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Showing 1 - 20 of 35753 items
By Beau Abbott, Bryan Abbott. 2019
The true story and bizarrely brilliant art of the creative duo Mashable called "the Rembrandt and Picasso of vandalized baseball…
cards." Every day since 2012, brothers Beau and Bryan Abbott have drawn crude jokes on their old trading cards from the '80s and '90s and posted them on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram as Baseball Card Vandals. Now the fruits of this completely unnecessary labor have been collected in this stunningly absurd book. Inside you'll find a collection of over 200 "expertly" vandalized cards—including dozens of never-before-seen artworks—that blend the Vandals' signature oddball humor and artistic flair with a charming dose of sports nostalgia. Featuring an introduction on the Baseball Card Vandals history and process as well as a beautiful design inspired by vintage baseball cards, this book will be a hit with sports fans, art lovers, memorabilia collectors, pop culture watchers, Internet geeks, comedy connoisseurs, and permanent marker sniffers everywhere.By Justin Hook. 2019
Every time a browser autocompletes our search query, it's showing us what millions of other people all over the world…
are searching for. This curious collection showcases the very best of the often strange yet 100% real autocomplete suggestions offered up by popular search engines, compiling them into one hilarious, fascinating, and mildly disturbing volume. Each page contains one search and its 10 best autocomplete suggestions, including the most and least common, from "Why is Ryan Gosling...eating cereal?" to "If the Earth is round...why are shoes flat?" With easy-to-read spreads and playful black-and-white line art throughout, Autocomplete provides a nearly unfiltered look at what people actually search for when they think no one's watching.By Michelle Rial. 2019
Did I screw up? How do I achieve work-life balance? Am I eating too much cheese? Do I have too…
many plants? Through artful charts and funny, insightful questions, Michelle Rial delivers a playful take on the little dilemmas that loom large in the mind of every adult. Building on her popular Instagram account, Am I Overthinking This? brings whimsical charm to topics big and small, and offers solidarity for the stressed, answers for the confused, and a good laugh for all.By S. J. Perelman. 2024
Gathered for the first time: one of America's great humorists revisits the books and movies from his youth—often with some…
embarrassment—in this complete, 22-piece collectionFrom October 1948 to October 1953, The New Yorker published humorist S. J. Perelman&’s &“Cloudland Revisited&” series: 22 reviews of once-popular books and silent films whose expiration dates had passed. All but forgotten even at the time, they were nonetheless part of Perelman&’s youth and made an indelible mark on him.In the comic genius&’s biting satire they live once again:Gertrude Atherton&’s sensationalist fantasy Black OxenSax Rohmer&’s supervillain blockbuster The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchuthe &“underwater&” silent film adaptation of Twenty Thousand Leagues under the SeaEdgar Rice Burrough&’s 1914 novel Tarzan of the Apesand George Barr McCutcheon&’s 1901 historical fantasy novel Graustark—the Game of Thrones of its era—which launched numerous sequels and film adaptations The complete series is collected here for the first time. With self-deprecating humor and frequent embarrassment, Perelman reflects on how rereading and rewatching brings us in contact with how we, like an old book or film, have both changed and remained the same. This paperback includes a tribute to Perelman&’s art by another beloved New Yorker writer, Adam Gopnik.By S. J. Perelman. 2024
A beloved classic returns: S. J. Perelman's own selection of the very best of his hilarious stories and sketchesPulitzer Prize–winning…
author Joshua Cohen (The Netanyahus) reintroduces America's zaniest humorist to a new generation of readersWhen asked about himself the writer Sidney Joseph Perelman once quipped, "before they made him, they broke the mold." Nowhere is S. J. Perelman's one-of-a-kind, madcap sensibility—his gift for wordplay, witticism, spoofery, and sheer nonsense—on better display than in his classic collection Crazy Like a Fox, here restored to print for the first time in decades.In a playful, loving tribute to the funny man, novelist Joshua Cohen—also an erudite wordsmith and punster—introduces Perelman&’s sui generis comic pieces to a new generation of readers, certain to fall in love with the writer whom The New York Times once noted for his ability &“to transform the common cliché or figure of speech into an exploding cigar.&” Included here are such beloved classics as:the Joycean virtuoso performance &“Scenario&”&“A Farewell to Omsk,&” Perelman's hilarious homage to Dostoevskyand &“Farewell, My Lovely Appetizer," his side-splitting send-up of the hardboiled detective fiction of Raymond ChandlerHere is Perelman's own selection of the very best of his inimitable humor, restored to print for the first time in decades.By Steve Martin. 1999
The brilliantly funny New York Times Bestseller! Steve Martin's talent has always defied definition: a seasoned actor, a razor-sharp screenwriter, an acclaimed…
