General Interest Titles

<strong>Updated and expanded edition!</strong><br /><br />From the icons of the game to the players who got their big break but never quite broke through, <em>The Baseball Talmud</em> provides a wonderful historical narration of Major League Jewish Baseball in America. All the stats, the facts, the stories, and the (often unheralded) glory. This delightful compmendium reveals that there is far more to Jewish baseball than Hank Greenberg&#39;s powerful slugging and Sandy Koufax&#39;s masterful control.<br /><br />From Ausmus to Zinn, Berg to Kinsler, Holtzman to Yeager, and many others, Howard Megdal draws upon the lore and the little-known details that increase our enjoyment of the game.<br /><br /><strong>This new, expanded edition of <em>The Baseball Talmud</em> rewrites the history of Jewish baseball and is a book that every baseball fan should own.</strong>

<div>In the midst of a period that will leave America forever changed, individuals from all walks of life have stood up to help. First responders and medical professionals on the frontlines. Grocery store workers and delivery drivers providing essential services. Americans from coast to coast pulling out sewing machines to make masks. Countless entertainers and athletes who have donated time and money to help those impacted. The Army Corps of Engineers converting hotels and convention centers to hospitals in a matter of days. So many more have made sacrifices. Featuring nearly 100 color photographs of these heroes and messages of hope from our country, this commemorative book celebrates those who stepped up to serve their communities as Americans faced this great challenge together.</div>

With the help of the easy-to-master steps in this book, even a novice gambler can go from being a traditional blackjack player to a card counter—an advantage player with a true edge over the house. For a dozen years, Frank Scoblete was a devastating card-counter, consistently beating casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Tunica, Mississippi and angering the casino bosses by knowing more about how to win money than almost anyone who ever challenged a casino. He employed sophisticated methods, including card-counting and little-known advantage-play techniques to turn the tables on the house. Now Frank, known as an icon of the gambling industry, shares with readers everything he knows about beating casinos at blackjack, including techniques for one, two, four, six, and eight deck games such as “end play,” “the fat finger method,” “card groupings,” and several card counting systems that are easy to learn, but powerful and effective to play. I Am a Card Counter is an essential resource for any gambler looking to succeed at the blackjack table.

Choosing meals prepared with fresh, natural ingredients isn't just healthy, it's good for the earth. In Don't Cook the Planet, author Emily Abrams and an all-star collection of chefs and ecoactivists share more than 70 delicious recipes as well as tips on how to minimize your carbon footprint. Each contributor—including Stephanie Izard, Top Chef star and executive chef at Girl & the Goat; Chevy Chase; MasterChef judge and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot; actor Joshua Henderson; and many others—provides easy, everyday ideas that will save you money and stock your kitchen with fresh, delicious foods while preserving the planet for generations to come. The author, an 18-year-old activist, approaches sustainability from a personal perspective, striving to make changes that will impact her generation, and in so doing, has created a cookbook that explains how positive food choices significantly impact one's environment as well as one's health.

One of the most popular video games of all time, Minecraft has become a global craze thanks to nearly 40 million registered users worldwide across all platforms. In Minecrafter 2.0 Advanced, those who mastered the basics laid out in the first Minecrafter strategy guide now find tips on more complex areas of game play, including Redstone circuitry and other inventions, and advice for beating "The End." This must-have guide for even the most advanced of experts includes the game's latest innovations and features 100 color images.This book is not authorized, sponsored, endorsed or licensed by Mojang AB. The trademark Minecraft is owned by Mojang AB; and other company names and/or trademarks mentioned in this book are the property of their respective companies and are used for identification purposes only.

The United States is experiencing a new British Invasion—One Direction, the British boy band that has captured the hearts and attention of young Americans in a way that can only be compared to the Beatles. With the recent U.S. launch of their new album Up All Night and their current North American tour, Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry, and Louis have taken the United States by storm, and this account details how five solo contestants on Britain's X Factor in 2010 came together as a band to finish third on the program. The book provides fans with the answers to questions such as What was the motivation for each of Zayn's four tattoos? What vegetable did the guys receive in the mail from an adoring fan? and What's next for One Direction? Including nearly 100 full-color photographs, it's the inside source for all self-proclaimed "Directioners."

