Most Popular Books by Michael Williams

Keep Putting One Foot in Front of the Other Have you ever felt like giving up? Many of us experience struggle, pain, and loss, and it can be hard to know what to do next. Yet when we are confronted with obstacles or hardship, God is there with us and will provide us with a way forward. We must simply take the first step. In The Long Road to Blessed, author Michael Williams shares the unbelievable roller coaster of events that shaped his life. While struggling to find his place in a confusing world, he made many mistakes and suffered many losses. Yet he overcome tremendous adversity to raise his family in a better way than he was taught. Even in our most difficult moments, God is there for us, and he often uses what we have been through to help others learn from our experiences. Hardships can break us if we allow it, but when we find something positive and rewarding to invest our time into, we can have faith and the determination to stay true to ourselves and to the plan that God has set out in our lives. Every great journey begins with one step forward.

This book reveals the key skills needed by any leader in any type of business and shows how they can be used in practice, focusing on techniques for improving individual and organizational performance and enabling mid- to senior-level managers to understand their own leadership style. It provides guidance on how to develop a learning organization and how to be a successful mentor. It will be perfect for newly appointed managers looking for an expert but user-friendly introduction to this crucial role; departmental managers across the functions--i.e. finance, HR, production, marketing--who need to develop key skills outside their own area of expertise; in-company training courses; and business degree and MBA courses.

Since humans first appeared on the earth, we''ve been cutting down trees for fuel and shelter. Indeed, the thinning, changing, and wholesale clearing of forests are among the most important ways humans have transformed the global environment. With the onset of industrialization and colonization the process has accelerated, as agriculture, metal smelting, trade, war, territorial expansion, and even cultural aversion to forests have all taken their toll. Michael Williams surveys ten thousand years of history to trace how, why, and when human-induced deforestation has shaped economies, societies, and landscapes around the world. Beginning with the return of the forests to Europe, North America, and the tropics after the Ice Ages, Williams traces the impact of human-set fires for gathering and hunting, land clearing for agriculture, and other activities from the Paleolithic through the classical world and the Middle Ages. He then continues the story from the 1500s to the early 1900s, focusing on forest clearing both within Europe and by European imperialists and industrialists abroad, in such places as the New World and India, China, Japan, and Latin America. Finally, he covers the present-day and alarming escalation of deforestation, with the ever-increasing human population placing a possibly unsupportable burden on the world''s forests. Accessible and nonsensationalist, Deforesting the Earth provides the historical and geographical background we need for a deeper understanding of deforestation''s tremendous impact on the environment and the people who inhabit it.

The world’s least promising knight gets his first taste of high-stakes adventure in this rollicking and fantastical Dragonlance tale Weasel''s luck was not always good . . . Galen Pathwarden, known as "the Weasel", would give anything to stay clear of adventure, danger, or heroism. Cowardly, deceitful, and hardly noble—and mired in a backwater castle far from any action—he bickers with his siblings and schemes against his elders. But one fateful night, Galen’s dreary life is turned upside down when a sinister visitor arrives bearing gold, unspeakable magic, and a centuries’ old curse. The encounter launches Galen on a bizarre quest into swamp and forest, headed toward a mythical fortress. With the great Solamnic Knight, Sir Bayard Brightblade, and a none-too-bright centaur named Agion at his side, Galen must overcome the schemes and traps of a sinister illusionist known only as the Scorpion.

My new book, Within the Depths of Life in the Raw at Its Essence . . . is an original, intricate, deep, insightful, vivid, truthful, and optimistic journey through life, through history, through the inner self that is you at its rawest essence. This book contains quotes that are relatable and positive, and they universally connect and reflect our inner prana, which is energy that elevates humanity to a higher level of third-eye mental consciousness.

Galileo Nodding a head without a hair As if Truth at last was found He went to and fro in a rocking chair And the world went round and round Lines of Flight is a collection of lyrical poems, ranging from the compassionate and philosophical to the emotional and funny. Each poem has its own rhythms: the spacing between the words adds to the overall meaning both on the page and when read aloud. You cannot walk round the poems, like a piece of sculpture, nor can you walk away from them. They come into existence as poems precisely at the point of communicating with the reader. The themes of birds and flight form a leitmotif throughout the collection. The image of a bird in flight also has symbolic associations – it is an existential moment in time and space, which has affinities with our own experience at any point in the trajectory of our lives. Michael Williams is also an artist and has work in public and private collections in London, New York and Paris, and his artist’s eye is reflected in his poetry. As a result, Lines of Flight is a sensitive and inspired collection that affirms the importance of beauty and love. It will appeal to those looking to appreciate the world around them.

... This book provides step-by-step instruction for implementing a narrative-based approach as an alternative to traditional discipline strategies.

The How to Read the Bible Pack, Second Edition includes six books from six leading biblical scholars in one pack that will help you understand the Bible more clearly and get the most out of your Bible-reading experience.

