"Delightful, enlightening . . . The twisty history of the hybrid divider perfectly embodies the transience of language." — VultureThe semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care?In Semicolon, Cecelia Watson charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was...

A page-turning, existential romp through the life and times of the world’s most polarizing punctuation markThe semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care?In Semicolon, Cecelia Watson charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the worl...

From the author of Proust and the Squid, a lively, ambitious, and deeply informative epistolary book that considers the future of the reading brain and our capacity for critical thinking, empathy, and reflection as we become increasingly dependent on digital technologies.A decade ago, Maryanne Wolf’s Proust and the Squid revealed what we know about how the brain learns to read and how reading changes the way we think and feel. Since then, the ways we process writt...

With his trademark humor and flair, bestselling linguist John McWhorter busts the myths and shares the history of the most controversial language topic of our times: pronounsThe nature of language is to shift and evolve—but every so often, a new usage creates a whole lot of consternation. These days, pronouns are throwing curveballs, and it matters, because pronoun habits die hard. If you need a refresher from eighth-grade English: Pronouns are short, used endlessl...

Which famous author died of caffeine poisoning? Why was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland banned in China? Who was the first British writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature? What was Truman Capote superstitious about?Here is a light-hearted book about books and the people who write them for all lovers of literature. A treasure trove of compelling facts, riveting anecdotes, and extraordinary characters, For the Love of Books is a book about books—and the inside stories a...

Ecologist Adele Brand has devoted her life to understanding the fabled yet enigmatic fox. Now she reveals their secrets in this extraordinary portrait of our most remarkable wild neighbors.The fox. For thousands of years myth and folklore have celebrated its cunning intelligence. Today the red fox is the nature’s most populous carnivore, its dancing orange tail a common sight in backyards. Yet who is this wild neighbor, truly? How do we negotiate this unea...

Imagine you were transported back in time to Medieval England and had to start a new life there. Without mobile phones, iPads, internet, and social media networks, when transport means walking or, if you're fortunate, horseback, how will you know where you are or what to do? Where will you live? What is there to eat? What shall you wear? How can you communicate when nobody speaks as you do and what about money? Who can you go to if you fall ill or are mugged in the street? However can you ...

Don't Know Much About Anything: Everything You Need to Know But Never Learned About Famous People, Exceptional Places, Historical Happenings, Holidays and Traditions, Everyday Objects, Remarkable Inventions, Space, Sports, Food, Entertainment and More! is a compendium of around 275 columns, sorted into the subject categories listed in the subtitle. Quizzes on the atomic bomb, hamburgers, football, and The Wizard of Oz are included, along with the Emancipation Proclamation...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Garbology explores the hidden and costly wonders of our buy-it-now, get-it-today world of transportation, revealing the surprising truths, mounting challenges, and logistical magic behind every trip we take and every click we make.Transportation dominates our daily existence. Thousands, even millions, of miles are embedded in everything we do and touch. We live in a door-to-door universe that works so well most Americans ...

National bestselling book: Featured on Midwest, Mountain Plains, New Atlantic, Northern, Pacific Northwest and Southern Regional Indie Bestseller ListsPerfect book for the birder and anti-birder alikeA humorous look at fifty common North American dumb birds: For those who have a disdain for birds or bird lovers with a sense of humor, this snarky handbook is equal parts profane, funny, and—let's face it—true.Featurin...

Find creative inspiration in this fascinating rummage through the wastebaskets, secret diaries, and abandoned files of twenty literary superstars.If you like to write—whether it's a pastime, a passion, or a profession—you've probably found yourself reading something brilliant and thinking, "I could never do this! I might as well give up." But if there's one thing every great author has in common, it's this: they've all written some hot garbage.Revisiona...

**In this history of ideas, New York Times editorial writer Binyamin Appelbaum tells the story of the people who sparked four decades of economic revolution."Lively and entertaining." —The New Yorker**Before the 1960s, American politicians had never paid much attention to economists. But as the post-World War II boom began to sputter, economists gained influence and power.In The Economists' Hour, Binyamin Appelbaum traces the rise of the e...