Product Description: Taking an innovative approach to the life and legend of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), this biographical dictionary concentrates on her circle of friends, acquaintances and coworkers--1618 in all. Distilled from hundreds of celebrity biographies are references to, and quotes about, the iconic Hollywood sex symbol from such diverse personalities as architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Israeli diplomat Abba Eban, beat poet Jack Kerouac, novelist Somerset Maugham, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, counterculture guru Timothy Leary and evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, to name but a few...read more

'The building of a narrow-gauge trans-island railway in 19th century Newfoundland was a reckless and desperate experiment. Against unpromising odds, the Newfoundland Railway began operation on June 29, 1898 and operated relatively successfully for well over half a century. This book focuses on the railroad's early years and the contributions of railway engineer R.G. Reid'--Provided by publisher.

'The compiler has combed the annals of Christian esoterica. The resulting dictionary (cross-referenced and with many quotations) serves as an unruly companion to the typical Bible dictionary. Nearly 1500 entries range from Aaron's beard (a popular name for Saint John's wort) to zounds (an antiquated Christian swear word)'--Provided by publisher.

Product Description: McCurdy and The Silver Dart recounts the thrilling story of J.A.D. McCurdy, Canada's aviation pioneer. Born in Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Douglas McCurdy had a unique childhood during which he assisted world-famous scientist and inventor Alexander Graham Bell in fascinating and frequently dangerous experiments conducted with kites and airplanes...read more

Product Description: In its most precise definition, a " dead country" is a place that once issued postage stamps but no longer does. Harding has used this definition as a basis for a fascinating investigation of world history. Collected in Dead Countries of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries is a telling portrait of global change...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Over the years, political leaders, literary figures, philosophers, and yes, the most quoted person of all, "anonymous, " have had a lot to say about libraries and books. Some are semiserious: "Blessings upon Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books"--Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881); some biting: "What is responsible for the success of many works is the rapport between the mediocrity of the authors ideas and the mediocrity of the publics"--Nicholas Chamfort (1741-1794)...read more