New Releases by David Brooks

Writing well, and persuasively, is not only a discipline that can be learned, it is one deeply rooted in the classical arts of rhetoric and polemic. This book introduces the essential skills, rules, and steps for producing effective political prose appropriate to many contexts, from the editorial, the op-ed, and the polemical essay to others both weighty and seemingly slight.

Diasporic Identities and Empire: Cultural Contentions and Literary Landscapes explores traditional theories on hybridity, generated in consideration of multicultural infusions, and at times profusions, of colonial migrations. Arguments on defining Englishness and the insinuations of a ‘fixed centre’ for the marginalised are now considered on a global scale as postmodernity defies imperial homogeneity. Although postcolonial studies have largely been Anglocentric and Western in focus, developments elsewhere have opened up theoretical applications on cultural shifters such as that of the diaspora. The Arabian world, the Caribbean, North and Latin America, Australia, and more recently, countries such as Ireland and Scotland, have emerged as regions confronted with comparable power struggles. Mass migration, exile, refugee reshuffling and diasporic repositioning provide neo-hermeneutics on the predicament of the global, which is undergoing major geopolitical and cultural transformation. This volume addresses how writing from the peripheries is developing a new worldview through diasporic modes of thought. By moving beyond the facile search for an imperial ‘centre,’ these contributions provide an understanding of the rupture in identity since there is a feeling of ‘being held back from a place or state we wish to reach . . .’ (Brooks). This volume is a unique collaboration by academic scholars from four different continents, and a vast number of regions, critically converging on the contemporaneous debate that problematizes the diasporic identity.

Ao longo dos séculos foram escritos milhões de livros sobre o sucesso e como ser bem sucedido. Porém, essas narrativas ocorrem normalmente à superfície dos hábitos sociais. David Brooks procurou através da história de um casal normal mostrar o lado mais íntimo e as explicações desconhecidas para o sucesso. Uma das descobertas centrais deste estudo é que somos mais do que fruto do nosso pensamento consciente. Somos, sobretudo, resultado do pensamento que decorre abaixo do nível da consciência.

Toute vie est un roman - mais quels sont les ressorts intimes de l'intrigue ? Selon David Brooks, trente ans de recherches scientifiques éclairent la question d'un jour nouveau : nous ne sommes ni des êtres rationnels, ni les jouets d'un inconscient de type freudien. Nous sommes avant tout des animaux sociaux, et cette réalité, inscrite au plus profond de nos êtres, dans nos cerveaux, explique notre façon d'évoluer dans l'existence. La science a enfin ouvert la boîte noire de notre esprit. Ses passionnantes découvertes, jusqu'ici confinées dans le cadre des publications savantes, bouleversent le champ de notre compréhension. Vulgarisateur de talent, David Brooks a su en tirer la trame d'une fiction : il nous livre, clés à l'appui, le récit de la vie de deux personnages, Erica et Harold, aussi différents qu'on peut l'être, qui finiront pourtant par bâtir ensemble leur vie et leur réussite. En décryptant leurs émotions, leurs intuitions, leurs désirs enfouis, ces lieux intimes où se forgent le caractère et la destinée, il brosse pour nous l'étonnant tableau de notre propre humanité.

N.°1 del New York Times. Una aventura intelectual conmovedora, un relato de logros y una defensa del progreso. Ésta es la historia de cómo se produce el éxito. Se cuenta a través de la vida de una pareja, Harold y Erica: cómo crecen, avanzan, retroceden, fracasan y triunfan. A partir de la gran cantidad de información que aporta sobre estos dos personajes, vívidamente descritos, Brooks ilustra un nuevo conocimiento fundamental de la naturaleza humana. Se ha producido una revolución científica, hemos aprendido más del cerebro humano en los últimos treinta años que en los trescientos anteriores. Resulta que la mente inconsciente es «la mayor parte» de la mente. Es el terreno de las emociones, las intuiciones, las tendencias, los deseos, las predisposiciones genéticas, los rasgos de la personalidad y las normas sociales, allí donde se forma el carácter y se toman las decisiones más importantes de la vida. Reseñas: «Provocador y fascinante... Brooks demuestra que lo que está más allá de nuestro control consciente es inmenso.» Philadelphia Enquirer « El animal social es autorizado, impresionantemente erudito y de gran alcance.» Newsweek

A woman and an older man meet by accident at a restaurant and find themselves dining together, during the course of which intimate stories, confessions, and questions arise.

