ENDED Book Giveaway - The Disappearing Spoon By Sam Kean

And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

The Periodic Table is one of man's crowning scientific achievements. But it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.

We learn that Marie Curie used to provoke jealousy in colleagues' wives when she'd invite them into closets to see her glow-in-the-dark experiments. And that Lewis and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country and their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the ground. Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?

From the Big Bang to the end of time, it's all in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON.

About the Author

Sam Kean is a writer in Washington, D.C. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Mental Floss, Slate, The Believer, Air & Space, Science, and The New Scientist. He is currently working as a reporter at Science magazine and as a 2009 Middlebury Environmental Journalism fellow.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
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• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• The drawing will last till August 7
• Random number generator will be used - 2 copies to give away
• I will post the winners here on August 8
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
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WINNERS - auriette, kdbstb

ENDED Book Giveaway - THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK By Peg Bracken

50th Anniversary Edition

"There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who don't cook out of and have NEVER cooked out of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK, and the other kind...The I HATE TO COOK people consist mainly of those who find other things more interesting and less fattening, and so they do it as seldom as possible. Today there is an Annual Culinary Olympics, with hundreds of cooks from many countries ardently competing. But we who hate to cook have had our own Olympics for years, seeing who can get out of the kitchen the fastest and stay out the longest."

- Peg Bracken

Philosopher's Chowder. Skinny Meatloaf. Fat Man's Shrimp. Immediate Fudge Cake. These are just a few of the beloved recipes from Peg Bracken's classic I HATE TO COOK BOOK. Written in a time when women were expected to have full, delicious meals on the table for their families every night, Peg Bracken offered women who didn't revel in this obligation an alternative: quick, simple meals that took minimal effort but would still satisfy.

50 years later, times have certainly changed - but the appeal of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK hasn't.

This book is for everyone, men and women alike, who wants to get from cooking hour to cocktail hour in as little time as possible.

Spread the word about the I Hate to Cook Book Facebook Page

Read an Excerpt

Meet Peg's daughter, Jo Bracken, by visiting her blog. 

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

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• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
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• The drawing will last till August 6
• Random number generator will be used - 2 copies to give away
• I will post the winners here on August 7
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
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WINNERS - adriegirl2, emdq

ENDED Audio Book Giveaway - The Lion By Nelson DeMille

John Corey, former NYPD Homicide detective and special agent for the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, is back on the trail of Asad Khalil, the notorious Libyan terrorist known as 'The Lion'. Corey and his partner, agent Kate Mayfield, tracked Khalil across the US after his threats to wipe out the US in a horrific wave of terrorism. But after methodically eliminating his victims one by one, Khalil disappeared without a trace. Now, years later, Khalil has returned to America to take care of unfinished business. 'The Lion' is a killing machine on a mission of revenge, and John Corey will not stop until he rids the earth of this tyrant once and for all.

About the Author

Nelson DeMille is the author of 15 previous novels. He lives on Long Island, New York.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

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• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 31
• I will post the winners here on August 1
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
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WINNERS - chrystaljns, mom1248,  fatally_flayed

ENDED Audio Book Giveaway - Private By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

The police can't help you

Former CIA agent Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily--and his staff of investigators uses the world's most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.

The press will destroy you

Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.

Only one place to turn: Private

But Jack doesn't have to play by the rules. As he closes in on the killer and chooses between revenge and justice, Morgan has to navigate a workplace love affair that threatens to blow the roof off his plans. With a plot that moves at death-defying speeds, Private is James Patterson sleekest, most exciting thriller ever. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1976, James Patterson's books have sold more than 170 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.

Mr. Patterson also writes the bestselling Women's Murder Club novels, set in San Francisco, and the top-selling New York detective series of all time, featuring Detective Michael Bennett. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Maxine Paetro is the author of three novels, two works of nonfiction, and the coauthor of seven books with James Patterson. She lives in New York with her husband.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
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• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 30
• I will post the winners here on July 31
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
• Extra entry - Become a follower

WINNERS - willitara, petsandthepeople, Luvdaylilies

ENDED Audio Book Giveaway - Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Objective by Eric Van Lustbader

After Bourne is ambushed and nearly killed while in Indonesia, he fakes his death to take on a new identity and mission- to find out who is trying to assassinate him. In the process, Bourne begins to question who he really is and what he would become if he no longer carried the Bourne identity. Across the globe, an American passenger airliner is shot down over Egypt-apparently by an Iranian missile-leaving the world wondering if it was an accident or an act of aggression. A massive global team lead by Soraya Moore is assembled to investigate the attack before the situation escalates.