playwright, and, of course, the ingenious comedian who turned King Tut into a national craze. In this widely praised collection of humorous riffs, Martin shows he is a master of the written word. From a re-imagining of the Schroedinger's Cat conundrum to a wild meditation on who Lolita would be at age fifty to a skit entitled "I Love Loosely", in which Lucy and Ricky Ricardo play the parts of Hillary and President Clinton, this collection by comic genius Steve Martin--some pieces of which have appeared in The New Yorker--is both hilariously funny and intelligent in its skewering of the topic at hand.By Michael J. Gerhardt. 2024
A unique and illuminating exploration of the key relationships that shaped Franklin Delano Roosevelt into one of America&’s most definitive…
leaders and impacted his influence on the world stage, from presidential historian Michael J. Gerhardt, the acclaimed author of Lincoln&’s Mentors and principal adviser in the official annotation of the Constitution at the Library of Congress. Franklin Delano Roosevelt wasn&’t a born leader. He became one. As a boy he was in poor health, was insecure, and an average student at best. Growing into manhood, the lessons he learned came not from books but from influencers of his lifetime, beginning with Endicott Peabody, the most renowned US headmaster of the twentieth century. He instilled in Roosevelt a confidence and strength that empowered the young student and propelled him to greatness as one of the most revered presidents of the United States. For Roosevelt, Peabody was only one of a small number of people who helped him develop the skills and temperament that enabled him to overcome the devastating effects of polio, to lead the nation through two crises, and to secure America&’s leadership in the world. In FDR&’s Mentors, Michael Gerhardt tells the extraordinary stories of the men and women who had a vital impact on Roosevelt&’s life, career, and pragmatic personality: his distant cousin Teddy; his wife Eleanor; President Woodrow Wilson; journalist Lewis Howe; Winston Churchill; and New York Democratic Party leader Al Smith. Form the creation of the New Deal through Roosevelt&’s war with the Supreme Court to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt persevered with never-ending grit, grace, limitless optimistism, and patience. It is thanks to the invaluable personal connections, inspiration, and wisdom of those who shaped and informed FDR&’s historic presidency—one that has become a model of resilience and, in turn, an influence on every president who has followed in his path.By David L. Roll. 2024
From Franklin Roosevelt&’s final days through Harry Truman&’s extraordinary transformation, this is the enthralling story behind the most consequential presidential…
transition in US history. When Roosevelt, in failing health, decided to run for a fourth term, he gave in to the big city Democratic bosses and reluctantly picked Senator Truman as his vice president, a man he barely knew. Upon FDR&’s death in April 1945, Truman, after only 82 days as VP, was thrust into the presidency. Utterly unprepared, he faced the collapse of Germany, a Europe in ruins, the organization of the UN, a summit with Stalin and Churchill, and the question of whether atomic bombs would be ready for use against Japan. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union was growing increasingly hostile towards US power. Truman inherited FDR&’s hope that peace could be maintained through cooperation with the Soviets, but he would soon learn that imitating his predecessor would lead only to missteps and controversy. Spanning the years of transition, 1944 to 1948, Ascent to Power illuminates Truman&’s struggles to emerge as president in his own right. Yet, from a relatively unknown Missouri senator to the most powerful man on Earth, Truman&’s legacy transcends. With his come-from-behind campaign in the fall of 1948, his courageous civil rights advocacy, and his role in liberating millions from militarist governments and brutal occupations, Truman&’s decisions during these pivotal years changed the course of the world in ways so significant we live with them today.By Sally Anne Corcoran. 2024
This book investigates to what extent UNSCR 1325/WPS agenda has functioned in practice, to advance women’s equality and empowerment in…
the peacekeeping context and beyond.The book examines whether widespread implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the broader WPS agenda via gender mainstreaming in UN operations has translated into increased gender equality in peacekeeping operations, the broader UN institutional context and, by extension, the host countries in which missions are situated, via norm dissemination. The book investigates this via a review of the implementation of UNSCR1325 in the operations chosen as research sites over three snapshot years. The book undertakes a comparative analysis that scrutinizes if, how and under what conditions gender mainstreaming has succeeded as a strategy to advance gender equality by analyzing the factors/conditions that have led to successful gender mainstreaming across the operational context, and those that have impeded this outcome. The book concludes that, despite rhetorical commitments to women’s equality in peacekeeping since the passage of UNSCR 1325, progress on the ground has remained minimal, and that the operational environment continues to be discriminatory against women. Both quantitatively and qualitatively, women do not participate as equal partners in peacekeeping and continue to have less access to resources and decision-making power, overall. The book interrogates that by exploring the spaces available within law, policy and practice of the UN to pursue the human rights agenda of gender equality and considers whether UNSCR 1325 has enlarged those spaces. It also points to the irony of internal UN structures failing to adequately adapt to their own gender mainstreaming mandates, while those same structures have delivered some gender equality mandates successes externally, at local levels.This book will be of interest to students of peacekeeping, gender studies, and International Relations.By Derek C. Maus and James J. Donahue. 2024
