ace the coding interview with Python and JavaScript

The future of finance – the way Wall Street operates and how individuals manage their money - is on the verge of upheaval. And the force underlying the change comes not from usual suspects such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, but China, where finance and technology are being merged into a system with consequences that resonate far beyond China’s border. The changes of this global revolution in finance and technology - fintech - will be as powerful as those wrought in social media, retailing and advertising by giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, which have overturned how we shop and communicate.​China reinvented money with lightning speed, transforming a backward, antiquated cash-based finance system into one centered on super-apps created by technology giants Alibaba and Tencent. More powerful than anything available outside of China, they allow their billion users to pay, borrow, invest, buy goods and services, travel, chat (and far more) all fuse

A Slate writer tries to make sense of his own obsession with Michigan football--not to mention America, politics, racism, and the burning question of whether head coach Jim Harbaugh will keep his job.On the field, modern college football is as thrilling and competitive as ever. But almost everywhere else it has come untethered from reality.While it presents itself as a proud American tradition of amateur scholar-athletes competing at a high level, this premise gives way under the slightest scrutiny. NCAA football makes hundreds of millions of dollars for its coaches, universities, sponsors, and gamblers--and nothing for its players. It bounces from one scandal to another, with a major program -- or two or three -- seemingly always under investigation, in court, or in the glare of public scrutiny. And this is to say nothing of the bizarre 2020 season, in which the league cut itself nearly in half over the twin questions of covid-19 safety and the players' desire to protest against racis

The Cold War meets Mad Men in the form of Karel Koecher, a double agent whose shifting loyalties and over-the-top hedonism reverberated from New York to Moscow. In the mid-1970s, the CIA and KGB were both watching Karel Koecher closely―and they were both convinced he was working for the enemy. They were both right. Traveling with his wife, Hana, Koecher posed as a Czechoslovak asylum seeker and arrived in the US as a Communist sleeper agent. After parlaying a doctorate from Columbia into a job at the CIA, Koecher proceeded to operate as a double agent at the height of the Cold War. Shunning a low profile, the Koechers embraced Manhattan’s high life ― with cocaine, swinging and parties emblematic of the times and their penchant for risk. Hana, who was no more than a shy teenager when she arrived, grew into a sophisticated international diamond dealer that relayed messages to Karel’s handlers. Riding a wave of euphoria, the Koechers felt unstoppable. But it was too good to last. Using

Each federal employee takes an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic," but none had imagined that enemy might be the Commander-in-Chief. With the presidency of Donald Trump, a fault line between the president and vital forces within his government was established. Those who honored their oath of office, their obligation to the Constitution, were wary of the president and they in turn were not trusted and occasionally fired and replaced with loyalists. American Resistance is the first book to chronicle the unprecedented role so many in the government were forced to play and the consequences of their actions during the Trump administration. From Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his brother Yevgeny, to Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, to Bill Taylor, Fiona Hill, and the official who first called himself "Anonymous"-Miles Taylor, among others, Rothkopf examines the resistance movement that slowly built in Washington. Draw

The winners of the Nobel Prize show how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our day.Figuring out how to deal with today's critical economic pro

With our health care system both dysfunctional and constantly changing, how can doctors actually keep us healthy and safe? The spread of COVID-19 has brought the lives of doctors into sharper focus t

The ability to connect with another person and truly be in tune with their physical and emotional state is one of the most elusive interpersonal skills to develop. This book shows you how.In our fast-

Vivid character-driven narrative, fused with important new economic and political reporting and research, that busts the myths about middle class decline and points the way to its revival. For over a

Named a "must read" by Susan Cain, "endlessly fascinating" by Daniel Pink, and "bursting with practical insights" by Adam Grant.A former rocket scientist reveals the habits, ideas, and strategies that

The behind-the-scenes story of the rise and reign of the world's strangest and most elusive tyrant, Kim Jong Un, by the journalist with the best connections and insights into the bizarrely dangerous w

