Remarkable Books

Remarkable Books PDF Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1465470883
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Imagine a world without Principia Mathematica, Rights of Man, the Bible, Shakespeare, or the Mahabharata. Remarkable Books features 75 of the world's most momentous titles - from The Art of War to Anne Frank's Diary - and reveals their far-ranging impact. Books are the medium through which scientists, storytellers, and philosophers introduce their ideas. Discover seminal religious and political titles, cornerstones of science such as On the Origin of Species, and ancient texts such as the I Ching, which is still used today to answer fundamental questions about human existence. Get up close to see fascinating details, such as Vesalius' exquisite anatomical illustrations in Epitome, Leonardo da Vinci's annotated notebooks, or the hand-decorated pages in the Gutenberg Bible. Discover why Euclid's Elements of Geometry was the most influential maths title ever published, and marvel at rare treasures such as the Aubin Codex, which tells the history of the Aztecs and the early Spanish colonial period in Mexico. Remarkable Books gathers stories, diaries, scientific treatises, plays, dictionaries, and religious texts into a stunning celebration of the power of books.

Remarkable Books

Remarkable Books PDF Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1465470883
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book Here

Book Description
Imagine a world without Principia Mathematica, Rights of Man, the Bible, Shakespeare, or the Mahabharata. Remarkable Books features 75 of the world's most momentous titles - from The Art of War to Anne Frank's Diary - and reveals their far-ranging impact. Books are the medium through which scientists, storytellers, and philosophers introduce their ideas. Discover seminal religious and political titles, cornerstones of science such as On the Origin of Species, and ancient texts such as the I Ching, which is still used today to answer fundamental questions about human existence. Get up close to see fascinating details, such as Vesalius' exquisite anatomical illustrations in Epitome, Leonardo da Vinci's annotated notebooks, or the hand-decorated pages in the Gutenberg Bible. Discover why Euclid's Elements of Geometry was the most influential maths title ever published, and marvel at rare treasures such as the Aubin Codex, which tells the history of the Aztecs and the early Spanish colonial period in Mexico. Remarkable Books gathers stories, diaries, scientific treatises, plays, dictionaries, and religious texts into a stunning celebration of the power of books.

Great Diaries

Great Diaries PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780241412947
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Travel back in time and share the experience of everyday thoughts and great moments in history in this fascinating compilation of diaries through the ages. Great Diaries traces the history of the diary from ancient times to the present day, bringing together more than 80 historical and literary diaries, artists' sketchbooks, explorers' journals, and scientists' notebooks. Discover what it was like to build a pyramid, sail the seas with Magellan, travel into the heart of Africa, or serve on the Western Front. Find out how writers and artists planned their masterpieces, and how scientists developed their groundbreaking theories. Great Diaries takes you into the pages of the world's greatest diaries and notebooks, including those of Samuel Pepys, Charles Darwin, Henry-David Thoreau, the Goncourt brothers, Virginia Woolf, and Anne Frank, and shows you what they looked like. Stunning images of the original notebooks and manuscripts are complemented by key extracts and close-ups of important details. Feature boxes provide additional biographical information and set the works in their cultural and historical context. Essential reading for everyone who is passionate about history and literature, Great Diaries provides an intimate insight into the lives and thoughts of some of the most interesting people of the last 2,000 years.

A Most Remarkable Creature

A Most Remarkable Creature PDF Author: Jonathan Meiburg
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 1101875704
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
“Utterly captivating and beautifully written, this book is a hugely entertaining and enlightening exploration of a bird so wickedly smart, curious, and social, it boggles the mind.”—Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Bird Way “A fascinating, entertaining, and totally engrossing story.”—David Sibley, author of What It's Like to Be a Bird An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history. “As curious, wide-ranging, gregarious, and intelligent as its subject.”—Charles C. Mann, author of 1491 In 1833, Charles Darwin was astonished by an animal he met in the Falkland Islands: handsome, social, and oddly crow-like falcons that were "tame and inquisitive . . . quarrelsome and passionate," and so insatiably curious that they stole hats, compasses, and other valuables from the crew of the Beagle. Darwin wondered why these birds were confined to remote islands at the tip of South America, sensing a larger story, but he set this mystery aside and never returned to it. Almost two hundred years later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up this chase. He takes us through South America, from the fog-bound coasts of Tierra del Fuego to the tropical forests of Guyana, in search of these birds: striated caracaras, which still exist, though they're very rare. He reveals the wild, fascinating story of their history, origins, and possible futures. And along the way, he draws us into the life and work of William Henry Hudson, the Victorian writer and naturalist who championed caracaras as an unsung wonder of the natural world, and to falconry parks in the English countryside, where captive caracaras perform incredible feats of memory and problem-solving. A Most Remarkable Creature is a hybrid of science writing, travelogue, and biography, as generous and accessible as it is sophisticated, and absolutely riveting.

A Writing Studies Primer

A Writing Studies Primer PDF Author: Joyce Kinkead
Publisher: Broadview Press
ISBN: 1770488154
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Writing is omnipresent in our lives, yet we rarely stop and consider its history and material culture. This volume introduces student readers to the development of writing across time and societies. The book incorporates autoethnography and asks readers to consider writing histories, influences, processes, and tools in their own lives. Short readings are included for each chapter. Designed for composition courses with a Writing About Writing focus or courses in Writing Studies, A Writing Studies Primer is a distinctive, visually engaging introduction to writing through its material culture.

