On Our Watch


Book Description

Our stewardship of this country's natural assets over the past two hundred years has been appalling, and on the current trajectory of careless environmental pillaging, further massive decline would be a certainty ... The future of the environment is being decided on our watch ... Australia faces unique conservation challenges that most Australians do not know enough about. On Our Watch is an attempt to remedy this situation. Respected conservationist Nicola Markus believes that it is time people realised that our environmental issues are not being solved by those tasked with their solution, and that the support and involvement of the public is essential if we are to make a difference in environmental conservation. In this thoroughly researched and passionately written book, Markus explains the very real and immediate threats to Australia's natural environment and cuts through the spin to show how you can become involved in conserving our environmental heritage.




Not on Our Watch


Book Description

An Academy Award-nominated actor and a renowned human rights activist team up to change the tragic course of history in the Sudan -- with readers' help. While Don Cheadle was filming Hotel Rwanda, a new crisis had already erupted in Darfur, in nearby Sudan. In September 2004, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell termed the atrocities being committed there "genocide" -- and yet two years later things have only gotten worse. 3.5 million Sudanese are going hungry, 2.5 million have been displaced by violence, and 400,000 have died in Darfur to date. Both shocked and energized by this ongoing tragedy, Cheadle teamed up with leading activist John Prendergast to focus the world's attention. Not on Our Watch, their empowering book, offers six strategies readers themselves can implement: Raise Awareness, Raise Funds, Write a Letter, Call for Divestment, Start an Organization, and Lobby the Government. Each of these small actions can make a huge difference in the fate of a nation, and a people--not only in Darfur, but in other crisis zones such as Somalia, Congo, and northern Uganda.




On My Watch


Book Description

Many are called but few are chosen the "good" book says. Pastor Gerrick Travis is on his watch and challenges are a constant. Marriage, ministry, and work are his life's summation. Mrs. Reneé Bransford Travis is a good woman; however, but not the perfect wife. She is a bold and gifted teacher of the Word of God. Sister Travis loves her husband very much, but bares the flaw of poor anger management. Solving a heated conflict can easily involve physicality by her. Reneé's slightly older widowed sister, Lelani Reed is her best friend and confidant. Truth Christian Fellowship Church is growing and Pastor Travis has to always confront and handle the unexpected. He is a man after God's own heart. Church folk have a tendency to pull on him whether they are sheep of his flock or not. Gerrick's mentor and previous overseer, Bishop Randall Knolls, pastor of Triumph Christian Center, commits suicide after he falls from grace due to adultery, the misappropriation of grant monies and assault on his wife, Sister Claretha Knolls. Travis has to dismiss his haughty and disgruntled associate pastor, Kenneth Mason who is wreaking havoc because he felt wronged concerning a pastoral position. Derrick, the pastor's twin brother, has a human tornado for a girlfriend, Dianetta Davis. A mentally disturbed mother poisons the church's secretary, Janelle Pui. In the midst of all that and more, God starts talking crazy and tells Pastor Travis to quit his job at Askew Massmutual Insurance Corporation after receiving a promotion, buy a new house, go into ministry full- time as the news of his 41 year old wife's pregnancy arrives. With ears filled with the voices of God, the devil and man, Gerrick lands at the door of another woman while his wife, due to her anger, was in a physical altercation with Dianetta, and suffers a miscarriage with their first and only child.




Not on My Watch!


Book Description

Many people curse the darkness and complain about what is wrong in society, without providing any light. Monica Boyers story is different. Not on My Watch is the story of one mom who saw her country falling apart at the seams and felt she had to do something about it. Monica was simply living her life as a middle-class mom, in middle-class America. One day while driving in her minivan, she happened to glance into her rear view mirror. In it, she saw the four little reasons to become involvedthe precious children God had given to her. That day, the headlines seemed daunting, the future was unclear, and those four children meant so much to her. She suddenly realized she had to do whatever she could to pass on an America that was no less great than the one that was passed on to her. For the past eight years, Monica has been actively involved in the political process, serving as a watchdog for family values and protecting the sanctity of life. Three years ago, she accepted the commitment to protect freedom by becoming a leader in the TEA Party movement. As she explains in Not on My Watch, with passion for her God, a commitment to country, and the burning desire to safeguard her family, she is committed to continuing to fight at the local, state, and national level. Not on My Watch is not so much about remarkable talent, or even being at the right place at the right time. Its about hearing the call, and having the courage to stand when the world around you seems to be crumbling. Micah Clark, executive director, American Family Association of Indiana







