The Cats' House


Bob Walker - 1996
    They've turned their California home into a feline fun house. It's the perfect mix of cat-friendly and cat-fantasy. And now cat fans can get an inside look with the first-ever paperback edition of The Cats' House.The house is all cat, and nine of them call it home. Bob Walker shows us the cats' living space, giving us a peek into 140 feet of brightly colored aerial walkways, spiral staircases, giant scratching posts, and playful peepholes.It's cat care combined with interior design.

It Must Be Beautiful: Great Equations of Modern Science


Graham Farmelo - 2002
    Contributors include Steven Weinberg, Peter Galison, John Maynard Smith, and Frank Wilczek.

Sun, Moon and Earth


Robin Heath - 1999
    We all dance to these primary rhythms. This book reveals the poetic cosmology that lies within the cycles of the Sun and Moon as seen from the Earth.

The Phenomenon of Life


Christopher W. Alexander - 2002
    These properties are seen over and over in nature and in the cities and streets of the past, but they have almost disappeared in the impersonal developments and buildings of the last hundred years.This book shows that living structures depend on features which make a close connection with the human self, and that only living structure has the capacity to support human well-being.

Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe


Lars Svensson - 1999
    Accompanying every species entry is a distribution map and illustrations showing the species in all the major plumages (male, female, immature, in flight, at rest, feeding: whatever is important).In addition, each group of birds includes an introduction which covers the major problems involved in identifying or observing them: how to organise a sea watching trip, how to separate birds of prey in flight, which duck hybrids can be confused with which main species. These and many other common birdwatching questions are answered.The combination of definitive text, up-to-date distribution maps and superb illustrations, all in a single volume, makes this book the ultimate field guide, essential on every bookshelf and birdwatching trip.

The Mathematical Recreations of Lewis Carroll: Pillow Problems and a Tangled Tale


Lewis Carroll - 1893
    L. Dodgson) have now been reprinted in their entirety for the pleasure of modern enthusiasts of mathematical puzzles. Written by the 19th-century mathematician who gave us Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, they contain an unusual combination of wit and mathematical intricacy that will test your mathematical ingenuity and provide hours of stimulating entertainment.Pillow-Problems is one of the rarest of all Lewis Carroll's works. It contains 72 mathematical posers ranging from those that can be solved by arithmetic, simple algebra, or plane geometry, to those that require more advanced algebra, trigonometry, algebraical geometry, differential calculus, and transcendental probabilities. Both numerical answers and fully worked out solutions are given, each in a separate section so that you can test your methods of problem-solving even after you have looked up the answer to a problem.In A Tangled Tale, Carroll embodies some of his most perplexing mathematical puzzles in the ten knots or chapters of a delightful story that has all the charm and wit of his better-known works. The Tale was originally printed as a monthly magazine serial, and many readers sent in solutions to the problems that were posed in it. In the long Appendix to The Tale, which contains the answers and solutions to the problems, Carroll uses the answers sent in by readers as the basis for illuminating and entertaining discussions of the many wrong ways in which the problems can be attacked, as well as the right ways.

Mental Floss presents In the Beginning: From Big Hair to the Big Bang, mental_floss presents a Mouthwatering Guide to the Origins of Everything


Will Pearson - 2007
    But did Dad ever tell you that it wasn't a stork that put that shiny can opener in your kitchen drawer? Or paperclips started out as proud, Nazi-fighting warriors? And did he tell you how cruise control was originally conceived by a blind genius? From mullets to Silly Putty, lie detectors to karaoke, we've got the true stories behind everything you didn't think had stories. Because if you're looking for answers, In the Beginning is the place to start.

The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class


David S. Kidder - 2006
    The Intellectual Devotional is a secular version of the same—a collection of 365 short lessons that will inspire and invigorate the reader every day of the year. Each daily digest of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, religion, fine arts, and music.Impress your friends by explaining Plato's Cave Allegory, pepper your cocktail party conversation with opera terms, and unlock the mystery of how batteries work. Daily readings range from important passages in literature to basic principles of physics, from pivotal events in history to images of famous paintings with accompanying analysis. The book's goal is to refresh knowledge we've forgotten, make new discoveries, and exercise modes of thinking that are ordinarily neglected once our school days are behind us. Offering an escape from the daily grind to contemplate higher things, The Intellectual Devotional is a great way to awaken in the morning or to revitalize one's mind before retiring in the evening.

The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained


Will Buckingham - 2010
    From moral ethics to the philosophies of religions, The Philosophy Book sheds a light on the famous ideas and thinkers from the ancient world through the present day. Including theories from Pythagoras to Voltaire and Mary Wollstonecraft to Noam Chomsky, The Philosophy Book offers anyone with an interest in philosophy an essential resource to the great philosophers and the views that have shaped our society.

Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs


Henry Carroll - 2014
    • A bestselling photography book with over 300,000 copies sold! • Learn top photography tips from 50 famous photographers • A must–have guide for amateur photographers and professional photographersRead This if You Want to Take Great Photographs contains no graphs, no techie diagrams and no camera–club jargon. Instead, it inspires readers through iconic images and playful copy, packed with hands–on tips.Split into five sections, the book covers composition, exposure, light, lenses and the art of seeing. Masterpieces by acclaimed photographers – including Henri Cartier–Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Fay Godwin, Nadav Kander, Daido Moriyama and Martin Parr – serve to illustrate points and encourage readers to try out new ideas.Today's aspiring photographers want immediacy and see photography as an affordable way of expressing themselves quickly and creatively. This handbook meets their needs, teaching them how to take photographs using professional techniques.Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs is part of the internationally–bestselling 'Read This' series, which has sold over half–a–million books worldwide and has been translated into over 20 languages.More titles in the 'Read This' series:Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs of People by Henry Carroll (9781780676241)Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs of Places by Henry Carroll (9781780679051)Use This if You Want to Take Great Photographs: A Photo Journal by Henry Carroll (9781780678887)Read This if You Want to Be Great at Drawing by Selwyn Leamy (9781786270542)Use This if You Want to Be Great at Drawing by Selwyn Leamy (9781786274052)Read This if You Want to Be Great at Drawing People by Selwyn Leamy (9781786275127)Read This if You Want to Be a Great Writer by Ross Raisin (9781786271976)Read This if You Want to Be Instagram Famous edited by Henry Carroll (9781780679679)Read This If You Want to Be YouTube Famous by Will Eagle (9781786275134)

Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest


Stephen Plog - 1997
    Visitors marvel at the impressive ruined pueblos and spectacular cliff dwellings but often have little idea of the cultures that produced these prehistoric wonders. Stephen Plog, who has spent decades working in the region, provides the most readable and up-to-date account of the predecessors of the modern Hopi and Pueblo Indian cultures in this well-received account. Ten thousand years ago, humans first colonized this seemingly inhospitable landscape with its scorching hot deserts and freezing upland areas. The initial hunter-gatherer bands gradually adapted to become sedentary village groups, and the high point of Southwestern civilization was reached with the emergence of cultures known to archaeologists as Anasazi, Hohokam, and Mogollon in the first millennium A.D. Chaco Canyon became the center of a thriving Anasazi cultural tradition. It was the hub of a trading network extending over hundreds of miles, whose arteries were a series of extraordinary roads that are still being discovered and mapped. To the south lay the settlement of Snaketown, focus of the Hohokam, where the inhabitants built courts for a ritual ball game--intriguing echoes of ancient Mexican practices. The Mogollon people of the Mimbres Valley created some of the world's finest ceramics, decorated with human figures and mythical creatures. Interweaving the latest archaeological evidence with early first-person accounts, Professor Plog explains the rise and mysterious fall of Southwestern cultures. As he concludes, despite the depredations and diseases introduced by the Europeans, the Southwest is still home to vibrant Native American communities that carry on many of the old traditions.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Weather: North America


David McWilliams Ludlum - 1991
    The 378 dramatic photographs capture cloud types, precipitation, storms, twisters, and optical phenomena such as the Northern Lights. Essays with accompanying maps and illustrations discuss the earth's atmosphere, weather systems, cloud formation, and development of tornadoes and many other weather events.

Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards


Robert Byrne - 1978
    “The definitive work on pool and billiards” (National Billiard News) by champion player Robert Byrne Now updated throughout and expanded with new material on strategy in eight- and nine-ball, trick shots, and billiard memorabilia, Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards is the classic guide to cue games—complete with detailed diagrams and photographs to help improve play at every level.

Teach Yourself Speed Reading


Tina Konstant - 2001
    Following a unique five-step system, this practical guide teaches readers the basics of speed-reading in less than an hour. It includes tools and information on a variety of reading and memory techniques that allow readers to start using and practicing the techniques as they read--and therefore finish this book in a fraction of the time they would have taken previously. The book shows how to read effectively under pressure and concentrate in today's noisy, distracting environments.

Zeno's Paradox: Unraveling the Ancient Mystery Behind the Science of Space and Time


Joseph Mazur - 2008
    Today, these paradoxes remain on the cutting edge of our investigations into the fabric of space and time. Zeno's Paradox uses the motion paradox as a jumping-off point for an exploration of the twenty-five-hundred-year quest to uncover the true nature of the universe. From Galileo to Einstein to Stephen Hawking, some of the greatest minds in history have tackled the problem and made spectacular breakthroughs, but through it all, the paradox of motion remains.