Pears' Cyclopaedia 2017-2018


Book Description

The quintessentially British almanac, Pears' Cyclopaedia continues to inform and intrigue generations of readers with its unique mix of solid facts and fascinating gems. Now in its 126th year, this ultimate volume offers clear and concise information on such wide-ranging subjects as global events, Norse mythology, and modern cinema.




The Gentleman's Pocket Knife


Book Description

As elegant as they are practical, pocket knives have long been considered essential equipment for a gentleman. No cleverly programmed app is able to open blister packages, peel a pear, or cut off a thread hanging from a seam. Revealed are the most beautiful pocket knives from old standards of past generations such as Boker, Puma, Forge de Laguiole, Saladini, Case, Great Eastern Cutlery, and Queen Cutlery to the more modern Claude Dozorme, Neptunia, Fantoni, and Rockstead. Interesting facts about the history and technology of pocket knives add to an assortment of stylish and striking pocket knives that anyone can cut into.




The Encyclopedia of New York


Book Description

The must-have guide to pop culture, history, and world-changing ideas that started in New York City, from the magazine at the center of it all. Since its founding in 1624, New York City has been a place that creates things. What began as a trading post for beaver pelts soon transformed into a hub of technological, social, and cultural innovation—but beyond fostering literal inventions like the elevator (inside Cooper Union in 1853), Q-tips (by Polish immigrant Leo Gerstenzang in 1923), General Tso’s chicken (reimagined for American tastes in the 1970s by one of its Hunanese creators), the singles bar (1965 on the Upper East Side), and Scrabble (1931 in Jackson Heights), the city has given birth to or perfected idioms, forms, and ways of thinking that have changed the world, from Abstract Expressionism to Broadway, baseball to hip-hop, news blogs to neoconservatism to the concept of “downtown.” Those creations and more are all collected in The Encyclopedia of New York, an A-to-Z compendium of unexpected origin stories, hidden histories, and useful guides to the greatest city in the world, compiled by the editors of New York Magazine (a city invention itself, since 1968) and featuring contributions from Rebecca Traister, Jerry Saltz, Frank Rich, Jonathan Chait, Rhonda Garelick, Kathryn VanArendonk, Christopher Bonanos, and more. Here you will find something fascinating and uniquely New York on every page: a history of the city’s skyline, accompanied by a tour guide’s list of the best things about every observation deck; the development of positive thinking and punk music; appreciations of seltzer and alternate-side-of-the-street parking; the oddest object to be found at Ripley’s Believe It or Not!; musical theater next to muckracking and mugging; and the unbelievable revelation that English muffins were created on...West Twentieth Street. Whether you are a lifelong resident, a curious newcomer, or an armchair traveler, this is the guidebook you’ll need, straight from the people who know New York best.




Top 10 for Boys


Book Description

Originally published: London: Octopus Pub. Group, 2013.




Faking, Forging, Counterfeiting


Book Description

Forgeries are an omnipresent part of our culture and closely related to traditional ideas of authenticity, legality, authorship, creativity, and innovation. Based on the concept of mimesis, this volume illustrates how forgeries must be understood as autonomous aesthetic practices - creative acts in themselves - rather than as mere rip-offs of an original work of art. The proceedings bring together research from different scholarly fields. They focus on various mimetic practices such as pseudo-translations, imposters, identity theft, and hoaxes in different artistic and historic contexts. By opening up the scope of the aesthetic implications of fakes, this anthology aims to consolidate forging as an autonomous method of creation.




