Reference Books - Page 2

Encyclopedia of Immaturity (Klutz)

Editors of Klutz

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Klutz Amazon Marketplace: 18 new & used starting at $12.07

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Love it! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is truly perfect for all ages! I bought it for my tween (10-14 yr old) niece and nephews but found myself reading the book all the time. I even had to buy another one for my coworker as a parting gift which was a big hit. Several other coworkers expressed interest in buying one for themselves! Absolutely love it :)

Great book! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I ordered this book for myself and my kids. They thought it was the coolest book ever. I think I could have written most of it. I then sent a copy to my brother for his 35th birthday. He has two sons and they both enjoyed it.

Fun for Everyone 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The entire family has enjoyed this book and many have tried out some of the "suggestions". Even some rather staid members of the family - all in good fun.

Excellent birthday gift for a 10 yr old boy 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My sons LOVE this book. Lots of silly gross stuff perfect for boys. My 4th and 5th grade sons love this.

Encylopedia of Immaturity 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is gold! I bought it for my 40 year old sister and it has had us doubled over in laughter for months.
So many immature things to try and so little time!

Editorial Review:

How to never grow up, the complete guide.

The Atlas of the Real World

Daniel Dorling, Mark Newman, Anna Barford

Amazon Price: $31.50 List Price: $50.00 Usually ships in 9 to 12 days By: Thames & Hudson Amazon Marketplace: 17 new & used starting at $31.24

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Human Geography
Subjects -> Reference -> Atlases & Maps -> Atlases
Subjects -> Reference -> Atlases & Maps -> World

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

366 cartograms cover a vast array of subjects, providing a definitive reference on how regions and countries compare in resources, production, consumption, and more.

Advances in technology have made widespread and detailed data gathering easier, resulting in a deluge of statistics on subjects as diverse as literacy rates, military spending, overweight children, television viewing figures, and endangered species. But how do we represent and compare data from one part of the world to another in a useful way?

Here, sophisticated software combined with comprehensive analysis of every aspect of life represents the world as it really is. Digitally modified maps depict the areas and countries of the world not by their physical size but by their demographic importance on a vast range of topics.

The rainforests of South America, with thirty percent of the world's fresh water, make the continent balloon in an analysis of water resources, whereas Kuwait, dependent on desalinated seawater, disappears from the map. Fuel use, alcohol consumption, population, malaria: here are hundreds of key indicators to the way we live.

This innovative and exceptionally accessible reference work will be an indispensable tool for journalists, economists, marketers, politicians, financiers, environmentalists, and scholars. Its cartograms are augmented by graphs, tables, and full commentaries. 366 color maps.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not Special Edition 2009 (Ripley's Believe It Or Not Special Edition)

Amazon Price: $10.87 List Price: $15.99 Usually ships in 7 to 12 days By: Scholastic Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $9.37

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Reference -> Fun Facts -> Curiosities & Wonders

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fun book 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Great for the school-age crowd. My third-grader will spend hours reading this and looking at the pictures.

Believe It or Not 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent rendition for readers interested
in a plethora of curiosities on earth. The book
describes how the Zebrafish repairs its own eyes.
There is a beautiful picture of a monster mushroom.

A bionic hand is depicted along with a robotic
violinist. A section has a curious museum of brain
matter. The Colorado wrestling alligators are shown
in a popular action pose. Lastly, a spectacular
Crystal Cave depicts an atmosphere of pure ice.
The acquisition would make a perfect gift for the
curious at heart.

Excellent purchase 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The book was awesome! I'm so glad to have Amazon. I can shop in peace and know I am getting excellent products.

Editorial Review:

The fascinating files of Robert Ripley prove there’s nothing stranger than the truth. Turn the pages, if you dare. But watch out! There are more creepy facts and crazy feats than ever before.

Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others (Thrift Edition)

James Daley

Amazon Price: $3.50 List Price: $3.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $1.31

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Special Groups -> African-American Studies

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful Collection 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

It was wonderful to find a compilation of full length speeches by African Americans. The speeches span from 1843 to 2005, and include lesser known speakers such as Henry Highland Garnet and Jermain Wesley Loguen, to the renowned Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois. As interesting and historically significant, if not coincidental, and timely, are speeches by Shirley Chisholm, and Barack Obama. Both were graduates of Columbia University. While Ms. Chisholm was the first African American female to hold office in the House of Representatives, Mr. Obama is the first African American male to hold an office in the Senate, since reconstruction. Additionally, one sought, while the other is seeking to hold the highest office in the United States - President. This compilation is a great addition to any household library.

Editorial Review:

This anthology comprises speeches by influential figures in the history of African-American culture and politics. Contents include the famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech by Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass' immortal "What, to the Slave, Is the Fourth of July?" Martin Luther King, Jr.,'s "I Have a Dream," Barack Obama, and many others.

Guns,Germs, and Steel

Jared Diamond

List Price: $24.95 By: Audio Scholar Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $7.00

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Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> Early Civilization
Subjects -> History -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Literary

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1076 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

History; It's What's for Dinner 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Dr. Diamond's magnum opus for which he has won an Oscar. Or maybe it was the Pullet Surprise. Something like that.

Unrivaled, in the experience of this humble reviewer, in either clarity or insight, GGS, is one of the best books I have ever read. Diamond is a gifted writer and is able to present complex issues simply and clearly. He also presents several interesting hypotheses regarding the evolution of civilization about how the humans had uncomfortably little to do with anything. We are the products of the plants and animals we domesticated. So go read the book before I domesticate you...

Fascinating overview of environmental factors, but too biased 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a fascinating study of how societies developed, however, it's frustrating that Diamond takes such an ideological position at the outset, ruling out some factors simply because he doesn't like them.

"Inexcusably for an evolutionary biologist, Diamond fails to inform his readers that it is different environments that cause, via natural selection, biological differences among populations. All of the Eurasian developments he described created positive feedback loops selecting for increased intelligence and various personality traits (e.g., altruism, rule-following, etc.)."

Editorial Review:

13,000 years of human history,beginning when stone-age gathers constituted the entire population.

Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase)

Amazon Price: $2.00 List Price: $2.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $0.01

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Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places
Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> Spanish
Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 115 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Waste of money 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Very small book that gives you such bare essentials that you really get nothing at all. If you have to go to Mexico tonight and this was the only book you had then maybe take it because its better than zilch.

strange and outdated 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book was certainly cheap and it is certainly easy to carry. But it was also almost entirely useless. I know only a little Spanish, but enough that this book was not useful to me, because I already knew how to say anything in it that was meaningful to our travels. My husband, on the contrary, knows almost no Spanish. When attempting to shop on his own, he discovered that this book will tell you how to buy gold cufflinks, scarves, gloves, and almost every item of apparel except shirts and pants. It contains a very strange collection of phrases and does not appear to have been updated since its first publication in the 50s. Not useful if you want to ask the location of an internet cafe.

Editorial Review:

More than 770 basic phrases for everyday use enable you to communicate instantly on a host of topics: health and medical situations; essential services; boat, plane, and train travel; much more.

The cat in the hat (I can read it all by myself)

Seuss

By: Grolier Book Club edition Amazon Marketplace: 3 new & used starting at $3.43

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Subjects -> Reference -> Words & Language -> Braille

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 177 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Two boys' review: Simply, a classic 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This silly story centers around self-responsibility. The children panic because they know their mother won't be happy if she comes home and find the house a mess. The fish fluctuates between being an annoyance and a voice of reason.

The story stars a well-meaning cat who tries to release the children from an afternoon of boredom. He brings excitement, which quickly devolves into chaos...or so it seems.

This is a fun bedtime story, nothing more, nothing less. My sons weren't looking for a debate about latch-key children and abandonment. We'll leave those reviews to the sociology graduates.

If your children enjoy this book, I also recommend, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.

I couldn't imagine our children's bookshelf without these Dr. Suess books, too:

The Cat in the Hat
Green Eggs and Ham
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Lorax

Editorial Review:

To accompany the release of the live action movie of The Cat in the Hat, starring Mike Myers, HarperCollins are proud to present Dr. Seuss's original, classic tale of the coolest, hippest cat in history!When the Cat in the Hat steps in on the mat, Sally and her brother are in for a roller-coaster ride of havoc and mayhem! The Cat can rescue them from a dull rainy day, but it means lots of thrills and spills along the way. The wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat is one of the most popular characters in children's fiction, and this book is ideal for budding readers to tackle on their own.

