Larry Hanson is the second-generation owner of a struggling office furniture store whose desperate attempts for fiscal stability entwine the store with organized crime. Follow the attendant risks and rewards from the seedy mean streets of Philadelphia to the balmy beaches of the Caribbean in this thrilling depiction of one man’s search for financial and personal security among other wants and desires.

This book is for entrepreneurs who want to realize their vision, want to build a major enterprise, want to change the world. To win, you need two things: cash and speed. You need to get the money and then run like crazy. To get the money, you may want to raise it from venture capital (VC) firms. But the reality is far fewer than 1 in 100 companies approaching VCs ever get to ""take the money."" So, the first section of this book provides a behind-the-scenes look at how VC firms work, and more importantly how they think. You'll get first-hand insight into what you can do to improve your chances and what to avoid that can doom your hopes. The second section of the book will help you ""run."" It covers almost every segment of start-up operations, from product development to financing to staffing to sales and marketing. Gerry Langeler's 30 years as a successful venture capitalist and entrepreneur who raised money from top VC firms, provides the secrets to help you achieve your dreams.

In this book, an expert in the field explains why the United States is the world's largest debtor nation and how America's relationship to creditor states is of growing economic, diplomatic, and even national security concern. Foreign countries are not merely investing in U.S. corporations but are purchasing them outright: Abu Dhabi bought Citigroup securities, Kuwait purchased a large block Merrill Lynch stock, and China bought Morgan Stanley's convertible securities-and this happened before the September 2008 meltdown of Wall Street. The means by which wealthy foreign states make these purchases are sovereign wealth funds, their surplus capital that they are seeking to invest in order to generate the greatest return. Currently, the largest sovereign wealth funds are held by the United Arab Emirates (of which Abu Dhabi is part), Norway, Singapore, Kuwait, and the People's Republic of China; Qatar and Libya are also in the top ten. The United States has no such fund (although the state of Alaska does). This book takes a close look at China's and Norway's sovereign wealth funds to explain how they work. The author also uses domestic examples (Harvard's endowment, the California's state employees' retirement fund) to propose how the United States could create a sovereign wealth fund, speculating that such a fund could solve the looming Social Security funds shortfall. Most important, the book elucidates the national security aspects of not having an American sovereign wealth fund when so many other nations-both friend and foe-have them.

One night, Patrick Lott makes two momentous choices that will forever change his life: he takes a fortune belonging to the crime-boss he works for, and he saves a little girl from her totally unfit mother, before he runs to Mexico. He thinks hes rescuing Morinda from a nightmare, but hes only delayed her ordeal. Lott and Morinda live a peaceful existence in the quiet sea-side town of San Estaban, until his past returns to prey on him and his daughter. The Furies have slept for twelve long years, but now theyve awakened. Both Lott and Morinda will be forced to pay the price for the two decisions he made years before. After her fathers shot down in cold blood, Morinda becomes the victim of a savage rape while she crosses the border. She continues north to L.A. alone, trying to find the mother she never knew. On the way, shes plunged into a world of violence and deceit, brutality and betrayal. Ultimately shes brought to a fateful encounter with the man who ordered her fathers death.

This comprehensive guide covers all of the music used in Woody Allen's films from Take the Money and Run (1969) to Match Point (2005). Each film receives scene-by-scene analysis with a focus on how Allen utilized music.

Contains more than one million alphabetically-arranged synonyms grouped in related clusters.

Jon Lucke is a thirty-something adman with an unhappy marriage, a failing business and a lifetime of anxiety and disappointments - until he has a chance meeting with the urbane, ultra-rich Marco Brancusi... Jon is lured into Marco's orbit and catapulted with bewildering speed into a world of glittering success, where it seems all he has ever dreamed of is at last within his reach... And that's just the book-within-the-book, created by the reclusive David O'Connor... Gradually, David's alter ego, begins to see what he has lost in gaining a life of power and luxury; and when the true nature of what he's involved in begins to unfold, he has to make some difficult and dangerous choices. And from then on, you're never quite sure what's real and what's not... Part Faust-with-a-twist, part Hollywood-style blockbuster, The Faust Lane roars page-turningly along, mingling psycho-spiritual insight with out-and-out adventure in an entertaining and thought-provoking mix.

This book is written in an easy-to-understand style for the novice casino player that wants to learn how to play this exciting casino game. The book contains: The basic playing rules, gaming etiquette, and the mechanics of how the game is played in casinos throughout the US; A thorough explanation of all the different bets on the layout, including how to make each bet, how it wins and loses, and what the casinos edge; Which are the best bets on the craps tables; An explanation of the author's successful Increased Odds playing system that takes advantage of the high multiple odds (up to 100 times) that casinos are now offering astute players; New versions of craps that are appearing in casinos; And last but not least, after you read this book you will have the discipline to 'take the money and run'.

This book is for recreational casino players who want to learn how to play blackjack in a casino and more importantly how to win. The book contains three levels of playing strategies. For the beginner, a non-counting strategy that will give you a slight edge in some blackjack games. The intermediate level strategy contains an introduction to card counting. The advanced level playing strategy is a powerful system that will give the blackjack player up to a 1.5% edge over the casinos. The book also contains advice on which blackjack games give you the most profit potential, the risks involved in playing blackjack, how to play without fear of getting barred, and the discipline to 'take the money and run'.