Terrence Good is a Tennessee native who grew up in a broken home. His step mother (Lynn) split from his father (Harrison Good) who struggles with alcohol addiction. Defiantly, Terrences popularity as a California high school basketball prospect is cut short when; he walks out on his SAT exam, and his team is knocked out of the first round of the CIF playoffs. His NBA basketball career doesnt pan out and he has to pursue an entry level job. Chad Fukumi is a 35 year old devoted Asian American husband and bright sales agent in a cutthroat electricity firm. He asserts himself as a basketballoholic who is very overprotective of his daughter Candace Fukumi who has the IQ of a rocket scientist. Chads sidekick Bob, whos overzealous and not afraid to speak his mind, acts as a mediator between the two of them. Terrence struggles to make ends meet and cope in the ninetofive world, hes evicted from his apartment and hes left to sleep in his dysfunctional car in slum neighborhoods in downtown Los Angeles. No longer able to cope with his failure of becoming a professional basketball player, he sells his pride and joy (a profession grade leather basketball given to him by Harrison when he was a kid). This shameful reality brings Terrence depression and guilt. He finds a powerful amateur basketball coach (coach Mayday) who provides him an opportunity to make a good living by training his basketball prospects. He begins pursuing his dream of making it as a basketball trainer. He crosses paths with Chad who propositions him to train Candace, who has been regarded by coach Maydays association of basketball trainers as an inept prospect. Terrence doesnt think much of girls basketball. She lacks athleticism, and shes too short at 5 feet. However, Terrence accepts Chads handsome offer and she becomes his sixteenth protg and Terence teaches her some stunning basketball skills. But, when a gritty confrontation befalls Terrence involving coach Maydays highly sought after blue chipper, he quits his job with nowhere to go. He later reunites with his off and on ex-friend, Tina. Eventually Terrence comes to grips with the fact that he has anger management issues. Despite his family troubles when he was a kid, he realizes that Candace has a mysterious talent-gift that stems far beyond the game of basketball, hopeful she will redeem him as a basketball coach.

Bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein exposes the big money and back-room deals that pervade college-basketball recruiting in this fast-break young adult novel. Terrell Jamerson is the #1 high school basketball player in the country. His team is poised to win State, top colleges are lining up to give him scholarships, and everyone says he could play in the NBA tomorrow. But it only takes one false step to lose everything. Danny Wilcox is Terrell’s best friend and teammate, and a top prospect himself, but these days it seems like everyone wants to get close to Terrell: the sneaker guys, the money managers, the college boosters. They show up offering fast cars, hot girls, and cold, hard cash. They say they just want to help, but their kind of help could get Terrell disqualified. Danny and Terrell better keep their eyes on the ball if they hope to last the season. John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel. “Thorough and suspenseful; a must-read for those interested in basketball and the dealings surrounding the sport.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred

Annotation The three volume set LNAI 5177, LNAI 5178, and LNAI 5179, constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems, KES 2008, held in Zagreb, Croatia, in September 2008. The 316 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected. The papers present a wealth of original research results from the field of intelligent information processing in the broadest sense; topics covered in the first volume are artificial neural networks and connectionists systems; fuzzy and neuro-fuzzy systems; evolutionary computation; machine learning and classical AI; agent systems; knowledge based and expert systems; intelligent vision and image processing; knowledge management, ontologies, and data mining; Web intelligence, text and multimedia mining and retrieval; and intelligent robotics and control.

This eye-opening book offers a disturbing new look at Japan's post-war economy and the key factors that shaped it. It gives special emphasis to the 1980s and 1990s when Japan's economy experienced vast swings in activity. According to the author, the most recent upheaval in the Japanese economy is the result of the policies of a central bank less concerned with stimulating the economy than with its own turf battles and its ideological agenda to change Japan's economic structure. The book combines new historical research with an in-depth behind-the-scenes account of the bureaucratic competition between Japan's most important institutions: the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. Drawing on new economic data and first-hand eyewitness accounts, it reveals little known monetary policy tools at the core of Japan's business cycle, identifies the key figures behind Japan's economy, and discusses their agenda. The book also highlights the implications for the rest of the world, and raises important questions about the concentration of power within central banks.

Vaccinology, the concept of a science ranging from the study of immunology to the development and distribution of vaccines, was a word invented by Jonas Salk. This book covers the history of the methodological progress in vaccine development and to the social and ethical issues raised by vaccination. Chapters include "Jenner and the Vaccination against Smallpox," "Viral Vaccines," and "Ethical and Social Aspects of vaccines." Contributing authors include pioneers in the field, such as Samuel L. Katz and Hilary Koprowski. This history of vaccines is relatively short and many of its protagonists are still alive. This book was written by some of the chief actors in the drama whose subject matter is the conquest of epidemic disease.

Created by leading educators, these colorful, large-size dictionaries introduce beginning language learners to more than 1,550 commonly taught basic words. Each Let's Learn Language Picture Dictionary in the series boasts 30 delightful two-page spreads that vividly illustrate the meanings of words. Fun-filled panoramas focus on scenes familiar to children aged three through eight, such as home life, the classroom, city life, sports, the zoo, and even outer space! Learners will love to revisit these detailed depictions of people, places, actions, and objects, each time improving their recall. Featured words are set off with individual illustrations and definitions to help learners at various levels build vocabulary. Includes an index and glossary of all the individually illustrated words. An ideal selection of first word books for parents and teachers who want to encourage second language acquisition.