When Bourne's search for his would-be assassin intersects with Soraya's search for the group behind the airplane bombing, Bourne is thrust into a race to prevent a new world war. But it may already be too late.

About the Author

ROBERT LUDLUM was the author of twenty-one novels, each one a New York Times bestseller. There are more than 210 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into thirty-two languages. He is the author of The Scarlatti Inheritance, The Chancellor Manuscript, and the Jason Bourne series--The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum--among others. Mr. Ludlum passed away in March, 2001. http://www.ludlumbooks.com/

ERIC VAN LUSTBADER is most widely known as the New York Times bestselling author of twenty international bestselling thrillers including Ninja and Black Heart. He is also the author of two successful and highly regarded series of fantasy novels, The Sunset Warrior Cycle and The Pearl Saga. His novels have been translated into over twenty languages. http://www.ericvanlustbader.com/

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
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• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 24
• I will post the winners here on July 25
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
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WINNERS - sallstun, mrs.newbill, megalon22

ENDED Audio Book Giveaway - The Broom of the System By David Foster Wallace

The "dazzling, exhilarating" (San Francisco Chronicle) debut novel from the bestselling author of Infinite Jest, available for the first time as an audiobook.

At the center of The Broom of the System is the betwitching (and also bewildered) heroine, Lenore Stonecipher Beadsman. The year is 1990 and the place is a slightly altered Cleveland, Ohio, which sits on the edge of a suburban wasteland-the Great Ohio Desert. Lenore works as a switchboard attendant at a publishing firm, and in addition to her mind-numbing job, she has a few other problems. Her great-grandmother, a one-time student of Wittgenstein, has disappeared with twenty-five other inmates of the Shaker Heights Nursing Home. Her beau (and boss), editor-in-chief Rick Vigorous, is insanely jealous. And her cockatiel, Vlad the Impaler, has suddenly started spouting a mixture of psychobabble, Auden, and the King James Bible, which may propel him to stardom on a Christian fundamentalist television program.

Fiercely intelligent and entertaining, this debut novel from one of the most innovative writers of our generation explores the paradoxes of language, storytelling, and reality.

About the Author

David Foster Wallace is the award-winning author of several short story and essay collections as well as two novels. Most recently, he is the author of the biography Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
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• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 23
• I will post the winners here on July 24
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
• Extra entry - Become a follower

WINNERS - lunabutterfly79, slawoszewski, EEscripts

ENDED Audio Book Giveaway - Hitch-22 By Christopher Hitchens

Over the course of his 60 years, Christopher Hitchens has been a citizen of both the United States and the United Kingdom. He has been both a socialist opposed to the war in Vietnam and a supporter of the U.S. war against Islamic extremism in Iraq. He has been both a foreign correspondent in some of the world's most dangerous places and a legendary bon vivant with an unquenchable thirst for alcohol and literature. He is a fervent atheist, raised as a Christian, by a mother whose Jewish heritage was not revealed to him until her suicide.

In other words, Christopher Hitchens contains multitudes. He sees all sides of an argument. And he believes the personal is political.

About the Author

Christopher Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School. He is the author of numerous books, including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Orwell, Mother Teresa, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger, and his #1 New York Times bestseller and National Book Award nominee, God Is Not Great.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
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• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 17
• I will post the winners here on July 18
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
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WINNERS - kakihararocks, jsutton.colorado , jason

ENDED Audio Book Giveaway - When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead By Jerry Weintraub, Rich Cohen

Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars. No matter where nature has placed him--the club rooms of Brooklyn, the Mafia dives of New York's Lower East Side, the wilds of Alaska, or the hills of Hollywood--he has found a way to put on a show and sell tickets at the door. "All life was a theater and I wanted to put it up on a stage," he writes. "I wanted to set the world under a marquee that read: 'Jerry Weintraub Presents.'"

