Most Popular Books by Amy Wallace

A PAINFUL PAST Hanna Kessler’s childhood secret has remained buried for over two decades. But when the dark shadows of her past threaten to destroy those she loves, Hanna must face the summer that changed her life and the man who still haunts her memories. A RACIALLY-MOTIVATED KILLER As a Crimes Against Children FBI Agent, Michael Parker knows what it means to get knocked down. Difficult cases and broken relationships have plagued his entire year. But when the system fails and a white supremacist is set free, Michael’s drive for retribution eclipses all else. A LIFE-ALTERING CHOICE A racist’s well-planned assault forces Hanna and Michael to decide between executing vengeance and pursuing justice. The dividing line between the two is the choice to heal. But when the attack turns personal, is justice enough?

The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. “Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done.

Sorcerer’s Apprentice opens with Amy Wallace’s first meeting with Carlos Castaneda, the infamous anthropologist-turned-shaman, whose books described meetings with Yaqui Indian spiritual teacher don Juan. Castaneda’s rise was meteoric in the late 1960s as he wrote massive bestsellers, inspired many to experiment with psychedelics, and was dubbed “the Godfather of the New Age.” The possibility that Castaneda’s experiences may have been fabricated did little to compromise his legend.As the daughter of best-selling novelist Irving Wallace, Amy was rarely shy around famous people. When her father insisted she meet Castaneda, she at first demurred. Little did she know that a delightful first meeting would begin a 20-year friendship, followed by her descent into the dramatic and deeply troubled affair chronicled in this book. Sorcerer’s Apprentice unblinkingly reveals the inner workings of the “Cult of Carlos,” run by a charismatic authoritarian in his sixties who controlled his young female followers through emotional abuse, mind games, bizarre rituals, dubious teachings, and sexual excess. Wallace’s story is both specific and universal, a captivating cautionary tale about the dangers of giving up one’s power to a tyrant–and about surviving assaults on body and spirit.

In this classic text with a new introduction by Wallace and Henkin, the authors demystify such processes as grounding, basic psychic meditations, reading auras, understanding the astral body, and performing simple psychic readings and healings. The book is based on the idea that psychic abilities are not just the province of arcane people who study esoteric doctrines, but are the birthright of everyone. Emphasizing practical techniques for self-healing and healing others, Wallace and Henkin share their own experiences with psychic healing and provide clear and straightforward exercises, from beginning to advanced.

FBI agent Steven Kessler revives hope in Gracie. But his case and her past are dangerously connected. Is she willing to pay the ransom that could redeem her dreams?

In a quiet town with a thriving Mennonite community, police officer Ashley Walters finds her threadbare faith and way of life challenged by the Plain people whose simple dress and welcoming manner open her eyes to a God she left behind. Peace eludes Ashley until she realizes the answers she seeks aren''t found in starting over but in returning to the simple truth that it''s God who overcomes the world, not her. Written for women who desire action-packed suspense, romance, and an escape into the peaceful world of the Mennonites, Hiding in Plain Sight delves into the painful struggle to fit in and the search for peace that so often eludes our fast-paced lives.

The author''s original Book of Lists is a worldwide phenomenon that has sold over 8 million copies. The Punk Book of Lists will feature approx 200 lists - culled from the historical archives and many generated by noteworthy musicians, lists have been put together by film directors, writers, actors, you name it. Punk Rock is cool and the impact has hit every hip person on the planet! Over 50 wicked caricatures of punk rock stars, by noted underground artist Cliff Mott, are peppered generously throughout the book. You don''t have to be punk to love the coolest rock ''n'' roll toilet-reading, time-wasting masterpiece ever! Absolutely a jewel in the canon of great music books!

What happens when the promise to protect and serve forces a police officer to do the unthinkable...? Police Officer Ashley Walters is being stalked. Her wedding plans are interrupted by an attack on her fiancé, and a detective is shot protecting her. Ashley is forced to flee for her own safety and the lives of those she loves. Ashley finds refuge in a Mennonite community in Shipshewana, Indiana. But even in a peaceful town among gentle people she cherishes, danger stalks. All she has left is faith. But when faith fails, what survives? Readers who love suspense coupled with the simplicity of the Mennonite life will eagerly devour book two in the dramatic Place of Refuge series.

William James Sidis (1898-1944) was born to a psychologist with some unorthodox ideas about child rearing, attended Harvard at an absurdly young age, burned out at 14, and spent most of the rest of his life working menial jobs and living in poverty. Dubbed a ``failed prodigy'''' by the popular press, he lived out his years as an eccentric and a recluse. The truth is a lot more complex than this, and the "failure" a matter of perspective, as shown in this remarkable biography. Wallace''s book, the only biography of this most enigmatic of prodigies, gives us a balanced look at Sidis'' up-bringing and a somewhat revisionist look at his later life. Sidis apparently was hard at work on manuscripts of various sorts even during his later years; this book is to my knowledge the only one that gives an account of that later work, which dealt with American Indians. New manuscripts by Sidis have surfaced since the writing of this book, including a book on traffic accident patterns.

The Book of Lists contains hundreds of facts and figures about a huge range of subjects.