"How artists work, how they ritualize their days with the comforting (mundane) details of their lives: their daily routines, fears, dreams, naps, eating habits, and other prescribed, finely calibrated "subtle maneuvers" ... From Beethoven and Kafka to George Sand, Picasso, Woody Allen and Agatha Christie; from Leo Tolstoy and Henry James to Charles Dickens and John Updike, here are writers, composers, painters, choreographers, playwrights, philosophers,...

The Protestant ethic - a moral code stressing hard work, rigorous self-discipline, and the organization of one's life in the service of God - was made famous by sociologist and political economist Max Weber. In this brilliant study (his best-known and most controversial), he opposes the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and its view that change takes place through "the struggle of opposites." Instead, he relates the rise of a capitalist economy...

As author and high performance coach Pete Leibman demonstrates in this eye-opening book, stronger hours (not longer hours) are the key to feeling and performing your best over the long term. Work Stronger provides a step-by-step, science-based approach for increasing your energy, decreasing your stress, and taking your performance to a higher level. This book also features practical tips and powerful insights from private interviews that Leibman...

The phrase a strong work ethic conjures images of hard-driving employees working diligently for long hours. But where did this ideal come from, and how has it been buffeted by changes in work itself? While seemingly rooted in Americas Puritan heritage, perceptions of work ethic have actually undergone multiple transformations over the centuries. And few eras saw a more radical shift in labor ideology than the American industrial age. Daniel T. Rodgers...

"Dashrath Manjhi used a hammer and chisel, grit, determination, and twenty years to carve a path through the mountain separating his poor village from the nearby village with schools, markets, and a hospital. Manjhi Moves a Mountain shows how everyone can make a difference if their heart is big enough."--Provided by publisher.

"When Tanna's father brings home an abandoned owl, she is not eager to take care of the needy, ugly little bird. Tanna must wake at 4:00 AM to catch food for the owl. She must feed it, clean up after it, all while avoiding its sharp, chomping beak and big, stomping talons. After weeks of following her father's instructions on how to care for the owl, Tanna must leave home for school. Her owl has grown. It has lost its grey baby feathers and is beginning...

Desde el amanecer hasta el atardecer, los agrícolas trabajan para llenar nuestros estómagos. Contada desde la perspectiva de un hijo orgulloso, esta historia sincera y bellamente ilustrada ilumina el sacrificio y las dificultades que un padre aguanta por su familia. From dawn to dusk, through sunshine, rainfall, and everything in between, he works his smooth hands until they crack. He harvests plenty of gifts for everyone to enjoy in hope of a...