Provides an alphabetical listing of American firsts, from the first abdominal operation to the first zoo with twilight conditions.

For more than half a century, Famous First Facts has earned the accolades of reviewers and a place on library reference shelves nationwide. This new edition of the reference classic is updated and expanded with new entries reflecting the latest developmen

A record of first happenings, discoveries and inventions in the United States.

Excerpts from and citations to reviews of more than 8,000 books each year, drawn from coverage of 109 publications. Book Review Digest provides citations to and excerpts of reviews of current juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction in the English language. Reviews of the following types of books are excluded: government publications, textbooks, and technical books in the sciences and law. Reviews of books on science for the general reader, however, are included. The reviews originate in a group of selected periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and general science published in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. - Publisher.

From the ranging curiosity of Leonardo da Vinci to the dedication and sacrifice of Marie Curie, Inventors Who Changed the World is a young child's first introduction to the brilliant people who taught us the meaning of perseverance and innovation. Simple text and adorable illustrations tell the contributions of nine renowned inventors from around the world: Cai Lun, Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Grace Hopper, Johannes Gutenberg, and Louis Pasteur. Inspire your own little inventor with the words of these inventive heroes who changed the world.

The jargon of economics and finance contains numerous colorful terms for market-asset prices at odds with any reasonable economic explanation. Examples include "bubble," "tulipmania," "chain letter," "Ponzi scheme," "panic," "crash," "herding," and "irrational exuberance." Although such a term suggests that an event is inexplicably crowd-driven, what it really means, claims Peter Garber, is that we have grasped a near-empty explanation rather than expend the effort to understand the event. In this book Garber offers market-fundamental explanations for the three most famous bubbles: the Dutch Tulipmania (1634-1637), the Mississippi Bubble (1719-1720), and the closely connected South Sea Bubble (1720). He focuses most closely on the Tulipmania because it is the event that most modern observers view as clearly crazy. Comparing the pattern of price declines for initially rare eighteenth-century bulbs to that of seventeenth-century bulbs, he concludes that the extremely high prices for rare bulbs and their rapid decline reflects normal pricing behavior. In the cases of the Mississippi and South Sea Bubbles, he describes the asset markets and financial manipulations involved in these episodes and casts them as market fundamentals.

If you love classic literature and reading novels from famous fiction authors then you are going to love this book! In Fascinating Facts, literary trivia expert and author Dave Astor provides 100-plus short chapters which contain anecdotes, oddities, coincidences, and of course great trivia about the greatest authors who have ever put pen to paper.It's no surprise that the best writers have interesting facts surrounding them, because famous authors have to be pretty fascinating themselves in order to create the literature we cherish and enjoy so much. Here is a sample of some of the many interesting informational nuggets and gems you will discover: * The phrase "keeping up with the Joneses" originally referred to the wealthy family in which novelist Edith Wharton (nee Jones) grew up. * Edward Bellamy predicted debit cards in his novel Looking Backward - published in 1888! * The 1950s "Cat in the Hat" character created by Dr. Seuss looks like a feline version of the Uncle Sam character drawn by that same writer for his 1940s editorial cartoons. * Shakespeare and Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes died on almost the same day in 1616. * Dorothy Parker bequeathed her money to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. * O. Henry coined the term "banana republic." Whether you are a bibliophile wanting to know everything about famous authors or just want to wow your friends and amaze your relatives with interesting and entertaining literary trivia, Fascinating Facts is a fun book that you'll return to over and over again. Order your copy today!