From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory and Bewilderment, a visionary novel about the failings of the American dream. 'It's not possible for powers to write an uninteresting book' Margaret Atwood In Lacewood, Illinois, Laura Bodey, a divorced mother of two and real estate agent, plunges into a new existence when she learns that she has cancer. This same small town is home to Clare & Company, a soap manufacturer begun by three brothers in nineteenth-century Boston. Over the course of more than a century, it transforms into a powerful international corporation. Clare & Company's stunning growth reflects America's kaleidoscopic history, yet for Laura and her family, this wild success has profound and lasting consequences. 'Penetrating and splendidly written... Dazzling' New York Times

As he did in WHO NOT HOW, Dr. Benjamin Hardy shares one of Dan Sullivan’s simple yet profound teachings that until now has been known only to his Strategic Coach clients: unsuccessful people focus on “The Gap,” but successful people focus on “The Gain.” "[T]his one simple concept is a masterclass on positive psychology, healthy relationships, mental well-being, and high-performance. Everything that psychologists know about how to create a high-functioning and successful person can be achieved using The GAP and the GAIN."- Dr. Benjamin Hardy Most people, especially highly ambitious people, are unhappy because of how they measure their progress. We all have an "ideal," a moving target that is always out of reach. When we measure ourselves against that ideal, we're in "the GAP." However, when we measure ourselves against our previous selves, we're in "the GAIN." That is where the GAP and the GAIN concept comes in. It was developed by legendary entrepreneur coach Dan Sullivan and is based on his work with tens of thousands of successful entrepreneurs. When Dan's coaching clients periodically take stock of all that they've accomplished-both personally and professionally-they are often shocked at how much they have actually achieved. They weren't able to appreciate their progress because no matter how much they were getting done, they were usually measuring themselves against their ideals or goals. In this book you will learn that measuring your current self vs. your former self has enormous psychological benefits. And that's really the key to this deceptively simple yet multi-layered concept that will have you feeling good, feeling grateful, and feeling like you are making progress even when times are tough, which will in turn bolster motivation, confidence, and future success. If you're finding that happiness eludes you no matter how much you've achieved, then learning this easy mindset shift will set you on a life-changing path to greater fulfillment and success.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Overstory, Richard Powers's Gain braids together two stories on very different scales. In one, Laura Body, divorced mother of two and a real-estate agent in the small town of Lacewood, Illinois, plunges into a new existence when she learns that she has ovarian cancer. In the other, Clare & Company, a soap manufacturer begun by three brothers in nineteenth-century Boston, grows over the course of a century and a half into an international consumer products conglomerate based in Laura's hometown. Clare's stunning growth reflects the kaleidoscopic history of America; Laura Body's life is changed forever by Clare. Gain's stunning conclusion reveals the countless invisible connections between the largest enterprises and the smallest lives.

In the centuries before Europeans crossed the Atlantic, social and material relations among the indigenous Guaraní people of present-day Paraguay were based on reciprocal gift-giving. But the Spanish and Portuguese newcomers who arrived in the sixteenth century seemed interested in the Guaraní only to advance their own interests, either through material exchange or by getting the Guaraní to serve them. This book tells the story of how Europeans felt empowered to pursue individual gain in the New World, and how the Guaraní people confronted this challenge to their very way of being. Although neither Guaraní nor Europeans were positioned to grasp the larger meaning of the moment, their meeting was part of a global sea change in human relations and the nature of economic exchange. Brian P. Owensby uses the centuries-long encounter between Europeans and the indigenous people of South America to reframe the notion of economic gain as a historical development rather than a matter of human nature. Owensby argues that gain—the pursuit of individual, material self-interest—must be understood as a global development that transformed the lives of Europeans and non-Europeans, wherever these two encountered each other in the great European expansion spanning the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries.

The authors - on the cutting edge of the on-line economy as leaders of McKinsey & Company's multimedia practiceexplain why some ventures - like Apple's on-line service, e-World - failed and why the Walt Disney Company cannot afford not to organize an on-line community that targets children.

"Martin Latz's Gain the Edge! is the best book I've ever read on negotiation strategy. If you negotiate for a living or only occasionally, Latz gives you the tools and tactics to succeed before you sit down at the table. Whether it's negotiating Randy Johnson's contract or the purchase of your next car, Gain the Edge! is clear, concise, and unfailingly useful." --Jerry Colangelo, Chairman and CEO, Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns There's always more to learn about negotiation. That one new strategy or tactic you gain from this book may make the difference between your walking away a winner and leaving empty-handed. The margin of difference can be infinitesimal, yet the ramifications are often huge. Negotiating a new salary? Buying a car or a house? Closing a deal with a big client? Discussing where to vacation with your spouse? We negotiate every day. Yet most of us negotiate instinctively and don't give the process the strategic attention it deserves. We suffer as a result. Now negotiation expert Martin E. Latz reveals an easy-to-use strategic template you can use in every negotiation. This is not ivory-tower advice, or advice just based on instincts and experience: The tactics and techniques here come from the most up-to-date research and the knowledge Latz has developed in negotiating on the White House Advance Teams, from consulting with top executives at Fortune 500 companies and law firms nationwide, and from teaching thousands of business professionals and lawyers how to negotiate more effectively. The result is a comprehensive guide that takes you all the way from general strategies and principles--Latz's Five Golden Rules of Negotiation--to specific tips, techniques, and even phrases you can use at the table. Gain the Edge! will arm you with: * Practical strategies to get the information you need before you sit down at the table * Tactics to maximize your leverage when seemingly powerless * Secrets to success in emotionally charged negotiations * A step-by-step system to design the most effective offer-concession strategy * Ways to deal with different personality types, ethics, and negotiation "games" * Specific advice on how to negotiate for your next salary, car, or house * Negotiating tips for other business and personal matters Leave behind instinctive negotiating and its inherent uncertainties. Learn to negotiate strategically. Easy to understand and instantly applicable to real-life situations, Gain the Edge! is the ultimate how-to guide for anyone looking to master this critical subject.

