An encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War, including excerpts from eyewitness accounts that highlight the day-to-day reality of marching and fighting.

Here are the answers to questions that have been keeping you and your loved ones up nights, questions that have driven families to feuds, questions that nag and nag just won't let go. Have you ever wondered juts what purpose those warning labels on mattresses are supposed to serve? Or what happens to the trend that wears off tires? And how many meals have you spent pondering the perennially baffling question of why hot dogs come ten to a package while hot dog buns come in eight?

"Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?" has the solutions to these and scores of other Imponderables. David Feldman's witty and irresistible compendium of knowledge goes where other reference books fear to trend, uncovering closely guarded secrets, revealing long-hidden facts, and, like all other invaluable works of detection, never letting well enough alone. Whether you want to settle those arguments about the difference between a kit and a caboodle, or just curious about dry cleaning, Teflon, Wayne Gretzky, or chocolate bunnies, "Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?" is indispensable.

Ponder, if you will ...Why are tennis balls fuzzy? How come birds don't tip over when they sleep on telephone wires?What makes yawning contagious?Why, oh why, do roosters have to crow so early in the morning?

Pop-culture guru David Feldman demystifies these topics and so much more in When Do Fish Sleep? -- the unchallenged source of answers to civilization's most baffling questions. Part of the Imponderables(R) series and charmingly illustrated by Kassie Schwan, When Do Fish Sleep? arms readers with the knowledge about everyday life that encyclopedias, dictionaries, and almanacs just don't have. And think about it, where else are you going to get to the bottom of why Mickey Mouse has only four fingers?

Latino American cinema is a provocative, complex, and definitively American topic of study. This book examines key mainstream commercial films while also spotlighting often-underappreciated documentaries, avant-garde and experimental projects, independent productions, features and shorts, and more. Latino American Cinema: An Encyclopedia of Movies, Stars, Concepts, and Trends serves as an essential primary reference for students of the topic as well as an accessible resource for general readers. The alphabetized entries in the volume cover the key topics of this provocative and complex genre-films, filmmakers, star performers, concepts, and historical and burgeoning trends-alongside frequently overlooked and crucially ignored items of interest in Latino cinema. This comprehensive treatment bridges gaps between traditional approaches to U.S.-Latino and Latin American cinemas, placing subjects of Chicana and Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban and diasporic Cuban, and Mexican origin in perspective with related Central and South American and Caribbean elements. Many of the entries offer compact definitions, critical discussions, overviews, and analyses of star artists, media productions, and historical moments, while several foundational entries explicate concepts, making this single volume encyclopedia a critical guide as well. Nearly 300 entries on movies, actors and actresses, concepts, and trends A resource guide and bibliography provides listings of online references and databases, research centers, and media distributors Sidebar discussions that elaborate on key points within the entry, spotlight historical and social contexts, and offer examples

After the completion of the Theologische RealenzyklopAdie in 2004, a newly compiled index will give access to the whole work. Volume 1 of the complete index (published in 2006) gives a complete listing of all place references, subjects, and bible quotations. Volume 2 gives a complete listing of personal names.

'See if you can tell your Tantalus from your Tacitus!' - The Daily Telegraph 'This book aims to fill you in on the stuff you wish you'd been taught at school' - The Times ______________________ A Classical Education is a must-have for anyone feeling let down by modern schooling. How many times have you wished that your history stretched all the way back to Greek and Roman myths and legends? Or that you'd been taught Latin at school? Or perhaps you wish you knew all about the great inventions and medical developments that have made our world what it is today? A Classical Education provides all of these classical facts that modern schooling leaves out, and many more. Perfect for parents who wish to broaden their children's education, as well as for those who would simply like to learn or relearn the facts themselves, A Classical Education is informative and educational, but above all accessible. Subjects include: Latin and Greek; Logic and philosophy; Natural sciences; Art and architecture; Poetry and drama; History and Classical literature.

Containing 71 articles, "Supplementary Volume 2," provides an up-to-date review of recent developments in the field of systems and control. New developments covered include: 'fuzzy logic control', 'neural nets in control systems' and 'robust stability and robust stable control'. "Supplementary Volume 2" also provides coverage of the theory and application of systems in specific areas: modelling and simulation, traffic control and biological systems and measurement and software engineering. This update will continue to provide the practising scientist and engineer with an invaluable reference source on topics in the field of systems and control.

Preferences and Procedures presents and tests game-theoretic models of European Union legislative decision-making. It is inspired by the idea of linking statistical testing strategies firmly to formal models of EU policymaking. After describing salient features of the EU legislative process and comparing different models of how the EU negotiates new legislative measures, the models' predictive power is evaluated. On a more general level, Preferences and Procedures answers questions regarding the empirically recognizable effects of institutional arrangements on joint bargaining outcomes.

