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33,000 PAGES

44 MILLION WORDS

10 BILLION YEARS OF HISTORY

1 OBSESSED MAN

Part memoir and part education (or lack thereof), The Know-It-All chronicles NPR contributor A.J. Jacobs's hilarious, enlightening, and seemingly impossible quest to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z.

To fill the ever-widening gaps in his Ivy League education, A.J. Jacobs sets for himself the daunting task of reading all thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His wife, Julie, tells him it's a waste of time, his friends believe he is losing his mind, and his father, a brilliant attorney who had once attempted the same feat and quit somewhere around Borneo, is encouraging but unconvinced.

With self-deprecating wit and a disarming frankness, The Know-It-All recounts the unexpected and comically disruptive effects Operation Encyclopedia has on every part of Jacobs's life -- from his newly minted marriage to his complicated relationship with his father and the rest of his charmingly eccentric New York family to his day job as an editor at Esquire. Jacobs's project tests the outer limits of his stamina and forces him to explore the real meaning of intelligence as he endeavors to join Mensa, win a spot on Jeopardy!, and absorb 33,000 pages of learning. On his journey he stumbles upon some of the strangest, funniest, and most profound facts about every topic under the sun, all while battling fatigue, ridicule, and the paralyzing fear that attends his first real-life responsibility -- the impending birth of his first child.

The Know-It-All is an ingenious, mightily entertaining memoir of one man's intellect, neuroses, and obsessions, and a struggle between the all-consuming quest for factual knowledge and the undeniable gift of hard-won wisdom..
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The guide readers need to retire richer—from the international bestselling author of The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read.

In this thought-provoking and innovative new book, bestselling author Daniel R. Solin takes issue with the commonly held belief that participating in defined contribution retirement plans is a “no-brainer” because of the employer match.

While providing readers with comprehensive, accessible information on the most common deferred compensation plans, annuities, and other retirement-based investments, he shows the 70 million participants currently in those plans how to create the best portfolio with often limited options.

In his straight-forward, no-nonsense style, Solin offers the new rules for investing for retirement and shows readers how to quickly and simply determine their own needs, get control of their assets, avoid scams and sucker bets, discover untapped resources at retirement, and eventually get income out of tax deferred plans—the smart way..
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Just as Watergate was the defining political story of its time, so Enron is the biggest business story of our time. And just as All the President’s Men was the one Watergate book that gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance, The Smartest Guys in the Room is the one book you have to read to understand this amazing business saga..
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Achieve financial security in 90 minutes or less.

Daniel Solin cuts through financial propaganda to show readers exactly how assets should be invested, using trusted, brand name fund managers like Fidelity and Vanguard. Solin's easy-to-follow plan allows investors to create and monitor their portfolios in 90 minutes or less a year, explaining how to assess risk and how to allocate assets to maximize returns and minimize volatility. Readers will also learn how to avoid the biggest mistakes investors make, from buying into media hype to giving their hard earned cash to hyperactive brokers and investment advisors..
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This first book from Chicago author Chris Ware is a pleasantly-decorated view at a lonely and emotionally-impaired "everyman" (Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth), who is provided, at age 36, the opportunity to meet his father for the first time. An improvisatory romance which gingerly deports itself between 1890's Chicago and 1980's small town Michigan, the reader is helped along by thousands of colored illustrations and diagrams, which, when read rapidly in sequence, provide a convincing illusion of life and movement. The bulk of the work is supported by fold-out instructions, an index, paper cut-outs, and a brief apology, all of which concrete to form a rich portrait of a man stunted by a paralyzing fear of being disliked..
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Dating Rocks is a 240 page dating manifesto that outlines everything a woman should do to find, date and keep a man -- from being aware of her physical appearance to honing her listening skills.

The best part of this book is Nakamoto’s wit as he helps the reader along. As a former Dale Carnegie instructor, personal development trainer, and international tour director, Nakamoto knows how to tell a story. There’s a rather amusing tale of how he and a friend had sworn off all women as gold-diggers since all of the women they encountered at an upscale nightclub would only go out with them once. A friend of theirs tells them, "The problem isn’t that these women are gold-diggers. It’s that you guys unfortunately can’t afford them." Lesson to be learned from such wise words: don’t try to place the blame for your lousy love life on someone or something else; be proactive, take control of your love life, and good things will follow.

The book follows a rigid but successful format. Each chapter begins with a nifty quote from a major author or artist, past or present. For instance, Chapter 13 titled "Competition," opens with a quote from Margaret Halsey: "The great disadvantage of being in a rat race is that it is humiliating. The competitors in a rat race are by definition rodents." An honest male prospective that summarizes what is to be learned in the chapter follows these quotes. Nakamoto also includes an anecdote from his life such as the email he received from a woman complaining about an aspect of her dating life, followed by a list of steps on how to successfully accomplish whatever the theme of the chapter happens to be.

