The Elegant

A human-centric guide to solving complex problems in engineering management, from sizing teams to handling technical debt. There’s a saying that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. Management is a key part of any organization, yet the discipline is often self-taught and unstructured. Getting to the good solutions for complex management challenges can make the difference between fulfillment and frustration for teams—and, ultimately, between the success and failure of companies. Will Larson’s An Elegant Puzzle focuses on the particular challenges of engineering management—from sizing teams to handling technical debt to performing succession planning—and provides a path to the good solutions. Drawing from his experience at Digg, Uber, and Stripe, Larson has developed a thoughtful approach to engineering management for leaders of all levels at companies of all sizes. An Elegant Puzzle balances structured principles and human-centric thinking to help any leader create more effective and rewarding organizations for engineers to thrive in.

She's younger than Babar, shyer than Lily, and every bit as cute as Olivia. Look out! Here's ELLA! Ella's counting the days until the first day of school ... but not because she's eager to start! On the contrary, as the littlest elephant on Elephant Island, she's terribly nervous about the other kids she'll meet. Then she receives a beautiful red hat that belonged to her grandmother -- her new lucky charm. Big mean Belinda at school teases her for it, calling her "Ella the Elegant Elephant." But Ella's brave enough to hold on to her hat, and in the end, the hat (and her heart) save the day. With warm, rich pictures and a charming main character, ELLA is sure to be a new favorite.

Introduces the superstring theory that attempts to unite general relativity and quantum mechanics.

"Clear, lucid and powerful! The Elegant Self is a must read if you are interested in the further reaches of development." - Ken Wilber author of The Integral Vision Grow Beyond Conventional Adulthood and Distinctively Give Your Gifts. The Elegant Self offers a unique perspective on the future of you. Explore adulthood through a new lens as you tour the many dangers facing our world today. Gain rare clarity into some of the highest stages of development. Learn how the trap of completeness may be holding your influence in the world back in virtually every facet of life. Enjoy this rare invitation into the courage for you to become more of an elegant self. - Save thousands of dollars by understanding the origin of inadequacy. - Go beyond the limitations of the autonomous self most adults are stuck in. - Free yourself from the trap of completeness. - Leverage paradox to fuel greater influence and impact in the world. - Discover never-before-seen ways to free yourself from limiting habits. Robert Lundin McNamara is a professor of developmental psychology in Boulder, Colorado and is a highly respected authority on the higher reaches of adulthood. Rob is author of Strength To Awaken, a speaker, performance coach, psychotherapist, and expert in helping high-achieving adults make greater impact in their lives.

In a world of uniformity and globalized styles, only some cultivated gentlemen retain their independence over the way they dress and live. In this book, photographer Rose Callahan and writer Nathaniel Adams document the well-kempt lives of 57 protagonists of contemporary dandyism with a keen, yet empathie eye. Their carefully composed portraits not only depict the clothes, accessories, and homes of their subjects, but also capture the essence of their lifestyles in thoroughly entertaining and deeply insightful texts. The diversity of the men portrayed in I am Dandy is striking. They come from a variety of different countries, cultures, and social circles and make their livings in a range of occupations. By showcasing their styles, attitudes, and philosophies in all of their nuances, the book reveals that dandyism today is an attitude and calling that can be cultivated on any budget.

One million. That's how many new ideas the Toyota organization receives from its employees every year. These ideas come from every level of the organization - from the factory floors to the corporate suites. And organizations all over the world want to learn how they do it. Now Matthew May, Senior Advisor to the University of Toyota, reveals how any company can create an environment of every day innovation and achieve the elegant solutions found only on the far side of complexity. A tactical guide for team-based innovation, THE ELEGANT SOLUTION delivers the formula to the three principles and ten practices that drive business creativity. Innovation isn't just about technology - it's about value, opportunity and impact. When a company embeds a real discipline around the pursuit of perfection, the sky is the limit. Dozens of case studies (from Toyota and other companies) illustrate the power and universality of these concepts; a unique 'clamshell strategy' prepares managers to ensure organizational success. At once a thought-shaper, a playmaker, and a taskmaster, THE ELEGANT SOLUTION is a practical field manual for everyone in corporate life.

