Two Billion Beats


Book Description

'The smaller you are, the quicker your heart beats. But it doesn't matter what size your heart is, we all only get an average of about two billion beats over our lifetime. It's just a pump at the end of the day, right?' Seventeen-year-old Asha is a rebel, inspired by historical revolutionaries and unafraid of pointing out the hypocrisy around her - but less sure how to actually dismantle it. Her younger sister, Bettina, wide-eyed and naive, is just trying to get through the school day without having her pocket money nicked. With essays to write, homework to do, and bus journeys home, the two sisters meet every afternoon, outside the school gates, to tackle the injustice of the world. Sonali Bhattacharyya's play Two Billion Beats is an insightful, heartfelt coming-of-age story and a blazing account of inner-city, British-Asian teenage life. It was originally presented in the Inside/Outside season, livestreamed from the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, before receiving a production there in this full-length version in 2022, directed by Nimmo Ismail.




Two Billion Heartbeats


Book Description

How do successful people become even more successful? Almost all effective people share a common trait – they set detailed goals, and plan the amount of effort they require to put into any project they wish to start. They leave no stone unturned in the process, and live by the DIY – do-it-yourself formula. Success in life requires more than an academic qualification; it requires strength of character and a will to be different. In this book you will read real life stories and incidents that offer valuable messages, inspired by the life of a man who believed in himself. This is not an autobiography but the clear essence of success in life.




The Man Who Touched His Own Heart


Book Description

The secret history of our most vital organ: the human heart. The Man Who Touched His Own Heart tells the raucous, gory, mesmerizing story of the heart, from the first "explorers" who dug up cadavers and plumbed their hearts' chambers, through the first heart surgeries -- which had to be completed in three minutes before death arrived -- to heart transplants and the latest medical efforts to prolong our hearts' lives, almost defying nature in the process. Thought of as the seat of our soul, then as a mysteriously animated object, the heart is still more a mystery than it is understood. Why do most animals only get one billion beats? (And how did modern humans get to over two billion, effectively letting us live out two lives?) Why are sufferers of gingivitis more likely to have heart attacks? Why do we often undergo expensive procedures when cheaper ones are just as effective? What do Da Vinci, Mary Shelley, and contemporary Egyptian archaeologists have in common? And what does it really feel like to touch your own heart, or to have someone else's beating inside your chest? Rob Dunn's fascinating history of our hearts brings us deep inside the science, history, and stories of the four chambers we depend on most.




Three Billion Heart Beats


Book Description

Three Billion Heart Beats follows the journey of the Buddha, through the eyes of a 16 year old girl.Eva is born with a congenital heart defect. Growing up without a mother, and with her father mostly absent while transitioning between prison and rehab, her heart defect is not the only thing that makes her special. Throughout her upbringing, Eva becomes increasingly aware of the nature of human suffering. During boarding school, it is the deterioration of her father that spurs her to search for answers. Her reluctance to accept the status quo of unhappiness takes her on an epic journey from the U.S. East Coast, to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and the slums of Mumbai. During encounters with various people along the way, each providing her with their unique gems of wisdom, she unknowingly follows the path of the Buddha. Will her newfound knowledge enable her to help her father or perhaps humanity as a whole? One thing she knows for sure: Every heart beat counts.




The Exquisite Machine


Book Description

How science is opening up the mysteries of the heart, revealing the poetry in motion within the machine. Your heart is a miracle in motion, a marvel of construction unsurpassed by any human-made creation. It beats 100,000 times every day—if you were to live to 100, that would be more than 3 billion beats across your lifespan. Despite decades of effort in labs all over the world, we have not yet been able to replicate the heart’s perfect engineering. But, as Sian Harding shows us in The Exquisite Machine, new scientific developments are opening up the mysteries of the heart. And this explosion of new science—ultrafast imaging, gene editing, stem cells, artificial intelligence, and advanced sub-light microscopy—has crucial, real-world consequences for health and well-being. Harding—a world leader in cardiac research—explores the relation between the emotions and heart function, reporting that the heart not only responds to our emotions, it creates them as well. The condition known as Broken Heart Syndrome, for example, is a real disorder than can follow bereavement or stress. The Exquisite Machine describes the evolutionary forces that have shaped the heart’s response to damage, the astonishing rejuvenating power of stem cells, how we can avoid heart disease, and why it can be so hard to repair a damaged heart. It tells the stories of patients who have had the devastating experiences of a heart attack, chaotic heart rhythms, or stress-induced acute heart failure. And it describes how cutting-edge technologies are enabling experiments and clinical trials that will lead us to new solutions to the worldwide scourge of heart disease.




