Obsessively-detailed, and very funny, instructions on nearly everything in life you are very possibly doing all wrong.Help is here! From how to eat an ice-cream cone to developing “principles” when you have none, the author’s mission is to elevate, and...

In late October 1939, Robert Graves wrote to Alan Hodge: “I have begun a new book, about English.” Graves and Hodge had recently completed a social history of the between-wars period called The Long Week-End. Now they embarked on this new project, “a...

Beautiful, accurate, and up-to-the-minute, this completely updated mini atlas puts the entire world in the palm of your hand in an amazingly accessible format.National Geographic's maps and atlases are critically acclaimed and world-renowned for their...

Some of the country’s most admired authors—including Andre Dubus III, Mark Doty, Marianne Leone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Richard Blanco, Abigail Thomas, Kate Bornstein, Jerald Walker, and Kyoko Mori—describe their treks through dark memories and...

From Charles Johnson—a National Book Award winner, Professor Emeritus at University of Washington, and one of America’s preeminent scholars on literature and race—comes an instructive, inspiring guide to the craft and art of writing.An award-winning...

Winner of the 2017 Brendan Gill Prize from the Municipal Arts Society of New York"The maps themselves are things of beauty . . . A document of its time, of our time."—Sadie Stein, New York Times"One is invited to fathom the many New Yorks hidden from...

Little Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs features over 2,000 proverbs and sayings from around the world, arranged across 250 subjects - from 'Books' and 'Borrowing' to 'Dreams' and 'Drink'. Each theme has a short introduction giving an overview of the...

The premier source for journalists, now revised and updated for 2015.Does the White House tweet?Or does the White House post on Twitter?Can "text" be a verb and also a noun?When should you link?For anyone who writes--short stories or business plans, book...

Most people think of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as a distinctly British product. Begun in England 150 years ago, it took more than 60 years to complete and, when it was finally finished in 1928, the British prime minister heralded it as a...

Q. Is it “happy medium” or “happy median”? My author writes: “We would all be much better served as stewards of finite public funds if we could find that happy median where trust reigns supreme.” Thanks!A. The idiom is “happy medium,” but I like the...

Few people can write on the English language with the authority of Bryan A. Garner. The author of The Chicago Manual of Style’s popular “Grammar and Usage” chapter, Garner explains the vagaries of English with absolute precision and utmost clarity. With...

The essential handbook for songwriters, poets, students, teachers, speechmakers, and members of the performing artsThis simple-to-use, exceptionally complete reference work has been updated, expanded and redesigned to meet the needs of today's most...

With more than a thousand new entries and more than 2,300 word-frequency ratios, the magisterial fourth edition of this book-now renamed Garner's Modern English Usage (GMEU)-reflects usage lexicography at its finest. Garner explains the nuances of...

The all-time best-selling writer's handbook turns 30.With insight, humor, and practicality, Natalie Goldberg inspires writers and would-be writers to take the leap into writing skillfully and creatively. She offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid...

An insider’s tour through the construction of invented languages from the bestselling author and creator of languages for Legendary's Dune, the HBO series Game of Thrones and the Syfy series DefianceFrom master language creator David J. Peterson comes a...

“I must refrain from shouting what a brilliant work this is (præteritio). Farnsworth has written the book as he ought to have written it – and as only he could have written it (symploce). Buy it and read it – buy it and read it (epimone).”―Bryan A...

From the celebrated Ursula K. Le Guin, "a writer of enormous intelligence and wit, a master storyteller" (Boston Globe), the revised and updated edition of her classic guide to the essentials of a writer's craft.Completely revised and rewritten to...

“Charming and erudite," from the author of Rationality and Enlightenment Now, "The wit and insight and clarity he brings . . . is what makes this book such a gem.” —Time.comWhy is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English...

For over a decade THE WELL TEMPERED SENTENCE has provided instruction and pleasure to the wariest student and the most punctilious scholar alike. Now Karen Elizabeth Gordon has revised and enlarged her classic handbook with fuller explanations of the...

The wise and witty guide to researching and writing a thesis, by the bestselling author of The Name of the Rose—now published in English for the first time.Learn the art of the thesis from a giant of Italian literature and philosophy—from choosing a...