Larry David, the man behind two of the most successful and critically acclaimed sitcoms in television history, is the focus of this biography. This unofficial guide follows the career that has accorded him status as a comic genius and garnered a fanatical following—from his early exploits as a stand-up comic to his role as producer and cocreator of Seinfeld and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. It explores the back-story of the conception and development of Curb Your Enthusiasm, a mostly improvised sitcom in which the actor stars as a fictionalized version of himself. The comic’s on- and off-screen relationships with colleagues and friends such as Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, Wanda Sykes, Mary Steenburgen, and the cast members of Seinfeld are discussed, and a detailed episode guide to every season of Curb Your Enthusiasm completes this informative and entertaining glimpse into the life and creative process of a great comic talent.

In Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good, titled after Larry David's key catchphrase, readers follow the early exploits of Larry's stand-up career, his days writing for Seinfeld and learn how Curb was conceived and developed. The book also explores Larry's on and off-screen relationships with famous pals like Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and the cast of Seinfeld and contains an in-depth episode guide to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The first book devoted entirely to women in bluegrass, Pretty Good for a Girl documents the lives of more than seventy women whose vibrant contributions to the development of bluegrass have been, for the most part, overlooked. Accessibly written and organized by decade, the book begins with Sally Ann Forrester, who played accordion and sang with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys from 1943 to 1946, and continues into the present with artists such as Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, and the Dixie Chicks. Drawing from extensive interviews, well-known banjoist Murphy Hicks Henry gives voice to women performers and innovators throughout bluegrass's history, including such pioneers as Bessie Lee Mauldin, Wilma Lee Cooper, and Roni and Donna Stoneman; family bands including the Lewises, Whites, and McLains; and later pathbreaking performers such as the Buffalo Gals and other all-girl bands, Laurie Lewis, Lynn Morris, Missy Raines, and many others.

Over 2,200 Jokes from America’s favorite live radio show A treasury of hilarity from Garrison Keillor and the cast of public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion. A guy walks into a bar. Eight Canada Geese walk into a bar. A termite jumps up on the bar and asks, “Where is the bar tender?” Drum roll. The Sixth Edition of the perennially popular Pretty Good Joke Book is everything the first five were and more. More puns, one-liners, light bulb jokes, knock-knock jokes, and third-grader jokes (have you heard the one about Elvis Parsley?). More religion jokes, political jokes, lawyer jokes, blonde jokes, and jokes in questionable taste (Why did the urologist lose his license? He got in trouble with his peers). More jokes about chickens, relationships, and senior moments (the nice thing about Alzheimer’s is you can enjoy the same jokes again and again). It all started back in 1996, when A Prairie Home Companion fans laughed themselves silly during the first Joke Show. The broadcast was such a hit that it became an almost-annual gagfest. Then fans wanted to read the jokes, share them, and pass them around, and the first Pretty Good Joke Book was born. With over 200 new and updated jokes, the latest edition promises countless giggles, chortles, and guffaws anyone—fans of the radio show or not—will enjoy.

“[A] new literary genre, the MBA Memoir . . . Delivers 97 pearls of warmth, wit and wisdom from the most inspirational entrepreneur I have ever met.” —Frances Edmonds, bestselling author of Repotting Your Life Called the “Queen of Beauty” and the most influential lone woman to impact the beauty industry since Estée Lauder by the New York Times, Leslie Blodgett’s story is anything but ordinary. As the CEO of BareMinerals, she reinvented how beauty was sold by tapping into the power of community before the idea of social media existed. In 2006, Blodgett took the company public in one of the largest cosmetic IPOs of the decade, and in 2010, the company was acquired for $1.8 billion. Pretty Good Advice is her next chapter. This refreshing book features 97 candid and entertaining insights on business, life, and beauty. Personal and often surprising, Blodgett dishes on leading with humor, why wearing blush and reading obituaries are two of the most optimistic things you can do, and why you owe it to your coworkers not to be boring. Pretty Good Advice is full of frank, actionable advice to help light a fire under you. “If you want to laugh, get totally inspired, learn a bunch and enjoy reading something so engrossing you won’t put it down but you could because it’s written in these amazing one-ish-page chunks, GET IT. Could not be better for right now.” —Jean Godfrey June, Beauty Editor, GOOP “A moving and clear-eyed memoir of an extraordinary life. Charmingly made-up as a how-to guide, Leslie chronicles that life in vivid and memorable lessons that jump off the page.” —John W. Evans, author of Should I Still Wish

Pretty Good House provides a framework and set of guidelines for building or renovating a high-performance home that focus on its inhabitants and the environment--but keeps in mind that few people have pockets deep enough to achieve a "perfect" solution. The essential idea is for homeowners to work within their financial and practical constraints both to meet their own needs and do as much for the planet as possible. A Pretty Good House is: * A house that's as small as possible * Simple and durable, but also well designed * Insulated and air-sealed * Above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible, and resilient.

