From ancient Greece to the Internet—via the Renaissance, Gutenberg, and Madison Avenue—Shady Characters exposes the secret history of punctuation.
A charming and indispensable tour of two thousand years of the written word, Shady Characters weaves a fascinating trail across the parallel histories of language and typography.
Whether investigating the asterisk (*) and dagger (†)—which alternately illuminated and skewered heretical verses of the early Bible—or the at sign (@), which languished in obscurity for centuries until rescued by the Internet, Keith Houston draws on myriad sources to chart the life and times of these enigmatic squiggles, both exotic (¶) and everyday (&).
From the Library of Alexandria to the halls of Bell Labs, figures as diverse as Charlemagne, Vladimir Nabokov, and George W. Bush cross paths with marks as obscure as the interrobang (?) and as divisive as the dash (—). Ancient Roman graffiti, Venetian trading shorthand, Cold War double agents, and Madison Avenue round out an ever more diverse set of episodes, characters, and artifacts.
Richly illustrated, ranging across time, typographies, and countries, Shady Characters will delight and entertain all who cherish the unpredictable and surprising in the writing life.

How can we be sure that Pythagoras's theorem is really true ? Why is the 'angle in a semicircle' always 90 degrees? And how can tangents help determine the speed of a bullet?<br /><br />David Acheson takes the reader on a highly illustrated tour through the history of geometry, from ancient Greece to the present day. He emphasizes throughout elegant deduction and practical applications, and argues that geometry can offer the quickest route to the whole spirit of mathematics at its best. Along the way, we encounter the quirky and the unexpected, meet the great personalities involved, and uncover some of the loveliest surprises in mathematics.

A lavishly designed, full-color photographic record of that American shopping institution, the thrift store. The culmination of a decade of "thrifting" by renowned book artist Emily K. Larned, "Thrift Store" contains photographs and essays that celebrate the joys of second-hand shopping. Originally published as a limited-edition artist book, this beautifully done trade edition has been expanded to include new photographs and insights that demonstrate the appeal of the thrift store in contemporary America. Emily K. Larned is a Brooklyn-based book artist and the vice president of Booklyn, a not-for-profit artist alliance. Her handmade artist books are included in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, Tate Britain, and the Getty.

Bestselling journalist Orenstein follows up Cinderella Ate My Daughter with a look at what happens when the little princess hits puberty. The result is an eye-opening, sometimes horrifying look at sex for today’s girls and young adults. Through frank interviews, research, and school visits, Orenstein reveals that, on average, young women are engaging in sexual contact earlier than ever, in more varied ways, and reporting more coercion and less satisfaction than their male counterparts. She cuts through many of the prickly topics associated with girls’ sexuality in contemporary culture, including purity debates, hook-up culture, arguments about what girls wear, rape and consent on college campuses, the problem of porn, and what kind of sex education actually works. She looks briefly at gender fluidity and touches on the concerns of LGBTQ young women. Orenstein draws powerful, humane portraits of her interview subjects, self-reliant young women who find themselves trapped by sexist stereotypes about women’s bodies and women’s pleasure. In this smart, earnest, and timely assessment, Orenstein urges frank, open communication among trusted adults and curious teens, declaring it the best way to encourage girls and boys to make safe, healthy decisions that “end in joy and honor rather than regret, guilt, or shame” and achieve “intimate justice.” (Mar.)

Thanks to modern technological advances, we now enjoy seemingly unlimited access to information. Yet how did information become so central to our everyday lives, and how did its processing and storage make our data-driven era possible? This volume is the first to consider these questions in comprehensive detail, tracing the global emergence of information practices, technologies, and more, from the premodern era to the present. With entries spanning archivists to algorithms and scribes to surveilling, this is the ultimate reference on how information has shaped and been shaped by societies.
Written by an international team of experts, the book’s inspired and original long- and short-form contributions reconstruct the rise of human approaches to creating, managing, and sharing facts and knowledge. Thirteen full-length chapters discuss the role of information in pivotal epochs and regions, with chief emphasis on Europe and North America, but also substantive treatment of other parts of the world as well as current global interconnections. More than 100 alphabetical entries follow, focusing on specific tools, methods, and concepts—from ancient coins to the office memo, and censorship to plagiarism. The result is a wide-ranging, deeply immersive collection that will appeal to anyone drawn to the story behind our modern mania for an informed existence.
Tells the story of information’s rise from 1450 through to today
Covers a range of eras and regions, including the medieval Islamic world, late imperial East Asia, early modern and modern Europe, and modern North America
Includes 100 concise articles on wide-ranging topics:
Concepts: data, intellectual property, privacy
Formats and genres: books, databases, maps, newspapers, scrolls and rolls, social media
People: archivists, diplomats and spies, readers, secretaries, teachers
Practices: censorship, forecasting, learning, political reporting, translating
Processes: digitization, quantification, storage and search
Systems: bureaucracy, platforms, telecommunications
Technologies: cameras, computers, lithography
Provides an informative glossary, suggested further reading (a short bibliography accompanies each entry), and a detailed index