An investigation into the people who lead secret double lives--and why their loved ones don't catch on--drawing on the author's personal experience. From the day Abby Ellin went on her first date with

The newest generation of children is exposed to ubiquitous technology, more than any generation that preceded them. They are photographed with smartphones from the moment they're born, and begin int

Forget Type As and Bs. The future lies with Type Rs-- the individuals, leaders, businesses, families and communities that turn challenges into opportunity in times of upheaval, crisis and change. In t

The Empire Must Die portrays the vivid drama of Russia's brief and exotic experiment with civil society before it was swept away by the despotism of the Communist Revolution. The window between two

Shoshana Zuboff’s interdisciplinary breadth and depth enable her to come to grips with the social, political, business, and technological meaning of the changes taking place in our time. We are at a c

Barely forty years after the England's golden age under Elizabeth, the country was at war with itself, split between loyalty to the Crown and Parliament, with armies raised in Scotland and Ireland, an

With a death toll between fifty and one hundred million people across the globe, the Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. Nevertheless, it exists in our memory

In June 1944, Freda Wineman and her family were dropped off at Birkenau-one of the Nazis' largest and deadliest concentration camps. With the nod of an SS official's head, her life was spared. With an

As today’s business world becomes ever-more global and virtual, executives and managers are expected to work harmoniously together with counterparts from a broad array dramatically different cultures and backgrounds, often without leaving their desks. But when you throw people together who come from starkly different backgrounds and cultures? from Americans who precede anything negative with three nice comments to French, Dutch, Israelis and Germans who get straight to the point (?your presentation was simply awful”); from Latin Americans and Asians who are steeped in hierarchy to the Scandinavians who think the best boss is just one of the crowd? the result can sometimes be disastrous. Even with English as a global language, it’s easy to fall into cultural traps that endanger careers and sink deals.In The Culture Map, renowned expert Erin Meyer offers highly practical and timely perspective on one of today's most pressing business issues: how do different cultures influence the way to

Presents an overview of the history of England from the Saxons to today and provides lists of kings and queens with the date of they ruled, prime ministers, and one hundred key dates in the nation's h

In the past decade Pakistan has become a country of immense importance to its region, the United States, and the world. With almost 200 million people, a 500,000-man army, nuclear weapons, and a larg

In October 2006, Nicholas Stern, one of the greatest economists and public intellectuals of our day, made headlines around the world with his report, which reviewed the costs and benefits of dealing

Charles Duelfer is one of the most senior intelligence officers with on-the-ground experience to have worked in Iraq before, during, and after the Gulf War. His 2004 CIA report is widely renowned as

World War I did not end neatly with the Germans’ surrender. After a dramatic week of negotiations, military offensives, and the beginning of a Communist revolution, the German Imperial regime c

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world—and tells the inspiring stori

How America’s biggest company began taking better care of its workers--and why such efforts will never be enough.Fifteen years ago, Walmart was the most controversial company in America. By offering incredibly low prices, it had come to dominate the retail landscape. But with this dominance came a suite of ethical concerns. Walmart was accused of wiping out of mom-and-pop businesses across the country; ruthlessly pressuring suppliers to cut costs, even if it meant closing up U.S. factories and moving production overseas; and, above all, not taking adequate care of its own employees, who were paid so little that many wound up on public assistance. Today, while Walmart remains America's largest employer, the picture is very different. It has become an environmental leader among businesses, and has taken many other steps to use its immense scale to have a positive social impact. Most notably, its starting wage has risen from $7.25 to $12, and employee benefits have improved. With internal

The beloved author of The Revenge of Analog lays out a case for a human future--not the false technological utopia we've been living.For years, consumers have been promised a simple, carefree digital future. We could live, work, learn, and play from the comforts of our homes, and have whatever we desire brought to our door with the flick of a finger. Instant communication would bring us together. Technological convenience would give us more time to focus on what really mattered.When the pandemic hit, that future transformed into the present, almost overnight. And the reviews aren't great. It turns out that leaving the house is underrated, instant communication spreads anger better than joy, and convenience takes away time rather than giving it to us. Oops.But as David Sax argues in this insightful book, we've also had our eyes opened. There is nothing about the future that has to be digital, and embracing the reality of human experience doesn't mean resisting change. In chapters explor

