author bio: David Klein had retired as Professor of Social Sciences from Michigan State University, where he taught much of the material in this book. Marymae Klein was a college reference librarian who devoted much of her time to helping students find authoritative source materials for their various assignments. The Kleins, who have written a number of books for young readers, now live in Seattle. Book Reviews: "Certainly an eye-opening and thought-provoking introduction to how to use one抯 power of reason in discriminating sense from nonsense." Booklist "This is a well-written, interesting, easy-to-read book. I recommend it for middle-school students and adults." Science Teacher, February 1986 "An articulate introduction to the art of logical thinking匰tressing at all times the value of a questioning mind, the authors cannily use statistical subjects that are of interest to young people, such as the accident rates of teenage drivers 匛venhanded in its treatment of issues, the book is outstanding in its clarity, sometimes surprising in its conclusions, and fascinating." The Horn Book How Do You Know It抯 True? has joined my short list of hallmark children抯 literature titles." Linda Winkler, St. Petersburg Times

Discusses the difference between science and superstition, the basic nature of science as a way of thinking, and the ways in which amazing events can be explained rationally.

With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.

"J.R. is a great storyteller..."-Carson Winter, author of Soft Targets J.R. Hamantaschen, a name synonymous with groundbreaking underground horror, returns with his latest collection. Channeling the essence of horror legends like H.P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, Clive Barker, T.E.D. Klein, and Dennis Etchison, this collection cements his status as a master storyteller in the realm of dark fiction, blending nihilism, the grotesque, and the philosophical in a way that only he can. "Hamantaschen nails the kind of dark, acerbic weirdity that we've always looked for..."-The Drabblecast "If you love the pessimism and nihilism of Thomas Ligotti but want something a touch more edgy, this is the book for you."-Horror Tree "Defies categorization: there's nothing else out there like it. Recommended for fans of unusual writing."-Monster Librarian "In truth, there is so much in this collection that warrants dissection and discussion, a simple review can barely scratch the surface."-Ginger Nuts of Horror "Fantastic stuff."-Alex Wolfgang, author of Splinter and Other Stories

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

Two journalists provide a guide for navigating through the Internet Age's viral and opinion-based news sources, explaining how to discern what sources or facts are reliable and how to think like a journalist and unearth the truth.

Mary DeGregorio decides her family should take their first cruise-catapulting them into the vacation from hell. Their humorous adventure begins with a wild bus ride through the streets of New York City, the all to rapid education of young Jennifer, Mary's attempt to save the morals of a priest to make up for the incident with the Pope, and, most of all, eldest son's-B.A.D. and his boys- clash with a group of jewel thieves. The wild cruise culminates in a fierce firefight as 'Horseshit' Harry and his gang attempts their escape with the jewels. This all confirms Al DeGregorio's simple philosophy of life -..it Happens! This is never more evident than when B.A.D. and his boys struggle to escape from the jewel thieves: "Frozen by the headlights like deer, Big Louie and Rosie naked, they were resigned to the failure of their escape. They were dead meat."

Presents elements of clinical trial methods that are essential in planning, designing, conducting, analyzing, and interpreting clinical trials with the goal of improving the evidence derived from these important studies This Third Edition builds on the text’s reputation as a straightforward, detailed, and authoritative presentation of quantitative methods for clinical trials. Readers will encounter the principles of design for various types of clinical trials, and are then skillfully guided through the complete process of planning the experiment, assembling a study cohort, assessing data, and reporting results. Throughout the process, the author alerts readers to problems that may arise during the course of the trial and provides common sense solutions. All stages of therapeutic development are discussed in detail, and the methods are not restricted to a single clinical application area. The authors bases current revisions and updates on his own experience, classroom instruction, and feedback from teachers and medical and statistical professionals involved in clinical trials. The Third Edition greatly expands its coverage, ranging from statistical principles to new and provocative topics, including alternative medicine and ethics, middle development, comparative studies, and adaptive designs. At the same time, it offers more pragmatic advice for issues such as selecting outcomes, sample size, analysis, reporting, and handling allegations of misconduct. Readers familiar with the First and Second Editions will discover revamped exercise sets; an updated and extensive reference section; new material on endpoints and the developmental pipeline, among others; and revisions of numerous sections. In addition, this book: • Features accessible and broad coverage of statistical design methods—the crucial building blocks of clinical trials and medical research -- now complete with new chapters on overall development, middle development, comparative studies, and adaptive designs • Teaches readers to design clinical trials that produce valid qualitative results backed by rigorous statistical methods • Contains an introduction and summary in each chapter to reinforce key points • Includes discussion questions to stimulate critical thinking and help readers understand how they can apply their newfound knowledge • Provides extensive references to direct readers to the most recent literature, and there are numerous new or revised exercises throughout the book Clinical Trials: A Methodologic Perspective, Third Edition is a textbook accessible to advanced undergraduate students in the quantitative sciences, graduate students in public health and the life sciences, physicians training in clinical research methods, and biostatisticians and epidemiologists. This book is accompanied by downloadable files available below under the DOWNLOADS tab. These files include: MATHEMATICA program – A set of downloadable files that tracks the chapters, containing code pertaining to each. SAS PROGRAMS and DATA FILES used in the book. The following software programs, included in the downloadables, were developed by the author, Steven Piantadosi, M.D., Ph.D: RANDOMIZATION – This program generates treatment assignments for a clinical trial using blocked stratified randomization. CRM – Implements the continual reassessment methods for dose finding clinical trials. OPTIMAL – Calculates two-stage optimal phase II designs using the Simon method. POWER – This is a power and sample size program for clinical trials. Executables for installing these programs can also be found at https://risccweb.csmc.edu/biostats/. Steven Piantadosi, MD, PhD, is the Phase One Foundation Distinguished Chair and Director of the Samuel Oschin Cancer Institute, and Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Piantadosi is one of the world’s leading experts in the design and analysis of clinical trials for cancer research. He has taught clinical trials methods extensively in formal courses and short venues. He has advised numerous academic programs and collaborations nationally regarding clinical trial design and conduct, and has served on external advisory boards for the National Institutes of Health and other prominent cancer programs and centers. The author of more than 260 peer-reviewed scientific articles, Dr. Piantadosi has published extensively on research results, clinical applications, and trial methodology. While his papers have contributed to many areas of oncology, he has also collaborated on diverse studies outside oncology including lung disease and degenerative neurological disease.