Long Schott

A candid autobiography from the famously reclusive Oakland Athletics owner during the pivotal Moneyball era As owner of the Oakland A's during the 1990s and early 2000s, Steve Schott fostered a front office culture of experimentation, risk, and autonomy that ultimately changed the course of modern baseball. As a founder of Citation Builders, he has been responsible for the construction of over 50,000 individual residences in the state of California. Long Schott is a story about unlikely victories, from that feisty A's squad that rallied for a historic 20-game win streak to the booming California real estate market and beyond. Co-authored by renowned San Francisco Chronicle baseball writer John Shea, this is a fascinating business story encompassing humble beginnings, unprecedented success, and the many lessons learned along the way.

Schottenfreude is a unique, must-have dictionary, complete with newly coined words that explore the idiosyncrasies of life as only the German language can. Ever thought, There should be a German word for that? Well, thanks to the brilliantly original mind behind Schott’s Original Miscellany, now there is. In what other language but German could you construct le mot juste for a secret love of bad foods, the inability to remember jokes, Sunday-afternoon depression, the urge to yawn, the glee of gossip, reassuring your hairdresser, delight at the changing of the seasons, the urge to hoard, or the ineffable pleasure of a cold pillow? A beguiling, ideal gift book for the Gelehrte or anyone on your list—just beware of rapidly expanding (and potentially incomprehensible) vocabularies.

Covering the lively, even raucous, history of Louisiana from before First Contact through the Elections of 2012, this sixth edition of the classic Louisiana history survey provides an engaging and comprehensive narrative of what is arguably America’s most colorful state. Since the appearance of the first edition of this classic text in 1984, Louisiana: A History has remained the best-loved and most highly regarded college-level survey of Louisiana on the market Compiled by some of the foremost experts in the field of Louisiana history who combine their own research with recent historical discoveries Includes complete coverage of the most recent events in political and environmental history, including the continued aftermath of Katrina and the 2010 BP oil spill Considers the interrelationship between Louisiana history and that of the American South and the nation as a whole Written in an engaging and accessible style complemented by more than a hundred photographs and maps

A JAMES BURLANE THRILLER It is a strange case of history repeating itself and international relations making strange bedfellows in Richard Hoyt's comic thriller, Trotsky's Run. In this funny, gripping, and tongue-in-cheek look at spy versus spy, two CIA agents form an unusual partnership to unravel and forestall what appears to be the horrifying inevitability that the next President of the United States will be a KGB agent. Ex-Russian mole Kim Philby begs to be rescued from the Soviet Union. A CIA deskman ends up in Yalta. Leon Trotsky visits a Manhattan massage parlor. And all the while, the Americans and Russians exchange gambits, as a mysterious third party always looks on. From the man who turned a beardless Fidel Castro loose in New York City in The Manna Enzyme, here is Trotsky s Run, appalling, outrageous, black comedy at its best.

A guide to xeriscaping for eco-conscious gardeners living in desert climates. For gardeners who want to conserve water, the color, fragrance, shade, and lush vegetation of a traditional garden may seem like a mirage in the desert. But such gardens can flourish when native plants grow in them. In this book, Judy Mielke, an expert on Southwestern gardening, offers the most comprehensive guide available to landscaping with native plants. Writing simply enough for beginning gardeners, while also providing ample information for landscape professionals, she presents over three hundred trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, groundcovers, wildflowers, cacti, and other native plants suited to arid landscapes. The heart of the book lies in the complete descriptions and beautiful color photographs of plants native to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan desert regions of the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Mielke characterizes each plant and gives detailed information on its natural habitat, its water, soil, light, temperature, and pruning requirements, and its possible uses in landscape design. In addition, Mielke includes informative discussions of desert ecology, growing instructions for native plants and wildflowers, and “how-to” ideas for revegetation of disturbed desert areas using native plants. She concludes the book with an extensive list of plants by type, including those that have specific features such as shade or fragrance. She also supplies a list of public gardens that showcase native plants.