From a long-time Alibaba executive and former special assistant to Jack Ma, this is the first book to articulate how Alibaba's unique culture and “tai chi” management principles are providing a business and economic development model for the rest of the world.If you took the economic might of Amazon, and added the penetration of Facebook, the ubiquity of Google, and the cultural significance of YouTube, you might have something starting to resemble Alibaba. Commonly mischaracterized as a kind of Chinese eBay for businesses, Alibaba and its interlinked network of products and services have exploded into global markets, disrupting conventional businesses and creating previously unimaginable opportunities for millions of small businesses worldwide. This book reveals the Tao of Alibaba―the company’s “secret sauce”―a consciously cultivated ethos and spirit that has enabled Alibaba to weather tough times (including its recent setbacks with the Chinese government) and persist toward a common

The Civil War may have ended on the battlefield, but the fight over democracy never did.In 1865, the Confederacy was comprehensively militarily defeated, its economy shattered, its leaders in exile or in jail. Yet in the years that followed, Lincoln’s vision of a genuinely united country never took root. Apart from a few brief months, when the presence of the Union army in the South proved liberating for newly freed Black Americans, the victory was squandered. Old white supremacist habits returned, more ferocious than before.In Civil War by Other Means, Jeremi Suri shows how resistance to a more equal Union began immediately. From the first postwar riots to the return of Confederate exiles to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson to the highly contested and consequential election of 1876, Suri explores the conflicts and questions Americans wrestled with as competing visions of democracy, race, and freedom came to a vicious breaking point. What emerges is a vivid, and at times unsettling, p

A new , important and pragmatic vision on what the job of the boss is in an age of lean/flat/agile organizations, self-organizing teams, and mass collaboration, .when bosses are expected to disappear, countering conventional wisdom of the media and management gurus.People in the business world are struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing economy. Beset by transformational forces, managers are bombarded with a bewildering array of schemes for how to be a boss and make an organization tick. t’s easy to be seduced by futurist fantasies where every company has the culture of a startup, where employees in wacky, whimsical office settings champion the end of old-fashioned corporate hierarchy. Autonomous employees liberated from hierarchies and bosses that oppress people, we are told, are the foundation for breakthrough performance. Be careful what you wish for say Nicolai Foss and Peter Klein. In their important rethinking of the crucial nature of hierarchy and how to be a boss today, they

In an era of deregulation when consumers have never been more vulnerable to corporate surveillance, unsafe food, and dangerously faulty products, the president and CEO of Consumer Reports gives us a playbook to put the power back in our hands.You've been getting ripped off. The rules that have protected consumers for decades are failing. Companies are spying on us. Many of the products we once trusted are dangerous and failing at alarming rates. Whether we are buying a crib, a small appliance, an iPhone app, or shopping for car insurance, it's become harder than ever to know whether the choices we make in the marketplace are putting us at risk-either from physical harm or the abuse of our personal data by hackers or corporations. This is intolerable. It's wrong. And we don't have to put up with it anymore. Marta L. Tellado, the president and CEO of Consumer Reports, has been an advocate for consumers for decades. In Buyer Aware, Tellado shows you the steps you can take to protect yours

A moving and inspiring memoir by Afghanistan's youngest female mayor and campaigner for human rights.I am one of the lucky ones.I got out of Afghanistan alive when the Taliban retook the country. Millions of others did not - they are now living under one of the world's most repressive regimes, with any progress that was made for women over the past twenty years being brutally reversed.Every day, I yearn for my motherland. Now it is my duty to make sure that the world knows what is happening to women there, and what we must do tochange things for them.Zarifa Ghafari was three years old when the Taliban banned girls from schools, and she began her education in secret. She was seven when American airstrikes began. She was twenty-six when she became mayor - the only female mayor in the country - of Maidan Wardak, Kabul. An extremist mob barred her from her office; her male staff walked out in protest; assassins tried to kill her six times. Finally, they killed their father. Ghafari stood h

