What does it mean to have the voice of a stentor? Where is John o'Groat's House? Ever heard of a beast epic, or the Jindyworobak Movement? And what is the origin of the word "abracadabra"?

The answers lie in this delicious reference that anyone interested in humility should have; just glimpsing it on the shelf reminds one of how very much there is that one does not know. The thousands of entries in Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia cover anything and nearly everything having to do with literature. The book includes biographies of authors, summaries of books and plays, depictions of characters and mythological figures, explications of literary terms and movements, and, well, a whole bunch of other irresistible stuff that is somewhat quirky and utterly engrossing. (For the curious: a stentor's voice is a very loud voice; John o'Groat's House is considered to be the most northerly point in Great Britain; in a beast epic, "the central characters are animals and the tone is often satirical"; the Jindyworobak Movement is "a school of Australian poets demanding fidelity to Australian environment and the employment of aboriginal themes"; and abracadabra is a cabalistic charm.)

This "top ten list" covers some of the most unlikely, unexpected, improbable, and even impossible military successes of the past 200 years. With accurate detail and adventurous drama, these accounts highlight the Albuera counterattack in the 1811 Peninsular War, and the Hill 875 attack in Vietnam, US Rangers at Omaha Beach, storming San Juan Hill with the Rough Riders, and the volunteer cavalry that bluffed 2,000 Spanish troops.

A paperback edition of a novel featuring Brother Cadfael. A young man pursued by a lynching mob seeks sanctuary at the Benedictine monastery in Shrewsbury. He is accused of robbery and murder, but Cadfael senses his innocence and sets out to prove it. Publication is to coincide with the televising of a new series based on the Cadfael chronicles.

Business guru Tom Peters has been recognized for his originality and perception since coauthoring one of the most influential management books of all time: 1982's In Search of Excellence. Now, in his seventh work, The Circle of Innovation: You Can't Shrink Your Way to Greatness, he presents a provocative new vision for prospering in the "permanent state of flux" ruling today's business world. By juxtaposing short text passages and bold graphic images, Peters simply but passionately offers his prescription—perpetual innovation—in a nontraditional manner intended to foster individual interpretation. —Howard Rothman

For serious amateur photographers who already shoot perfectly focused, accurately exposed images but want to be more creative with a camera, here’s the book to consult. More than seventy techniques, both popular and less-familiar approaches, are covered in detail, including advanced exposure, bounced flash and candlelight, infrared, multiple images, soft-focus effects, unusual vantage points, zooming, and other carefully chosen ways to enhance photographs. The A-Z format make sit easy for readers to find a specific technique, and each one is explained in jargon-free language. Top Tips for each technique help readers achieve superb results, even on the first attempt.

From the author of the humorous, best-selling book, CHEAP PSYCHOLOGICAL TRICKS, comes a guidebook for romantics only . . . full of tricks guaranteed to keep the love of your life in your life 'til death do you part!

If you are in a relationship and want to increase your odds that it will remain stable and alive, then you need CHEAP PSYCHOLOGICAL TRICKS FOR LOVERS. Psychologist Perry Buffington offers sixty inside secrets, all ethical and based in scientific research, to enhance your odds of being successful in love and/or marriage. This entertaining, well-researched guide will help readers find a mate, keep a mate, fix a troubled relationship, and make love last.

Readers will also learn: pick up lines that work, how to write the perfect personal ad, the connection between a full moon and amour, the relationship between sex and hunger, why those who laugh together stay together, does playing hard to get really work?, how to argue fair...and win, and pet names...what they really mean.

Steve Pieczenik brings his extensive experience inside the halls of power at the U.S. State Department to create a frighteningly authentic novel of the ultimate crisis—an American civil war.

Pieczenik (Blood Heat) is a world-famous international crisis manager, hostage negotiator, political psychiatrist, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. Now his insider knowledge and experience come together in a thrilling political novel scheduled to be a major motion picture from Paramount. HC: Warner.

Journeying to Beijing to confront escalating tensions between the United States and China, Assistant Secretary of State Dr. Desaix Clark uncovers a brutal power struggle that spells all-out war in the Pacific rim. Reprint. PW.

Be very, very afraid. When you step through your door for an innocent excursion, grave danger awaits. You might be mugged; tied up; attacked by scorpions, piranhas, or tarantulas; trapped in a falling plane or elevator, a runaway train, a car on a cliff, a sandstorm, a riptide, or a riot. But now it's safe to take that vacation anyway. Just pack The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel, and you'll know what to do when you find yourself, say, leaping between rooftops: "Because you will not be moving fast, it is safe to roll head over heels, unlike jumping from a moving vehicle." Now you'll also know what not to do: never pick up a tarantula, as the spines on their abdomens are like little harpoons, and don't yank the reins of a runaway camel ("Pulling on the nose reins can tear the camel's nose—or break the reins"). You may have the sense, if a leech invades your air passage, to gargle with a 50 percent solution of 80-proof alcohol—but without this book, would you remember not to inhale?

In short, this is the most delightfully terrifying, all-true, laugh-out-loud hilarious book since the original Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, which covers such horrors as alligators and quicksand. Don't leave home without it! —Tim Appelo

Frommer's Portable Guides offer all the detailed information and insider advice of a Frommer's Complete Guide but in a concise, pocket-sized format. Perfect for the short-term traveler who insists on value and doesn't want to wade through or carry a full-size guidebook, this series selects the very best choices in all price categories and takes you straight to the top sights. Get the latest on hotels, restaurants, sightseeing, sports, shopping, and nightlife in a nutshell in these lightweight, inexpensive guides.

Frommer's Portable London 2007 gives you all the most important information and reviews from Frommer's London 2007. We'll show you the city's best, including the world-class theaters and pub scene. You'll get insider tips on shopping on Oxford Street, enjoying an afternoon tea at the Ritz, rowing on the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, and dining on pheasant at Rules, possibly the city's oldest restaurant.

You'll find candid reviews of a huge selection of accommodations in all price ranges, from chic boutique hotels to homey B&Bs. It's all accompanied by detailed maps, the latest trip-planning advice on everything from bargain airfares to rail passes, money-saving tips, and a complete shopper's guide.

Puerto Rico continues to grow in popularity, with tourism from the U.S. mainland up by 8.2% over last season. This year, weve completely rewritten our guide to the island with a fresh new voice, and weve added all-new and improved interior maps. Well give readers the lowdown on the spectacular hotels, casinos, and salsa clubs of San Juan and the leading resort areas, plus complete coverage of El Yunque Rain Forest and Vieques and Culebra islands, just offshore, with some of the loveliest beaches in the Caribbean.

General Powell may have undertaken this book as a form of paid political test marketing, but it turns out to be a success of an altogether different kind. We don't learn from this book if Powell is presidential material, but his recounting of the various steps of his career give us an unrivaled view of the ins and outs of military bureaucracy and shows how the modern American military, with its consistent emphasis on can-do attitudes and actual results, is a much more congenial place for realizing one's talents than our still-alarmingly pigeonholing general society.