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Daedalus Books
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Interspersed with charts, graphs, and various crossword puzzles, A Book of Evil Marauders, Purple Blobs, and Some Other Things... features some of today's best authors spinning new tales ranging from the spooky to the strange. George Saunders tells the story of a father who takes caution to dangerous extremes in Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful Father and Husband. In ACES by Phone, a small boy finds a cellphone that lets him listen in on the thoughts of dogs, and in Small Country, Nick Hornby introduces a country too small for a postal system but, unfortunately for one bookish boy, just big enough for a football team. Each story features full-color illustrations by artists including Barry Blitt, Lane Smith, David Heatley, and Marcel Dzama. The collection includes previously unpublished children's stories from Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated), Nick Hornby (High Fidelity), Neil Gaiman (Sandman), George Saunders (CivilWarLand in Bad Decline), Kelly Link (Stranger Than Fiction), and Jon Scieskza (Stinky Cheese Man). The dust jacket folds into a unique aerogram, which factors into a special contest involving a story written partly by Lemony Snicket, partly by thousands of children. |
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When Max's dog Puppy gets lost, it is not until both Max and Puppy have the same idea that they finally find one another. |
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This is an exquisitely designed edition of Jane Austen's first novel, a classic romance of manners. It features a satin-ribbon bookmark, distinctive stained edging and decorative marbled endpapers. After moving to a cottage in Devonshire, the women of the Dashwood family begin adjusting to a new life and a new social circle. Soon, Elinor is being courted by the gentlemanly Edward Ferrars and Marianne finds herself torn between two suitors, the brooding Colonel Brandon and social-climbing scoundrel John Willoughby. The love and heartbreaks that they all endure are shaped by the temperament of their time and place and the sense and sensibility of their society. Originally published in 1811, Jane Austen's first published novel is revered as a classic romance of manners. This exquisite collectible edition features an elegant bonded-leather binding, a satin-ribbon bookmark, distinctive stained edging and decorative marbled endpapers. It's the perfect gift for book-lovers and an artful addition to any home library. |
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Che Guevara is something of a symbol in the West. But for the rest of the world he is different: a charismatic revolutionary who redrew the political map of Latin America and gave hope to those resisting colonialism everywhere. In The Story of Che Guevara Lucia Alvarez de Toledo follows Che from his birth in Rosario and his early years in his parent's mate plantation, to his immortal motorcycle journeys across South America, his role at the heart of Castro's new Cuban government, and through to the unforgiving jungle that formed the backdrop to his doomed campaigns in the Congo and Bolivia. Based on interviews with Che's family and those who knew him intimately, this is an accessible biography that concentrates on the man rather than the icon. With the political developments in Latin America in the twenty-first century, his influence can be seen to be even greater than it was during his lifetime and The Story of Che Guevara is a perfect introduction to an extraordinary man. |
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Millions live there, millions more visit each year — but how many really know London? Do you know when Big Ben first bonged — or even who Ben was? Why the River Thames is so-called? Which top Nazi was locked up in the Tower? Or what runs through the more than 50 miles of train-size tunnels which ring the city, stretch further than the Channel Tunnel and lie deeper than the Tube — and, no, the answer's not trains. The world's first celebrity chef, its oldest club, the worst ever mockney accent, a chapel full of prizefighters and the last Prime Minister to challenge a rival to a duel with pistols — from the truth about Handel's ears to hippos living in Trafalgar Square, it's all in When Did Big Ben First Bong?, the ultimate trivia guide to the greatest city on Earth. |
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The English aristocrat John Mad Jack Mytton died a bloated, paralysed and penniless debtor in prison. His premature demise was partly due to injuries sustained while setting fire to his own night-shirt to try to cure hiccups. Just before the horribly burned Mytton slumped into unconsciousness he said, Well, the hiccups is gone, by God. An 18th-century French scholar attributed the British talent for eccentricity to a mixture of fogs, beef and beer... aggravated by the tedium of the English Sunday. Whatever the reason, the British Isles do seem to have thrown up more than their fair share of magnificent oddballs, the finest of which are profiled in this fast, funny celebration of over 200 aristocrats, inventors, artists and the just plain weird... Dr Samuel Johnson is said to have shaved off all of his bodily hair, just to see how long it would take to grow back. Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, once related an experience he had at Westminster: I had a horrid nightmare. I dreamed I was making a speech in the House of Lords, and woke up to find I actually was. Percy Bysshe Shelley once tied a cat to a kite in a thunder storm to see if it would be electrocuted. |
