The great American success story offers you the opportunity to sit down with some of the most accomplished people in America and learn from the best of the best what it takes to be a success. /

My American Success Story: Always the First, Never the Last is the autobiography of Roy Roberts, who became the highest ranking African American executive in the history of General Motors Corporation and the global auto industry. Roberts transformed GM plants, merged its Pontiac and GMC divisions, and coined the term "right-sizing" during a critical period of upheaval and transformation for the U.S. auto industry. My American Success Story chronicles Roberts' spectacular corporate career, community involvement (including his 2011-2013 role as emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools) and fulfilling personal life, highlighted by his 40-year marriage to Maureen, his wife. A consistent theme of Roberts' story is his determination to share success by opening doors for others. As he puts it: "It's not a sin to be the first; it's a sin to be the last."

Updated through the 2012 Olympics. On a July afternoon in 1999, the proudest moment for U.S. soccer occurred in Pasadena, California. In the presence of more than 90,000 fans and viewed by another 40 million on television, the U.S. women outlasted China to win the World Cup. Although the United States has lagged far behind other countries in the men's game, it has been at the forefront when it comes to women's soccer. In the second edition of The U.S. Women's Soccer Team: An American Success Story, Clemente A. Lisi examines how the sport has gained popularity over the past few decades. While other books have been written about the team during a specific year, such as those focused solely on the World Cup win on U.S. soil, Lisi looks beyond this event, detailing the program's infancy and how it steadily became a model for women's teams around the globe. Beginning with the start of the U.S. program in 1985, Lisi recounts the development of the women's team, highlighted by their two first place finishes in the Women's World Cups (1991 and 1999) and four Olympic women's gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012). In addition to chronicling the history of the team as a whole, this book offers mini profiles and photographs of some of the best players over the years, including Julie Foudy, Amy Rodriguez, Hope Solo, and Mia Hamm.

Dave Longaberger was one of the most remarkable entrepreneurs of his generation. His vision, his unorthodox business methods, and his belief in people resulted in the creation of one of the largest and most successful private companies in America. Longaberger: An American Success Story is Dave's fascinating firsthand account of how he created and grew his company into the largest basket manufacturer in the United States, employing thousands of people, revitalizing his community, and inspiring everyone involved with a commitment to quality, craftsmanship, and a unique management philosophy. As Dave himself admits in this moving and compelling memoir, he was an unlikely success story. In addition to having epilepsy and a stutter, Dave suffered from a learning disorder, finally graduating high school at the age of twenty-one. Yet, he ran two profitable businesses, a restaurant and a grocery store -- which, to the horror of bankers and friends, he then sold in order to finance his struggling basket company. Dave was a business maverick who only let adversities make him stronger and more versatile. He became renowned for his managerial skills -- and his sense of humor. More than once he started a food fight at a company event or launched a wild idea -- like the basket-shaped headquarters building -- that just happened to work perfectly. This engaging story shows how Dave Longaberger shared his life and unconventional business sense to create what is now the $1 billion-in-sales Longaberger Company. Join him on his journey as he takes his own unique route to success. Learn about the many original and highly unusual management practices that not only contributed to the strength of the Longaberger enterprise but can make any business run more profitably. Follow Dave's example and develop the entrepreneurial skills necessary for business success. Longaberger: An American Success Story is an affirmation of the American values of independence, hard work, and business ethics. Inspirational as well as informative, this is a moving portrait of an enterprise and an entrepreneur, both of whom are loved and revered by the thousands of people whose lives they have enriched. About The Longaberger Company From a bare-bones beginning with a handful of part-time employees in 1972, Longaberger today, under the leadership of president and CEO Tami Longaberger, employs some 8,700 people and inspires some 70,000 independent sales associates across the United States. The Longaberger Company has a sprawling campus of office facilities, production plants where basket makers create more than 40,000 high-quality baskets every day, and tourist attractions in and around central Ohio.

Case histories of famous company brands and the marketing principles followed to win and hold consumer trust.

“This isn’t just a must-read for military buffs—it’s a source of inspiration for every American and anyone who aspires to be one.” —John Kerry, former US Secretary of State Born in Poland, John Shalikashvili (1936-2011) emigrated to the United States in 1952 and was drafted into the army as a private in 1958. He rose steadily through the ranks, serving in every level of unit command from platoon to division. In 1993, Shalikashvili was tapped by President Bill Clinton to replace General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, becoming the first immigrant, first draftee, and first Officer Candidate School graduate to hold the position. This first-ever biography of Shalikashvili’s riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches story reveals how his distinctive background helped him become one of the United States’s greatest military leaders. He exhibited a unique and unconventional leadership style—employing expertise, humility, straightforwardness, and empathy—that he adroitly used to resolve or prevent destructive conflict. His distinctive leadership style greatly benefited the United States, Europe, and beyond: as when he led the rescue of 500,000 Kurdish refugees in the first Gulf War’s aftermath; when he represented Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell in helping secure loose nukes in the former Soviet republics; as he joined forces with fellow immigrant Madeleine Albright on the Partnership for Peace initiative and NATO enlargement program in the 1990s; and in retirement, when he helped end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, thereby finally allowing gay servicemembers to serve openly without fear of dishonorable discharge. “An engaging story of a remarkable man whose life story would be fascinating even without regard to his military career.” —Foot Notes Blog