Finite Element Analysis

There are several objectives in this book. These include teaching the history, basic principles, and the theory of finite element analysis. The students will be introduced to applications of finite element analysis to real-world applications. These applications include, but are not limited to, analysis of thin shells, fracture mechanics, analysis of reinforced beams and columns, stress analysis, earthquake analysis of structures, buckling, seepage under a dam, a medical example, registration of MRI and PET scans, and a finite element analysis of the Golden Gate Bridge. These examples come from my own personal work experiences, research, and technical publications authored by me and persons instrumental in the development of the finite element method.

James A. Mandel, P.E., is a registered professional engineer. He designed bridges on the interstate highway system. He also did the structural design of the Gemini Ballute. He was a full-time professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Syracuse University from 1967 to 2008.

Grit & Gratitude

Adnan Adnan’s journey along the historic Camino de Santiago transformed a personal pilgrimage into a masterclass on self-realization. The strenuous journey demanded grit and gratitude, revealing a practical, twelve-part framework for making a dream a reality.

Through twelve profound experiences—from recognizing a dream and finding focus to understanding the power of routine and the function of boredom—the author maps the journey from dreamer to doer. This transformative spiritual map asks the essential questions:

How to recognize a dream? How to stay focused? What is clear thinking? What is the power of routine? How to find escape velocities? Is willpower a lifestyle? Why do the difficult tasks? What is the function of boredom? Are there other forms of meditations? Why rest? What does fasting symbolize? Why is enough, enough?

If you are in possession of a dream, you are in possession of courage. Discover who you are.

Memorable, provocative, and fearless, Grit & Gratitude: The Perseverance Powerhouse will show you the way to your own discovery.

“Gritty. Magical. Powerful. This work of art reminds us of the root of our personal power, which we often only discover when everything else is taken away.”

– Lisa Francesca, author of The Wedding Officiant’s Guide: How to Write & Conduct a Perfect Ceremony

All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a Nurse

Want to be a nurse? Find out what you’re in for. Already a nurse? You can identify.

All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a Nurse shares the sad, funny, terrifying, and compassionate feelings in the daily routine of a nurse’s life. Looking back, I can see more clearly how God guided this nurse in her work. Each chapter is its own individual story taken from my experience in different fields of nursing.

Here are a few samples, just a few, to whet your appetite:

ò

The impact of the car on the motorcycle sent Justin flying up into the air as the gas tank burst into flames, his body landing hard on the burning, racing bike. “No!” Justin screamed.

ò

“I’ve decided not to deliver—AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!

ò

I rushed into the street in pursuit of the beautiful, young-looking Alzheimer’s patient; now we had stopped the traffic both ways. As I tried to corral her, she started to beat me up with her large, leather purse. She rushed at the waiting traffic yelling. “Help, she’s trying to kidnap me!”

ò

“Give it to me or I’ll just hold my breath and die!” I couldn’t give more meds to him; surely a grown man wouldn’t do such a thing. But...

ò

“Director of Nurses, come here!” No one but the Director of Nurses was acceptable for this former neurosurgeon.

ò

All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a Nurse is still true—no regrets. I hope that those who are sitting on the fence about nursing will, after reading my story, choose to be that one more nurse who will carry on!

Out of the Tub

Polliwog Hunting

The Way of Undoing

The Way of Undoing: Capitalism, Trauma, and the Return of Wonder is an intimate personal exploration of possibility and discovery through stories and adventures great and small.

The author’s search for reconciliation with a war-traumatised father traces the origins of transgenerational trauma from capitalist roots to today’s internet, where data, information, and misinformation streams have taken the place of dialogue and storytelling. Climate change and pandemics have thrust Western culture upon an emotionally stuck world and challenge the collective human story that we, and the author, are writing as we live.

Raised by Children

Raised by Children is a story about the impact of childhood trauma and PTSD, and a young woman’s resilience as she finds her voice and carves her own path.

Stepping beyond the suffocating backyard of her factory town in Kentucky, she discovers just how vast the world can be.

