An essential guide to how the rapid convergence of media and digital technology will unfold over the coming years, and how our conceptions of “programming” and “consumers” will be transformed by the increasing primacy of networked media. Jim Banister provides cogent analyses of how and why certain high-profile “internet” companies have become models; outlines what different kinds of businesses need to do in order to harness the still largely untapped potential of networked media; and shows why the entertainment industry’s efforts to resist the changes in consumer behavior are misguided at best, and doomed at worst. This is a must-read for everyone from business and media professionals to regular consumers.

The Word of Mouse: New Age of Networked Media

Business & Money

Banister, Jim

Industries

Agate B2

"The Human City presents the most cogent, evidence-based and clear-headed exposition of the pro-suburban argument. . . . enriching our understanding of what cities are about and what they can and must become.” Wall Street Journal Around the globe, most new urban development has adhered to similar tenets: tall structures, small units, and high density. In The Human City, Joel Kotkincalled America’s uber-geographer” by David Brooks of the New York Timesquestions these nearly ubiquitous practices, suggesting that they do not consider the needs and desires of the vast majority of people. Built environments, Kotkin argues, must reflect the preferences of most people—especially those of families—even if that means lower-density development. The Human City ponders the purpose of the city and investigates the factors that drive most urban development today. Armed with his own astute research, a deep-seated knowledge of urban history, and a sound grasp of economic, political, and social trends, Kotkin pokes holes in what he calls the retro-urbanist” ideology and offers a refreshing case for dispersion centered on human values. This book is not anti-urban, but it does advocate a greater range of options for people to live the way they want at all stages of their lives.

The Human City: Urbanism for the Rest of Us

Kotkin, Joel

Economics

The Job Search Navigator is a comprehensive guide to finding a new job in today's evolving career marketplace. Author Matt Durfee writes from the perspective of someone who has both recruited for some of America's biggest companies and navigated his way through nine of his own job losses. The book combines practical real-world perspectives with the technical knowledge job seekers need in order to excel at every aspect of their searches. Drawing on the knowledge Durfee accumulated through his own experiences, searches, and big-brand corporate hiring responsibilities, The Job Search Navigator abandons the "clinical approach" of many other career-advice books. Instead, Durfee gives easy-to-follow strategies and, perhaps more importantly, recounts in illuminating detail the kinds of mistakes that led him to develop these strategies. Despite recent reports of soaring corporate profits and gross domestic product growth, the effects of the Great Recession are still very real to the nearly 20 million Americans who are either jobless or underemployed. In these uncertain times, The Job Search Navigator is a reliable guide to every step of the 21st-century job hunt, whether readers are laid off, wanting to change careers after surviving cutbacks, or seeking a better full-time gig in a stagnant marketplace.

The Job Search Navigator: An Expert's Guide to Getting Hired, Surviving Layoffs, and Building Your Career

Durfee, Matt

Job Hunting & Careers

Ever since the Alibaba Group went public on September 19, 2014—with an initial public offering of a record-breaking $25 billion—Jack Ma, the founder and charismatic "spiritual leader" of the e-commerce behemoth, has been making headlines around the world. In 2014, the company's online transactions totaled $248 billion—more than those of Amazon and eBay combined. The first Chinese entrepreneur to appear on the cover of Forbes, Ma is the now the second-richest man in China, with a net worth that is estimated to be north of $29 billion. Despite Ma's massive influence in China and in the global tech world, his inspirational rags-to-riches story is relatively unknown to the general American public. Never Give Up: Jack Ma In His Own Words is a comprehensive guide to the inner workings of arguably the most prominent figure in the global tech world in the past 20 years—comprised entirely of Ma's own thought-provoking and candid quotes. When Ma decided to start his first Internet company in 1999, few Chinese people knew what the Internet was. Ma, a former English teacher, knew nothing about coding, and his $20,000 in startup funds were not made up of investments from venture capitalists but loans from his family. He channeled his startup experience into Alibaba, a group of websites that allows businesses and people to connect in order to buy and sell products (similar to eBay and Amazon) while also collecting advertising revenue (similar to Google). By some measures, Alibaba is now the largest e-commerce site in the world. In this book, more than 200 quotes on business values, innovation, entrepreneurship, competition, management, teamwork, life, and more provide an intimate and direct look into the mind of this modern business icon and philanthropist. Many of these quotes are translated directly from the Chinese press and interviews. For readers who do not read Chinese and have no other access to these materials, this book provides invaluable insight into the mind of one of the world's most successful business magnates.