Can you win life's battles without losing yourself? Life is full of trials, and sometimes you need a warrior spirit to overcome them. Award-winning attorney Heather Hansen has spent over twenty years fighting on the battlefields of the courts--but even in her fiercest clashes, she's remained true to herself and her principles. She shares her journey to becoming an Elegant Warrior, and imparts the wisdom she's learned from her decades on the bar. Armed with the tools and techniques she's honed in the courtroom, Hansen makes the case that anyone can become an Elegant Warrior: someone who fights adversity with grace and compassion, and battles without losing respect for themselves and their adversaries. Using real-life case studies and personal stories from the fast-paced courtroom arena, Hansen teaches you how to triumph over your own struggles. From overcoming the Curse of Knowledge to discovering the Power of How, you'll learn how to tap into your own personal strengths to face whatever challenges come your way. We all have to go to war at times. Sometimes the combat zone is your home; sometimes it's the office. And sometimes, it's your inner world. As an Elegant Warrior, you'll be armed with the confidence, wisdom and skills to enter the fray and remain true to yourself.

National Bestseller "A valuable read that will help you understand what it takes to stop COVID-19. … A super interesting look at the science of immunity.” —Bill Gates, Gates Notes Summer Reading List The Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist "explicates for the lay reader the intricate biology of our immune system" (Jerome Groopman, MD, New York Review of Books) From New York Times science journalist Matt Richtel, An Elegant Defense is an acclaimed and definitive exploration of the immune system and the secrets of health. Interweaving cutting-edge science with the intimate stories of four individual patients, this epic, first-of-its-kind book “give[s] lay readers a means of understanding what’s known so far about the intricate biology of our immune systems” (The Week). The immune system is our body’s essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. It has been honed by evolution over millennia to face an almost infinite array of threats. For all its astonishing complexity, however, the immune system can be easily compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition—hallmarks of modern life—and even by excessive hygiene. Paradoxically, it is a fragile wonder weapon that can turn on our own bodies with startling results, leading today to epidemic levels of autoimmune disorders. An Elegant Defense effortlessly guides readers on a scientific detective tale winding from the Black Plague to twentieth-century breakthroughs in vaccination and antibiotics, to today’s laboratories that are revolutionizing immunology—perhaps the most extraordinary and consequential medical story of our time. Drawing on extensive new interviews with dozens of world-renowned scientists, Richtel has produced a landmark book, equally an investigation into the deepest riddles of survival and a profoundly human tale that is movingly brought to life through the eyes of his four main characters, each of whom illuminates an essential facet of our “elegant defense.”

“A portrait of self-creation in the vein of F. Scott Fitzgerald”,” (The Wall Street Journal) An Elegant Woman is “a rich exploration of legacy and memory” (Entertainment Weekly) that follows four generations of women against the sweep of 20th century American history. Drawn from the author’s own family history, this powerful, moving multigenerational saga from National Book Award finalist Martha McPhee masterfully explores the stories we tell ourselves, and what we leave out. As Isadora, a novelist, and two of her sisters sift through the artifacts of their forebears’ lives, trying to decide what to salvage and what to toss, the story shifts to a winter day in 1910 at a train station in Ohio. Two girls wait in the winter cold with their mother—the mercurial Glenna Stewart—to depart for a new life in the West. As Glenna campaigns in Montana for women’s suffrage and teaches in one-room schoolhouses, Tommy takes care of her little sister, Katherine: trapping animals, begging, keeping house, cooking, while Katherine goes to school. When Katherine graduates, Tommy makes a decision that will change the course of both of their lives. Told “with an easy grace many historical novels lack” (Los Angeles Times), An Elegant Woman follows one woman over the course of the 20th century, taking us from a drought-stricken Montana farm to a yellow Victorian in Maine; from the halls of a psychiatric hospital in London to a wedding gown fitting at Bergdorf Goodman; from a house in small town Ohio to a family reunion at a sweltering New Jersey pig roast. Framed by Isadora’s efforts to retell her grandmother’s journey—and understand her own—the novel is “sharp, precise, and, yes, elegant” (The Boston Globe) in its gorgeous depiction of one hundred years in a family’s history.