Eastern Sevier County rests in the toursity foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park but also boasts a colorful history of its own. Eastern Sevier County is home to the small communities of Foxfire Mountain, Pittman Center, Jones Cove, Richardson''s Cove, Locust Ridge, and Pearl Valley. Foxfire Mountain is best known today for the adventure park and agri-tourist destination brought to life by the Postlewaite family, yet it also boasts a colorful history that includes Benjamin Owens, a judge notorious for hanging convicts from an oak tree on his property. Locust Ridge is the birthplace of country music legend Dolly Parton, and it has been reported that her father compensated the attending physician who delivered Dolly with a bag of cornmeal. Pittman Center, originally a Cherokee hunting ground, is now the largest community in this portion of the county. Strangely, the town is named for Dr. Eli Pittman of New York, who assisted local minister John Burnett with fundraising to build a school to serve the area. Pittman Center is now a favorite destination for those enjoying the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

New York Times–bestselling series: Discover the backstory of Sturm Brightblade, the noble Solamnic Knight and future Hero of the Lance Although twins Raistlin and Caramon Majere urge him not to go, Sturm Brightblade attends an annual Solamnic ceremony that is interrupted by a stranger who offers a taunting challenge and clues from the past. He speaks of death . . . Once young Sturm accepts a mysterious gauntlet, he must undertake a dangerous journey with some curious friends, rescue a fair if querulous maid, defeat a traitor knight, and learn the secret fate of his long-lost father. And most important of all, he must learn the true meaning of honor.

Just down the road from their families, Deo and his friends play soccer in the dusty fields of Zimbabwe, cheered on by Deo''s older brother, Innocent. It is a day like any other... until the soldiers arrive and Deo and Innocent are forced to run for their lives, fleeing the wreckage of their village for the distant promise of safe haven in South Africa. Along the way, they face the prejudice and poverty that greet refugees everywhere, but eventually Deo finds hope, joining dozens of other homeless, displaced teens on the World Cup Street Soccer team--a possible ticket out of extreme hardship to a new life. Captivating and timely, Now Is the Time for Running is a staggering story of survival that follows Deo and his brother on a transformative journey that will stay with readers long after the last page.

A rich novel about a young man from Soweto, whose life changes dramatically when he joins the cast of a musical that travels to Broadway.

My father says that a journey should always change your life in some way. Well, when you have nothing, I suppose a journey promises everything. "Diamonds for everyone." That''s what fifteen-year-old Patson Moyo hears when his family arrives in the Marange diamond fields. Soon Patson is working in the mines along with four friends, pooling their profits for a chance at a better life. Each of them hopes to find a girazi, a priceless stone that could change their circumstances forever. But when the government''s soldiers come to Marange, Patson''s world is shattered. Set against the backdrop of Zimbabwe''s brutal recent history, Diamond Boy is the story of a young man who succumbs to greed but finds his way out through a transformative journey to South Africa in search of his missing sister, in search of freedom, and in search of himself. A high-stakes, harrowing adventure in the blood-diamond fields of southern Africa, from the critically acclaimed author of Now Is the Time for Running.

Inspired by the work of Wilfrid Sellars, Michael Williams launches an all-out attack on what he calls "phenomenalism," the idea that our knowledge of the world rests on a perceptual or experiential foundation. The point of this wider-than-normal usage of the term "phenomenalism," according to which even some forms of direct realism deserve to be called phenomenalistic, is to call attention to important continuities of thought between theories often thought to be competitors. Williams''s target is not phenomenalism in its classical sense-datum and reductionist form but empiricism generally. Williams examines and rejects the idea that, unless our beliefs are answerable to a "given" element in experience, objective knowledge will be impossible. Groundless Belief was first published in 1977. This second edition contains a new afterword in which Williams places his arguments in the context of some current discussions of coherentism versus the Myth of the Given and explains their relation to subsequent developments in his own epistemological views.

The world’s most reluctant knight, Galen Pathwarden, returns for another misadventure in this exciting sequel to Weasel’s Luck Becoming a knight has changed the Weasel very little. Galen Pathwarden is still wary of seeking adventure—and still out to save his own skin at virtually any cost. But when his brother Brithelm vanishes mysteriously, Galen sets aside his better judgment and embarks on a quest that leads him under the earth, deep into a conspiracy of darkness, and to the very end of his courage. Once more, this reluctant knight returns to the imperiled nation of Solamnia, where he will learn if he has what it takes to be a true hero.

A ground-breaking book based on extensive research which challenges accepted ''norms'' and establishes the seven key competencies required for successful leadership today.

Dr Williams begins by exploring the role of the forest in American culture: the symbols, themes, and concepts - for example, pioneer woodsman, lumberjack, wilderness - generated by contact with the vast land of trees. He considers the Indian use of the forest, describing the ways in which native tribes altered it, primarily through fire, to promote a subsistence economy.

In Unnatural Doubts, Michael Williams constructs a masterly polemic against the very idea of epistemology, as traditionally conceived. Although philosophers have often found problems in efforts to study the nature and limits of human knowledge, Williams provides the first book that systematically argues against there being such a thing as knowledge of the external world. He maintains that knowledge of the world consitutes a theoretically coherent kind of knowledge, whose possibility needs to be defended, only given a deeply problematic doctrine he calls "epistemological realism." The only alternative to epistemological realism is a thoroughgoing contextualism.

