Nothing By Chance

In Nothing by Chance, Richard Bach shares the adventure of one magical summer he spent as an old-fashioned barnstormer flying an antique biplane. The journey is another soaring adventure of wonder and insight from the author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

A daring but meticulously planned mid-morning bank robbery has the potential to become the stuff of legend according to its lead architect, Vincent Grier. He and his assembled team have left nothing to chance. However, as the events at the First National Bank unfold, the plan unravels in the most disastrous ways for those ensnared in its web. Several characters move into the central story to put their own indelible imprint on that fateful morning. A reluctant thief, brought into the group through coercion and control, a high school teacher closing in on two long buried dreams, an overindulged security officer with fleeting delusions of grandeur, an abused housewife weary of living a lie, a college student with a catastrophic sense of loyalty, a police chief with a desperate need to improve his reputation and a tenaciously ambitious reporter ready to take her shot at the limelight. These characters move together as the events of the robbery unfold, each playing a part in what will become the most notoriously infamous heist ever recorded in human history.

'Sparklingly funny' Wired Magazine '[Nwaubani] not merely explores a side of modern existence that touches millions every day, but does so with wit, warmth and insight' Independent 'Beautifully written' Sunday Herald Kingsley is fresh out of university, eager to find an engineering job so he can support his family and marry the girl of his dreams. Being the opara of the family, he is entitled to certain privileges - a piece of meat in his egusi soup, a party to celebrate his graduation. But times are hard in Nigeria and jobs are not easy to come by. For much of his young life, Kingsley believed that education was everything, that through wisdom, all things were possible. But when a tragedy befalls his family, Kingsley learns the hardest lesson of all: education may be the language of success in his country, but it is money that does the talking. In desperation he turns to his uncle, Boniface-aka Cash Daddy-an exuberant character who suffers from elephantiasis of the pocket. He is also rumoured to run a successful empire of email scams. But he can help. With Cash Daddy's intervention, Kingsley and his family can be as safe as a tortoise under its shell. It is up to Kingsley now, to reconcile his passion for knowledge with his hunger for money, to fully assume his role of first son. But can he do it without being drawn into this outlandish milieu?

A heartwarming story about childhood friends, broken lives, and a long ago promise that just might offer the hope of love for today. Years ago, the day before Ellie moved from Georgia to California, she and her best friend Nolan sat beneath the Spanish moss of an ancient oak tree where they wrote letters to each other, and sealed them in a rusty old metal box. The plan was to return eleven years later and read them. But now, as that date arrives, much has changed. Ellie, bereft of the faith she grew up with, is a single mom living in a tired apartment trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she watches television to catch a glimpse of her old friend -Nolan, now an NBA star, whose terrible personal tragedies fueled his faith and athletic drive in equal measure. But Nolan also suffers from a transcendent loneliness that nothing has ever eased. In their separate lives, as Ellie and Nolan move toward the possibility of a reunion at the oak tree, Kingsbury weaves a tale of heart-wrenching loss, the power of faith, and the wounds that only love can heal.

NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE (SEVEN RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING) What's important to you right now? Would you like to have more money, a better job, an improved love life, or greater peace of mind? Would you like it now? And what about improved health? Is that important? Can you put a name to that elusive something that you think will bring you more happiness or fulfilment? Would you like to know more? NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE gives the answers to all these questions in seven easy-to-read chapters. It shows you how to take control and to be in the driver's seat of your life. There's a basic law of life that we need to be aware of. Some people call it cause and effect, others call it the law of attraction but, regardless of what you call it, it's always available to use. How does it work? How do we use it? That's what NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE IS ALL ABOUT. Read it now. Your life will never be the same.

Your struggling teenager is going to a residential or wilderness treatment program. Their addictions, learning disabilities, or emotional/behavioral issues have brought you to a moment of decision. Heartsick, anxious, and exhausted, questions bounce endlessly around your mind, “Will this work? Was this really necessary? Will she ever forgive me? Can we handle him at home when the time comes?” Dr. Tim Thayne delivers the answers in his groundbreaking book Not by Chance. As an owner/therapist of wilderness and residential programs, Thayne was frustrated when young people made monumental progress, only to return home where things quickly unraveled. His mission became to vastly improve long-term success by crafting and proving a model to coach parents on their power to lead out through full engagement during treatment and management of the transition home. Not by Chance engages readers through solid research, simple exercises, and captivating stories taken from Thayne’s own life and the living rooms of hundreds of American homes. This book serves up concrete tools, hope, confidence, and stamina for families, professionals and mentors. Topics include: • Why good programs work • How to boost—not undermine—treatment • Nine dangers waiting after discharge • How to identify natural mentors for your teen • What to do when the testing begins • When and how to grant back privileges and freedoms • How to ease your young adult’s transition from treatment to independent living • When you know you’ve succeeded If you are even considering out-of-home treatment for your teen, do not gamble with the outcomes. Not by Chance should claim its rightful place on your nightstand.

Forget about what you've missed in the past. You can't fix that, but you can fix today and you can fix tomorrow. Every single chapter of Leave Nothing to Chance will shape your life into the success you have always dreamed of. Regardless of how you define the details of leading a "successful life," your underlying goal is to own your time so that you can pursue your goals and focus on the things that make you happy; happiness being the ultimate goal for us all.Over the years we've had the pleasure of working with thousands of people. Whether their vision of success included sitting behind a desk in a corner office or being able to take an extra vacation every year, control and freedom always played a big part in an individual's definition of leading a successful life.You know what you want, you just aren't sure how to get there. Even if we don't know you personally, our guess is that you already know this. That's why you need to read Leave Nothing to Chance.

Fooled by Randomness is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin in the Game, and The Bed of Procrustes. Fooled by Randomness is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business and the world. Nassim Nicholas Taleb–veteran trader, renowned risk expert, polymathic scholar, erudite raconteur, and New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan–has written a modern classic that turns on its head what we believe about luck and skill. This book is about luck–or more precisely, about how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill–the world of trading–Fooled by Randomness provides captivating insight into one of the least understood factors in all our lives. Writing in an entertaining narrative style, the author tackles major intellectual issues related to the underestimation of the influence of happenstance on our lives. The book is populated with an array of characters, some of whom have grasped, in their own way, the significance of chance: the baseball legend Yogi Berra; the philosopher of knowledge Karl Popper; the ancient world’s wisest man, Solon; the modern financier George Soros; and the Greek voyager Odysseus. We also meet the fictional Nero, who seems to understand the role of randomness in his professional life but falls victim to his own superstitious foolishness. However, the most recognizable character of all remains unnamed–the lucky fool who happens to be in the right place at the right time–he embodies the “survival of the least fit.” Such individuals attract devoted followers who believe in their guru’s insights and methods. But no one can replicate what is obtained by chance. Are we capable of distinguishing the fortunate charlatan from the genuine visionary? Must we always try to uncover nonexistent messages in random events? It may be impossible to guard ourselves against the vagaries of the goddess Fortuna, but after reading Fooled by Randomness we can be a little better prepared. Named by Fortune One of the Smartest Books of All Time A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year