A Quantum Life

A Quantum Life PDF Author: Hakeem Oluseyi
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0349430322
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
In this inspiring coming-of-age memoir, a world-renowned astrophysicist emerges from an impoverished childhood and crime-filled adolescence to ascend through the top ranks of research physics. Navigating poverty, violence, and instability, a young James Plummer had two guiding stars-a genius IQ and a love of science. But a bookish nerd was a soft target in his community, where James faced years of bullying and abuse. As he struggled to survive his childhood in some of the country's toughest urban neighborhoods in New Orleans, Houston, and LA, and later in the equally poor backwoods of Mississippi, he adopted the persona of "gangsta nerd"-dealing weed in juke joints while winning state science fairs with computer programs that model Einstein's theory of relativity. Once admitted to the elite physics PhD program at Stanford University, James found himself pulled between the promise of a bright future and a dangerous crack cocaine habit he developed in college. With the encouragement of his mentor and the sole Black professor in the physics department, James confronted his personal demons as well as the entrenched racism and classism of the scientific establishment. When he finally seized his dream of a life in astrophysics, he adopted a new name, Hakeem Muata Oluseyi, to honor his African ancestors. Alternately heartbreaking and hopeful, A QUANTUM LIFE narrates one man's remarkable quest across an ever-expanding universe filled with entanglement and choice.

A Quantum Life

A Quantum Life PDF Author: Hakeem Oluseyi
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0349430322
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this inspiring coming-of-age memoir, a world-renowned astrophysicist emerges from an impoverished childhood and crime-filled adolescence to ascend through the top ranks of research physics. Navigating poverty, violence, and instability, a young James Plummer had two guiding stars-a genius IQ and a love of science. But a bookish nerd was a soft target in his community, where James faced years of bullying and abuse. As he struggled to survive his childhood in some of the country's toughest urban neighborhoods in New Orleans, Houston, and LA, and later in the equally poor backwoods of Mississippi, he adopted the persona of "gangsta nerd"-dealing weed in juke joints while winning state science fairs with computer programs that model Einstein's theory of relativity. Once admitted to the elite physics PhD program at Stanford University, James found himself pulled between the promise of a bright future and a dangerous crack cocaine habit he developed in college. With the encouragement of his mentor and the sole Black professor in the physics department, James confronted his personal demons as well as the entrenched racism and classism of the scientific establishment. When he finally seized his dream of a life in astrophysics, he adopted a new name, Hakeem Muata Oluseyi, to honor his African ancestors. Alternately heartbreaking and hopeful, A QUANTUM LIFE narrates one man's remarkable quest across an ever-expanding universe filled with entanglement and choice.

An Unlikely Journey

An Unlikely Journey PDF Author: Julián Castro
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780316421508
Category : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
In the spirit of a young Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father, comes a candid and compelling memoir about race and poverty in America. In many ways, there was no reason Julian Castro would have been expected to be a success. Born to unmarried parents in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of a struggling city, his prospects of escaping his circumstance seemed bleak. But he and his twin brother Joaquin had something going for them: their mother. A former political activist, she provided the launch pad for what would become an astonishing ascent. Julian and Joaquin would go on to attend Stanford and Harvard before entering politics at the ripe age of 26. Soon after, Joaquin become a state representative and Julian was elected mayor of San Antonio, a city he helped revitalize and transform into one of the country's leading economies. His success in Texas propelled him onto the national stage, where he was the keynote speaker at the 2012 DNC--the same spot President Obama held three conventions prior--and then to Washington D.C. where he served as the Obama Administration's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. After being shortlisted as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton, he is now seen by many as a future presidential candidate. Julian Castro's story not only affirms the American dream, but also resonates with millions, who in an age of political cynicism and hardening hearts are searching for a new hero. No matter one's politics, this book is the transcendent story of a resilient family and the unlikely journey of an emerging national icon.

Eat and Run

Eat and Run PDF Author: Scott Jurek
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408833409
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
An inspirational memoir by Scott Jurek, one of the finest ultrarunners in the world.

