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The Addison Collection provides thoughts and observations designed to encourage us to think about philosophical, social, and political issues of interest.
"It's a Buck" describes a teenage boy's thoughts and feeling while experiencing the initial frustrations and then unexpected rewards of being a first-time, successful deer hunter. "Retreats of Stones and Mosses" is a short story about a population of tiny minnows that find and experience a temporary...
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From the acclaimed author of Einstein's Dreams, here is an inspires, lyrical meditation on religion and science that explores the tension between our yearning for permanence and certainty, and the modern scientific discoveries that demonstrate the impermanent and uncertain nature of the world. As a physicist, Alan Lightman has always held a scientific view of the world. As a teenager experimenting in his own laboratory, he was impressed by the logic...
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"A state-by-state compendium of weird laws, quirks, one-offs, and unusual records only to be found in the wonderfully wacky US of A. Only in America! explores the strangest claims to fame and the most unusual place names every state has to offer. Visit the city of Dinosaur, drop by the Pizza Museum, find out where it is illegal to feed a pig without a permit, and check out the world's only "carhenge" (that's right, Stonehenge reconstructed using cars)."--...
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"Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away? In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves...
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What are "snow worms"? Are there more moose than people in the Yukon? What is the meaning of the word "Niagara"? Where will you find the world's largest perogy? Does Elvis have a street in Ottawa named after him? What was Pierre Elliott Trudeau's favorite snack food? Which province was the last to shift traffic from the left-hand side of the road to the right? These are some of the questions that are asked - and answered - in 1000 Questions About...
7) Don't know much about history: everything you need to know about American history, but never learned
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From the arrival of Columbus through the historic election of Barack Obama and beyond, Kenneth C. Davis carries readers on a rollicking ride through more than five hundred years of American history. In this 30th anniversary edition of the classic anti-textbook-which includes a new preface by Davis-he debunks, recounts, and serves up the real story behind the myths and fallacies of American history.
8) The violinist's thumb: and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code
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"In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In THE VIOLINIST'S THUMB, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans...
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An inspiring entrepreneur, known for his popular The #AskGaryVee Show, highlights the most interesting questions ever posed to him and offers insights and advice on marketing, using social media, creating a personal brand and how to hire superstar employees. --Publisher's description.
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THE book for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. Bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us--on the field and in the stands--and by...
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"The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone's freezer door at the same time? Maybe it's time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would...
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This big book of 96 science-packed pages introduces young readers to all the key facts about our solar system and the universe in a fun question and answer format.
The book's wide-ranging Q&As include: How many stars are there in space? Where does the Sun go at night? Will astronauts visit Mars? Which planet has diamond rain? What is the Moon made of? What is an eclipse? Which asteroid is the biggest? Is there another planet like Earth? And could...
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This new version of the Caldecott-winning classic by illustrator David Small and author Judith St. George is updated with current facts and new illustrations to include our forty-second president, George W. Bush. Hilariously illustrated by Small, this celebration by St. George shows us the foibles, quirks and humanity of forty-two men who have risen to one of the most powerful positions in the world.
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"The Liberty Bell cracked the very first time it was rung. However, the cracked Liberty Bell visitors can see on display in Philadelphia today isn't that bell, which means another bell was made and cracked! This and a plethora of other historical facts show readers a fun, surprising, and sometimes-humorous side of history."--Publisher's website.
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A new collection of the best Canadian trivia in honour of Canada's 150th birthday. Just in time for Canada's 150th birthday comes this collection of the best in Canadian questions and answers, covering history, famous Canadians, sports, word origins, geography, and everything in between. In these pages, you'll learn the answers to questions like: Where did the word Canuck come from? How did an aristocratic French girl become a Canadian Robinson Crusoe?...
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MLB Network host and commentator Brian Kenny uses stories from baseball's present and past to examine why we sometimes choose ignorance over information, and how tradition can trump logic, even when directly contradicted by evidence.
Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Brian Kenny wants to reshape the way we think about baseball. The biggest proponent of sports analytics in the mainstream media, Kenny says that groupthink and tradition are standing in...
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The author of Lost Argyll offers an illustrated journey through the local lore and hidden histories of this curious county in the southwest of Scotland.
The great travelers of the 17th century used the word "curiosity" in reference to many different things. The label was equally applied to people, plants, legends, historical facts and geological certainties. In Argyll Curiosities, Scottish author Marian Pallister follows their example in a 21st...