Everyone knows how to live the good life in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany. Now, Matthew Amster-Burton makes you fall in love with Tokyo. Experience this exciting and misunderstood city through the eyes of three Americans vacationing in a tiny Tokyo apartment. Follow 8-year-old Iris on a solo errand to the world's greatest supermarket, picnic on the bullet train, and eat a staggering array of great, inexpensive foods, from eel to udon. A humorous travel memoir in the tradition of Peter Mayle and Bill Bryson, Pretty Good Number One is the next best thing to a ticket to Tokyo. Includes a new afterword by the author featuring Christmas in Tokyo, fried UFOs, a robotic sushi restaurant, and more. "The layers of the city, its extraordinary food pleasures, its quirkinesses, emerge as the author and his family spend an intense month living in Tokyo and exploring widely...Warning: this book will make you hungry. You'll yearn, as I do, to catch the next plane to Tokyo, so you can get eating." —Naomi Duguid, writer and traveler; her most recent book is BURMA: Rivers of Flavor (Artisan 2012) "This is the book I've been hoping Matthew would write: smart, opinionated, and wickedly funny, crammed with in-the-know tips and observations about visiting Tokyo. From the intricacies of garbage sorting to the chirpy jingle for the local supermarket, the pleasures of pan-fried soup dumplings to the pain of junsai, I laughed, cringed, and got so hungry that I had to eat three bowls of cereal to make it to the end. I love this book." —Molly Wizenberg, author of A Homemade Life and creator of Orangette

Pretty Good Privacy, or "PGP", is an encryption program widely available on the Internet. The program runs on MS-DOS, UNIX, and the Mac. PGP: Pretty Good Privacy offers both a readable technical user's guide and a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at cryptography and privacy, explaining how to get PGP from publicly available sources and how to install it on various platforms.

After Emery Hazard loses his job as a detective in Saint Louis, he heads back to his hometown--and to the local police force there. Home, though, brings no happy memories, and the ghosts of old pain are very much alive in Wahredua. Hazard’s new partner, John-Henry Somerset, had been one of the worst tormentors, and Hazard still wonders what Somerset’s role was in the death of Jeff Langham, Hazard’s first boyfriend. When a severely burned body is discovered, Hazard finds himself drawn deeper into the case than he expects. Determining the identity of the dead man proves impossible, and solving the murder grows more and more unlikely. But as the city’s only gay police officer, Hazard is placed at the center of a growing battle between powerful political forces. To his surprise, Hazard finds an unlikely ally in his partner, the former bully. And as they spend more time together, something starts to happen between them, something that Hazard can’t--and doesn’t want--to explain. The discovery of a second mutilated corpse, though, reveals clues that the two murders are linked, and as Hazard gets closer to answers, he uncovers a conspiracy of murder and betrayal that goes deeper--and closer to home--than he could ever expect.

Reduce the time and stress associated with your presentations Bookshelves are crowded with books on how to be an exceptional presenter and promise to produce a brilliant, standing-ovation speaker. But what about a presentation resource for the rest of us? There are so many of us regular folk who who want to spend just a little time and effort to get over the big hurdle of giving a presentation, but don't know where to turn for advice. How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation is the easy answer to this common need. Straightforward, entertaining, and well-organized, this user-friendly resource will walk you step-by-step through the process from how to write, rehearse, and deliver a pretty good presentation that will make you appear confident, memorable, and competent. Although it does not promise the moon (or a standing ovation), this public speaking survival guide will help you: Appear confident (even while still feeling nervous!) Take the spotlight off of you and put it on your content Save time Not put people to sleep with your PowerPoint Presentation Produce better results Make better impressions Reduce the feelings of dread, sleeplessness, and procrastination associated with your presentations Prepare even if you've waited until the day before or an hour before your presentation is to be given Whatever your job, if you need to give a presentation and are feeling overwhelmed by it, How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation is there for you. If you want to reduce the time and stress associated with your presentations now and pass all future presentation opportunities with flying colors, then pick up this fun and accessible guide; you'll no doubt like the resulting improvement in both your personal and professional bottom line.