For nearly three decades David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace have been researching curious facts and unusual statistics and the incredible stories behind them. Now the most entertaining and informative of these have been brought together in a long-awaited, thoroughly up-to-date, and Americanized new edition, including brand-new lists and list makers. Contributors include: Oliver Stone; Jane Fonda; Sean Connery; Robert Duvall; Pedro Almodovar; Stephen King; John Waters; Wynton Marsalis; Quincy Jones; Arnold Palmer; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Isaac Stern; Ian Rankin; Alan Dershowitz; Margaret Atwood; Dave Eggers; Brian Eno; and Elmore Leonard.

    Now you can get the inside story from their secret diaries, flick through Good Day! magazine for some nineteenth-century gossip, and find out all about the writers whose tall tales have changed the world.

    Keeping girls interested in sports has never been more important: research suggests that girls who play sports get better grades and have higher self-esteem--but girls are six times more likely to quit playing sports than boys and are unlikely to see female athlete role models in the media. A fascinating collection full of striking, singular art, Women in Sports features 50 profiles and illustrated portraits of women athletes from the 1800s to today including trailblazers, Olympians, and record-breakers in more than 40 different sports. The book also contains infographics about relevant topics such as muscle anatomy, a timeline of women's participation in sports, statistics about women in athletics, and influential female teams.

    She knows how to scratch upright surfaces, cough up hairballs, send messages with her pee, and party all night. To the feline mind, these are the stuff of everyday life--as important as sleeping all day and grooming for several hours using nothing but your tongue.Your clever kitty knows you very well (after all, she sits and stares at you when you're in the bathroom). But how well do you know her? Find out why cats knead against us, the best way to hold a cat, how cats can jump onto your kitchen counters without even a running start, why they chew on your sweaters.Award-winning pet experts Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori explain the ins and outs of the feline psyche. Because the better you understand cats, the easier it is to love the kitty on your couch. Can you teach an old cat new tricks? You bet! Expecting a baby? It's perfectly okay to keep your cat. What about kittens? You'll find everything you always wanted to know about feline sex but were afraid to ask.Your cat's not crazy, but she can be mysterious. Did you know cats can tell time? They talk with their tails and walk on their toes. And there are even rumors that some cats are descendents of space aliens. It's no wonder the ancient Egyptians were not the only ones who worshipped them.You'll also find the answers to questions that tend to tickle your curiosity: Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? What's in catnip that makes kitties so silly? Can curiosity really kill a cat?You've got questions? This book's got answers. Do cats always land on their feet? Find out!

    1 Lakh/ below US$ 2500 car), is set to change our perception of India': on the threshold of becoming a truly global brand.*s oldest and most respected corporate brand. With a major international presence, in a variety of areas including steel, tea, chemicals, communications and software, Tata now stands 65th in the world brand valuation league. But what is the Tata brand all about? What are its values? How do people perceive it, in India and around the world? In this absorbing and informed book Morgen Witzel digs into the heart of the Tata enterprise, describes its origins, how Tata's reputation and image evolved, and how the group has worked to transform that image into a powerful and valuable brand. Tata: The Evolution of a Corporate Brand goes to the core of the Tata ethos to explore the unique relationship between the Tata group and the Indian people, a relationship that goes beyond the achievements of a successful business to its social contributions for its employees and the society at large. Finally it asks how that reputation will be perceived and understood as Tata moves into global markets. Whether you re an entrepreneur, a manager, a marketer, or an interested Tata loyalist this book will help you understand the durability of the brand and inspire you with the values it holds onto in the global economy.

    This enchanting collection gathers hundreds of his funniest and wickedest quips in tribute to the exhilarating wit of this great-hearted, infuriatingly conceited, wildly funny, and brilliantly talented Englishman.

    From the first English colonies to the Gulf War and the S&L debacle, Larry Gonick spells it all out from his unique cartoon perspective.

    'Lively, persuasive, excellent. Boisterous and funny, provocative and punchily written... an intelligent romp' Matthew Parris, Spectator 'Entertaining, informative, incisive and insightful' Andrew Rawnsley Observer 'One of the best primers on the vicissitudes of political life I have read Christopher Silvester, Sunday Times Jeremy Paxman is a journalist, best known for his work presenting Newsnight and University Challenge. His books include Empire, On Royalty, The English and The Political Animal. He lives in Oxfordshire.

    A gift like no other for fans of the series, old or new.