Nakamoto, is not new to the "how to catch a man arena." His previous book, Men are like Fish: Everything a Woman Needs to Know about Catching a Man, was a funny, intelligent look at the dating scene with tips on how to not only initiate a great relationship but enhance the one you are in. In his latest book he offers an honest and refreshing male perspective that any woman can use if she finds herself in a dating slump.

Unlike many of the dating books out there, he doesn’t send the message that women should wait for a man to decide what he wants to do about being together but instead he teaches women how to be proactive when it comes to their love life. He tells them to put themselves first -- their needs, wants, and desires. Ladies, you can’t get any better advice than that.

In Dating Rocks you will find no catchy phrases and no antiquated ideals, just good solid advice (that may or may not net you a man), but along the way will provide you with a great deal of fun, insight and personal growth.

Reviewed by Tamika Johnson for ForewordReviews.com.
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From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, when basketball’s Boston Celtics were piecing together a run for the ages, when Montreal’s Canadiens were in the midst of notching a record-setting five straight Stanley Cups, and when the New York Yankees were the once-and-future kings of the diamond, one team boosted the NFL to national prominence as none other: the New York Giants.

In Giants Among Men, Jack Cavanaugh, the acclaimed author of Tunney, transports us to the NFL’s golden age to introduce the close-knit and diverse group that won the heart of a city, helped spread the gospel of pro football across the nation, and recast the NFL as a media colossus.

Central to Cavanaugh’s narrative, and emblematic of the Giants’ bond with their followers, was a hard-nosed future Hall of Fame defensive end named Andy Robustelli. A World War II combat vet, a graduate of Arnold College, undersized and nearing age thirty, Robustelli nevertheless anchored a Giants defensive unit so ferocious that they were the first team to inspire crowds to chant “Dee-fense!” But Robustelli and the Giants were a hit on the gridiron, playing in six NFL Championship Games in eight seasons between 1956 and 1963, the most remarkable aspect of this team was perhaps its relationship to the fans. These Giants were largely composed of ordinary joes who were equally at ease hobnobbing with Gleason and Sinatra at Toots Shor’s as they were rubbing elbows with working-class rooters on the IRT en route to Sunday games in the Bronx–like many of their fans, nearly all Giants players worked second jobs off-season to make ends meet. But the Giants of this era didn’t merely affect the fans’ relationship to the game; they changed the game itself. The team launched the careers of future head-coaching geniuses Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi, as well as those of a galaxy of stars and future Hall-of-Famers including Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Emlen Tunnell, Roosevelt Brown, Y. A. Tittle, Charlie Conerly, Rosie Grier, and Pat Summerall. The Giants teams of this remarkable era were tagged with the soubriquet “Mara Tech” (for the Mara family, who had owned the franchise since its inception)–due to the number of players and coaches who later found success in the boardroom, the broadcast booth, and behind the bench.

Filled with historical and cultural insight and vivid portraits of larger-than-life characters and indispensable everymen, Giants Among Men transcends nostalgia and sports trivia to faithfully depict a watershed era for both football and the American nation.


Praise for Jack Cavanaugh’s Tunney

“Impressively researched and richly detailed . . . a long-overdue portrait of a fascinating fighter.”
–Sports Illustrated

“A winning tale . . . Jack Cavanaugh brings Tunney, Dempsey and the fight scene of the Roaring Twenties back to life.”
–Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“[A] sprawling new biography . . . The boxing scenes are spun gold.”
–The New York Times

“Filled with vivid characters from one of boxing’s most glamorous eras, this tale goes fifteen rounds and delivers plenty of punch.”
–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“One of the primary elements to the greatness of this biography is Cavanaugh’s ability to plumb the confusing depths of celebrity in America.”
–The Denver Post


From the Hardcover edition..
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Microsoft's notoriously grueling interview process has been emulated by companies everywhere that seek to separate the most creative thinkers from the merely brilliant. HOW WOULD YOU MOVE MOUNT FUJI? reveals more than 35 of these challenging riddles and puzzles and, for the first time, shows how answers can be found through creative and effective analytical thinking..
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Beautiful Jim Key -- the one-time ugly duckling of a scrub colt who became one of the most beloved heroes of the turn of the century -- was adored not for his beauty and speed but rather for his remarkable abilities to read, write, spell, do mathematics, even debate politics. Trained with patience and kindness by one of the most renowned horse whisperers of his day -- former slave, Civil War veteran, and self-taught veterinarian Dr. William Key -- Jim performed in expositions across the country to wildly receptive crowds for nine glorious years, smashing box office records, clearing towering hurdles of skepticism and prejudice, and earning the respect and admiration of some of the most influential figures of the era, from Booker T. Washington to President William McKinley.

This is the remarkable true saga of a truly exceptional animal -- and the no less exceptional man who led him to greatness.

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