Here is the captivating story of humankind’s enduring quest to build a better language—and overcome the curse of Babel. Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man’s attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, Loglan (not t...(展开全部)

Here is the captivating story of humankind’s enduring quest to build a better language—and overcome the curse of Babel. Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man’s attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, Loglan (not t...(展开全部)

With irresistibly persuasive vigor, David Shenk debunks the long-standing notion of genetic “giftedness,” and presents dazzling new scientific research showing how greatness is in the reach of every individual. DNA does not make us who we are. “Forget everything you think you know about genes, talent, and intelligence,” he writes. “In recent years, a mountain of scientific ...(展开全部)

"How a transmittable little bacterium with a twisting propellant tail...deeply affected...mankind's perception of itself." Anthony Day, Los Angeles Times From Beethoven to Oscar Wilde, from Van Gogh to Hitler, Deborah Hayden throws new light on the effects of syphilis on the lives and works of seminal figures from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. Writing with rema...(展开全部)

阿绮波德·立德(Archibald Little，1845～926)，英国在华著名商人立德之妻，习称立德夫人。立德夫人1887年到达中国，她与丈夫在中国生活了20年，几乎走遍了中国南方的所有通商口岸。她努力了解中国家庭，研究中国的政治及教育制度。主要著作有：《在中国的婚事》(1899)、《亲密接触中国》(1899)、《穿蓝色长袍的国度》(1901)、《北京指南》(1904)，《李鸿章，他的生平和时代》、《北京我家花园的周围》(1905)等。游历、写作之外，立德夫人还对中国妇女饱受缠足陋习的荼毒极为同情，因而全力投入清末的反缠足运动。 1906年，立德夫妇离开中国，返回英国。1926年，81岁的立德夫人走完了她作为作家、旅游家和社会改革家的一生。

In the mid-2010s, a passionate community of Los Angeles-based storytellers, media artists, and tech innovators formed around virtual reality (VR), believing that it could remedy society’s ills. Lisa Messeri offers an ethnographic exploration of this community, which conceptualized VR as an “empathy machine” that could provide glimpses into diverse social realities. She outlines...(展开全部)

DECEMBER 1962, THE WEST COUNTRY. Local doctor Eric Parry, mulling secrets, sets out on his rounds, while his pregnant wife sleeps on in the warmth of their cottage. Across the field, funny, troubled Rita Simmons is also asleep, her head full of images of a past life her husband prefers to ignore. He's been up for hours, tending to the needs of the small dairy farm where he hope...(展开全部)

【家內瘋癲：近世日本的婦女、照護與疾病】 為了抵禦來自美國與歐洲的 #帝國主義 ，19世紀的 #日本 致力於汲取全球最先進的思維與方法。到了1880年代，日本也接受衍伸自西方的精神病學，以及對精神疾病 的看法。首批日本精神病學家聲稱，病患應在專門機構中接受藥物治療，而非禁閉在家中。然而，國家並未施行社會福利政策，讓社會大眾得以負擔並接受新式的醫療服務。家庭──特別是婦女，因此持續負擔照護這些所謂「瘋子」的責任。

A study of the politics of rice in Canton, this book sheds new light on the local history of the city and illuminates how China's struggles with food shortages in the early twentieth century unfolded and the ways in which they were affected by the rise of nationalism and the fluctuation of global commerce. Author Seung-joon Lee profiles Canton as an exemplary site of provisioni...(展开全部)