Synopses & Reviews
Fear is a primal human emotion, and it often does play an important role in keeping us safe from threats. Itand#8217;s part of our evolutionary makeup, after all. But fears can also spiral out of control, and if your perfectly reasonable fear of snakes has metastasized to the point that you run screaming from every uncoiled hose, then (news flash!) youand#8217;ve got yourself a phobia. Human phobias are strange, diverse, and actually have the power to teach us a lot about who we are and where we came from. And in this book, author Sarah Latta blends biology, psychology, history, and pop culture to provide a comprehensive account of 50 essential fears, from arachnophobia to zoophobia. Additionally, the book includes:
- An explanation of the history behind each phobia, and a discussion of notable people who have suffered from the fear
- Sidebars that highlight famous phobic moments from history and pop culture
- Updates on how successful various phobia treatments have been
Phobias are no laughing matter if youand#8217;ve got one, but sometimes the first step to overcoming your fear is understanding that sometimes weand#8217;re afraid of a lot of really weird things. So whether youand#8217;re looking for perspective, information, or just want to know what Madonna and David Beckham are afraid of, this is the book for you. (Bibliophobes, however, should probably keep their distance.)
Review
"Fresh, spirited, and unconventional."and#8212;Kirkus Reviews and#160; "A lively, entertaining presentation."and#8212;Booklist and#160; "Kids will enjoy this brush with greatness."and#8212;Bulletin and#160; "Krull's brief biographies provide basic facts as well as intriguing details. The subjects chosen range from the famous (Michelangelo Buonarroti) to the infamous (Andy Warhol) to the less well known. Hewitt's caricaturelike illustrations reflect and extend the lively text."and#8212;Horn Book
Review
* and#8220;Thereand#8217;s enough substance here for a quick report or to enliven a longer one. . . . An irresistible package.and#8221;and#8212;School Library Journal, starred review
and#160;
and#8220;The stories Krull tells will be enough to whet readersand#8217; appetites for more biography and for the writersand#8217; actual works.and#8221;and#8212;Booklist
and#160;
"This compendium of brief biographies of literary luminaries is as much fun as a tete-a-tete with a gossipy friend. Krull knows exactly how to captivate her audience; she goes right for the juicy stuff, adding to historical fact the kind of chatty incidentals and amusing anecdotes that put flesh and blood on dry literary bones. . . .These exuberant thumbnail sketches are ably matched by Hewittand#8217;s sophisticated caricatures, which will delight sharp-eyed readers with their many visual references to particulars and oddities about each of the subjects. A must-have for the reference shelf.and#8221;and#8212;Publishers Weekly
and#160;
and#8220;Another colorful, enthralling excursion into our cultural heritage.and#8221;and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
Review
-NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, 2012
"A well written, admiring and thought-provoking portrait."--Kirkus
and#160;
"Montgomery's book not only tells the powerful story of one amazing woman's life journey, but also has potential to help readers understand autistic people and animals."--Horn Book
and#160;
"It isn't easy to describe how the mind of someone with autism works, but Montgomery's biography effectively breaks the disorder down for a younger audience while introducing the extraordinary life of activist Temple Grandin."--Booklist
and#160;
"Lively, well-worded narrative...For librarians who struggle to find well-written biographies of women, this is a must-buy."--School Library Journal, starred review
Review
"Imparting the ideas that phobic people are in good company and that hope exists for eliminating persistentand#160;fears, this is factual, fun, and encouraging." and#8211;Booklist
Review
"This is fine historical writing: an epic story on a broad canvas that never loses sight of individual moments of human drama; a historical methodology infused with political, intellectual, cultural, and social strands; a complex sequence of cause and effect; an illuminating synthesis of primary and secondary sources; and a thoughtful marriage of words, picture, and design."and#8212;
Horn Book, starred reviewand#160;
"Covering 10,000 years of history and ranging the world, the story is made personal by the authors' own family stories, their passion for the subject and their conviction that young people are up to the challenge of complex, well-written narrative history."and#8212;Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewand#160;
"As the title suggests, this stirring, highly detailed history of the sugar trade reaches across time and around the globe . . . The book's scope is ambitious, but the clear, informal prose, along with maps and archival illustrations, makes the horrific connections with dramatic immediacy."and#8212;Booklist
"This is a poignant, ultimately hopeful essay that clearly chronicles the human pursuit of sugar to satisfy our collective sweet tooth."and#8212;The Bulletin
"An impassioned, thought-provoking account that forces us to look anew at the things we take for granted."and#8212;Jennifer Brown, Shelf Awareness
"This book, at once serious and engaging, traces the complex history of sugar over vast expanses of time and space, exploring ways in which this one commodity influenced the formation of empires, the enslavement and migrations of peoples, the development of ideas about liberty, and so much more."and#8212;Deborah Warner, Curator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Synopsis
Over the course of history men and women have lived and died. In fact, getting sick and dying can be a big, ugly mess-especially before the modern medical care that we all enjoy today. How They Croaked relays all the gory details of how nineteen world figures gave up the ghost. For example:
It is believed that Henry VIII's remains exploded within his coffin while lying in state.
