Here is one of Will Cuppy's three classic “How-To’s,” considering notable birds and animals whose habits (and often existence) seem to have disturbed Cuppy (“Birds Who Can’t Even Fly,” “Optional Insects,” “Octopuses and Those Things”), as well as more mundane creatures like the frog, the gnat, and the moa, who have no visible vices but whose virtues are truly awful. Spanning the breadth of the animal kingdom, Cuppy neatly classes his observations for easy reference: Problem Mammals, Pleasures of Pond Life, Birds Who Can’t Sing and Know It. Included with 50 shorter pieces are longer meditations like ‘The Poet and the Nautilus,” “Swan-upping, Indeed!” and “How to Swat a Fly,” which codifies the essentials of this simple activity in ten hilarious principles. All this, plus over 100 delightful Nofziger drawings! But the seat of honor is, of course, occupied by the Wombat, the nocturnal star of three essays. Whether asleep in Rossetti’s silver epergne or tunneling under the lawn, the wombat never fails to fascinate Cuppy, clearly supplying his alter ego for the animal kingdom.

Back in the golden age of humor books (late 1920s-early 1950s), when wits of the pantheon like Robert Benchley, James Thurber, and S.J. Perelman were producing their signature works, there was another singular satirist who more than held his own with such fast company: Will Cuppy (1884-1949). This factual funnyman's metier is dark comedy that flirts with nihilism. His agenda is baldly stated in such classic Cuppy book titles as How to Be a Hermit (1929), How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes (1931), and The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (1950). This biography doubles as a critical study of a satirist whose shish-kebabing of humanity was often done through the veiled anthropomorphic use of animals. For a biographer, Will Cuppy represents a treasure trove of possibilities. He was a great humorist, and most of his best work is still in print, but until now he has never been the subject of a book-length study. His mesmerizingly complex and eccentric private life almost trumps the comic accomplishments of his public persona.

Five short stories depict love, misfortune and the challenge of midwestern life.

This unprecedented collection of 27,000 quotations is the most comprehensive and carefully researched of its kind, covering all fields of science and mathematics. With this vast compendium you can readily conceptualize and embrace the written images of scientists, laymen, politicians, novelists, playwrights, and poets about humankind's scientific achievements. Approximately 9000 high-quality entries have been added to this new edition to provide a rich selection of quotations for the student, the educator, and the scientist who would like to introduce a presentation with a relevant quotation that provides perspective and historical background on his subject. Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations, Second Edition, provides the finest reference source of science quotations for all audiences. The new edition adds greater depth to the number of quotations in the various thematic arrangements and also provides new thematic categories.

First published in 1988, this book contains entries on famous American Humorists. Humor has been present in American literature, from the beginning, and has developed characteristics that reflect the American character, both regional and national. Although American literature was, in the past, treated as inferior to British literature, there has always been a large popular audience for the genre, which this book shows. The figures with entries in this encyclopedia not only amuse in their writing, but also aim to enlighten- setting out to expose the foibles and foolishness of society and the individuals who compose it. It is the manner in which these authors try to accomplish this end that determines whether they appear in the volume. Indeed, the book will demonstrate that the best humor has at its base, a ready understanding of human nature.

Originally published: New York: Holt, 1950.

A wide range of pests, diseases, and nutrient deficiencies can zap the vitality of any cannabis garden. Inexperienced gardeners often rely on pesticides that are not registered for edibles, as well as other harmful or ineffective techniques that can render plants unusable. This resourceful guide comes to the rescue, showing gardeners how to win back a garden and nurture plants to their full potential, using safe, organic, and integrated pest management techniques. In addition to providing readers with the know-how to get their plants healthy, Marijuana Pest and Disease Control highlights design and garden practices to prevent future infections. Author Ed Rosenthal gears the book to gardeners at every level of experience and in any growing situation from indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse to hydro and terrace gardens. Extensive color photographs and illustration help identify the exact problem.

Dedications, Titles, Epigraphs, Footnotes, Prefaces, Afterwords, Indexes... These and other "invisible" literary necessities form the skeletons of many a book, yet these unacknowledged and unexamined forms abound in wisdom, curiosities, or eccentricities. With both erudition and wit, and drawing on examples from every part of literature's history, ranging from the greats such as Shakespeare, Beckett, and T. S. Eliot to lesser known writers such as Fernando Pessoa. Jackson's mixture of serious literary analysis and jovial wit means Invisible Forms will appeal to anyone who is interested in books and in the art of writing. It is the perfect companion for literature lovers everywhere.

Starting at the dawn of the 20th century, writers began experimenting with literary styles as never before. As perhaps the most far-reaching movement, Modernism swept across both the United States and Europe and has been embodied in the works of such writers as Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and T.S. Eliot. The existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett’s absurdist writings, and the range of literary output from around the world also reflect the spirit of the period. The lives and works of these and other authors from across the globe are surveyed in this absorbing volume.