Central Kansas Library System

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes a “smashing...fascinating” novel (The New York Times Book Review) that conjures all the American obsessions of the 1980s: sex, greed, envy, real estate, and the American dream.  
In her subversively funny and genuinely moving new novel, Jane Smiley nails down several American preoccupations with the expertise of...

This book asks the fundamental question, how do we as individuals (and organizations), not only survive but thrive amid tremendous change? More, why are our efforts to improve continuing to fail despite the millions of dollars we spend in time, capital, and human effort every year? How do we combat all of this by unleashing the full measure of our creativity, talent, and energy in the midst of this pressure? Is it realistic to believe that we can...

For aspiring entrepreneurs or people in business, this book will help you take your company to the next level. When you put this book down, you'll know what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong to operate your business, and if you're just getting started, it will help set you up for success.

As nations careen from one crisis to the next, there is a growing cry for fresh leadership. Those in charge have repeatedly fallen short, and trust in institutions has plummeted. So, what does great leadership look like? And how are great leaders made? David Gergen, a leader in the public arena for more than half a century, draws from his experiences as a White House adviser to four presidents, his decades as a trusted voice on national issues, and...

Chip Gaines is well known as a TV star (HGTV's Fixer Upper), renovation expert, husband to Joanna, and father of 4 in Waco, Texas. But long before the world took notice, Chip was a serial entrepreneur who was always ready for the next challenge, even if it didn't quite work out as planned. Whether it was buying a neighborhood laundromat or talking a bank into a loan for some equipment to start a lawn-mowing service, Chip always knew that the most...

"Chip Gaines offers his hilarious wit and trademark wisdom on the value of network-building, the relationships and connections that are so critical to our success and happiness both in business but also in the greater arena of life."--

We live in an "escalator world" filled with shortcuts, quick fixes, and distractions that make it all too easy to slide into procrastination, compromise, and mediocrity. How do successful people stay focused and achieve results? Learn to tackle the work that leads to real success.

From small-town Kansas boy to adventure-junkie extraordinaire to respected mountaineer, this funky and funny read traces Skip Yowell's (cofounder of JanSport) unorthodox journey to the top of the outdoor industry. Full of offbeat details and photos from Skip's adventures around the world, he lets it all hang out as he offers you a rare behind-the-scenes look at the three hippies who built a successful company during the Summer of Love...how their...

Ladies Who Launch is the first company to define the feminine approach to launching a business and to make the connection between starting a business and bringing creativity into your life with self-esteem and happiness. The nationally acclaimed Ladies Who Launch program has enabled thousands of women across the country to break out of 9-5 and thrive in entrepreneurial enterprises that reflect their true passions, skills, and desires. Located in more...

What distinguishes successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships-- so that everyone wins. Ferrazzi's form of connecting to the world around him is based on generosity, helping friends connect with other friends. He distinguishes genuine relationship-building from the crude, desperate glad-handing usually associated with "networking," and distills his system of reaching out to people into practical, proven principles....