Instilled with the belief that they would always be Joni Mitchell’s “stardust,” many Boomers are having a harder time transitioning into elderhood than previous generations. But the reality is that every 10.8 seconds an American turns sixty-five. Among all the human beings who have ever lived to see old age, more than half are living among us right now. In Second Wind, Dr. Thomas attempts to guide Boomers into this final developmental stage filled with hope and a new sense of what is possible. As the Post War generation entered adulthood, they saw three models of what an adult could be: hippies, activists, and squares—the “square” model becoming the dominant model. Now, many Boomers now feel “stuck” inside the frenzied, performance-based, money-driven world that no longer suits them. But if they can learn to go slower, go deeper, and be more connected to themselves, their loved ones, and other members of their community, they can find the wisdom, happiness, and fulfillment that comes with a life that is in balance.

Tindle urges readers to give positive psychology a chance for the sake of a longer, healthier, happier life, in this powerful call to action. The assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine begins by presenting sobering evidence for the detrimental physiological effects of negative emotional states—a correlation has been shown between feelings of anger and hostility and heart disease, and tests indicate that individuals with “high levels of emotional distress” are more likely to suffer from dementia. In order to avoid these and other pitfalls, Tindle elucidates her “7 Steps of Attitudinal Change,” beginning with a self-assessment to help readers achieve the first goal: “Determine your current attitude latitude.” From there, she guides readers along a proactive path intended to redirect their gaze upward and onward. Practical activities along the way include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques and guided meditation, and Tindle provides several successful case studies to demonstrate the real-world effects of her prescriptions. Anyone looking to make an attitude adjustment for his or her physical or mental health will find something of value in Tindle’s advice, and her final chapter on applying her ideas to the betterment of a larger community is inspiring.

When beach-volleyball star and fashion model Reece (Big Girl in the Middle, 1998) became a mother, she tackled it just like she did everything else in her life: head-on and with no baloney. With the assistance of Karbo (How Georgia Became O'Keeffe, 2011, etc.), Reece blends simple wisdom on being a mom, wife and friend with personal anecdotes. The end result is mostly a series of platitudes on life—"exercise is the key to everything," "spending time with couples who are making their marriages work ups the odds that you'll make yours work, too," "eating well is not complicated," "if you want your partnership to last, you better plan on being naked and smiling”—with humorous comments on being a new mom and wife. Reece covers birthing, exercise, diet, sex, commitment and the need for community service, but most of the information is similar to what can be found in many women’s magazines. Reece advocates for less computer and electronic-gadget time—get outdoors and enjoy the scenery, she writes—stresses the importance of children knowing who's in charge while allowing them time to become their own independent selves, and encourages women to take time for themselves, even for an hour. The end result is not that women have it all, but that they are the queens of their domains; if they have the kindness, generosity and work ethic to reach for that goal, then they “will live interestingly ever after."

For the first time in history, women make up half the educated labor force and are earning the majority of advanced degrees. It should be the best time ever for women, and yet... it’s not. Storm clouds are gathering, and the worst thing is that most women don’t have a clue what could be coming. In large part this is because the message they’re being fed is that they now have it made. But do they? In The New Soft War on Women, respected experts on gender issues and the psychology of women Caryl Rivers and Rosalind C. Barnett argue that an insidious war of subtle biases and barriers is being waged that continues to marginalize women. Although women have made huge strides in recent years, these gains have not translated into money and influence. Consider the following: - Women with MBAs earn, on average, $4,600 less than their male counterparts in their first job out of business school. - Female physicians earn, on average, 39 percent less than male physicians. - Female financial analysts take in 35 percent less, and female chief executives one quarter less than men in similar positions. In this eye-opening book, Rivers and Barnett offer women the real facts as well as tools for combating the “soft war” tactics that prevent them from advancing in their careers. With women now central to the economy, determining to a large degree whether it thrives or stagnates, this is one war no one can afford for them to lose.

Distilling eleven years of expert reporting for the New York Times, Reuters, and the Atlantic, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David Rohde presents an incisive look at the calamitous privatization of the war on terror. Beyond War is a clarion call for change in American policies and attitudes toward a rapidly changing Middle East. Rohde argues that using lethal force is necessary at times, but economic growth and Muslim moderates —not American soldiers—will eradicate militancy in the long term. Vast mistakes have been made, but it is not too late. By scaling back our ambitions, focusing on economics and working with Muslim moderates, we will achieve more.

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.

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.

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.  

‘China is not a superpower, nor will she ever seek to be one,” said Deng Xiaoping to the United Nations in 1974. If China should ever “subject others to her bullying, aggression and exploitation,” continued Deng, “the people of the world should identify her social- imperialism, expose it, oppose it, and work together with the Chinese people to overthrow it.” To be fair, in 1974 Deng was not yet the Little Helmsman who would dismantle Maoism and introduce the market systems that within three decades turned China into a superpower with a growing appetite for social-imperialism. He was still lurking beneath the shadows of the Cultural Revolution and the Gang of Four. His words remind us nonetheless of how much has changed since the East was Red. They cannot come back now to embarrass Deng Xiaoping, who died in 1997 at 92 years. His successors are doubtless grateful that the people of China and the rest of the world failed to take them to heart. Deng’s protestations to the UN are quoted towards the end of China’s Silent Army. The thesis developed by Spanish journalists Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araujo in the course of their extraordinary international investigations is that China is creating “a new, informal empire”, and not only in the developing world.

We all know expectations matter—in school, in sports, in the stock market. From a healing placebo to a run on the bank, hints of their self-fulfilling potential have been observed for years. But we’ve never fully understood why. Journalist Chris Berdik offers a captivating look at the frontiers of expectations research, revealing how our assumptions bend reality. We learn how placebo calories can fill us up, how fake surgery can sometimes work better than real surgery, and how imaginary power can be corrupting. Mind Over Mind is a journey into the most exciting area of brain research today.

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.

After years of struggling with her weight, Good Morning America weekly contributor Tory Johnson decided to make a change in her life—and lost 62 pounds in a year. She shares her success—and tells others how they too can make a change—in her just-published book, The Shift: How I Finally Lost Weight & Discovered a Happier Life. I asked Tory about her book, the inspiration behind it, and her weight-loss tips.