Frontisportrait + 201 pp. with numerous illus. (some in color), 4to.

The pyramids of Egypt have cast an indelible shadow upon the history of all who encounter their magnificence. The physical splendor of the pyramids is matched by their spiritual and historical relevance. This enthralling and beautifully illustrated book explores every aspect of the pyramids; from their design and construction to their function and significance. Guide To The Pyramids Of Egypt offers a firsthand glimpse at one of the wonders of recorded human history.

256 pages- With a wealth of sumptuous and informative photography, this outstanding new book is an in-depth examination of the crucial role that mythology and religion played in one of the most fascinating periods of history.

260 pp., profusely illus. in color, large 4to,

Distinguished scholar and library systems innovator Frederick Kilgour tells a five-thousand-year story in this exciting work, a tale beginning with the invention of writing and concluding with the emerging electronic book. Calling on a lifetime of interest in the growth of information technology, Kilgour brings a fresh approach to the history of the book, emphasizing in rich, authoritative detail the successive technological advances that allowed the book to keep pace with ever-increasing needs for information. Borrowing a concept from evolutionary theory—the notion of punctuated equilibria—to structure his account, Kilgour investigates the book's three discrete historical forms—the clay tablet, papyrus roll, and codex—before turning to a fourth, still evolving form, the cyber book, a version promising swift electronic delivery of information in text, sound, and motion to anyone at any time.

The clay tablet, initially employed as a content descriptor for sacks of grain, proved inadequate to the growing need for commercial and administrative records. Its successor the papyrus roll was itself succeeded by the codex, a format whose superior utility and information capacity led to sweeping changes in the management of accumulated knowledge, the pursuit of learning, and the promulgation of religion. Kilgour throughout considers closely both technological change and the role this change played in cultural transformation. His fascinating account of the modern book, from Gutenberg's invention of cast-type printing five hundred years ago to the arrival of books displayed on a computer screen, spotlights the inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs who in creating the machinery of production and dissemination enabled the book to maintain its unique cultural power over time.

Deft, provocative, and accessibly written, The Evolution of the Book will captivate book lovers as well as those interested in bibliographic history, the history of writing, and the history of technology.

Did growing literacy in the later medieval period foster popular heresy, or did heresy provide a crucial stimulus to the spread of literacy? This collective volume, by established scholars from Britain, continental Europe and the United States, considers the importance of the written word in pre-Lutheran heresies, and explores the extent to which heretics' familiarity with books paralleled or exceeded that of their orthodox contemporaries.

Discussing in personal and cultural terms the values of reading, and examining what may be lost as society turns towards CD-ROM, hypertext and audio books, the critic Sven Birkerts, whose essays and reviews have appeared in "The New York Times Book Review", "The Atlantic" and "Harper's", offers a defence of the place of reading and the printed word in the face of rapid technological advances. He argues that we are living in a state of intellectual emergency - an emergency caused by our willingness to embrace new technologies at the expense of the printed word. As we rush to get on-line, as we make the transition from book to screen, we are turning against some of the core premises of humanization. The printed page and the circuit-driven information technologies are not related - for Birkerts they represent fundamentally opposed forces, and in their inevitable confrontation our deepest values will be tested.

First published in English in 1965, "The Reawakening" is Primo Levi's bestselling sequel to his classic memoir of the Holocaust, "Survival in Auschwitz." The inspiring story of Levi's liberation from the German death camp in January 1945 by the Red Army, it tells of his strange and eventful journey home to Italy by way of the Soviet Union, Hungary, and Romania. Levi's railway travels take him through bombed-out cities and transit camps, with keen insight he describes the former prisoners and Russian soldiers he encounters along the way. An extraordinary account of faith, hope, and undying courage, "The Reawakening" was praised by Irving Howe as "a remarkable feat of literary craft."

A young Jew listens silently while a dying Nazi begs absolution for taking part in the burning alive of an entire village of Jews. A moral query into the silent response of the Jew follows in the form of a symposium.

Levi wrote of the moral collapse that occurred in Auschwitz and the fallibility of human memory that allows such atrocities to recur. Levi's last book published before his death in 1987.

"One of the most important and gifted writers of our time" —Italo Calvino

Primo Levi was one of the most astonishing voices to emerge from the twentieth century: a man who survived one of the ugliest times in history, yet who was able to describe his own Auschwitz experience with an unaffected tenderness.

Levi was a master storyteller but he did not write fairytales. These stories are an elegy to the human figures who stood out against the tragic background of Auschwitz, "the ones in whom I had recognized the will and capacity to react, and hence a rudiment of virtue." Each centres on an individual who—whether it be through a juggling trick, a slice of apple or a letter—discovers one of the "bizarre, marginal moments of reprieve."

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Survival in Auschwitz: If This Is a Man is a book written by the Italian author, Primo Levi. It describes his experiences in the concentration camp at Auschwitz during the Second World War.

Levi, then a 25-year-old chemist, spent 10 months in Auschwitz before the camp was liberated by the Red Army. Of the 650 Italian Jews in his shipment, Levi was one of only twenty who left the camps alive. The average life expectancy of a new entrant was three months.

This truly amazing story offers a revealing glimpse into the realities of the Holocaust and its effects on our world.

Night — A terrifying account  of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young  Jewish boy into an agonized witness to the death of  his family...the death of his innocence...and the  death of his God. Penetrating and powerful, as  personal as The Diary Of Anne  Frank, Night awakens the shocking  memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it  the unforgettable message that this horror must  never be allowed to happen again.

When entering a house, you can quickly ascertain a person's attitude towards books - in a true booklover's home, there are no rooms that do not contain books. While some people succumb to towering piles in every corner, storing books can be achieved with more graceful and ingenious design solutions. Living with books means learning how to incorporate them into your home without letting them take over. This is a beautiful book of full-color photographs, with chapters devoted to books in different rooms, from traditional libraries and dens to kitchens, bathroom s, and hallways. It addresses all aspects: storage, display, the use of books as structural elements and furniture, and advice on custom-building bookshelves (including step-by-step instructions for five different projects).