A delightfully discursive, Bill Bryson-esque & personal journey through the groves & the thickets of the English language, by our foremost scholar of the history & structure of the English language. David Crystal has been described (by the Times Higher Education Supplement) as a sort of `latter day Dr Johnson`, a populist linguist who has promoted the study of the English language in an academic & broadcasting career that has so far spanned 40 years & nearly 100 books. Now he has written an engaging travel book of more general appeal. Inspired by W. G. Sebald`s ` The Rings of Saturn` & by Bill Bryson`s books, he has combined personal reflections, historical allusions & traveller observations to create a mesmerising (and entertaining) narrative account of his encounters with the English language & its speakers throughout the world
- from Bangor to Bombay & from Stratford to San Francisco. ` By Hook or by Crook` is an attempt to capture the exploratory, seductive, teasing, tantalising nature of language study. As such, it will appeal to the ever-growing market who like to be entertained as well as instructed.
...

A delightfully discursive, Bill Bryson-esque & personal journey through the groves & the thickets of the English language, by our foremost scholar of the history & structure of the English language. David Crystal has been described (by the Times Higher Education Supplement) as a sort of 'latter day Dr Johnson', a populist linguist who has promoted the study of the English language in an academic & broadcasting career that has so far spanned 40 years & nearly 100 books. Now, in his first book for Harper Press, he has written an engaging travel book of more general appeal. Inspired by W. G. Sebald's ' The Rings of Saturn' & by Bill Bryson's books, he has combined personal reflections, historical allusions & traveller observations to create a mesmerising (and entertaining) narrative account of his encounters with the English language & its speakers throughout the world -- from Bangor to Bombay & from Stratford to San Francisco. ' By Hook or by Crook' is an attempt to capture the exploratory, seductive, teasing, tantalising nature of language study. As such, it will appeal to the ever -- growing market who like to be entertained as well as instructed. ...

By Its Cover is the much anticipated twenty-third instalment in Donna Leon`s bestselling crime series, where Commissario Brunetti is better than ever as he addresses questions of worth & value alongside his ever-faithful team of Ispettore Vianello & Signorina Elettra. When several valuable antiquarian books go missing from a prestigious library in the heart of Venice, Commissario Brunetti is immediately called to the scene. The staff suspect an American researcher has stolen them, but for Brunetti something doesn`t quite add up. Taking on the case, the Commissario begins to seek information about some of the library`s regulars, such as the ex-priest Franchini, a passionate reader of ancient Christian literature, & Contessa Morosini-Albani, the library`s chief donor, & comes to the conclusion that the thief could not have acted alone. However, when Franchini is found murdered in his home, the case takes a more sinister turn & soon Brunetti finds himself submerged in the dark secrets of the black market of antiquarian books. Alongside his ever-faithful team of Ispettore Vianello & Signorina Elettra, he delves into the pages of Franchini`s past & into the mind of a book thief in order to uncover the terrible truth. ...

By Its Cover is the much anticipated twenty-third instalment in Donna Leon`s bestselling crime series, where Commissario Brunetti is better than ever as he addresses questions of worth & value alongside his ever-faithful team of Ispettore Vianello & Signorina Elettra. When several valuable antiquarian books go missing from a prestigious library in the heart of Venice, Commissario Brunetti is immediately called to the scene. The staff suspect an American researcher has stolen them, but for Brunetti something doesn`t quite add up. Taking on the case, the Commissario begins to seek information about some of the library`s regulars, such as the ex-priest Franchini, a passionate reader of ancient Christian literature, & Contessa Morosini-Albani, the library`s chief donor, & comes to the conclusion that the thief could not have acted alone. However, when Franchini is found murdered in his home, the case takes a more sinister turn & soon Brunetti finds himself submerged in the dark secrets of the black market of antiquarian books. Alongside his ever-faithful team of Ispettore Vianello & Signorina Elettra, he delves into the pages of Franchini`s past & into the mind of a book thief in order to uncover the terrible truth. ...

In By Night in Chile, during the course of a single night, Fatherr Sebastian Urrutia Lacroix, a Chilean priest, who is a member of Opus Dei, a literary critic & a mediocre poet, relives some of the crucial events of his life. He believes he is dying & in his feverish delirium various characters, both real & imaginary, appear to him as icy monsters, as if in sequences from a horror film. Thus we are given glimpses of the great poet Pablo Neruda, the German writer Ernst Junger, General Pinochet, whom Father Lacroix instructs in Marxist doctrine, as well as various members of the Chilean intelligentsia whose lives, during a period of political turbulence, have touched upon his. ...

