These are family memories, the record of Jane Austen's life shaped and limited by the loyalties, reserve, and affection of nieces and nephews recovering in old age the outlines of the young aunt they had each known. They still remembered the shape of her bonnet and the tone of her voice, and their first-hand accounts bring her vividly before us. Their declared partiality also raises fascinating issues concerning biographical truth, and the terms in which all biography functions.

Why did Cleopatra seduce Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, engulfing the Roman Empire in bloody civil war? What historical evidence substantiates tales of sexual rites in Babylonian temples? How could the Greek women who served the god Apollo at Delphi utter pronouncements that changed the course of history? Why has the story of the Amazons fascinated ancient and modern societies? This extensive and fascinating A-to-Z encyclopedia, illustrated with many rare and revealing images, tells the stories of the famous and the ordinary, treating subjects as diverse as...

This remarkable new edition of American Regional Cuisine celebrates the diversity, distinction, and delectable essences of American cooking - from New England Clam Chowder to Carolina Pulled Pork Barbecue, from Floribbean Grouper with Black Bean, Jicama, and Corn Salsa to San Francisco Cioppino. This Second Edition features a wealth of fascinating history about each region, and more than forty color photographs showing cooking techniques and finished dishes.

From morning to midnight, this beautifully illustrated guide invites readers to spend a day with the animals and plants that inhabit one of the world's most fascinating environments.