Dark Cosmos
¥85.05
The twentieth century was astonishing in all regards, shaking the foundations of practically every aspect of human life and thought, physics not least of all. Beginning with the publication of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, through the wild revolution of quantum mechanics, and up until the physics of the modern day (including the astonishing revelation, in 1998, that the Universe is not only expanding, but doing so at an ever-quickening pace), much of what physicists have seen in our Universe suggests that much of our Universe is unseen that we live in a dark cosmos.Everyone knows that there are things no one can see the air you're breathing, for example, or, to be more exotic, a black hole. But what everyone does not know is that what we can see a book, a cat, or our planet makes up only 5 percent of the Universe. The rest fully 95 percent is totally invisible to us; its presence discernible only by the weak effects it has on visible matter around it.This invisible stuff comes in two varieties dark matter and dark energy. One holds the Universe together, while the other tears it apart. What these forces really are has been a mystery for as long as anyone has suspected they were there, but the latest discoveries of experimental physics have brought us closer to that knowledge. Particle physicist Dan Hooper takes his readers, with wit, grace, and a keen knack for explaining the toughest ideas science has to offer, on a quest few would have ever expected: to discover what makes up our dark cosmos.
The Portland Vase
¥85.05
For thousands of years an enigmatic and astonishingly beautiful piece of Roman art has captivated those who have come in contact with it.Made before the birth of Christ, the Portland Vase, as it is called, is renowned for both its beauty and its mystery.In The Portland Vase, Robin Brooks takes us on a vivid journey across Europe and through the centuries, as this delicate piece of glass, less than ten inches in height, passes through the hands of a stunning cast of characters, including the first Roman emperor, Augustus; a notorious tomb raider; a reckless cardinal; a princess with a nasty gambling habit; the ceramics genius Josiah Wedgwood; the secretive Duchess of Portland; and a host of politicians, dilettantes, and scam artists.Rich with passion, inspiration, jealousy, and endless speculation, the story of The Portland Vase spans more than two thousand years and remains one of the art world's greatest enigmas.
Nothing
¥85.05
One of the most acclaimed young voices of his generation, Blake Butler now offers his first work of nonfiction: a deeply candid and wildly original look at the phenomenon of insomnia.Invoking scientific data, historical anecdote, Internet obsession, and figures as diverse as Andy Warhol, Gilles Deleuze, John Cage, Anton LaVey, Jorge Luis Borges, Brian Eno, and Stephen King, Butler traces the tension between sleeping and conscious life. And he reaches deep into his own experience from disturbing waking dreams, to his father's struggles with dementia, to his own epic 129-hour bout of insomnia to reveal the effect of sleeplessness on his imaginative landscape. The result is an exhilarating exploration of dream and awareness, desperation and relief, consciousness and conscience a fascinating maze-map of the borders between sleep and the waking world by one of today's most talked-about writers.
Queen of the Oddballs
¥85.05
A hilariously offbeat memoir about an adventurous young woman's escapades as she defies conventions and transforms an ordinary Los Angeles life into a star-studded, extraordinary miracle of self-discovery.Queen of the Oddballs forms a chronology of Hillary Carlip's habitual straying from roads more traveled -- from a wisecracking third-grader suspended from school for smoking (while imitating Holly Golightly) to a headline-making teen activist, juggler and fire eater, friend (NOT "fan") of Carly Simon and Carole King, grand prize-winning Gong Show contestant, cult rock star, and seeker of spiritual and romantic truths that definitely defy expectations.Illustrated with ephemera -- from diary entries and photographs to a handwritten letter from Carly Simon -- Queen of the Oddballs presents a virtual time capsule of pop culture's last four decades and celebrates a creative life lived to the hilt.
Latin Love Lessons
¥85.05
It wasn't just heated floors, hot baths, aqueducts, and paved roads that the Romans did first and best they were also experts at the art of love. From the most effective pickup lines to percipient advice on getting over a breakup, from grooming tips to sex tips, the Romans had time-proof solutions. Charlotte Higgins brings them together in this indispensable guide to love a collection of the richest, most illuminating, and sensuous writing about this mysterious emotion that can move us to joy or despair.Filled with the sage advice of Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Propertius, and Tibullus, this witty, smart, and laugh-out-loud-funny handbook offers a fresh, new take on romance based on some of civilization's oldest adages.
