Showing results by narrator "Eric Martin" in All Categories

In the 1940s, mathematicians set out to design computers that could act as ideal rational agents in the face of uncertainty. The Irrational Decision tells the story of how they settled on a peculiar mathematical definition of rationality in which every decision is a statistical question of risk. Benjamin Recht traces how this quantitative standard came to define our understanding of rationality, looking at the history of optimization, game theory, statistical testing, and machine learning.

 Offering a new view of one of America's most important, infamously strained, and widely misunderstood relationships of the postwar era, this book tells the history of America and Iran from the time the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was placed on the throne in 1941 to the 1979 revolution that brought the present Islamist government to power.

More than 10,000 mergers and acquisitions occur annually in the US, many among small and mid-sized companies. These complex transactions can be an effective growth strategy, but they carry significant risk. Mergers and Acquisitions from A to Z helps guard against costly mistakes. Expert advice, case studies, checklists, and sample documents walk you through every step of the process - from valuation to securities laws to closing and successful integration.

Not too long ago, Lukas Aguilar believed only what he could see and feel for himself. Then an earthquake destroyed his home and cast him into a dangerous dungeon world. He fought to survive, gaining experience and levels but losing the goddess Inanna who inhabited his mind. And he wants her back.

A stunning exploration of the Greater Middle East, where lasting stability has often seemed just out of reach but may hold the key to the shifting world order of the twenty-first century “Engaging . . . Even those who resist Kaplan’s tragic sensibility have much to learn from his look at the...

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's debut cookbook, The Food Lab, revolutionized home cooking, selling more than half a million copies with its science-based approach to everyday foods. And for fast, fresh cooking for his family, there's one pan Lopez-Alt reaches for more than any other: the wok. Whether stir-frying, deep frying, steaming, simmering, or braising, the wok is the most versatile pan in the kitchen.

I know my own mind. I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way. These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. Blindspot is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases.

Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child's growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations.

Ascending should have been the easy part. But after being thrown into the void, Thorn finds himself stranded in a strange world filled with even stranger creatures. Together with his cute battle pet, the mysterious god beast Hati, and a sentient AI named Eve, Thorn must forge a place for himself in this new world. Unfortunately, the local guilds all have other ideas, and soon the Titan finds himself embroiled in plots that even his famed strength cannot help him with.

Physics, the fundamental science of matter and energy, encompasses all levels of nature from the subatomic to the cosmic, and underlies much of the technology around us. Understanding the physics of our universe is an essential aspect of humanity's quest to understand our environment and our place within it. Doing physics enables us to explore the interaction between environment and human society, and can help us to work towards the future sustainability of the planet.

Brought to you by Penguin. A magisterial history of the astounding rise - and unimaginable fall - of America's most iconic corporation Perhaps no company reflects American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial fortunes as well as the iconic General Electric Company. Producing storied leaders and...

The military general who became Emperor Hirohito’s prime minister, Tojo Hideki is most often remembered as an iron-fisted leader who dragged Japan into World War II and—after spectacular losses—was eventually executed as a war criminal. Yet Tojo was far more than his ignominious end. In...

Detectives Hannah and Bernard are called to investigate the violent death of Jacqueline Mune. But what seems to be a straightforward case of a shooting in a bad neighborhood turns out to be a lot more complicated. Jacqueline had been a psychic, doing tarot readings and selling mystic medicines and oils. And it seems like everyone around her had a reason to want her dead.

China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.

It seems Max is one of many people abducted from Earth to participate in the Cosmic Games, conducted by the Intergalactic Consortium of Civilized Beings. Humanity and three alien species have been recruited to wage war on behalf of ICCB members in a conflict over resources. The species that wins the game for their benefactors will return to their home planets, rewarded with the knowledge to guide them to peace and immortality. The other, losing species will be made extinct.

An electrifying investigation of the White House’ lies about the assassination of Osama bin Laden—from a Pulitzer Prize winner hailed as “the greatest investigative journalist of his era” (New Yorker). “An explosive account.” —Los Angeles Times In 2011, an elite group of US Navy...

"If you want to know what anthropology is, look at what anthropologists do," write the authors of Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction. This engaging overview of the field combines an accessible account of some of the discipline's guiding principles and methodology with abundant examples and illustrations of anthropologists at work.

The father of the ancient alien theory with more than 65 million books sold reveals everything he has withheld for years. In all his years of service, why didn't Erich von Däniken ever doubt his theory that inhabitants of other planets had come into contact with humanity ages ago, and that they still observe us today? In this audiobook, the now 81-year-old presents selected eyewitnesses and insiders for the first time, reveals secrets and stories that he has hitherto kept private, and presents reports and revelations that leave one speechless!

Explore the occult from ancient times to the modern day with one of its most respected scholars and practitioners. Take an enlightening journey through occult history, exploring 100 dramatic incidents, arcane knowledge, and key historical figures from around the world. John Michael Greer delves into two millennia of tradition, from the earliest alchemists to pagan rituals; from the philosopher's stone to cabala, the first tarot, and the Knights Templar; and from the first horoscopes to fortune-telling trials and the birth of modern witchcraft, or Wicca.

Listeners of this book will gain a clear understanding of what makes the Japanese, and their society, tick.