In WHEN I STOP TALKING, YOU'LL KNOW I'M DEAD, we follow Weintraub from his first great success at age twenty-six with Elvis Presley, whom he took on the road with the help of Colonel Tom Parker; to the immortal days with Sinatra and Rat Pack glory; to his crowning hits as a movie producer, starting with Robert Altman and Nashville, continuing with Oh, God!, The Karate Kid movies, and Diner, among others, and summiting with Steven Soderbergh and Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen.

Along the way, we'll watch as Jerry moves from the poker tables of Palm Springs (the games went on for days), to the power rooms of Hollywood, to the halls of the White House, to Red Square in Moscow and the Great Palace in Beijing-all the while counseling potentates, poets, and kings, with clients and confidants like George Clooney, Bruce Willis, George H. W. Bush, Armand Hammer, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, John Denver, Bobby Fischer ... well, the list goes on forever.

And of course, the story is not yet over . . .as the old-timers say, "The best is yet to come."

As Weintraub says, "When I stop talking, you'll know I'm dead."

With wit, wisdom, and the cool confidence that has colored his remarkable career, Jerry chronicles a quintessentially American journey, one marked by luck, love, and improvisation. The stories he tells and the lessons we learn are essential, not just for those who love movies and music, but for businessmen, entrepreneurs, artists . . . everyone.

About the Author
Jerry Weintraub has spent more than five decades in show business, in the process earning a reputation as one of the savviest negotiators, smartest producers, and shrewdest film investors of our time. He has been praised and honored for his philanthropic work and, as UNICEF's Man of the Year, was presented the organization's Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award.

Rich Cohen, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, is the author of five books, including the bestsellers Tough Jews, The Avengers, and Israel Is Real. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, his dog, and many masculine children.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
• Be sure to leave your e-mail if you don't have a blogger ID. Bloggers - you must have a public profile and listed e-mail to find you
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 16
• I will post the winners here on July 17
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
• Extra entry - Become a follower

WINNERS - trippyjanet, teechbiz, cdmarteny

ENDED Book Giveaway - Wrong By David H. Freedman

Why experts* keep failing us--and how to know when not to trust them *Scientists, finance wizards, doctors, relationship gurus, celebrity CEOs, high-powered consultants, health officials and more

Our investments are devastated, obesity is epidemic, test scores are in decline, blue-chip companies circle the drain, and popular medications turn out to be ineffective and even dangerous. What happened? Didn't we listen to the scientists, economists and other experts who promised us that if we followed their advice all would be well?

Actually, those experts are a big reason we're in this mess. And, according to acclaimed business and science writer David H. Freedman, such expert counsel usually turns out to be wrong--often wildly so. Wrong reveals the dangerously distorted ways experts come up with their advice, and why the most heavily flawed conclusions end up getting the most attention-all the more so in the online era. But there's hope: Wrong spells out the means by which every individual and organization can do a better job of unearthing the crucial bits of right within a vast avalanche of misleading pronouncements.

About the Author

David H. Freedman is a contributing editor and columnist at Inc. magazine. He is a contributor to Newsweek, and has written on science, technology, and business for The Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Science, The Harvard Business Review, Wired, and many other publications. He was the co-author of A Perfect Mess (Little, Brown, 2006). Freedman lives in Massachusetts.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
• Be sure to leave your e-mail if you don't have a blogger ID. Bloggers - you must have a public profile and listed e-mail to find you
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 10
• I will post the winners here on July 11
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
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WINNERS - twoofakind12, vidomich, nfmgirl

ENDED Book Giveaway - Delivering Happiness By Tony Hsieh

A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

The visionary CEO of Zappos explains how an emphasis on corporate culture can lead to unprecedented success.

Pay new employees $2000 to quit. Make customer service the entire company, not just a department. Focus on company culture as the #1 priority. Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business. Help employees grow both personally and professionally. Seek to change the world. Oh, and make money too.