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The Arnolfini Marriage, an Egyptian mummy, a gilded clock, a Japanese puppet, Van Gogh's Irises, a Tibetan conch trumpet, an Eskimo mask, and a meso-American calendar. These are just a few of the treasures from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australasia featured in this book, an eye-opening introduction to the wonders of world art. The artefacts are organized and explored in five themes: time and space; other worlds; people's lives; fantasy and history; and the natural world. In this tour of art from prehistoric times up to the present day, Andrea Belloli explores how each reasure was made, who created and used it, and what it tells us about the culture from which it sprang. |
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From the strange case of The Red-Headed League to the extraordinary tale of The Engineer's Thumb, Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson grapple with treachery, murder, and ingenious crimes of all kinds. But no case is too challenging, no mystery insoluble, for the immortal detective's unique powers of deduction. |
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Elegant, sophisticated and full of humour and romance, the novels of Jane Austen have been favourites of readers around the world for more than two centuries. Although set at the turn of the nineteenth century, in the England that she herself knew, Austen's characters espouse values and sentiments that still speak to modern sensibilities. No author has captured so vividly the affairs of hearts in conflict with class and social convention. This volume features four of Jane Austen's best-loved works: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion. |
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This ingenious book with colourful illustrations throughout takes everyday things — such as ink blots, fingerprints, paint drips, screwed up pieces of paper and even coffee stains — and encourages children to transform them into extraordinary things. Ink splats become aliens or bonkers birds; a piece of paper becomes an iceberg filled with penguins, and a page of palm prints becomes a herd of elephants. Children can let their imaginations run riot and, with only basic drawing skills, they can create unique masterpieces. |
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«This study of Pre-Raphaelite painters and poets reveals a style-derived from the idealized view of nature in the early Italian Renaissance-steeped in mythology and literary allusion and very popular today with lovers of romantic art and poetry. 125 illustrations, 95 in full color, 5 x 7» |
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«This is the story of Cinderella told through six beautifully illustrated 3D peep-through tableaux. A young girl with an unpleasant stepmother and two cruel stepsisters...and a Fairy Godmother with a magic wand. The classic tale of Cinderella is theatrically retold in six exquisite three-dimensional scenes by Jane Ray. Each scene is three layers deep so you can peer through to wonderfully romantic backdrops: a lonely kitchen, a sparkling ball room, a city nightscape and a magical garden. With fold-out flaps covered in starred indigo curtains, and a wooden stage, the magic of the theatre is beautifully recreated in this wonderful fairy-tale gift. Ideal for any fan of fairy tales, the classic Cinderella story is brought to life in this exciting new fold-out format with Jane Ray's exquisite artwork. It is a companion to Jane Ray's «Snow White: A Three-Dimensional Fairy-tale Theatre» It is a perfect gift for Christmas!» |
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With realistic illustrations and creepy fun facts about each bug, this colorful book will fascinate young readers as it brings six different bugs to life in 3-D. Readers will meet a hairy orange spider, a honeybee, a huge red cockroach, a blue beetle, a grasshopper, and a spotted ladybug. Along the way readers will discover all sorts of fascinating facts, including: there are eight million beetle species; grasshoppers are green because their blood contains no oxygen; ladybugs smell through their feet; and much more. |
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«Superhero fruits and vegetables are the stars in Deborah Zemke's latest doodle fest. With with oodles of step-by-step super doodles, kids of all ages can turn mild-mannered fruits and vegetables into super-charged super foods. One small tomato transforms into «The Tomatonator,» big, bold, and delicious; an onion becomes an «Allium Alien»; an ear of corn becomes «Colonel Kernels.» An appetizing addition to Zemke's wildly successful Doodles series, this instructive and playful book adds an entertaining element of action and informational messages about making nutritious choices.» |
