The ultimate gift book for the epicure who has everything. It features such facts as the names and sizes of champagne bottles, step-by-step instructions on how to slice a banana without peeling it (or even cutting the peel), the menu served the night the Titanic sank, ten edible figures of speech, intriguing quotes on eating and drinking from Kenneth Grahame, William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens.Clever, engaging, and easy to browse for fun. For people seeking a resource on esoteric information, it is indexed for easy access to specific topics.

The ultimate gift book for the bride, her mother, bridesmaids, friends, and the occasional groom. Fascinating facts include the world's longest wedding ceremony, shortest ceremony, and most-watched ceremony (on television). Also included is vital information on diamond engagement rings, gift guidelines for each anniversary, the significance of rice, the meaning of flowers used in bouquets, and the story behind traditions and sayings like "something old, something new." The book will be equally popular as a gift and curiosity for the nearly wed or as a resource for those hard-to-find facts that provide the background on much of the traditional wedding lore. A complete index provides access by topic.

Blood of Tyrants reveals the surprising details of our Founding Fathers’ approach to government and this history’s impact on today. Delving into forgotten—and often lurid—facts of the Revolutionary War, Logan Beirne focuses on the nation’s first commander in chief, George Washington, as he shaped the very meaning of the United States Constitution in the heat of battle. Key episodes of the Revolution illustrate how the Founders dealt with thorny wartime issues: How do we protect citizens’ rights when the nation is struggling to defend itself? Who decides war strategy? When should we use military tribunals instead of civilian trials? Should we inflict harsh treatment on enemy captives if it means saving American lives? Beirne finds evidence in previously unexplored documents such as General Washington’s letters debating the use of torture, an eyewitness account of the military tribunal that executed a British prisoner, Founders’ letters warning against government debt, and communications pointing to a power struggle between Washington and the Continental Congress. Vivid stories from the Revolution set the stage for Washington’s pivotal role in the drafting of the Constitution. The Founders saw the first American commander in chief as the template for all future presidents: a leader who would fiercely defend Americans’ rights and liberties against all forms of aggression. Pulling the reader directly into dramatic scenes from history, Blood of Tyrants fills a void in our understanding of the presidency and our ingenious Founders’ pragmatic approach to issues we still face today.

Did you know that snails can sleep for three years without eating? Or that the average four-year-old asks over 400 questions a day? The Useless Information Society was formed by some of Britain's best-loved journalists, who meet regularly to swap new nuggets of trivia. This is the third collection of their incredible, fascinating, and utterly trivial findings. Each page is packed with off-the-wall, mind boggling facts guaranteed to amuse and delight in equal measure.

In this book, the complexity and the significance of the foods we eat are analyzed from a variety of perspectives, by sociologists, economists, geographers and anthropologists. The first part of the book focuses on theoretical and conceptual issues, the second part considers processes of formal and informal regulation, while the third part examines social and political responses to industrialised food production and mass consumption.