High in the Canadian Rockies is a small limestone quarry formed 530 million years ago called the Burgess Shale. It hold the remains of an ancient sea where dozens of strange creatures lived -- a forgotten corner of evolution preserved in awesome detail. In this book Stephen Jay Gould explores what the Burgess Shale tells us about evolution and the nature of history.
I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend He referred to the dates on her tombstone From the beginning to the end He noted that first came the date of her birth And spoke the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all Was the dash between those years. In 1996, an announcer read Linda's Ellis's poem “The Dash” aloud on a syndicated r…
What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey?. Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface -- a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character -- and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this pr…
In this revelatory examination of the most overlooked force that is changing the face of China, the Oxford historian and scholar of modern Asia Karl Gerth shows that as the Chinese consumer goes, so goes the world. While Americans and Europeans have become increasingly worried about China’s competition for manufacturing jobs and energy resources, they have overlooked an even bigger story: Chi…
Every teenager wants to fit in and be just like everybody else, but as Jenny Lawson grows up, falls in love, gets engaged and starts a family of her own, she learns that life's most absurd and humiliating moments are the very moments that make us who we are.
For the past siz years, Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man known for his special sight. Once, Village was a place that welcomed newcomers and offered hope and homes to people fleeing poverty and cruelty. But something sinister has seeped into village, and the people have voted to close it to outsiders. All along, Matty has been invaluable as a mess…
Here are 87 true stories about amazing moments in a wide variety of sports.'
Can Princess Tamina stop a nefarious villain from destroying the world? Read along as YOU become the Princess and decide the fate of her world
On a moonless night, two rats follow hypnotic lights into the forest, never to be seen again. Such is the power of the Doomwytes, sinister ravens led by the deadly Korvus Skurr. And when the young mouse Bisky persuades the creatures of Redwall Abbey to go in search of a fabled treasure, hidden long ago by one of the abbey?s most notorious thieves, they do not suspect Skurr and his ravens will b…