Why are some parts of the world so rich and others so poor? Why did the Industrial Revolution--and the unprecedented economic growth that came with it--occur in eighteenth-century England, and not at some other time, or in some other place? Why didn't industrialization make the whole world rich--and why did it make large parts of the world even poorer? In A Farewell to Alms, Gregory Clark tackles these profound questions and suggests a new and provocative way in which culture--not exploitation, geography, or resources--explains the wealth, and the poverty, of nations. Countering the prevailing theory that the Industrial Revolution was sparked by the sudden development of stable political, legal, and economic institutions in seventeenth-century Europe, Clark shows that such institutions existed long before industrialization. He argues instead that these institutions gradually led to deep cultural changes by encouraging people to abandon hunter-gatherer instincts-violence, impatience, and economy of effort-and adopt economic habits-hard work, rationality, and education. The problem, Clark says, is that only societies that have long histories of settlement and security seem to develop the cultural characteristics and effective workforces that enable economic growth. For the many societies that have not enjoyed long periods of stability, industrialization has not been a blessing. Clark also dissects the notion, championed by Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs, and Steel, that natural endowments such as geography account for differences in the wealth of nations. A brilliant and sobering challenge to the idea that poor societies can be economically developed through outside intervention, A Farewell to Alms may change the way global economic history is understood.

Pub. Date: December 2008 Publisher: Princeton University Press Format: Paperback, 432pp
Item: 069114128

In A Little More About Me, Houston is searching for a place-not too safe but not too threatening-from which to negotiate mountain goats and river ice, camping trips and wine. Assessing her limitations, she takes "A Long Look in the Mirror." Through her we meet some good dogs, a few good men, and the occasional grizzly. There's a horse named Roany with the presence of a Zen master. And there's a Buddhist named Karma, proving what Houston has always suspected: fiction has nothing on real life. As she searches for balance within herself and with the world around her, Houston speaks straight from the heart, revealing truths about who we are and what it means, right now, to be alive.

Pub. Date: October 2000 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group Format: Paperback, 304pp
Item: 074340633

A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric provides students with a thorough review of rhetorical theory and practices found in ancient Greece and Rome. This third edition integrates new research into the text and adds richer context within which to understand the growth and development of the rhetorical self-consciousness that is so central to western civilization. It considers writing and speaking as critical tools for the educated Athenian or Roman, and recognizes the role that writing played in the development and practice of rhetoric in the classical age. Eight classical texts are also provided for study and discussion. With vivid examples of the rhetorical concepts developed by each theorist, it enables students to understand rhetoric's role in the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Pub. Date: March 2003 Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Format: Hardcover, 352pp
Item: 188039334

This extraordinary poetic voyage uses explorations of the material culture of our past and present as points of departure. Sandra McPherson succeeds in drawing us into her examination of objects from the 20th and late 19th centuries through her weaving together of images both familiar and startling into deeply satisfying poems. She is especially interested in articles that might seem useless, extinct, or "irrelevant" to us now, such as children's military playthings, diaries and scrapbooks of unknown and unfamous people, quilts from people of Mennonite and Amish convictions, "primitive" utilitarian wooden objects, telegrams and curious photographs. These poems are characteristically simple and unadorned, bringing readers closer and closer to a physical world we often overlook, but which is filled with sensation and meaning. From traditional stanzaic poems to collages and prose ghazals, the author embraces "civilization" by visiting the spirit of the secret voices of its people.

Pub. Date: April 2002 Publisher: Wesleyan University Press Format: Paperback, 120pp
Item: 081956519

Catalysis is the acceleration of a chemical reaction by a catalyst, a substance that notably affects the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being consumed or altered. Since 1948, Advances in Catalysis has filled the gap between the papers that report on and the textbooks that teach in the diverse areas of catalysis research. The editors of and contributors to Advances in Catalysis are dedicated to recording progress in this area.

* Provides a comprehensive review of all aspects of catalytic research
* Contains in-depth, critical, state-of-the-art reports

Pub. Date: June 2007 Publisher: Elsevier Science & Technology Books Format: Hardcover, 406pp
Item: 012373897

First published in 1969 in severely abridged form, Clarence Major's first novel is now available in an unexpurgated edition that restores the full text of his critically acclaimed and controversial work. Written in first-person narrative, All-Night Visitors is the riveting and compelling story of Eli Bolton - orphan, college dropout, Vietnam veteran, and sexual voyager - as he struggles to establish a meaningful self-identity in a chaotic and bigoted world.

