The unmatched guide—and perfect gift—for stymied scribes and working wordsmiths everywhere, now expanded and updated.A singular and indispensable reference tool, The Describer's Dictionary—now expanded and updated—has served for over twenty years as the go-to resource for writers who are determined to capture the world in just the right words.The dictionary uses a unique reverse definition-to-term format that makes it easy to zero in on the term yo...

"Like animals, plants and book reviewers, words can become extinct, but Grambs is here to salvage the most missed of the lexical dinosaurs."—Patricia Holt, San Francisco ChronicleWe often hear about the richness of the English language, how many more words it contains than French or German. And yet modern desk dictionaries are the result of a paring away of that glory, so that merely standard, functional, current words remain. The price we pay for such con...

A cornucopia of spelling challenges—from the deceptively simple to the truly vexing—for good, better, and exceptional spellers (or those who want to be).So You Think You Can Spell? is a handy way to go one on one, pencil to paper, against hard, harder, and heartless words. The challenges vary from three- and five-word mini-quizzes to fifty-worders, from tests of quite familiar (but ever misspelled) words to those rife with vowel, consonant, or silent-lette...

Books are our first and most lasting form of information technology. Books preserve ideas, yes, but they also provoke new ones— they are true tools for thinking. In The Idea Machine, Joel J. Miller shows that books are one of the most important but overlooked factors in the making of our contemporary world. And they still have lessons to teach us.Polls indicate reading is on the decline, but as we deal with concerns about artificial intelligence and social and political di...

Explore every corner of the USA.Always wanted to visit the USA but don't know where to start? 50 States: The Ultimate Travel List is your invitation to discover unforgettable things to see, do, and experience across America.Inside you’ll find:- A state-by-state rundown of unmissable experiences, organized alphabetically for easy planning and browsing- Iconic landmarks, national parks, scenic drives, historic s...

**WINNER OF THE GODDARD RIVERSIDE STEPHAN RUSSO BOOK PRIZE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE • A former public defender takes us behind the closed doors of America's criminal courts, revealing how the institutions that claim to protect us are doing the exact opposite—and offering a blueprint for finally fixing it.“A searing, compassionate, and utterly necessary book that pulls back the curtain with the clarity of a lawyer and the heart of someone who’s seen the criminal legal system’s devastating...

An invigorating guide to fighting back—part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of conformity and authoritarian driftHow do we push back in a world where political leaders wield fear and intimidation? Where digital technology dehumanizes and flattens us? We need role models, and in this engaging book, acclaimed writer Gal Beckerman goes looking for them. Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across ...

In this ambitious and groundbreaking history of the dollar, financial journalist and economic scholar Brendan Greeley makes a new argument about the origins of our money—and the people and nations who have surrendered to it.“Eye-opening, educational, exhaustively reported, and very fun to read.”—Foreign PolicyAmerica’s money is global money—nearly every nation in the world writes international contracts in dollars, and in 2023, cen...

An irresistible and enchanting journey through human history—from mankind’s earliest fires to the latest smart phones—that tells the surprising and untold story of storytelling.Joan Didion told us, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” And yet, the story of stories has never been told until now. MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton was at the forefront of the digital revolution that led to the invention of the smartphone, the ultimate storytelling device. Th...

Meet the Gods of Sun and SacrificeStep into the dazzling world of ancient Mesoamerica with this engaging and accessible guide to Aztec mythology.#1 New Release in History of New Age & MythologyExplore the legends, gods, and cosmic cycles that defined one of the most powerful civilizations in the Americas. Far from a dry academic text, Myths, Gods, and Rituals of Aztec Mythology brings these...

**A frank, hands-on guide to using AI at work, unpacking for the curious and skeptical alike the “24 Laws” of AI and revealing strategies that businesses of every size can use to free up time, innovate, and add to the bottom line—from a Wall Street Journal tech columnist“The antidote to AI panic. Read it. You’ll breathe easier.”—Scott Galloway, NYU Stern School of Business professor and co-host of Pivot with Kara Swisher“A clear, practical, and hype-free g...

Music: it’s not only the soundtrack to our lives, but shapes who we are – conjuring memories, emotions, dreams, fantasies'Elegant and accessible.' Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on MusicBut why is it so evocative? There’s no logical reason why a rousing, percussive tune should invoke swashbuckling pirates, or a slow melody on the flute remind you of a summer day from childhood. And yet, as research shows, it consist...