Languages Cultures History

One of the twentieth century's most influential books, this classic work of anthropology offers a groundbreaking exploration of what culture is With The Interpretation of Cultures, the distinguished anthropologist Clifford Geertz developed the concept of thick description, and in so doing, he...

''A must read! If you want to get your Cajun on, you’ve got to read John Gravois’ fabulous little book,'' says Ken Wells, ex-Wall Street Journal writer and Page One editor, and author of Gumbo Life: Tales from the Roux Bayou' and the Cajun classic coming-of-age novel, 'Meely LaBauve. "It’s fun, factual and full of history, Cajun idioms and their pronunciations. This authentic son of the bayou does a huge service in compact form by helping to illuminate a culture that remains Even if you don't speak a word of French now, with this Berlitz phrase book parody you’ll be able to answer, ...

Through vivid stories studded with insights, award-winning author Tamim Ansary tells the story of how humans invented history, from the Stone Age to the Virtual Age. Fifty thousand years ago, we roamed the world as countless autonomous bands of hunter-gatherers, each one telling itself a story...

Embrace all things Irish with these 200 interesting, important, and fun Irish words and phrases—as well as what each teaches us about the history and culture of Ireland. Céad míle fáilte! Dia duit. You don’t need to be fluent to appreciate the beauty of the Irish language. Maybe you’re...

James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly: a revelatory chronicle and meditation that shows how information has become the modern era’s defining quality—the blood, the fuel, the vital principle of our world. The...

"It's a genuine pleasure to hear spoken Latin--lots of it, and by many of the great classical authors, including Cicero, Ovid, and Virgil--and to follow the story of Gardini's lifelong infatuation with a language that is nowhere and everywhere in our modern lives... This is an audiobook to...

An illuminating look at the way the thoughts we have and the decisions we make are influenced by forces that aren't always in our control Why are people named Kim, Kelly, and Ken more likely to donate to Hurricane Katrina victims than to Hurricane Rita victims? Are you really more likely to...

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!! Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Amazon, and The Washington Post A Wired Must-Read Book of Summer “Gretchen McCulloch is the internet’s favorite linguist, and this book is essential reading. Reading her work is like suddenly being able to see the...

Abridged for audio. Read by the author, Clive James. With fascinating essays on towering figures from Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Wittgenstein, Cultural Amnesia is one of the crowning achievements in Clive James's illustrious career as a critic...

As the main spoken language of the Jews for more than a thousand years, Yiddish has had plenty to lament, plenty to conceal. Its phrases and expressions paint a comprehensive picture of the mind-set that enabled the Jews of Europe to survive persecution: they never stopped kvetching about God...

Longlisted for the National Book Award Longlisted for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism Shortlisted for the 2025 Housatonic Book Award for Nonfiction Shortlisted for the Reading the West Book Award in Memoir A brilliant, singular collection of essays that looks to music...

Terence McKenna Explained: Psychedelics, Language, and the Future of the Human Imagination. What if reality is not something we see, but something we speak into being? Terence McKenna—philosopher, storyteller, and countercultural icon—changed the way generations think about consciousness, creativity, and time itself. Terence McKenna Explained is the first comprehensive, reader-friendly guide to his life, works, and ideas—offering an independent, grounded, and utterly captivating exploration of one of the most original minds of the 20th century. A Clear Map Through McKenna’s Wild ...

This is a compilation of true, often humorous stories and serious observations about the lives and customs of Appalachians from the old days to modern times. Topics include mountain customs and traditions with forays into herbal remedies, moonshining, religion and language, along with the difficulties of being absorbed into cultures outside of the hills. A few of the forty-four chapters include: Aunt Berthy and the Fires of Hell, Enlightenment Comes to the Mountains, Old Time Religion in Appalachia, Uncle Bryant: Mountain Medicine Man, Appalachian Medicine Chest, Catfish in a Log, ...

Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites readers back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food, there and throughout Italy. Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past...

With three straight #1 bestsellers and more than 4 million copies of his books in print, the most powerful traditional force in the American media now takes off his gloves in the ongoing struggle for America’s heart and soul. Bill O’Reilly is the very embodiment of the idea of a Culture...

I Found My Voice: Book of Poems, by author Reneé Drummond-Brown, is an ode to me. Yes! Finally! An ode to me! And-why-not? Drummond-Brown’s emotional poems are creatively written in varied and/or unruled meter. The librettos are meant to be to be read from the depths of one’s soul, sAng-ed from a broken heart, singing sad songs sung with passion through another’s mouth, hummed with heartfelt pleas and poignantly moaned from within like nobody’s B.I. business. Drummond-Brown’s voice is loud, proud and clear addressing subject matters relating to closed topics. You best not tell ...

Hey, y’all. Welcome to the South! Viral sensation and TikToker Landon Bryant (@LandonTalks) presents his tongue-in-cheek “anthropological dive” into the food, fashion, linguistics, culture, holidays, and traditions of the American South. “Let’s discuss . . .” These two words began...

Award-winning author Michelle Porter makes her fiction debut with an enchanting and original story of the unrivaled desire for healing and the power of familial bonds across five generations of Métis women and the land and bison that surround them. Written like a crooked Métis jig, A...

What does it take to reinvent a language? After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to...

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE An “elegantly argued and exuberantly narrated” (The New York Times Book Review) look at the building of social movements—from the 1600s to the present—and how current technology is undermining them “A bravura work...