From the middle of the twentieth century, think tanks have played an indelible role in the rise of American conservatism. Positioning themselves against the alleged liberal bias of the media, academia, and the federal bureaucracy, conservative think tanks gained the attention of politicians and the public alike and were instrumental in promulgating conservative ideas. Yet, in spite of the formative influence these institutions have had on the media and public opinion, little has been written about their history. Here, Jason Stahl offers the first sustained investigation of the rise and historical development of the conservative think tank as a source of political and cultural power in the United States. What we now know as conservative think tanks--research and public-relations institutions populated by conservative intellectuals--emerged in the postwar period as places for theorizing and "selling" public policies and ideologies to both lawmakers and the public at large. Stahl traces the progression of think tanks from their outsider status against a backdrop of New Deal and Great Society liberalism to their current prominence as a counterweight to progressive political institutions and thought. By examining the rise of the conservative think tank, Stahl makes invaluable contributions to our historical understanding of conservatism, public-policy formation, and capitalism.

Annotation Markides (chairman, strategic and international management department, London Business School) contends that the essence of business strategy is to allow a company to create and exploit a unique strategic position in industry, and helps managers zero in on critical choices that lie at the heart of all innovative strategies. He approaches strategic thinking as a creative process, and poses key questions for readers to ask as he guides them through a framework for developing strategic thinking skills.

Subject: Captain John "Devil" Devlin Mission: Tempt his target…and seduce her! They don't call air force captain John Devlin the "Devil" for nothing. He lives for high-risk maneuvers, both in the cockpit and in the bedroom! Now stalled at a career crossroads, John has less than two weeks to decide whether he should reenlist or shed the uniform. But then the devil meets his match in a fiery little bartender…. A flyboy—even a wickedly hot one!—is the last thing Cassie O'Brien needs. Between the bar and grad school, she is stretched to her limit. Yet the scorch and sizzle between them proves to be too much temptation, and Cassie gives in to sweet, sweet sin. But when she sleeps with this devil, she'll get more than she ever bargained for…. Uniformly Hot! The Few. The Proud. The Sexy as Hell.

Garry Kasparov was the highest-rated chess player in the world for over twenty years and is widely considered the greatest player that ever lived. In How Life Imitates Chess Kasparov distills the lessons he learned over a lifetime as a Grandmaster to offer a primer on successful decision-making: how to evaluate opportunities, anticipate the future, devise winning strategies. He relates in a lively, original way all the fundamentals, from the nuts and bolts of strategy, evaluation, and preparation to the subtler, more human arts of developing a personal style and using memory, intuition, imagination and even fantasy. Kasparov takes us through the great matches of his career, including legendary duels against both man (Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov) and machine (IBM chess supercomputer Deep Blue), enhancing the lessons of his many experiences with examples from politics, literature, sports and military history. With candor, wisdom, and humor, Kasparov recounts his victories and his blunders, both from his years as a world-class competitor as well as his new life as a political leader in Russia. An inspiring book that combines unique strategic insight with personal memoir, How Life Imitates Chess is a glimpse inside the mind of one of today's greatest and most innovative thinkers.

WHAT OTHER COACHES SAY ABOUT IRV LEIFER Irv is a positive influence on the young people he works with and has a great ability to communicate with and motivate them. With Irv you are getting a guy who coaches for the right reasons: the day-to-day involvement with young people and the opportunity to watch them improve. MIKE BREY, HEAD BASKETBALL COACH, NOTRE DAME I have two sons, and Irv is one of a handful of coaches that I would trust to coach my own. STEW MORRILL, HEAD BASKETBALL COACH, UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Irv Leifer prepares his players as well as anybody in the country. BOB SCHERMERHORN, HEAD COACH, HOLY CROSS COLLEGE

The Polgar Way to Better Chess! Learn Chess the Right Way is a five-volume chess puzzle book series aimed at the novice, beginner and intermediate level player, using the unique methods of the award-winning coach and former world champion Susan Polgar. It introduces the most important checkmate and material-winning tactics, as well as defensive techniques to the new chess player. Each of the five volumes consist of over 500 puzzles. Book 5 focuses on learning how to find the right continuation in critical positions of a chess game. The first part of the book includes learning about “quiet” but powerful moves, including ones that result in “Zugzwang.” Building on the knowledge acquired throughout the entire series, in the second part of this volume, in the “Grand Test,” the reader can practice on familiar patterns with real-game-like situations emphasizing how to gain a significant material advantage or checkmate. With over 40 years of experience as a world-class player and coach, international grandmaster Susan Polgar has developed the most effective way to help young players and beginners – Learn Chess the Right Way. Let her show you the way to understanding the most common and critical patterns and let her show you the way to becoming a better player. SUSAN POLGAR is a winner of four Women’s World Championships and the top-ranked woman chess player in the United States. She became the #1 woman player in the world at 15 and remained in the top 3 for over 20 years. In 2013, she received the U.S. Coach of the Year Award and the following year, she was named the Chess Trainer of the Year by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). She thus became the first person in history to be accorded both honors. Under her guidance, SPICE chess teams at both Texas Tech University and Webster University have won a combined seven consecutive National Division I Collegiate Chess Championships.

A must read Romantic Comedy. Being called the worst boyfriend can do a number on a man's ego. But I handled it the way any full-grown adult male would-by eating copious amounts of carbs and wallowing over whether I was good enough.I admit, it wasn't the best of moments, but it made me realize I needed answers to the question, what are women looking for inside and out of the bedroom?After I researched the subject, I compiled my data into a solution. Thirty days. Thirty right moves.But I needed to test out my newfound theories, and my best friend, Tenley, was going to help. It was a foolproof plan. We would date and act like a real couple, all in the name of research. And when the thirty days were up, we would go back to being just friends. Piece of cake, right?Only, I forgot to take into consideration the multiple outcomes. Specifically, the one where it left me wanting more and refusing to go back to what we were... ever again.