Casa Nostra
¥85.05
Englishwoman Caroline Seller met Marcello Manzo at a Halloween party in London in the mid-seventies. Although she spoke little Italian and he spoke practically no English, the chemistry between them was undeniable, and it wasn't long before Caroline was invited to visit Marcello's family in Mazara del Vallo, Sicily. A large, eccentric, and loving clan living in a magnificent, crumbling villa, Santa Maria, the Manzos welcomed Caroline warmly, and soon she and Marcello were married. Together they traveled the world and started a family, but through it all, Santa Maria was never far from their thoughts. So when the Manzo brothers united to save the family's deteriorating estate, Marcello and Caroline eagerly signed on to the project not entirely prepared for what they were getting into!As seen through the eyes of Caroline Seller Manzo an outsider who is often surprised and always delighted by her Italian family and adopted hometown Casa Nostra is the captivating story of a villa's difficult, glorious rebirth and a celebration of the unique beauty and history of western Sicily and its people.
The End of Anger
¥85.05
From a venerated and bestselling voice on American life comes a contemporary look at the decline of black rage; the demise of white guilt; and the intergenerational shifts in how blacks and whites view, and interact with, each otherIn the heady aftermath of President Obama's election, conventional wisdom suggested that the bitter, angry, and destructive elements of discrimination were ebbing at last and America was becoming a postracial nation. But with this dawning age that promised so much came shifting demographics and a newfound seat of rage in the polarizing Tea Party movement, even as black optimism gained ground, giving rise to questions about assumed truths concerning race in America.Combining the talents earned from a lifetime in journalism with the insights and thoughtfulness of a close observer of the American experience, renowned author Ellis Cose offers a fresh, original appraisal of our nation at this extraordinary time, tracking the diminishment of black anger and investigating the "generational shifting of the American mind." Weaving material from myriad interviews as well as two large and ambitious surveys that he conducted one of black Harvard MBAs and the other of graduates of A Better Chance, a program offering elite educational opportunities to thousands of young people of color since 1963 Cose offers an invaluable portrait of contemporary America that attempts to make sense of what a people do when the dream, for some, is finally within reach as one historical era ends and another begins. In short, The End of Anger is not just about blacks but about America its past and its hoped-for future and may well be the most important book dealing with race to be published in recent decades.
Hummingbirds
¥85.05
A wonderfully compelling debut novel about the intertwining—and darkly surprising—relationships between the teachers and students at an all-girls prep school Spend a year at the Carmine-Casey School for Girls, an elite prep school on Manhattan's Upper East Side: the year when the intimate private school community becomes tempestuous and dangerously incestuous as the rivalries and secrets of teachers and students intersect and eventually collide.In the world of students, popular and coquettish Dixie Doyle, with her ironic pigtails, battles to wrest attention away from the smart and disdainful Liz Warren, who spends her time writing and directing plays based on the Oresteia. In the world of teachers, the adored Leo Binhammer struggles to share his territory with Ted Hughes, the charming new English teacher who threatens to usurp Binhammer's status as the department's only male teacher and owner of the girls' hearts. When a secret is revealed between them, Binhammer grows increasingly fascinated by the man he has determined is out to get him.As seasons change and tensions mount, the girls long for entry into the adult world, toying with their premature powers of flirtation. Meanwhile, the deceptive innocence of the adolescent world—complete with plaid skirts and scented highlighters—becomes a trap into which the flailing teachers fall. By the end of the year the line between maturity and youth begins to blur, and the question on the final exam is: Who are the adults and who are the children?
Further Adventures
¥85.05
To Whom It May Concern—I was The Green Ray. Now it can be told—the story which many tried to silence, many refused to believe, and many did not want to hear.In the depths of the Great Depression, the voice of a radio superhero known as The Green Ray entertained America. Forty years later, the man behind the character—two-bit voice actor Ray Green, known to his family as Reuven Agranovsky—is caught in an all-night blackout in the desert town of Mason, New Mexico, where a chain of events is set in motion that forces The Green Ray out of retirement. But at seventy-three, Ray faces a different—and far more terrifying—world.A wildly inventive, raucously funny novel of heroism, neurosis, and transcendence, Further Adventures was ahead of its time when it was first published fifteen years ago. Like Ray Green himself, it now reemerges in a newly revised "author's cut" for a new generation of readers.
