In this fascinating exploration of one of the most celebrated and innovative minds, best-selling author Alan Axelrod cuts through the myths and reverence surrounding Edison’s “genius” to show how the inventor was, in fact, an ordinary man who created extraordinary work. While many of us believe that creativity, like genius, is something that just happens by chance or destiny, Edison’s life demonstrates that creativity of the very highest order can indeed be summoned up at will, and even reduced to a reliable working method and set of principles.
In 2000, Edison Schools, the nation's largest education management organization, asked RAND to analyze its achievement outcomes and design implementation. RAND evaluated Edison's strategies for promoting student achievement in its schools, how it implemented those strategies, how its management affected student achievement, and what factors explained differences in achievement trends among its schools.
Nikola Tesla was a major contributor to the electrical revolution that transformed daily life at the turn of the twentieth century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of modern AC electricity, and contributed to the development of radio and television. Like his competitor Thomas Edison, Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, enjoying the company of New York high society and dazzling the likes of Mark Twain with his electrical demonstrations. An astute self-promoter and gifted showman, he cultivated a public image of the eccentric genius. Even at the end of his life when he was living in poverty, Tesla still attracted reporters to his annual birthday interview, regaling them with claims that he had invented a particle-beam weapon capable of bringing down enemy aircraft. Plenty of biographies glamorize Tesla and his eccentricities, but until now none has carefully examined what, how, and why he invented. In this groundbreaking book, W. Bernard Carlson demystifies the legendary inventor, placing him within the cultural and technological context of his time, and focusing on his inventions themselves as well as the creation and maintenance of his celebrity. Drawing on original documents from Tesla's private and public life, Carlson shows how he was an "idealist" inventor who sought the perfect experimental realization of a great idea or principle, and who skillfully sold his inventions to the public through mythmaking and illusion. This major biography sheds new light on Tesla's visionary approach to invention and the business strategies behind his most important technological breakthroughs.
Our language is full of hundreds of quotations that are often cited but seldom confirmed. Ralph Keyes's The Quote Verifier considers not only classic misquotes such as "Nice guys finish last," and "Play it again, Sam," but more surprising ones such as "Ain't I a woman?" and "Golf is a good walk spoiled," as well as the origins of popular sayings such as "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings," "No one washes a rented car," and "Make my day." Keyes's in-depth research routinely confounds widespread assumptions about who said what, where, and when. Organized in easy-to-access dictionary form, The Quote Verifier also contains special sections highlighting commonly misquoted people and genres, such as Yogi Berra and Oscar Wilde, famous last words, and misremembered movie lines. An invaluable resource for not just those with a professional need to quote accurately, but anyone at all who is interested in the roots of words and phrases, The Quote Verifier is not only a fascinating piece of literary sleuthing, but also a great read.
Thomas Edison once commented that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. It is the one percent that produces the spark to ignite the light of creative action. It also provides the basis of this book, which contains quotations from many sources past and present on the subject of Inspiration. Most of us have, at some time or another, encountered a person whose words or deeds - and maybe both - captured our imagination and gave us a glimpse of what can be achieved by a human being who refuses to believe in the impossibility of their dreams. There are lots of quotations here to make you think and encourage you to find your own inspiration by applying some of the words to yourself. True inspiration provides motivation. You can continue to merely dream or read these quotations and be inspired to take yourself to a new level!
The Christian Writers Market Guide - 2021 Edition is the most comprehensive and recommended resource on the market for finding an agent, an editor, a publisher, a writing coach, a podcast, a writing course, or a place to sell whatever you are writing. Wherever you are in your writing journey the Guide will help you find what you are looking for. Nearly 1,000 listings including more than 200 book publishers, 150 periodical publishers, 40 specialty markets, 200 writers conferences and writers groups around the world, 40 literary agencies, 250 freelance editors and designers, 15 writing-related podcasts, and much more!
An A to Z of Mindfulness for Christians is geared to help Christians live in the now, the present -- the presence of God -- by encouraging them to explore mindfulness. Studies show that mindfulness benefits not only people with depression, anxiety and pain; it also benefits those who do not live with such conditions but who would like nonetheless to have greater well-being in their lives. Drawing from personal experience and the experience of others, David Harper shows how mindfulness can make a positive impact on well-being and therefore on faith and spirituality, while countering some of the myths about mindfulness. Divided into 52 themes and spanning the alphabet, An A to Z of Mindfulness for Christians explores aspects of mindfulness and how they relate to being a Christian. Each letter represents two relevant themes, from Awake and Attitude to Body and Breath to Zest and Zacchaeus, and each theme is informative, encouraging and overlaps with spirituality, faith and mindfulness.
This book covers research design and methodology from a unique and engaging point of view, based on accounts from influential researchers across the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Most books and articles about research in criminology and criminal justice focus on how the research was carried out: the data that were used, the methods that were applied, the results that were achieved. While these are all important, they do not present a complete picture. Envisioning Criminology: Researchers on Research as a Process of Discovery aims to fill that gap by providing nuance--the “back story” of why researchers selected particular problems, how they approached those problems, and how their background, training, and experience affected the approaches they took. As the contributions in this book demonstrate, research is not a cut-and-dried process, as all too many methods books imply, but a living, breathing–and in some ways quirky–process that is influenced by non-“scientific” factors. The path taken by a researcher is important, and an appreciation of his or her background, experience, knowledge–and the setbacks and triumphs of performing the research–provides a much more complete picture of how research is done. The twenty-eight chapters in this book describe the back stories of their authors, which serve to enlighten readers about the interplay between the personal and the methodological. While primarily aimed as a textbook, this work will also be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and related Social and Behavioral Science fields as an account of how seminal researchers in the field developed their key contributions.
* WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * An insider's account of Apple's creative process during the golden years of Steve Jobs. Hundreds of millions of people use Apple products every day; several thousand work on Apple's campus in Cupertino, California; but only a handful sit at the drawing board. Creative Selection recounts the life of one of the few who worked behind the scenes, a highly-respected software engineer who worked in the final years of the Steve Jobs era—the Golden Age of Apple. Ken Kocienda offers an inside look at Apple’s creative process. For fifteen years, he was on the ground floor of the company as a specialist, directly responsible for experimenting with novel user interface concepts and writing powerful, easy-to-use software for products including the iPhone, the iPad, and the Safari web browser. His stories explain the symbiotic relationship between software and product development for those who have never dreamed of programming a computer, and reveal what it was like to work on the cutting edge of technology at one of the world's most admired companies. Kocienda shares moments of struggle and success, crisis and collaboration, illuminating each with lessons learned over his Apple career. He introduces the essential elements of innovation—inspiration, collaboration, craft, diligence, decisiveness, taste, and empathy—and uses these as a lens through which to understand productive work culture. An insider's tale of creativity and innovation at Apple, Creative Selection shows readers how a small group of people developed an evolutionary design model, and how they used this methodology to make groundbreaking and intuitive software which countless millions use every day.