Two Beats Ahead


Book Description

'Groundbreaking' Amy Cuddy, bestselling author of Presence 'A roadmap for innovators, entrepreneurs and those seeking new avenues for exploring and reimagining the future' Deepak Chopra Musicians are masters of innovation, constantly finding new ways to adapt to accelerating change and staying ahead of the beat. ------------------------------------------------------------------- In Two Beats Ahead, Michael Hendrix and Panos Panay demystify the artistic process of some of the greatest creative minds of our time and reveal what they can teach us about creativity. Drawing from first person interviews, you'll learn the secrets of collaboration from Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams, grasp the value of experimentation with Radiohead and Imogen Heap, learn how to prototype with Jimmy Iovine, hear why Justin Timberlake thinks you should 'dare to suck', understand the power of reinvention from Gloria Estefan, and the art of producing from T Bone Burnett and Hank Shocklee, co-founder of Public Enemy. A musical mindset is a revolutionary framework for creating and innovating in a dynamic world. Two Beats Ahead shows you how ------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Inspiration for anyone looking to expand the reach of their creativity' Tim Brown, author of Change By Design 'Based on their course at Berklee, Michael and Panos show that a musician's perspective, much like a designers perspective, can unlock inspiration and innovation, no matter who you are' David Kelley, founder of IDEO and the Stanford d.school




Do You Dream of Terra-Two?


Book Description

'A major new voice. Read Temi Oh today. Everybody will be reading her tomorrow' Stephen Baxter. author of World Engines 'A brilliant, beautiful debut. Reading it will change your heart' Christian Kiefer, author of Phantoms The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet meets The 100 in this unforgettable debut by a brilliant new voice. A century ago, scientists theorised that a habitable planet existed in a nearby solar system. Today, ten astronauts will leave a dying Earth to find it. Four are decorated veterans of the 20th century’s space-race. And six are teenagers, graduates of the exclusive Dalton Academy, who’ve been in training for this mission for most of their lives. It will take the team twenty-three years to reach Terra-Two. Twenty-three years spent in close quarters. Twenty-three years with no one to rely on but each other. Twenty-three years with no rescue possible, should something go wrong. And something always goes wrong. Don't miss one of Cosmopolitans books by people of colour to get excited about in 2019, called 'a tightly wound epic' that 'will change your heart' by Christian Kiefer, author of Phantoms. WHY READERS DREAM OF TERRA-TWO . . . 'An ambitious 500-page coming-of-age blockbuster . . .Oh is excellent at portraying the aching sense of loss on a one-way trip to the stars' Guardian 'A tightly wound, emotional epic that asks important questions about humanity, goodness, belief, technology, love, friendship, and duty. At what point is grabbing hold of one’s destiny ultimately an attempt to escape some other? Like all great writers, Temi Oh refuses the easy answer, instead ruminating upon the question itself. This novel is a brilliant, beautiful debut. Reading it will change your heart.' Christian Kiefer, author of Phantoms 'One of the most absorbing books I have ever read' 'This book seemed to take over my life whilst I was reading it - if I wasn't actually reading, I was thinking about it' 'I'm in love with this book . . . It is a beautiful, sprawling, literary delight with an unforgettable cast undertaking an unforgettable journey.' 'For fans of the character-driven The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet series, Terra-Two is perfect . . . A strong, haunting, character-driven story . . . This book and its characters will stay with you for a long time.' 'Do You Dream of Terra-Two succeeds both as a great sci-fi story and a brilliant drama . . . Even though you expect things to go wrong in this story, they still wrong foot you when they do. 5*. 'Beautifully written . . . It's inspirational to read' 'I would love to be able to write like Temi Oh. I should start taking notes . . . Highly recommended!'




