Valliappa Lakshmanan

Michael Munn

Sara Robinson

The design patterns in this book capture best practices and solutions to recurring problems in machine learning. Authors Valliappa Lakshmanan, Sara Robinson, and Michael Munn catalog the first tried-and-proven methods to help engineers tackle problems that frequently crop up during the ML process. These design patterns codify the experience of hundreds of experts into advice you can easily follow. The authors, three Google Cloud engineers, describe 30 patterns for data and problem representation, operationalization, repeatability, reproducibility, flexibility, explainability, and fairness. Each pattern includes a description of the problem, a variety of potential solutions, and recommendations for choosing the most appropriate remedy for your situation. You'll learn how to: Identify and mitigate common challenges when training, evaluating, and deploying ML models Represent data for different ML model types, including embeddings, feature crosses, and more Choose the right model type for specific problems Build a robust training loop that uses checkpoints, distribution strategy, and hyperparameter tuning Deploy scalable ML systems that you can retrain and update to reflect new data Interpret model predictions for stakeholders and ensure that models are treating users fairly

Solutions to Common Challenges in Data Preparation, Model Building, and MLOps

Machine Learning Design Patterns

This is the definitive biography of a man who became one of the silver screen's enduring legends.

The Truth Behind the Legend

Jimmy Stewart

Many of the stars of the silver screen in twentieth-century Hollywood became national icons, larger-than-life figures held up as paragons of American virtues. Unfortunately, the private lives of actors such as John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Errol Flynn rarely lived up to the idealistic roles they portrayed. However, James Stewart was known as the underdog fighter in many of his films and in real life. He was highly decorated for his bravery during his time as a bomber pilot during World War II and was adored for his earnest and kindly persona. Here many unknown sides of Stewart are revealed: his explosive temper, his complex love affairs, his service as a secret agent for the FBI, his innate shyness, and his passionate patriotism. Munn’s personal touch shines through his writing, as he was a friend of Stewart and his wife, Gloria, and interviewed them as well as their colleagues and friends. This definitive biography reveals the childhood ups and downs that formed this cinema hero, explores the legendary Fonda–Stewart relationship, and recounts Stewart’s experiences making acclaimed films that include The Philadelphia Story, Rear Window, Anatomy of a Murder, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

The design patterns in this book capture best practices and solutions to recurring problems in machine learning. The authors, three Google engineers, catalog proven methods to help data scientists tackle common problems throughout the ML process. These design patterns codify the experience of hundreds of experts into straightforward, approachable advice. In this book, you will find detailed explanations of 30 patterns for data and problem representation, operationalization, repeatability, reproducibility, flexibility, explainability, and fairness. Each pattern includes a description of the problem, a variety of potential solutions, and recommendations for choosing the best technique for your situation. You'll learn how to: Identify and mitigate common challenges when training, evaluating, and deploying ML models Represent data for different ML model types, including embeddings, feature crosses, and more Choose the right model type for specific problems Build a robust training loop that uses checkpoints, distribution strategy, and hyperparameter tuning Deploy scalable ML systems that you can retrain and update to reflect new data Interpret model predictions for stakeholders and ensure models are treating users fairly

In this definitive biography of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars, Michael Munn reveals the truth behind the diffident, earnest and kindly persona of Jimmy Stewart. Drawn from the author’s formal interviews and informal meetings with the star and his friendship with Stewart’s wife, Gloria, is this portrait of a man who came from the Presbyterian traditions of Pennsylvania to become one of the silver screen’s enduring legends. An openly right-wing Conservative and super-patriot, Stewart worked for the FBI at the behest of J Edgar Hoover, directing his undercover sleuthing to crack organised crime in Hollywood. But he was unscrupulously manipulated by the president into flushing out Communists from the film industry. Among these revelations, there are also tales of heady love affairs, hookers and hoodlums, and of Stewart’s run-in with the most dangerous of all gangsters, Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Sigal. Accusations of racism are explored, as is Stewart’s notoriously volatile temper. There is a comprehensive account of his experiences as a colonel in the US Air Force in World War Two - and, of course, there are the films: 'It’s a Wonderful Life', 'The Greatest Show on Earth', 'Rear Window', the westerns and his Academy Awards.

This in-depth look at the life of John Wayne differs in that the author met and worked with the legend. Michael Munn reveals how Wayne's beliefs nearly led to his assassination by Communists.

