Why does the West rule? Eminent Stanford polymath Ian Morris answers this provocative question drawing uniquely on 15 000 years of history & archaeology & the methods of social science. In the middle of the eighteenth century British entrepreneurs unleashed the astounding energies of steam & coal & the world changed forever. Factories railways & gunboats then propelled the West's rise to power & computers & nuclear weapons in the twentieth century secured its global supremacy. Today however many worry that the emergence of China & India spell the end of the West as a superpower. How long will the power of the West last? & in order to find out we need to know: why has the West been so dominant for the past two hundred years? With flair & authority historian & achaeologist Ian Morris draws uniquely on 15 000 years of history to offer fresh insights on what the future will bring. Deeply researched & brilliantly argued Why The West Rules
- For Now" is a gripping & truly original history of the world."
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The Birdman puts spells on people. We mustn't talk to him. We're not supposed to. Gracie & Daniel have been warned to stay away from the mad Birdman- but the message in the sand tells them that the Birdman isn't what he seems. Then they get lost in the fog & stranded on Samson Isl&- should they believe the Birdman's story that the island is cursed?" ...

Why was the partridge in the pear tree? Who was Good King Wenceslas? & what are the pagan origins behind The Holly & the Ivy? Discover the hidden stories behind our best-loved Christmas carols from their earliest incarnations in the Middle Ages & their banning under the Puritans to the wassailing traditions of the nineteenth century & the carols that united soldiers on the Western Front during the First World War. This fascinating book charts the history of one of Christmas longest-running traditions & is sure to appeal to all those who love the festive season. ...

Im telling you why we broke up Ed. Im writing it in this letter the whole truth of why it happened." Min Green & Ed Slaterton are breaking up so Min is writing Ed a letter & giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps a movie ticket a folded note a box of matches a protractor books a toy truck a pair of ugly earrings a comb from a motel room & every other item collected over the course of a giddy intimate heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated & accounted for & then the box like a girlfriend will be dumped." ...

Revolutionary retail guru Paco Underhill is back with a completely revised edition of his classic witty bestselling book on our ever-evolving consumer culture -- full of fresh observations & important lessons from the cutting edge of retail which is taking place in the worlds emerging markets. New material
Includes::
- The latest trends in online retail -- what retailers are doing right & what theyre doing wrong -- & how nearly every Internet retailer from i Tunes to Amazon can drastically improve how it serves its customers.
- A guided tour of the most innovative stores malls & retail environments around the world -- almost all of which are springing up in countries where prosperity is new. An enormous indoor ski slope attracts shoppers to a mall in Dubai; an uber luxurious Sao Paolo department store provides its customers with personal shoppers; a mall in South Africa has a wave pool for surfing. The new Why We Buy is an essential guide -- it offers advice on how to keep your changing customers & entice new & eager ones.


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Governments around the world spend millions on art & cultural institutions evidence of a basic human need for what the author refers to as creating aesthetic significance. Yet what function or purpose does art satisfy in todays society? ...

With 3 marriages under her belt Tracy Mc Millan KNOWS how to get married & she knows exactly why so many other women still arent. In Why Youre Not Married
- Yet she pulls no punches telling the modern woman precisely what shes doing wrong. Based on Tracys Valentines Day Huffington Post blog article of the same title her new book explores how & why women are standing in their own way when it comes to tying the knot. Shortly after its publication the article went viral garnering 1 404 533 views & now stands as the Huffington Posts second most viewed article of all time & probably one of its most rebutted having spawned strong response articles on CNN.com The Frisky & countless blogs. With chapters like Youre a bitch Youre Godless & Youre selfish Tracy details in straightforward language ten reasons why single women are still single. But its not all tough love; Tracy also offers up seriously sage advice along with insight into how her desperate search for security as a child in foster care taught her to look for very specific traits in the men she dated
- traits that just so happen to lead to marriage a surprisingly high percentage of the time. She doesnt pretend to be an expert on lasting relationships
- & says as much to whomever will listen
- but Tracy WILL get women down the aisle with biting humor wicked smarts & heart to spare.



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Why Your 5 Year Old Could Not Have Done That" is Susie Hodges passionate & persuasive argument against the most common disparaging remark levelled at modern art. In this enjoyable & thought-provoking book she examines 100 works of modern art that have attracted critical & public hostility from Cy Twomblys scribbled " Olympia" (1957) Jean-Michel Basquiats crude but spontaneous "LNAPRK" (1982) to the apparently careless mess of Tracey Emins " My Bed" (1998) & explains how far from being negligible novelties they are inspired & logical extensions of the ideas of their time. She explains how such notorious works as Carl Andres Equivalent VIII (1966) the infamous bricks occupy unique niches in the history of ideas both showing influences of past artists & themselves influencing subsequent artists. With illustrations of works from Hans Arp to Adolf Wolfli Hodge places each work in its cultural context to present an unforgettable vision of modern art. This book will give you an understanding of the ways in which modern art differs from the realistic works of earlier centuries transforming as well as informing your gallery visits for years to come." ...

Now in a third edition Robert M. Sapolskys acclaimed & successful Why Zebras Dont Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep & addiction as well as new insights into anxiety & personality disorder & the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead the diseases we fear
- & the ones that plague us now
- are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage such as heart disease & cancer. When we worry or experience stress our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animals does but we do not resolve conflict in the same way
- through fighting or fleeing. Over time this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humour & practical advice Why Zebras Dont Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical & mental afflictions including depression ulcers colitis heart disease & more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive & engaging one yet.


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All William wants in the whole wide world is a wobbly tooth. When he gets one he just can't stop jiggling & wiggling it! But then William's tooth falls out at school. How will he keep it safe until hometime? If you have a wobbly tooth or if you just want one this story is for you! ' Miriam Moss's simple story of the loss of that first tooth marks an early rites of passage with a humour one might call almost crunchy: all the little urgencies of childhood are compressed into its pages... Joanna Mockler's illustrations are in the tradition of Quentin Blake: bright jaunty just a tad anarchic.' The Guardian ...