Contributions by GerShun Avilez, Lola Boorman, Thomas Britt, John Brooks, Phillip James Martinez Cortes, Derek DiMatteo, Tikenya Foster-Singletary, Alexandra Glavanakova,…
Erica-Brittany Horhn, Matthias Klestil, Abigail Jinju Lee, Derek C. Maus, Danielle Fuentes Morgan, Derek Conrad Murray, Kinohi Nishikawa, Sarah O'Brien, Keyana Parks, and Emily Ruth RutterThe seventeen essays in Greater Atlanta: Black Satire after Obama collectively argue that in the years after the widespread hopefulness surrounding Barack Obama’s election as president waned, Black satire began to reveal a profound shift in US culture. Using the four seasons of the FX television show Atlanta (2016–22) as a springboard, the collection examines more than a dozen novels, films, and television shows that together reveal the ways in which Black satire has developed in response to contemporary cultural dynamics. Contributors reveal increased scorn toward self-proclaimed allies in the existential struggle still facing African Americans today.Having started its production within a few weeks of Donald Trump’s (in)famous escalator ride in 2015, Atlanta in many ways is the perfect commentary on the absurdities of the contemporary cultural moment. The series exemplifies a significant development in contemporary Black satire, which largely eschews expectations of reform and instead offers an exasperated self-affirmation that echoes the declaration that Black Lives Matter.Given anti-Black racism’s lengthy history, overt stimuli for outrage have predictably commanded African American satirists’ attention through the years. However, more recent works emphasize the willful ignorance underlying that history. As the volume shows, this has led to the exposure of performative allyship, virtue signaling, slacktivism, and other duplicitous forms of purported support as empty, oblivious gestures that ultimately harm African Americans as grievously as unconcealed bigotry.Thae Yong-ho was a leading North Korean diplomat to the United Kingdom and Northern Europe—until his dramatic defection to South…
Korea in 2016. In this gripping tell-all, he reveals the inner workings of the North Korean regime and shares the story of his decision to leave.Thae spent nearly three decades working under three generations of the ruling Kim dynasty after entering the foreign service as an idealistic twenty-seven-year-old “red warrior” eager to strive for the “socialist motherland.” During this time, he witnessed the arbitrary and tyrannical rule of the Kim family and the enigmatic “Third Floor,” a powerful group of high-ranking officials. Thae provides up-close portraits of the excesses of the North Korean elite and the depths of the cult of personality around the Kims, describing experiences such as concocting reports of Europeans celebrating the birthdays of Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il and escorting Kim Jong-un’s older brother to Eric Clapton concerts in London. He also details the economic and political consequences of North Korea’s pursuit of the bomb and the immiseration of the vast majority of the population.Today a politician in South Korea who advocates unification, Thae offers a powerful plea for the families torn apart by the conflict—including his own, as his brother and sister likely now languish in prison camps. A best-seller in South Korea, Passcode to the Third Floor is an unparalleled look at North Korean politics and diplomacy, giving readers intimate access to the regime’s innermost secrets.By Anthony Bale. 2023
A captivating journey of the expansive world of medieval travel, from London to Constantinople to the court of China and…
beyond. Europeans of the Middle Ages were the first to use travel guides to orient their wanderings, as they moved through a world punctuated with miraculous wonders and beguiling encounters. In this vivid and alluring history, medievalist Anthony Bale invites readers on an odyssey across the medieval world, recounting the advice that circulated among those venturing to the road for pilgrimage, trade, diplomacy, and war. Journeying alongside scholars, spies, and saints, from Western Europe to the Far East, the Antipodes and the ends of the earth, Bale provides indispensable information on the exchange rate between Bohemian ducats and Venetian groats, medieval cures for seasickness, and how to avoid extortionist tour guides and singing sirens. He takes us from the streets of Rome, more ruin than tourist spot, and tours of the Khan’s court in Beijing to Mamluk-controlled Jerusalem, where we ride asses across the holy terrain, and bustling bazaars of Tabriz. We also learn of rumored fantastical places, like ones where lambs grow on trees and giant canes grow fruit made of gems. And we are offered a glimpse of what non-European travelers thought of the West on their own travels. Using previously untranslated contemporaneous documents from a colorful range of travelers, and from as far and wide as Turkey, Iceland, North Africa, and Russia, A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages is a witty and unforgettable exploration of how Europeans understood—and often misunderstood—the larger world.By Deesha Dyer. 2024