The Most Important Thing


Book Description

"This is that rarity, a useful book."--Warren Buffett Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. After four decades spent ascending to the top of the investment management profession, he is today sought out by the world's leading value investors, and his client memos brim with insightful commentary and a time-tested, fundamental philosophy. Now for the first time, all readers can benefit from Marks's wisdom, concentrated into a single volume that speaks to both the amateur and seasoned investor. Informed by a lifetime of experience and study, The Most Important Thing explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career. Utilizing passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world. Brilliantly applying insight to today's volatile markets, Marks offers a volume that is part memoir, part creed, with a number of broad takeaways. Marks expounds on such concepts as "second-level thinking," the price/value relationship, patient opportunism, and defensive investing. Frankly and honestly assessing his own decisions--and occasional missteps--he provides valuable lessons for critical thinking, risk assessment, and investment strategy. Encouraging investors to be "contrarian," Marks wisely judges market cycles and achieves returns through aggressive yet measured action. Which element is the most essential? Successful investing requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects, and each of Marks's subjects proves to be the most important thing.




3 Kings


Book Description

Tracing the careers of hip-hop's three most dynamic stars, this deeply reported history brilliantly examines the entrepreneurial genius of the first musician tycoons: Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z Being successful musicians was simply never enough for the three kings of hip-hop. Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z lifted themselves from childhood adversity into tycoon territory, amassing levels of fame and wealth that not only outshone all other contemporary hip-hop artists, but with a combined net worth of well over $2 billion made them the three richest American musicians, period. Yet their fortunes have little to do with selling their own albums: between Diddy's Ciroc vodka, Dre's $3 billion sale of his Beats headphones to Apple, and Jay-Z's Tidal streaming service and other assets, these artists have transcended pop music fame to become lifestyle icons and moguls. Hip-hop is no longer just a musical genre; it's become a way of life that encompasses fashion, film, food, drink, sports, electronics and more - one that has opened new paths to profit and to critical and commercial acclaim. Thanks in large part to the Three Kings-who all started their own record labels and released classic albums before moving on to become multifaceted businessmen-hip-hop has been transformed from a genre spawned in poverty into a truly global multibillion-dollar industry. These men are the modern embodiment of the American Dream, but their stories as great thinkers and entrepreneurs have yet to be told in full. Based on a decade of reporting, and interviews with more than 100 sources including hip-hop pioneers Russell Simmons and Fab 5 Freddy; new-breed executives like former Def Jam chief Kevin Liles and venture capitalist Troy Carter; and stars from Swizz Beatz to Shaquille O'Neal, 3 Kings tells the fascinating story of the rise and rise of the three most influential musicians in America.




The Little Book That Builds Wealth


Book Description

Dieser praktische Leitfaden macht Anleger mit dem Economic Moat Konzept vertraut, der "Zauberformel" des Morningstar, mit der sich erstklassige Investmentchancen aufspüren lassen. Das Konzept ist keineswegs neu: Es wurde zunächst durch Benjamin Graham und Warren Buffett populär, wurde dann aber lange vernachlässigt. "The Little Book that Builds Wealth" erklärt ganz genau, wie man den Economic Moat, d.h. die Wettbewerbsbarriere bzw. den Wettbewerbsvorteil (wie z.B. geringe Produktionskosten, ausgebautes Vertriebsnetz, gutes Markenimage etc.) ermittelt, durch den sich ein Unternehmen deutlich von Konkurrenzunternehmen abgrenzt. Dabei geht es aber weder um reines Value Investing, noch um reines Growth Investing, sondern vielmehr darum, erstklassige Nischen-Wachstumswerte zu einem attraktiven Kurs zu kaufen. Das Buch demonstriert anschaulich Schritt für Schritt, was einen Economic Moat ausmacht, wie man ihn ermittelt, wie man verschiedene Moats gegeneinander abwägt, und wie man auf der Basis dieser Daten am besten eine Investmententscheidung trifft. Mit begleitender Website. Sie wird vom Morningstar betrieben und enthält eine Reihe von Tools und Features, mit deren Hilfe der Leser das Gelernte in der Praxis testen kann. Autor Pat Dorsey ist ein renommierter Finanzexperte. Er ist Chef der Morningstar Equity Research und Kolumnist bei Morningstar.com. Ein neuer Band aus der beliebten 'Little Book'-Reihe.