Have you heard the one about the man who walked into a bar? (Ouch!)... Penguin Pocket Jokes is essential (and hilarious) reading for anyone searching for the perfect joke. Whether you want a snappy wisecrack or a longer rib-tickler when making a speech, this easy-to-use guide will provide the perfect witticism.

What's in a name? Rather more than you might at first suspect, for names are steeped in history and myth and have much to tell us about our past, our beliefs - even our personality traits. The Penguin Pocket Dictionary of Babies' Names takes a close look at 3500 names, explaining origins and meanings, showing how some have changed in popularity and use over time and providing all the diminutive and variant forms.Part of Penguin's major new series of reference titles ranging from Sp...

A more-ishly browsable collection of words and phrases, linguistic quirks, lexical oddities and syntactic surprises.Our langauge is one of delight and curiosity. BUTTERING PARSNIPS, TWOCKING CHAVS is a guided tour of English, exploring the origins of words, their changing meaning, lexical peculiarities, word games and lost words, presented in lists, small passages of narrative text, amusing quotations and nuggets of amazing facts.This must-have compendium s...

From theatre to politics, no other single civilisation has influenced the Western world more profoundly than that of ancient Greece.From the roots of democracy to philosophy and mathematics, it’s fascinating to learn how much western civilisation has stemmed from that of ancient Greece. This book offers an introduction to the lives of the ancient Greeks, their mythologies and traditions and their culture and learning.With colour illustrations supporting a clear, informative...

All the essential facts on ancient Egypt covering mummification, the pharaohs, the pyramids and the mysterious rituals.The ancient Egyptians have fascinated and enthralled the minds of millions down the centuries. With extensive scientific knowledge, splendid architecture and many artistic and cultural achievements, their civilisation stood apart as being ahead of its time. This compact and informative guide is perfect for all those studying ancient Egypt, visiting the sights, or c...

Now available as an ebook, this acclaimed A-Z dictionary is a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the superstitions, old and new, of the English-speaking world, complete with their origins, meanings and variant forms. It includes just about everything from touching wood, crossing fingers and identifying future lovers to folk remedies, spells and modern beliefs relating to the lottery, the computer and the mobile phone. A first-class source book for the historian, folklorist and casual re...

An entertaining and authoritative introduction to the world of piracy – history comes to life through a compelling factual narrative and enlightening illustrations.Why did seamen become pirates? What was life like on board a pirate ship? How did they go about plundering the enemy’s ship? What sort of treasure did they capture?‘Collins Gem Pirates’ vividly explains and illustrates the development of piracy from ancient times to the modern day. It addresses why piracy started...

From the Colosseum to Hadrian’s Wall, Gem Ancient Rome shows us how Rome’s vast empire laid the foundations of today’s civilisation.From aqueducts to baths, from gladiators to emperors, the fascinating history of and mythology of ancient Rome are brought to life in this entertaining and highly-readable guide.With their sophisticated army, monuments and roads, the Romans literally paved the way to modern Europe.Learn about the hand-to-hand combat at gladiatorial shows...

Available for the first time as an ebook, this acclaimed 180,000-word A-Z dictionary is a comprehensive and highly readable guide to witchcraft, revealing the historical reality beneath the popular stereotypes of old hags, broomsticks, and black cats. Complete with biographies of notorious witches and descriptions of their covens, familiars, spells and practices, it also contains colourful accounts of infamous trials and all the associated paraphernalia of witch-hunting, torture and persec...

In this book, Bauman examines how we have moved away from a 'heavy' and 'solid', hardware-focused modernity to a 'light' and 'liquid', software-based modernity. This passage, he argues, has brought profound change to all aspects of the human condition. The new remoteness and un-reachability of global systemic structure coupled with the unstructured and under-defined, fluid state of the immediate setting of life-politics and human togetherness, call for the rethinking of the concepts and co...

What happens when a mysterious handmaiden, an immortal Wolf, and a kingdom on the brink of ruin become entangled in a battle that defies fate itself?A world of ancient secrets, perilous alliances, and forbidden desires awaits in Feast of Fates, the first book in the critically acclaimed Four Feasts Till Darkness series.Morigan is no one—an unassuming handmaiden with no past, no future, and no power. Or so she believes. But the mom...

Jesus’ Sermon on the MountJesus’ powerful teaching in the Sermon on the Mount shows us how to live. How should I pray? How can I stop worrying? How can I speak with integrity? This fresh translation will help you take up the challenge of the radical lifestyle that Jesus wants for his followers.Are you so familiar with the text of your preferred Bible version that it no longer speaks to you powerfully? Do you want to explore the message of the New Testament...