Sound crazy? It's all standard operating procedure at Zappos.com, the online retailer that's doing over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales every year.

In 1999, Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay) sold LinkExchange, the company he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an adviser and investor, and eventually became CEO.

In 2009, Zappos was listed as one of Fortune magazine's top 25 companies to work for, and was acquired by Amazon later that year in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of closing.

In his first book, Tony shares the different business lessons he learned in life, from a lemonade stand and pizza business through LinkExchange, Zappos, and more. Ultimately, he shows how using happiness as a framework can produce profits, passion, and purpose both in business and in life. (edited by author)

About the Author

Tony Hsieh became involved with Zappos as an advisor and investor in 1999, about two months after the company was founded. He eventually joined Zappos full time in 2000.

Under his leadership, Zappos has grown gross merchandise sales from $1.6M in 2000 to over $1 billion in 2008 by focusing relentlessly on customer service.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
• Be sure to leave your e-mail if you don't have a blogger ID. Bloggers - you must have a public profile and listed e-mail to find you
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 9
• I will post the winners here on July 10
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
• Extra entry - Become a follower

WINNERS - susansmoaks,  mtakala1, TBD

ENDED Book Giveaway - Oil By Tom Bower

Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century

A groundbreaking, in-depth, and authoritative twenty-year history of the hunt and speculation for our most vital natural resource.

OIL

Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century

Twenty years ago oil cost about $7 a barrel. In 2008 the price soared to $148 and then fell to below $40. In the midst of this extraordinary volatility, the major oil conglomerates still spent over a trillion dollars in an increasingly frantic search for more.

The story of oil is a story of high stakes and extreme risk. It is the story of the crushing rivalries between men and women exploring for oil five miles beneath the sea, battling for control of the world's biggest corporations, and gambling billions of dollars twenty-four hours every day on oil's prices. It is the story of corporate chieftains in Dallas and London, traders in New York, oil-oligarchs in Moscow, and globe-trotting politicians-all maneuvering for power.

With the world as his canvas, acclaimed investigative reporter Tom Bower gathers unprecedented firsthand information from hundreds of sources to give readers the definitive, untold modern history of oil . . . the ultimate story of arrogance, intrigue, and greed.

About the Author
Tom Bower has a distinguished reputation as an investigative historian, broadcaster and journalist, and is the author of several ground-breaking books about tycoons, politicians, intelligence and post-war Europe.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
• Be sure to leave your e-mail if you don't have a blogger ID. Bloggers - you must have a public profile and listed e-mail to find you
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 4
• I will post the winners here on July 5
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
• Extra entry - Become a follower

WINNERS - Annerszz101, mochfly, mycosyco

ENDED Book Giveaway - The Age of the Unthinkable By Joshua Cooper Ramo

Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us And What We Can Do About It

Today the very ideas that made America great imperil its future. Our plans go awry and policies fail. History's grandest war against terrorism creates more terrorists. Global capitalism, intended to improve lives, increases the gap between rich and poor. Decisions made to stem a financial crisis guarantee its worsening. Environmental strategies to protect species lead to their extinction.

The traditional physics of power has been replaced by something radically different. In The Age of the Unthinkable, Joshua Cooper Ramo puts forth a revelatory new model for understanding our dangerously unpredictable world. Drawing upon history, economics, complexity theory, psychology, immunology, and the science of networks, he describes a new landscape of inherent unpredictability--and remarkable, wonderful possibility.

About the Author
Joshua Cooper Ramo is Managing Director and a partner at Kissinger Associates, one of the world's leading strategic advisory firms. Prior to joining Kissinger Associates, he was Assistant Managing Editor of Time and worked in the advisory and banking business in China.

Thanks to Hachette for this giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - Please comment on why you want this book
• Be sure to leave your e-mail if you don't have a blogger ID. Bloggers - you must have a public profile and listed e-mail to find you
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please NO PO Boxes!!!
• Random number generator will be used - 3 copies to give away
• The drawing will last till July 3
• I will post the winners here on July 4
• Winners have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected
• Extra entry - Become a follower

WINNERS - ky2here, kangabunnie, jayfr