Top 15 in Reference
Week of August 10, 2026
by Rachel Hoffman
Get your mess under control with this practical yet compassionate approach to cleaning and organizing that’ll motivate you to get off your butt and start loving your home.
by Arthur Goldwag
Have you ever wondered about the difference between Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism and which influenced the other? Do you know where Post-modernism stops and Post-structuralism begins? Would you like to? From Platonism to New Historicism, humankind is constantly coming up with fresh schools of thought to help explain (or at least describe) the mysterious world around us. Here is the ultimate guide to over 450 of the most significant intellectual terms, movements, and religions that help shape the society we live in. Simply, concisely, and with personality, ‘Isms and ‘Ologies clarifies buzz terms like jihad, often defined as “holy war” but which literally means “striving” ;and illustrates the differences between Conservatism, Paleoconservatism, and Neoconservatism. It explains String Theory (which attempts to unify Quantum Mechanics and Einsteinian Relativity); describes Fauvism (an artistic movement that paved the way for Expressionism and Cubism); defines Locofocoism (an American political ideology named after a “self-lighting cigar)”; and identifies and explores so much more. Helpfully divided into categories–including politics, history, philosophy and the arts, economics, religion, science, and medicine–cross referenced, and thoroughly indexed, ‘Isms and ‘Ologies is a must have for the budding intellectual in everyone.

by John Reed
Provides background information on the text and translation for all of Schubert's songs. "A bible for the serious Schubertian."--Back cover.

by Thomas A. Bass
The author of The Eudaemonic Pie now reveals the inspiration, motivations, and aspirations of the world's greatest scientists. The scientists interviewed in this collection have changed the rules of the game--altered our perception of reality and the language used to describe it.
by David Gaughran
Publish like a pro and start building your audience today with the most comprehensive guide on the market. Packed with practical, actionable advice, this brand new fourth edition of Let's Get Digital delivers the very latest best practices on publishing your work and finding readers. · Boost your writing career with marketing strategies that are proven to sell more books. · Get expert tips on platform building, blogging and social media. · Discover which approaches are best for selling fiction vs. non-fiction. · Implement powerful ways to make your ebooks more discoverable. · Increase your visibility by optimizing keywords and categories. · Weigh the pros and cons of Kindle Unlimited, and find out exactly how to tweak your promotional plans depending on whether you stay exclusive to Amazon or opt for wider distribution. And that's just for starters...

by Juan Eduardo Cirlot
A classic encyclopedia of symbols by Catalan polymath Joan Cirlot that illuminates the symbolic underpinnings of myth, modern psychology, literature, and art. Juan Eduardo Cirlot’s A Dictionary of Symbols is a feat of scholarship, an act of the imagination, and a tool for contemplation, as well as a work of literature, a reference book that is as indispensable as it is brilliant and learned. Cirlot was a composer, a poet, an art critic, and a champion of modern art whose interest in surrealism helped to bring him to the study of symbolism. Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, René Guénon, Erich Fromm, and Gaston Bachelard also helped to shape his thinking in a book that explores the space between the world at large and the world within, where, as Cirlot sees it, nothing is meaningless, everything is significant, and everything is in some way related to something else. Running from “abandonment” to “zone” by way of “flute” and “whip,” spanning the cultures of the world, and including a wealth of visual images to further bring the reality of the symbol home, A Dictionary of Symbols, here published for the first time in English in its original, significantly enlarged form, is a luminous and illuminating investigation of the works of eternity in time.

by David Comfort
Fresh for the holidays, this hilarious and warm-hearted review of the top holiday stories of the last two millennia (with a special focus on Christmas Present) sparkles with dozens of shiny, new Christmas tales and tidbits, including vital stats on eating, shopping and other manifestations of the Christmas spirit, the Santa controversy, and much more.

by James L. Kugel
From the creation and the tree of knowledge through the Exodus from Egypt and the journey to the promised land; James Kugel shows us how the earliest interpreters of the scriptures radically transformed the Bible.
by Parviz Jahed
Working at the intersection of religion and ever-shifting political, economic and social environments, Iranian cinema has produced some of the most critically lauded films in the world today. The first volume in the Directory of World Cinema: Iran turned the spotlight on the award-winning cinema of Iran, with particular attention to the major genres and movements, historical turning points and prominent figures that have helped shape it. Considering a wide range of genres, including Film Farsi, New Wave, war film, art house film and women’s cinema, the book was greeted with enthusiasm by film studies scholars, students working on alternative or national cinema and fans and aficionados of Iranian film. Building on the momentum and influence of its predecessor, Directory of World Cinema: Iran 2 will be welcomed by all seeking an up-to-date and comprehensive guide to Iranian cinema.

by Houghton Mifflin Company
Contains entries for over 10,000 new words reflecting the explosion of computer and Internet technology as well as changes in popular culture and slang.
by Jack W. Plunkett
Market research guide to the outsourcing and offshoring industry a tool for strategic planning, competitive intelligence, employment searches or financial research. Contains trends, statistical tables, and an industry glossary. Over 300 one page profiles of Outsourcing Offshoring Industry Firms - includes addresses, phone numbers, executive names.
by Sharon M. Ravitch
Focused on developing the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological knowledge needed to engage in rigorous and valid research, this introductory text provides practical explanations, exercises, and advice for how to conduct qualitative research—from design through implementation, analysis, and writing up research. Qualitative Research presents the field in a unique and meaningful way, and helps readers understand what authors Sharon M. Ravitch and Nicole Mittenfelner Carl call “criticality” in qualitative research by communicating its foundations and processes with clarity and simplicity while still capturing complexity. Packed with real-life examples of questions, issues, and situations that stem from the authors’ and their students’ research, the book humanizes the qualitative research endeavor, illustrates the types of scenarios that arise, and emphasizes the importance of actively considering paradigmatic values throughout every stage of the research process. In every chapter, the authors illustrate the qualitative research process as decidedly ideological, political, and subjective using themes of criticality, reflexivity, collaboration, and rigor.

by M. C. Rintoul
"A dictionary of real people, animals, houses, towns, roads, clubs, societies, newspapers, magazines, shipe, etc., upon which fictional entities are thought to have been based."--User's guide, p. vii.

by Sandra G. Harding
First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

