With all the talk and print about "scientifically based" reading research, what educational reformers have concealed is that these "findings" are scandalously flawed! Legislation mandating authoritarian and harmful prepackaged reading instruction does nothing but serve corporate interests and political agendas with little regard paid to actually improving reading skills. As he connotes in the title of this urgent expose, Gerald Coles uncovers what's absent from all the claims with which teachers and the public have been assailed. He offers a scathing indictment of the National Reading Panel's "research" and other attempts to undermine reading education and the educators equipped to do it best. Strong on slogans-"Reading First," "No Child Left Behind"-but falling far short on science, education legislation disguises itself in a cunning apolitical-research-as-final-arbiter stratagem. And this has only been fortified by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development whose own studies, as Coles proved in Misreading Reading, are rife with deficiencies in design and reasoning. Coles analyzes in detail the language of the National Reading Panel Report, provides counterarguments to its claims, and investigates significant questions it has raised: What were those "100,000 studies" the NRP allegedly reviewed? What were the qualifications of the members of the NRP? Did the panel ask the right questions? Were the views represented on the panel sufficiently inclusive? Did the NRP satisfy the Congressional mandate to ensure that all children learn to read? Without Coles' thorough critique of this "scientific" foundation for reading legislation, the media will continue to portray the NRP Report as gospel; the public-particularly teachers, policy-makers, and parents-will have inadequate information for making informed instructional decisions; and federal, state, and local advocates of beginning reading instruction with a skills emphasis will have little opposition in achieving their objectives.

Newly divorced and determined to reclaim her life, Leslie Morgan, bestselling author of Crazy Love and Mommy Wars, decided to spend a year searching for five new lovers in this “highly stimulating story of a midlife education” and “steamy, liberating tale of self-exploration and self-love” (Kirkus Reviews). When Leslie Morgan divorced after a twenty-year marriage, both her self-esteem and romantic optimism were shattered. She was determined to avoid the cliché of the “lonely, middle-aged divorcée” lamenting her stretch marks and begging her kids to craft her online dating profile. Instead, Leslie celebrated her independence with an audacious plan: she would devote a year to seeking out five lovers in hopes of unearthing the erotic adventures and authentic connections long missing from her life. Clumsy and clueless at first, she overcame mortifying early missteps, buoyed by friends and blind faith. And so she found men at yoga class, the airport, and high school reunions—all without the torture of dating websites. Along the way she uncovered new truths about sex, aging, men, self-confidence, and what it means to be a woman over fifty today. Packed with fearless, evocative details, The Naked Truth is a rare, unexpected, and wildly entertaining memoir about a soccer mom who rediscovers the magic of sexual and emotional connection, and the lasting gifts of reveling in your femininity at every age.

From #1 New York Times Bestseller Vi Keeland, comes a new, sexy standalone novel. It was just a typical Monday. Until the big boss asked me to make the pitch for a prospective new client. After two years on shaky ground at work because of my screw up, an opportunity to impress the senior partners was just what I needed. Or so I thought… Until I walked into the conference room and collided with the man I was supposed to pitch. My coffee spilled, my files tumbled to the ground, and I almost lost my balance. And that was the good part of my day. Because the gorgeous man crouched down and looking at me like he wanted to eat me alive, was none other than my ex, Gray Westbrook. A man who I’d only just begun to move on from. A man who my heart despised—yet my body obviously still had other ideas about. A man who was as charismatic and confident as he was sexy. Somehow, I managed to make it through my presentation ignoring his intense stare. Although it was impossible to ignore all the dirty things he whispered into my ear right after I was done. But there was no way I was giving him another chance, especially now that he was a client …was there?