Deaf people are usually regarded by the hearing world as having a lack, as missing a sense. Yet a definition of deaf people based on hearing loss obscures a wealth of ways in which societies have benefited from the significant contributions of deaf people. In this bold intervention into ongoing debates about disability and what it means to be human, experts from a variety of disciplines—neuroscience, linguistics, bioethics, history, cultural studies, education, public policy, art, and architecture—advance the concept of Deaf Gain and challenge assumptions about what is normal. Through their in-depth articulation of Deaf Gain, the editors and authors of this pathbreaking volume approach deafness as a distinct way of being in the world, one which opens up perceptions, perspectives, and insights that are less common to the majority of hearing persons. For example, deaf individuals tend to have unique capabilities in spatial and facial recognition, peripheral processing, and the detection of images. And users of sign language, which neuroscientists have shown to be biologically equivalent to speech, contribute toward a robust range of creative expression and understanding. By framing deafness in terms of its intellectual, creative, and cultural benefits, Deaf Gain recognizes physical and cognitive difference as a vital aspect of human diversity. Contributors: David Armstrong; Benjamin Bahan, Gallaudet U; Hansel Bauman, Gallaudet U; John D. Bonvillian, U of Virginia; Alison Bryan; Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, Gallaudet U; Cindee Calton; Debra Cole; Matthew Dye, U of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign; Steve Emery; Ofelia García, CUNY; Peter C. Hauser, Rochester Institute of Technology; Geo Kartheiser; Caroline Kobek Pezzarossi; Christopher Krentz, U of Virginia; Annelies Kusters; Irene W. Leigh, Gallaudet U; Elizabeth M. Lockwood, U of Arizona; Summer Loeffler; Mara Lúcia Massuti, Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil; Donna A. Morere, Gallaudet U; Kati Morton; Ronice Müller de Quadros, U Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil; Donna Jo Napoli, Swarthmore College; Jennifer Nelson, Gallaudet U; Laura-Ann Petitto, Gallaudet U; Suvi Pylvänen, Kymenlaakso U of Applied Sciences; Antti Raike, Aalto U; Päivi Rainò, U of Applied Sciences Humak; Katherine D. Rogers; Clara Sherley-Appel; Kristin Snoddon, U of Alberta; Karin Strobel, U Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil; Hilary Sutherland; Rachel Sutton-Spence, U of Bristol, England; James Tabery, U of Utah; Jennifer Grinder Witteborg; Mark Zaurov.

Most people use technology to help them keep track of their daily lives. Yet, we're constantly questioning if this is truly a useful 'crutch', or if we're merely damaging our own ability to think and remember. In Brain Gain, Marc Prensky argues that the power of technology improves natural cognitive abilities and benefits us.

The True Story Behind The Movie Pain & Gain This book proves that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction!What if you were kidnapped, tied to a wall for a month, starved, humiliated, tortured and then they tried to murder you, but you survived? What stories would you tell of how you were able to survive and the struggles you went through? What if you went to the police and they did not believe you? What would you do to evade those trying to kill you and how would you bring the criminals to justice before they struck again? How would that change your life and the way you perceived the world and people? Read this amazing book to find out! The year was 1994, Marc and his family lived and ordinary middle class life in Miami, Florida. Little did he know that in November of that year his life and that of his family would change forever. The events that were to unfold could not be conceived by the wildest imagination.In this amazing book he narrates the events that led to his kidnapping and his attempted murder. It will transport and place you in the warehouse where he was held and give you a unique perspective of the events that transpired during that horrific month and the physical and mental struggle to beat the odds and survive.Marc chronicles his story in torturous detail. His humiliation, pain and suffering at the hands of the Sun Gang Gym and his miraculous survival.You will understand how and why he survived and that everything can be taken from a human being, but the one's spirit and determination to survive can never be.No one believed his story, not the police or anyone else. Nevertheless, he maintained steadfast and determined to bring the criminals to justice before they struck again.Truly a harrowing tale and one that not only you soon won't forget but will uplift and inspire you!!Scroll up and grab your copy today and start reading one of the most intriguing stories in the last 20 years!!