The Balance
¥85.05
Welcome to the wonderful wizardry of OzWhat is the balance?The Balance is a personalized plan to correct metabolic imbalances and boost your body's efficiency by combining nutritional planning and exercise with cutting-edge supplementation and stress management.Based on your answers to a 45-question health and lifestyle quiz, you will gain:Enhanced energy and enduranceImproved concentrationBetter ability to cope with stressA reduction in premature agingTo find out more, take the test today!
Stone Garden
¥85.05
A smart young woman making her way through the privileged terrain of northeastern prep-school land, Alice McGuire is certain of her world and her future -- until the summer her best friend and soul mate, Matthew Swan, vanishes on a trip to Mexico. Stunned, Alice and the rest of the close-knit town that adored Matthew search for answers. For Alice, the journey of heartbreak leads from everything that is familiar to forbidden places and forgotten people who will teach her about kindness and forgiveness: lessons that will open her to new possibilities and unexpected hope.Vividly wrought, deeply resonant, and told in a remarkable voice that sparkles with wit and wisdom, Stone Garden is a splendid triumph from an accomplished new writer.
The Sunday Tertulia
¥85.05
Claire is a young, struggling New Yorker whose understanding of life is enriched after a group of older and wiser Latina women bring her into a close-knit circle: their Upper West Side tertulia. Once a month, they come together for a Sunday afternoon of revelry, at which delicious food and strong opinions are served up in equal measure.Through their recollections and counsel, Claire comes to know the colorful, exotic, and sometimes contradictory attitudes that through a prism more poetic and worldly. Humorous and bittersweet, The Sunday Tertulia brings to life cherished Latin traditions and celebrates women's wisdom and spirituality.
Strange Skies
¥85.05
What kind of man would lie to his own wife about having cancerA man desperate to avoid being saddled with life's responsibilities. A man like Paul.On a miserable October afternoon, as he stares down at his brother's whiny new baby, Paul realizes he's run out of excuses. His wife wants a family, but the last thing Paul wants is dirty diapers and a constantly screaming stranger robbing him of sleep. Then a lump is discovered on his arm, and with a little elaboration, the parenthood question is rendered moot.With the dwindling time he pretends he's got left, he intends to start looking out for number one. But his "cancer vacation" hits a snag when he meets a mother and son in an airport bar who turn everything around—and even bring Paul to the brink of a life he thought he never wanted—because sometimes a man's got to lose himself completely to discover who he really is.
A Secret Alchemy
¥85.05
The cruel fate of the Princes in the Tower is one of the most fascinating—and most troubling—of all England's historical murder mysteries. But what was the truth behind the deaths of the young Edward V and his brother, Dickon, taken from their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, King Edward IV's beautiful widow, and their guardian, Anthony WoodvilleAnd what about the man who would become King Richard III?In a brilliant feat of historical daring, the acclaimed author of The Mathematics of Love reimagines the tragedy of the youngest victims of the Wars of the Roses. Through the voices of Elizabeth, Anthony, and Una—a historian who herself knows grief, betrayal, and secret love—Emma Darwin re-creates the lethal power struggles into which the boys were born, their heart-wrenching imprisonment, and the ultimate betrayal of their innocence.
Matters of Chance
¥85.05
Matters of Chance is a glorious, aptivating novel about Morgan and Maude Shurtliff, who fall in love and marry in the years before World WarII. Unable to have children of their own, Morgan and Maude adopt twin girls. The four go home to their beautiful house in the country outside ofNew York City and begin to settle into what they hope will be a long and happy life. When the twins are still young, Morgan is called to serve inWorld War II, leaving Maude to raise her daughters alone. Jeannette Haien has rendered Morgan's war experiences with astonishing detail, just as she has captured the American post-war era with a precision that is unrivaled in recent fiction.
Five Days Apart
¥85.05
Bestselling Irish author Chris Binchy makes his American debut with a wonderfully charming and bittersweet story of friendship, love, and second chances.When the bright but tongue-tied David sees the magnetic Camille at a party, he plays it safe, asking his smooth and charming best friend, Alex, to make the introduction. But even though David was the one to notice Camille, it's the ever-confident Alex who makes the first move on her. As David watches his best friend walk away with the girl of his dreams, he becomes painfully aware of just what he has lost through his hesitant, overcautious approach to life. Shedding his disappointment, David leaves home in search of a new beginning. But neither distance nor time can erase the memory of Camille. Buoyed by his newfound self-assurance and a fresh perspective, David is ready to try again. He will face the would-be love of his life and act on his feelings, whatever the cost to his friendship with Alex.What happens when love gets in the way of lifelong friendshipHow far will a good guy go to win the love of his lifeIn the tradition of Nick Hornby, Roddy Doyle, and Michael Chabon, Chris Binchy delivers an addictive tale of looking back and looking forward. This funny and wise story interweaves the suspense of unforeseeable futures, unknowable circumstances, and irreversible mistakes; the misfortunes of bad timing; and the power of love.