The three volumes of the Encyclopaedia of International Aviation Law are intended for students, lawyers, judges, scholars, and readers of all backgrounds with an interest in aviation law and to provide the definitive corpus of relevant national and regional legislation, including global aviation treaties and legislation, to enable all readers without exception to develop the background, knowledge, and tools to understand local, regional, and international aviation law in contextual fashion.

'This book is great because it covers everything in existence apart from the 95% of stuff not worth bothering with' Philomena Cunk, star of Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe, Moments of Wonder and Cunk on Britain, Cunk & Other Humans 'Essential reading for these slipshod times' Al Murray Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that changes the world. The Origin of Species. War and Peace. 1984. The World According to Danny Dyer. And now, Cunk on Everything: The Encyclopedia Philomena, by Philomena Cunk. Philomena Cunk is one of the greatest thinkers of the 21st century, and in Cunk on Everything she turns her attention to our biggest issue: why are there so many books? Wouldn't it be better if there was just one? This is that book - an encyclopedia of ALL HUMAN KNOWLEDGE, from sausages to Henry of Eight to Brush Strokes to vegetarian sausages. Read it, and you'll never have to read another book again. 'This is a book' Philomena Cunk 'Never contact me again' Professor Rupert Delgado, MBE 'Cunk for PM' Rachel Riley '. . . book . . .' Guardian 'Truly the intellect for our baffling times' The Times 'This book is absolutely stupid' The Pool

Overfishing threatens the viability of high seas living resources. Furthermore, controls to prevent overfishing are inadequate. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a product of overfishing and affects all marine fisheries. Southern Ocean fisheries have been particularly targeted by IUU fishing. The efforts of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Commission and the Australian government to adopt complementary measures to deter IUU fishing in the Southern Ocean form the basis of this study, although the examination is conducted following a comprehensive review of the legal and other factors contributing to the development of IUU fishing as well as the applicable international law.

The author concludes that in the absence of flag State control, alternative measures and strategies have proved to be effective in influencing the behaviour of IUU fishing vessels. By improving coastal State surveillance, enhancing regional cooperation, imposing port and market State controls, establishing IUU vessel databases and vigorously prosecuting offenders, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and coastal States can jointly increase the risk of conducting IUU fishing activities. At the same time financial returns can be diminished so that engaging in IUU fishing becomes economically unattractive. It is concluded that the application of a combination of these measures is required in order to achieve a degree of success in deterring IUU operators.

An intellectual property (IP) system was established in China in 1985. Since then, the merits and drawbacks of the system have become apparent in theory and practice. Despite the fact that a great deal has been written about the Chinese IP system, systematic studies of the subject are still scarce, especially from a corporate management perspective.
The book has three aims. It evaluates the problems UK and US multinational enterprises have encountered in their IP Flows into different enterprises in China. It also analyses the causes of these problems and suggests methods of avoiding future problems. The overall rationale for the book is to fill a void in our understanding of IP rights in China, particularly from a corporate perspective. It is important to draw upon a variety of discipline approaches when exploring these issues, which are influenced by the political context, the legislative framework, economic factors and the existence of cultural differences.
The book is composed of ten chapters containing studies of related IP history, previous study on the area, and the current empirical survey. Major findings are discussed in later chapters of the book. In the conclusions, the book provides eleven suggestions for future practice for companies involved with IP flows.

In January 1998 leading scholars from Europe, the United States, and Israel in the fields of medieval encyclopedias (Arabic, Latin and Hebrew) and medieval Jewish philosophy and science gathered together at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel, for an international conference on medieval Hebrew encyclopedias of science and philosophy. The primary purpose of the conference was to explore and define the structure, sources, nature, and characteristics of the medieval Hebrew encyclopedias of science and philosophy. This book, the first to devote itself to the medieval Hebrew encyclopedias of science and philosophy, contains revised versions of the papers that were prepared for this conference. This volume also includes an annotated translation of Moritz Steinschneider's groundbreaking discussion of this subject in his Die hebraeischen Aoebersetzungen. The Medieval Hebrew Encyclopedias of Science and Philosophy will be of particular interest to students of medieval philosophy and science, Jewish intellectual history, the history of ideas, and pre-modern Western encyclopedias.

