The epic life story of the Atlantic Ocean from the bestselling author, Simon Winchester
The definitive biography of the world's most important body of water -- the Atlantic. One hundred and ninety million years ago, the shifting of two of the world's tectonic plates led to the creation of an immense chasm. This giant gash in the flanks of the planet slowly opened up and eventually evol[...]
From bestselling author Simon Winchester, the extraordinary story of how America was united into a single nation[...]
Mysterious (mistie - ries), a. f. L. mysterium Mysteryi ] ous. Cf. F. mysterieux.] 1. Full of or fraught with mystery; wrapt in mystery; hidden from human knowledge or understanding; impossible or difficult to explain, solve, or discover; of obscure origin, nature, or purpose. It is known as one of[...]
An informative exploration of earthquakes places a particular focus on the San Francisco disaster of 1906, describing how it affected more than two hundred miles of California, triggered a vast firestorm, and destroyed the gold-rush capital, in an account that reveals the geological underpinnings th[...]
The author of The Professor and the Madman recounts his experiences traveling to Diego Garcia, Tristan, Gibraltar, Ascension Island, St. Helena, Hong Kong, Bermuda, the British West Indies, the Falklands, and Pitcairn Island, all remnants of the vast British Empire. Reprint.[...]
In the late 1980s, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester set out on foot to discover the Republic of Korea -- from its southern tip to the North Korean border -- in order to set the record straight about this enigmatic and elusive land.Fascinating for its vivid presentation of historica[...]
Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far awa[...]
The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it [...]
A portrait of the mid-twentieth-century scientist and adventurer traces his British government mission to China, his love affair with visiting student Lu Gwei-Djen, and his pivotal influence on the Western world's understanding of China's culture and history. 250,000 first printing.[...]
In sumptuous and illuminating detail, Simon Winchester, bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, brings to life the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham--the brilliant Cambridge scientist, freethinking intellectual, and practicing nudist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of Chin[...]
Atlantic is a biography of a tremendous space that has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists, and warriors, and continues profoundly to affect our character, attitudes, and dreams. Simon Winchester makes the Atlantic come vividly alive. Spanning the ocean's story from its geological[...]
In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. He found that by tracing the placement of fossils, which he uncovered in his excavations, one could follow layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fell--clear across England and, indeed, clear across the world--making it pos[...]
For more than two centuries, E pluribus unum--"Out of many, one"--has been featured on America's official government seals and stamped on its currency. But how did America become "one nation, indivisible"? Simon Winchester addresses these questions, bringing together the breathtaking achievements of[...]
The making of the "Oxford English Dictionary" was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone by refusing to come to Oxford to receive his congratulations. In the end, James Murray, the "OED's" editor, went to Cro[...]
Following the hugely successful hardback, this extraordinary tale of the father of modern geology looks set to be the non fiction paperback for 2002. Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological[...]
The Meaning of Everything is the story behind the making of the first Oxford English Dictionary. In this account of the OED's creation, Winchester introduces a host of characters, from the murderer who contributed from his prison cell to the self-taught draper's son who guided the project towards f[...]
From the best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa comes a truly wonderful celebration of the English language and of its unrivaled treasure house, the Oxford English Dictionary.
Writing with marvelous brio, Winchester first serves up a lig[...]
Simon Winchester turns his unrivaled talents to revealing the significance of the intriguing photograph whose subject inspired Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.[...]
Rising in the mountains of the Tibetan border, the symbolic heart of China pierces 3,900 miles of rugged country before debouching into the oily swells of the East China Sea. Connecting China's heartland cities with the volatile coastal giant, Shanghai, it has also historically connected China to th[...]
This welcome new resource for international students in art, design, and media provides clear explanations of the terminology and concepts they must master in order to fulfill their academic potential and enrich their professional careers.[...]
This welcome new resource for international students in art, design, and media provides clear explanations of the terminology and concepts they must master in order to fulfill their academic potential and enrich their professional careers.[...]
Simon Winchester, from the introduction to Skulls: "Skulls tells the story of the skull, in both the human and the animal world. Skulls-human in the main, but by no means exclusively-have exerted for scores of thousands of years an almost inexplicable power over the human imagination. They are symbo[...]
There is no more beautiful or alluring coast in the world than the West Coast of North America: a 5,000-mile-long region that extends from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to Canada's British Columbia, south to Washington, Oregon, and California, and then to Baja California in Mexico. No photographer [...]