The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers


Michael Newton - 1990
    From Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy, the encyclopedia gives readers an overview of what is undoubtedly the most macabre and fascinating branch of crime and modern criminology.

Weird, Scary & Unusual Stories & Facts (Armchair Reader)


Jeff Bahr - 2008
    There are more fascinating tales and outrageous facts about our weird and wacky world than you could ever imagine, and you will find hundreds of the funniest, weirdest, strangest, and scariest in this book.Here is a sampling of what you will find in Weird, Scary & Unusual Stories & Facts:- The Watseka Wonder, one of the most authentic cases of spirit possession in history.- Eyewitness accounts of UFOs, USOs (unidentified submerged objects), and other unexplained phenomena, such as crying statues and disappearing ships.- The White House ghosts—William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln—said to haunt 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.- The mysterious handprint that reappears in Carbon County Prison in Pennsylvania despite extensive efforts for more than 125 years to remove it.- Mike the Headless Chicken, the incredible story of a scrappy bird who lived for 18 months after his head was chopped off.Weird, Scary & Unusual Stories & Facts entertains and amazes with hundreds of incredible stories of hauntings, monsters, spirits, hoaxes, mysteries, freaks of nature, and curiosities.

So You Created a Wormhole: The Time Traveler's Guide to Time Travel


Phil Hornshaw - 2012
    G. Wells to Albert Einstein to Bill & Ted have been fascinated by time travel-some say drawn to it like moths to a flame. But in order to travel safely and effectively, newbie travelers need to know the dos and don'ts. Think of this handy little book as the only thing standing between you and an unimaginably horrible death-or being trapped forever in another time or alternate reality. You get: Essential time travel knowledge: Choosing the right time machine, from DeLoreans to hot tubs to phone booths-and beyond What to say-and what NOT to say-to your doppelganger Understanding black holes and Stephen Hawking's term spaghettification (no, it's not a method of food preperation; yes, it is a horrifically painful way to meet your end) The connection between Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, traversing wormholes and the 88 mph speed requirement The possible consequences of creating a time paradox-including, but not limited to, the implosion of the universe Survival tips for nearly any sticky time travel situation: How to befriend a dinosaur and subsequently fight other dinosaurs with that dinosaur Instructions to build your very own Rube Goldberg Time Machine Crusading-for fun and profit Tips on battling cowboys, pirates, ninjas, samurai, Nazis, Vikings, robots and space marines How to operate a microwave oven Enjoying the servitude of robots and tips for living underground when they inevitably rise up against us

You Are One-Third Daffodil: And Other Facts to Amaze, Amuse, and Astound


Tom Nuttall - 2009
    Organized into witty categories, including “Battle of the Sexes: Facts About Men and Women” and “The Past Is a Foreign Country: Facts About History,” You Are One-third Daffodil contains hundreds of weird and wacky facts, including:*In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits.*The most expensive age of your life is thirty-four.*Cuba will lift its ban on toasters in 2010.*Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair.*The “zip” of zip code stands for “zone improvement plan.” *Counting up from zero, and excluding the word “and,” the first number to contain the letter “a” is one thousand.*There are an estimated 10,000 trillion ants on earth–roughly 1.6 million ants for each person. Their combined weight is equivalent to the weight of the entire human population.*In the Second World War, every Italian soldier in North Africa carried his own personal espresso machine.So go ahead, become the office Einstein (though did you know Einstein didn’t learn to read until he was ten?) or the cocktail party trivia star with You Are One-third Daffodil. The words “did you know?” will never sound the same again!

Fail Nation: A Visual Romp Through the World of Epic Fails


Failblog.org Community - 2009
    So fasten your exit and check for the nearest seatbelt—your FAIL plane departs now.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!


Ripley Entertainment Inc. - 1929
    500 full-color photos & illustrations.

A Brief History of Time


Stephen Hawking - 1988
    That edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the intervening years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these observations, as well as his own recent research, Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on wormholes and time travel, and updated the chapters throughout.

Guide to Troubled Birds


Matt Adrian - 2012
    We are only just discovering the reality of our avian adversaries, with their reptilian brains, their appetites for mayhem and the fact that they fly mostly to spite us. To ignore the information found within this volume may be at the peril of your very life.

