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Gift Ideas
Top Gift Ideas
An unbiased selection of great gift ideas for any occasion!
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about this
Around the World, continent by continent, here is the best the world has to offer: 1,000 places guaranteed to give travelers the shivers. Sacred ruins, grand hotels, wildlife preserves, hilltop villages, snack shacks, castles, festivals, reefs, restaurants, cathedrals, hidden islands, opera houses, museums, and more. Each entry tells exactly why it's essential to visit. Then come the nuts and bolts: addresses, websites, phone and fax numbers, best times to visit. Stop dreaming and get going.
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$19.95(USD)
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about this
Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out—orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act—in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
Surprising, poignant, and funny, Water for Elephants is that rare novel with a story so engrossing, one is reluctant to put it down; with characters so engaging, they continue to live long after the last page has been turned; with a world built of wonder, a world so real, one starts to breathe its air. |
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$14.95(USD)
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3
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about this
Moll Flanders in America, this epic, intimate novel follows a young Russian immigrant determined to make her way—and find her daughter—in the hip, harsh 1920s.
On a morning in 1924, a young woman rises from the floor of her family's small home in Belorussia to find her parents and her husband slaughtered beside her and her infant daughter, Sophie, missing. When her aunt tells her the baby is dead, Lillian emigrates to America. She is working as a seamstress at the Yiddish Theater and enjoying café society when a cousin arrives and insists that her daughter is still alive—in Siberia.
Lillian cannot stop dreaming of Sophie; she feels she must get to Russia, yet she can't afford the passage. Her only friend, an actor turned tailor, steals atlases from the New York Public Library and sews them into an overcoat for her. She crosses North America by rail, truck, and foot, encountering drifters, wardens, pimps, missionaries, and tattoo artists. From Dawson City, Alaska, she sets sail for Russia. She falls in love, falls in with the wrong people, leaps before she looks, hopes hard, and refuses to give up.
Inspired by a true story, Away is Moll Flanders in America and Odysseus in the Jazz Age: big, wide, brilliantly imagined, unexpectedly funny, and unforgettable.
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$34.95(USD)
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4
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about this
In the endlessly fascinating, diverse, and enormous orchid family, the beauties classified as miniatures are among the most intriguing. These orchids, which range from under one inch or two in height to a maximum of 12 inches, can pack just as much flower power as their larger relatives, yet their compact size allows them to fit easily on a windowsill or under fluorescent lights. In all, some 300 miniature, dwarf, and compact orchids are profiled and another 200 are listed by key characteristics. Each profile includes bloom season, light and temperature requirements, and tips for ensuring success. Helpful advice on cultivation and on purchasing plants will give everyone from beginners to experienced orchid and houseplant enthusiasts the confidence to acquire these gems. Stunning photographs make identification a snap and provide welcome help for selection. Even if your growing space is limited, you can still enjoy the exotic beauty of the world's largest and most captivating family of flowering plants. |
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$29.95(USD)
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5
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about this
Got kugel? Got Kugel with Toffee Walnuts? Now you do. Here's the real homemade Gefilte Fish – and also Salmon en Papillote. Grandma Sera Fritkin’s Russian Brisket and Hazelnut-Crusted Rack of Lamb. Aunt Irene's traditional matzoh balls and Judy's contemporary version with shiitake mushrooms. Cooking Jewish gathers recipes from five generations of a food-obsessed family into a celebratory saga of cousins and kasha, Passover feasts – the holiday has its own chapter – and crossover dishes. And for all cooks who love to get together for coffee and a little something, dozens and dozens of desserts: pies, cakes, cookies, bars, and a multitude of cheesecakes; Rugelach and Hamantaschen, Mandelbrot and Sufganyot (Hanukkah jelly doughnuts). Not to mention Tanta Esther Gittel’s Husband’s Second Wife Lena’s Nut Cake. Blending the recipes with over 160 stories from the Rabinowitz family—by the end of the book you'll have gotten to know the whole wacky clan—and illustrated throughout with more than 500 photographs reaching back to the 19th century, Cooking Jewish invites the reader not just into the kitchen, but into a vibrant world of family and friends. Written and recipe-tested by Judy Bart Kancigor, a food journalist with the Orange County Register, who self-published her first family cookbook as a gift and then went on to sell 11,000 copies, here are 532 recipes from her extended family of outstanding cooks, including the best chicken soup ever – really! – from her mother, Lillian. (Or as the author says, "When you write your cookbook, you can say your mother's is the best.") Every recipe, a joy in the belly. |
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$19.95(USD)
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about this
This fully authorized, annotated, and illustrated edition of the complete screenplay of The Godfather presents all the little-known details and behind-the-scenes intrigue surrounding the landmark film. The Godfather is considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made, from its brilliant cinematic innovations and its memorable, oft-quoted script to it magnificent cast, including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and others who are now among the most celebrated actors of our time. And yet, the history of its making is so colorful, so chaotic, that one cannot help but marvel at the seemingly insurmountable odds it overcame to become a true cinematic masterpiece, a film that continues to captivate us decades after its release. Now, thirty-five years after The Godfather's highly anticipated debut, comes this fully authorized, annotated, and illustrated edition of the complete screenplay. Virtually every scene is examined including: - Fascinating commentary on technical details about the filming and shooting locations
- Tales from the set, including the arguments, the accidents, and the practical jokes
- Profiles of the actors and stories of how they were cast
- Deleted scenes that never made the final cut
- Goofs and gaffes that did
- And much more
Interviews with former Paramount executives, cast and crew members—from the producer to the makeup artist—and director Francis Ford Coppola round out the commentary and shed new light on everything you thought you knew about this most influential film. The more than 200 photographs from the film, from behind-the-scenes, and from the cutting room floor make this a visual feast for every Godfather fan. |
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$29.95(USD)
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Every golfer who’s worth his favorite putter knows where golf is great: Scotland, birthplace of the game and still its most important shrine, from the splendor of St. Andrews to the regal resort at Gleneagles; and Ireland, where the links like Ballybunion and Royal County Down are of unsurpassed beauty and challenge. Whether golfers actually make the pilgrimage or arm-chair it, Where Golf Is Great is indispensable: the most luxurious, entertaining, informative, and exhaustive book on these most important destinations. Written by the bard of Scottish and Irish golf, it combines the most authoritative information with the most beautiful prose and the most stunning color photographs—an unsurpassed celebration of the places where golf is, indeed, great.
