Spin Cycle

In Spin Cycle, Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz reveals the inside workings of Clinton's well-oiled propaganda machine - arguably the most successful team of White House spin doctors in history. He takes the reader into closed-door meetings where Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Mike McCurry, Lanny Davis, and other top officials plot strategy to beat back the scandals and neutralize a hostile press corps through stonewalling, stage managing, and outright intimidation. He depicts a White House obsessed with spin and pulls back the curtain on events and tactics that the administration would prefer to keep hidden.

Jonathan Rana has two names. The other name is Qubert Spin, but in truth these names are facetious tags. Qubert is the most descriptive for those who care, and for those who don’t, Jonathan sounds more natural, for one who is unnatural, but invites less curiosity, while the other has a nice spin. In the course of a few years, Qubert came into being, an offspring of so many. Rare was the person who could foresee the outcome of such an eclectic undertaking, but once realized was helpless to convince anyone else. No credible supervisor could claim the existence of an animate computer. Quantum physics is not a hot topic in the culture of today or for that matter of yesterday. All of those sub-atomic particles, actually wave forms, are the same on earth as at the edge of the universe; they undulate and spin. Once enough of those wave forms are regimented into productive alignment, a door will open. Now comes the choice of either crossing the threshold or not. It’s a safe bet what happens next. In this account, there is Qubert, full of human traits, with an ambition for descendants. Cultural forerunners have detractors, hostile and afraid, thus being unique brings great risk, even loathing. In contrast there are others who have no fear, quietly anticipating things to come. Too often there have been attempts to predict the technology of the future, which end as wishful thinking. The safest narrative is to employ predictable human behavior, blend in the technical basics, and the rest will follow. Herein are the basics for the characters to manage thereafter.

One important aim of social science research is to provide unbiased information that can help guide public policies. However, social science is often construed as politics by other means. Nowhere is the polarized nature of social science research more visible than in the heated debate over charter schools. In Spin Cycle, noted political scientist and education expert Jeffrey Henig explores how controversies over the charter school movement illustrate the use and misuse of research in policy debates. Henig's compelling narrative reveals that, despite all of the political maneuvering on the public stage, research on school choice has gradually converged on a number of widely accepted findings. This quiet consensus shows how solid research can supersede partisan cleavages and sensationalized media headlines. In Spin Cycle, Henig draws on extensive interviews with researchers, journalists, and funding agencies on both sides of the debate, as well as data on federal and foundation grants and a close analysis of media coverage, to explore how social science research is "spun" in the public sphere. Henig looks at the consequences of a highly controversial New York Times article that cited evidence of poor test performance among charter school students. The front-page story, based on research findings released by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), sparked an explosive debate over the effectiveness of charter schools. In the ensuing drama, reputable scholars from both ends of the political spectrum launched charges and counter-charges over the research methodology and the implications of the data. Henig uses this political tug-of-war to illustrate broader problems relating to social science: of what relevance is supposedly non-partisan research when findings are wielded as political weapons on both sides of the debate? In the case of charter schools, Henig shows that despite the political posturing in public forums, many researchers have since revised their stances according to accumulating new evidence and have begun to find common ground. Over time, those who favored charter schools were willing to admit that in many instances charter schools are no better than traditional schools. And many who were initially alarmed by the potentially destructive consequences of school choice admitted that their fears were overblown. The core problem, Henig concludes, has less to do with research itself than with the way it is often sensationalized or misrepresented in public discourse. Despite considerable frustration over the politicization of research, until now there has been no systematic analysis of the problem. Spin Cycle provides an engaging narrative and instructive guide with far-reaching implications for the way research is presented to the public. Ultimately, Henig argues, we can do a better job of bringing research to bear on the task of social betterment.

One of the most difficult and dangerous things a person can do is to leave an abusive relationship. This book provides insights into what victims go through and the challenges they face to change from "victims" to "survivors". It is filled with real-life stories and experinces as well as quotes from survivors who have made that change. It also provides information the author feels is important not only for the survivor but also for the family, friends and loved ones of those caught up in the frightening, crazy-making world of abusive relationships. The author addresses such issues as: What is domestic violence? Why do victims stay and/or return to the abuser? What are the psychological, emotional and verbal tools the abuser uses to control the victim? What is the worst part of the abuse according to victims? What is the Cycle of Abuse and how does it compare to the Cycle of Respect? Why is it so hard to get away? What is Safety Planning and how can friends, family and loved ones play a big part in it?

The author of "Neurotica" now introduces a stand-up comedian who discovers what's really important lies somewhere between the rinse and spin cycles.

A Bible teacher with a keen understanding of women offers forty devotions for moms based on the words and deeds of Jesus.

From the author of the cult favorite Pro Cycling on $10 a Day and Ask a Pro, the story of one man’s quest to realize his childhood dream, and what happened when he actually did it. Like countless other kids, Phil Gaimon grew up dreaming of being a professional athlete. But unlike countless other kids, he actually pulled it off. After years of amateur races, hard training, living out of a suitcase, and never taking “no” for an answer, he finally achieved his goal and signed a contract to race professionally on one of the best teams in the world. Now, Gaimon pulls back the curtain on the WorldTour, cycling’s highest level. He takes readers along for his seasons in Europe, covering everything from rabid, water-bottle-stealing Belgian fans, to contract renewals, to riding in poisonous smog, to making friends in a sport plagued by doping. Draft Animals reveals a story as much about bike racing as it is about the never-ending ladder of achieving goals, failure, and finding happiness if you land somewhere in-between.

True or false? In selling high-value products or services: 'closing' increases your chance of success; it is essential to describe the benefits of your product or service to the customer; objection handling is an important skill; open questions are more effective than closed questions. All false, says this provocative book. Neil Rackham and his team studied more than 35,000 sales calls made by 10,000 sales people in 23 countries over 12 years. Their findings revealed that many of the methods developed for selling low-value goods just don‘t work for major sales. Rackham went on to introduce his SPIN-Selling method. SPIN describes the whole selling process: Situation questions Problem questions Implication questions Need-payoff questions SPIN-Selling provides you with a set of simple and practical techniques which have been tried in many of today‘s leading companies with dramatic improvements to their sales performance.