This is the expanded second edition of the colot interior version of the book. This edition has been published in 2001. Some of the reviews refer to the older edition published in 2008. Inspired by author's stint at Amazon.com. Seattle, a medley of lush green hills surrounded by snow capped mountains and sparking blue waters. Congo.com--an Internet company based in Seattle which has taken the stock markets by storm, and is transforming itself from an online retailer to an eCommerce platform, led by a CEO who leads this transformation but is not afraid to act goofy. In the middle of all this lands a former executive from Silicon Valley. It begins as a story of a technologist leaving behind his beloved Silicon Valley for Seattle. It unfolds into a moving story capturing Seattle's beauty, its interesting people and culture; and the inside scoop on the dot-com world. Technology. Innovation. Humor. Wit. Imagination. They all come together very nicely in Seattle Adventures.

Literacy Pledge: For every copy of this book sold in United States, Canada or Europe, we will donate a textbook to a child in need. Find out more about our pledge at www. world-literacy.info. Please also read Author's statement in the "Author's Biography" section. Behind Amazon's quirky smile logo lurks a cold and calculating giant machine. Author Kalpanik S. reveals his own smile as he tells the somewhat quirky story of his complex, and often hilarious, relationship with Amazon. From the sophisticated wit in his portrayal of the courtship period in "How To Get Hired By Amazon In Ten Days", to the dark humor of the disillusionment period in "The Cold, Calculating Machine", Kalpanik's story is more than just an insider's view of the giant machine known as Amazon.com. It's a modern, universal story of the uneasy relationship between an individual and today's gargantuan corporations. In the end, it is also a story of redemption for creative and freethinking individuals that define America. Acclaim for the book ... not only does the author makes us feel the vitality of the Hi-Tech worlds of California & Seattle but his very emotional experiences as an immigrant, a father and a dislocated worker.I love his leaps of imagination, and the words which hook us in, make us think this is our story. For example, here is what it means to yearn for acceptance: "I looked at Seattle's glistening skyline on one side and its beautiful waterfront on the other and asked it the same questions I had asked San Francisco sixteen years ago: will it accept me? Or will its people treat me as someone different, not one of them?" Overall, a hip, funny and yet very poignant story! .....John Lehman, author of "Everything is Changing" This edition of the book was revised in December 2011 to include author's perspective on the 2011 Amazon Warehouse scandal, where a detailed investigative report on worker treatment at a regional warehouse by a local newspaper caught national media attention. Confessions of a foreign born author I must confess that English is my third language, and even though this book has been edited by several professional native English editors, it is obvious-even to me- that this book is written by a Foreign-born author. Foreign-born or not, I believe I have a talent for storytelling, and I have converted a dull topic-the transformation of Amazon from a retail website to a marketplace-into an interesting and lively story. This is more of a little book than a big one. Being a technologist, I tend to be concise in my writing. The printed version of this edition is about 220 pages. This may be too little for a few readers, too much for others, and hopefully, just right for the some. So, If you are looking for a 1,000-page treatise on Amazon that can be used as an example of perfect grammar in the High school English grammar class, then this book may not be the right book for you. There are several other books on Amazon which are written in perfect English but are perfectly boring. A book about Amazon can be pretty dry, so I have tried to add some humor. In my attempt to make this book funny, a few facts may have been stretched. I quote this passage from 21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com, written by Mike Daisey, a fellow Amazon alumnus-turned author: "Some facts were injured in the telling of this story. The truth, however, remains unharmed." That applies to this book as well. To respect the privacy of the people involved in this story, their names have been changed - with one exception. Trust me, there really is a guy named Jeff Bezos who works at Amazon. All in all, I am proud of my work, Enjoy! [Signed] Kalpanik S. Note: Portions of this book have been previously published under titles "Seattle Adventures", "Artificial Imagination" and "Welcome to the USA".

The brand-new Let's Go: Pacific Northwest Adventure Guide is your must-have companion to the great outdoors of Washington, Oregon, and parts of British Columbia and Alberta. With fresh coverage of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the Puget Sound islands, and Washington's Methow and Yakima Valleys, Let's Go is the best and freshest guide to the Pacific Northwest for travelers and natives alike. Let's Go's forty-five years of practical savvy inform this book's must-have information on safety, car care, wilderness survival, and nature conservation. Up-to-date advice on wilderness leadership certification, organized trips, and extreme sports caters to the most serious adventurers. Whether your tastes turn to hiking the glaciers of Banff National Park or exploring the marble canyons of Oregon Caves National Monument, all you need is adrenaline and Let's Go.

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and wondering whether where you were in San Francisco or San Diego, New Delhi or Nashville, Amman or Emeryville? And why you were where you were?This is the story of a modern Nomad, a Hi-tech immigrant who becomes a refugee in Nashville during the meltdown of technology industry in Silicon Valley. In the last chapter, the author moves again to yet another interesting place.The author captures the contrast and similarities between the places beautifully, using both colorful words and colorful photographs, combining stunning imagery with his equally stunning imagination to convey thoughtful messages to us "the snowflakes descend slowly, floating in the air, allowing the air current to carry them with it, letting it change their paths. They have chosen not to confront their destiny, choosing instead to enjoy every second of their short lives, their journey to the ground." A funny and yet very poignant story!

The American Design Adventurecontinues the fascinating and detailed examination of industrial design begun by Arthur Pulos in American Design Ethic. The first volume discussed and illustrated the objects and artifacts, the major designers and schools of design from Colonial times to the 1940s. This second splendidly illustrated volume carries the story into the heroic era of American industrial design, from the 1940s to the 1970s. These were the decades of American industrial design's dominance, when special exhibitions and world fairs made design a subject of national pride. Big business realized the influence that trademarks, packaging, and corporate identity programs could have on their bottom line, and the world of fashion created a consumer demand for name brands and well designed products. Industrial design flourished under the capable hands of Raymond Loewy and Charles Eames, while corporations like IBM, RCA, Herman Miller, and Knoll were sponsors of the great American design adventure. The extraordinary collection of illustrations that Pulos has assembled documents all of these important design trends while evoking the nostalgia of the 50s and 60s when Pop and Rock held sway. Pulos probes all aspects of industrial designers and their work - in education and private corporations, in professional organizations and governmental agencies. He also covers prefabricated housing, graphics, manufactured products from the exotic to the pragmatic, and public systems from the sociopolitical to the economic.