This is an entertaining as well as informative account of some 750 of the more interesting (and in some cases controversial) etymologies of English words, arranged by chronological groups from Anglo-Saxon times to the 20th century. An index will list the

J. M. Roberts, author of a fine one-volume history of the world, offers a careful synthesis of European history from the Stone Age to the collapse of Communism in A History of Europe. His discussion is never very deep, as might be expected in a book that

The story of cuisine and the social history of eating is a fascinating one, and Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat covers all its aspects in this definitive history.; Covers all known foodstuffs; Copiously illustrated; Full social and geographical coverage; Award

A compilation of Mirsky's "A History of Russian Literature from the Earliest Times to the Death of Dostoyevsky" combined with the first two chapters of his "Contemporary Russian Literature, 1881-1925." Mirsky was, indeed, a contemporary historian of some

Almost every social system throughout history has produced its secret societies. Here is a unique study of such societies from earliest recorded times to the present, along with an analysis of their forms, rituals, and beliefs. The author has traveled ext

Upon its publication in 1991, Albert Hourani's masterwork was hailed as the definitive story of Arab civilization, and became both a bestseller and an instant classic. In a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of Arab history and culture, Hourani