The Entrepreneur in France, 1756-1816

The Entrepreneur in France, 1756-1816 offers historians and students a compelling examination of the rise of the entrepreneur in France during a transformative era. This study explores how leaders of enterprise accumulated capital, refined management skills, and shaped the foundations of modern economic practices. With a focus on the insights of the influential Physiocrats and the contributions of A. J. R. Turgot, who served as both intendant and minister, this work reveals how economic thought and policy responded to and influenced the burgeoning spirit of entrepreneurship.

Harmony

This book offers both an introduction to the theory of Western music, focusing on the period from 1650 to 1900, and a scientific exploration of the acoustical principles behind its production.

Readers will be guided through fundamental concepts such as chords, tonality, modulation, and chromaticism, with particular emphasis on the role of harmonics in musical sound. By the end of the book, they will have gained a valuable set of tools to deepen their understanding of music theory and composition, enabling them to create meaningful and innovative music for the listeners of tomorrow.

Film Festival Junkie

As an astute reporter of the film festival scene, Laszlo Kriston sheds light on the making and unmaking of Harvey Weinstein (he first heard rumors about him back in 2004); charts the rise of the festival goodie bags and the Oscar gift bags; looks back at the day during the Toronto Film Festival when the attack on the Twin Towers unfolded; chronicles the biggest scandals of Cannes when films were roundly booed; narrates the closure of the Cannes Film Festival during the 1968 student riots; looks back on the Mubarak years that served as a backdrop to the Cairo Film Festival; chronicles the biggest biddings wars—for distribution rights—that studios engaged in; examines the closing day blues (a common festival malady); muses about a pee stain on Nick Nolte’s pajamas (his garment for the interview); and reveals how Bill Murray traumatized a young Scarlett Johansson on the set of Lost in Translation.

Film festivals are vanity fairs and highly competitive, ego-driven showbiz events, and Laszlo Kriston chronicles them with a healthy dose of humor – it’s an often hilarious, tongue-in-cheek book.

The Man Who Watered His Lawn

The Man Who Watered His Lawn gently but powerfully fuses the raw emotions of a teenage love story into a blended tragedy of grief, sorrow, violence, philosophy and healing.

It is a true story that is raw, caring and emotive, allowing the reader to enter the epicenter of the experience. The Man Who Watered His Lawn is a rare glimpse into the mind of a teenager riddled with confusion well into adulthood but with a message of hope and beauty.

The life we lived until then was magnificent. We learned that joy, like the joy of the intellect, is to feel itself alive and the aim of love is to love, no more and no less. We were building our young lives one memory at a time, one joyous experience built onto another. Each experience filling our senses as pleasurably as happening upon a mountain meadow covered in dew at the dawn of a new day.

It explores in heartbreaking reality the complex world of trauma and sorrow and contains the full atmosphere of human emotions, including the interconnected but misunderstood revelation of post-traumatic growth.

It’s within the confines of our internal garden that healing begins. The seeds of healing sprout into flowers and bring meaning to our lives, but it’s only in expressing this meaning through love and gratitude and in healing our hurts that give power to them. This power informs our purpose, which gradually allows the waters of happiness to flow gently into the arid cracks of sorrows desert.

Johnny Yesno

There are certain people in life who cannot be denied success, regardless of the conditions of their birth or the circumstances of their upbringing. They just seem to rise to the top of whatever they are doing, somehow defying the odds and using their innate skills as a pathway to success. They also have the ability to utilize the fortuitous circumstances that they find themselves in to their advantage. All in all, such people just seem destined to rise to the top.

This book is about one of these people named Johnny Yesno. While the name Johnny Yesno may not be identifiable among movie buffs, his life is nonetheless worthy of wider recognition. Johnny Yesno went on to star in several movies, most notably the Walt Disney classic King of the Grizzlies; hosted a popular radio program on CBC Radio entitled Our Native Land; and, among other distinctions, was awarded the Order of Canada in 1976.