Despite being born with cerebral palsy, Bill Porter grew up to take the physically demanding job of a door to door salesman in the worst neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, earning no pay, only commissions. Eventually he became the companys top salesman in the city, the region, and finally the country. Along the way he learned powerful life lessons that he imparted to those around him. One of those people was Shelly Brady, first hired by Porter as a typist and driver, later to become his great friend. In this inspiring book, she brings together his lessons. These seemingly simple ideas, such as Mothers Know Best, Persistence Pays Off, and Know Your Limits, but Reach Beyond Them, resonate powerfully when seen through the lens of a life lived to the fullest against what would be impossible odds for many. Whether finding cooperative bellmen to button his cuffs or beaming a video to his speaking engagements because of ill health, Porter, whose life story became a cause celebre in the 1990s, gets the job done with a smile, and inspires readers to do the same.

In 1989, Bill Porter, having spent much of his life studying and translating Chinese religious and philosophical texts, began to wonder if the Buddhist hermit tradition still existed in China. At the time, it was believed that the Cultural Revolution had dealt a lethal blow to all religions in China, destroying countless temples and shrines, and forcibly returning thousands of monks and nuns to a lay life. But when Porter travels to the Chungnan mountains — the historical refuge of ancient hermits — he discovers that the hermit tradition is very much alive, as dozens of monks and nuns continue to lead solitary lives in quiet contemplation of their faith deep in the mountains. Part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and part religious study, this record of extraordinary journeys to an unknown China sheds light on a phenomenon unparalleled in the West. Porter's discovery is more than a revelation, and uncovers the glimmer of hope for the future of religion in China.

An inspiring and practical look inside the mind of Bill Novelli, one of the founders of social marketing, Good Business challenges all of us to change the world for the better and is a blueprint for tackling today's critical issues. From his humble beginnings selling soap in a sales training program to his rapid rise in the fast-paced New York advertising scene, Bill Novelli was well on his way to becoming a leader in the hypercompetitive business world. But it wasn't long before he became disillusioned with the drive for profits at any cost. He knew that his marketing skills made those companies successful, but what good did that success do for the world? That question sent him on a career path that involved taking the marketing and communication tactics long used by big businesses and applying them to social change. He found that this strategy was not only good for the world but also good for business. In Good Business, Novelli begins with his early career success in Mad Men–era marketing, which left him feeling unfulfilled. He describes the process of changing career trajectory: how he helped reposition the Peace Corps; built Porter Novelli, a global PR agency for social impact; fought the Tobacco Wars; and became CEO of AARP, the largest nonprofit in America. Drawing practical lessons and principles from play-by-play stories of his experiences in large and small organizations, Novelli deploys his characteristic wit to stress the importance of building and maintaining connections with people—and engaging them in the cause. Good Business, which is part behind-the-scenes look at crafting social and health policy, part inspirational guide, proves that you can do well (creating economic and financial success for yourself and your company or organization) by doing good (helping to solve the world's and society's major problems). Throughout the book, Novelli shows that you can make a positive social difference regardless of what business you are in or where you are in your career. Readers will come away with the message that anyone who wants to have a positive impact on the world can do it right now from where they are—or can be inspired by Novelli's story to make the leap to somewhere they can.

In the spring of 2006, Bill Porter traveled through the heart of China, from Beijing to Hong Kong, on a pilgrimage to sites associated with the first six patriarchs of Zen. Zen Baggage is an account of that journey. He weaves together historical background, interviews with Zen masters, and translations of the earliest known records of Zen, along with personal vignettes. Porter's account captures the transformations taking place at religious centers in China but also the abiding legacy they have somehow managed to preserve. Porter brings wisdom and humor to every situation, whether visiting ancient caves containing the most complete collection of Buddhist texts ever uncovered, enduring a six–hour Buddhist ceremony, searching in vain for the ghost in his room, waking up the monk in charge of martial arts at Shaolin Temple, or meeting the abbess of China's first Zen nunnery. Porter's previously published Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits has become recommended reading at Zen centers and universities throughout America and even in China (in its Chinese translation), and Zen Baggage is sure to follow suit.

Everyone knows the name Buffalo Bill, but few these days know what he did or, in some cases, didn't do. Was he a Pony Express rider? Did he serve Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn? Did he scalp countless Native Americans, or did he defend their rights? This, the first significant biography of Buffalo Bill Cody for younger readers in many years, explains it all. With copious archival illustrations and a handsome design, Presenting Buffalo Bill makes the great showman come alive for new generations. Extensive back matter, bibliography, and source notes complete the package. This title has Common Core connections.

Longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize An entrancing new novel by the author of the prizewinning Grief Is the Thing with Feathers There’s a village an hour from London. It’s no different from many others today: one pub, one church, redbrick cottages, some public housing, and a few larger houses dotted about. Voices rise up, as they might anywhere, speaking of loving and needing and working and dying and walking the dogs. This village belongs to the people who live in it, to the land and to the land’s past. It also belongs to Dead Papa Toothwort, a mythical figure local schoolchildren used to draw as green and leafy, choked by tendrils growing out of his mouth, who awakens after a glorious nap. He is listening to this twenty-first-century village, to its symphony of talk: drunken confessions, gossip traded on the street corner, fretful conversations in living rooms. He is listening, intently, for a mischievous, ethereal boy whose parents have recently made the village their home. Lanny. With Lanny, Max Porter extends the potent and magical space he created in Grief Is the Thing with Feathers. This brilliant novel will ensorcell readers with its anarchic energy, with its bewitching tapestry of fabulism and domestic drama. Lanny is a ringing defense of creativity, spirit, and the generative forces that often seem under assault in the contemporary world, and it solidifies Porter’s reputation as one of the most daring and sensitive writers of his generation.

Want to learn some important lessons about business and life? Why not go straight to the source. Get Smarter is billionaire Schulich's brilliantly idiosyncratic and informative attempt to impart lessons learned in a lifetime to today's youth by someone who has achieved success in both his personal and professional life. In short, stand-alone chapters he covers such universal issues as: how to make a decision; manage all types of relationships; choose a career; deal with adversity; key business issues; investing lessons. Advice that will last a lifetime ... from someone who knows. "Schulich has a business school named after him. But when it comes to giving career advice, the former stock analyst who struck it rich ... is anything but academic. In Get Smarter ... he ladles out homespun wisdom in ... crisply written, anecdote-laden chapters aimed at 20- to 40-years olds, but golden at any age. He states his hope that each reader who invests time and money in the book will leave with 20 to 30 ideas---some that can help transform or shape their lives. In fact, he delivers."---The Globe and Mail "Here's a suggestion for those football fans aged under 30 who spend Sunday afternoons watching a game that features five minutes of action and takes three-plus hours to play: Drag yourself away from the box for one that has been written by Seymour Schulich. The book is full of pearls of wisdom, advice, stories and thoughts across a variety of themes."---The National Post