Without credentials or connections, community college student and advocate Deesha Dyer navigated her imposter syndrome, landing one of the most…
exclusive positions in the White House. From the most unlikely person to end up as a senior official to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama comes a candid, incredible, and inspiring story. Moved by the election of the country&’s first Black president, Deesha Dyer applied for a White House internship in 2009 as a thirty-one-year-old part-time community college student, taking a leap that carried her into a permanent full-time position, followed by three promotions landing her at the epicenter of politics. In spite of the little voice in her head telling her she didn&’t deserve to be there, Deesha thrived and rose to the highly coveted role of White House social secretary, giving her a front-row seat to defining moments in history while curating some of the flyest parties 1600 Pennsylvania has ever seen. Yet, with humor and realness, she peels back the curtain, revealing the hard truth about why she spent years trying to hide behind it. Undiplomatic is a deeply personal narrative about combating self-doubt while being on top of the world. Deesha reflects on how imposter syndrome threatened her self-esteem, proven aptitude, and survival until she realized that it was neither her fault nor her responsibility. In this vivid portrayal from a true &“around the way girl&” on the personal impact of the Obama presidency, Deesha shares her road map from imposter to impact. In Undiplomatic, she invites you on a journey of self-discovery where she overcame doubt, unearthed true love for herself, and learned that your unique worth is not something to be earned, but something inherently deserved. Uplifting, funny, and sincere, Deesha&’s story shows you about authenticity at all costs, and the joy and freedom that awaits on the other side.Comedian Rob Anderson examines queer stereotypes and LGBTQ+ culture with humorous explanations borrowed from real principles across multiple fields of…
science.Class is in session, babe! Discover the inner workings of the LGBTQ+ community with this humorous and informative book. Author and comedian Rob Anderson borrows the familiar science textbook format to skewer ridiculous queer stereotypes with his own version of science.Using the principles of natural, social, and formal sciences, Rob answers extremely serious questions like: Why can&’t gays sit in a chair properly? Why don&’t lesbians have electricity in their movies? Are colleges turning people bisexual? How does gaydar work? Will bottoms survive the apocalypse? You&’ll read about the three subtypes of the gay uncle species, examine the Periodic Table of LGBTQ+ Elements, understand gay crime and punishment, and get educated on the types of bacteria and viruses that exclusively affect the LGBTQs, like the state of Florida.Inspired by his viral &“Gay Science&” series, Rob recreates some of his most popular episodes in a literary format, and also tackles completely fresh subjects, presenting them with super empirical and totally evidence-based homosexual data.Gay Science includes:Coverage of 60 topics across 29 fields of science including biology, chemistry, physics, genetics, botany, nutrition, astronomy, anthropology, oceanography, sociology, criminology, engineering, computer science, and more!Informative sidebars including Get PrePared, The Tea, Serving Conclusions, The Gloss, Yas or Naur, Fagtoids, and A Lesbian Explains.Diagrams, charts, illustrations, and maps to explain the gayest concepts.Rob Anderson is course-correcting decades of educational shortcomings by explaining the scientific reasonings behind every aspect of LGBTQ+ life. If you&’re looking for a fun book that will probably be banned (if it isn&’t already), add Gay Science to your personal lesson plan.By Gregory Royal Pratt. 2024
"Gregory Pratt had a rare front-row seat to the passions, problems, peculiarities, hopes, disappointments, shenanigans, and pettiness in the drama…
