Now I Know More: The Revealing Stories Behind Even More of the World’s Most Interesting Facts
“Every story in the book is interesting, and Lewis includes a ‘bonus fact’ at the end of each story, which is a mini mind bender on its own.” –BoingBoing”A mind-tickling encyclopedia…Now I Know is a treat in its entirety…an oasis of learning about what you don’t yet know…but are glad you found.” –Brain PickingsDan Lewis, creator of the …
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World
Uncommon Grounds tells the story of coffee from its discovery on a hill in ancient Abyssinia to the advent of Starbucks. In this updated edition of the classic work, Mark Pendergrast reviews the dramatic changes in coffee culture over the past decade, from the disastrous Coffee Crisis” that caused global prices to plummet to the rise of the …
National Geographic Concise History of the World: An Illustrated Time Line
From the dawn of humankind to today’s global complexities, this monumental volume presents world history from an original perspective that provides fresh insights with every colorful spread. Few references are as invaluable, all-inclusive, and satisfying to browse. For readers of all ages, world history is easily accessible, depicted as never before—so that events occurring simultaneously around the world …
Residents and visitors in today’s Seattle would barely recognize the landscape that its founding settlers first encountered. As the city grew, its leaders and inhabitants dramatically altered its topography to accommodate their changing visions. In Too High and Too Steep, David B. Williams uses his deep knowledge of Seattle, scientific background, and extensive research and interviews to illuminate …
Slaughterhouse: Chicago’s Union Stock Yard and the World It Made
From the minute it opened—on Christmas Day in 1865—it was Chicago’s must-see tourist attraction, drawing more than half a million visitors each year. Families, visiting dignitaries, even school groups all made trips to the South Side to tour the Union Stock Yard. There they got a firsthand look at the city’s industrial prowess as they witnessed cattle, hogs, …
In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, one of the world’s leading experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits-a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century-denies our …
“Have mercy on me, Lord, I am Cuban.” In 1962, Carlos Eire was one of 14,000 children airlifted out of Havana—exiled from his family, his country, and his own childhood by Fidel Castro’s revolution. This stunning memoir is a vibrant and evocative look at Latin America from a child’s unforgettable experience.Waiting for Snow in Havana is both an …
The real story behind the Tavistock Institute and its network, from a popular conspiracy expert The Tavistock Institute, in Sussex, England, describes itself as a nonprofit charity that applies social science to contemporary issues and problems. But this book posits that it is the world’s center for mass brainwashing and social engineering activities. It grew from a …
The city: a place of hopes and dreams, destruction and conflict, vision and order. The first city atlas, the Civitates Orbis Terrarum, was published by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenburg in 1572. For the first time, one could travel the streets of a city without leaving his or her armchair. Since then, our fascination with foreign …
‘Journey over all the universe in a map, without the expense and fatigue of traveling, without suffering the inconveniences of heat, cold, hunger, and thirst.’ –Miguel de Cervantes, in Don QuixoteFrom the earliest of times, maps have fired our imaginations and helped us make sense of our world, from the global to the very local. Head of …