Doubling Down

“An exquisitely crafted memoir” by two brothers who lost their parents, lost their inheritance—and almost lost their freedom (The Wall Street Journal). Frederick Barthelme and his brother Steven were both accomplished, respected writers with stable adult lives when they lost both of their parents in rapid succession. They had already lost their other brother, just a few years earlier. Suddenly they were on their own, emotionally unmoored—and unprepared for what would happen next. Their late father had been a prominent architect, and the brothers were left with a healthy inheritance. Over the following several years, they would lose close to a quarter million dollars in the gambling boats off the Mississippi coast. Then, in a bizarre twist, they were charged with violating state gambling laws, fingerprinted, and thrown into the surreal world of felony prosecution. For two years these widely publicized charges hung over their heads, shadowing their every step. Double Down is the wry, often heartbreaking story of how Frederick and Steven Barthelme got into this predicament. It is also a reflection on the allure of casinos and the pull and power of illusions that can destroy our lives if we aren’t careful. “One of the best firsthand accounts ever written about organized gambling. Like Goodman Brown, taking a walk with a hooded stranger into the darkness of the New England woods, the Barthelme brothers suddenly find themselves inside the maw of the monster. The compulsion to control, to intuit the future, to be painted by magic, could not be better or more accurately described.” —James Lee Burke “Beautifully evoking the gamblers’ addiction, their mesmerizing account is best read as a novel Camus might have imagined, with the writer/protagonists as their own lost characters. A work of high art; enthusiastically recommended.” —Library Journal

Hacker Leotrim Nicolosi and Deputy Marshal Rich Cody may have escaped a vengeful crime boss by the skin of their teeth, but they’re not out of danger yet. With the mob’s tentacles embedded in everything from local law enforcement to federal agencies, the guys are running low on allies. Rich has one ace up his sleeve—the men who had his back in warzones during his time in the Marines. When he sends out a distress call, the cavalry comes running. Heavily armed, highly trained, and fully provisioned, they hunker down in a buddy’s missile silo, ready to make a stand against whatever the Grimaldi family sends after Rich and Leo. Leo isn’t so sure about the Marines, though. He trusts Rich, but something isn’t right, and he’s not a gambling man when his life is on the line. The Marines aren’t so sure they trust him, either, and Rich suddenly finds himself in a standoff between the men he’s bled with and the man he’s quickly falling for. Now they’re running out of time to either find the turncoat among them or get on the same side. Because the Grimaldi family is coming, and this time they’re bringing out the big guns. Doubling Down is the sequel to Double or Nothing, and is the conclusion to the Double Trouble duology.

Two soldiers with a weird superpower… Jay and Zack aren’t just any run of the mill Special Forces soldiers. They can hear each other’s thoughts—and only each other’s—which means they’ll be a team for the rest of their careers…and lives. The military experiment that opened up the silent channel of communication between their minds only solidified a friendship that had already spanned years. They are a lot alike in many ways, and their taste in women is also something they have in common, which is a good thing, because being in each other’s heads all the time means relationships with women are more than a little tricky. The solution some of the other duos in their unit have found is to find just one woman willing to share and be shared, love and be loved, by them both. One woman under threat… Becky likes both Jay and Zack so much, she’s waiting for one of the guys to step up and ask her out because she can’t decide which one she likes more. When underworld henchmen attempt to kidnap her, Jay and Zack play the hero, saving her in the nick of time. But her life is still in danger. She knows something someone wants and they’ll go to just about any length to get that information from her. Together, Jay and Zack will use their special skills first, to find out why Becky is suddenly a target for kidnappers and second, how to end the threat once and for all. They will take on crime bosses, goons, bodyguards with almost supernatural skills and a man who doesn’t seem quite human. But when push comes to shove, will Becky be able to accept both of them, and the strange power they have? Or will she run from them…straight into danger?