From Aliyah to Megidoo and Netanyahu to Zionism, this vibrant A-to-Z guide—or rather Z-to-A, Hebrew-style—examines more than 3,000 years of this postage stamp–sized land’s history. With the 26 letters of the alphabet paired with lighthearted text and colorful illustrations, this fun fact book explores the heart, the soul, and the foundation of the Jewish people—the homeland from where their ancient traditions, culture, and values have come. Through Hebrew words, interesting facts, poignant quotes, and profound teachings, each letter comes to life with a significant aspect of the land’s background.

Presented in a unique reversible-book format, this is the ultimate chronicle of the public reaction to a certain former Alaskan governor who is famous or infamous, depending on who is speaking. Both sides of the Sarah Palin argument find strong and unabashedly-biased voices in the book, including quotes and interviews with fascinating figures that include Glenn Beck, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney in the pro-Palin camp, and Conan O’Brien, Maureen Dowd, and James Carville to balance the discussion in the anti-Palin camp. Functioning as two books in one, this account of the fans and critics of Sarah Palin shows that when it comes to controversial and highly-publicized political personalities, there is no fine line between love and hate.

<DIV>The evidence is overwhelming: sports help girls grow into strong women. Both scientific studies and anecdotal evidence confirm that athletic girls not only grow up to be healthier; they learn teamwork, gain inner confidence, and grow into society's leaders. Sports help preteen and teenage girls make the right choices in a society that is sending them incredibly mixed messages about who they are supposed to be. Yet no one is speaking directly to these girls. Jennie fills the role of girlfriend, big sister, team captain, and mentor. A smart, credible, and accomplished voice from an athlete who is strong and feminine, fiercely competitive, and fashionably cool, Jennie is someone young women will listen to and take to heart. Jennie's message: Believe in yourself. Go for it, girls.</DIV>

"Justice has been done." These four words uttered by President Barack Obama announced the triumphant news to the American public. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, was dead. In America Triumphs: The Story of Our Heroes from 9/11 to the Demise of Bin Laden, explore the ensuing moments of anguish and joy, from that fateful September morning when al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial jets, to the amazing courage and precision of the U.S. Navy SEALs who finally found and executed Public Enemy No. 1. America Triumphs is not just about the death of the worlds' most wanted terrorist—it is about the death of fear and terror, and the triumph of our democratic ideals.

Girls today face numerous challenges—developing self-confidence, choosing great friends, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Luckily, they now this handbook that uses humor and everyday situations to emphasize a positive attitude, achievement, and being a strong individual. With chapters on everything from toxic friends to improving your relationship with Mom and Dad, to throwing the perfect party, this is one book girls won't want to miss.

Expressing the passion felt for pets using all 26 letters of the alphabet accompanied by rhymes, colorful illustrations, and informative text, this tribute to dogs explores the canine obsession in a fresh and humorous way. Readers will enjoy fun facts and may be surprised to learn that English foxhounds make terrible apartment dwellers, Portuguese water dogs have hypoallergenic coats, and why labradors are the most popular breed in the country.

<DIV>Shooting is the most important fundamental skill in basketball, but despite being the skill players are the most willing to practice, shooting technique is perhaps the least-taught fundamental of the game. In addition, there are very few instructional basketball books dedicated exclusively to shooting. <EM>Shoot Like the Pros</EM> is perhaps the most detailed analysis of shooting mechanics, covering every aspect of shooting, ever published. Divided into seven sections, it covers shooting mechanics, the mental aspects of shooting, free throws, game situations, strength and conditioning, teaching methods, and finally workout drills for advanced levels. Including tips from some of the NBA&#39;s biggest stars, this is a book that will give both players and coaches at all levels proper direction on how to improve shooting technique.</DIV>

Demonstrating the differences between seemingly similar slot machines and the strategies behind them, this gambling guide will teach readers all the nuances of slot machines that will improve the odds of winning. Written by one of the most experienced professional gamblers in the profession, Slots Conquest opens up the secret world of slot machines to everyone, instructing on how to identify the machines that will give the best odds to win as well as the basic statistics at work in any casino, revealing that there is more to slots than the luck of the pull.

With the help of numerous easy-to-master steps in this breakthrough book, readers will go from being a traditional blackjack player to being an advantage player with a real edge over the house. Insight into how the game of blackjack is really played pairs with traditional strategies for one, two, fours, six, and eight deck games, in this ultimate resources for mastering the blackjack table. Additional topics include smart betting advice for the non-advantage player, little-known secrets to minimize the house edge, which blackjack games to avoid, how to get a verifiable mathematical edge with the new easy-to-master Speed Count, unique betting techniques to increase monetary returns, why Speed Count is nothing like traditional card-counting methods, and how to play tournament blackjack to win.