Leaving Before It's Over
¥85.05
From the author of The Space Between Before and After comes a compelling novel that explores the true meaning of family.When Roy Vines married his wife, Rosalind, he traded his family and his inheritance for love—a painful choice that has blessed them with years of joy nestled in rural North Carolina with their beautiful daughters, sixteen-year-old Lola and little Janie Ray.But their happiness is threatened when Rosalind suddenly falls ill. Desperate to get her the help she needs, Roy does the one thing he swore he'd never do—turn to his heartless and bitter identical twin brother, Mont, for help.The price is steep—and includes opening their home to a teenage boy who believes Roy is the father who abandoned him. As bad blood threatens to destroy her family, Rosalind must make a difficult choice. Should she walk away—like Roy once did—for love, or try to mend wounds that may never be healedAnd will the pain of choosing be more than her heart can bear?
Blackbox
¥85.05
Cross a road, take a train, or get on an airplane and you put your life in the hands of a stranger -- every bit as screwed up, every bit as fallible and as human as you are. Then the person turns out not to be a stranger at all, and suddenly it's much worse.In America and Britain and the sky in between, an apparently disparate group of people is connected, whether intimately or by chance, to the tragic death of a stowaway on board flight AF266.As the action veers across countries and time zones, the stowaway's real identity is revealed through stolen black box recordings, answering machine messages, sitcom outtakes, and court tran*s. Told in a shifting, circular narrative, the interwoven lives make up a jolting and layered puzzle that builds to a heart-stopping, chilling climax.An intelligent and invigorating novel with a bizarre menu of dysfunctional characters, Blackbox is the story of an attempt to erase a life on tape.
The Princess of Nowhere
¥85.05
Princess Pauline Borghese was one of the most fascinating women of her day. Now her story is unforgettably told by one of her descendants....The sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, Pauline knows that her sole purpose has always been to make an advantageous marriage to further her ambitious brother's goals. But her joie de vivre cannot be contained—much to the dismay of her new husband, Prince Camillo Borghese. Pauline and Camillo's relationship is tempestuous at best, with Pauline constantly seeking the attention of other men—especially after a heartbreaking loss leaves her devastated, desperate for attention, and searching for answers. Yet despite everything, the love that brought Pauline and Camillo together, as imperfect as it might be, can never truly be stifled. As seen through the eyes of the young woman who served as Pauline's lady-in-waiting and surrogate daughter, The Princess of Nowhere is an unforgettable tale of a remarkable life that was a study in the excesses of the time and of the power of a woman strong enough to defy expectations.
Interviewing Matisse, or The Woman Who Died Standing Up
¥85.05
Lily, Molly, and Inez are women of a certain age, of a certain bearing, of a certain class. Late one dire night, Molly telephones from Connecticut to catch Lily up with the news: Inez's corpse -- near-naked but wearing boots -- has been discovered propped up "like a broom" in a corner of her Soho loft. It is an occasion ripe for an all-night heart-to-heart conversation, bouncing deliriously from one evasion to the next -- until the pair of talk-crazy, talk-weary women have successfully diverted themselves with all the wonderfully vagrant stuff of life . . . with everything, in fact, except grief.
What's Your Number?
¥85.05
How many men does it take to find true love?When Delilah Darling reads a survey revealing that most people have 10.5 sexual partners in their lifetime, she begins to feel like a tramp. She’s slept with nineteen men so far—almost twice the national average. During a self-help moment, she vows to cap her “number” at twenty, swearing she’ll save her last spot for the right guy. But after losing her job and having a wild night on the town, she falls into bed with Mr. Wrong. Unwilling to up her number, but also unable to imagine a life of celibacy, Delilah does the only thing a girl in her situation can do: she tracks down every man she’s ever slept with in a last-ditch effort to make it work with one of them.A hilarious romp through Delilah’s past loves, What’s Your Numbershines a spotlight on every woman’s dirty little secret and proves that, when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes numbers tell only a fraction of the story.