To Pixar and Beyond

To Pixar and Beyond PDF Author: Lawrence Levy
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 054473419X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
“A delightful book about the creation of Pixar from the inside . . . and like a good Pixar film, it’ll put a smile on your face.” —Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times Winner, Axiom Business Book Award * Fortune Favorite Books of the Year Top Pick * Amazon Best Book of the Year in Business & Leadership After he was dismissed from Apple in the early 1990s, Steve Jobs turned his attention to a little-known graphics company he owned called Pixar. One day, out of the blue, Jobs called Lawrence Levy, a Harvard-trained lawyer and executive with whom he’d never spoken before. He hoped to persuade Levy to help him pull Pixar back from the brink of failure. This is the extraordinary story of what happened next: how Jobs and Levy concocted and pulled off a highly improbable plan that transformed Pixar into the Hollywood powerhouse it is today. Levy offers a masterful firsthand account of how Pixar rose from humble beginnings, what it was like to work so closely with Jobs, and how Pixar’s story offers profound lessons that can apply to our professional and personal lives. To Pixar and Beyond reveals how a struggling computer animation company became one of the greatest entertainment studios of all time. “[A] delightful book about finance, creative genius, workplace harmony, and luck.” —Fortune “Part business book and part thriller—a tale that’s every bit as compelling as the ones Pixar tells in its blockbuster movies.” —Dan Lyons, bestselling author of Disrupted “A natural storyteller . . . an inside look at the business and a fresh, sympathetic view of Jobs.” —Success Magazine

Coming to My Senses

Coming to My Senses PDF Author: Alyssa Harad
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101583673
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
A sudden love affair with fragrance leads to sensual awakening, self-transformation, and an unexpected homecoming At thirty-six—earnest, bookish, terminally shopping averse—Alyssa Harad thinks she knows herself. Then one day she stumbles on a perfume review blog and, surprised by her seduction by such a girly extravagance, she reads in secret. But one trip to the mall and several dozen perfume samples later, she is happily obsessed with the seductive underworld of scent and the brilliant, quirky people she meets there. If only she could put off planning her wedding a little longer. . . . Thus begins a life-changing journey that takes Harad from a private perfume laboratory in Austin, Texas, to the glamorous fragrance showrooms of New York City and a homecoming in Boise, Idaho, with the women who watched her grow up. With warmth and humor, Harad traces the way her unexpected passion helps her open new frontiers and reclaim traditions she had rejected. Full of lush description, this intimate memoir celebrates the many ways there are to come to our senses.

My Unlikely Journey

My Unlikely Journey PDF Author: Lynn Lothman
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1483451232
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This book is a collection of essays that describe the author's experiences as an expat living in London, England and Duri, Sumatra, Indonesia. The vignettes are funny, candid, and powerful. Lynn Lothman is a retired educator who lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband Kurt and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels named Henry and Georgie. She brings an honest voice to living abroad and this is part of her story.

The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti

The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti PDF Author: Blondy Baruti
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501165011
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The inspirational and true rags-to-riches story of how one young boy made it from the war-torn Congolese jungles to America and onto the silver screen, all the while facing extraordinary trials and twists of fate with an unwavering faith and unflagging spirit. Blondy Baruti’s boyhood in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was shaped by a desperate ordeal to survive. After marauding soldiers invaded his village, he, his mom, and his sister fled to the jungle and trekked countless miles to escape the atrocities and violence—only to encounter more unspeakable horrors at every turn. Their odyssey ended some sixteen months later when they finally reached safety—but Blondy’s journey had only just begun. In an amazing true story that seems more like fiction, we see Blondy overcome incredible odds—poverty, fever, hunger, betrayal—in pursuit of daring dreams that take him from his fight for survival in the Congolese jungle to a dazzling turn on an A-list red carpet after earning a role in the Marvel blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. In between are some incredible twists and turns: basketball dreams nurtured and squashed; a crooked cousin who breaks the inviolable bonds of family; and beneficent strangers who change everything. A powerful and timely tale of triumph over adversity, The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti will have you rooting for Blondy throughout his tale and leave you inspired on your own path to greatness.

