Aristotle said it best: "The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphors." Rich with historical lore that takes us from bygone trades and traditions to the computer age, these wonderful expressions convey shades of meaning more succinctly than ordinary phrases. Using them well can improve your writing and speech. Now Metaphorically Speaking offers you 3,800 metaphors—from "alpha to omega—in an easy-to-use, uniquely organized dictionary. Think of a word, and this book will give you the metaphors where it appears. Think of a metaphor, and Metaphorically Speaking will explain its meaning and often its origin. Think of the idea, and this indispensable reference will supply you with "an Aladdin's cave" of metaphors that convey it.

From the well known (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose) to the not so familiar (amor de niño, agua en cestillo), The Harper Dictionary of Foreign Terms defines more than 15,000 foreign words and phrases, from more than fifty languages, that have entered into English. Drawing on art, music, literature, cooking, philosophy, diplomacy, fashion, law, and countless other subjects, and on languages from ancient Greek to modern Russian and from Arabic to Zulu, here are phrases and words that have found a place in our own language or visit us from time to time. With its full English index, the dictionary is equally useful for teachers, students, travelers, diplomats, and secretaries. Le mot juste for the right person.

Slang is language with its sleeves rolled up, colorful, pointed, brash, bristling with humor and sometimes with hostility. Here, John Ayto has brought together over 10,000 slang words and phrases common to 20th-century English, to provide a comprehensive and highly engaging guide to the most outspoken corner of our language. Unlike most such dictionaries, this volume is organized thematically, with slang words gathered under such headings as "the body and its functions" or "sustenance and intoxication."

From its first appearance in 1987 as A Dictionary of American and British Euphemisms, Bob Holder's work has been the standard reference book tor those studying the language of evasion and understatement. This new edition, renamed How Not To Say What You Mean, has been completely rewritten. It retains old favourites while adding over a thousand new entries, which reflect modern euphemistic terms on such issues as marriage, race, homosexuality, drug-taking, and security of employment. The quotations which accompany entries are both illustrative and interesting in their own right. Where appropriate, the etymology of a term is explained, giving a philological insight into this universally used, but little studied, branch of our language.

Award-winning journalists John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein give us the most comprehensive account of how and why Katrina happened. But Path of Destruction isn't just a book about the hurricane, those who survived, and those who didn't; it's also an account of the dreadful inadequacies and warning signs that existed prior to 2005, an indictment of the officials who failed to act, and a scientific investigation into why these superstorms are coming now—and why even more may be on the way. Drawing upon historical records, cutting-edge geology, and the latest climatology studies, McQuaid and Schleifstein reveal how changes in the earth's atmosphere, and the choices made by people and politicians, have created conditions that suggest the destruction of New Orleans and the Gulf may be only the beginning.

The first edition of The Rhetoric of Fiction transformed the criticism of fiction and soon became a classic in the field. One of the most widely used texts in fiction courses, it is a standard reference point in advanced discussions of how fictional form works, how authors make novels accessible, and how readers recreate texts, and its concepts and terms—such as "the implied author," "the postulated reader," and "the unreliable narrator"—have become part of the standard critical lexicon. For this new edition, Wayne C. Booth has written an extensive Afterword in which he clarifies misunderstandings, corrects what he now views as errors, and sets forth his own recent thinking about the rhetoric of fiction.

With hundreds of thousands of books being published each year, it is difficult to keep abreast of current genre fiction and popular reading tastes. This classic guide helps. By defining genres, describing their features and characteristics, and grouping titles by genre, subgenre. and theme, the book helps those who work with readers understand distinct patterns in reading habits and book selection; and allows users to identify "read-alikes" and other titles their patrons will enjoy.

An epic saga that recounts the turbulent history of money. The Pursuit of Wealth is a fascinating 5,000 year journey through the evolution of money and investing. From risk versus return in Mesopotamia through today's rough-and-tumble, high-stakes stock markets, this behind-the-scenes tale will intrigue both financial historians and history-minded investors alike.

Disaster demonstrates that the incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina is a wake-up call to all Americans, wherever they live, about how distressingly vulnerable we remain. Washington is ill equipped to handle large-scale emergencies, be they floods or fires, natural events or terrorist attacks, and Cooper and Block make a strong case for overhauling of the nation’s emergency response system. This is a book that no American can afford to ignore.

The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend is both a critical history of the Arthurian tradition and a reference guide to Arthurian works, names, characters, symbols, and places.... Comprehensive in its analysis and hypertextual in its approach, The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend is an essential reference book for Arthurian scholars, medievalists, and for those interested in cultural studies of myth and legend.

As the birthplace of three religions as and many civilizations, the Middle East has for centuries been a center of knowledge and ideas, of techniques and commodities, and, at times, of military and political power. With the historical—and still growing—importance of the Middle East in modern politics, historian Bernard Lewis's cogent and scholarly writing brings a wider understanding of the cultures of the region to a popular audience. Rich with vivid detail and the knowledge of a great scholar, this brilliant survey of the history and civilizations of the Middle East reveals the huge Islamic contribution to European life, as well as the European contribution to the Islamic world.

The eighth edition of Arthur Goldschmidt’s widely acclaimed text has been extensively revised to reflect the latest scholarship and the most recent events in the Middle East. As an introduction to the history of this turbulent region from the beginnings of Islam to the present day, the book is distinguished by its clear style, broad scope, and balanced treatment. Written for undergraduate college students, the text assumes no prior knowledge of Middle Eastern history. It focuses on the evolution of Islamic institutions and culture, the influence of the West, the modernization efforts of Middle Eastern governments, the struggle of various peoples for political independence, the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the reassertion of Islamic values and power, the aftermath of the Gulf War, and issues surrounding the Palestinian Question. The eighth edition brings new discussion to the post-9/11 political developments and surveys terrorism in the Middle East, the Iraq War, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Middle East is the beginning and the end of U.S. foreign policy: events there influence our alliances, make or break presidencies, govern the price of oil, and draw us into war. But it was not always so—and as Patrick Tyler shows in this thrilling chronicle of American misadventures in the region, the story of American presidents’ dealings there is one of mixed motives, skulduggery, deceit, and outright foolishness, as well as of policymaking and diplomacy. A World of Trouble is the Middle East book we need now: compulsively readable, free of cant and ideology, and rich in insight about the very human challenges a new president will face as he or she tries to restore America’s standing in the region.

Readers of The New York Times know David Sanger as one of the most trusted correspondents in Washington, one to whom presidents, secretaries of state, and foreign leaders talk with unusual candor. Now, with a historian’s sweep and an insider’s eye for telling detail, Sanger delivers an urgent intelligence briefing on the world America faces. In a riveting narrative, The Inheritance describes the huge costs of distraction and lost opportunities at home and abroad as Iraq soaked up manpower, money, and intelligence capabilities. The 2008 market collapse further undermined American leadership, leaving the new president with a set of challenges unparalleled since Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the Oval Office. At once a secret history of our foreign policy misadventures and a lucid explanation of the opportunities they create, The Inheritance is vital reading for anyone trying to understand the extraordinary challenges that lie ahead.

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world—and tells the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today. Creating a World Without Poverty tells the stories of some of the earliest examples of social businesses, including Yunus's own Grameen Bank. It reveals the next phase in a hopeful economic and social revolution that is already under way—and in the worldwide effort to eliminate poverty by unleashing the productive energy of every human being.