Traditional Chinese edition of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by New York Times' columnist David Brooks. In Traditional Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Originally published as: Bobos in Paradise: the new upper class and how they got there, 2000; and: On Paradise Drive: how we live now (and always have) in the future tense, 2004.

The Sons of Clovis is a scholarly tour de force. It begins with the Ern Malley affair, establishing previously unrecognised connections between the Australian scene and French symboliste poetry, before embarking on a fascinating journey through literature, culture, and poetics.

In his bestselling work of “comic sociology,” David Brooks coins a new word, Bobo, to describe today’s upper class—those who have wed the bourgeois world of capitalist enterprise to the hippie values of the bohemian counterculture. Their hybrid lifestyle is the atmosphere we breathe, and in this witty and serious look at the cultural consequences of the information age, Brooks has defined a new generation. Do you believe that spending $15,000 on a media center is vulgar, but that spending $15,000 on a slate shower stall is a sign that you are at one with the Zenlike rhythms of nature? Do you work for one of those visionary software companies where people come to work wearing hiking boots and glacier glasses, as if a wall of ice were about to come sliding through the parking lot? If so, you might be a Bobo.

"The Balcony is a stunning follow-up to David Brooks long-awaited second collection of poems, Walking to Point Clear. His spare, existential lyrics arresting, candid, perceptive focus on language, new love and his enduring love of the coastal rainforests of southern New South Wales."--Provided by publisher.

Note: This book is available in several languages: Russian, Chinese, English. The ability to organise and measure performance is a key part of the implementation of IT Service Management processes. This publication contains practical information on the provision of useful and meaningful metrics, as well as how best to use them within an organisation, including generic principles (such as SMART and KISS), specific examples and templates for the use of each metricAll metrics discussed are directly related to process objectives, in order to help create a service-focused management system. This publication complements the ITIL, CobiT and ISO20000 service management principles. If you need to develop metrics for an IT environment, buy this book or hire a consultant who has read it G. Kieliszek, Healthcare CIO (Amazon) "This is more than a book, it's a practical, useable "A to Z" of IT Service Management Metrics! Peter Brooks (Author) has given us all a crystal clear view of a neglected, blurred piece of the IT Service Management puzzle. As a Principal ITSM Consultant working for Foster-Melliar in South Africa I am continuously disappointed by the many ITSM books produced that generally regurgitate what is already known by many in the industry. Metrics for IT Service Organisations provides a vast array of possible audiences something that many ITSM volumes do not, and this is a Practical, useable view of "How" to plan for, design, manage and improve the critical measures IT Service organisations require from both a strategic, tactical and operational perspective. I don't carry many books around with me, this one, I most certainly will!!" Ian Clark Principal ITSM Consultant Foster-Melliar "With all the focus on IT Governance and IT Business process management. It is easy to see why metric are becoming hugely important for the management of organisations. In reality however, getting the right set of metrics in place is by no means a simple exercise. Metrics for IT service organisations can be a great help. Using ITIL as the basis the book lists many useful examples of metrics. But what is more important, is that it gives us insight into to creation of "good" metrics and the dangers of "bad" metrics. " Emma Speakman IT BPM consultant SA/NL/UK "Looking for a comprehensive, in-depth exploration and explanation of what metrics to use in your ITSM journey? Then 'Metrics for IT Service Organizations' by Peter Brooks may be exactly what you're looking for. This (new) book not only covers what metrics need to be seriously considered, but explains the 'why' and 'how' behind selecting and defining them, pointing out along the way many of the dangers and pitfalls of selecting the wrong ones; or too many. If you tend to agree that 'what gets measured gets done', then applying the ideas in Peter's book will assist you in getting the right things done." Ken Wendle (FISM) previous President of the itSMF USA, works as a Senior Solution Architect for Hewlett Packard's OpenView Software division Given that itSMF is the source, readers of this book will naturally expect a 'best practices' view on metrics, and a highly practical reference text. More particularly, though, the special merit of the text is its carefulness in stressing that metrics must be both useful and meaningful, and that the meaning comes from the business perspective on IT management processes - a perspective always represented by a stated business objective. By encouraging readers to seriously commit to defining clear business objectives, the text aims the reader at measurement that avoids excess or irrelevance. Malcolm Ryder (CA Architect)

