--- It's May, so guess what? We all survived the Scottish winter! --- So ... here's 60% off the Kindle version (and 20% off the paperback) until the end of the week, in celebration.A story that sticks ...Rolling Rocks Downhill is a fast-moving business novel, like Eli Goldratt's classic, "The Goal", where you sit on the shoulders of the characters and quietly watch as they discover the few - but fundamental - principles which underly successful commercial software development. Faster than you ever thought possibleThis is NOT a technical book. It doesn't mention "Agile". It doesn't ram techniques and practices down your throat. There are other books for that. Rolling Rocks downhill is a book about delivering software projects ON TIME or, if you choose, EARLY. It's a book about building quality in and then running as FAST as you can. J. B. Rainsberger, author of JUnit Recipes:I don't know how many of my clients would take the time to read "The Goal", but I insist that they read Rolling Rocks Downhill--it strongly reinforces the essence of Agile software development that has been drowned in an ocean of process manuals, maturity models, and checklists. Just as "The Goal" sought to bring common sense back to manufacturing, so this book seeks to bring common sense back to a software industry that sorely needs it. -- J. B. Rainsberger Johanna Rothman, author of Jolt Productivity award-winning Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management:Maybe one of your teammates or someone in management has the bright idea that maybe transitioning to agile or lean will help. Maybe it does in some small way. But, it's not enough. You're on a death march, iteration by iteration. Or, with your board, you can see that you are making progress, but you're not working "fast enough." Or, you're not delivering what your customers need. You're still trying to "do it all." Why? Because it takes you forever to release anything. You know there's another piece to this. You just don't know what. You need to read Clarke Ching's Rolling Rocks Downhill.

Working hard, but still can't keep up?This short, insightful book will teach you how to speed up at work, by slowing down, looking at your workplace slightly differently, then thinking a little.** Spoiler Alert **The world's best manufacturers have known the secret for decades: every workplace, big or small, has one resource that is slower than the rest. It's called The Bottleneck. Find it, speed it up, and your entire workplace speeds up. The problem is that, although this secret is well known inside manufacturing, it's been hidden from the rest of us, deep inside complicated manufacturing texts and sophisticated computer algorithms. Until now, that is. Clarke Ching, author of Rolling Rocks Downhill, has spent the last 20 years adapting and simplifying manufacturing's techniques so that everyone can use them, no matter where they work. In this book, he reveals a surprisingly simple process - called the FOCCCUS Formula - that you can use to find your bottleneck then manage it. The book takes roughly 90 minutes to read, and most readers figure out where their bottleneck is before they've finished.One reviewer wrote, "What a great and - dare I say it - inspirational read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm grateful for the stories and the lack of business mumbo-jumbo. Your readers will find it a useful kick-start for their minds because it shows them how to look at their problems in different ways."Read The Bottleneck Rules today, and you'll start running faster tomorrow.

The author of "Love Undercover" addresses head-on the weight issues that are commonplace for todays teens in this funny yet poignant novel.

Steven Hyden explores nineteen music rivalries and what they say about life in this "highly entertaining" book (Rolling Stone) perfect for every passionate music fan. Beatles vs. Stones. Biggie vs. Tupac. Kanye vs. Taylor. Who do you choose? And what does that say about you? Actually -- what do these endlessly argued-about pop music rivalries say about us? Music opinions bring out passionate debate in people, and Steven Hyden knows that firsthand. Each chapter in Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me focuses on a pop music rivalry, from the classic to the very recent, and draws connections to the larger forces surrounding the pairing. Through Hendrix vs. Clapton, Hyden explores burning out and fading away, while his take on Miley vs. Sinead gives readers a glimpse into the perennial battle between old and young. Funny and accessible, Hyden's writing combines cultural criticism, personal anecdotes, and music history -- and just may prompt you to give your least favorite band another chance.

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media's harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.

Exmodel's ride through the rock scene during the 1970s and 1980s.

"Citizen Kane does Adventureland." —The Washington Post The outlandish, hilarious, terrifying, and almost impossible-to-believe story of the legendary, dangerous amusement park where millions were entertained and almost as many bruises were sustained, told through the eyes of the founder's son. Often called "Accident Park," "Class Action Park," or "Traction Park," Action Park was an American icon. Entertaining more than a million people a year in the 1980s, the New Jersey-based amusement playland placed no limits on danger or fun, a monument to the anything-goes spirit of the era that left guests in control of their own adventures--sometimes with tragic results. Though it closed its doors in 1996 after nearly twenty years, it has remained a subject of constant fascination ever since, an establishment completely anathema to our modern culture of rules and safety. Action Park is the first-ever unvarnished look at the history of this DIY Disneyland, as seen through the eyes of Andy Mulvihill, the son of the park's idiosyncratic founder, Gene Mulvihill. From his early days testing precarious rides to working his way up to chief lifeguard of the infamous Wave Pool to later helping run the whole park, Andy's story is equal parts hilarious and moving, chronicling the life and death of a uniquely American attraction, a wet and wild 1980s adolescence, and a son's struggle to understand his father's quixotic quest to become the Walt Disney of New Jersey. Packing in all of the excitement of a day at Action Park, this is destined to be one of the most unforgettable memoirs of the year.