Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Poems of Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson

The Seven Storey Mountain

by Thomas Merton

This publication is the complete and unedited edition of Thomas Merton's autobiography. It tells of a life spent in devotion, and offers insights into the religious experience.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

Anne Fadiman is--by her own admission--the sort of person who learned about sex from her father's copy of Fanny Hill , whose husband buys her 19 pounds of dusty books for her birthday, and who once found herself poring over her roommate's 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only written material in the apartment that she had not read at least twice. This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong... (more)

Plagues and Peoples

by William H. McNeill

Upon its original publication, Plagues and Peoples was an immediate critical and popular success, offering a radically new interpretation of world history as seen through the extraordinary impact--political, demographic, ecological, and psychological--of disease on cultures. From the conquest of Mexico by smallpox as much as by the Spanish, to the bubonic plague in China, to the typhoid epidemic in Europe, the... (more)

Longitude

The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time

by Dava Sobel

On its 10th anniversary, a gift edition of this classic book, with a forward by one of history's greatest explorers, and eight pages of color illustrations. Anyone alive in the eighteeth century would have known that "the logitude problem" was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of... (more)

Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress

by Jan Morris

The opening volume of Morris’s “Pax Britannica Trilogy,” this richly detailed work traces the rise of the British Empire, from the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837 to the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Index. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

The Rise of Modern China

by Immanuel Chung-yueh Hsu?

Now in its sixth edition, this book has been updated to examine the return of Hong Kong in 1997 and the upcoming return of Macao in 1999. Hsu discusses the end of the last vestiges of foreign imperialism in China, as well as China's emergence as a regional and global superpower. U.S.-China rivalry and the prospect of unification between China and Taiwan are also considered.

Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays (Vintage Original)

Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays (Vintage Original)

by Camille Paglia

A collection of twenty of Paglia's out-spoken essays on contemporary issues in America's ongoing cultural debate such as Anita Hill, Robert Mapplethorpe, the beauty myth, and the decline of education in America.

Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers

by Jan Gullberg

A gently guided, profusely illustrated Grand Tour of the world of mathematics. This extraordinary work takes the reader on a long and fascinating journey--from the dual invention of numbers and language, through the major realms of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus, to the final destination of differential equations, with excursions into mathematical logic, set theory, topology, fractals,... (more)

Can You Trust a Tomato in January?

by Vince Staten

Here is the great American ritual of supermarket shopping in all its Muzak-drenched, fluorescent-lit, coupon-clipped glory. In this fascinating expedition through the world of polished linoleum-tiled aisles, find out why peanut butter doesn't stick to the roof of your mouth anymore, discover the lost connection between graham crackers and sex, and learn what's really in the mysterious stuff they call Cool Whip. ... (more)

The World's Religions

by Ninian Smart

The World's Religions offers a fascinating insight into a wide range of faiths, their history and their followers. In the richly illustrated new edition of this popular book, religions are described through their symbols, rituals, followers, architecture and art. References, statistics, maps and pictures have been updated and added. The text has been thoroughly revised to highlight recent developments, such as the... (more)

1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium

1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium

by Agnes Hooper Gottlieb, Brent Bowers, Henry Gottlieb, Barbara Bowers

George Washington is ranked 22. Jomo Kenyatta 214. Adolf Hitler ranks higher than Mother Teresa. Babe Ruth higher than Indira Gandhi. And the number-one figure of the past 1,000 years is... Well, let's just say that he or she scores high in all five categories of the exclusive BioGraph system. 1,000 Years, 1,000 People is the brainchild of four high-level -- and highly opinionated -- scholars and journalists who,... (more)

The Reader's Companion: A Book Lover's Guide to the Most Important Books in Every Field of Knowledge As Chosen by the Experts

The Reader's Companion: A Book Lover's Guide to the Most Important Books in Every Field of Knowledge As Chosen by the Experts

by Fred Bratman

A book lover's guide to the most important books in every field of knowledge. In this unique compendium, politicians, historians, movie stars, religious figures, and writers themselves give advice on which books are the finest and which ones have most shaped their lives. An easy-to-use guide which delves into the bookcases of the most accomplished individuals.

Great Books for Every Book Lover: 2002 Great Reading Suggestions for the Discriminating Bibliophile

Great Books for Every Book Lover: 2002 Great Reading Suggestions for the Discriminating Bibliophile

by Thomas J. Craughwell

Can't decide what to read? Imagine a list of the greatest books described in concise, insightful and witty profiles to browse in search of the next perfect read. 2002 Great Books for Every Book Lover offers all this and more, reviewing each book with the wit and wisdom of a seasoned book critic in this unique and useful reference that belongs in every bibliophile's library. * Readers will love the broad selection... (more)

The History Atlas of Europe (History Atlas Series)

The History Atlas of Europe (History Atlas Series)

by Ian Barnes, Robert Hudson

Entertaining, authoritative, overflowing with gorgeous graphics and cutting-edge maps, this innovative series brings history to life through word and imageand tells each continents story from the perspective of its peopleThe Macmillan Continental History Atlases form a major series of five distinguished illustrated history books for the popular and student audiences. Each book stands on its own to present a... (more)

The American Transcendentalists

by Professor Perry Miller

In the Past Lane: Historical Perspectives on American Culture

In the Past Lane: Historical Perspectives on American Culture

by Michael G. Kammen

Michael Kammen is widely regarded as one of our most important--and most diversely talented--cultural historians. David Brion Davis has said, "No other historian of <his> generation has such a broad and concrete grasp of 'American culture' in all its manifestations, from constitutional law to formal painting and popular culture." This engaging volume stands as rich and compelling evidence of that assertion.... (more)

The History Atlas of Asia (History Atlas Series)

The History Atlas of Asia (History Atlas Series)

by Ian Barnes, Bhikhu Parekh, Robert Hudson

Entertaining, authoritative, overflowing with gorgeous graphics and cutting-edge maps, this innovative series brings history to life through word and imageand tells each continents story from the perspective of its peopleThe Macmillan Continental History Atlases form a major series of five distinguished illustrated history books for the popular and student audiences. Each book stands on its own to present a... (more)

Ars Erotica an Arousing History of ErotiEdward Lucie Smith

Ars Erotica an Arousing History of Eroti

by Edward Lucie Smith

The Reader's Catalog: An Annotated Selection of More Than 40,000 of the Best Books in Print in 208 Categories (Reader's Catalogue)

Based on a preliminary review, this is an attractive, readable, judiciously selected bibliography listing 40,000 titles in 200 categories and garnished with illustrations and quotations from works cited. Each section includes a short introduction--e.g., a definition of jazz; a brief survey of 17th-century British literature--and selected subjects receive a bit more attention in highlighted paragraphs. Most... (more)

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by Emily Dickinson