Pieces Of The Action

An inside account of one of the most innovative R&D ecosystems of the 20th century, from the man who was at the center of it all. Over a 60-year career in public affairs, Vannevar Bush—engineer, inventor, educator, and public face of government-funded science—sought to eliminate roadblocks to innovation in science and technology. In Pieces of the Action, a collection of memoir-essays, he reflects on his role in shaping the policies and organizations that powered American research and development in the mid-20th century. As the architect and administrator of an R&D pipeline that efficiently coordinated the work of civilian scientists and the military during World War II, he was central to catalyzing the development of radar and the proximity fuze, the mass production of penicillin, and the initiation of the Manhattan Project. Pieces of the Action offers his hard-won lessons on how to operate and manage effectively within complex organizations, build bridges between people and disciplines, and drive ambitious, unprecedented programs to fruition. With wry humor, Bush also shares personal observations and anecdotes—pelting cows with apples, poking fun at servicemen who tried to keep his own invention secret from him—that offer a glimpse of the personality behind the accolades. Originally published in 1970, this updated edition includes 15 archival images from Bush’s life and career and a foreword from entrepreneur and Idea Machines podcast host Ben Reinhardt that contextualizes the lessons Pieces of the Action can offer to contemporary readers: that change depends both on heroic individuals and effective organizations; that a leader’s job is one of coordination; and that the path from idea to innovation is a long and winding one, inextricably bound to those involved—those enduring figures who have a piece of the action.

The inspiring, life-changing bestseller by the author of LEADERS EAT LAST and TOGETHER IS BETTER. In 2009, Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired at work, and in turn inspire their colleagues and customers. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, including more than 28 million who’ve watched his TED Talk based on START WITH WHY -- the third most popular TED video of all time. Sinek starts with a fundamental question: Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over? People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people won't truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. START WITH WHY shows that the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way -- and it's the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.

This volume contains the poems of Dryden extending from 1649 to 1680. Along with the poems of Dryden and associated extensive commentaries and textual notes from the editors, this volume contains the dramatic prologues and epilogues Dryden wrote for the plays of other writers from this period of time.

In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts present career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces—extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, and their major practical theoretical contributions. In this volume, David A. Rosenbaum reflects on his distinguished career as an eminent scholar in the field of human perception and performance. Offering a unique perspective on the cognitive psychology of physical action control, the book charts Rosenbaum's development as one of the pioneers of the field. Featuring a newly written introduction in which the author offers a unique insight into his initial work on the movement precuing technique, along with coverage of other phenomena and models related to the translation of mental life into physical behavior, the book is essential reading for students and researchers interested in human perception, motor control, and embodiment.

Essays on Freedom of Action, first published in 1973, brings together original papers by contemporary British and American philosophers on questions which have long concerned philosophers and others: the question of whether persons are wholly a part of the natural world and their actions the necessary effects of causal processes, and the question of whether our actions are free, and such that we can be held responsible for them, even if they are the necessary effects of casual processes. This volume will be of interest not only to those who are primarily concerned with philosophy but also to students in those many other disciplines in which freedom and determinism arise as problems.