National Geographic Almanac 2021


Book Description

The essential annual for the 21st century, this high-energy almanac is packed with facts, photos, infographics, time lines, and maps--the perfect stocking stuffer and book to browse all year long. A guide to the world like no other, this vivid and comprehensive book offers the best of National Geographic and more: science, nature, history, world cultures, geography, and the environment, illustrated with amazing photography, fascinating infographics, and maps created by expert cartographers. Highlights this year include a sneak preview of the James Webb telescope, due to launch in 2021; an in-depth look at the global factors influencing immigration around the world; a brand-new wildflower guide; a guided tour of the most interesting moons of our solar system; a beautiful infographic on how jellyfish eat; and a feature on lithium, the fascinating mineral central to the work of this year's Nobel prizewinner in chemistry. Beginning with top trending topics of 2021, including a special focus on biodiversity, the book is divided into lively chapters including Exploration & Adventure, This Planet & Beyond, Life on Earth, and The Science of Us. Recurring features include highlights from NG explorers, favorite photos from National Geographic's celebrated Instagram account, and Quizmaster trivia questions for each chapter. Geniuses of past and present highlighted this year include Jane Goodall, Amelia Earhart, and acclaimed conservationist Kris Tompkins, dedicated to preserving most of Chile's Patagonia. With new discoveries on every page, this cutting-edge book--called a "category buster" by Booklist--brings you, as Publishers Weekly puts it, "all the things that National Geographic does best."




Scandalous Error


Book Description

The Gregorian calendar reform of 1582, which provided the basis for the civil and Western ecclesiastical calendars still in use today, has often been seen as a triumph of early modern scientific culture or an expression of papal ambition in the wake of the Counter-Reformation. Much less attention has been paid to reform's intellectual roots in the European Middle Ages, when the reckoning of time by means of calendrical cycles was a topic of central importance to learned culture, as impressively documented by the survival of relevant texts and tables in thousands of manuscripts copied before 1500. For centuries prior to the Gregorian reform, astronomers, mathematicians, theologians, and even Church councils had been debating the necessity of improving or emending the existing ecclesiastical calendar, which throughout the Middle Ages kept losing touch with the astronomical phenomena at an alarming pace. Scandalous Error is the first comprehensive study of the medieval literature devoted to the calendar problem and its cultural and scientific contexts. It examines how the importance of ordering liturgical time by means of a calendar that comprised both solar and lunar components posed a technical-astronomical problem to medieval society and details the often sophisticated ways in which computists and churchmen reacted to this challenge. By drawing attention to the numerous connecting paths that existed between calendars and mathematical astronomy between the Fall of Rome and the end of the fifteenth century, the volume offers substantial new insights on the place of exact science in medieval culture.




Guinness World Records 2021


Book Description

All aboard Guinness World Records 2021 for a life-changing journey of discovery! This year, we're devoting a chapter to the history of exploration, starting with the story of the very first circumnavigation, along with our "History of Adventure" timeline, featuring a host of remarkable achievements. The fully revised and updated best-seller is packed with thousands of incredible new feats across the widest spectrum of topics, providing a whistle-stop tour of our superlative universe. Our ever-expanding pool of international consultants and experts help us make sense of the world around us and the cosmos beyond. So join us as we embark on a voyage through the vast panorama of record-breaking in 12 fact-packed chapters: · Travel through the Solar System and see the planets come to life with a free Augmented Reality feature · Encounter the cutest, weirdest, most dangerous and exotic creatures on our home planet · Meet the world’s tallest, shortest, hairiest and heaviest humans · Marvel at the latest high scores, speed runs, and players at the top of their game in eSports and beyond · Get the lowdown on the world’s most successful and prolific actors, musicians, TV stars and influencers We've also selected the best of the newly approved claims from the 50,000 applications received from the public over the past 12 months. But don't just be a tourist: try some of our specially created try-at-home challenges that could see YOU listed in the world-famous book of records. If you want to be one of those lucky few, check out our Against the Clock chapter--we might even see you in next year's edition! Finally, be inspired by the latest inductees to the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame, including the real-life Captain Nemo who's traveled to the deepest point in every ocean, the fearless campaigner for human rights who risked her life to make the world a better place, and the teenage millionaire who made his fortune playing Fortnite. It's a big world out there! Let Guinness World Records 2021 be your guide!




Irregular People


Book Description

The author helps the reader understand the nature of the "irregular" people in their lives, and why they behave in such maddening ways. She teaches how to handle negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and bitterness, and how to keep forgiveness and reconciliation active in one's life.




Streets with a Story


Book Description




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