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Joseph Mazur is the author of Euclid in the Rainforest (Plume), which was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award, Zeno's Paradox (Plume), What's Luck Got to Do with It? (Princeton), and Fluke (Basic).
An entertaining look at the origins of mathematical symbols
While all of us regularly use basic math symbols such as those for plus, minus, and equals, few of us know that many of these symbols weren't available before the sixteenth century....
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"Finalist for the 2018 National Jewish Book Award in History, Gerrard and Ella Berman Memorial Award" Michael Brenner is the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies and director of the Center for Israel Studies at American University and Professor of Jewish History and Culture at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. His many books include A Short History of the Jews (Princeton).
A major new history of the century-long debate over...
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Sisters is the first major history of the pivotal role played by nuns in the building of American society. Nuns were the first feminists, argues Fialka. They became the nation's first cadre of independent, professional women. Some nursed, some taught, and many created and managed new charitable organizations, including large hospitals and colleges.
In the 1800s nuns moved west with the frontier, often starting the first hospitals and schools in...
25) On purpose
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"A brief, accessible history of the idea of purpose in Western thought, from ancient Greece to the present. Can we live without the idea of purpose? Should we even try to? Kant thought we were stuck with purpose, and even Darwin's theory of natural selection, which profoundly shook the idea, was unable to kill it. Indeed, teleological explanation--what Aristotle called understanding in terms of "final causes"--seems to be making a comeback today,...
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The first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on today's believers.
Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. They practiced a whole new way of thinking about and doing religion that would have been seen as bizarre and dangerous when compared to Roman religion and most other religions...
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"This book explores the history of our understanding of color from the ancient world to the present, from Aristotle to Albers. Interspersed in the historical story are thematic essays that explore how color has been used across a wide range of disciplines and fields: in belief, commerce, language, nature, food, wellness, printing, and music. Many of the illustrations are drawn from the Royal College of Art's renowned Colour Reference Library, which...
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- The Third book in Our Captivating Russian History Series.
Embark on a fascinating journey into Russia's 20th-century history with the latest book in our acclaimed series, "Russian History Through the Ages: Revolution and Transformation in the 20th Century." This riveting volume unveils the events and personalities that defined a nation's extraordinary path through a century of upheaval and change.
Witness the epic Russian Revolution, which toppled...
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Introducing "History of Russia: Catherine II to the Revolution of 1905-1906".
- The Second Volume in Our "Russia's Epic Saga: A Journey Through Time" Series.
Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Russia's past with the second book in our enthralling Russian history series. This book transports you to an era of profound transformation, where visionary rulers and revolutionary ideas shaped the course of Russian history.
Witness the reign of...
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The history of Alaska is filled with stories of new land and new riches -- and ever present are new people with competing views over how the valuable resources should be used: Russians exploiting a fur empire; explorers checking rival advances; prospectors stampeding to the clarion call of "Gold!"; soldiers battling out a decisive chapter in world war; oil wildcatters looking for a different kind of mineral wealth; and always at the core of these...
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Unravel the Secrets of a Nation's Transformation: Dive into the Epic Saga of France from the 12th to the 17th Century.
Do you find yourself captivated by the intriguing history of France? Are you eager to explore an era filled with powerful monarchs, monumental conflicts, and game-changing cultural shifts that not only shaped France, but the world itself? Your search ends here!
Introducing our expertly crafted and meticulously researched book, a...
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"A fascinating journey into Islam's diverse history of ideas, making an argument for an 'Islamic Enlightenment' today. In 'Reopening Muslim Minds,' Mustafa Akyol, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and opinion writer for The New York Times, both diagnoses 'the crisis of Islam' in the modern world, and offers a way forward. Diving deeply into Islamic theology, and also sharing lessons from his own life story, he reveals how Muslims lost the universalism...
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On July 24, 1847, a band of Mormon pioneers descended into the Salt Lake Valley. Having crossed the Great Plains and hauled their wagons over the Rocky Mountains, they believed that their long search for a permanent home had finally come to an end. The valley was an arid and inhospitable place, but to them it was Zion.
They settled on the edge of an immense, uncharted, and self-contained region covering over 220,000 square miles, or one-fifteenth...
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"In The Founding Fortunes, historian Tom Shachtman offers an in-depth look at a time when money became as vital as guns in securing victory on the Revolutionary War's battlefields, and how some of America's wealthiest men risked their fortunes to aid the new country even as they reaped benefits from its independence. While history teaches that successful revolutions depend on participation by the common man, the establishment of a stable and independent...
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In this compelling history of the United Fruit Company, Financial Times writer Peter Chapman weaves a dramatic tale of big business, deceit, and violence, exploring the origins of arguably one of the most controversial global corporations ever, and the ways in which their pioneering example set the precedent for the institutionalized greed of today's multinational companies. The story has its source in United Fruit's nineteenth-century beginnings...
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For nearly half of the nation's history, the steam locomotive was the outstanding symbol for progress and power. It was the literal engine of the Industrial Revolution, and it played an instrumental role in putting the United States on the world stage. While the steam locomotive's basic principle of operation is simple, designers and engineers honed these concepts into 100-mph passenger trains and 600-ton behemoths capable of hauling mile-long freight...
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The extent to which remarkable things can happen on a baseball field is virtually limitless. Bats break, balls carom wildly, personalities clash, and playing fields are invaded by uninvited guests.
Mudville Madness is for baseball fans who seek something beyond the standard boxscores-something new or rarely encountered. This book is a jaunt into the realm of the extraordinary and (at times) outright bizarre. The most uncommon events in three centuries...
39) The end of American childhood: a history of parenting from life on the frontier to the managed child
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"The End of American Childhood takes a sweeping look at the history of American childhood and parenting, from the nation's founding to the present day. Renowned historian Paula Fass shows how, since the beginning of the American republic, independence, self-definition, and individual success have informed Americans' attitudes toward children. But as parents today hover over every detail of their children's lives, are the qualities that once made American...
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An engaging social history that reveals the critical role Pullman porters played in the struggle for African American civil rights
When George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistible. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker...
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