THE FINE ART OF TOUGH LOVE. If you're lucky, somewhere in your past is that one person who changed your life forever. The one who pushed you to dream bigger and to reach higher, and who set you straight on what matters in life. Perhaps it was a coach, or a professor, or a family friend. For Joanne Lipman and Melanie Kupchynsky, that person was a public-school music teacher, Jerry Kupchynsky, known as Mr. K--a Ukrainian-born taskmaster who yelled and stomped and screamed, and who drove his students harder than anyone had ever driven them before. Through sheer force of will, he made them better than they had any right to be. Strings Attached tells the inspiring, poignant, and powerful story of this remarkable man, whose life seemed to conspire against him at every turn and yet who was able to transform his own heartache into triumph for his students. Lyrically recounted by two former students -- acclaimed journalist Joanne Lipman and Mr. K's daughter, Chicago Symphony Orchestra violinist Melanie Kupchynsky -- Strings Attached takes you on a journey that spans from his days as a forced Nazi laborer and his later home life as a husband to an invalid wife, to his heart-breaking search for his missing daughter, Melanie's sister. This is an unforgettable tale -- a captivating narrative that is as absorbing as fiction -- about the power of a great teacher, but also about the legacy that remains long after the last note has faded into silence: lessons in resilience, excellence, and tough love. Strings Attached is for anyone indebted to a mentor and for those devoted to igniting excellence in others.

When Kit Corrigan arrives in New York City, she doesn't have much. The city doesn't welcome her with open arms. Kit gets a bit part as a chorus girl in a Broadway show, but she knows that's not going to last. She needs help - and then it comes, from an unexpected source. But as time goes on, Kit starts to wonder who she can really trust...

The legitimate and illegitimate use of incentives in society today Incentives can be found everywhere—in schools, businesses, factories, and government—influencing people's choices about almost everything, from financial decisions and tobacco use to exercise and child rearing. So long as people have a choice, incentives seem innocuous. But Strings Attached demonstrates that when incentives are viewed as a kind of power rather than as a form of exchange, many ethical questions arise: How do incentives affect character and institutional culture? Can incentives be manipulative or exploitative, even if people are free to refuse them? What are the responsibilities of the powerful in using incentives? Ruth Grant shows that, like all other forms of power, incentives can be subject to abuse, and she identifies their legitimate and illegitimate uses. Grant offers a history of the growth of incentives in early twentieth-century America, identifies standards for judging incentives, and examines incentives in four areas—plea bargaining, recruiting medical research subjects, International Monetary Fund loan conditions, and motivating students. In every case, the analysis of incentives in terms of power yields strikingly different and more complex judgments than an analysis that views incentives as trades, in which the desired behavior is freely exchanged for the incentives offered. Challenging the role and function of incentives in a democracy, Strings Attached questions whether the penchant for constant incentivizing undermines active, autonomous citizenship. Readers of this book are sure to view the ethics of incentives in a new light.

Some mistakes are worth repeating… Tasha Riordan's one night with Luc Bradshaw was the best of her life. The following two—when he left her to be thrown into a Bahamian jail on bogus charges—were her worst. Now, seven years later, the undercover DEA agent is back. Invading her town. Her restaurant. Her fantasies. She can't trust a man who lied to her. Yet neither can she trust herself—not when their chemistry burns even hotter than before. Learning he has two half brothers shocks Luc. Discovering they live in the same town as Tasha—that's a different kind of thrill. Their mutual lust is still off the charts, but he can't get her to listen to his side of what happened on that long-ago night. Good thing he's got powers of persuasion that go deeper than words. Because nothing has ever felt this right….

A beautifully illustrated coffee table book in which Kellerman shares his incredible, world-renowned guitar collection of 108 of the most sought-after musical instruments. Lavishly illustrated with photography by renowned photographer Exley and complete with an introduction by Andy Summers, the famed Police guitarist, this book is a gift from one guitar lover to another. Also includes descriptive essays on the history, structure and idiosyncratic features of these unique instruments.

Micky thought she was straight, until she met Robin... Micky Ferro has lived her entire life according to other people's expectations. She married a man, had two children, and became a dutiful stay-at-home mom in suburban Sydney. Until she realized that her picture-perfect life wasn't making her happy. On the first anniversary of her divorce, Micky decides it's time for the next step in her journey and gets a job at her neighborhood coffeeshop, The Pink Bean. Becoming a barista sparks a big change in Micky's daily routine, but could loud-spoken American customer Robin do the same for her love life? Don't miss the first book in this heart-warming series from the bestselling author of the French Kissing and High Rise series. Every book in this series can be read as a stand-alone without having read the other instalments. THE PINK BEAN SERIES: 1. No Strings Attached 2. Beneath the Surface 3. Everything Between Us 4. This Foreign Affair 5. Water Under Bridges 6. No Other Love 7. Love Without Limits 8. Crazy For You 9. More Than Words

A volleyball star makes a play for the shy girl he’s always loved in this beach town romance from the USA Today bestselling author of No Tan Lines. As a professional beach volleyball player, Dune Cates can have his pick of the girls at the Florida resort town of Barefoot William. But only one has managed to get under his skin—Sophie Saunders. Ever since they were kids, Sophie marched to a beat all her own. She might be prone to sunburn and afraid of the surf, but that doesn't stop her from trying every daring sport available on the boardwalk. As a no-strings-attached kind of guy, Dune knows Sophie spells trouble—and yet he can't keep his mind off her sweet smile. Meanwhile, Sophie has had a crush on Dune ever since he rescued her from childhood bullies. But how can she compete with his legions of skimpily-clad groupies? With the promise of ice cream sandwiches, merry-go-round rides and dreamy sunsets, it's only a matter of time before Dune and Sophie let their hang-ups drift out to sea.