Close Company

In this stunning collection of stories about mothers and daughters the world over, tales of pleasure and sadness, devotion and ambivalence, mix just as they do in real life. Ranging widely in time and place, the twenty-five stories here offer intriguing and moving perspectives on this complex and powerful bond. Authors include Margaret Atwood, Colette, Janet Frame, Zhang Jie, Sylvia Plath and Jeanette Winterson.

Close deals with major corporations, organizations or individuals who can propel your business to the next level When you think about it, our entire lives revolve around selling. Whether we sell as part of our business, serve on a committee of a non-profit organization, or negotiate for a new job/car/house, we are pitching, hearing, and closing deals every day. Let's Close a Deal articulates the intuitive process that identifies how and why a deal will appeal, and then demonstrates in step-by-step detail how to present your deal in a compelling way. The sales process is not about coercion; it's about compassion. The closing part of a negotiation should honor everyone involved instead of taking advantage of them. We make our decisions based on the manner in which information is presented to us, and what we believe will be the best deal. Let's Close a Deal explains how to present information so persuasively that it increases the likelihood of getting a yes. Demonstratess how finding the human perspective is key to closing any deal Articulates the sale from conception, preparation, presentation to close Author Christine Clifford is a sought-after professional speaker and author of eight books including You, Inc. The Art of Selling Yourself, coauthored with Harry Beckwith. Author has direct experience closing major deals, having taken her company from a million dollar per year loss to over $54 million in sales and having signed the largest contract in the history of her industry with Procter & Gamble, doubling the size of her company overnight Increase your business's chance for success by improving your ability to secure profitable partnerships. Let's Close a Deal shows you how.

Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017 - Best Picture Books to Give Readers Strength STARRED REVIEW! "This book is a necessary one."—Kirkus Reviews starred review STARRED REVIEW! "A highly recommended title that serves as an excellent entry to discuss incarceration in an age-appropriate way."—School Library Journal starred review Millions of children worldwide have a parent in jail or prison. Kids can have all kinds of feelings and questions when a parent is incarcerated. Rafael is embarrassed. Rashid is angry. Yen wonders if it's her fault. This sensitive story illustrates a range of situations children may face with moms or dads behind bars, while reassuring them they are not alone.

Beautifully illuminated by a color insert and with black-and-white illustrations throughout, this compelling narrative of night is panoramic in scope yet fashioned on an intimate scale and enriched by personal stories.

Praise for Fast Close: A Guide to Closing the Books Quickly "Steve captures the essence of the problems affecting the financial close process within corporations of all sizes; from the period close of subledgers and general ledger through financial reporting, and the relationship and interdependencies of governance, people and technology. A must-read for the corporate controller." —David Taylor, ACMA, MBA, VP Strategy, Trintech Inc. "Fast Close: A Guide to Closing the Books Quickly, Second Edition is a must-read for today's busy controllers. Steven Bragg points out everything that can be done outside the close that you just never realized didn't actually have to be part of the month-end close process! Very commonsensical approach!" —Kathleen Schneibel, mba, cpa, Controller/CFO for Hire, KMAS Consulting LLC "A well-executed 'fast close' can bring many valuable benefits to any company, from improving organizational performance to transforming accounting executives from financial historians to trusted advisors. In Fast Close, Second Edition, Steve systematically breaks down the steps required to achieve a fast close in both public and private companies, providing financial executives with tips, checklists, and a cost-effective road map to implement fast close procedures in virtually any company." —Matthew Posta, Esq., CPA, Vice President of Finance, Key Air, LLC FROM THE FIRST EDITION "This is an outstanding book in which Steve reveals his secrets to a fast close. Having personally experienced his (one-day) fast close for years and enjoyed the beneficial impact on my company, I highly recommend this book for all financial officers who desire to have a large, favorable impact on their company." —Richard V. Souders, President and CEO, Kaba Workforce Solutions

With hate crimes on the rise and social movements like Black Lives Matter bringing increased attention to the issue of police brutality, the American public continues to be divided by issues of race. How do adolescents and young adults form friendships and romantic relationships that bridge the racial divide? In The Company We Keep, sociologists Grace Kao, Kara Joyner, and Kelly Stamper Balistreri examine how race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other factors affect the formation of interracial friendships and romantic relationships among youth. They highlight two factors that increase the likelihood of interracial romantic relationships in young adulthood: attending a diverse school and having an interracial friendship or romance in adolescence. While research on interracial social ties has often focused on whites and blacks, Hispanics are the largest minority group and Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States. The Company We Keep examines friendships and romantic relationships among blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans to better understand the full spectrum of contemporary race relations. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, the authors explore the social ties of more than 15,000 individuals from their first survey responses as middle and high school students in the mid-1990s through young adulthood nearly fifteen years later. They find that while approval for interracial marriages has increased and is nearly universal among young people, interracial friendships and romantic relationships remain relatively rare, especially for whites and blacks. Black women are particularly disadvantaged in forming interracial romantic relationships, while Asian men are disadvantaged in the formation of any romantic relationships, both as adolescents and as young adults. They also find that people in same-sex romantic relationships are more likely to have partners from a different racial group than are people in different-sex relationships. The authors pay close attention to how the formation of interracial friendships and romantic relationships depends on opportunities for interracial contact. They find that the number of students choosing different-race friends and romantic partners is greater in schools that are more racially diverse, indicating that school segregation has a profound impact on young people’s social ties. Kao, Joyner, and Balistreri analyze the ways school diversity and adolescent interracial contact intersect to lay the groundwork for interracial relationships in young adulthood. The Company We Keep provides compelling insights and hope for the future of living and loving across racial divides.