The Six-Cornered Snowflake

Johannes Kepler

In 1611, the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler wrote The Six-Cornered Snowflake, which was the first scientific reference to snow crystals. Kepler wondered why snow crystals always exhibit a . . . [read more]

Seven Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges

Fernando Sorrentino

Translated from the Spanish by Clark M. Zlotchew

These wide-ranging conversations have an open and intimate tone, giving readers a uniquely personal glimpse of one of the most fascinating figures in contemporary world literature.

Interv . . . [read more]

Bombay Smiles

Jaume Sanllorrente

In 2003, Jaume Sanllorente was a young journalist leading an active and exciting life in Barcelona—no more idealistic than any other young professional. Then a travel agent convinced him to s . . . [read more]

The Book Shopper

Murray Browne

"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?" —Henry Ward Beecher

The Book Shopper is a spirited and witty guide to the world of disheveled used boo . . . [read more]

Philadelphia Architecture

John Andrew Gallery

This updated, comprehensive guide to Philadelphia's architecture will appeal to tourists and locals alike.

"The architectural heritage of over 300 years is visible on every st . . . [read more]

The Metalogicon

John of Salisbury

Written in 1159 and addressed to Thomas Becket, John of Salisbury's The Metalogicon presents—and defends—a thorough study of the liberal arts of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. T . . . [read more]

In Pursuit of the Good

Eric Salem

Where does happiness lie?

What is the best life?

Aristotle ponders these abiding questions in his Nicomachean Ethics—a work which has profoundly influenced Western thinking on . . . [read more]

Fat Wednesday

John Verdi

Would you agree or disagree with someone who said that Wednesday is fat, Tuesday lean? Does the ordinary use of words provide all we need to know about their descriptive power? In Fat Wednesday: . . . [read more]

The Einstein Theory of Relativity

Lillian Lieber

Edited and with a Foreword by David Derbes and Robert Jantzen

"Oh, what a delightful book! This is the clearest explanation of relativity available—and the most fun." —Walter Isaacson

Using "just enough mathematics to help . . . [read more]

The Secret of Fame

Gabriel Zaid

Translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer

"Gabriel Zaid is a marvelously elegant and playful writer—a cosmopolitan critic with sound judgment and a light touch. He is a jewel of Latin American letters, which is no small thin . . . [read more]

Feeling Our Feelings

Eva Brann

In Feeling Our Feelings, Eva Brann considers what the great philosophers on the passions and feelings have thought and written about them. She examines the relevant work of Plato, Aristotle, . . . [read more]

Up in the Hills

Lord Dunsany

Afterword by Michael Grenke

Up in the Hills "is too richly humorous, too full of wit, wisdom, gentle irony, salutary satire and the wonder which Spring offers to the welcoming eye to be read only by Dunsany's devo . . . [read more]

The Tables of the Law

Thomas Mann

Translated from the German by Marion Faber and Stephen Lehmann

The Tables of the Law recounts the early life of Moses, his preparations for leading his people out of Egypt, the exodus itself and the incidents at the oasis Kadesh, and the engraving of . . . [read more]

Zift

Vladislav Todorov

Translated from the Bulgarian by Joseph Benatov

The Moth, Zift's main character, finds himself in jail for a murder he didn't commit during a diamond heist. He starts serving time before 1944 (the year of the Bulgarian communist takeove . . . [read more]