The World In A Phrase

Starting with the ancient Chinese and ending with contemporary Europeans and Americans, The World in a Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through spirited and amusing biographies of some of its greatest practitioners, including Emily Dickinson, and Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker; great French aphorists like Montaigne, La Rochefoucauld, and Chamfort; philosophers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein; as well as prophets and sages like the Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Jesus. In our modern age, The World in a Phrase explores how aphorisms still retain the power to instigate and inspire, enlighten and enrage, entertain and edify. James Geary is the author of The Body Electric: An Anatomy of the New Bionic Senses. He lives in London with his wife and three children. "James Geary's celebration of the smallest-and sometimes wisest-of literary forms. Geary defines the characteristics of aphorisms and discusses their history and their role in his life, and shares the work of renowned aphorists from Buddha to Dr. Seuss."-Associated Press

Have you ever wondered why we talkabout 'buttering someone up' or wherethe phrase 'it's raining cats and dogs'actually comes from? What does it meanto 'comb the giraffe' in France or to 'weara cat on your head' in Japan?Also available This beautifully illustrated collection of curious phrases from around the world is a voyage of cultural discovery.

This work explains the origins of the familiar and the unfamiliar in everyday speech and literature, including the colloquial and the proverbial. It embraces archaeology, history, religion, the arts, science, mythology and characters from fiction.

The award-winning masterpiece by one of today's most honored writers, Ursula K. Le Guin! The Word for World is Forest When the inhabitants of a peaceful world are conquered by the bloodthirsty yumens, their existence is irrevocably altered. Forced into servitude, the Athsheans find themselves at the mercy of their brutal masters. Desperation causes the Athsheans, led by Selver, to retaliate against their captors, abandoning their strictures against violence. But in defending their lives, they have endangered the very foundations of their society. For every blow against the invaders is a blow to the humanity of the Athsheans. And once the killing starts, there is no turning back. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Presents a Devil's Dictionary of the author's own ideas, with cross-links from entry to entry guiding the reader around his system. This title points out that the non-arrival of the Kingdom left the early Christians looking up vigilantly towards a better world that was yet to come.

Putnam's Phrase Book is about the art of letter writing and how to charm friends and family with your devilish and ornate epistolary skill. Contents: "A Dictionary of Six Thousand Expressions and General Phrases for Use in Conversation, Social Letter Writing, and Public Speaking; A Sample Letter Showing how this Book may be Used in Preparation of Social Letters; A Guide to Phrases for Use in Preparing One's Letters if the Sample Letters are not Satisfactory; One Hundred Social Letters; Of Condolence; Of Congratulation; Of Friendly Appreciation With Gifts"