Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed r...more
In THE WORLD IS FLAT, the highly-regarded New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman advances the work on globalization that made his THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE a bestseller. Claiming that the world is now at an important historical point--as important as the changes brought by the discoveries by Columbus or by the Industrial Revolution--Friedma...more
Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Kr...more
A study of the downfall of some of history's greatest civilizations, written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, includes coverage of such cultures as the Anasazi, the Maya, and the Viking colony on Greenland, tracing patterns of environmental damage, climate change, poor political choices, and other factors that were pi...more
"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year....Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting."Entertainment WeeklyStiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange livesof our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadaverssome willingly, some unwittinglyhave been involved in science's b...more
Anyone who has been to Europe or dreamed of going will recognize the engaging blend of admiration and fascinated bewilderment that Bryson brings to this sharp and very funny account of a trip around the continent. Blending hilarious anecdotes with droll and worldly insights, he travels from Norway to Istanbul to Rome to Vienna. Maps.
A surrealistic adventure set in near-future Europe. Two distinct, but incomplete personalities are brought together during the fulfillment of a Nostradamus prophecy. The traveller is a man that meets a dream-cast guide while searching coastal Portugal for exotic vineyards. According to this Zen-style teacher he is in search of his incomplete...more