Whistleblower

Whistleblower PDF Author: Susan Fowler
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525560149
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
“A powerful illustration of the obstacles our society continues to throw up in the paths of ambitious young women.” —The New York Times Book Review “Important . . . empowering.” —Gayle King, CBS This Morning "That [Fowler] became a whistle-blower and a pioneer of a social movement almost seems inevitable once you get to know her. Uber should have seen her coming.” —San Francisco Chronicle Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR Susan Fowler was just twenty-five years old when her blog post describing the sexual harassment and retaliation she'd experienced at Uber riveted the nation. Her post would eventually lead to the ousting of Uber's powerful CEO, but its ripples extended far beyond that, as her courageous choice to attach her name to the post inspired other women to speak publicly about their experiences. In the year that followed, an unprecedented number of women came forward, and Fowler was recognized by Time as one of the "Silence Breakers" who ignited the #MeToo movement. Here, she shares her full story: a story of extraordinary determination and resilience that reveals what it takes--and what it means--to be a whistleblower. Long before she arrived at Uber, Fowler's life had been defined by her refusal to accept her circumstances. She propelled herself from an impoverished childhood with little formal education to the Ivy League, and then to a coveted position at one of the most valuable companies in the history of Silicon Valley. Each time she was mistreated, she fought back or found a way to reinvent herself; all she wanted was the opportunity to define her own dreams and work to achieve them. But when she discovered Uber's pervasive culture of sexism, racism, harassment, and abuse, and that the company would do nothing about it, she knew she had to speak out—no matter what it cost her. Whistleblower takes us deep inside this shockingly toxic workplace and reveals new details about the aftermath of the blog post, in which Fowler was investigated and followed, hacked and threatened, to the point that she feared for her life. But even as it illuminates how the deck is stacked in favor of the status quo, Fowler's story serves as a crucial reminder that we can take our power back. Both moving personal narrative and rallying cry, Whistleblower urges us to be the heroes of our own stories, and to keep fighting for a more just and equitable world.

Transformed

Transformed PDF Author: Remi Adeleke
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0785219749
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
What would it take for one young Black man not only to rise above statistics but also become a Navy SEAL, actor, entrepreneur, writer, and successful husband and father? In Transformed, Remi Adeleke takes you back to stories from his childhood, from living as Nigerian royalty to losing his father early in life and being stripped financially of everything by the Nigerian government. Following his father’s death, he and his mother and brother relocated permanently to the Bronx where his single mother struggled to provide for the family. Statistics tell us that African American males who grow up in a single-parent household are nine times more likely to drop out of high school and twenty times more likely to end up in prison than any other demographic. While it would have been easy to believe that he could never beat those odds, Remi Adeleke refused to fall victim to that premise. Sharing his incredible journey through the struggles of his life, Remi doesn’t shy away from his illegal activities as a young man that threatened to derail his future as a Navy SEAL. He shares: How perseverance transformed his life despite all odds How taking ownership of his mistakes and shortcomings led him to success His hard-earned wisdom gained over years of struggle Belief that the adversities, trials, and tribulations he went through were specific moves by God At every turn, including throughout his naval career, Adeleke found a way to overcome the odds, even when it didn’t make sense. Remi Adeleke’s journey of following God’s voice, rising above statistics, and experiencing true personal transformation will inspire and move you.

Driven

Driven PDF Author: Charlie Brenneman
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781518752803
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
This is the story of Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman, an unassuming kid from rural Pennsylvania who ascended to the highest ranks of professional combat sports. Guided by strong family values and instincts honed by a lifetime of wrestling, "The Spaniard" is a complex mix of small town and bright lights. After landing his dream job in education, Charlie left to venture into the unknown world of professional mixed martial arts (MMA). As he imparts lessons from nearly a decade in the cage, "The Spaniard" brings you inside. What's it like fighting a world title contender on live national TV, igniting a Twitter storm with the toughest man on the planet, and starting a family along the way? How exactly do you go from being a Spanish teacher to a professional fighter? Step into the mind and life of a mixed martial artist who fights not only for money but for prizes far more lasting.