and farce that was Lori Lightfoot's uneasy tenure on the fifth floor at City Hall. What he delivers on these pages takes us backstage to give us a powerful, incisive portrait of the woman, the details of her mayoralty, and the many players who shared the stage." —Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune reporter and author of A Chicago Tavern Chicago is a world-class city, but it is also a city in crisis. Crime is up, schools have repeatedly shut down due to conflict between City Hall and the powerful teachers' union, and COVID-19 only deepened the entrenched poverty, institutional racism, and endless tug of war between the city's haves and have nots. For four years, the person at the center of this storm was Lori Lightfoot. A groundbreaking figure—the first Black, gay woman to be elected mayor of a major city and only the second female mayor of Chicago—she knew the city was at a critical turning point when she took office in 2019. But the once-in-a-lifetime challenges she ended up facing were beyond anything she or anyone else saw coming. Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Royal Pratt offers the first comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at the tumultuous single term of Mayor Lightfoot and the chaos that roiled the city and City Hall as she fought to live up to her promises to change the city's culture of corruption and villainy, reform its long-troubled police department, and make Chicago the safest big city in America. Some of Chicago's problems can be explained by forces greater than the mayor: national polarization, long-standing cultural and racial tensions, our plague years. But some are the result of Lightfoot's poor leadership at City Hall, a story that hasn't been told in full—until now.The memoirs of a brilliant and beloved Founding Father Printer, author, scientist, inventor, statesman, revolutionary—arguably no American life has been more…
remarkable than Benjamin Franklin&’s.Penned between 1771 and 1790 and published after his death, the unfinished Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is one of the most acclaimed and widely read personal histories ever written. From his youth as a printer&’s assistant working for his brother&’s Boston newspaper through his own publishing, writing, and military careers, his scientific experiments and worldwide travels, his grand triumphs and heartbreaking tragedies, Franklin tells his story with aplomb, bringing to life the flesh-and-blood man behind the American icon.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.The celebrated remembrances of the man who led the Union to victory during the Civil WarCompleted just days before his…
death, Grant&’s Personal Memoirs is a clear and compelling account of his military career, focusing on two great conflicts: the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Lauded for its crisp and direct prose, Grant&’s autobiography offers frank insight into everything from the merits of the war with Mexico to the strategies and tactics employed by Union forces against the Confederacy to the poignancy of Grant&’s meeting with General Lee at Appomattox Court House.Beloved and bestselling since its publication in 1885, Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is a seminal work of military history and one of the great achievements of American autobiography.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By Richard West. 1994
A revealing biography of Tito, the Yugoslav leader who was a partisan against the Germans and the first Communist head…
to break with the Soviet Union, considers his role in the breakup of Yugoslavia after his death.By Jason Hazeley, Joel Morris. 2018
As Brexit reaches its final stretch, find a way to laugh through the pain and or celebrate the end with…
Ladybird's hilarious and essential guide, The Story of Brexit.'Hilarious' STYLIST________'"Leaving was the will of the people" sighs Angelica's father. He voted to leave.Angelica voted to remain, but she feels the same way. "It is the will of the people," she sighs.They stare at the ducks. They like the ducks. Ducks are better than people.'________'Brexit gave us lots of exciting new words, like brextremist, remoaner, bremoaner, remaybe, breprehensible, remaintenance, brexorcist, remaidstone, brex-girlfriend, remange, brextortion, remayhem and bregret.The new words make it harder for foreigners to understand what we are saying.In a tough, new international business world, small advantages such as this can be crucial.'________This delightful book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them.The large clear script, the careful choice of words, the frequent repetition and the thoughtful matching of text with pictures all enable grown-ups to think they have taught themselves to cope. Featuring original Ladybird artwork alongside brilliantly funny, brand new text.'The latest offering in the hilarious Ladybird for Grown Ups series is a funny mickey-take of the Brexit debate (and boy, do we need some fun)' Sunday PostBy Julian Stockwin. 2009
Lt Cdr Julian Stockwin shares his love and knowledge of the sea in this entertaining collection of maritime stories and…
little-known trivia. Featuring nautical facts and feats, including superstitions at sea, the history of animals on the waves - until 1975 when all animals were banned from Royal Navy ships - and how the inventor of the umbrella helped man the British Navy, it is packed with informative tales. Focusing on the glory days of tall ships he explores marine myths and unearths the truth behind commonly held beliefs about the sea, such as whether Lord Nelson's body was really pickled in rum to transport it back to England after his death at Trafalgar. Interspersed throughout are salty sayings showing the modern words and phrases that originate from the mariners of old - 'cut of his jib', 'high and dry', 'the coast is clear', 'first rate' and 'slush fund'. Accompanied by nostalgic black and white line drawings Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany is a charming giftbook guaranteed to appeal to the sailing enthusiast, but also amuse and inform even the staunchest landlubber.