Mark Christensen grew up with a simple dream-to build a 600 horsepower suicide machine able to accelerate from zero to sixty in less time than it takes to read this sentence. When a friend offers him $100,000 to realize that dream, Christensen enlists Nick Pugh, the best young auto designer in the country. An idealistic, charismatic, twenty-two year old star student from the celebrated Art Center for Design in Pasadena, Pugh shows Christensen his sketches of the Xeno I-drawings that are stunningly original and strangely familiar-"as if they were the best ideas I never had." Thus inspired, the author sets out to assemble a "best of the best" group of engineers, mechanics and fabricators. But the dream becomes grander and the designs of the Xeno evolve spectacularly after the endlessly hard working utopian Pugh develops an ingenious method for automobiles to triple their driving range. And as new and wilder Xenos fly from Pugh's monster imagination, nothing seems impossible. That is until the author discovers that $100,000 may not even pay for the hubcaps that Pugh has envisioned. Build the Perfect Beast is a window into 21st century technology and cutting edge design at its most relevant and bizarre-an epic odyssey about craft, cars, opportunity and ambition that sizzles like American Graffiti on acid. This is a classic tale of chasing down the American dream.

The Must-Have Guide for Songwriters Writing Better Lyrics has been a staple for songwriters for nearly two decades. Now this revised and updated 2nd Edition provides effective tools for everything from generating ideas, to understanding the form and function of a song, to fine-tuning lyrics. Perfect for new and experienced songwriters alike, this time-tested classic covers the basics in addition to more advanced techniques.Songwriters will discover: • How to use sense-bound imagery to enhance a song's emotional impact on listeners • Techniques for avoiding clichés and creating imaginative metaphors and similes • Ways to use repetition as an asset • How to successfully manipulate meter • Instruction for matching lyrics with music • Ways to build on ideas and generate effective titles • Advice for working with a co-writer • And much more Featuring updated and expanded chapters, 50 fun songwriting exercises, and examples from more than 20 chart-toppings songs, Writing Better Lyrics gives you all of the professional and creative insight you need to write powerful lyrics and put your songs in the spotlight where they belong.

You can get Flash-y with your Web site -- here's how! Know your audience, plan your site, and make it both interactive and cool Gone are the days when you could get by with a boring Web site. With Flash, you can add interactivity, video, an exciting and easy-to-navigate interface, and eye candy like custom cursors and flying text. This friendly guide makes Flash fun and easy, so you can have your site up and running in no time. Discover how to * Build an interface with custom buttons and menus * Include animation and soundtracks * Dress up your text * Create tween animations * Create ActionScript objects * Test and publish your site

The official prequel novel of the epic film After Earth, directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith After their exodus from Earth, the last humans settled a remote planet, Nova Prime. When an alien force known as the Skrel descended from the skies, the United Ranger Corps, an elite defense unit, valiantly resisted. Centuries passed without an attack, and many colonists believed that, with other security measures in place, the resources devoted to maintaining their military strength would be better spent elsewhere. Little did they know that trouble was coming to Nova Prime—and it had a taste for blood. The latest in a long line of decorated warriors, Conner Raige is one of the Rangers’ most promising young cadets, although his brash confidence and tendency to act on instinct have earned him as many skeptics as admirers. Conner’s ancestors were on the front lines of humanity’s victory against the Skrel. But when a deadly ground war breaks out, Conner’s up against an entirely different beast—because, this time, the Skrel have brought a secret weapon: ferocious killing machines designed to eliminate humanity from Nova Prime . . . and the universe. BONUS: Includes the first three novellas of Ghost Stories, the thrilling eBook original prequel series!

An examination of the structures of global power in the post-Cold War period and the implications of this for human security.

The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music is an incredible and opinionated collection of celebrated cultural critic Dylan Jones's thoughts on more than 350 of the most important artists around the world—alive and dead, big and small, at length and in brief. This A to Z reference is the true musical heir to David Thomson's seminal The New Biographical Dictionary of Popular Film. Jones writes entertainingly about bands that have inspired, bedeviled, and fascinated him over the years.

(Music Pro Guide Books & DVDs). The initial volume of Behind the Boards was the first definitive rock-record producer's anthology of its kind, taking music fans and those interested in sound recording inside the studio to experience the creation of life-changing music! Behind the Boards II: The Making of Rock 'n' Roll's Greatest Records Revealed takes fans inside the creation of still more legendary rock gems, including "Hotel California" by the Eagles; "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by the Clash; "Rocketman" by Elton John; "Ziggy Stardust" by David Bowie; "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones; "The Thrill Is Gone" by B.B. King; "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed; such Beatles classics as "I Am the Walrus," "Helter Skelter," and "Give Peace a Chance"; as well as still more hits by Def Leppard, Billy Idol, Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Thorogood, the Police, Jackson Browne, Survivor, Foo Fighters, the Stone Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, Heart, Joe Satriani, Rick Derringer, Peter Frampton, Huey Lewis & the News, Tool, Jon Bon Jovi, Daughtry, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Lenny Kravitz, Tracy Chapman, Steve Miller, Simple Minds, Foreigner, and many more!