The founding library
-
Six practices. Written by people who do the work.
+
Six practices, written by people who built their careers on them.
{ITEMS.map((x) => (
diff --git a/marketing-site/components/FAQ.jsx b/marketing-site/components/FAQ.jsx
index a2adae6..3259395 100644
--- a/marketing-site/components/FAQ.jsx
+++ b/marketing-site/components/FAQ.jsx
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ const QA = [
q: "Why subscribe instead of buy once?",
a: "Because a static AI book is out of date in months. The subscription is what keeps every workflow current — and it’s what funds the practitioners keeping them that way.",
},
+ {
+ q: "Why frame this around the American Dream?",
+ a: "Because for most of the people writing and reading this guide, real fluency with these tools isn’t a slogan — it’s a practical ladder. Nobody in this book inherited their edge; they built it, one real skill at a time. We think this is the next one worth building.",
+ },
];
export default function FAQ() {
diff --git a/marketing-site/components/FieldNotes.jsx b/marketing-site/components/FieldNotes.jsx
index 1649a74..d7cbe4c 100644
--- a/marketing-site/components/FieldNotes.jsx
+++ b/marketing-site/components/FieldNotes.jsx
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ const NOTES = [
{
n: "01 / Stays current",
h: "A subscription, not a static book",
- p: "AI moves too fast for a book you buy once. Each annual edition is refreshed so the workflows still work when you open them.",
+ p: "AI moves too fast for a book you buy once. Each annual edition is refreshed so the ground you gain here doesn’t erode the moment you look away.",
},
{
n: "02 / Authored, then open",
h: "Written by practitioners first",
- p: "The first edition is seeded by co-authors — a real founding library, not an empty shelf. Open, paid contribution opens once it’s worth browsing.",
+ p: "The first edition is seeded by co-authors — a real founding library, not an empty shelf. Open, paid contribution opens once it’s worth browsing, so the people who build it get to own a piece of it.",
},
{
n: "03 / Responsible by design",
diff --git a/marketing-site/components/Letter.jsx b/marketing-site/components/Letter.jsx
index 2da0f85..780501f 100644
--- a/marketing-site/components/Letter.jsx
+++ b/marketing-site/components/Letter.jsx
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@ export default function Letter() {
Most AI advice is either hype or theory — and neither survives contact with real
work. We’re writing the guide we wish we’d had: workflows that actually run,
with the guardrails built in, kept honest by the people
- who use them every day. Fund the first edition, and you don’t just get the book — you
- help decide what goes in it.
+ who use them every day. For a lot of us, mastering these tools isn’t optional
+ anymore — it’s how you build the life you’re working toward. Fund the first edition,
+ and you don’t just get the book — you help decide what goes in it.
The co-authors
diff --git a/marketing-site/components/Tiers.jsx b/marketing-site/components/Tiers.jsx
index fa26f86..41f00b3 100644
--- a/marketing-site/components/Tiers.jsx
+++ b/marketing-site/components/Tiers.jsx
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ export default function Tiers() {
limited · final terms at launch
A named acknowledgment in the guide, a private cohort seat, and a hand in shaping
- the first edition.
+ the first edition — the ground floor of something you helped build.
