A plainspoken writer of consummate wryness, grace, and humor, the Egyptian author chronicles the lives of a polyglot Cairene upper crust, shortly after the fall of King Farouk, who are thoroughly unprepared to change their neo-feudal ways. This is the best book to date about post-Farouk Egypt.-Sylvie Drake, Los Angeles Times

    A striking, original memoir of the archaeology of language praised as "an etymological wonderment" (William Safire) and "simply and eloquently -- magic".

    19 experiments. Five continents. 91,000 miles. And a book that will forever change the way you think about humor.Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist detail their epic quest to discover the secret behind what makes things funny.Dr. Peter McGraw, founder of the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, teamed up with journalist Joel Warner on a far-reaching search for the secret behind humor. Their journey spanned the globe, from New York to Japan, from Palestine to the Amazon. Meanwhile, the duo conducted their own humor experiments along the way—to wince-worthy, hilarious, and illuminating results.In their quixotic search, they questioned countless experts, from comedians like Louis C.K. to rat-tickling researchers, and answered pressing (and not-so-pressing) questions such as, “What’s the secret to winning The New Yorker cartoon caption contest?”; “Who has the bigger funny bone—men or women, Democrats or Republicans?”; and “Is laughter really the best medicine?” As a final test, McGraw uses everything they learned to attempt stand-up—at the largest comedy festival in the world.Funny, surprising, and often touching, The Humor Code is a revealing exploration of humor, society, and an unusual friendship.

    M. Ironside's saga of the Thutmosides of ancient Egypt. This set contains: The Sekhmet Bed: Book 1 Thirteen-year-old Ahmose is given as Great Royal Wife to the new king, to legitimize his rule. But her elder sister Mutnofret has been raised to expect the privileged station. As Ahmose fights the currents of Egypt's politics and Mutnofret's vengeful anger, her youth and inexperience carry her beyond her depth and into the realm of sacrilege. To right her wrongs and save Egypt from the gods' wrath, Ahmose must face her most visceral fear: bearing an heir. But the gods of Egypt are exacting, and even her sacrifice may not be enough to restore the Two Lands to safety. The Crook and Flail: Book 2 Hatshepsut longs for power, but a woman on the throne defies the sacred order. As God's Wife of Amun, she believes she has found the perfect balance of peace and order. But when the powerful men of Egypt plot to replace her, she must decide whether to surrender her birthright to a man, or take for herself the throne of the Pharaoh. Sovereign of Stars: Book 3 Never in Egypt's long history has a woman reigned as king. As Hatshepsut wrestles with foreign enemies and domestic politics, her heart grows ever more troubled, for her daughter Neferure is haunted by a brutal and demanding god. Hatshepsut's fight to retain her hold on power, peace, and Neferure will carry her on an incomparable journey to the legendary kingdom of Punt. There, in the god's own valley, she must confront the bleakness of fate and the terrible frailty of eternity. The Bull of Min: Book 4 Conspiracy and treason simmer in the Two Lands. When an unexpected challenger to the succession arises, the royal family must face impossible choices. To protect what she most loves, the young queen Meryet will match wits against a demon from the past. Hatshepsut stands on the brink of the ultimate sacrifice. And Thutmose, torn between throne and family, must commit an unthinkable act against Hatshepsut...or allow Egypt to fall into the hands of an unpredictable killer.

    Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader. Noted essayist Alberto Manguel moves from this essential moment to explore the 6000-year-old conversation between words and that magician without whom the book would be a lifeless object: the reader. Manguel lingers over reading as seduction, as rebellion, as obsession, and goes on to trace the never-before-told story of the reader's progress from clay tablet to scroll, codex to CD-ROM.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Egypt's crisis of culture and other woes are often attributed to the 'open door policy' (Infitah) initiated under President Sadat in the mid-1970s, and to the large-scale migration of Egyptian workers to the oil-rich states of the Gulf that began around the same time. Galal Amin contends, however, that these factors alone are insufficient to explain the fundamental changes in behavior and attitudes that characterize modern Egyptian life. The 'missing link, ' Amin argues, lies in the social mobility unleashed by the July Revolution of 1952, which was later accelerated by Infitah and workers' migration. The sudden upward mobility and attendant prestige, self-confidence, and purchasing power of a large segment of Egyptian society and the desire to display this new-found social position as conspicuously as possible have had an enormous effect on the attitudes and allegiances of these groups. Through a fascinating and often highly entertaining examination of issues ranging from the middle class, religious fanaticism, and attitudes to the West and Western culture, to the Egyptian institution of the summer holiday by the sea and the performing arts and entertainment, Amin posits that social mobility has changed the customs and habits, moral and material values, and patterns of consumption and investment of the aspiring classes, and has, furthermore, induced the Egyptian people to ignore national and ideological issues of grave importance.This insightful book will prove a thought-provoking read for those concerned with emerging economies, international development, and privatization, and will intrigue anyone with an interest in the social history of Egypt.The Arabic edition of this book was awarded the Cairo International Book Fair Prize for the best book in Social Studies in 1998. Comments on the Arabic edition: 'A rare example of combining social theory with concrete observation and intimate personal experience.... A very perceptive account of Egyptian social development with almost the impact of a dramatic creation." Abd al-Qader al-Qutt, al-Ahram, 2000."A very valuable and highly important contribution to social thought and to Egypt's social history.... A highly original and enjoyable book." Faruq Shusha, al-Ahram, 1999.