An NPR education reporter shows how the last true social safety net-- the public school system--was decimated by the pandemic, and how years of short-sighted political decisions have failed to put our children first.School has long meant much more than an education in America. 30 million children depend on free school meals. Schools are, statistically, the safest physical places for children to be. They are the best chance many children have at finding basics like eye exams, safe housing, mental health counseling, or simply a caring adult. Flawed, inequitable, underfunded, and segregated, they remain the most important engine of social mobility and the crucible of our democracy.The cost of closing our schools for so long during COVID, made with good intentions, has not yet been fully reckoned with. In The Stolen Year, NPR education reporter Anya Kamenetz shows that the roots of our crisis run far deeper than COVID. She follows families across the country as they lived through the pande

Singer. Actress. Beauty. Spy. During WW2, Josephine Baker, the world's richest and most glamorous entertainer, was an Allied spy in Occupied France. This is the story of her heroic personal resistance to Nazi Germany.Prior to World War II, Josephine Baker was a music hall diva renowned for her singing and dancing, her beauty and sexuality; she was the most highly-paid female performer in Europe. When the Nazis seized her adopted city, Paris, she was banned from the stage, along with all ‘negroes and Jews’. Yet, instead of returning to America, she vowed to stay and to fight the Nazi evil. Overnight she went from performer to Resistance spy. In Agent Josephine best-selling author Damien Lewis uncovers this little known history of the famous singer's life. During the years of the war, as a member of the French Nurse paratroopers―a cover for her spying work―she participated in numerous clandestine activities and emerged as formidable spy. In turn, she was a hero of the three countries i

Leading experts in the cancer field, from doctors to policymakers to academics and more--reflect on the 50 years since Nixon declared the War on Cancer. In 1971, Richard Nixon signed into law a revelatory new program dedicated to cancer research and prevention. This legislation was an amendment to the Public Health Service Act of 1944 and represented the U.S. commitment to what President Nixon described as the "war on cancer," which had become the nation's second leading cause of death by 1970. Fifty years later, the leading experts have come together to reflect on how far this legislation has gone, its successes, failures and the road still ahead. Edited by Abbe Gluck, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy, and Dr. Charles Fuchs, Director of Yale Cancer Center, these essays span the various implications of cancer on American society; from groundbreaking research, important policies, law, philanthropy and more. With an introduction by Sid

A flight from London, bound for Kuala Lumpur, with 386 passengers and crew, was mysteriously assured it was safe to land and refuel in Kuwait. It wasnt. War had broken out. So why was Flight 149 sent

He escaped from one of the world's most brutal regimes. Then, he decided to tunnel back in.In the summer of 1962, a young student named Joachim Rudolph dug a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. Waiting on the other side in East Berlin were dozens of men, women, and children--all willing to risk everything to escape.From the award-winning creator of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 podcast, Tunnel 29 is the true story of this most remarkable Cold War rescue mission. Drawing on interviews with the survivors and Stasi files, Helena Merriman brilliantly reveals the stranger-than-fiction story of the ingenious group of student-diggers, the glamorous red-haired messenger, the Stasi spy who threatened the whole enterprise, and the love story that became its surprising epilogue.Tunnel 29 was also the first made-for-TV event of its kind; it was funded by NBC, who wanted to film an escape in real time. Their documentary--which was nearly blocked from airing by the Kennedy administration, which wanted to cont

A powerful investigation into a grisly killing that leads to an unravelling of the benign image of Rwanda, a country showered with Western aid while its leaders began a bloody killing spree of their p

From three top innovation experts at IMD Business School comes a smart new model for innovative thinking and problem solving.How do people come up with truly original ideas? For the past decade, the a

We in the West routinely ask: 'What does China want?' The answer is quite simple: the superpower status it always had, but briefly lost. In this colorful, informative story filled with fascinating cha