Ireland's history has long been illuminated, and enlivened, by bizarre, colourful, extravagant, unfettered individuals: ripe country-house eccentrics, saints, scholars, bucks and hell-rakes, duellists, abductors, rhymers and miracle-makers. These factual and fascinating biographical sketches make for 'delightful reading' (Frank Muir).

First published in 1985, Asia’s New Industrial World assesses the power and influence of four key corners of the Far East—Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia.Michael Smith visited Japan, the Far East’s most potent economic force; Jane McLoughlin went to Korea to see a country in transition from deep dependence on traditional heavy industries; Peter Large flew to Singapore, where he found a small nation preparing for a major onslaught into the ‘brain’ industries of...

Ireland's history has long been illuminated, and enlivened, by bizarre, colourful, extravagant, unfettered individuals: ripe country-house eccentrics, saints, scholars, bucks and hell-rakes, duellists, abductors, rhymers and miracle-makers. These factual and fascinating biographical sketches make for 'delightful reading' (Frank Muir).

It’s impossible to go a full day without using snark, so why fight it? Snark is everywhere, from television to movies to everyday life. This lively collection provides hours of entertainment—better than an Etch A Sketch, and more fun than Silly Putty! At the heart of it, being in a state of snark can be one of the most useful tools at one’s disposal and hence (yes, I used “hence”), a powerful way to get what you want. With snark, you can catch people completely off-guard, and royally piss ...

Bite-sized bits of information to give you the edge on trivia night—from crime and punishment to the rich and famous to ghosts, ghouls, oddballs, and more!Packed with more than 400 pages, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: Attack of the Factoids is a fact-a-palooza of obscure information. Like what, you ask? Here are just a few extraordinary examples:* Bats always turn left when they exit a cave.* In the 1960s, astronauts trained for moon voyages by walking on ...

The famouser they are, the funnier they fall!Oops, they did it again. Whether it’s Tom Cruise going berserk on Oprah’s couch, Taylor Swift ending a relationship just so she can write a song, or Jennifer Lawrence falling at the Oscars—twice, when celebrities get involved, goofs are bound to happen. And those goofs take center stage in Showbiz Blunders, which includes several BRI classics along with some all-new hijinks from today’s (and yesterday’s) dimmest...

Trust father of three William Shakespeare for all the advice you need for any parenting dilemma, in this witty and erudite guide—a handy collection of wisdom drawn from his most beloved works, from Hamlet to King Lear to Much Ado About Nothing.With a series of cunningly extracted lines from his best-loved plays and sonnets, hilariously illustrated in a simple, almost child-like style, James Andrews proves once again that Shakespeare—expert on love, death,...

A list of five words to describe Uncle John's Lists That Make You Go Hmmm...: 1. Funny; 2. Fact-filled; 3. Surprising; 4. Unique; 5. Essential.Uncle John's Lists That Make You Go Hmmm... puts a whole new spin on Uncle John’s unique brand of trivia. Readers will be treated to 288 pages of irresistible easy-to-digest lists featuring short facts, fascinating history, and weird news--plus lists about science, sports, quotes, wordplay, showbiz, and ran...

Roads to Richmond is an unusual, almost quirky road book. Divided into four thematic parts and forty-eight short chapters, it works like a mosaic: the big picture is a moving portrait of a little known corner of Canada—Quebec’s Eastern Townships. The inlaid stones that make up the mosaic are small gems in their own right: brief histories, candid snapshots, curious anecdotes, insightful observations, sobering reflections, stories to make you smile. Part contemporary history, part lyric narr...

This book contains 250 music anecdotes, including these:Hardcore group Black Flag sometimes played shows for very few people. In 1982, Black Flag played a show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for two, or at most five people, who sat far away, in the back. Henry Rollins, lead singer, was mad, and he complained about the lack of audience just before Black Flag went on stage to perform. Fortunately, Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski talked to him, and in Mr. Rollins' words, "str...

Mignon McLaughlin was a short story writer and playwright with a rapier wit and an acerbic take on love, marriage, and friendship. Her aphorisms, published between 1958 and 1966, will appeal to everyone who appreciates this aristocratic, subversive genre. Not all of the collection consists of aphorisms, strictly speaking: some are simply reflections, brutally honest as they are clever, on McLaughlin’s own fears and foibles. Aperçus is an autobiography in epigrams of a shrewd, candid, and e...

When the little angels are driving you crazy and you're one minivan away from being a personal taxi service, these wonderful quips and quotes are the perfect reminder of why being a mother is the best job in the world.