Successful people do not avoid failure, but rather use it as a steppingstone to reach their goals. For too long people have been defeated by the idea that life stops when you fail. In The Art of Doubling Down, author Anthony Michael Russo turns this idea on its head, proving that failure is far from the end of the road. The Art of Doubling Down highlights stories of successful people who experienced failure and leveraged it as a learning opportunity to become stronger and more resilient. He also dives into his personal experience growing up with a father who had a gambling addiction that almost destroyed their family, to demonstrate how failure ended up being the key to unlocking success in his own life. Through these inspirational stories and practical tips, individuals can learn how to transform their fear of failure into motivation to face challenges head-on. Theorists will become practitioners who are ready to take on life with a new outlook. And discover how to identify the lesson inside every failure that paves the way towards success in business, life, and finding ultimate happiness.

Learn Rewirement and Work-Life Integration from the C-Suite Couple Who's Done It for 45 Years! If you desire to excel in a big career, sustain a loving relationship, and raise children who grow up to be happy and healthy adults, you need a playbook that reveals the new elixir to making it all work in 2023 and beyond. Doubling Down: The Secret Sauce for Dual-Career Families, by Ilene Gordon and Bram Bluestein, is now available in hardcover edition. Examples in Doubling Down are poignant and timely, with loads of research underscoring their advice. Both authors shaped rigorous careers and crisscrossed the world in their roles while "doubling down" on their family needs in sometimes creative ways. They learned to be supportive partners, agree on compromises, and evolve in their professional identities while keeping family first. Since the release of their first edition of Doubling Down, Ilene and Bram have brought their message to Chicago Finance Exchange, The Wharton Club, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, Loyola University's Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise & Responsibility, Stanford Law School, and many others.

For use in schools and libraries only. The pressure's really piling up on Greg Heffley. His mom thinks video games are turning his brain to mush, so she wants her son to put down the controller and explore his "creative side." As if that's not scary enough, Halloween's just around the corner and the frights are coming at Greg from every angle. When Greg discovers a bag of gummy worms, it sparks an idea. Can he get his mom off his back by making a movie . . . and will he become rich and famous in the process? Or will doubling down on this plan just double Greg's troubles?

Tricia and Antoinette Clarke—best friends, Power Twins, and Boss Ladies—show you how to take your work and life to the Next Level. “Aspiring Boss Ladies in any field should pay attention.”—Gabrielle Union-Wade, actress, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of We’re Going to Need More Wine As African American women who have climbed their way to the highest ranks of the media world, Tricia and Antoinette have learned that to win when the deck is stacked against you, you need to ditch the old Status Quo rules. Whether you’re starting your career, wondering why you’re not further along, or looking to pivot, you’ve got to double down on yourself, and you’ve got to cultivate a tribe of people who will double down on you, too. Now, they share their wisdom with the next generation of Boss Ladies looking to up their game. If you’re tired of getting second-class rewards for first-class work and you’re ready to be respected for who you are, Double Down will give you the tools and tactics to go all in on your dreams. Among the lessons you’ll learn: • Don’t emulate, originate: Identify your unique superpowers to start from a place of strength. • Don’t stay in place, move into white space: To stand out, use your superpowers to do something no one else does. • Don’t just compete, play the long game: Work backward from where you want to end up—aim high, go far. • Don’t inherit your tribe, build it: Actively cultivate a crew of people who will push you to go after your most audacious goals (and set new ones). Packed with strategies and solutions, as well as stories of other badass Boss Ladies including Ayesha Curry, Carly Cushnie, Anne Wojcicki, and many others, this remixed rulebook will help you see the power in yourself—and double down on it.

A New York Times bestseller and enduring classic, All About Love is the acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks' "Love Song to the Nation" trilogy. All About Love reveals what causes a polarized society, and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering. Here is the truth about love, and inspiration to help us instill caring, compassion, and strength in our homes, schools, and workplaces. “The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provocative and intensely personal, renowned scholar, cultural critic and feminist bell hooks offers a proactive new ethic for a society bereft with lovelessness--not the lack of romance, but the lack of care, compassion, and unity. People are divided, she declares, by society’s failure to provide a model for learning to love. As bell hooks uses her incisive mind to explore the question “What is love?” her answers strike at both the mind and heart. Razing the cultural paradigm that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire, she provides a new path to love that is sacred, redemptive, and healing for individuals and for a nation. The Utne Reader declared bell hooks one of the “100 Visionaries Who Can Change Your Life.” All About Love is a powerful, timely affirmation of just how profoundly her revelations can change hearts and minds for the better.