If size counts for anything, Michael Bay towers over his contemporaries. His summer-defining event films involve extraordinary production costs and churn enormous box office returns. His ability to mastermind breathtaking spectacles of action, mayhem, and special effects continually push the movie industry as much as the medium of film toward new frontiers. Lutz Koepnick engages the bigness of works like Armageddon and the Transformers movies to explore essential questions of contemporary filmmaking and culture. Combining close analysis and theoretical reflection, Koepnick shows how Bay's films, knowingly or not, address profound issues about what it means to live in the late twentieth- and early twenty-first centuries. According to Koepnick's astute readings, no one eager to understand the state of cinema today can ignore Bay's work. Bay's cinema of world-making and transnational reach not only exemplifies interlocking processes of cultural and economic globalization. It urges us to contemplate the future of moving images, of memory, matter, community, and experience, amid a time of rampant political populism and ever-accelerating technological change. An eye-opening look at one of Hollywood's most polarizing directors, Michael Bay illuminates what energizes the films of this cinematic and cultural force.

A novel inspired by #1 New York Times best-selling author Mark Greaney’s Audible Original drama, Armored. Joshua Duffy is a Close Protection Agent—a professional bodyguard—and he's one of the world's elite operatives. That is, he was until his last mission in Lebanon. Against all odds, Josh got his primary out alive, but the cost was high. Josh lost his lower left leg. There's not much call for an elite bodyguard with such an injury. So, Josh has to support his family working as a mall cop in New Jersey. For a man like Josh, this is purgatory on earth, but miracles can occur even in Paramus. A lucky run-in with an old comrade promises to get Josh back in the field for one last job. The UN is sending a peace mission into the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico, an area so dangerous it's known as Espinazo del Diablo—the Devil's Spine. Only a fool would think they could broker peace between the homicidal drug cartels in the region, and only a madman would sign on to keep those fools alive.

And the GEEKS shall inherit the earth! Although it may not be good for their pasty white skin, Geeks these days are enjoying a moment in the sun. From Pop Culture to High-Tech Everything, Geeks rule and everybody else, well, drools. Drawing on his own knowledge of being a geek for almost 30 years, author Alex Langley provides essential advice for growth and survival for the modern Geek, including the top five games to play on your phone while listening to boring graduation speeches. There are also quotes and anecdotes from classic Geek gods such as Bill Gates, Sheldon Cooper, Felicia Day, "Weird" Al Yankovic and Dr. Who, that inspire all geeks to embrace not only your iPhones and Xboxes, but who you are. Let's face it, sometimes being the smartest person in the room isn't enough. And when it's not, The Geek Handbook can help. You'll discover: • Basics on social interaction, both online and off. • Fashion: just because you can wear socks and sandals doesn't mean you should. • Making friends, making dinner, making babies. • Warning signs your appliances might secretly be plotting against you. • Geeky charities that give a +1 to your Light Side score. • Geek girls: tips on interacting with or becoming one of these burgeoning beauties. So get your Geek on, and keep it on with The Geek Handbook.

More of the Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic’s most scathing reviews. A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length collects more than 200 of his reviews from 2006 to 2012 in which he gave movies two stars or fewer. Known for his fair-minded and well-written film reviews, Roger is at his razor-sharp humorous best when skewering bad movies. Consider this opener for the one-star Your Highness: “Your Highness is a juvenile excrescence that feels like the work of 11-year-old boys in love with dungeons, dragons, warrior women, pot, boobs, and four-letter words. That this is the work of David Gordon Green beggars the imagination. One of its heroes wears the penis of a minotaur on a string around his neck. I hate it when that happens.” And finally, the inspiration for the title of this book, the one-star Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a doglike robot humping the leg of the heroine. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.” Roger Ebert’s I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie and Your Movie Sucks, which gathered some of his most scathing reviews, were bestsellers. This collection continues the tradition, reviewing not only movies that were at the bottom of the barrel, but also movies that he found underneath the barrel. Movie buffs and humor lovers alike will relish this treasury of movies so bad that you may just want to see them for a good laugh!

Boost your trivia knowledge with the Edumacation podcast’s co-host and this expedition to the bizarre and extraordinary outskirts of scientific discovery Class is now in session with Professor Andy McElfresh (not a real professor), science aficionado and co-host of the Edumacation podcast with Kevin Smith. This is the book that gives you a crash course in Cocktail-Party Science, the strange and astonishing scientific facts that you’ll want to share at all your social gatherings. Chapters explore the Four Chambers of Knowledge—The Sci, The Fi, The Why, and The Bye—and examine such tantalizing topics as: • Elevator Decapitations and a Deadly Wedgie • Bigfoot, Mermaids, and the Mongolian Death Worm • Dolphins Getting High Off Puffer Fish Toxin • Staggering Feats of Shaolin Monks • The Pentagon’s Weaponized Heat Ray • Flying Cars, Real Telepathy, and Other Breakthroughs of Tomorrow and many more! Open this book and open your mind: You’re about to get Edumacated! “Edumacation is like peeking into Andy’s fact-filled brain–each topic is silo-ed into rough categories packed to the brim with historical and scientific information…He litters the book with his funny banter and crunches large topics into more manageable, bite-sized pieces. Overall, this book reads less like a scientific tome and more like a conversation with your best friend. It’s light, funny and you come out of it feeling good about yourself. You also pick up some neat trivia to share at parties!”—Nerdophiles

The Ultimate Book Of Quotations is an invaluable tool for writers, public speakers, coaches, business leaders or anyone who wishes to improve communications. This book is conveniently organized by subjects with over 400 pages of quotations for everyone. The book's originations makes finding quotes easy and user friendly.

What would it take for one young Black man not only to rise above statistics but also become a Navy SEAL, actor, entrepreneur, writer, and successful husband and father? In Transformed, Remi Adeleke takes you back to stories from his childhood, from living as Nigerian royalty to losing his father early in life and being stripped financially of everything by the Nigerian government. Following his father’s death, he and his mother and brother relocated permanently to the Bronx where his single mother struggled to provide for the family. Statistics tell us that African American males who grow up in a single-parent household are nine times more likely to drop out of high school and twenty times more likely to end up in prison than any other demographic. While it would have been easy to believe that he could never beat those odds, Remi Adeleke refused to fall victim to that premise. Sharing his incredible journey through the struggles of his life, Remi doesn’t shy away from his illegal activities as a young man that threatened to derail his future as a Navy SEAL. He shares: How perseverance transformed his life despite all odds How taking ownership of his mistakes and shortcomings led him to success His hard-earned wisdom gained over years of struggle Belief that the adversities, trials, and tribulations he went through were specific moves by God At every turn, including throughout his naval career, Adeleke found a way to overcome the odds, even when it didn’t make sense. Remi Adeleke’s journey of following God’s voice, rising above statistics, and experiencing true personal transformation will inspire and move you.