On June 23rd, 1950, Pavese, Italy's greatest modern writer received the coveted Strega Award for his novel Among Women Only. On August 26th, in a small hotel in his home town of Turin, he took his own life. Shortly before his death, he methodically destroyed all his private papers. His diary is all that remains and for this the contemporary reader can be grateful. Contemporary speculation attributed this tragedy to either an unhappy love aff air with the American film star Constance Dawling or his growing disillusionment with the Italian Communist Party. His Diaries, however, reveal a man whose art was his only means of repressing the specter of suicide which had haunted him since childhood: an obsession that finally overwhelmed him. As John Taylor notes, he possessed something much more precious than a political theory: a natural sensitivity to the plight and dignity of common people, be they bums, priests, grape-pickers, gas station attendants, office workers, or anonymous girls picked up on the street (though to women, the author could--as he admitted--be as misogynous as he was affectionate). Bitter and incisive, This Business of Living, is both moving and painful to read and stands with James Joyce's Letters and Andre Gide's Journals as one of the great literary testaments of the twentieth century.

Can one idea be worth a million dollars? Of course. But what is a million-dollar idea worth if it is poorly executed? In this ground-breaking, paradigm-shifting book, creative genius Joey Reiman presents a convincing argument for the value of raw ideas.

From dealing blackjack in the small-time gangster town of Steubenville, Ohio, to carousing with the famous "Rat Pack" in a Hollywood he called home, Dean Martin lived in a grandstand, guttering life of booze, broads, and big money. He rubbed shoulders with the mob, the Kennedys, and Hollywood's biggest stars. He was one of America's favorite entertainers. But no one really knew him. Now Nick Tosches reveals the man behind the image--the dark side of the American dream. It's a wild, illuminating, sometimes shocking tale of sex, ambition, heartaches--and a life lived hard, fast, and without apologies.

Advance praise for Me, Inc "Ventrella takes the best practices of Fortune 500 companies and shows how you can apply them to another important venture—you! Your life deserves at least as much attention as your job does, so read this book and turn your time on Earth into a satisfying, meaningful enterprise." —Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and Leading at a Higher Level "Rarely does a book so authentically capture the essence of what a true personal brand transformation is all about. Me, Inc. provides a unique approach to discovering your personal brand and making it a reality. Through Ventrella's insights and invaluable self-discovery tools, readers quickly learn that when you build your personal brand, you build a brand of value—value that eloquently translates into success throughout every facet of your life." —Laura Tessinari, Senior Partner, Director of Training, Ogilvy & Mather "The Me, Inc. program has guided me on the path to even greater personal and professional achievement and life satisfaction than I ever thought possible." —Jack Hallahan, Vice President, Advertising and Brand Partnerships, MobiTV "In all of the thirteen years since I first heard Ventrella speak on this subject, I have consistently been impressed by the value of his approach and the responses of the hundreds of students who have benefited from his structured program. With the publication of Me, Inc., Ventrella reveals to a much larger audience the way to create successful, happy lives. His students at Fordham and executive coaching clients have been applying it with excellent results for years." —James A. F. Stoner, Professor Fordham University, Graduate School of Business Administration "Me, Inc. provides a clear road map to achieving your goals and finding greater work-life balance. Ventrella's approach offers an interesting and powerful way to assume control; by managing your life's ambitions as seriously as you might a business endeavor, you can clarify your thoughts, set priorities, and turn your dreams into reality. Ventrella is a very effective coach and, like any good boss, he doesn't let you off the hook. You want to change things? Look no further." —Teri Schindler, Media Consultant, Patrick Davis Partners

Shortlisted for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Prize 2008 The Snowball is the first and will be the only biography of the world's richest man, Warren Buffett, written with his full cooperation and collaboration. Combining a unique blend of "The Sage of Omaha's" business savvy, life story and philosophy, The Snowball is essential reading for anyone wishing to discover and replicate the secrets of his business and life success. Warren Buffett is arguably the world's greatest investor. Even as a child he was fascinated by the concept of risk and probability, setting up his first business at the age of six. In 1964 he bought struggling Massachusetts textile firm Berkshire Hathaway and grew it to be the 12th largest corporation in the US purely through the exercise of sound investing principles - a feat never equalled in the annals of business. Despite an estimated net worth of around US$62 billion, Buffett leads an intriguingly frugal life taking home a salary of only £50,000 a year. His only indulgence is a private jet, an extravagance he wryly acknowledges by calling it "The Indefensible". In 2006, he made the largest charitable donation on record, with most of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Snowball provides a comprehensive, richly detailed insight one of the world's most extraordinary and much loved public figures.

NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD GOLD MEDALIST — BODY, MIND, SPIRIT PRACTICES “Combining an extraordinary range of scholarship with an accessible and entertaining writing style, The Infinite Staircase . . . provides a coherent and unified platform for a full human life.” —Midwest Book Review In this bold new book, high-tech’s best-known strategist makes a seminal contribution to the search for meaning in a secular era. Two questions fundamental to human existence have always been the metaphysical “where do I fit in the grand scheme of things?” and the ethical “how should I behave?” Religion is no longer a source of answers for many people, and nothing has replaced it. Moore uses his signature framework-based approach to answer these questions, taking us on an intellectual roller coaster ride through physics, chemistry, biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Along the way, he builds a metaphorical ladder that leads from the big bang to the need for ethical action in our daily lives. Combining an extraordinary range of scholarship with an accessible and entertaining writing style, The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us About Life, Ethics, and Mortality provides a coherent and unified platform for a full human life.

Desboro remained silent for a few moments, looking hard at the fireplace; then he tossed his cigarette onto the embers, dropped the amber mouthpiece into the pocket of his dinner jacket, dismissed Farris with a pleasant nod, and walked very slowly along the hall, as though in no haste to meet his visitor before he could come to some conclusion concerning her identity. For among all the women he had known, intimately or otherwise, he could remember very few reckless enough, or brainless enough, or sufficiently self-assured, to pay him an impromptu visit in the country at such an hour of the night...ABOUT THE BOOKS.