Made to Break is a history of twentieth-century technology as seen through the prism of obsolescence. Giles Slade explains how disposability was a necessary condition for America's rejection of tradition and our acceptance of change and impermanence. This book gives us a detailed and harrowing picture of how, by choosing to support ever-shorter product lives, we may well be shortening the future of our way of life as well.

A Washington Post Bestseller An entirely fresh approach to ending the high school dropout crisis is revealed in this groundbreaking chronicle of unprecedented transformation in a city notorious for its "failing schools" In eighth grade, Eric thought he was going places. But by his second semester of freshman year at Hancock High, his D's in Environmental Science and French, plus an F in Mr. Castillo's Honors Algebra class, might have suggested otherwise. Research shows that students with more than one semester F during their freshman year are very unlikely to graduate. If Eric had attended Hancock—or any number of Chicago's public high schools—just a decade earlier, chances are good he would have dropped out. Instead, Hancock's new way of responding to failing grades, missed homework, and other red flags made it possible for Eric to get back on track. The Make-or-Break Year is the largely untold story of how a simple idea—that reorganizing schools to get students through the treacherous transitions of freshman year greatly increases the odds of those students graduating—changed the course of two Chicago high schools, an entire school system, and thousands of lives. Marshaling groundbreaking research on the teenage brain, peer relationships, and academic performance, journalist turned communications expert Emily Krone Phillips details the emergence of Freshman OnTrack, a program-cum-movement that is translating knowledge into action—and revolutionizing how teachers grade, mete out discipline, and provide social, emotional, and academic support to their students. This vivid description of real change in a faulty system will captivate anyone who cares about improving our nation's schools; it will inspire educators and families to reimagine their relationships with students like Eric, and others whose stories affirm the pivotal nature of ninth grade for all young people. In a moment of relentless focus on what doesn't work in education and the public sphere, Phillips's dramatic account examines what does.

Bill Purvis had to be left for dead before he discovered that everything he was searching for could be found in Jesus Christ. As a teen, Purvis nearly died when stabbed three times by a pimp during an encounter with a prostitute. With his pericardium sac pierced, liver punctured and his jugular vein completely severed, he cried out to Jesus, who miraculously saved his life. In the more than thirty years since that day, he's built a large church and become a leader and mentor to many. Make a Break for It is a transformational road map meant to guide you by helping you pinpoint where you need to start and then providing detailed step-by-step guidance on how to successfully and continuously cultivate the transformation God has in mind for you. Your life will truly be transformed as you discover the importance of alone time with God, the secret to keeping your own excuses from holding you back, the significant role mentors play in your success, how to handle betrayal, and how to cultivate traits like integrity and humility. You have all of the tools you need to break out of the mold and begin living the life God called you to!

"Hollywood Drive: What is Takes to Break in, Hang in & Make it in the Entertainment Industry is the essential guide to starting and succeeding at a career in film and TV. Written by a Hollywood insider, Eve Honthaner's invaluable advice will give those attempting to enter and become successful in the entertainment industry the edge they need to stand out among the intense competition." "Hollywood Drive goes beyond what it takes to get you foot in the door by offering you the tools, attitude, philosophy and road map you'll need to give yourself a good fighting chance at success - whether you're looking for you very first job or for a strategy to move your career to the next level. This book will allow you to proceed with your eyes wide open, knowing exactly what to expect."

“By far, the most practical, comprehensive, and spiritual book I have ever read on the process of healing from traumatic events.” —Beth Nimmo, mother of Columbine victim Rachel Joy Scott Learn the ten critical choices necessary for wholeness and recovery after life’s tragedies and disappointments. Blending scientifically-validated psychological truths with spiritual principles, Dr. Beverly Smallwood enables readers to overcome the unexpected and unthinkable. Giving readers a roadmap of ten major choices, she offers hope that no matter what has happened, going forward, we all have the power to choose. Through the power of choice readers will be able to move from: Denial to Reality Victimhood to Responsibility Why to How Doubt to Faith Bitterness to Forgiveness Guilt to Self-Forgiveness Depression to Grief Avoidance to Courage Isolation to Connection Powerlessness to Purpose “Dr. Smallwood makes it clear in her book that the questions we should be raising in times of adversity are not Why’s but How’s. She tackles false teachings on faith which lead to the needed steps that should be taken for correct lifestyle choices. This is an excellent resource to keep renewing our minds.” —Dr. Charles Stanley, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Atlanta; Founder and President, In Touch Ministries

Did you know— • It took more than an iceberg to sink the Titanic. • The Challenger disaster was predicted. • Unbreakable glass dinnerware had its origin in railroad lanterns. • A football team cannot lose momentum. • Mercury thermometers are prohibited on airplanes for a crucial reason. • Kryptonite bicycle locks are easily broken. “Things fall apart” is more than a poetic insight—it is a fundamental property of the physical world. Why Things Break explores the fascinating question of what holds things together (for a while), what breaks them apart, and why the answers have a direct bearing on our everyday lives. When Mark Eberhart was growing up in the 1960s, he learned that splitting an atom leads to a terrible explosion—which prompted him to worry that when he cut into a stick of butter, he would inadvertently unleash a nuclear cataclysm. Years later, as a chemistry professor, he remembered this childhood fear when he began to ponder the fact that we know more about how to split an atom than we do about how a pane of glass breaks. In Why Things Break, Eberhart leads us on a remarkable and entertaining exploration of all the cracks, clefts, fissures, and faults examined in the field of materials science and the many astonishing discoveries that have been made about everything from the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger to the crashing of your hard drive. Understanding why things break is crucial to modern life on every level, from personal safety to macroeconomics, but as Eberhart reveals here, it is also an area of cutting-edge science that is as provocative as it is illuminating.

Do your personal habits commandeer your will? Are they inhibiting your personal growth? Have they limited your efforts to advance in life? If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, you are not alone, and Dave Martin, America's #1 Success Coach, knows how to help you change that. In his latest book, Make That, Break That, he interweaves stories of historically successful men and women with the latest statistical evidence to prove that anyone-even you-can succeed at developing new, productive habits. His deliberate, multi-step method is so easy to implement that your old habits will seem to fade away with little or no effort on your part. As you read Make That, Break That, you will: Discover God's plan in creating people with a habitual nature. Learn how to make your habitual nature work for-not against-you. Recognize your habits of mediocrity so they can be replaced by habits of greatness. Implement a plan to make those great habits permanent in your life. Nothing is more important to your success in life than developing habits worth having-habits that drive you toward the destiny embedded in your soul.