Beginning in the 1950s, Edwin Wolf 2nd embarked on a biblio'l. quest to reconstruct the library of Benjamin Franklin, which was the largest & best private library in Amer. at the time of his death & was subsequently dispersed. The contents of Franklin's library were virtually unknown until Wolf identified the unique shelfmarks that Franklin used to organize his books. That discovery allowed Wolf to locate 2,700 titles in 1,000 vols. that Franklin actually owned. Wolf also identified a further 700 titles owned by Franklin. After wolf's death, Kevin Hayes took up the project & brought it to fruition. This catalogue includes almost 4,000 books known to have been owned by Franklin, & the Intro. tells the complete story of Franklin's library, its dispersal, & its reconstruction.

"English joiner John Head (1688–1754) immigrated to Philadelphia in 1717 and became one of its most successful artisans and merchants. However, his prominence was lost to history until the author’s discovery of his account book at the Library of the American Philosophical Society. A find of great historical importance, Head’s account book is the earliest and most complete to have survived from any cabinetmaker working in British North America or in Great Britain. It chronicles the commerce, crafts, and lifestyles of early Philadelphia’s entire community: its shopkeeping, cabinetmaking, chairmaking, clockmaking, glazing, metalworking, needleworking, property development, agriculture, botany, livestock, transport, foodstuffs, drink, hardware, fabrics, furnishings, household wares, clothing, building materials, and export trade. Jay Robert Stiefel, historian of Colonial Philadelphia society and its material culture, presents the definitive interpretation of the John Head account book and introduces many other discoveries. The culmination of nearly 20 years of research, this new volume serves as an essential reference work on 18th-century Philadelphia, its furniture and material culture, as well as an intimate and detailed social history of the interactions among that era’s most talented artisans and successful merchants. Profusely illustrated and in large format, the book includes a foreword from furniture historian Adam Bowett and an introduction by historian Patrick Spero, Librarian and Director of the American Philosophical Society Library" -- Provided by publisher.

Jones offers a full study of the career of late-18th century entrepreneur William Duer, a member of the New York State Convention and the Continental Congress, and assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury when the Federal government was organized. Duer had a role in all the significant changes that occurred during the revolutionary period.

Chu Hsi (1130-1200) exerted a lasting influence on the thought and life of the Chinese in subsequent cent. The core of his synthesis was moral and social philosophy, but it also included knowledge about the natural world. His doctrine of ke-wu (invest. of things) made him mindful of the specialized knowledged in such "scientific" traditions as astronomy, harmonics, med., etc. This study of Chu Hsi's thought gives a systematic account of the basic concepts of his natural philosophy. Also discusses Chu Hsi's actual knowledge about the natural world. And examines the relation between Chu Hsi and Chinese "scientific" traditions and compares his natural knowledge with that of the Western scientific tradition.

In 1901 Emil von Behring received the first Nobel Prize in med. for serum therapy against diphtheria, a disease that killed thousands of infants annually. Diphtheria serum was the first major cure of the bacteriological era and its develop. generated procedures for testing, standardizing, and regulating drugs. Emphasizes Behring's contrib. to the study of infectious disease, the formation of modern immunology, and research on remedies and vaccines against microbial infections. Explores his relations to the rival bacteriological schools of Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur, the emergent German pharmaceutical industry, and the institutionalization of experimental therapeutic research. Also contains translations of 13 key articles by Behring and his assoc.

"This is the first book that focuses on Benjamin Franklin as a swimmer. Franklin thought swimming a valuable activity and swam whenever he could wherever he was. We can see Franklin's personality emerge through the lens of swimming, which offered him entrée into London society as a young man. The book includes excerpts from the journal of Benjamin Franklin Bache, Franklin's grandson"--

This book is in many ways a sequel to the 4 vols. of Setton's "Papacy & the Levant (1204-1571)," although the emphasis has shifted northward from the Holy See to Venice & Austria. Includes such topics as: Austrians & Turks in the Long War (1592-1606); the Bohemian Succession, & the Outbreak of the 30 Years' War; Gustavus Adolphus, Cardinal Richeliu, & the Hapsburgs; the Increasing Importance of France; The Treaties of Westphalia; Venice, Malta, & the Turks; The Long War of Candia; The Turco-Venetian War (1646-1653); Naval Battles at the Dardanelles (1654-1657); the Cretan War; Papal Aid to Venice; Surrender of Venice to the Turks; Turco-Venetian Relations (1670-1683) & the Turkish Siege of Vienna; The Conquests of the Austrians in Hungary, the Revolt of the Turkish Army, & the Venetians in the Morea (1684-1687); the Invasion of Attica, & the Destruction of the Parthenon; The Venetians' Withdrawal fron Athens; the Removal of Antiquities; Louis XIV, the Turks, & the War of the League of Augsburg; the Turkish Reconquest of the Morea; the Victories of Eugene of Savoy; & Venice as a Playground of Europe.

Five sweet romantic stories delving into the world of Special Operations fromauthors whose family and friends are part of the military community.

An excellent biography of John Haygarth, an important 18th-century physician who is most well known for his visionary plan to eliminate smallpox from Great Britain through the careful practice of inoculation & isolation. Haygarth made many more innovative & far-reaching contributions to medicine & to philanthropy. He became a physician in Chester in 1767. There he introduced separate wards in the Chester Infirmary where patients with fever could be isolated & cared for. It was the stimulus for the development of the fever hospitals of 19th cent. England. He also played a major role in the foundation of the Bath Provident Institution for savings, a model for the savings-bank movement in England. Black & white illustrations.