The Encyclopedia of Percussion is an extensive guide to percussion instruments, organized for research as well as general knowledge. Focusing on idiophones and membranophones, it covers in detail both Western and non-Western percussive instruments. These include not only instruments whose usual sound is produced percussively (like snare drums and triangles), but those whose usual sound is produced concussively (like castanets and claves) or by friction (like the cuica and the lion's roar). The expertise of contributors have been used to produce a wide-ranging list of percussion topics. The volume includes: (1) an alphabetical listing of percussion instruments and terms from around the world; (2) an extensive section of illustrations of percussion instruments; (3) thirty-five articles covering topics from Basel drumming to the xylophone; (4) a list of percussion symbols; (5) a table of percussion instruments and terms in English, French, German, and Italian; and (6) an updated section of published writings on methods for percussion.

Making European Merger Policy More Predictable analyses European Merger Control with regard to its capacity to generate predictability among the concerned parties. Starting from the premise that predictability is of overwhelming importance for the functioning of market economies, Voigt and Schmidt ask to what degree European Merger Control has been predictable over the last couple of years. The authors show both theoretically and empirically that there have been serious shortcomings with regard to the predictability of competition policy. They identify the insufficient recognition of the consequences of globalization on the competitive processes as well as an often inconsistent application of economic theory as the root causes for the lack of predictability. The inconsistent application of economic theory is particularly relevant with regard to potential competition and the evaluation of collective dominance. The authors generate a substantial number of proposals that could help to improve predictability. On this basis, Voigt and Schmidt critically assess the recent reforms of European Merger Control.

The Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory offers the student and scholar of literary and cultural studies the most comprehensive, single volume guide to the history and development of modern criticism in the humanities. In a clearly organized format, this major reference work takes the reader through introductions to historically influential philosophers, literary critics, schools of thought and movements from Spinoza and Descartes to Phenomenology and Heidegger, before turning to its three principal areas of critical attention: Europe, North America and Great Britain. Addressing the development of literary criticism and theory within the cultural, ideological, historical and institutional parameters of their growth, the Encyclopedia provides simultaneously a stimulating introduction to theoretical engagement in the humanities, while also offering lucidly written critical interventions into current theory and criticism. Furthermore, while remaining aware of the importance of various contexts within which criticism has grown, the essays also concern themselves with the cross-fertilization between the various academic and intellectual cultures under consideration. With more than 100 essays from an internationally renowned body of scholars, all of whom are recognized experts in their respective fields, The Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory offers student readers, scholars and libraries a unique, challenging and indispensable reference guide.

“The Collins English Dictionary is a book to be treasured, no home should be without one”, The Times. The largest single-volume English dictionary in print celebrates the extraordinary breadth and changing nature of world English, with more than 732,000 words, meanings and phrases. Updated with the very latest new words and senses, this is an unparalleled resource for word lovers, word gamers and word geeks everywhere. It draws on Collins’ extensive language databases and covers many literary and rare words useful for crossword solvers and setters as well as Scrabble players. Ideal for use at work, at home and for study – new words, new meanings and new uses are tracked by Collins’ lexicographers who monitor language change around the world. This, along with suggestions from the public on the award-winning collinsdictionary.com, ensures Collins English Dictionary truly is the home of living language. More place names and biographical entries – with over 9,500 place names and 7,300 biographies you will find thousands of fascinating facts and figures at your fingertips. The latest edition is beautifully designed and printed, and now with a protective slipcase, and is surprisingly light and easy to hold. Designed for day-to-day use, with a clear layout and virtual thumb tabs, it is also available in flexible formats to suit every user – in print, as a Kindle dictionary and an iOS app.

Why are recessions not all bad? (pg. 51)

Which Major League Baseball team keeps its baseballs in a humidor--and why? (pg. 123)

Why is 300 cents more than 3 dollars? (pg. 49)

Mark Di Vincenzo, author of the New York Times bestseller Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon, returns with more fascinating facts Do you know:

(1) what percentage of doctors in China smoke?(2) which is the most dangerous day of the year to drive a car?(3) whether a heart can literally break? (4) how much investors paid for a Canadian cow named Missy?

Within these pages you'll find tips and facts that will save you money, help you live healthier, and make you the most interesting person to talk to at any party.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's life was turbulent and short. He was only in his late thirties when he died and yet he managed to achieve tremendous artistic success. A native of Caravaggio, near Milan, he was born in 1571 and moved to Rome after training with Simone Peterzano, a pupil of Titian. In the papal city, his talent was recognized by the influential collector and art connoisseur Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, who promoted his art. Within a few years Caravaggio became one of the most sought-after painters in Italy and abroad. His style was so striking and unique that artists from all over adopted it as their own. Caravaggio: A Reference Guide to His Life and Works focuses on his life, his works, and legacy. It features a chronology, an introduction offers a brief account of his life, a cross-referenced dictionary section contains entries on his individual paintings, public commissions his patrons, his followers, and the techniques he used in rendering his works.