MY HIGH SCHOOL classmates completed four years of college last June, a date at which I too had completed four years of study. Their graduation was greeted by presents, parties and diplomas. Mine never occurred. What studies and studies and never graduates? The answer can be found in one word: autodidact. It can be used to describe anyone who is self-taught, and the self-taught are almost anyone. There have been autodidacts of every type: the father of our country (George Washington) and quite a few barons of industry (Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller); autodidacts interested in getting there (Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart) and those who created the music to carry us along (John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland); novelists (Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens); playwrights (Noel Coward, Clare Boothe Luce, William Saroyan, Tom Stoppard); film makers (D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Irving Thalberg), and autodidacts interested in all that and marriage, too (Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon).

Autodidact is an anthology of compassion and hardwork compiled by an amazing compiler. Compassion gives us the ability to understand someone else's situation and the desire to take action to improve their lives whereas hardwork is the key to achieve anything in life. Compassion and hardwork are two sides of coin but can sometimes go hand by hand. Often we may work hard to achieve something, but we may not be compassionate to others. A man must be composed of compassion and hardwork, for him to reach the heights of success. Autodidact is a collection of poetry, stories and open letters, that talks about how important it is to be hardworking and how being compassionate helps in life for an individual to grow.

Learning is something that doesn't stop after you've gotten all your necessary degrees. Life is a consistent teacher with the ability to school even the sharpest of veterans. There is always an opportunity to expand upon your knowledge. Take the initiative to seek ways on how to improve yourself. Try a different hobby. Start a conversation with someone you haven't gotten to know very well. Explore a new city or country. Humans are nomadic by nature. Tap into that please.

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and relax your body and soul. Poetry is not only a means to elevate your spirit but a way to broaden your realm of thinking. Contained in this book you will find one man's interpretation of the world and how he has chosen to adapt his life to whatever obstacles are set before him. There will be poems that will move you to tears, while others may offend the very essence of your character but have no fear for at the end of the book you will find that you are much more enlightened as a result. Inspired by the life experiences of the poet, you will be able to understand first hand what it was like growing up in a poor urban neighborhood with nothing more than a dream to keep you warm. You will see that motivation can be found in many forms and even in unexpected places. The darkest, most bitter life experiences can be inspirational and the innocence of a child can turn your darkest night into sunshine that warms your body from head to toe. All it takes is a little Faith!

This book is a short introduction to the Java programming language, focusing on the Java base language and features like JDBC and filesystem access that all programmers need. A professional programmer or computer science student should be able to get through the entire book in a few nights.

The idea that America is a literate country is a misconception. There are more than thirty million adults in the United States today who cannot read, and spectator mentality and an obsession with instant gratification prevent many from retaining a true commitment to literacy. The issue persists despite a wealth of dedicated teachers across the country. Through no fault of their own, many educators are unable to excite students about learning to read and write. In response to this problem, James W. Parkinson argues that people must become responsible for their own education and learn the importance of being self-taught in reading and writing. In Autodidactic: Self-Taught, Parkinson shares his personal stories and discoveries about how to take charge of one's own learning, weaving together practical wisdom and historical statements issued by some of the world's most remarkable leaders. Parkinson details his failures and successes, his inability to engage intellectually in his youth, and his efforts to educate himself over a span of forty years -- all to remind readers that education is a lifelong challenge with no shortcuts. This book promises to motivate students, doctors, factory workers, and flight attendants alike to take matters into their own hands when it comes to learning in order to change their lives for the better.

More than a third of the houses in the world are made of clay. Clay vessels were instrumental in the invention of cooking, wine and beer making, and international trade. Our toilets are made of clay. The first spark plugs were thrown on the potter’s wheel. Clay has played a vital role in the health and beauty fields. Indeed, this humble material was key to many advances in civilization, including the development of agriculture and the invention of baking, architecture, religion, and even the space program. In Clay, Suzanne Staubach takes a lively look at the startling history of the mud beneath our feet. Told with verve and erudition, this story will ensure you won’t see the world around you in quite the same way after reading the book.