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Dave Eggers is a terrifically talented writer; don't hold his cleverness against him. What to make of a book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Based on a True Story? For starters, there's a good bit of staggering genius before you even get to the true story, including a preface, a list of "Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of This Book," and a 20-page acknowledgements section complete with special mail-in offer, flow chart of the book's themes, and a lovely pen-and-ink drawing of a stapler (helpfully labeled "Here is a drawing of a stapler:").

But on to the true story. At the age of 22, Eggers became both an orphan and a "single mother" when his parents died within five months of one another of unrelated cancers. In the ensuing sibling division of labor, Dave is appointed unofficial guardian of his 8-year-old brother, Christopher. The two live together in semi-squalor, decaying food and sports equipment scattered about, while Eggers worries obsessively about child-welfare authorities, molesting babysitters, and his own health. His child-rearing strategy swings between making his brother's upbringing manically fun and performing bizarre developmental experiments on him. (Case in point: his idea of suitable bedtime reading is John Hersey's Hiroshima.)

The book is also, perhaps less successfully, about being young and hip and out to conquer the world (in an ironic, media-savvy, Gen-X way, naturally). In the early '90s, Eggers was one of the founders of the very funny Might Magazine, and he spends a fair amount of time here on Might, the hipster culture of San Francisco's South Park, and his own efforts to get on to MTV's Real World. This sort of thing doesn't age very well--but then, Eggers knows that. There's no criticism you can come up with that he hasn't put into A.H.W.O.S.G. already. "The book thereafter is kind of uneven," he tells us regarding the contents after page 109, and while that's true, it's still uneven in a way that is funny and heartfelt and interesting.

All this self-consciousness could have become unbearably arch. It's a testament to Eggers's skill as a writer--and to the heartbreaking particulars of his story--that it doesn't. Currently the editor of the footnote-and-marginalia-intensive journal McSweeney's (the last issue featured an entire story by David Foster Wallace printed tinily on its spine), Eggers comes from the most media-saturated generation in history--so much so that he can't feel an emotion without the sense that it's already been felt for him. What may seem like postmodern noodling is really just Eggers writing about pain in the only honest way available to him. Oddly enough, the effect is one of complete sincerity, and--especially in its concluding pages--this memoir as metafiction is affecting beyond all rational explanation. --Mary Park.
Price: $5.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Musical composition is a key discipline in music programs in conservatories, colleges, and universities Many teachers consider it as important in the development of young musicians as listening and performance. It can be argued that through compositions musicians achieve the deepest insight into the composer and his music. Musical Composition takes the student through the elements--melody, harmony, counterpoint, and rhythm--before covering a variety of special subjects such as writing vocal and choral music, accompaniments, and film and TV music. Chapters are devoted to recent techniques including free diatonicism, serialism, and indeterminacy. Over 200 examples illustrate points in the text and there are exercises for each chapter..
Price: $20.65 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Theories of Memory provides a comprehensive introduction to the rapidly expanding field of memory studies It is a resource through which students of literature will be able both to broaden their knowledge of contemporary theoretical perspectives and to trace the development of ideas about memory from the classical period to the present.

The reader is organized into three parts:

Part I, Beginnings, is historical in scope. Its three sections, Classical and Early Modern Ideas of Memory, Enlightenment and Romantic Memory, and Memory and Late Modernity, lay out key psychological, rhetorical, and cultural concepts of memory in the work of a range of thinkers from Plato to Walter Benjamin.

Part II, Positionings, identifies three major perspectives through which memory has been defined and debated more recently: Collective Memory, Jewish Memory Discourse, and Trauma.

Part III, Identities, examines the key role of memory in contemporary constructions of identity under the headings of Gender, Race/Nation, and Diaspora.

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Price: $17.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Running from a swamp fire, being lost in the jungle or working as line handlers through the Panama Canal this ordinary couple had extraordinary experiences. Join these motorhomers as they set out to explore Central America with their dog. Visit with them a candle-lit Mayan church high in the mountains of Guatemala, watch the rescue of passengers from a grounded ferry in Nicaragua, share their impromptu school presentation in El Salvador; and paddle upstream with them in an underground sacrificial cave in Belize. You will meet the special people they befriended and the unique places they camped in their RV.

* Discover how easy and safe an extraordinary adventure can be.

* Get clear directions to over 100 places where they and others have camped.

* Learn about the people you meet when you get off the beaten track.

* Find out how to transit the Panama Canal for free on a yacht.

* Gain information on how to take your dog and motorhome into all seven countries and safely back to the US..
Price: $21.20 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The implementation of new ideas in organizations is often hampered by the political dynamics of lateral relationships. The authors of this book offer a balance of theory and cases designed to give managers and executives strategies for dealing with power relationships in an effective way. This book highlights common mistakes people make in managing lateral relationships. Most problems concern misunderstandings about the political realities that arise from underlying power distribution inherent in any organization. The authors offer a roadmap based on real-life dilemmas faced by both new and seasoned managers in order to help solve seemingly unsolvable problems. Using ideas from the resource-dependence paradigm, they model and diagram lateral relationships in a way that create effective plans of action. Managers, executives, and MBA students will find this synthesis of theory and practice an important tool for building a model for success. Part I gives the reader an understanding of the workings of lateral relationships within organizations. It goes on to provide specific models and strategies for working within these relationships. Part II details specific scenarios that will be faced by managers and executives and offers ways to cope with them. The increasingly diverse workforce and growing reliance on team management only intensifies the need for more effective lateral relationship management. This book provides the application of theories and skills vital to coping in such an organizational environment..
Price: $110.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This unique and appealing book for ages four to six has text in both English and Spanish. When a curious caterpillar tumbles out of a tree, she is introduced to the wondrous events surrounding the Eucharist. A delightful first introduction to Holy Communion..
Price: $2.11 [Notify me when price goes down.]

How do you show very young children that we are all connected by the love of God? This complex idea is explained in easy-to-understand terms in this quiet, graceful picture book. The book begins simply by describing the moon as nature's friend, helping to push tides; guide turtles, salmon, and moths; and bathe the world in light. Then the book reveals a secret about the moon: that it can help create a miracle. If every child cupped his or her hands on a moonlit night and held a moonbeam, the world would be linked together by children holding onto the same light. Then they would understand that we are all brothers and sisters in one human family. Moonlight Miracle works on many different levels of meaning. The book fosters tolerance without being preachy, hints at the similarities and differences between people, and dramatically demonstrates the equalizing power of God's love. The book also suggests principles of ecology and interdependence and is a way to help even the littlest ones make connections between science and religion. Fun, full-color illustrations underscore the gentle message. Appropriate for all children ages two to seven, this title is for a very wide audience, including public and parochial schools, grade-school science classes, public libraries, religious and secular daycare centers, gift stores, museum gift shops, and all parents, grandparents, and gift buyers. It's also a loving book to use in parochial-school religion classes, CCD classes, and Sunday schools. Special-interest groups on diversity and tolerance will find it a unique resource..
Price: $4.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $29.51 [Notify me when price goes down.]