Meltdown Terror At The Top Of The World

"Meltdown: Terror at the Top of the World" tells the riveting story of seven American hikers who went on a wilderness adventure into Canada's Arctic tundra-polar bear country-and came back with a tale of terror.Based on interviews with all seven hikers as well as many of the world's experts on polar bears and sea ice, "Meltdown" tells the story of the hikers' harrowing encounter with a polar bear; the plight of the polar bear in general, facing starvation and extinction as the sea ice melts and its habitat disappears; and of the Arctic meltdown, an advanced symptom of man-made climate change that is touching everyone, everywhere. Praise for Meltdown:"As deftly paced and riveting as it is a clear call for dramatic action on climate change."- Porter Shreve, San Francisco Chronicle"Part harrowing survival story, part science lesson, "Meltdown: Terror at the Top of the World" is 100% the most gripping e-book single of 2014."- Howard Polskin, Thin Reads

Winner of the 2019 National Business Book Award A groundbreaking take on how complexity causes failure in all kinds of modern systems—from social media to air travel—this practical and entertaining book reveals how we can prevent meltdowns in business and life. A crash on the Washington, D.C. metro system. An accidental overdose in a state-of-the-art hospital. An overcooked holiday meal. At first glance, these disasters seem to have little in common. But surprising new research shows that all these events—and the myriad failures that dominate headlines every day—share similar causes. By understanding what lies behind these failures, we can design better systems, make our teams more productive, and transform how we make decisions at work and at home. Weaving together cutting-edge social science with riveting stories that take us from the frontlines of the Volkswagen scandal to backstage at the Oscars, and from deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico to the top of Mount Everest, Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik explain how the increasing complexity of our systems creates conditions ripe for failure and why our brains and teams can't keep up. They highlight the paradox of progress: Though modern systems have given us new capabilities, they've become vulnerable to surprising meltdowns—and even to corruption and misconduct. But Meltdown isn't just about failure; it's about solutions—whether you're managing a team or the chaos of your family's morning routine. It reveals why ugly designs make us safer, how a five-minute exercise can prevent billion-dollar catastrophes, why teams with fewer experts are better at managing risk, and why diversity is one of our best safeguards against failure. The result is an eye-opening, empowering, and entirely original book—one that will change the way you see our complex world and your own place in it.

The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown is a satirical look behind the scenes of the fictional reality model competition show Model Muse, and global phenomenon. Seen through the eyes of our moral compass narrator, Pablo Michaels-the heart of the production in the helter-skelter world of Model Muse-we see behind-the-scenes and backstage shenanigans of the fashion/reality TV world. As the "The Fixer,” Pablo is the man everyone turns to in a crisis. Struggling to hold the fledgling production together, he juggles his duties to his “BFF,” the ruthless and vulnerable antihero Keisha Kash, his Supermodel boss and to his soul.

The global war on terror has reached catastrophic proportions, leading the U.S. Special Operations EOD team–Task Force Valor–to Chernobyl, where ghosts of past disasters are nothing compared to the nuclear nightmare about to unfold. With CIA Agent Mary “Phoenix” Walker heading her first Special Ops mission and Master Sergeant Bobby Sweeney fighting demons on and off the battlefield, Task Force Valor races to stop a terrorist threat in the Ukraine before Europe is turned into a radioactive wasteland. But when the terror reaches American shores, the team is powerless to help until they can save themselves. And when they finally track down the source of the chaos, what they find is worse than anything they could have imagined.

The author recounts her devastating medical diagnoses of Parkinson's disease and two lumps in her breast which required a mastectomy.

Ethical Reporting of Sensitive Topics explores the underlying complexities that journalists may face when covering difficult news stories. Reporting on issues such as suicide, sexual abuse, or migration is a skill that is often glossed over in a journalist’s education. By combining theory and practice, this collection will correct this oversight and give journalists the expertise and understanding to report on these subjects responsibly and ethically. Contributors to this volume are an international group of journalists-turned- academics, who share their first-hand experiences and unique professional insight into best ethical journalistic practice for reporting on sensitive topics. Drawing from a range of case studies, contributors discuss the most appropriate approach to, for example, describing a shooter who has killed a group of schoolchildren or interviewing someone who has lost everything in a natural disaster. Readers are invited to consider factors which have the potential to influence the reporting of these sorts of topics, including bias, sensationalism, conflict of interest, grief, vulnerability, and ignorance of one’s own privilege. Ethical Reporting of Sensitive Topics aims to support all journalists, from students of journalism and individuals encountering a newsroom for the first time, to those veteran journalists or specialist journalists who seek to better their reporting skills.

This practical primer explains the primary issues in writing about the environment, identifies who to go to and where to find sources, and offers examples of writing and reporting the beat. Observations and story excerpts from experienced journalists provide real-world context both for those in the U.S. as well as internationally. Practice story assignments, resources, and a glossary of critical terms gives budding journalists all the tools needed to cover the green beat. Updated with detailed coverage of how companies and climate change have evolved over the past decade, this second edition expands upon the digital sphere and the myriad ways that deadline, multimedia and mobile reporting have changed environmental journalism. Including consideration of issues such as the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and the GMO controversy, this new edition provides a fresh take on the green beat with a newly organized table of contents and a guide to freelance and entrepreneurial journalism anywhere in the world. Contents include: • an overview and history of the environment and journalism, spotlighting the most significant issues in the beat; • guidance on understanding environmental and health science, ranging from issues of risk, to scientific research and studies, to interviewing scientists; • insights into government and regulatory communities and environmental advocates on all sides of the political spectrum and internationally; • assistance in accessing public records and conducting digital and computer-assisted reporting; • guidance in writing the story for print, broadcast and internet audiences; • an examination of the future of journalism and news coverage of the environment in the U.S. and throughout the world.

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • An absorbing, deeply felt book about our anxious present tense—and coming to grips with the future, by the author of the award-winning To Be a Machine. “Deeply funny and life-affirming, with a warm, generous outlook even on the most challenging of subjects.” —Esquire We’re alive in a time of worst-case scenarios: The weather has gone uncanny. A pandemic draws our global community to a halt. Everywhere you look there’s an omen, a joke whose punchline is the end of the world. How is a person supposed to live in the shadow of such a grim future? What might it be like to live through the worst? And what on earth is anybody doing about it? Dublin-based writer Mark O’Connell is consumed by these questions—and, as the father of two young children, he finds them increasingly urgent. In Notes from an Apocalypse, he crosses the globe in pursuit of answers. He tours survival bunkers in South Dakota. He ventures to New Zealand, a favored retreat of billionaires banking on civilization’s collapse. He engages with would-be Mars colonists, preppers, right-wing conspiracists. And he bears witness to places, like Chernobyl, that the future has already visited—real-life portraits of the end of the world as we know it. What emerges is an absorbing, funny, and deeply felt book about our anxious present tense—and coming to grips with what’s ahead.