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nicholas ostler

Showing 1 - 12 of 12 results for “nicholas ostler
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  • Empires of the Word

    A Language History of the World

    A "monumental" account of the rise and fall of languages, with "many fresh insights, useful historical anecdotes, and charming linguistic oddities" ( Chicago Tribune).Nicholas Ostler's Empires of the Word is the first history of the world's great tongues, gloriously celebrating the wonder of words that bind communities together and make possible both the living of a common history and the telling ... Read more

    $12.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • Empires of the Word

    A Language History of the World

    An unusual and authoritative 'natural history of languages' that narrates the ways in which one language has superseded or outlasted another at different times in history.The story of the world in the last five thousand years is above all the story of its languages. Some shared language is what binds any community together, and makes possible both the living of a common history and the telling of ... Read more

    $11.99 USD

  • Passwords to Paradise

    How Languages Have Re-invented World Religions

    "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."So opens the Gospel of John, an ancient text translated into almost every language, at once a compelling and beguiling metaphor for the Christian story of the Beginning. To further complicate matters, the words we read now are in any number of languages that would have been unknown or unrecognizable at the time of ... Read more

    $17.29 USD

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  • France in the World

    A New Global History

    Short essays offer a kaleidoscopic, “provocative history of France” and its place within the world—from its prehistoric frescoes and Coco Chanel to the terrorist attacks of 2015 (New Yorker).“A major work, exhaustive, controversial and fresh—and entirely relevant to Anglophone readers”—that redefines how we write about national and world history (Guardian).Bringing together an impressive group of ... Read more

    $17.99 USD

  • Probably Overthinking It

    How to Use Data to Answer Questions, Avoid Statistical Traps, and Make Better Decisions

    "A delightful exposition of commonly-encountered statistical fallacies and paradoxes and why they matter." —Samuel H. Preston, coauthor of Demography: Measuring and Modeling Population ProcessesAn essential guide to the ways data can improve decision making.Statistics are everywhere: in news reports, at the doctor's office, and in every sort of forecast, from the stock market to the weather. Allen ... Read more

    $17.29 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • Math for English Majors

    A Human Take on the Universal Language

    by Ben Orlin ...
    In this trailblazing work from the internet’s most empathetic math teacher, Ben Orlin unravels the secrets behind the world’s most confounding language.Math, it is said, is the "universal language.” But if a language brings people together, why does math make so many of us feel so alone? In Math for English Majors, bestselling author Ben Orlin (Math with Bad Drawings) offers fresh insights for the ... Read more

    $15.99 USD

  • Always Take Notes

    Advice from Some of the World's Greatest Writers

    Edited by Simon Akam, Rachel Lloyd ...
    In this compendium of literary wisdom, celebrated authors share insights and anecdotes on the art of turning good stories into bestsellers.Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, hosts of the renowned podcast Always Take Notes, have spent years delving into the lives and minds of literary luminaries. Now they share the most illuminating and unforgettable interview moments, as writers from Irvine Welsh to ... Read more

    $8.69 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • The Secret Lives of Numbers

    A Hidden History of Math’s Unsung Trailblazers

    Shortlisted for the 2024 British Academy Book PrizeA new history of mathematics focusing on the marginalized voices who propelled the discipline, spanning six continents and thousands of years of untold stories."A book to make you love math." —Financial TimesMathematics shapes almost everything we do. But despite its reputation as the study of fundamental truths, the stories we have been told ... Read more

    $14.99 USD

  • Queen Victoria's Daughters-in-Law

    The first book to study the four wives of Queen Victoria's sons as a family group—based partly on previously unpublished material from the Royal Archives.The first to join the family of the "Grandmama of Europe" was Alexandra, eldest daughter of the prince about to become King Christian IX of Denmark. Charming, ever sympathetic and widely considered one of the most attractive royal women of her ... Read more

    $21.59 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • The Book of Minds

    How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens

    by Philip Ball ...
    This "fascinating and illuminating account" explores how we might perceive the mind if we didn't put humans at the center of our understanding ( The Guardian Observer).Popular science writer Philip Ball explores a range of sciences to map our answers to a huge, philosophically rich question: How do we even begin to think about minds that are not human?Taking a uniquely broad view of minds and ... Read more

    $18.79 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • Snails & Monkey Tails

    A Visual Guide to Punctuation & Symbols

    by Michael Arndt ...
    "There are countless books that can teach you the alphabet, but almost none that focus on the tiny designs that run interference among the letterforms: those easily overlooked punctuation and typographic symbols. These symbols, as Michael Arndt proves in this beautiful and endlessly fascinating book, are absolutely indispensable to communication: punctuation turns words into sentences and language ... Read more

    $7.99 USD

  • The Truth and Other Stories

    by Stanislaw Lem ...
    Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones ...
    Experience a sci-fi master at his finest in this collection of 12 science fiction short stories from 1956 to 1993—many now presented in English for the very first time!“A brilliant introduction to Lem’s science fiction.” —Wall Street JournalDiscover the full range of Stanislaw Lem’s intense curiosity about scientific ideas—and his sardonic approach to human nature—in this unforgettable collection ... Read more

    $18.99 USD