Best of 2013
21–40 of 249 results
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The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (The Biblical Resource S…
2073Foreword by Patrick D. Miller In this remarkable, acclaimed history of the development of monotheism, Mark S. Smith explains how Israel’s religion evolved from a cult of Yahweh as a primary deity among many to a fully defined monotheistic faith with Yahweh as sole god. Repudiating the traditional view that Israel was fundamentally different in culture and religion from its Canaanite neighbors, this provocative book argues that Israelite religion developed, at least in part, from the religion …
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Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victor
2063NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A SPY AMONG FRIENDSIn 1943, from a windowless basement office in London, two brilliant intelligence officers conceived a plan that was both simple and complicated— Operation Mincemeat. The purpose? To deceive the Nazis into thinking that Allied forces were planning to attack southern Europe by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as the Nazis had assumed, and the Allies ultimately chose. Charles Cholmondeley of MI5 and the British naval intellige…
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Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipes
2048Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties. Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic. Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants. Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food. This book hopes to change that. Once you overcome any initial hesitation, you will be surprised to learn how wonderful semen is in the kitchen. Semen…
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The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
2001Now in paperback, and following her extraordinary, bestselling, and much-acclaimed accounts of the most guarded secrets of the Second World War, here is a rollicking true story of spies, politicians, journalists, and intrigue in the highest circles of Washington during the tumultuous days of World War II.When Roald Dahl, a dashing young wounded RAF pilot, took up his post at the British Embassy in 1942, his assignment was to use his good looks, wit, and considerable charm to gain access to th…
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Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
1835The astonishing national bestseller and hugely entertaining story that completely changed the way we run.An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? Isolated by Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his read…
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The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found
1810Pompeii is the most famous archaeological site in the world, visited by more than two million people each year. Yet it is also one of the most puzzling, with an intriguing and sometimes violent history, from the sixth century BCE to the present day. Destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ruins of Pompeii offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman Empire. But the eruptions are only part of the story. In The Fires of Vesuvius, acclaimed historian Mary Beard makes sense of the remains. Sh…
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Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your Twenties and Thirties
1555“A highly readable and substantial guide to the grown-up realms of money and business.” —Deborah Stead, The New York Times, If you’ve been meaning to get your finances in shape but have no idea where to start, this is your playbook: The all-new edition of the New York Times bestseller Get a Financial Life busts open the system, teaching tricks for becoming master of your own money universe. No matter what’s happening in the economy, all the guidance you need is right here. You’ll learn how …
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The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution
1530Resistance to malaria. Blue eyes. Lactose tolerance. What do all of these traits have in common? Every one of them has emerged in the last 10,000 years.Scientists have long believed that the “great leap forward” that occurred some 40,000 to 50,000 years ago in Europe marked end of significant biological evolution in humans. In this stunningly original account of our evolutionary history, top scholars Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending reject this conventional wisdom and reveal that the huma…
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Ender’s Game (The Ender Quintet)
1527In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut–young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for ri…
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Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
1523The shocking account of how a unit of average middle-aged Germans became the cold-blooded murderers of tens of thousands of Jews.
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NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette
1499New York Times BestsellerLiving in New York City for five years as a transplant from Ohio, illustrator and T-shirt designer Nathan Pyle was fascinated by the unique habits and unspoken customs New Yorkers follow to make life bearable in a city with 8 million people (and seemingly twice the number of tourists). In NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette, Pyle reveals the secrets and unwritten rules for living in and visiting New York including the answers to such burning questions as, how do I hail a cab…
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No More Mr Nice Guy
1485Originally published as an e-book that became a controversial media phenomenon, No More Mr. Nice Guy! landed its author, a certified marriage and family therapist, on The O’Reilly Factor and the Rush Limbaugh radio show. Dr. Robert Glover has dubbed the “Nice Guy Syndrome” trying too hard to please others while neglecting one’s own needs, thus causing unhappiness and resentfulness. It’s no wonder that unfulfilled Nice Guys lash out in frustration at their loved ones, claims Dr. Glover. He exp…
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The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
1468“A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought.” *Los Angeles Times”POWERFUL . . . A stirring defense of informed rationality. . . Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing.” *The Washington Post Book WorldHow can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of sci…
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National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Region
1457Introduced in 1977 and completely revised in 1994, these bestselling photographic field guides have become the birding bibles of more than four million enthusiasts. Virtually every bird found in North America is brought to life in a full-color photograph and with textual information on the bird’s voice, nesting habits, habitat, range, and interesting behaviors. Accompanying range maps; overhead flight silhouettes; sections on bird-watching, accidental species, and endangered birds make these …
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A Visit from the Goon Squad
1413Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption. National BestsellerNational Book Critics Circle Award WinnerPEN/Faulkner Award FinalistA New York Tim…
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Supermen: Building Maximum Muscle for a Lifetime
1391This book presents a weightlifting system for intermediate to advanced weight trainers that maximizes the muscular development of an individual, while creating a complete, balanced and symmetrical physique. This book will save you years of trial-and-error in the gym and provide you with decades of weight training insights. It’s a book for the rest of us-those with average genetics, strong minds and stronger hearts. More significantly, it represents a long-term plan for lifting weights wise…
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The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – But Some Don’t
1369“Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise is The Soul of a New Machine for the 21st century.” —Rachel Maddow, author of DriftNate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair’s breadth, and became a national sensation as a blogger—all by the time he was thirty. He solidified his standing as the nation’s foremost political forecaster with his near perfect prediction of the 2012 election. Silver is the founder and editor in chief…
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Ancient Marine Reptiles
1359Vertebrate evolution has led to the convergent appearance of many groups of originally terrestrial animals that now live in the sea. Among these groups are familiar mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals. There are also reptilian lineages (like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, thalattosaurs, and others) that have become sea creatures. Most of these marine reptiles, often wrongly called “dinosaurs”, are extinct. This edited book is devoted to these extinct groups of marine reptiles. The…
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Watch Repair for Beginners: An Illustrated How-To Guide for the Beginner Watch Repairer
1347First written by the definitive expert in 1957, Watch Repair for Beginners is the ideal book for anyone who wants to know how to fix their own watch. Learn what horology is; the basics of watch and clock repairing; the mechanics of a clock; how the wheels work; the difference between an automatic watch, a stop watch, and a chronograph; and so much more. With detailed black-and-white illustrations, this timeless classic is a must-have addition to any horology lover’s collection.
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The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
1276We’ve all asked, “What is the world coming to?” But we seldom ask, “How bad was the world in the past?” In this startling new book, the bestselling cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows that the world of the past was much worse. In fact, we may be living in the most peaceable era yet.Evidence of a bloody history has always been around us: the genocides in the Old Testament and crucifixions in the New; the gory mutilations in Shakespeare and Grimm; the British monarchs who beheaded their rel…