From Alistair Horne's grand trilogy on French history-two magisterial works now back in print In 1870, Paris was the center of Europe, the font of culture, fashion, and invention. Ten months later Par
A short history of nearly everything classical. The foundations of the modern world were laid in Alexandria of Egypt at the turn of the first millennium. In this compulsively readable narrative, Justi
A revelatory look at what happens when political Islam collides with the secular West Ian Buruma 's Murder in Amsterdam is a masterpiece of investigative journalism, a book with the intimacy and narra
Read Linda Hirshman's posts on the Penguin Blog. Does changing a toddler ’s diapers count as a fulfilling job? Is the glass ceiling that keeps women from advancing in their careers actually locat
In A Mathematician at the Ballpark, professor Ken Ross reveals the math behind the stats. This lively and accessible book shows baseball fans how to harness the power of made predictions and better un
A gripping modern-day detective story about the scientific quest to understand the Oracle of Delphi Like Walking the Bible, this fascinating book turns a modern eye on an enduring legend. The Oracle o
In this intimate anthology, twenty writers explore the grief and sadness?and hope?that living through a miscarriage can bring. Featuring such notable writers as Pam Houston, Joyce Maynard, Caroline Le
Michael Kimmelman, the prominent New York Times writer and a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, is known as a deep and graceful writer across the disciplines of art and music and als
Author, dramatist and satirist, Nikolay Gogol (1809-52) deeply influenced later Russian literature with his powerful depictions of a society dominated by petty bureaucracy and base corruption. This vo
Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. She also knows that as the most important food critic in the country, you need to be
Michelle Kennedy had a typical middle class American childhood in Vermont. She attended college, interned in the U.S. Senate, married her high school sweetheart and settled in the suburbs of D.C. But
Traces key advances in physics, explaining its basics using examples from films and literature such as "Back to the Future," which demonstrates special relativity, and Poe's "The Purloined Letter," wh
Now that he’s won the chocolate factory, what’s next for Charlie?Last seen flying through the sky in a giant elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie Bucket’s back for another adventure
A dazzling collection of crime and mystery stories, Shades of Black is a landmark achievement. Bringing together today's brightest talent from the field-from Walter Mosley, "one of America's best myst
In this amusing and brilliantly conceived book, Michael Sims introduces you to your body. Moving from head to toe, Sims blends cultural history with evolutionary theory to produce a wonderfully origin
In this cogent and persuasive examination of identity in the modern world, Amin Maalouf moves across the world's history, faiths, and politics, outlining the way the notion of a singular identity—pers
Are some of the world's most talented children's book authors essentially children themselves? In this engaging series of essays, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alison Lurie considers this theory, expl
In recent decades, the timeless practice of yoga has gained increasing popularity throughout the western world. However, many practitioners don't fully understand the philosophy behind yoga. In a bo
Imbued with a friendly tone and pithy wisdom, this handsome handbook to approaching life "in a better way" includes six of His Holiness The Dalai Lama's most accessible and inspirational public lectur
The most complete and up-to-date estate-planning guide available... Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest tax codes, the third edition of How to Settle an Estate is the essential step
Why does a gifted psychiatrist suddenly begin to torment his own beloved wife? How can a ninety-pound woman carry a massive air conditioner to the second floor of her home, install it in a window una
Ready to meet your child’s first teacher? Then look in the mirror and say “hello!” The parent is a child’s first and most important teacher. The mere interaction of parent and child – from cooing an
An investigation into the sudden death of Pope John Paul I on September 28, 1978 probes rumors of conspiracy and murder surrounding the death and reveals intense rivalries within the Vatican, financia
Presents the first two published collections by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet--A Boy's Will and North of Boston, which includes two of his most familiar works, "Mending Wall" and "The Death of the H
Embattled once again, this time in the mountains of western Spain near the pass called the Gateway of God, Richard Sharpe faces a redoubtable array of opponents, including an army of deserters, ten fi
A year after the victory at Talavera, Wellington's army, outnumbered and bankrupt, is on the verge of collapse. Its only hope lies in a cache of gold hidden in the Portuguese mountains, and the only m
According to William Ury, it takes two sides to fight, but a third to stop. Distilling the lessons of two decades of experience in family struggles, labor strikes, and wars, he presents a bold new str
Self-mutilation is a behavior so shocking that it is almost never discussed. Yet estimates are that upwards of eight million Americans are chronic self-injurers. They are people who use knives, razor
Making remarkable connections across a wide range of subjects including brain anatomy and function, anthropology, history, and religion, Shlain argues that, with the advent of literacy, the very act
A collection of prison letters, essays, and other writings by a Chinese political prisoner captures the struggles he has faced fighting for democracy in his homeland over the course of the past twenty
Go beyond the headlines and the hype to get the newest findings in the burgeoning field of gender studies. Drawing on disciplines that include evolutionary science, anthropology, animal behavior, neur
If, as Darwin suggests, evolution relentlessly encourages the survival of the fittest, why are humans compelled to live in cooperative, complex societies? In this fascinating examination of the roots
Lois and Wilma are proud of their father's brand-new gold Cadillac, and excited that the family will be driving it all the way from Ohio to Mississippi. But as they travel deeper into the rural South,
Remember the view from atop a tree? You could survey the landscape like a monarch, escape your parents' watchful eye, and let your imagination run wild. Well, just because you've grown up, it doesn'
More than forty percent of our country was once open prairie, grassland that extended from Missouri to Montana. Taking a critical look at this little-understood biome, award-winning journalist Richard
Demonstrates the separation between the races in one small Southern town and, through research and historical records, notes how two families, one who had been slaves and the other who had been slaveo
"Shows us, in disturbing but illuminating detail, how violence and cruelty register on the psyche. This beautifully written book makes us reckon anew with the deep costs of war."—Eva Hoffman.
"Soars into sublime meditation...what makes this book so extraordinary is her willingness to reveal exactlty what goes on in the sometimes mysterious encounter between therapist and patient."?The Los
Edward Gibbon's six-volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one o
"Its theme is the most overwhelming phenomenon in recorded history #151; the disintegration not of a nation, but of an old and rich and apparently indestructible civilization." #151;Moses Hadas, edito
