A sincere and thorough exploration by the author to make sense of a world full of overwhelming amounts of information and conflicting belief systems. Who is telling the truth? Which religion is the right one? What does the Bible tell us? Who are we? By peering into the author's world view, we develop our own sense of ourselves, we appreciate life more, and we make peace with many important areas of internal conflict.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. “Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before Look for the author’s new podcast, The Puzzler, based on this book! What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost. In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—The Puzzler will open readers’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.

The life of Richard Alan Langhinrichs is a remarkable journeyin his own words as he struggles with his personal demonsand in the words and remembrances of his family, friends and colleagues. He was awarded two medals for valor in Saipan during WWII, where he proclaimed, There are atheists in foxholes, because Im one. Dick enrolled in Northwestern University at the age of 17, joined a fraternity, and wanting to appear blase because he was on a full scholarship, was able to fulfill this ambition, partly because he could play the piano with panache and savoir faire by imitating George Gershwin. At the wars end, he headed to New York City for a stage career while writing a novel and pursuing his lifelong quest for meaning, but years later his midlife crisis changed the course of his journey. The ministry would become his career, but not until he had been a struggling novelist, a successful real estate agent in New Yorks Greenwich Village and a highly paid business executive in Detroit. Dick was a prolific reader and books that influenced his philosophy and his quest for meaning are listed as Sacred Texts at the end of Part I: One Mans Journey.

The manuscript for this book has been wandering the halls of Silicon Valley companies ever since 1993, and now it's available for the first time in any bookstore. Now all of us have the opportunity to refer to successful management strategies and practices right on our iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Overeducated and underemployed? In love with learning but stumped on how to translate it into a paycheck? Desperately striving to make your seemingly useless liberal arts education work for you in any sort of satisfying or meaningful way? Trying to simultaneously engage your interests, skillset and values and still pay the bills while pleading for another student loan deferment? I feel your pain and have stories to share, but if you're looking for inspirational uplift, self-help or a life coach, please look elsewhere. HARDBARNED! One Man's Quest for Meaningful Work in the American South is a darkly comic, brutally honest and introspective memoir about working for a living--without being able to shake the feeling that there has got to be more to it than that.

Fresh from a near-death experience in the hospitals of Washington, DC, Dr. Kasonso explains the essence of life in our world today, including timeless principles, inspirational stories, and a personal witness of what holds life together. Human existence is a quest to find significance. We all want our lives, our activities, our situations, and the people around us to make sense. But in our broken world, life is always juxtaposed by endless predicaments. As such, we all live through unresolved dilemmas, we all carry around unanswered questions, and we all live through unexplained events. There are always two sides to every life storywhat we know and we do not know, what we can reach for and what is completely beyond us, what we can live with and what we can live without. Relive the principles that make life worth living, and discover a way to find meaning in a broken world in The Original Templates. Dr. Kasonso beautifully captures the essence of what it means to live a life that is fully surrendered to Jesus. It is inspiring. It is encouraging. It is challenging. Read it slowly and let it shape your heart and mind in the way of Jesus. - Insoo Kim, Coauthor of Both-And: Living the Christ-Centered Life in an Either-Or World and Church Planter of Life Church Vancouver, BC, Canada. The Original Templates is a must read book for everyone who is seeking his life to be reignited with passion for the Lord and His mission. Its not just like any other book filled with words but something that is calling us back to original Christianity and be the answer to this broken world. Dr. Kasonso is an ordinary Christian with an extraordinary faith in Lord and a great inspiration to my personal walk with the Lord. - Rev Damas Kamfwa, National Director: Association of Vineyard Churches, Zambia. Dr. Kasonso, has written a book that is refreshing to the eyes which are also the windows to the soul. Kasonso takes his audience on a beautiful journey of ingenuity and along the journey, it is clear that his book lives up to its title. Get this book, it is a must read! - Michael Badriaki, Author of When Helping Works: Alleviating Fear and Pain in Global Missions.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. “Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost. In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—The Puzzler will open readers’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.