Not only is the golf great, but so are the sights, the dining, the lodging—and it’s all here: the pub lunches and three-star dinners; the country-house hotels and full-service resorts. Jim Finegan’s singularly insightful advice includes the very best play-and-stay combinations for once-in-a-lifetime perfect golf days, in this once-in-a-lifetime perfect golf book.
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$60.00(USD)
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8
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about this
There's never before been a book like Gallop! Employing a patented new technology called Scanimation, each page is a marvel that brings animals, along with one shining star, to life with art that literally moves. It's impossible not to flip the page, and flip it again, and again, and again.
A first book of motion for kids, it shows a horse in full gallop and a turtle swimming up the page. A dog runs, a cat springs, an eagle soars, and a butterfly flutters. Created by Rufus Butler Seder, an inventor, artist, and filmmaker fascinated by antique optical toys, Scanimation is a state-of-the-art six-phase animation process that combines the "persistence of vision" principle with a striped acetate overlay to give the illusion of movement. It harkens back to the old magical days of the kinetoscope, and the effect is astonishing, like a Muybridge photo series springing into action—or, in terms kids can relate to, like a video without a screen. Complementing the art is a delightful rhyming text full of simple questions and fun, nonsense replies: Can you gallop like a horse? giddyup-a-loo! Can you strut like a rooster? cock-a-doodle-doo!
Every child who opens the book will be amazed—and so will every parent.
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$12.95(USD)
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9
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about this
Meg Parker, an American travel-book writer, lives in the Lorraine countryside with her two small children and a neglectful husband. Domestic life is beginning to take its toll until Meg is offered her dream assignment: to write a guidebook about French history. Unfortunately, there is a catch. Jean-Jacques, a scruffy and imperious photographer, has been assigned to the project. As the dueling pair visits each region in search of the past, what they find is the colorful, food-filled present—the festive bullfights in the Camargue, the sacred gypsy pilgrimage at Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the pictographs and lightning storms of Mount Bégo. And over the course of mouthwatering meals—of lamb daube, paella and rosé, bull steak and anchioade, Brebis and strawberries—their antagonistic collaboration turns into a fiery love affair.
Meg's notions about history—about what we preserve and how we accept the new—evolve, and in the end, she must reconcile her two lives and decide what to hold on to, and what to let go.
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$13.95(USD)
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about this
The West has a permanent pull on the American psyche. It's the place where the prairie meets the mountains, the mountains meet the sky, and the sky goes on forever. It's the home of our legends, our heroes and outlaws, our romanticized past.
Meredith and Tom Brokaw could feel the attraction all the way from their home in New York City. Native South Dakotans, they had settled into a frenetic Manhattan lifestyle, tempered by frequent visits to Montana, until Tom could no longer resist. He convinced Meredith to join him in buying a ranch north of Yellowstone. Meredith, in turn, convinced her friend, passionate cook Ellen Wright, to come and discover for herself the bounty of the region—its trout, bison, and elk; locally raised poultry; native fruits and vegetables. The result is Big Sky Cooking, a personal story of this Montana experience told through delicious recipes and menus, charming reflections, and glorious color photographs.
Nearly one hundred recipes, from new dishes to family standbys to reinterpreted classics, are organized into twenty menus that let you dip into the western lifestyle for any occasion: from a sunrise breakfast with eggs straight from the chicken coop to a picnic on the fly, from a rodeo dinner to a moonlight supper under the stars. The food is straightforward, unpretentious fare, as honest as Montanans and guaranteed to make every hour of the day an opportunity to enjoy the good life.
