A history of one of the most influential American companies of the last century.For decades, IBM shaped the way the world did business. IBM products were in every large organization, and IBM corporate culture established a management style that was imitated by companies around the globe. It was "Big Blue, " an icon. And yet over the years, IBM has gone through both failure and success, surviving flatlining revenue and forced reinvention. The company almost went out of business in the early 1990s, then came back strong with new business strategies and an emphasis on artificial intelligence. In this authoritative, monumental history, James Cortada tells the story of one of the most influential American companies of the last century.Cortada, a historian who worked at IBM for many years, describes IBM's technology breakthroughs, including the development of the punch card (used for automatic tabulation in the 1890 census), the calculation and printing of the... Views: 662
Summer 1942 and the war in the Middle East is in the balance; Rommel’s Axis forces are poised on the borders of Egypt and all that is needed is one last push. For that to succeed, Rommel needs supplies and for the Allies to be denied supplies. With Malta still active and disrupting the Axis shipping routes across the Mediterranean he is denied those supplies. Meanwhile, the Allied build-up continues, and Montgomery holds at El Alamein and then counter attacks. Rommel is pushed back and then, in a double blow, the Allies land in Tunisia. The collapse of North Africa leads to the invasion of Italy and contributes to the final Axis defeat.But what if Rommel had won?In this alternate history, Ken Delve proposes that with a few strategic changes by the Axis powers and poor decision by Allied Commanders, the outcome of could have been very different. In this scenario, the Allied invasion in Tunisia fails, Rommel defeats Montgomery and seizes Egypt, leaving the Germans well-placed to sweep up through the Middle East, capturing oil installations and joining up with German forces in Russia. Views: 662
William Kade is a ruthless businessman who plays dirty. He titillates all women and is rejected by none.An orphan who comes from nothing, William has built an empire from a gaming club and an illegal fight club with his best friend and mentor, Charles. However, when profits decline, Charles and William decide to open the first hardcore sex club in the U.S.With plans in the works to expand that business, they're forced to take drastic measures to secure enough cash to pay the gaming club debts. Drastic measures that involve Ivy, a woman William already has unfinished business with. A woman who might be the only female that equally annoys and intrigues him.But when William and Ivy start playing a dangerous game, the stakes become higher with each passing day until no one can find a sane way out.A dark erotic, modern historical romance.From Soraya Naomi, International Bestselling Author of the Chicago Syndicate series. Views: 662
"As juicy and enlightening as a page in Meghan Markle's diary."—InStyle"Presidential darling, America's sweetheart, national rebel: Teddy Roosevelt's swashbuckling daughter Alice springs to life in this raucous anthem to a remarkable woman."—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice NetworkA sweeping novel from renowned author Stephanie Marie Thornton...Alice may be the president's daughter, but she's nobody's darling. As bold as her signature color Alice Blue, the gum-chewing, cigarette-smoking, poker-playing First Daughter discovers that the only way for a woman to stand out in Washington is to make waves—oceans of them. With the canny sophistication of the savviest politician on the Hill, Alice uses her celebrity to her advantage, testing the limits of her power and the seductive thrill of political entanglements.But Washington, DC is rife with heartaches and betrayals, and when Alice... Views: 662
Your secret's safe...until it's not.Ivy's always preferred to lay low, unlike her best friend Harold, who has taken up a hundred activities as sophomore year begins. But Ivy has her own distraction: the new anonymous art-sharing app, VEIL. Being on the sidelines has made Ivy a skilled observer, and soon she discovers that some of the anonymous posters are actually her classmates. While she's still too scared to put her own creations on the app, Ivy realizes that she can contribute in an even better way — by making gifts for the artists she's discovered. The acts of kindness give her such a rush that, when Ivy suspects Harold is keeping a secret, she decides to go all in. Forget gifts — Harold needs a major party.But when her good intentions thrust her into the spotlight, Ivy's carefully curated world is thrown into chaos. Now she has to find the courage to stand out... or risk losing everything and everyone she loves most. Views: 662
'There's no denying the beauty and opulence of Morrissey's rendering of place . . . She is a master of the genre.' Weekend Australian In the ashes of her marriage, she finds the truth about his past and the courage to start again in . . . The Last Paradise. Grace has the perfect life: a job she loves, a beautiful daughter and a rich, successful husband. But one night, when their world falls apart in a shocking disaster, Grace suddenly sees what she couldn't admit - her marriage and her husband are a fraud.With the life she knew in tatters, she takes an assignment promoting the launch of a unique luxury hotel, hidden in a stunning, untouched oasis in the heart of tourist-crazed Bali. Here, in this last paradise, Grace gathers the strength to take charge of her world. And, inspired by a woman's story from long ago, she discovers a path to a future she'd never dared to imagine . . . Views: 662
The murder of a small-time drug dealer snowballs into the most complex case ever faced by Joe Gunther and his VBI team.It is said a bright and clear bomber's moon is the best asset to finding one's target. But beware what you wish for: What you can see at night can also see you. Often with dire consequences.Bomber's Moon is Archer Mayor's latest entry in the Joe Gunther series and it may just be his best yet.Two young women form the heart of this tale. One, an investigative reporter, the other a private investigator. Uneasy allies from completely different walks of life, they work together—around and sometimes against Joe Gunther and his VBI cops—in an attempt to connect the murders of a small town drug dealer, a smart, engaging, fatally flawed thief, and the tangled, political, increasingly dark goings on at a prestigious prep school.While Gunther and the VBI set about solving the two murders, Sally Kravitz and Rachel... Views: 662
A gripping academic novel about deception and self-deception, ambition, the love of history as entertainment, and the hunt for the perfect enemy. Josip Brik, larger-than-life pop philosopher, Hitler studies expert, and TV historian, has always found himself more attracted to the fictional representation of history than to history itself. When Brik falls from a hotel window in Amsterdam, the number one mourner is Friso de Vos, a young academic who has been Brik's right-hand man. However, Friso is forced to watch from the sidelines as his countryman Philip de Vries, whom he has never heard of, is interviewed again and again in the newspapers, and even on TV, about "his mentor," Josip Brik. When a large symposium for historians is organized in Vienna, Friso sees his opportunity to set the record straight and begins to impersonate Philip, with dangerous and hilarious results. With a playful mix of literary and pop culture references, this novel immerses us... Views: 662
Named a Fall Read by The Boston Globe and the Chicago TribuneThe mundane becomes sinister in a disquieting story collection from the author of The Grip of ItIn Jac Jemc's dislocating second story collection, False Bingo, we watch as sinister forces—some supernatural, some of this earth, some real and some not—work their ways into the mundanity of everyday life.In "Strange Loop," an outcast attempting to escape an unnamed mistake spends his days taxiderming animals, while in "Delivery," a family watches as their dementia-addled, basement-dwelling father succumbs to an online shopping addiction. "Don't Let's" finds a woman, recently freed from an abusive relationship, living in an isolated vacation home in the South that might be haunted by breath-stealing ghosts.Fueled by paranoia and visceral suspense, and crafted with masterful restraint, these seventeen stories explore... Views: 662