By Steppe, Desert, & Ocean is nothing less than the story of how humans first started building the globalized world we know today. Set on a huge continental stage, from Europe to China, it is a tale covering over 10, 000 years, from the origins of farming around 9000 BC to the expansion of the Mongols in the thirteenth century AD. An unashamedly `big history`, it charts the development of European, Near Eastern, & Chinese civilizations & the growing links between them by way of the Indian Ocean, the silk Roads, & the great steppe corridor (which crucially allowed horse riders to travel from Mongolia to the Great Hungarian Plain within a year). Along the way, it is also the story of the rise & fall of empires, the development of maritime trade, & the shattering impact of predatory nomads on their urban neighbours. Above all, as this immense historical panorama unfolds, we begin to see in clearer focus those basic underlying factors
- the acquisitive nature of humanity, the differing environments in which people live, & the dislocating effect of even slight climatic variation
- which have driven change throughout the ages, & which help us better understand our world today.

...

In 1897 the Victorian novelist George Gissing undertook a brief but eventful journey in southern Italy. His itinerary took him from Naples to Reggio di Calabria, via Paola, Cosenza, Crotone & Squillace, through the area once known as Magna Graecia. Meditating on the vestiges of Greco-Roman civilization, Gissing visited tombs & temples, museums & cathedrals, in search of the imprint of antiquity & ”that old world which was the imaginative delight of my boyhood.” The result was By the Ionian Sea, first published in 1901. Gissing`s journey by boat, train, & carriage revealed not just the ruined glories of a classical past, but also the hardships of rural life in turn-of-the-century rural Italy. Meeting poverty-stricken peasants & corrupt local officials, he endured discomfort, danger & illness in a remote & little visited corner of Europe. Yet throughout he appreciated the warmth & generosity shown to him by local people, curious about this solitary stranger. By turns lyrical & melancholic, Gissing`s masterpiece of travel writing alternates between light & dark, life & death, Paganism & Christianity. Looking at Italy in both its classical & contemporary

Dimensions, By the Ionian Sea celebrates Calabria`s rich cultural past & beautiful landscapes while providing a candid account of the region`s hardship & poverty. More than a century after its first publication, this is the first critical edition of the book in English.

...

Ivan`s old house had always been so warm & friendly. This new one was NOT. Ivan finds his new house strange & can`t sleep. He lies awake & then sees a shimmering light come down. The light turns into a creature called a Moji, & it takes him on a fabulous night-time adventure, up high into space, bounding through starlit forests & down deep into the oceans. Ivan has never had so much fun! & the magical Moji shows him that soon the new house will feel like home. A gently emotional story to reassure fears about moving house, with stunning artwork & a wonderful magical element. The author/illustrator of Herman`s Letter has shown his breadth of talent with this new direction. ...

Boost your math-brain power! Discover the amazing world of numbers & the real-world wonders they represent through creative, totally ”getable” infographics. Colorful illustrated graphs, word clouds, pie charts, maps, photography, comparitive images, & more illuminate the math behind statistics, trends, measurements, & more that we encounter every day. Infographics cover subjects kids care about & can apply to daily living, such as money, food, green living, technology, how things work, & much more. Awesome Q& As with ”numbers” people such as computer programmers, sports statisticians, & more show how math is a cool & useful tool. ...

In 1939 a girl was born in the wild Aspromonte mountains of Calabria, a land haunted by history & suffused with tradition but weighed down by poverty & the ever-present mafia. As the tremors of World War II shake the heart of Calabria, so the little girl`s childhood unfolds. Her life is simple, revolving around school, friendship, family. At its heart is the kitchen where the dramas & joys of family life are played out & where her mother, Giulia, creates the food around which everything revolves. In this rich & heartfelt memoir, Grazia Ietto-Gillies remembers her youth in Calabria, from childhood sickness & her eccentric extended family to the excitement of religious festivals, near-constant struggle with poverty & an incident with the ` Ndrangheta, Calabria`s mafia. Now, sixty years later, she realises that Calabria has defined everything she has ever done & that she has never really left the mountains of her childhood. ...