Librorum Ridiculorum: A Compendium of Bizarre Books PDF Download

Author: Brian Lake
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0008545561
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
A celebration of all the weird and wonderful books to be found at an antiquarian bookshop.

Author: HarperCollins
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0008257876
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description
Did you know there are over 47,000 facts in the world?* And the good news is, many of them are in this book. That’s right, The Grand Tour A-Z of the Car is the only reference guide you need for cars, driving and all related matters, especially if you’re not too fussed about those facts being accurate.

Author: Bette Dam
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9354892868
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
For twenty years, the Taliban was the number one enemy of Western forces in Afghanistan. But it was an enemy that they knew little about, and about whose founder and leader, Mullah Omar, they knew even less. Armed with only a fuzzy black-and-white photo of the man, investigative journalist Bette Dam decided to track down the reclusive Taliban chief a decade back. But in the course of what had seemed an almost impossible job, she got to know the Taliban inside out, realized how dangerously misinformed the global forces fighting it were, and made a startling discovery about the elusive Omar's whereabouts. The outcome of a five-year-long pursuit, Looking for the Enemy is a woman journalist's epic story that takes the reader deep into the dangerous mountains and war-ravaged valleys of Afghanistan as it throws up several unknowns about an organization that is now once again at the helm in one of the world's most fragile states.

Author: Andrew Taylor
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1849165610
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Books that Changed the World tells the fascinating stories behind 50 books that, in ways great and small, have changed the course of human history. Andrew Taylor sets each text in its historical context and explores its wider influence and legacy. Whether he's discussing the incandescent effect of The Qu'ran, the enduring influence of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, of the way in which Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe glavanized the anti-slavery movement, Taylor has written a stirring and informative testament to human ingenuity and endeavour. Ranging from The Iliad to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Kama Sutra to Lady Chatterley's Lover, this is the ultimate, thought-provoking read for book-lovers everywhere.

Author: Kendra Wilson
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
ISBN: 9781786273222
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Mazes have been a part of civilization for at least 4,000 years, and there are more being built now than ever before. What is it about these magical life-size puzzles that continues to intrigue us? The idea of the maze taps into so many subconscious notions: the game, the quest, the spiritual journey. Perhaps this is the key to their enduring appeal. This beautifully illustrated book will delight lovers of mazes, acting as a guide, directory, and puzzle book combined. Specially commissioned illustrations by Thibaud Hérem represent 60 real and imagined mazes from around the world, with a bird's eye view of each maze so that readers can make their own journey. Each maze is also accompanied by a fascinating and witty short history.

Author: Jeremy Black
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300167954
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 505

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Book Description
A thought-provoking analysis of how the acquisition and utilization of information has determined the course of history over the past five centuries and shaped the world as we know it todaydiv /DIV

Author: Avery Monsen
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452121265
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
An adult parody of children’s alphabet books, offering horrible—but hilarious—advice, from the authors of All my friends are dead. In the humorous vein of Go the F**k to Sleep comes a laugh-out-loud collection of bad advice that turns the children’s alphabet book on its head. Adorable, illustrated characters lead readers down a path of poor decision-making, and alphabetical, rhyming couplets offer terrible life lessons. O is for opening things with your teeth, F is for setting Daddy’s wallet on fire, and R is for Raccoon (but definitely not for rabies). With plenty of playfully disastrous choices lurking around every corner, this compendium of black humor may be terrible for actual children, but it’s perfect for the common-senseless child in all adults. Plus, this is the fixed-format version, which looks nearly identical to the physical book. Praise for K is for Knifeball “Great fun for adults. The humorous illustrations, done in the style common in kids books, greatly add to the fun.” —Geek Alerts

Author: Cigalle Hanaor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
Did you know that 40 per cent of all mammal species in this world are rodents. The skin of the Naked Mole Rat lacks the neurotransmitters that allow it to feel pain. The main difference between a hamster and a gerbil is that the former is nocturnal and the latter isnt. The capybara is the worlds largest rodent, weighing up to 80kg. The African pygmy mouse weighs only seven grams. KnowYour Rodent is an illustrated guide to twenty-three rodent species, which is at once fascinatingly informative and oddly humorous. Brilliantly distinctive drawings by up-and-coming illustrator Thibaud Hérem draw inspiration from such masters as Bruno Munari and Joelle Jolivet, and capture the essence of some of the weirdest and most wonderful creatures the planet has to offer. With a lightness of touch that will appeal to adults and children alike, this offbeat little volume brings together the marvels of nature and the marvels of beautiful design in a perfect little package.

Author: Michiko Kakutani
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
ISBN: 0525574972
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Pulitzer Prize–winning literary critic Michiko Kakutani shares 100 personal, thought-provoking essays about books that have mattered to her and that help illuminate the world we live in today—with beautiful illustrations throughout. “A book tailormade for bibliophiles.”—Oprah Winfrey “An ebullient celebration of books and reading.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) In the introduction to her new collection of essays, Ex Libris: 100+ Books to Read and Reread, Michiko Kakutani writes: “In a world riven by political and social divisions, literature can connect people across time zones and zip codes, across cultures and religions, national boundaries and historical eras. It can give us an understanding of lives very different from our own, and a sense of the shared joys and losses of human experience.” Readers will discover novels and memoirs by some of the most gifted writers working today; favorite classics worth reading or rereading; and nonfiction works, both old and new, that illuminate our social and political landscape and some of today’s most pressing issues, from climate change to medicine to the consequences of digital innovation. There are essential works in American history (The Federalist Papers, The Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.); books that address timely cultural dynamics (Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Image, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale); classics of children’s literature (the Harry Potter novels, Where the Wild Things Are); and novels by acclaimed contemporary writers like Don DeLillo, William Gibson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ian McEwan. With richly detailed illustrations by lettering artist Dana Tanamachi that evoke vintage bookplates, Ex Libris is an impassioned reminder of why reading matters more than ever.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
Against today's copyrighted-to-the-gills Hollywood movie industry, the wacky world of Ghanian movie posters comes as a joyous relief, with its absolute lack of respect for not only the directors and even stars of Hollywood, but especially the official iconography that accompanies such films. With the arrival of the video cassette in West Africa in the 1980s, a type of mobile movie house was born, typically consisting of a TV, a VCR, an electrical generator and a car, sometimes presenting blockbusters, sometimes underrated and nearly-forgotten movies, most of them Hollywood-produced. To promote these screenings, artists were commissioned to handpaint posters, often with only a few stills to guide them as to the movie's subject, and with a completely free hand as to the posters' content--they were at liberty to add or change scenes, toss in a few mutant monsters, anything to catch the prospective customer's eye. By applying this basic rule of packaging, artists created bizarre images in which monsters mixed with naked women and superheroes, pitched against naively painted and weirdly proportioned African landscapes. Sadly, this window of copyright-free anarchy lasted only a short time, and by the end of the 1990s the mobile cinema business had declined as television became more widely available in Ghana. Proof that naked mutant superhero monsters are always where it's at, this wonderfully illustrated volume commemorates a glorious moment in popular art.