    Volume A: Skill and Strategies provides comprehensive coverage of the language skill and test-taking strategies student need to increase their TOEFL test score. Volume B: Practice Tests offers five complete tests that reproduce the format and style of the TOEFL test and further familiarize student with the exam.Volume B: Practice Testsfeatures: A comprehensive strategies section to help students avoid common mistakes and maximized their time Five complete Practice Tests which allow students to simulate taking the actual TOEFL test and the TWE test (Test of Written English) Sample TOEFL test Answer Sheets to provide practice with both othe horizontal and the vertical formats A complete Tapescript and Answer Key making this text useful for self-study as well as classroom instructionVolume B: Practice Tests is accompanied by a set audio cassettes.

    Whether you are a native speaker who wants to sharpen their verbal toolkit, or a non-native speaker who wants to learn how to navigate the English language maze, this book will provide you with information and techniques for instant improvement and lifelong learning. Maybe you want to improve your presentation skills. Perhaps you want to tel more interesting and engaging stories. Or maybe you simply want to become more articulate in your day-to-day use of English. Whatever your needs, your goal is to improve your English, and Launch Your English can guide you to do just that. In this book you'll learn how to: • become more creative and descriptive in your English usage • capture people's attention with your vivid and enhanced expressions • break English down into building blocks for easy improvement • select the right word and expression to articulate your thoughts exactly Free resources for students of English -> SirEnglish.com

    With sections on work, the self, relationships and language, this book is indispensable for anyone who wants to improve what they say, and how they say it.

    It’s the harmful debris of your education—a mixture of half-truths, myths, and false assumptions that prevents you from writing well. Drawing on years of experience as a writer and teacher of writing, Verlyn Klinkenborg offers an approach to writing that will change the way you work and think. There is no gospel, no orthodoxy, no dogma in this book. What you’ll find here isn’t the way to write. Instead, you’ll find a way to clear your mind of illusions about writing and discover how you write. Several Short Sentences About Writing is a book of first steps and experiments. They will revolutionize the way you think and perceive, and they will change forever the sense of your own authority as a writer. This is a book full of learning, but it’s also a book full of unlearning—a way to recover the vivid, rhythmic, poetic sense of language you once possessed. An indispensable and unique book that will give you a clear understanding of how to think about what you do when you write and how to improve the quality of your writing.

    Now Blanchard, along with coauthor Margret McBride, presents a concept that, when implemented properly, is one of the most powerful actions for improving company and employee morale. This is also a book that can extend well beyond the business realm and can repair relationships that we thought were broken forever.Using Blanchard's signature breezy style, The One Minute Apology tells the story of a Young Man who wants to help his mentor, a company president, face and deal with some crucial mistakes he has made. For advice, the Young Man turns to a family friend, the One Minute Manager. What begins as a beautiful country weekend turns into an enlightening few days when he discovers what it truly means to apologize effectively when we have done something wrong. Through this engaging parable, Blanchard and McBride teach readers step-by-step how to accept responsibility for their errors and deal with the cause of the damage while maintaining a genuine sense of integrity.Destined to join Ken Blanchard's other groundbreaking classics, The One Minute Apology offers businesspeople -- and just about anyone -- a cogent and clear-headed way of approaching one of life's most perplexing dilemmas: how to accept that we have made a wrong decision and how to correct it by making a meaningful apology. The techniques described in this simple but profound story will have significant results at work and at home.

    This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

    Discusses the basics of the Arabic language and provides instruction in the Arabic alphabet.