Never Give Up: Jack Ma In His Own Words (In Their Own Words)

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Play It Forward details the remarkable journey of Joan Barnes, founder and former CEO of Gymboree, and how she learned to align her inner life with outward success. Forty years ago, Joan Barnes founded a play center in a church basement with $3,000. Determined to enable women to achieve personal and entrepreneurial success, Barnes led Gymboree to become an innovative leader in a new industry: activity-based early childhood development. The company eventually became a global billion-dollar brand. But this dramatic entrepreneurial memoir is also a cautionary tale and redemption story. When Gymboree’s IPO became a phenomenal success story, Barnes was nowhere near Wall Street. She had left the company because of an eating disorder that threatened to destroy her and everything she built. Barnes overcame the disorder, charting a path that replaced demons with an enduring sense of worth and hope. She eventually resumed her business career on healthier terms with a line of yoga studios in an inspiring example of how women can triumph through reinvention. Published to coincide with Gymboree’s 40th anniversary, Play It Forward offers readers a deeply honest perspective of the challenges of business building and seeking a work-life balance in tune with personal values.

Play It Forward: From Gymboree to the Yoga Mat and Beyond

Barnes, Joan

Coffino, Michael

Community & Culture

More than half of all small businesses fail within the first five years. Starting and running a small business is hard work, and many entrepreneurs feel they must do whatever it takes to succeed, at the expense of their family, friends, and health. Yet, if done correctly, small-business ownership can—and should—balance profitable operations with personal fulfillment. According to author Tom Salonek—founder and CEO of Intertech, a Minnesota-based technology consulting and training firm—this balance is actually the secret to success. Salonek believes that your business should "give life, not take it," a philosophy that has helped him grow his own venture every year since its inception in 1991. In The 100, Salonek shares his secrets to business success in the form of 100 concise, nuts-and-bolts lessons for achieving the ideal work-life balance for maximum success. Written in clear, direct prose, these lessons are packed with actionable ideas and practical advice for using communication, collaboration, and technology to help small-business owners cultivate the best qualities not only in themselves, but in their employees as well. Whether you own your own business or are simply thinking of starting one, this book will help you inspire teamwork, meet client expectations, clarify your personal values, and create a company culture to match. In addition, readers will gain access to a plethora of downloadable online resources—checklists, worksheets, templates, and more—to help implement the book’s ideas. The 100 is a handy, inspiring addition to any business manager’s home library.

The 100: Building Blocks for Business Leadership

Salonek, Tom

Management & Leadership

The public's appetite for all things Oprah Winfrey has waned little since her Chicago TV debut in 1983. Known as a self-help guru and the "Queen of All Media," Oprah (it's almost impossible not to refer to her by her globally recognized first name) has been shining light on social issues and encouraging fans to "live your best life" for more than 30 years, revolutionizing her corner of the entertainment industry in the process. Winfrey's unprecedented influence and celebrity often overshadow her indisputable entrepreneurial prowess and business acumen. Even though Oprah has stated that she wouldn't consider herself a businesswoman, her ever-expanding media empire and record-breaking multibillion-dollar fortune say otherwise. Own It: Oprah Winfrey In Her Own Words provides a unique look into the wisdom and thought processes of one of the most adored, respected, and powerful women in the world. This book collects her most insightful quotations, centered around her media career, life lessons, entrepreneurship, and remarkable personal story. Fortune has called O: The Oprah Magazine, now in its 16th year of publication, "the most successful startup ever in the industry." In its infancy, the magazine became a highly profitable addition to the Hearst portfolio, amassing ever-increasing ad sales and a paid circulation larger than industry giants such as Vogue and Martha Stewart Living. Over the last several years, her media holdings and interests have also included an award-winning movie production studio, a satellite radio channel, the cable-TV company Oxygen Media, and the burgeoning OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. Few entrepreneurs have been savvy enough to leverage their resources with the foresight Oprah has demonstrated in her decades-long career. Oprah's key asset, developed over the course of decades, is herself: a brand she controls by shrewdly choosing partnerships and endorsement deals and not kowtowing to convention. At the outset of her career, Oprah decided to start a company rather than take the conventional talent-for-hire path. She, along with a few close executives, took her initial TV success and grew it into a multibillion-dollar media conglomerate, with one woman at the helm. Her influence in the marketplace is unprecedented. Just look at the long-term impact her recommendations and endorsements have had in the fields of consumer products and book publishing, among others. Oprah's next venture is unknown, but its success, like her other triumphs, depends on Oprah—and the self-reliance, values, and vision on which she has built her empire.

