This book is about the author's testimony to his diverse experiences both in growing to manhood and then becoming a Military Intelligence Officer and analyzing Soviet/Russian military and foreign policy.

Finding an apartment in New York City is like the tenth circle of hell. The only way Chase can afford the apartment he wants is to shack up with his buddy's smoking hot and incredibly amazing little sister Josie. Chase is disciplined, focused, and can keep his hands to himself, even in the mere five-hundred square feet they share--until the one night she insists on sliding under the covers with him.

This volume presents multidisciplinary perspectives on the role of cultural values and religious beliefs in adolescent development.

The book is intended to provide a definitive view of the field of humor research for both beginning and established scholars in a variety of fields who are developing an interest in humor and need to familiarize themselves with the available body of knowledge. Each chapter of the book is devoted to an important aspect of humor research or to a disciplinary approach to the field, and each is written by the leading expert or emerging scholar in that area. There are two primary motivations for the book. The positive one is to collect and summarize the impressive body of knowledge accumulated in humor research in and around Humor: The International Journal of Humor Research. The negative motivation is to prevent the embarrassment to and from the "first-timers," often established experts in their own field, who venture into humor research without any notion that there already exists a body of knowledge they need to acquire before publishing anything on the subject-unless they are in the business of reinventing the wheel and have serious doubts about its being round! The organization of the book reflects the main groups of scholars participating in the increasingly popular and high-powered humor research movement throughout the world, an 800 to 1,000-strong contingent, and growing. The chapters are organized along the same lines: History, Research Issues, Main Directions, Current Situation, Possible Future, Bibliography-and use the authors' definitive credentials not to promote an individual view, but rather to give the reader a good comprehensive and condensed view of the area.

Dick GraysonÑthe original RobinÑgets to spend some quality time fighting crime with his mentor for the first time since Batman popped the question to Catwoman. ItÕs a walk down memory lane as Bruce Wayne helps Dick get over the loss of his high-flying acrobat parents, which in turn led to his crime-fighting career. Guest artist Matt Wagner (Mage, TRINITY) jumps on board for this special issue!

Ever notice that sometimes a guy will do something really stupid, like let the love of his life slip through his fingers? Yeah. I'm that guy. But the moment I run into the woman I once loved madly, I've got one goal and one goal only--a second chance. The plan? Go big or go home. Fine, at first glance, stripping naked at my ex-girlfriend's place of work might not seem like the brightest way to win her heart again. But trust me on this count--she always liked me best without any clothes on. And you've got to play to your strengths when you're fighting an uphill battle. As a lawyer, I know how to fight, and I'm prepared to fight hard for her. Because sometimes you need a second chance at first love.

The great majority of startups fail, and most entrepreneurs who have succeeded have had to bounce back from serious mistakes. Entrepreneurs fumble key interactions because they don’t know how to handle the negotiation challenges that almost always arise. They mistakenly believe that deals are about money when they are much more complicated than that. This book presents entrepreneurship as a series of interactions between founders, partners, potential partners, investors and others at various stages of the entrepreneurial process - from seed to exit. There are plenty of authors offering ‘tips’ on how to succeed as an entrepreneur, but no one else scrutinizes the negotiation mistakes that successful entrepreneurs talk about with the authors. As Dinnar and Susskind show, learning to handle emotions, manage uncertainty, cope with technical complexity and build long-term relationships are equally or even more important. This book spotlights eight big mistakes that entrepreneurs often make and shows how most can be prevented with some forethought. It includes interviews with high-profile entrepreneurs about their own mistakes. It also covers gender biases, cultural challenges, and when to employ agents to negotiate on your behalf. Aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs should pay attention to the negotiation errors that even the most successful entrepreneurs commonly make.

Passion and Reason describes how readers can interpret what lies behind their own emotions and those of their families, friends, and co-workers, and provides useful ideas about how to manage our emotions more effectively.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Readers Digest has been telling us this for years, but until recently there was no real evidence to back up the claim. This book discusses the exciting findings scientists have obtained over the past 25 years for how your sense of humor supports good physical and mental health. A separate chapter discusses humor and the brain. The first studies of humor and health demonstrated humor’s ability to strengthen the immune system, reduce pain and reduce levels of stress hormones circulating in the body. These general health-promoting benefits led researchers to study the impact of humor and laughter on specific diseases. This exciting new work has now shown health benefits of humor in connection with coronary heart disease, asthma, COPD, arthritis, certain allergies and diabetes. The two cerebral hemispheres of the brain are shown to play different roles in our understanding and enjoyment of humor. Also, specific dopamine-based pleasure centers in the brain have now been identified which account for the good feeling that results from humor and a good belly laugh. The key to understanding humor’s contribution to health and wellness is its ability to both build more positive emotion into your life and reduce feelings of anger, anxiety and depression. Humor helps provide the emotional resilience needed to meet the challenges presented by steadily increasing stress in our personal and work lives. It is a powerful tool for coping with any form of life stress, and a means of sustaining a positive, optimistic attitude toward life. And it’s never too late to improve your sense of humor. The companion to this book, Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed-Out World (also published by AuthorHouse), presents a hands-on program for learning to use humor to cope.

Based on the assumption that the survival of the nation's schools and their leaders depends on these leaders having real influence over the quality of schooling, this volume draws from the work of many authorities to look at leadership from three perspectives: the person, the structure, and the skills. Chapters focusing on the person who holds the leadership position look at characteristics of today's educational leaders, at what makes an effective leader, at the scarcity of female and black school leaders, and at leadership style. The part of the volume focusing on structure looks at the organizational supports that underlie school leadership. It examines school-based management, management support teams, participative decision-making systems, and determinants of school climate. Chapters on leadership skills highlight several abilities administrators must master to be effective leaders in education today. This part of the volume looks at such skills as communicating, leading meetings, managing time and stress, managing conflicts, and solving problems. Practical suggestions for using this information in schools are offered throughout. (Author/JM)