There S A Hat For That

"So many jobs I could put to the test.With my natural skills, I'll find which hat fits best"We often ask a child, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This question implies there should be one fixed answer. But more likely your child will experiment with many occupations and may explore multiple careers throughout their life. At all ages children show interests, abilities, gifts, and unfulfilled potential. Observing these subtle signs and encouraging exploration towards activities that align with their personality will point them towards satisfying and meaningful careers. Both children and adults alike will be delighted by the melodic rhymes and colorful monkey illustrations trying on hats from different jobs in search for a perfect fit. Of course, the most important job may be closer than first imagined.

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Titled after perhaps Stephen Sondheim's most autobiographical song, from Sunday in the Park with George—Finishing the Hat not only collects his lyrics for the first time, it offers readers a rare personal look into his life as well as his remarkable productions. Stephen Sondheim’s career spanned more than half a century; his lyrics are synonymous with musical theater and popular culture. Sondheim—the winner of seven Tonys, an Academy Award, seven Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize and more—treats us to never-before-published songs from each show, songs that were cut or discarded before seeing the light of day, along with the lyrics for all of his musicals from 1954 to 1981, including West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd. He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Ethel Merman, Richard Rodgers, Angela Lansbury, Harold Prince and a panoply of others. The anecdotes—filled with history, pointed observations and intimate details—transport us back to a time when theater was a major pillar of American culture. Best of all, Sondheim appraises his work and dissects his lyrics, as well as those of others, offering unparalleled insights into songwriting that will be studied by fans and aspiring songwriters for years to come. Accompanying Sondheim’s sparkling writing are behind-the-scenes photographs from each production, along with handwritten music and lyrics from the songwriter’s personal collection. Penetrating and surprising, poignant, funny and sometimes provocative, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is a history of the theater that belongs on the same literary shelf as Moss Hart’s Act One and Arthur Miller’s Timebends. It is also a book that will leave you humming the final bars of Merrily We Roll Along, while eagerly anticipating the next volume.

The indispensible Rough Guide to Laos is the definitive guide to this fascinating Southeast Asian country, taking you from the remote mountainous north to the sleepy south. It's packed with detailed, lively reviews of accommodation and restaurants to suit all budgets, plus practical information on things like border crossings and road and river travel. With comprehensive research, accompanied by stunning photographs, The Rough Guide to Laos is your essential companion, whether you want to follow the well-trodden route along the Mekong, or blaze your own trail. The guide's authoritative background section provides essential information on Laos's often turbulent history and teaches you about the country's fascinating hill tribes and vibrant festivals. And with dozens of clear, accurate maps The Rough Guide to Laos gets you under the skin of this dynamic country. Originally published in print in 2011. Make the most of your trip with The Rough Guide to Laos. Now available in ePub format.

In his most beloved and extraordinary book, Dr. Sacks recounts the case histories of patients inhabiting the compelling world of neurological disorders. Featuring a preface never before included. Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with perceptual and intellectual disorders: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; whose limbs seem alien to them; who lack some skills yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. In Dr. Sacks's splendid and sympathetic telling, his patients are deeply human, and his tales are studies of struggles against incredible adversity. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine's ultimate responsibility: "the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject."

Our sense of history shapes how we think about ourselves. One of the distinguishing features of the left in Britain is that it holds to a remorselessly bleak and miserabilist view of our recent political history — one in which Margaret Thatcher's election in 1979 marked the start of a still-continuing fall from political grace made evident by the triumph of a free market get-what-you-can neoliberal ideology, dizzying levels of inequality, social decay, rampant individualism, state authoritarianism, and political corruption. The left does not like what has happened to us and it does not like what we have become. Andrew Hindmoor argues that this history is wrong and self-harming. It is wrong because Britain has in many respects become a more politically attractive and progressive country over the last few decades. It is self-harming because this bleak history undermines faith in politics. Post-Brexit, post-Grenfell, and post the 2010, 2015, and 2017 general elections, things may not, right now, look that great. But looked at over the longer haul, Britain is a long way from being a posterchild for neoliberalism. Left-wing ideas and arguments have shaped and continue to shape our politics.