The Art of Resistance surveys the lives of seven painters―Ding Cong (1916–2009), Feng Zikai (1898–1975), Li Keran (1907–89), Li Kuchan (1898–1983), Huang Yongyu (b. 1924), Pan Tianshou (1897–1971), and Shi Lu (1919–82)―during China's Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), a time when they were considered counterrevolutionary and were forbidden to paint. Drawing on interviews with the artists and their families and on materials collected during her visits to China, Shelley Drake Hawks examines their painting styles, political outlooks, and life experiences.
These fiercely independent artists took advantage of moments of low surveillance to secretly "paint by candlelight." In doing so, they created symbolically charged art that is open to multiple interpretations. The wit, courage, and compassion of these painters will inspire respect for the deep emotional and spiritual resonance of Chinese art.

A revelatory account of life in one of the most restrictive, isolated and misunderstood places in the world.
Famed for its equality and good health, sunshine and beauty, many celebrate Cuba, one of the world’s five remaining Communist countries, for bravely holding out against the rampant capitalism of the West. But after six decades of socialist state control, the Cubans themselves now tell a different story.
Still the government decides what work you can do and where you live. Food is rationed, milk and eggs are often scarce and basic medicines unavailable. Buildings collapse and rubbish goes uncollected. Millions break the law every day to run small businesses or simply to get by. In the desperate 1990s, after Soviet support for Cuba’s economy disappeared, people resorted to making steaks from grapefruit rinds and hair dye from old batteries. Those who attempt to cross the ninety miles of ocean to Florida have at times been imprisoned, tortured and even killed. And yet even after the death of Fidel Castro in 2016, with no free press to report such crimes or galvanise opposition, the regime shows few signs of loosening its grip.
In this pioneering work of life-writing and reportage, Anthony DePalma reconstructs the interwoven stories of five ordinary citizens and their families – some whose loyalty to the system led to great personal reward but ultimately disillusionment, others turned against it by tragedy – to lay their complex reality bare. Through their extraordinary journeys, from Castro’s heyday, through the devastation of post-Soviet collapse, to the false dawn and retrenchment of recent years, we see how the revolution that once inspired its people has tested their faith, and we witness the daily acts of heroism and the endlessly adaptive resilience of a people determined to survive.

This classic typography book, first published in 1993, is now updated with brand-new typefaces, fonts, and illustrations. Internationally renowned graphic designer Erik Spiekermann explains in everyday terms what typography is and offers design guidance in choosing type for legibility, meaning, and aesthetic appeal. Stop Stealing Sheep and Find Out How Type Works, 2nd Edition guides the reader through all aspects of typography, from the history and mechanics of type, to training the eye to recognize and choose typefaces. Uncover type's roots and placement within society and learn how to use space and layout to improve overall communication. This elegant guide for readers of all levels is revised and updated to discuss the particular design challenges of type on the Internet. Note: This title was originally announced in the October 2000 Pearson Technology Group catalog.

For poet Victoria Chang, memory “isn’t something that blooms, but something that bleeds internally.” It is willed, summoned, and dragged to the surface. The remembrances in this collection of letters are founded in the fragments of stories her mother shared reluctantly, and the silences of her father, who first would not and then could not share more. They are whittled and sculpted from an archive of family relics: a marriage license, a letter, a visa petition, a photograph. And, just as often, they are built on the questions that can no longer be answered.
Dear Memory is not a transcription but a process of simultaneously shaping and being shaped, knowing that when a writer dips their pen into history, what emerges is poetry. In carefully crafted missives on trauma and loss, on being American and Chinese, Victoria Chang shows how grief can ignite a longing to know yourself.
In letters to family, past teachers, and fellow poets, as the imagination, Dear Memory offers a model for what it looks like to find ourselves in our histories.

「日本社会のしくみ」は、現代では、大きな閉塞感を生んでいる。女性や外国人に対する閉鎖性、「地方」や非正規雇用との格差などばかりではない。転職のしにくさ、高度人材獲得の困難、長時間労働のわりに生産性が低いこと、ワークライフバランスの悪さなど、多くの問題が指摘されている。し かし、それに対する改革がなんども叫ばれているのに、なかなか変わっていかない。それはなぜなのか。そもそもこういう「社会のしくみ」は、どんな経緯でできあがってきたのか。この問題を探究することは、日本経済がピークだった時代から約30年が過ぎたいま、あらためて重要なことだろう。(中略)本書が検証しているのは、雇用、教育、社会保障、政治、アイデンティティ、ライフスタイルまでを規定している「社会のしくみ」である。雇用慣行に記述の重点が置かれているが、それそのものが検証の対象ではない。そうではなく、日本社会の暗黙のルールとなっている「慣習の束」の解明こそが、本書の主題なのだ。データと歴史が浮き彫りにする社会の姿!!「この国のかたち」はいかにして生まれたか。“日本の働き方”成立の歴史的経緯とその是非を問う。

