From Oscar Wilde's witty observation in Lady Windermere's Fan that 'I can resist everything except temptation' to Zsa Zsa Gabor's admission that 'I know nothing about sex because I was always married' & by way of Woody Allen's numerous bon mots to the anonymous definition of psychiatry as being 'the care of the id by the odd' Connie Robertson has woven together a hilarious stimulating & thought-provoking collection of the best humorous"ations which will provide the reader with much to ponder over long after the book has been put aside. The Wordsworth Book of Humorous"ations will delight the browser & the simply curious while also providing the student journalist & after-dinner speaker with a wealth of valuable material. ...

No-one will ever produce a richer or more satisfying feast of the Jewish experience
- Simon Schama. One cant imagine a better food
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The Book of Kells" is the richest & most copiously illustrated book in the Celto-Saxon style that still survives. However despite its rarity & fame there is little that is known about it. Reproducing over sixty of the wonderful images from the book itself this guide describes the hidden meanings behind the illustrations & opens our eyes to the history behind them. Picking out the most interesting beautiful & unique images from the 339 vellum leaves that comprise the book as a whole it gives an illuminating insight into the manuscript & its creation. Published to coincide with St Patricks Day this book will appeal to everyone from the hundreds of thousands of people visiting the " Book of Kells" every year to those interested in history art or ancient artefacts & anyone with a passion for beautiful objects." ...

The Book of Kells" is a masterpiece of medieval art a brilliantly decorated version of the four Gospels with full-page depictions of Christ the Virgin & the Evangelists as well as a wealth of smaller decorative painting. This new book by the Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College Library Dublin represents on a generous scale the glories of the " Book of Kells" for todays readers revealing the astounding detail & richness of one of the greatest treasures of medieval art. Its illustrations feature 59 full-size reproductions of complete pages of the manuscript & in addition enlarged details that allow one to relish the intricacy of elements barely visible to the naked eye. We explore " The Book of Kells" through its historical background; a display of the elements of the book actual size; the spectacular openings of the texts that precede the Gospels; a study of earlier & comparable manuscripts; detailed examination of symbols & themes with special enlarged details; a look at the scribes & artists who worked on the manuscript; & a consideration of technical aspects illuminated by recent scientific research." ...

This edition reproduces the most important of the fully decorated pages plus a series of enlargements showing the almost unbelievable minuteness of the detail; spiral & interlaced patterns human & animal ornament
- a combination of high seriousness & humour. Accompanying the illustrations is a new text by Bernard Meehan the Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin. He provides an authoritative analysis of these exuberant inventions the artists the text & the writing & a full account of the historical background to the miraculous world of the Book of Kells.
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Describes every practical knot what it looks like where it comes from & how to tie it. The book

Includes::

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Kundera whirls through comedy & tragedy towards his central question: how does a person any person live today? In constructing his answer he writes of politics sex literature modern man's alienation
- & of their antidotes: laughter & forgetting.
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Why did London Underground once employ a one-legged man to ride up & down the escalators at Earl's Court tube station? What did Hitler plan to do with Nelson's Column? Why is London's only medieval mummy a prostitute named Clarice la Claterballock? How did a beer flood in Tottenham Court Road drown nine people? Where can you see a pair of Queen Victoria's knickers? Containing chapters covering London past & present; buildings & streets; famous & unexpected Londoners; arts literature & crime; plus much much more the 180 lists will amaze amuse & inform. More than simply a keepsake for tourists every self-respecting Londoner needs this book. ...

Ever wondered if Cheapside really is cheap what you do in Threadneedle Street or who the knights of Knightsbridge were? Did you know that Piccadilly is actually an insult? & that Euston Road was built because there were too many cows on Oxford Street? Or that the River Fleet was covered over partly because of a drunken butcher? Take a trip down narrow lanes through cobbled streets & crowded markets to discover the meanings behind the citys place names. Meet forgotten residents whose names survive in the places where they lived & uncover tales from Londons murky past that have shaped the modern city. From famous landmarks to forgotten rivers grand thoroughfares to lost palaces & ancient villages swallowed up as the city grew Caroline Taggart explains the hidden meanings behind familiar places. If you have ever wanted to peel back the layers of history & discover the people events & stories that shaped London then come on a journey that will show you our capital city in a new light... ...

The first of a two-book set that contains the early myths & legends which led to the writing of Tolkiens epic tale of war The Silmarillion. The Book of Lost Tales stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth & Valinor for the Tales were the first form of the myths & legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend & English association they are set in the narrative frame of a great westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriol to the lonely Isle where the Elves dwelt; from them he learned their true history the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. In the Tales are found the earliest accounts of Gods & Elves Dwarves Balrogs & Orcs; of the Silmarils & the Two Trees of Valinor; of the geography & cosmology of Tolkiens invented world. This series of fascinating books has now been repackaged to complement the distinctive & classic style of the black cover A-format paperbacks of The Hobbit The Lord of the Rings The Silmarillion & Unfinished Tales. ...