Doctors treated George Washington by draining almost 80 ounces of blood before he finally kicked the bucket.
Right before Beethoven wrote his last notes, doctors drilled a hole in his stomach without any pain medication.
Readers will be interested well past the final curtain, and feel lucky to live in a world with painkillers, X-rays, soap, and 911.
Synopsis
Over the course of history men and women have lived and died. In fact, getting sick and dying can be a big, ugly mess-especially before the modern medical care that we all enjoy today. How They Croaked relays all the gory details of how nineteen world figures gave up the ghost. Readers will be fascinated well past the final curtain, and feel lucky to live in a world with painkillers, X-rays, soap, and 911.
Synopsis
What is your favorite athlete's biggest fear? Strangest habit? Craziest quirk? And what did their neighbors have to say about them? Find out all you ever wanted to know about your favorite sports stars in Lives of the Athletes.and#160;Biographical information has never been this much fun to read!
Synopsis
Almost everybody can reel off stats about a favorite athlete, but few fans know the person behind the trophies and medals. Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills (and What the Neighbors Thought) tells more than just the physical achievements of twenty groundbreaking athletes. What did they like to eat, to drink, to wear? What childhood games did they play? How did they handle fame and fortune? Avid sports fans and phobics alike will relish this collection of fears, habits, quirks, and what the neighbors found to gossip about. and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; From Jackie Robinson to Sonja Henie to Bruce Lee, from surfing to basketball to soccer, no other book celebrates the art of the human body quite like this one.
Synopsis
Here are the life stories of such diverse figures as Vivaldi, Mozart, Scott Joplin, Nadia Boulanger, and Woody Guthrie. Readers will learn of both their musical natures and the personal, humorous characteristics that make their lives so fascinating.
Synopsis
It's no secret that Beethoven went deaf, that Mozart had constant money problems, and that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote musicals. But what were these people--and other famous musicians--
really like? What did they eat? What did they wear? How did they spend their time? And--possibly most interesting of all--what did their neighbors think?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Discover the fascinating and often humorous stories of twenty famous musicians--people of all shapes, sizes, temperaments, and lifestyles, from various countries and historical periods. Beginning with Vivaldi and ending with Woodie Guthrie, Lives of the Musicians brings musical history to life!
Synopsis
An entertaining and informative accountand#160;of the idiosyncrasiesand#8212;sometimes humorous, sometimes tragicand#8212;of twenty famous artists.
Synopsis
Most people can name some famous artists and recognize their best-known works. But what's behind all that painting, drawing, and sculpting? What was Leonardo da Vinci's snack of choice while he painted Mona Lisaand#8217;s mysterious smile? Why did Georgia O'Keeffe find bones so appealing? Who called Diego Rivera "Frog-Face"? And what is it about artists that makes both their work and their lives so fascinatingand#8212;to themselves, to their curious neighbors, and to all of us? This book presents the humor and the tragedy in twenty artists' lives as no biography has done before.
