Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain. Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense. It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon... (more)

Famous First Facts

by Joseph Nathan Kane

Originally published in 1933, this classic reference source was rejected by 11 other publishers until Halsey W. Wilson was persuaded to publish it because of a growing demand from reference librarians who had been shown the manuscript. Compiled by the indefatigable researcher Joseph Nathan Kane, Famous First Facts may have secured its own first fact—the first print reference volume to become the basis for a... (more)

The Art of Innovation

Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm

by Tom Kelley, Jonathan Littman

This is an inspiring guide to managing creativity in a business environment from the co-founder of one of the most innovative design companies in the world. Discover the ten commandments of creativity, and much more...Founded by Thomas Kelley and his brother David (dubbed by Fortune the best inventor since Thomas Edison), IDEO is responsible for the first commercial mouse, a virtual reality headset for Sega and... (more)

First Nights: Five Musical Premieres

by Thomas Forrest Kelly

First Nights encourages music lovers to listen to five key masterworks of the Western classical tradition with fresh ears, as if they were attending the premiers themselves. In clear, lively, and engaging prose, Kelly sets the scene for each of these "first nights," discussing the city, the concert hall, the audience, the composer, the musicians, the instruments, the performance, and the popular and critical... (more)

First Nights at the Opera

by Thomas Forrest Kelly

What was it like at the opening night of Mozart’s Don Giovanni or Wagner’s Das Rheingold? This glittering introduction to the world of opera takes us behind the scenes during premiere performances of five extraordinary operas. "A rare and wonderful cultural history."—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post “An absorbing tangle of minutiae about performing circumstances, personalities, conventions, expectations,... (more)

Panati's Browser's Book of Beginnings

by Charles Panati, Russ Hudson

What is the origin of checkers? Who invented the first computer? Where did people get last names? Who put the bop in bob-de-bob? The answers to these and t housands of other questions are found in a sumptuous, humorous compendium of fascinating facts. 100 illustrations.

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Tags: firsts

The 19th Wife: A Novel

by David Ebershoff

Famous First Facts

by Joseph Nathan Kane

The Art of Innovation

Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm

by Tom Kelley, Jonathan Littman

First Nights: Five Musical Premieres

by Thomas Forrest Kelly

First Nights at the Opera

by Thomas Forrest Kelly

Panati's Browser's Book of Beginnings

by Charles Panati, Russ Hudson

Emulation and Invention

by Brooke Hindle