Attack of the Flickering Skeletons: More Terrible Old Games You’ve Probably Never Heard Of


Stuart Ashen - 2017
    You will probably wish you still didn’t.YouTube sensation Stuart Ashen is back with his second instalment of terrible old computer games you’ve probably never heard of... because what the world needs right now is to know exactly how bad Domain of the Undead for the Atari 8-bit computers was.Attack of the Flickering Skeletons is even bigger than the original Terrible Old Games You’ve Probably Never Heard Of – this second excavation of gaming’s buried past will not only unearth more appalling excuses for digital entertainment, but also feature guest contributors and several special interest chapters not based around single specific games.These are NOT the games you’ve heard of a million times in YouTube videos. This is a compilation of truly obscure and dreadful games. Dripping with wry humour and featuring the best, worst graphics from the games themselves, this book encapsulates the atrocities produced in the days of tight budgets and low quality controls.These are even more appalling games that leaked from the industry’s tear ducts, taken down from the dusty shelves of history by the man who has somehow made a living by sticking rubbish on a sofa and talking about it.

Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America


Leslie Knope - 2011
    The book chronicles the city's colorful citizens and hopping nightlife, and also explores some of the most hilarious events from its crazy history—like the time the whole town was on fire, its ongoing raccoon infestation, and the cult that took over in the 1970s. Packed with laugh-out-loud-funny photographs, illustrations, and commentary by the other inhabitants of Pawnee, it's a must-read that will make you enjoy every moment of your stay in the Greatest Town in America. Praise for Pawnee: "Carrying this book around is a good way of picking up girls with glasses." —Tom Haverford "I have read over four books, and this is by far the one that has me in it the most." —Andy Dwyer "Literally the greatest endeavor of human creativity in the history of mankind." —Chris Traeger

30-Second Philosophies: The 50 most thought-provoking philosophies, each explained in half a minute


Barry Loewer - 2009
    That is, you've certainly heard of them. But do you know enough about them to join a dinner party debate or dazzle the bar with your knowledge? 30-Second Philosophies takes a revolutionary approach to getting a grip on the 50 most significant schools of philosophy. The book challenges leading thinkers to quit fretting about the meaning of meaning for a while and explain the most complex philosophical ideas-using nothing more than two pages, 300 words, and a metaphorical image. Here, in one unique volume, you have the chance to pick the potted brains of our leading philosophers and understand complex concepts such as Kant's Categorical Imerpative without ending up in a darkened room with an ice pack on your head.

Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You


Lin-Manuel Miranda - 2018
    Do NOT get stuck in the comments section of life today. Make, do, create the things. Let others tussle it out. Vamos!Before he inspired the world with Hamilton and was catapulted to international fame, Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspiring his Twitter followers with words of encouragement at the beginning and end of each day. He wrote these original sayings, aphorisms, and poetry for himself as much as for others. But as Miranda's audience grew, these messages took on a life on their own. Now Miranda has gathered the best of his daily greetings into a beautiful collection illustrated by acclaimed artist (and fellow Twitter favorite) Jonny Sun.Full of comfort and motivation, Gmorning, Gnight! is a touchstone for anyone who needs a quick lift.

An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington


Karl Pilkington - 2010
    Given the choice, he'll go on vacation to Devon or Wales or, if pushed, eat English food on a package tour of the Mediterranean. So what happened when he was convinced by Gervais and Merchant to go on an epic adventure to see the Seven Wonders of the World? Does travel truly broaden the mind? Find out in Karl Pilkington's hilarious travel diaries.

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead


Max Brooks - 2003
    Fully illustrated and exhaustively comprehensive, this book covers everything you need to know, including how to understand zombie physiology and behavior, the most effective defense tactics and weaponry, ways to outfit your home for a long siege, and how to survive and adapt in any territory or terrain.Top 10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack 1. Organize before they rise! 2. They feel no fear, why should you?3. Use your head: cut off theirs.4. Blades don’t need reloading.5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it. 7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike.8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!9. No place is safe, only safer. 10. The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on. Don’t be carefree and foolish with your most precious asset—life. This book is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now without your even knowing it. The Zombie Survival Guide offers complete protection through trusted, proven tips for safeguarding yourself and your loved ones against the living dead. It is a book that can save your life.

The Story of English


Robert McCrum - 1986
    Originally paired with a major PBS miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written English—from its Anglo-Saxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when English is the dominant language of commerce and culture with more than one billion English speakers around the world. From Cockney, Scouse, and Scots to Gulla, Singlish, Franglais, and the latest African American slang, this sweeping history of the English language is the essential introduction for anyone who wants to know more about our common tongue.