The Elements of Style

Jr., William Strunk

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: FQ Classics Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $6.93

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Subjects -> Reference -> Words & Language -> Grammar
Subjects -> Reference -> Writing -> Technical
Subjects -> Reference -> Writing -> Writing Skills

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 369 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Reference 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE is a great little pocket reference for all writers (creative, essay, or nonfiction).

What is most amazing is how it consolidates a wealth of information into accessible, bite-size chapters that are easy to search on and then easy to comprehend.

The sections that I have found the most helpful are:
1) Verb Subject Agreement for the exceptions, "one of" and "each and every".
2) Why using the Active Voice is better through exhibition and not b/c it's the general rule.
3) Putting statements into positive form (something I had not considered).
4) And the entire section on "Approach to Style".

I think that for the price, you can not go wrong with this one. I have GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT by Stilman and SOLUTIONS FOR WRITERS by Stein, both of which I recommend, but if you had to choose the order in which to buy: ELEMENTS OF STYLE, SOLUTIONS FOR WRITERS (as it's not just about writing but the craft of story telling), and then GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT.

Editorial Review:

The Elements of Style is a classic work which is intended for use in English courses in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style. It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention (in Chapters Two and Three) on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correcting manuscript.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List

Patricia Schultz

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Workman Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 195 new & used starting at $2.11

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Subjects -> Reference -> Encyclopedias -> General
Subjects -> Reference -> Encyclopedias -> General AAS
Subjects -> Reference -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 308 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Introducing the Eighth Wonder of travel books. A joyous, passionate gift book for travelers-both the real and the armchair variety-1,000 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE delivers exactly the promise of its an around-the-world, continent-by-continent listing of places guaranteed to give you shivers, the unique and wonderful places you must see on and off the beaten track.

Take a safari into Botswana's Okavango Delta, the world's largest oasis, where "if you see 10 percent of what sees you, it's an exceptional day." Sail the Grenadines, 32 islands and hundreds of dotlike cays strung like a necklace of gems across 40 miles of pristine waters. Tour the covered souks of Aleppo, where the labyrinthine streets seem straight out of A Thousand and One Nights and frankincense and myrhh are still sold. Hike the Tasman Glacier. Climb the Tuscan hills to San Gimignano. Stay at the Hassler in Rome, or Paris's Crillon-you must, at least once. There's Canyon de Chelly, Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market, the backwaters of Kerala, Ipanema beach, the Buddhas of Borobudur, Mesa Verde's cave dwellings, the Oaxaca Saturday market, Ballybunion Golf Club.

The prose is gorgeous, seizing on exactly what makes each entry worthy of inclusion. And, following the romance, the nuts and bolts: addresses, phone and fax numbers, web sites, costs, best times to visit. Of special interest are subject-specific indexes-gorgeous beaches, destination restaurants, world-class museums-making the guide entirely user-friendly, no matter if you're dreaming or going.

Late Show Fun Facts

David Letterman, The Late Show Writers

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hyperion Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $11.51

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Satire
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> General
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Satire, General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

It truly is worth your last $20 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

David Letterman jokes around about his new offering 'Late Show Fun Facts' on his show of course, but he really is right on the money. Despite economic times this book is definately worth the price (even the conversion rate to Australian dollars for myself). If you love the show and especially his fun facts segment this truly does provide you with hours of fun, remembering some he has already done and some great new entries. I still haven't gotten through to the end. So believe me this is no 'pamphlet' it is 239 pages of fun...some will make you cringe, some will make you laugh out loud, but all of them - and other segments and info inserted into the book - you will find endlessly fascinating.

hilarious 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

perfect funny little book to keep on the living room table. I love Letterman and record it every night so I am a little biased!

Editorial Review:

Drawn from the popular weekly segment, Late Show Fun Facts is a collection of unusual, little-known--and sometimes even true--bits of trivia assembled by the Federal Bureau of Miscellaneous Information.