Rarest Blue

Rarest Blue PDF Author: Baruch Sterman
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0762790423
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
For centuries, dyed fabrics ranked among the most expensive objects of the ancient Mediterranean world, fetching up to 20 times their weight in gold. Huge fortunes were made from and lost to them, and battles were fought over control of the industry. The few who knew the dyes’ complex secrets carefully guarded the valuable knowledge. The Rarest Blue tells the amazing story of tekhelet, or hyacinth blue, the elusive sky-blue dye mentioned 50 times in the Hebrew Bible. The Minoans discovered it; the Phoenicians stole the technique; Cleopatra adored it; and Jews—obeying a Biblical commandment to affix a single thread of the radiant color to the corner of their garments—risked their lives for it. But with the fall of the Roman Empire, the technique was lost to the ages. Then, in the nineteenth century, a marine biologist saw a fisherman smearing his shirt with snail guts, marveling as the yellow stains turned sky blue. But what was the secret? At the same time, a Hasidic master obsessed with reviving the ancient tradition posited that the source wasn’t a snail at all but a squid. Bitter fighting ensued until another rabbi discovered that one of them was wrong—but had an unscrupulous chemist deliberately deceived him? Baruch Sterman brilliantly recounts the complete, amazing story of this sacred dye that changed the color of history.

Remarkable Creatures

Remarkable Creatures PDF Author: Tracy Chevalier
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0007311176
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Mary Anning, born in a poor family, lived in Lyme Regis and from an early age was fascinated by the fossils, then called snake stones and devil's toenails, that could then be picked up on the beaches. She became far more interested when she realised that these could be sold to the gentry who had grown into avid collectors. She was supported by her family in her enterprise but was often ripped off by the buyers and derided by the scientists. One person came to her rescue: Elizabeth Philpot, daughter of a wealthy family who had settled in Dorset to escape the stultifying respectability of genteel London society. The two women, of different ages and very different class and background, became unlikely friends but the relationship was to take on stranger twists as the excitement of the fossil discoveries - Mary Anning finds the first complete plesiosaur - turns to religious difficulties as the importance of these finds begins to spread.

To Read Or Not to Read

To Read Or Not to Read PDF Author: Ink & Willow
Publisher: Ink & Willow
ISBN: 052565433X
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Keep track of the books you read, record thoughts on your favorite books, get inspired for your next read, and reflect on your literary spiritual journey with this beautifully designed journal for readers. The perfect addition to any personal library, To Read or Not to Read encourages readers of all genres to immerse themselves in a classically illustrated reading journal complete with DIY book review pages and inspirational reading lists. To Read or Not to Read allows readers to step into the book critic role and determine which books to recommend, and which ones to skip based on their reflections throughout the journal. It includes a "How Bookish Are You?" quiz and spotlights on authors such as Flannery O'Connor and Frederick Douglass, whose published works have greatly influenced the combined spheres of faith and literature. With additional fun facts and helpful conversation starters for literary discussions, this journal will become the signature accessory at book clubs, on nightstands, and on every book lover's shelf.

Books that Changed History

Books that Changed History PDF Author: Michael Collins
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780241289334
Category : Best books
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Featuring a foreword by James Naughtie. Turn the pages of the most famous books of all time and marvel at the stories behind them. Over 75 of the world's most celebrated, controversial, rare, and seminal books are examined and explained in this stunning treasury. Books That Changed History is a unique encyclopedia spanning the history of the written word, from 3000 BCE to the modern day. Chronological chapters show the evolution of human knowledge and the changing ways in which books are made. Discover incredible coverage of history's most influential books including the Mahabharata, Shakespeare's First Folio, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Penguin's first ever paperbacks. From Darwin's groundbreaking On the Origin of Species to Louis Braille's conception of the Braille system that we still use today, these are world famous books that have had the biggest impact on history, whether for good or bad. Every book is presented with breathtaking photography and fascinating biographies of those who created them. Books That Changed History gathers dictionaries, diaries, plays, poems, treaties, and religious texts into one stunning celebration of the undisputed power of books.

The Mushroom at the End of the World

The Mushroom at the End of the World PDF Author: Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691178321
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
What a rare mushroom can teach us about sustaining life on a fragile planet Matsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world—and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere. Through its ability to nurture trees, matsutake helps forests to grow in daunting places. It is also an edible delicacy in Japan, where it sometimes commands astronomical prices. In all its contradictions, matsutake offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: what manages to live in the ruins we have made? A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes, The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism. Here, we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, industrial forests, Yi Chinese goat herders, Finnish nature guides, and more. These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction. By investigating one of the world's most sought-after fungi, The Mushroom at the End of the World presents an original examination into the relation between capitalist destruction and collaborative survival within multispecies landscapes, the prerequisite for continuing life on earth.

The Athenaeum

The Athenaeum PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : England
Languages : en
Pages : 916

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Book Description