The Man Behind the Myth

John Wayne

This exciting new biography of Laurence Olivier reveals the life, work and personality of arguably one of the greatest actors of all time as well as a fascinating secret. Michael Munn's candid analysis is based on his association with Olivier through formal and informal conversations, in which the great actor spoke candidly to Munn about life, sex, secrets and Shakespeare. Michael Munn first met Olivier in 1971 and from then, the two became great friends. At the peak of their friendship, Olivier revealed a secret to him which he had told very few, mainly because of his lifelong fear of alienating the American public, but most curious of all, he kept it to himself out of an impulse not to be thought as a hero, which greatly contradicted his famously incredible ego. This secret has been disclosed by Munn for the first time and reveals that Laurence Olivier was recruited by SOE and MI-5, through film producer Alexander Korda, to promote the cause of Britain's war against Germany while in the USA at a time when many Americans were isolationists. This book reveals some highly personal and rarely expressed thoughts from Olivier and from the people who knew him best.

The Secret Life of Lawrence Olivier

Lord Larry

Star de grands classiques comme "La Grande Evasion", "Bullitt", "Papillon" et "L'Affaire Thomas Crown", Steve McQueen n'aurait jamais dû faire de cinéma. Fils d'une prostituée occasionnelle et d'un homme de passage, il devient rapidement un jeune délinquant, sauvage et rétif à toute autorité. Une période qui le marquera toute sa vie et affectera aussi bien son attitude " rebelle" vis-à-vis du système hollywoodien que ses relations avec les femmes. Avare en confidences et mutique avec les journalistes, McQueen avait très peu d'amis dans le métier. C'est pourquoi sa relation privilégiée avec Michael Munn permet à ce dernier de tracer la première biographie intime de l'acteur, dévoilant les violences de son beau-père, une adolescence tumultueuse, le séjour dans une maison de jeunes délinquants, de singuliers débuts au théâtre et, enfin, l'entrée dans la " machine Hollywood" grâce à sa première femme. L'ouvrage raconte comment un adolescent sauvage a su se révéler comme second rôle de série B, puis vedette de télévision dans la série "Au nom de la loi", avant de s'imposer face aux ténors du western dans "Les Sept Mercenaires", qui a lancé sa carrière. Il ne cache rien de ses nombreuses aventures féminines (parmi lesquelles Natalie Wood), de son rapport tourmenté et parfois violent avec ses trois compagnes successives, et de ses relations tumultueuses avec le Tout-Hollywood. Il montre comment, malgré un caractère sauvage et parfois paranoïaque, Steve McQueen a réussi à imposer sa marque pour devenir une des figures cinématographiques les plus marquantes de son temps, avant de saboter lui-même sa carrière.

Steve McQueen

Living on the Edge

A provocative biography of the man behind the Hollywood legend sheds new light on the life and career of John Wayne, discussing his three failed marriages, professional accomplishments, battles with cancer, and the plot against his life by Josef Stalin because of Wayne's aggressive anti-Communist views. Reprint.

‘After reading this affectionately candid biography, it is hard not to echo Olivier’s response on hearing of Burton’s death: “He was so young, so young”’ Daily Mail A man of contradictions, Richard Burton’s life and remarkable career are revealed by a writer who knew him from 1968 up to Burton’s last film. Recounting Burton’s deepest and often darkest thoughts and secrets, as well as hell-raising stories quashed by the Hollywood system, such as affairs with Monroe and Lana Turner, being caught in a brothel with Errol Flynn and a fist fight with Frank Sinatra, Munn offers a stunning portrait of a great man. From nursing Burton through an epileptic seizure to witnessing Burton’s part in East End gang violence, this is an intimate and deeply moving biography. Writer, actor, director and former journalist and Hollywood publicist, Michael Munn, has written twenty-one books, including the best selling John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth and the acclaimed Jimmy Stewart: The Truth Behind the Legend