Own It: Oprah Winfrey In Her Own Words (In Their Own Words)

Humor & Entertainment

Elon Musk, the South Africanborn entrepreneur who made his first fortune with Internet companies such as PayPal, has risen to global prominence as the visionary CEO of both Tesla Motors and SpaceX, two companies with self-proclaimed missions to improve life as we know it and better secure the future of humanity. For the first time, the most insightful, thought-provoking, and revealing quotes from this entrepreneurial engineer have been compiled into a single book. Rocket Man: Elon Musk In His Own Words is a comprehensive guide to the inner workings of the man dubbed "the real Tony Stark." Hundreds of his best quotes, comprising thoughts on business, clean energy, innovation, engineering, technology, space, electric vehicles, entrepreneurship, life lessons, and more, provide an intimate and direct look into Silicon Valley's most ambitious industrialist. Even with no prior experience in the complex, ultra-high-barrier-of-entry automotive and space industries, Musk has excelled. Tesla, the first successful American car startup in more than 90 years, received more than 325,000 reservations for its economical Model 3 in a single weekadvancing the company’s cause to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport” via affordable, reliable electric vehicles. SpaceX, the first private company to launch, orbit, and recover a rocket and dock at the International Space Station, has drastically reduced the cost of launching and manufacturing reusable spacecraft, which the company sees as the first step toward its "ultimate goal" of making life multiplanetary. In the words of Richard Branson, "Whatever skeptics have said can’t be done, Elon has gone out and made real." How could a young man who at one time seemed like "just" another Internet entrepreneur have gone on to build two highly disruptive companies and innovate technologies related to everything from electric batteries to rocket manufacturing? There's no better way to learn than through his own words. This book curates Musk quotes from interviews, public appearances, online postings, company blogs, press releases, and more. What emerges is a 'word portrait' of the man whose companies' swift rise to the top will undoubtedly keep their status-quo competitors scrambling to keep up.

Rocket Man: Elon Musk In His Own Words (In Their Own Words)

The Human City presents the most cogent, evidence-based and clear-headed exposition of the pro-suburban argument. . . . enriching our understanding of what cities are about and what they can and must become.” Wall Street Journal Around the globe, most new urban development has adhered to similar tenets: tall structures, small units, and high density. In The Human City, Joel Kotkin―called “America’s uber-geographer” by David Brooks of the New York Times―questions these nearly ubiquitous practices, suggesting that they do not consider the needs and desires of the vast majority of people. Built environments, Kotkin argues, must reflect the preferences of most people―even if that means lower-density development. The Human City ponders the purpose of the city and investigates the factors that drive most urban development today. Armed with his own astute research, a deep-seated knowledge of urban history, and a sound grasp of economic, political, and social trends, Kotkin pokes holes in what he calls the “retro-urbanist” ideology and offers a refreshing case for dispersion centered on human values. This book is not anti-urban, but it does advocate a greater range of options for people to live the way they want at all stages of their lives.

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

A powerful dose of wisdom in a concise package, Lasting Contribution is filled with profound and effective advice on how to make the kinds of contributions — to work, to organizations, to communities — that really matter. Drawing from such varied sources as Aristotle, Sun Tzu, Victor Frankl, and Confucius, this book marshals insights that touch on information theory, sociology, Zen, psychology, art history, management theory, and other fields. Waddington's deft ability to illuminate his ideas using colorful examples — everything from the Titanic and Santa Claus to skateboarding and Oprah's shoes — make the book as engaging as it is wise and thoughtful. Above all, Lasting Contribution offers different benefits to different readers: insightful tips for a better work performance for those looking to improve their careers; practical life-applications for those grappling with high philosophical ideas; and food for thought for thought for anyone seeking to enrich their lives generally.

Lasting Contribution: How to Think, Plan, and Act to Accomplish Meaningful Work

Self-Help

Waddington, Tad

Success

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Agate B2 publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Agate B2

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Agate B2 publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Word of Mouse: New Age of Networked Media

The Human City: Urbanism for the Rest of Us

The Job Search Navigator: An Expert's Guide to Getting Hired, Surviving Layoffs, and Building Your Career

Never Give Up: Jack Ma In His Own Words (In Their Own Words)

Play It Forward: From Gymboree to the Yoga Mat and Beyond

The 100: Building Blocks for Business Leadership

Own It: Oprah Winfrey In Her Own Words (In Their Own Words)

Rocket Man: Elon Musk In His Own Words (In Their Own Words)

The Human City: Urbanism for the Rest of Us

Lasting Contribution: How to Think, Plan, and Act to Accomplish Meaningful Work