Meet the Real Danielle… You’ve seen her on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, turning heads, raising eyebrows, and igniting feuds with her feisty suburban neighbors. Now, the always fascinating Danielle Staub gets real about her scandalous past in the year’s most explosive tell-all memoir. . . . When she signed on to appear in a reality TV show, Danielle had no idea what she was getting herself into. Hoping for a new lease on life after her recent divorce, the single mother of two became the target of vicious gossip, heated arguments, and endless controversy. When her housewife costars confronted her with the true crime book written about her ex-husband, the you-know-what hit the fan. Danielle knew she could no longer keep her checkered past a secret—and she had to set the record straight. This is the real Danielle Staub, in her own words, as you’ve never seen her before. The child of an unmarried Italian teenager, Danielle was born in Pennsylvania (under the name Beverly Merrill) after her mother was pressured by her well-to-do family to leave Italy and not return until after she’d put her baby up for adoption. After years of sexual abuse, she fled to Miami, where she became a model, living the kind of lifestyle she could only dream of as a child. She partied like a rock star and with them as well, but ended up marrying a deceitful man who held dangerous secrets of his own. Soon Danielle was caught up in a tangled web of lies, drugs, and abuse that landed her in the hospital more than once. How she survived—leaving her husband, changing her name, and finally giving birth to two lovely daughters—is one shocking story you have to read to believe. If you thought The Real Housewives of New Jersey gave you the real story of Danielle Staub, you don’t know the half of it. Filled with glamour and grit, heartbreak and heroism, this brave, no-holds-barred memoir reveals the naked truth behind reality TV’s most talked-about star. “You either love me or you hate me, there is no in between .” —Danielle Staub For the first time ever, one of the stars of the hit television show The Real Housewives of New Jersey tells her side of the story, including . . . • The truth behind Cop Without a Badge, the book that shocked the other housewives in the first season’s explosive finale. • Her flashy, fast-paced life as a Miami model—and exotic dancer. • Her controversial arrest and time spent in prison. • Her wild hookups with famous celebrities, including an Olympian and a Miami Vice star. • Her abusive childhood, rocky marriages, stormy divorces—and her triumphant rise as one of television’s most intriguing personalities. It’s all here—and all real—in this straight-from-the-hip memoir from the Real Housewife who has all of New Jersey talking . . . and the whole world watching.

As Oscar Wilde once wrote, “Fashion is a form of ugliness so absolutely unbearable that we have to alter it every six months.” And yet it serves to make us beautiful, or at least make us feel beautiful. In this book, Mari Grinde Arntzen asks how and why this is—how can fashion simultaneously attract us to its glamour and repel us with its superficiality and how being called “fashionable” can be at once a compliment and an insult. Arntzen guides us through the major figures and brands of today’s fashion industry, showing how they shape us and in turn why we love to be shaped by them. She examines both everyday, affordable “fast fashion” brands, as well as the luxury market, to show how fashion commands a powerful influence on every socioeconomic level of our society. Stepping into our closets with us, she thinks about what happens when we get dressed: why fashion can make us feel powerful, beautiful, and original at the same time that it forces us into conformity. Stripping off the layers of the world’s fifth largest industry, garment by garment, she holds fashion up as a phenomenon, business, and art, exploring the questions it forces us to ask about the body, image, celebrity, and self-obsession. Ultimately, Arntzen asks the most direct question: what is fashion? How has it taken such a powerful hold on the world, forever propelling us toward its concepts of beauty?

Scott Kelby, the outspoken, founding Editor of Mac Today magazine, takes a no-holds-barred look at what it's really like to be a Macintosh user in a PC-dominated world. This is definitely not another look at Apple's history. Instead, it's a hilarious, off-the-wall view of the Macintosh culture and lifestyle with a take-no-prisoners policy toward PC users. Microsoft, Apple, and anyone else who gets in his way. No topic is off limits and Mac fanatics will cheer as he really tells it like it is, using his unique brand of humor, in this PC-slammin', Microsoft-bashing, all-out Macintosh love fest! Plus, the book is filled with enough "Mac Ammo" to put any PC user down on the ground, cowering in the fetal position, begging for mercy in 60 seconds or less. If you're ready to finally see someone settle the score, this book is for you!

Fascinating, highly candid and often uproarious, costume designer Jean-Pierre Dorléac's detailed Hollywood accounts strip back the façade from the years between 1973 and 1985, when classic glamour became a thing of the past. Through his award-winning works spanning theater, television, film, couture, burlesque and ballet, Jean-Pierre draws on firsthand, factual knowledge to paint an insider's picture of the entertainment industry.Get a behind-the-scenes account of what it took to create the magic of Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Somewhere in Time, The Blue Lagoon and other diverse projects that brought recognition, respect and acclaim to Dorléac through Oscar, Emmys and The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards while he secured his idiosyncratic place in history as the creator of the figure-hugging, wildly popular, spandex pants.Guided by the treasured advice of his mentor, Edith Head, Dorléac was able to successfully retain his composure in exasperating situations and skillfully maintain his balance between obstreperous actors, demanding directors and powerful producers. This is an engaging chronicle of a crucial 12-year period when the dogged pursuit of higher profits radically changed the entertainment industry and replaced singular, custom-made designs with cut-rate, ready-to-wear on rolling racks.