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So you want to produce a short film. Or design a new line of jewelry. Or manufacture a revolutionary solar-powered garden sprinkler. There’s just one catch: You need $100,000 to bankroll your dream, and your checking account has barely enough to cover the rent.
 
Enter Kickstarter.com—the phenomenal “crowdfunding” website launched in 2009 that brings venture capital to the masses. At Kickstarter, it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to raise $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or more. All you need is a great idea—and The Kickstarter Handbook.
 
Business journliast Don Steinberg has interviewed dozens of artists and inventors who launched their passion projects online. Through their voices, you’ll explore all the strategies of a successful Kickstarter campaign. You’ll learn the elements of a compelling Kickstarter video, innovative ways to market your projects, tips for getting donors onboard, and the secrets of irresistible Kickstarter “rewards.” You’ll also discover what to do in a best-case scenario—when your project goes viral and the cash starts flowing in. On Kickstarter, it happens to a few lucky visionaries every week. Here’s how to be one of them.

An entertaining and essential collection of stories about the surprising and strange fates of the thirty-nine statesmen who created the U.S. Constitution.
 
Now in paperback with a brand-new cover, this companion volume to Signing Their Lives Away tells the untold stories of the signers of the U.S. Constitution and comes at a time when our constitutional rights are at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Remember when our elected officials knew how to compromise? Here are short, irreverent, fun, and fact-filled biographies of the 39 men who set aside their differences and signed their names to the U.S. Constitution—the oldest written constitution of any nation in the world. You’ll meet:

• The Signer Who Believed in Aliens
• The Signer Who Was Shot in the Stomach
• The Signer Who Went Bankrupt
• The Peg-Legged Signer
• And many more colorful colonists!

Complete with portraits of every signatory, Signing Their Rights Away provides an entertaining and enlightening narrative for students, history buffs, politicos, and Hamilton fans alike.

Furrowed brows, wiggled fingers, wrinkled noses, shrugged shoulders-with so many rich and varied gestures at our disposal, it’s no wonder anthropologists claim at least 90 percent of all human communication is nonverbal. But what do all of these signs and signals really mean? And what secrets do they reveal about the person you’re speaking with? Field Guide to Gestures has the answers.

Whether you’re communicating with friends, lovers, coworkers, foreigners, or strangers on the street, this handy guide will help you decipher the mysteries of human gesticulation. It features color photographs of more than 100 different gestures, plus a detailed synopsis explaining each gesture’s meanings, origins, and subtle nuances (nodding “yes” takes on an entirely new meaning in Greece!). It’s so full of interesting information, you’ll feel compelled to give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

NANCY ARMSTRONG and MELISSA WAGNER are freelance writers living in Philadelphia. They wave their hands when they talk, and are keen interpreters of gestures glimpsed across crowded bars. They are the coauthors of Field Guide to Stains.

Sick of cheap, wasteful, disposable fast fashion? Learn how to shop for vintage clothing and accessories and build a more sustainable, stylish closet. 

In this indispensable guide, anyone who buys or wears women’s clothing will learn how to:

• Avoid overpaying
• Sort trash from treasure
• Fix minor flaws—and spot major ones
• Find your ideal silhouette (including tips for plus-size shoppers)
• Alter and repurpose garments
• Care for delicate vintage fabrics

Buying older clothing means getting beautiful pieces that are built to last, without contributing to sweatshops or landfills—but only if you know what to look for. Let a vintage clothing expert guide you to ethical fashion bliss!

Previously published as The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping in 2009, this updated edition includes a new introduction and resources for evaluating online and brick-and-mortar shops.

Tired of spending $5 on cheesy get well cards? Too lazy to make chicken soup? The Little Cold Book is the perfect gift for anyone feeling under the weather-and it’s guaranteed to keep readers amused and entertained for the duration of an average cold.

In concise and humorous chapters, The Little Cold Book explores:

the science of colds
the amazing health benefits of chocolate
time-tested home remedies
great movies to watch when you’re sick
and plenty of other topics bound to amuse anyone feeling ill.

With The Little Cold Book-and plenty of fluids, of course-your sniffly friend will feel better in no time!

JUSTIN SPRING is a biographer, art historian, and journalist whose humorous essays and articles have appeared in the New York Times, Artforum International, and more. This is the first book he has written in bed.

Gay tourism is booming—and with How to Say “Fabulous!” in 8 Different Languages, you’ll always know how to speak the native tongue. This hilarious phrase book features hundreds of outrageous phrases, all translated from English into French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

There are sections on Night Life (“Are there any gay bars around here?”), Shopping (“Those shoes! I must have those shoes!”), Opening Lines (“I am a flight attendant/choreographer/actor/owner of a greeting card store”), Dining Out (“You’ve had worse things in your mouth!”), Parting Glances (“I never meant to hurt you”), and much more.

With a hilarious mix of practical, impractical, bitchy, and often obscene phrases, How to Say “Fabulous!” in 8 Different Languages is the perfect companion for gay tourists and armchair travelers.

GERARD MRYGLOT was a staff translator at Berlitz Translation Services for five years before starting his own business, providing translation services to law firms and corporate clients. He and his coauthor, TED MARKS, originally self-published this book and sold 4,000 copies from their New York City apartment.