Prince of Players

Richard Burton

Wherever we are in the quality movement, there is more to discover--to explore. Today, quality serves business as a way of increasing profits. That is one end of a spectrum. Tomorrow, quality takes business into the rest of the spectrum. In this new dimension, business learns to serve, and be served, from a foundation of unconditional love. At the other end of the spectrum is quality's far-reaching goal--the attainment of harmony between people and the entire cosmos. This goal reveals the gap, and steps, between it and what we do today. This book is intended for explorers and pioneers. It is not for those who are comfortable in today's paradigms. It is for those who search and yearn for new ways bring heart into the world of business and society. It is not for those who are comfortable living an unexamined and changeless life. It is for those who sense a thrill in the heart with the changes of each new day. Experience, not dry learning, is the heart of this book. For this reason, "Practical Exercises" are included in most of the chapters. They are experiences of things that can be known, but not told or taught. Without the exercises, your knowing will be superficial. With them, you can enter into dimensions unknown to you today. Michael W. Munn, Ph.D., heads the Gaia Center for Quality in Palo Alto, California. He provides keynotes, experiential change seminars, and business quality workshops. Strategic planning, executive development, proposal, and reengineering efforts are among the topics of his workshops.

Beyond Business as Usual

David Niven appeared in films for over 50 years of his life, from swashbucklers such as The Prisoner of Zenda and The Guns of Navarone to the Pink Panther series. Despite his on-screen persona, Niven wasn’t always the perfect gentleman. He was insecure both privately and professionally and used people to get ahead. But he did, he said, ‘at least try to be a decent man.’ He knew he often failed, although it isn’t easy to find people who ever had a bad word to say about him. In this fascinating biography of the star, Munn looks at the funny stories and the sad underlying truth, from his outrageous days with Errol Flynn and their irrevocable split –‘You always know where you are with Flynn. He always lets you down’ – and numerous affairs with stars and prostitutes, to an attempted suicide, his horrific experiences in war-torn France and the breakdown and blame of his second marriage. This compelling text includes interviews with his second wife, Hjordis, John Huston, Rex Harrison, Laurence Olivier, Loretta Young (they discussed marriage once), Niven’s long-time friend Michael Trubshawe, Peter Ustinov, Ava Gardner and many more.

The Man Behind the Balloon

David Niven

Uri Geller

Unorthodox Encounters

An icon of the silver screen, Gregory Peck is one of those rare actors who can command an audience's attention by his mere presence. This biography tells the story of that man whose career has endured for over 50 years. Peck came to Hollywood during WWII and began his remarkable career by making no less than sixteen films before his screen debut, Days of Glory, had even been seen by the public. He received four Oscar nominations during his first six years in the movies before finally winning for his outstanding performance in To Kill A Mockingbird. Yet, it is his commercial successes in such films as Moby Dick, Duel in the Sun, The Omen and MacArthur, that made him the powerful acting force for several generations.

Gregory Peck

The controversial new biography of the ultimate movie star reveals the never-before-told secrets of a towering Hollywood icon. "An affectionate and enjoyable biography . . . "--"London Sunday Telegraph."

John Wayne: Man Behind the Myt

Sharon Stone came from nowhere to become an 'overnight star' in the steamy thriller Basic Instinct. Now one of Hollywood's biggest female stars, she recently received a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for her role In Casino. The Sharon Stone Story traces her life, from her childhood as a plain country girl and self-confessed 'nerdy ugly duckling' with an exceptionally high IQ, through her years as a teenage beauty queen and then as an international fashion model before making her screen debut in 1981. Then, with determined doggedness, Sharon Stone set out to become a star, trying to shake off the blonde bimbo image she had been saddled with and finally establishing herself as one of America's foremost actresses and a producer in her own right. Michael Munn portrays a woman who has fought against the conventions and chauvinistic attitudes of the men who run Hollywood and has not been afraid to speak out In the process. He relates her on-set battles with leading man William Baldwin during the filming of Silver and the scandalous affair with producer Bill MacDonald that led to the press branding her as a homewrecker. He examines the tragedies she overcame in her youth, the crippling injury she sustained that helped change her life, the secret work she does for charity and her relationships with her leading men, including Michael Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rock Hudson and Robert De Niro. Michael Munn has interviewed Sharon Stone and many people who have worked with her, including Michael Douglas, Martin Scorsese and Richard Chamberlain, to build an insightful portrait of this remarkable and courageous woman.

The Sharon Stone Story

This in-depth and absorbing biography, looks at the many facets of this consummate movie star and reveals that his story is not simply one of a meteoric rise, and takes a much closer look at his private life.

Michael Munn

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