The Future of Personal Information Management, Part 1


Book Description

We are well into a second age of digital information. Our information is moving from the desktop to the laptop to the "palmtop" and up into an amorphous cloud on the Web. How can one manage both the challenges and opportunities of this new world of digital information? What does the future hold? This book provides an important update on the rapidly expanding field of personal information management (PIM). Part I (Always and Forever) introduces the essentials of PIM. Information is personal for many reasons. It's the information on our hard drives we couldn't bear to lose. It's the information about us that we don't want to share. It's the distracting information demanding our attention even as we try to do something else. It's the information we don't know about but need to. Through PIM, we control personal information. We integrate information into our lives in useful ways. We make it "ours." With basics established, Part I proceeds to explore a critical interplay between personal information "always" at hand through mobile devices and "forever" on the Web. How does information stay "ours" in such a world?







Bay Curious


Book Description

Curious about the San Francisco Bay Area? With explorations into unique local legends, interesting landmarks, and uncovered histories, Bay Curious is a fun, quirky guide to the secret stories of the Bay Area for visitors, newcomers, and California natives alike. Who was America's first and only Emperor? Why are there ships buried under the streets of San Francisco? Was the word "hella" really created in the East Bay? Bay Curious brings you the answers to these questions and much more through fun and fascinating illustrated deep-dives into hidden gems of Bay Area trivia, history, and culture. Based on the award-winning KQED podcast of the same name, Bay Curious brings a fresh eye to some of its most popular pieces and expands to cover stories unique to this book. With subjects ranging from Marin's redwood forests to the Winchester Mystery House, from the Black Panther Party's school program to the invention of the Mai Tai, Bay Curious gives you the entertaining and informative, weird and wonderful true stories of the San Francisco Bay Area. NOT YOUR AVERAGE GUIDEBOOK: Bay Curious takes a unique approach to exploring the Bay Area through its lesser known but just as fascinating stories, taking readers on a reportorial rather than literal tour. BEYOND THE PODCAST: With 49 entries—inspired by the famous 49-Mile Drive—Bay Curious includes a combination of updated popular episodes from the podcast and brand-new, never-before-heard stories researched for the book, plus fun illustrations and irresistible trivia sidebars. GIFT OR SELF-PURCHASE FOR SF ENTHUSIASTS: For anyone living in San Francisco or visiting with a goal of getting beyond the beaten tourist path, this volume holds a treasure trove of inspiration for an armchair adventure or self-guided tour. Perfect for: Bay Area locals and new arrivals A fun and unique San Francisco reference book for tourists and visitors Fans of the KQED podcast History buffs Anyone who enjoys unexpected, quirky true stories




The Innocent Man


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LOOK FOR THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES • “Both an American tragedy and [Grisham’s] strongest legal thriller yet, all the more gripping because it happens to be true.”—Entertainment Weekly John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction: a true crime masterpiece that tells the story of small town justice gone terribly awry. In the Major League draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the state of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a twenty-one-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you. Don’t miss Framed, John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, co-authored with Centurion Ministries founder Jim McCloskey.




I Like to Watch


Book Description

The big picture : how Buffy the vampire slayer turned me into a TV critic -- The long con ("The Sopranos") -- The great divide : Norman Lear, Archie Bunker, and the rise of the bad fan -- Difficult women ("Sex and the city") -- Cool story, bro ("True detective," "Top of the lake" and "The fall") -- Last girl in Larchmont : the legacy of Joan Rivers -- Girls girls girls : "Girls," "Vanderpump rules," "House of cards and Scandal," "The Amy Schumer show," "Transparent" -- Confessions of the human shield -- How jokes won the election -- In praise of sex and violence : "Hannibal," "Law et order : SVU," "Jessica Jones," -- "The jinx," "The Americans" -- The price is right : what advertising does to TV -- In living color : Kenya Barris' -- Breaking the box : "Jane the virgin," "The comeback," "The good wife," "The newsroom," "Adventure time," "The leftovers," "High maintenance." -- Riot girl : Jenji Kohan's hot provocations -- A disappointed fan is still a fan ("Lost") -- Mr. big : how Ryan Murphy became the most powerful man in television.