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Faberge, Tiffany, Lalique — these great designers came together only once to display their goods in what was probably the most opulent exhibition ever mounted. At the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, the three strove to position themselves ahead of their many competitors in the luxury market, each presenting his jewelry and home adornments as high art. Their success is explored in this splendidly illustrated catalogue, which elucidates the prewar pinnacle of European culture. The array of displayed objects was mesmerizing: Tiffany glass, Easter eggs to dazzle the Czars, realistic insects created in precious materials as sinister decorations. Many of these bore influences of the advanced art of the time, such as Art Nouveau, Viennese modernism, and symbolism, and of styles from around the world. Four essays discuss the works in the context of their times, illuminate the high societies served by the three masters, and trace the cultural trends behind their extraordinary creations. A treasure of accompanying photographs shows the individual exhibits, scenes from the World's Fair, and the glitterati who wore the jewelry. |
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The shocking first-hand account of one man's remarkable fight for freedom; now an award-winning motion picture. 'Why had I not died in my young years — before God had given me children to love and live for? What unhappiness and suffering and sorrow it would have prevented. I sighed for liberty; but the bondsman's chain was round me, and could not be shaken off.' 1841: Solomon Northup is a successful violinist when he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Taken from his family in New York State — with no hope of ever seeing them again — and forced to work on the cotton plantations in the Deep South, he spends the next twelve years in captivity until his eventual escape in 1853. First published in 1853, this extraordinary true story proved to be a powerful voice in the debate over slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War. It is a true-life testament of one man's courage and conviction in the face of unfathomable injustice and brutality: its influence on the course of American history cannot be overstated. |
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«In the three decades between 1492 and 1522, European merchants and explorers progressed from relative ignorance about the shape of the globe to knowledge of an atlas that was almost complete. They did so in search of spices, gold, silver and slaves, but with rudimentary technology, huge courage and boundless confidence in themselves and their calculations. The exchange of flora, fauna, diet, disease and culture changed the world within a few generations. The final touches to the pattern of oceans and continents came two-and-a-half centuries later with the voyages of James Cook. Voyages to Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Pacific and the legacies of those journeys and encounters are here dramatically described through an authoritative text and an original selection of images. «Voyages of Discovery» also contains 9 facsimile documents, including an extract from Captain James Cook's diary, 1769 and the title page of Cortes' second dispatch to Charles V, 1520.» |
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Create Jewelry: Crystals presents 20 glittering projects ranging in difficulty from easy stringing pieces to seed bead weaving designs. All projects are glamorous and timeless and represent unique ways to use crystals in jewelry designs for necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings. In Create Jewelry: Crystals, the editors of Beadwork magazine combine innovative designs with intriguing anecdotes, history and tips about these multi-faceted beads. Designs are divided into the Classics, Special Occasions, and Fashion Forward so readers can easily find designs of their choosing. Beautiful photos are accompanied by step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow so readers can recreate their own designs. Additional material of interest for crystal lovers includes crystal basics, how to tell the difference between manmade and rock crystal, entertaining tidbits about this specialty bead, and more. |
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Cliches, those trite little phrases that often get a point across quickly and efficiently, have become such a familiar part of the English language and people's everyday speech. This entertaining book takes an in-depth look at hundreds of these common expressions in their many forms — where they came from, what they mean, how they've evolved over time, and their prominence in today's society. Inside you'll discover hundreds explored and explained, such as... Thinking outside the box; All hands on deck; My way or the highway; To be perfectly honest; Technical terms, like collateral damage and pushing the envelope; And many others! You'll quickly discover why this fun little compendium is truly the best thing since sliced bread! |
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Black Mischief, Waugh's third novel, helped to establish his reputation as a master satirist. Set on the fictional African island of Azania, the novel chronicles the efforts of Emperor Seth, assisted by the Englishman Basil Seal, to modernize his kingdom. Profound hilarity ensues from the issuance of homemade currency, the staging of a Birth Control Gala, the rightful ruler's demise at his own rather long and tiring coronation ceremonies, and a good deal more mischief. |
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