Built To Last

Looks at the design and construction of seventeen architectural and engineering marvels in the United States, including ... (more)

Looks at the design and construction of seventeen architectural and engineering marvels in the United States, including the Erie Canal, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building and more. (less)

Reveals the how and why behind some of the most fascinating and enduring structures humankind has ever created. (more)

Reveals the how and why behind some of the most fascinating and enduring structures humankind has ever created. (less)

In the epic conclusion to the BKI series, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Ann Walker delivers her ... (more)

In the epic conclusion to the BKI series, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Ann Walker delivers her biggest bombshell yet! Welcome to Black Knights Inc. What appears to be a tricked-out motorcycle shop on the North Side of Chicago is actually headquarters for the world's most elite covert operatives. Deadly, dangerous, and determined, they'll steal your breath and your heart. After a mission-gone-sideways forces Jamin "Angel" Agassi to change his identity, he's determined to bring down the world's worst crime syndicate kingpin once and for all. That's going to be the easy part. Keeping Interpol agent Sonya Butler from discovering who he really is-and blazing another trail into his heart-is the challenge. (less)

"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary product... (more)

"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time. Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies -- they have an average age of nearly one hundred years and have outperformed the general stock market by a factor of fifteen since 1926 -- and studied each company in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from other companies?" What separates General Electric, 3M, Merck, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, and Philip Morris from their rivals? How, for example, did Procter & Gamble, which began life substantially behind rival Colgate, eventually prevail as the premier institution in its industry? How was Motorola able to move from a humble battery repair business into integrated circuits and cellular communications, while Zenith never became dominant in anything other than TVs? How did Boeing unseat McDonnell Douglas as the world's best commercial aircraft company -- what did Boeing have that McDonnell Douglas lacked? By answering such questions, Collins and Porras go beyond the incessant barrage of management buzzwords and fads of the day to discover timeless qualities that have consistently distinguished out-standing companies. They also provide inspiration to all executives and entrepreneurs by destroying the false but widely accepted idea that only charismatic visionary leaders can build visionary companies. Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the twenty-first century and beyond. (less)

(more)

Masterful, mysterious, and completely ruthless, Jamin Angel Agassi joined the Black Knights Inc. after a mission-gone-wr... (more)

Masterful, mysterious, and completely ruthless, Jamin Angel Agassi joined the Black Knights Inc. after a mission-gone-wrong forced him to undergo extensive plastic surgery and change his name. He's going to bring down the world's worst crime syndicate-and hopefully keep Sonya Butler, a love from his past, from discovering who he really is... When a dark-eyed stranger gets caught up in Sonya's latest mission, she starts to question all her hard-won instincts. Something about Angel tells her he's more than he seems, and sometimes, when she least expects it, he reminds her of a man she used to know. As the bullets fly, she realizes that in love and war nothing is ever what it seems... (less)

After a failed mission, Jamin "Angel" Agassi changes his identity but continues to pursue a crime syndicate kingpin. Mea... (more)

After a failed mission, Jamin "Angel" Agassi changes his identity but continues to pursue a crime syndicate kingpin. Meanwhile, Interpol agent Sonya Butler is hot on his trail and dangerously close to figuring out who he really is. (less)