History of Things You Didn't Know You Needed to KnowUnpublished

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Homer called salt a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. Today we take salt for granted, a common, inexpensive substance that seasons food or clears ice from roads, a word used casually in expressions ("salt of the earth," take it with a grain of salt") without...

An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals "pests" and others not--from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons--and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions, as well as our place in the natural world A squirrel in the garden. A rat...

Award-winning food writer Bee Wilson's secret history of kitchens, showing how new technologies--from the fork to the microwave and beyond--have fundamentally shaped how and what we eat "Like having a long dinner table discussion with a fascinating friend.... A pure joy...

"What happens when we die? Does the light just go out and that's that--the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my lap-top?" In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The story of modern medicine and bioethics--and, indeed, race relations--is refracted beautifully, and movingly."--Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE * ONE OF THE "MOST...

We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR * TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE * ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S FIVE BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST...

A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller! "The glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still." --NPR Books  Discover the gripping and inspiring true story of The Radium Girls, a groundbreaking work by acclaimed author Kate Moore....

How did quinine, tea, cotton, sugar, and the potato change the face of world history? Five fascinating tales in which the unwitting heroes are plants and spices.

Prized as "the best stone in Britain" by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, powered navies, fueled economies, and expanded frontiers. It made China a twelfth-century superpower, inspired the writing of the Communist Manifesto, and helped the northern...

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Atlantic * The Huffington Post * Men's Journal * MSN (U.K.) * Kirkus Reviews * Publishers Weekly #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARD FOR WRITING AND...

The story of how white bread became white trash, this social history shows how our relationship with the love-it-or-hate-it food staple reflects our country's changing values In the early twentieth century, the factory-baked loaf heralded a bright new future, a world away from...