diff --git a/marketing-site/public/american-dream-banner.webp b/marketing-site/public/american-dream-banner.webp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..546f522
Binary files /dev/null and b/marketing-site/public/american-dream-banner.webp differ
diff --git a/marketing-site/styles/globals.css b/marketing-site/styles/globals.css
index ab408e4..16269a3 100644
--- a/marketing-site/styles/globals.css
+++ b/marketing-site/styles/globals.css
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ h1, h2, h3 { text-wrap: balance; margin: 0; }
.hero-visual { display: flex; justify-content: center; order: 2; } /* book on the right */
.hero-copy { min-width: 0; order: 1; } /* text on the left */
-.book3d { --bw: 300px; --bh: 420px; --bt: 54px; position: relative; perspective: 2000px; flex: none; padding: 6px 0 40px; }
+.book3d { --bw: 300px; --bh: 420px; --bt: 54px; --band-h: 58px; position: relative; perspective: 2000px; flex: none; padding: 6px 0 40px; }
.book3d__inner {
position: relative; width: var(--bw); height: var(--bh); margin: 0 auto;
transform-style: preserve-3d; transform: rotateX(7deg) rotateY(-34deg);
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ h1, h2, h3 { text-wrap: balance; margin: 0; }
transform: translateZ(calc(var(--bt) / 2)); border-radius: 3px 8px 8px 3px; overflow: hidden;
background: linear-gradient(125deg, #23745f, #1a5748 48%, #123f34);
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.07), inset 8px 0 16px -8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5), 0 32px 46px -22px rgba(18, 63, 52, 0.55);
- padding: 32px 27px 27px; display: flex; flex-direction: column;
+ padding: 32px 27px calc(var(--band-h) * 1.48); display: flex; flex-direction: column;
}
.book3d__back { transform: rotateY(180deg) translateZ(calc(var(--bt) / 2)); border-radius: 8px 3px 3px 8px; background: #0f3b30; }
.book3d__pages {
@@ -235,8 +235,21 @@ h1, h2, h3 { text-wrap: balance; margin: 0; }
.book3d__title { font-family: var(--font-display); font-weight: 600; font-size: 2.25rem; line-height: 1.02; letter-spacing: -0.02em; color: #f3eee2; margin-top: 16px; }
.book3d__line { width: 34px; height: 2px; background: rgba(239, 233, 219, 0.5); margin: 15px 0; }
.book3d__sub { font-family: var(--font-body); font-size: 13px; color: rgba(239, 233, 219, 0.68); line-height: 1.45; max-width: 16ch; }
-.book3d__mark { width: 44px; height: 44px; margin-top: auto; }
-.book3d__brand { font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; color: rgba(239, 233, 219, 0.85); margin-top: 12px; }
+.book3d__foot { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 10px; margin-top: auto; }
+.book3d__mark { width: 30px; height: 30px; flex: none; }
+/* Belly band: a promotional strip wrapped across the lower cover, publisher-
+ style, rather than redesigning the whole face around the source graphic.
+ The
![]()
is width-locked to the band and shifted up so the crop stays
+ full-width (legible "AMERICAN" wordmark) and only trims top/bottom. */
+.book3d__band {
+ position: absolute; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: calc(var(--band-h) * 0.31);
+ height: var(--band-h); overflow: hidden;
+ box-shadow: 0 -1px 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1) inset, 0 3px 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
+}
+.book3d__band img {
+ position: absolute; left: 0; top: -78%; width: 100%; height: auto; display: block;
+}
+.book3d__brand { font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.1em; color: rgba(239, 233, 219, 0.85); }
.book3d::after {
content: ""; position: absolute; left: 50%; bottom: 6px; width: 60%; height: 24px; transform: translateX(-50%);
background: radial-gradient(ellipse, rgba(18, 60, 50, 0.3), transparent 70%); filter: blur(7px); z-index: -1;
@@ -245,9 +258,9 @@ h1, h2, h3 { text-wrap: balance; margin: 0; }
.hero-grid { grid-template-columns: 1fr; gap: 44px; }
.hero-visual { order: 2; }
.hero-copy { order: 1; }
- .book3d { --bw: 256px; --bh: 358px; --bt: 48px; }
+ .book3d { --bw: 256px; --bh: 358px; --bt: 48px; --band-h: 50px; }
}
-@media (max-width: 420px) { .book3d { --bw: 210px; --bh: 294px; --bt: 40px; } }
+@media (max-width: 420px) { .book3d { --bw: 210px; --bh: 294px; --bt: 40px; --band-h: 40px; } }
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) { .book3d__inner { animation: none; } }
/* ============ FIELD NOTES (even gutters, aligned to container edges) ============ */
+