    Their Ohio home is a station on the Underground Railroad, the network of people and places that helps fugitive slaves escape to freedom in Canada. Lucy believes in what she and her family do to help the fugitives, even if it means putting herself in danger.So Lucy doesn't hesitate when she is asked to stay with the Widow Aurelia Mercer and help her with a family of runaway slaves hiding in her attic. And she learns so much from her experience--about growing up, love, and standing on her own. But what will Lucy do when she is asked to make the ultimate sacrifice and leave all she loves behind?

    Enterprise is without doubt the most famous starship in history. The vessels that have carried the name have saved the galaxy countless times and her captains, including Archer, Kirk, and Picard, have been legendary. This Haynes Manual provides in-depth information about these extraordinary ships, from the Enterprise NX-01, to Captain Kirk’s Enterprise NCC-1701 and Captain Picard’s Enterprise NCC-1701-D including histories of each vessel, technical information about their systems, and discussions of key technologies such as transporters and warp-speed travel. Find out exactly what powered these ships, how they were armed and what it took to operate them. The book features newly created artwork throughout, including full-ship cutaways of each Enterprise, key systems, and interior locations together with detailed new exterior views by one of STAR TREK’s original visual effects artists. This Haynes Manual is fully authorized by CBS and technical consultant Michael Okuda, who spent thirteen years working on STAR TREK TV series and movies.

    Rowling and the brilliant curators of the British Library. It promises to take readers on a fascinating journey through the subjects studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – from Alchemy and Potions classes through to Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.Each chapter showcases a treasure trove of artefacts from the British Library and other collections around the world, beside exclusive manuscripts, sketches and illustrations from the Harry Potter archive. There's also a specially commissioned essay for each subject area by an expert, writer or cultural commentator, inspired by the contents of the exhibition – absorbing, insightful and unexpected contributions from Steve Backshall, the Reverend Richard Coles, Owen Davies, Julia Eccleshare, Roger Highfield, Steve Kloves, Lucy Mangan, Anna Pavord and Tim Peake, who offer a personal perspective on their magical theme.Readers will be able to pore over ancient spell books, amazing illuminated scrolls that reveal the secret of the Elixir of Life, vials of dragon's blood, mandrake roots, painted centaurs and a genuine witch's broomstick, in a book that shows J.K. Rowling's magical inventions alongside their cultural and historical forebears.This is the ultimate gift for Harry Potter fans, curious minds, big imaginations, bibliophiles and readers around the world who missed out on the chance to see the exhibition in person.

    Author Gemma Elwin Harris has lovingly compiled weighty questions from precocious grade school children—queries that have long dumbfounded even intelligent adults—and she’s gathered together a notable crew of scientists, specialists, philosophers, and writers to answer them.Authors Mary Roach and Phillip Pullman, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, chef Gordon Ramsay, adventurist Bear Gryllis, and linguist Noam Chomsky are among the top experts responding to the Big Questions from Little People, (“Do animals have feelings?”, “Why can’t I tickle myself?”, “Who is God?”) with well-known comedians, columnists, and raconteurs offering hilarious alternative answers. Miles above your average general knowledge and trivia collections, this charming compendium is a book fans of the E.H. Gombrich classic, A Little History of the World, will adore.

    They have become the most famous surviving symbols of the Romanov Empire: supreme examples of the jeweller's art, but, to some, the vulgar playthings of a decadent court on the brink of revolution. Every one of these masterpieces is a slice of history, with each telling its own remarkable story." "Commissioned to produce a different egg every year, Faberge began a relentless search for novelty. It would see him exploiting, and extending, almost every jewellery technique and style available, creating eggs which reflected the lives and characters of the empresses who would receive them. Lavishly extravagant eggs commemorate public events that now seem little more than staging posts on the march to revolution. Others contrast the joie de vivre of the older tsarina, Marie Fedorovna, with her daughter-in-law Alexandra's shy and domestic spirituality. The muted austerity of the final few eggs seems all too appropriate for a country fighting to survive in the First World War." The abdication of the last tsar, Nicholas II, brought the sequence to an end. As he and his family were brutally massacred in a Siberian basement, the eggs disappeared, only to emerge years later in the storerooms of the Kremlin. Their subsequent history encompasses Bolsheviks and entrepreneurs, tycoons and heiresses, con-men and queens. Eggs have been sold and smuggled, stolen and forged. Now, as they return to Russia, bought by oligarchs, their history - like that of Russia itself- seems to have come full circle. Faberge's Eggs provides an engrossing, compelling and at timessurprising window onto the empire these masterpieces outlived.

    It contains the latest information on tea history, countries of origin, production methods, grading, tasting notes and more. This is the definitive reference book on tea.