A straight-from-the-source look at how NFL dynasties are built In Super Bowl Blueprints, Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian and veteran football scribe Vic Carucci sit down with the architects of the greatest teams of all time, digging into how these dynastic squads did what they did, with more insight and access than any football book in history. Polian, the architect of the Super Bowl XLI–champion Indianapolis Colts, provides a rare glimpse inside the locker rooms, coaches' room, and front offices for the key moments that defined the modern NFL. Whether Polian is discussing variations of the no-huddle with Jim Kelly and Peyton Manning or the culture of the Steel Curtain with Terry Bradshaw and "Mean" Joe Greene or different versions of Bill Walsh's West Coast offense with Mike Holmgren and Steve Young, his command of the game mixed with the perceptions of these legends creates a book like no other. Tom Flores, Ron Wolf, and Mike Haynes debate how Al Davis built the iconic Raiders franchise, while Jimmy Johnson, Jerry Jones, Troy Aikman, and more share how tension and football IQ were married to create the unstoppable Cowboys teams of the '90s. Super Bowl Blueprints tells the story of championship football—how it's attained and what it takes—through the voices of Bill Parcells, Marv Levy, Art Rooney II, Charles Haley, Doug Williams, John Mara, Charley Casserly, Joe Theismann, Harry Carson, Tom Moore, Brian Billick, Frank Reich, Dwight Freeney, Joe Gibbs, Tony Dungy, and many more!

As one of the most successful general managers and team presidents in NFL history, few people understand how to create the blueprint for a winning football team like Bill Polian. After building the Buffalo Bills team that went to four consecutive Super Bowls and taking the expansion Carolina Panthers to the NFC Championship just two years after the team's creation, he was responsible for the Indianapolis Colts drafting Peyton Manning with the first overall pick in 1998 and oversaw the team's victory in Super Bowl XLI. Now, Polian shares his blueprint for building a successful football team in The Game Plan. He details the decisions both a team needs to make in the regular season and the offseason to bring teams to the postseason and the NFL's ultimate test of a well-built team: the Super Bowl.

For over forty years a simple life blueprint has been customized by Jim Fannin, the master coach for 2,500-plus of the “best of the best” in life, business, and sports. His plan is now available to you and it includes proven, concrete tools and techniques to enhance every aspect of your life. You will learn tools to… · Swiftly reverse a negative day · Re-ignite the spark in your marriage · Reach peak performance at the right time and place · Gain more confidence and positive self-esteem · Find a “peaceful calm” when chaos and negative stress arrive · Simplify and balance your life “My entire family has thrived with Jim Fannin’s blueprint for living a successful life,” says Julie McAllister, mother, wife, and business executive. “For 10 years Jim Fannin has helped our student-athletes create a blueprint for their success. Our men’s golf program’s amazing achievements have Jim Fannin’s influence to thank,” says NCAA Coach of the Year Mike Small of the University of Illinois. “Jim’s life blueprint with his powerful tools and techniques worked for me as a professional athlete and they continue to work as a business owner, father and husband,” says former MLB All-Star John Buck. “With The Blueprint I changed my life and the direction of my company. Within two years I doubled my business and balanced and simplified my life,” says CEO Rob Wilson of Employco, USA “If you want to organize your life in order to be your genuine, authentic, best self, Jim Fannin’s The Blueprint is the proven solution,” says CEO Mike Flaskey of Diamond Resorts International.

A de facto American national holiday and phenomenon, the Super Bowl claims a spot as one of the most significant sporting events in the world and the most widely celebrated, feasted and feasting event of the year— with $14+ billion at stake, commercials costing $7 million for a 30-second spot, record-setting broadcast ratings, and 113+ million viewers. More avocados (105 million pounds) are consumed, and more beer is drunk (325 million gallons) on the single day of Superbowl Sunday. But there is much more at play than partying at our annual sports extravaganza, as this scholarly researched yet readable volume demonstrates: Here you will read a historical perspective that includes discussions of the meta-event’s economics (stakeholders, host cities, advertising, gambling, and media), fandom, ratings, halftime entertainment, the roles of mythic spectacle and religion, football’s sexist, militaristic language, gender issues like cheerleaders and sex trafficking, the Puppy Bowl, medical concerns like concussions and violence, tailgating and foodie ideas—all along with tidbits about your favorite team(s) and player(s). Touchdown!

Blueprint for Building Community is a rare look at the career of a city manager. This career portrait is set in two Illinois communities - Park Forest and Woodridge - communities which hold high aspirations for their residents. City managers, partnering with elected leaders and citizens in these communities, have worked to fulfill those aspirations. This book highlights the values and relationships that must be cultivated by the city manager to successfully build community. Although the focus is on the role of the city manager, other key participants such as elected officials, citizens, and employees can gain from the insights. Community building requires connecting the key groups in the community to the mission and "sacred things" dear to residents. Harnessing the energy of all the players produces tremendous results. For the many people who worked to build Park Forest and Woodridge, and so many communities across this country, this book is a tribute to their efforts.--COVER.

"A refreshingly funny and blisteringly unsentimental coming-of-age memoir." -John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All The Way Down and The Fault in Our Stars In Akilah Hughes's world, family--and life--are often complicated, but always funny. Through intimate and hilarious essays, Akilah takes readers along on her journey from the small Kentucky town where she was born--and eventually became a spelling bee champ and 15-year-old high school graduate--to New York City, where she took careful steps to fulfill her dream of becoming a writer and performer. Like Tiffany Haddish's The Last Black Unicorn or Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? for the YA set, Akilah pens revealing and laugh-out-loud funny essays about her life, covering everything from her racist fifth grade teacher, her struggles with weight and acne, her failed attempts at joining the cheerleading team, how to literally get to New York (hint: for a girl on a budget, it may include multiple bus transfers) and exactly how to "make it" once you finally get there.

“This dark, pitch-perfect novel about our dependence on technology for validation and human connection is as addictive as social media itself.” —People Magazine Orla Cadden is stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss, who has a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss’s methods are shady—and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can’t be wrong. Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. Despite her massive popularity—twelve million loyal followers—when Marlow discovers that her whole family history is based on a lie, she summons the courage to run in search of the truth. Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into upheaval. This darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection. “Terrific writing about terrifying ideas.” —Washington Post “An engaging confection wrapped around a thoughtful critique.” —USA Today “Dazzling.” —Time “Razor-sharp.” —Entertainment Weekly “Big Brother meets Ingrid Goes West.” —theSkimm “[An] intelligent page-turner.” —Wall Street Journal “Dark, witty, astute.” —Slate “Black Mirror fans are going to love Megan Angelo’s Followers.” —PopSugar “Engrossing.” —NPR “Fascinating.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Intricate and brave.” —Booklist (starred review) “Addictive.” —KirkusReviews (starred review)