Pub. Date: May 2000 Publisher: Northeastern University Press Format: Paperback, 288pp
Item: 155553428

merican Bison combines the latest scientific information and one man's personal experience in an homage to one of the most magnificent animals to have roamed America's vast, vanished grasslands. Dale F. Lott, a distinguished behavioral ecologist who was born on the National Bison Range and has studied the buffalo for many years, relates what is known about this iconic animal's life in the wild and its troubled history with humans. Written with unusual grace and verve, American Bison takes us on a journey into the bison's past and shares a compelling vision for its future, offering along the way a valuable introduction to North American prairie ecology.

We become Lott's companions in the field as he acquaints us with the social life and physiology of the bison, sharing stories about its impressive physical prowess and fascinating relationships. Describing the entire grassland community in which the bison live, he writes about wolves, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, grizzly bears, and other animals and plans, detailing the interdependent relationships among these inhabitants of a lost landscape. Lott also traces the long and dramatic relationship between the bison and Native Americans, and gives a surprising look at the history of the hide hunts that delivered the coup de grace to the already dwindling bison population in a few short years.

This book gives us a peek at the rich and unique ways of life that evolved in the heart of America. Lott also dismantles many of the myths we have created about these ways of life, and about the bison in particular, to reveal the animal itself; ruminating, reproducing, and rutting in its full glory. His portrait of the bison ultimately becomes a plea to conserve its wildness and an eloquent meditation on the importance of the wild in our lives.

Pub. Date: November 2003 Publisher: University of California Press Format: Paperback, 245pp
Item: 052024062

With this volume, Alan Taylor challenges the traditional story of colonial history by examining the many cultures that helped make America. Transcending the usual Anglocentric version of our colonial past, he recovers the importance of Native American tribes, African slaves, and the rival empires of France, Spain, the Netherlands, and even Russia in the colonization of North America. Moving beyond the Atlantic seaboard to examine the entire continent, American Colonies reveals a pivotal period in the global interaction of peoples, cultures, plants, animals, and microbes. In a vivid narrative, Taylor draws upon cutting-edge scholarship to create a timely picture of the colonial world characterized by an interplay of freedom and slavery, opportunity and loss.

"Compelling, readable, and fresh, American Colonies is perhaps the most brilliant piece of synthesis in recent American historical writing." (Phillip J. Deloria, associate professor of history and American culture, University of Michigan)

Pub. Date: July 2002 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated Format: Paperback, 544pp
Item: 014200210

Contemporary witch Cara Augustine is wanted by the Portalkind police. She broke a major covenant when she accidently made a werewolf her witch's familiar. That crime is considered enslaving a human-and the punishment is death. But even on the run as a fugitive, she quickly learns a Synemancer's life is never simple as she fends off an amorous Nephilim who has just learned he's a powerful combination of half-angel and half-witch, a treacherous and deranged French werewolf who wants to enslave her, and the darkly handsome, formidable Nightkind who is determined to marry her. Each powerful supernatural man has his own reasons for wanting to possess Cara, body and soul, and nothing will stop them from pursuing her. In an effort to escape the Portalkind police, Cara and her companions stumble into another dimension and find themselves in a strange Garden of Eden. But they quickly discover that this dangerous world, filled with strange creatures that are both deadly and beautiful, is no paradise. Can Cara survive this world and find her way home? And if she does, will it only be to face her execution for a crime she didn't mean to commit?

• ISBN-13: 9781610261180
• Author: Mertianna Georgia
• Publisher: ImaJinn Books
• Publication date: 1/31/2013
• Pages: 216
• Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.00 (h) x 0.49 (d)

In this bilingual poetry book, Francisco X. Alarcón invites young readers to experience fall in Los Angeles — the City of the Angels — where dreams can come true. In the poet's whimsical imagination, mariachis play like angels, angels ride bikes, and the earth dances the cha-cha-cha. Alarcón celebrates the simple joys and trials of everyday life: a visit to the outdoor market, the arrival of the ice cream vendor, the first day of school. He honors his family and pays tribute to his mother, who taught him that with hard work and education he could realize his dreams.

Maya Christina Gonzalez's spirited images perfectly complement each poem, bringing to life the people and places in Alarcón's childhood.

Pub. Date: April 2005 Publisher: Pgw Format: Paperback, 32pp
Item: 089239198