Synopsis
In a dynamic offering from the Lives of . . . series, Krull and Hewitt tell all in an assortment of brief biographies of some of literature's most famous and intriguing personas. Read all about the ins and outs of the daily lives of such characters as William Shakespeare, Louisa May Alcott, and Mark Twain in this irresistible installment of a much-loved series.
Synopsis
Shakespeare wrote with a feather quill and ink; Emily Dickinson wrote with a fountain pen; Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote on a Yiddish typewriter. But what did such writers do when they weren't writing? What did Jane Austen eat for breakfast? What could make Mark Twain throw his shirts out the window? Why would Zora Neale Hurston punch a fellow elevator passenger? Lives of the Writers tells all that and more.
Synopsis
An authorized biography about Temple Grandin's life with autism and her groundbreaking work as a scientist, and designer of cruelty-free livestock facilities, by Sibert Medal-winning author Sy Montgomery. Includes photographs, many from Temple's personal collection.
Synopsis
When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism. Templeand#8217;s doctor recommended institutionalizing her, but her mother believed in her. Temple went to school instead. Today, Dr. Temple Grandin,and#160;a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University, is an autism advocateand#160;and herand#160;world-changing career revolutionized the livestock industry. This compelling biography and Temple's personal photos take us inside her extraordinary mind and open the door to a broaderand#160;understanding of autism.
Synopsis
History of full of liars. Not just little-white-telling liars, but big-honkinandrsquo;, whopper-telling liarsandmdash;people who can convince us that even the most improbable, outrageous, nonsensical stories are true. And the worst part is that we believe them. Whoppers tells the story of historyandrsquo;s greatest liars and the lies they told, providing a mix of narrative profiles of super-famous liars, lies, and/or hoaxes, as well as more obscure episodes.
Synopsis
Fear is a primal human emotion, and it often plays an important role in keeping us safe from threats. Itand#8217;s part of our evolutionary makeup, after all. But fears can also spiral out of control, and if your perfectly reasonable fear of snakes swells to the point that you run screaming from every uncoiled hose, then (news flash!) youand#8217;ve got yourself a phobia. Phobias are as strange as they are diverse, but they actually have the power to teach us about who we are and where we came from. Sara Latta blends biology, psychology, history, and pop culture to provide a comprehensive account of fifty fears, from arachnophobia to zoophobia.
Synopsis
When this award-winning husband-and-wife team discovered that they each had sugar in their family history, they were inspired to trace the globe-spanning story of the sweet substance and to seek out the voices of those who led bitter sugar lives.
Synopsis
When this award-winning husband-and-wife team discovered that they each had sugar in their family history, they were inspired to trace the globe-spanning story of the sweet substance and to seek out the voices of those who led bitter sugar lives. The trail ran like a bright band from religious ceremonies in India to Europeand#8217;s Middle Ages, then on to Columbus, who brought the first cane cuttings to the Americas. Sugar was the substance that drove the bloody slave trade and caused the loss of countless lives but it also planted the seeds of revolution that led to freedom in the American colonies, Haiti, and France. With songs, oral histories, maps, and over 80 archival illustrations, here is the story of how one product allows us to see the grand currents of world history in new ways. Time line, source notes, bibliography, index.
About the Author
Sy Montgomery is an author,andnbsp;naturalist, newspaper columnist,andnbsp;scriptwriter, and radio commentator who writes award-winning books for children as well as adults. She lives in Hancock, New Hampshire.andnbsp;Visit her website at symontgomery.com. andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Syandnbsp;Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop won theandnbsp;Sibert Medal in 2011andnbsp;for their collaborative work on Kakapo Rescue:andnbsp;Saving the World's Strangest Parrot,andnbsp;another Scientist in the Field title.andnbsp;andnbsp;TEMPLE GRANDINandnbsp;is one of the worldand#8217;s most accomplished and well-known adults with autism. She is a professor at Colorado State University and the author of several best-selling books, which have sold more than a million copies. The HBO movie based on her life, starring Claire Danes, received seven Emmy Awards.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTSFOREWORD .................................................................10