This book is structured as a step-by-step course of study along the lines of a VLSI integrated circuit design project. The entire Verilog language is presented, from the basics to everything necessary for synthesis of an entire 70,000 transistor, full-duplex serializer-deserializer, including synthesizable PLLs. The author includes everything an engineer needs for in-depth understanding of the Verilog language: Syntax, synthesis semantics, simulation and test. Complete solutions for the 27 labs are provided in the downloadable files that accompany the book. For readers with access to appropriate electronic design tools, all solutions can be developed, simulated, and synthesized as described in the book. A partial list of design topics includes design partitioning, hierarchy decomposition, safe coding styles, back annotation, wrapper modules, concurrency, race conditions, assertion-based verification, clock synchronization, and design for test. A concluding presentation of special topics includes System Verilog and Verilog-AMS.

A no-nonsense guide to establishing a personal meditation practice, changing your life, and taking hold of your dreams. CONFESSION: This is not really a meditation book. Yes, you’re going to learn everything you need to know about meditation, but if you came looking for a typical guide to mindfulness, you’re in the wrong place. We are modern people in a high-tech world. We have first world problems and long to-do lists. And if you grew up in struggle—overcoming homophobia, sexism, trauma, shame, depression, poverty, toxic masculinity, racism, or social injustice—you need a different type of meditation ... one that doesn’t pretend the struggle doesn’t exist. Here you will discover: ● How to actually find stillness when your mind is going crazy ● Why most guided meditations get boring after a while ● What nobody tells you about “setting intentions” and the scientific process to manifesting ● Four hidden habits that sabotage your growth—and how to move past them ● Proven techniques to overcome anxiety, stress, and trouble sleeping ● Daily rituals that cement and enrich your practice ● How to use mindfulness to take action toward the causes you believe in and get sh!t done Whether you’ve tried meditation but it never sticks, or you’ve heard about it but never gave it a shot, Justin Michael Williams guides you step by step in creating a custom meditation ritual that fits in with your busy (and sometimes messy!) modern life. With free downloadable audio meditations every step of the way, Stay Woke gives people of all genders, identities, colors, religions, ages, and economic backgrounds the tools to stop wasting time, overcome self-doubt, and wake up to the lives we were really born to live.

About the Author Dr. James Michael Williams has worked with children for almost two decades. He has served as a general education and special education classroom teacher and as an administrator in the public school educational system. His passion has always been to help students who struggle to learn or fit in socially. He hopes that the Beaks Family series books will help children understand their feelings are normal and give them the coping skills to help them succeed in school and life. Join the Beaks family adventures at www.babybeaksinc.com! About the Illustrator Mrs. Susie Seubert has a career in finance and accounting but during the COVID epidemic, she decided to take the time to learn to draw. She hopes others realize you are never too old to achieve your dreams.

Despite his considerable physical decline, Caramon undertakes a quest to save Raistlin from evil. Can Caramon even hope to save his twin brother? At the same time, the beautiful cleric Crysania has undergone a mission to redeem Raistin. Will she meet success or be drawn into evil as well? Can a reunion of the Companions be far behind?

One of Inc.com''s 6 New Leadership Books You Need to Read This Fall “Daring . . . This visionary guide calls for a new form of advocacy that is both radically ambitious and practical.” ―Inc. A Next Big Idea Club “Must Read” “It’s the year 2050... and racism has ended.” Could this really be our future? If so, what has to happen now to achieve such a radical change? In How We Ended Racism, Justin Michael Williams and Shelly Tygielski reveal a path for real and lasting global impact—not just talking about it, studying it, or making small steps, but actually ending racism in one generation. Williams and Tygielski draw from a wide array of scientific studies, as well as their practical successes in teaching a multitude of diverse groups across perceived “divides,” to show us how to shift our perspective and enact lasting change in our families, workplaces, communities, and beyond. Here they provide solid answers to the questions future generations will ask about this pivotal time in history, by laying out the eight conditions that needed to arise in humanity to realize this possibility, covering: • How was it possible? The research on large-scale social change that showed racism could end • What were the first steps? Overcoming doubt, owning our emotions, and committing to truth • What were the biggest challenges? Shadow work, big conversations, and forgiveness • Which tools actually worked? The field-tested methods that allowed us to heal and connect • Who ended racism? How we—each of us—helped our culture evolve to make racism a thing of the past “You don’t fix racism,” say the authors. “You don’t fight it. You don’t make it better. You end it. We learned how to bridge any political or ideological divide—inviting liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between to cocreate a future worth fighting for.” Here is a guide that dares to envision a world beyond typical diversity, equity, and inclusion work while providing tools and action steps to create a liberated future—so that our descendants can look back at this era as the time when we decided to end racism for the good of all.

Primed for a battle between good and evil, Raistlin, the corrupted mage, returns to the Dragonlance series along with a new generation of characters, the inheritors of the fabled Heroes of the Lance. 175,000 first printing.