Along the way you'll be introduced to the region's charms: its slow rhythms, its work ethic, the influences of the ancient people and European settlers who formed the present-day state, the "neighbors" who live two hours away, the glow at dusk that's so extraordinary it has its own name.
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$35.00(USD)
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A complete education in classical music, written with verve and wit. No music lover can pick up this one-volume compendium without becoming a more knowledgeable, discerning listener. • The sonata form revealed, and why it's been deeply satisfying for three centuries. • What to listen for in Brahms, a self-described Classicist who was one of music's great innovators. • Pizzicato, fioritura, parlando, glissando. • The transformative power of Toscanini–who earned more conducting the New York Philharmonic than his contemporary Babe Ruth made with the Yankees. • And throughout, more than 2,000 recommended recordings.
Log on and listen. Created with Naxos, the world's largest classical music label, the book includes a unique Web site featuring more than 500 examples cited in the text. Look up barcarolle. First read about its swaying 6/8 meter and Venetian origins; then log on to the music Web site and hear it performed in Act IV of Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann. If that whets your curiosity about Offenbach, click to hear the cancan in his La vie parisienne. All online samples are marked by an icon in the text.
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$19.95(USD)
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12
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about this
In the years since we first published All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat , with over 2 million copies in print and the fastest-selling book in Workman’s history, one thing hasn’t changed—people are still starved for wisdom. Few oracles have dispensed as much common-sense truth as Binky, Suzy Becker's cat. "It's O.K. to wear the same thing every day." "Know all the sunny places." "Flaunt your hair loss." "Get mad when you're stepped on." Life lessons such as these and dozens of others propelled the book like a champagne cork to the top of The New York Times bestseller list.
Now, to celebrate the book's double-platinum milestone, there's a new edition: the original book, in a fresh cover, plus 48 new pages, including the Are You a Cat Person? quiz. The cat, Binky, is perspicacious and profound; the artist, Suzy, is utterly delightful; and the combined effect is one of immense and irresistible charm. Every cat fancier will recognize the book's timeless take on grooming, health, relationships, boundaries, and, above all, how to live in the moment. With new entries like "Be good at hellos. Don't drag out goodbyes," "Don't think too far beyond your next meal," "Celebrate the days you can open the windows," and "First one in has to warm up the bed," these teachings may very possibly change your life. Or at least let you know that there's always time for a nap.
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$8.95(USD)
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13
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about this
Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, slipcased.
When this series was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981, it generated the largest response in the network's history: 50,000 letters and phone calls in a single week, an audience of 750,000 per episode, and a subsequent 40-percent jump in NPR listenership.
This landmark production, perhaps the most ambitious radio project ever attempted, began when Star Wars creator George Lucas donated the story rights to NPR an affiliate. Writer Brian Daley adapted the film's highly visual script to the special demands and unique possibilities of radio, creating a more richly textured tale with greater emphasis on character development. Director John Madden guided a splendid cast--including Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels, reprising their film roles as Luke Skywalker and the persnickety robot See Threepio--through an intense ten day dialogue recording session. Then came months of painstaking work for virtuoso sound engineer Tom Voegeli, whose brilliant blending of the actors' voices, the music, and hundreds of sound effects takes this intergalactic adventure into a realm of imagination that is beyond the reach of cinema.
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$99.95(USD)
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14
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about this
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could describe your garden as a jewel box full of beautiful plant treasures? In this sequel to the bestselling Shocking Beauty, garden impresario Thomas Hobbs shows you how. The Jewel Box Garden is a luscious, full-color book that features 160 new and startling photos by renowned garden photographer David McDonald. Hobbs explains his philosophy of gardening and life, or as he puts it, "Life As We Dream It Could Be." In his own provocative and highly original way, he encourages gardeners to tap into their creativity and invest their heart and soul in creating oases of beauty — intimate spaces where they can escape the pressures of modern life.
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$24.95(USD)
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15
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about this
From the best-selling author of At Knit's End and Knitting Rules! comes yet another hilarious book of tongue-in-cheek observations on the world of knitting. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off invites knitters of all ages, levels, and persuasions to embark with her on a journey deep into the land populated by those who are obsessed with yarn, needles, and what’s on their needles now.
Using a travel guide format as her launching pad, Pearl-McPhee acts as tour guide extraordinaire, displaying her trademark razor-sharp wit as she describes and critiques every aspect of this land she knows so well — its people, native language, familiar phrases, strange beliefs, etiquette, and cultural customs. Readers will love her timeline of notable dates in knitting history and rarely celebrated knitting heroes, from the samurai warriors of Japan to the "Ter-rible Knitters of Dent." And, while the land of knitting is a peaceful place, it does have its political arguments, such as the acrylic versus natural fi bers and circular versus straight needles debates.
As she's toured (and knit) her way across North America during the past two years, Pearl-McPhee's smart, perfectly timed banter has captured the hearts, minds, and funny bones of thousands of knitters far and wide. No fan is going to want to be left behind as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off on her latest yarn-bound expedition.
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$14.95(USD)
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