The Great Gate


Book Description

The Great Gate, A Guidebook to the Guru's Heart Practice, is a compilation of instructions on the preliminary practices by the great masters, Chokling Dewey Dorje, Dudjom Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche & Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. Clear direct and personal, these teachings lucidly explain the application of key practices in the Vajrayana path, the pinnacle of which is the Great Perfection, the deepest and most undeviating way to attain enlightenment. The methods of the masters presented in this book focus on the simple approach of a meditator that is saturated with direct, pithy instructions. This is a tradition of plainly and simply stating things as they are, allowing the student to gain personal experience by challenging their intellect and guiding them towards realization.




Range


Book Description

The #1 New York Times bestseller that has all America talking—with a new afterword on expanding your range—as seen on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, Morning Joe, CBS This Morning, and more. “The most important business—and parenting—book of the year.” —Forbes “Urgent and important. . . an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance.” —Daniel H. Pink Shortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you’ll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule. David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see. Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.




Why Nations Fail


Book Description

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories. Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: - China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West? - Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? - What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions? Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.




The complete works of G. A. Henty


Book Description

George Alfred Henty was a prolific English novelist and war correspondent best known for his historical adventure stories. A contemporaries described him as a man of strong will, reasonable ambitions and a hard, steady worker. Henty wrote about eighty books for boys. A young man who worked as his secretary for two years said that Henty used to walkup and down his study smoking his clay pipe and reeling off stories just as fast as the secretary could take them down. Best known for adventure stories such as The Young Bugler, Under Drake's Flag, With Clive in India, When London Burned: Story of Restoration Times and the Great Fire, Moore at Corunna, At Aboukir and Acre, A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt, With Buller in Natal, With Roberts to Pretoria and With Kitchener in the Soudan, In Freedom's Cause, Under Drake's Flag, In Times of Peril, The Lion of the North and In the Reign of Terror.




Going Through the Gate


Book Description

The five sixth-grade students in a small town prepare for their teacher's annual graduation ceremony, a mysterious ritual that several generations of students have experienced but no one can discuss.




Duty


Book Description

From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vivid account of serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House, he thought he’d long left Washington politics behind: After working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happily serving as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty.




The Secret of White Stone Gate


Book Description

Emmy and her friends battle the Order of Black Hollow Lane in the exciting sequel to the bestselling mystery series, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Blackthorn Key series. When Lola is framed for a crime she didn't commit, the Order wants Emmy to give up her secrets about her father ... and if she doesn't someone she loves will pay the price. We were best friends. We still betrayed each other. Trust no one. After spending the summer at home, Emmy cannot wait to return to Wellsworth for the new school year and reunite with her best friends, Lola and Jack. Before she leaves Emmy receives a note from her father telling her to hide the remaining relics The Order of Black Hollow Lane are after—and to trust no one. When Lola is framed for a serious crime she didn't commit, Emmy knows that she and her friends are not safe. The Order wants Emmy to give up her father's location... if she doesn't, those she loves will pay the price. Emmy and Jack need to figure out a way to clear Lola's name without bending to the Order's sinister demands. And Emmy needs to figure out who she can trust with her secrets before it's too late. The Black Hollow Lane series is perfect for middle schoolers and 10 year olds who love twisty mysteries with: Boarding schools Secret, sinister societies Clandestine relics Cryptic letters A fantastic group of friends







AHA


Book Description

Aleister Crowley considered AHA! my greatest magical poem. This profoundly esoteric work highlights the two central experiences of the Path of the Wise the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel and the Crossing of the Abyss. It also marks Crowley s final acceptance of the mysteries of The Book of the Law, and offers his overview of Initiation and the techniques by which Spiritual Enlightenment may be achieved. This expanded edition features a new analysis by esoteric teacher and author, J. Daniel Gunther, who provides Qabalistic insights into the poem s extraordinary depth. James Wasserman, a well-known writer and student of Crowley, has expanded upon the myth of Marsyas and Olympas, while placing AHA! within the context of Crowley s overall life and teaching. Frater Achad, one of Crowley s most important early disciples, wrote an excellent but little-known commentary on AHA! that is included here. This volume also features an essay by Dr. Israel Regardie, a primary Crowley biographer and spokesman.




The Time Hunters


Book Description

"Becky Mellor is a typical thirteen-year old girl. She likes Facebook, gossiping and plenty of sleep. When she and her brother, Joe, are invited to stay with their 'loony' Uncle Percy at his stately home, Bowen Hall, she thinks it'll be the worst summer ever. Her mind soon changes when she sees Uncle Percy and his mysterious groundsman, Will Shakelock, performing a tooth extraction on Milly, a Sabre-tooth tiger...So begins a thrilling time travelling adventure that leads Becky, Joe, Uncle Percy and Will to Victorian England, Ancient Greece and Jurassic London in the search for the legendary Golden Fleece"--Page [4] of cover.