Animals at the lake are counted, from one sneaky snake to ten fireflies.

The author of the acclaimed bestseller Bobos in Paradise, which hilariously described the upscale American culture, takes a witty look at how being American shapes us, and how America's suburban civilization will shape the world's future. Take a look at Americans in their natural habitat. You see suburban guys at Home Depot doing that special manly, waddling walk that American men do in the presence of large amounts of lumber; super-efficient ubermoms who chair school auctions, organize the PTA, and weigh less than their children; workaholic corporate types boarding airplanes while talking on their cell phones in a sort of panic because they know that when the door closes they have to turn their precious phone off and it will be like somebody stepped on their trachea. Looking at all this, you might come to the conclusion that we Americans are not the most profound people on earth. Indeed, there are millions around the world who regard us as the great bimbos of the globe: hardworking and fun, but also materialistic and spiritually shallow. They've got a point. As you drive through the sprawling suburbs or eat in the suburban chain restaurants (which if they merged would be called Chili's Olive Garden Hard Rock Outback Cantina), questions do occur. Are we really as shallow as we look? Is there anything that unites us across the divides of politics, race, class, and geography? What does it mean to be American? Well, mentality matters, and sometimes mentality is all that matters. As diverse as we are, as complacent as we sometimes seem, Americans are united by a common mentality, which we have inherited from our ancestors and pass on, sometimes unreflectingly, to our kids. We are united by future-mindedness. We see the present from the vantage point of the future. We are tantalized, at every second of every day, by the awareness of grand possibilities ahead of us, by the bounty we can realize just over the next ridge. This mentality leads us to work feverishly hard, move more than any other people on earth, switch jobs, switch religions. It makes us anxious and optimistic, manic and discombobulating. Even in the superficiality of modern suburban life, there is some deeper impulse still throbbing in the heart of average Americans. That impulse is the subject of this book.

Takes you on a journey through Alice Springs or Mparntwe as it is called by the Arrente people. Stories from the Dreamtime with skyline drawings.

A reality-based textbook program that helps students learn the soft skills and real-life competencies that lead to success. Intertwines examples from the world of work with skills practice lessons. Students learn a variety of careers, write job-related documents, and reflect on important literature that is linked to good character.

A collection of short stories from one of Australia's finest writers.

A magical, dreamlike novel set in an apartment block in a French provincial town

A study of one of the most intense and formative periods of modern political history. The years 1899-1914 witnessed a fundamental challenge to many Victorian values and institutions: Free Trade, the new Poor Law, the House of Lords, the Irish Union - all were under attack, while organized labour and the feminist movement displayed an unprecedented assertiveness and aggression. Drawing on a variety of sources, this work examines what made these years the most politically turbulent between the Chartist era and today. It emphasizes the long shadow cast by the South African War, and the challenges to national identity posed by imperialism and by the Irish nationalist movement. Consideration is also given to the 1906 Liberal landslide victory and the way in which this aroused expectations that could not always be fulfilled. The author offers his own perspectives on the leading figures of the day - Chamberlain, Balfour, Lloyd George, Asquith and Churchill. While the emphasis of the book is on political thought, the author also sets his discussion within the broader context of social and economic change. This study is designed for A' level and undergraduate students of Edwardian history.