熊式一（1902–1991）是20世紀海外最知名的中國作家之一，陳寅恪曾以「海外林熊」之句將他與林語堂並舉。他在1934年將中國傳統劇目改編為英文戲劇《王寶川》，在倫敦連續演出約900場，由王室到平民，家喻戶曉。1935年，他成為了第一位登上百老匯舞台的中國導演，更被《紐約時報》（The New York Times）譽為「中國莎士比亞」。1943年創作的英文小說《天橋》亦大獲成功，被翻譯成了法、德、西、捷、荷等歐洲主要語言，暢銷歐美。但他的傳奇人生遠遠不止於創作，他還是中英雙語譯者、香港清華書院創校校長、BBC電台評論員、劇作家、藝術收藏家……曾經的風雲人物如今已消失在歷史中，與其一起被遺忘的，是那個中國藝術曾經征服西方的短暫卻輝煌的時代。
本書是熊式一的第一部完整傳記，全面梳理熊傳奇的一生，發掘中國現代文學史中不該被淹沒的人物。作者用十年時間深耕熊式一家人提供的海量一手文獻，包括書信、文章、手跡、照片等，並追查中國和海外有關的新聞報道，採訪了橫跨三大洲的相關人士。
在詳述熊式一風雲人生的同時，也呈現了20世紀三四十年代歐美文藝界仰慕中國的一段短暫卻輝煌的跨國交流史。若沒有熊式一，我們對中國現代文學史，對作為在世界中的中國文學，對中國與世界的互動的理解，便會缺失非常重要的部分。
熊式一的英語代表劇作備受西方著名作家推崇——
諾貝爾文學獎得主蕭伯納（Bernard Shaw）：
「我非常喜歡熊譯《西廂記》⋯⋯足可以和我們中古時代戲劇並駕齊驅。」
諾貝爾文學獎得主賽珍珠（Pearl S. Buck）：
「《王寶川》是一出美輪美奐的戲。熊博士的確是個天才。」
「科幻小說之父」H. G. 威爾斯（H. G. Wells）：
「《天橋》是一幅完整的、動人心弦的、呼之欲出的圖畫。」
王德威、陳子善、Anne Witchard　——共同推薦
熊式一是現代華語世界戲劇藝術及文化傳播的傳奇人物。他的雙語戲劇創作，多元事業軌跡，以及起伏的生命歷程無不折射二十世紀中國知識分子與世界的重層關聯。本書敘述流暢，考證翔實，是進入熊式一生命，體會其人其志的重要傳述。
—王德威，美國哈佛大學東亞語言與文明系講座教授
熊式一才華橫溢、博學多聞，他的劇作《王寶川》曾與狄更斯和蕭伯納的作品媲美。這部紀念碑式的著作不僅僅是一本人物傳記，同時還記述了1930年代歐美文藝界仰慕中國之際，散居海外的中國知識分子大展風采的盛況。當年，梅蘭芳和胡蝶令西方觀眾目眩神迷，卓別林和黃柳霜遠赴中國訪問，萬眾矚目，那時熊式一也享譽世界，毫不遜色。此書將傳主置回此恢宏的場景中，描寫其聲名鵲起的片刻，那真是一段短暫卻十分輝煌的跨國交流史。
—安妮．韋查德（Anne Witchard），《老舍在倫敦》作者
綜觀20世紀中國文學史，至少有三位作家的雙語寫作值得大書特書。一是林語堂，二是蔣彜，三就是熊式一。可是我們忽視熊式一太久，我們虧待熊式一也太多了。以熊式一在中國現代文學史和現代中外文學與文化交流史上的重要地位，應該而且必須有他的傳記。這項富有意義的工作由鄭達出色地承擔並完成了。
他多年銳意窮搜，不折不撓，還採訪了熊式一的諸多親友，尋獲了英國文化藝術界當年對熊式一的眾多評論，完成了這部首次披露許多重要史實，同時也頗具創意的熊式一傳記。
——陳子善，華東師範大學中文系研究員

近代上海報刊的歷史，大致可分為四個時期。第一個時期（1850年至1895年）誕生與初步發展，隨著上海都市的形成，上海報刊進入初步發展時期。第二個時期（1895年至1915年）突破性的發展，依靠著民主政治運動與外國租界的庇蔭，上海報刊發展格局奠定，報刊已成市民日常生活必需品。第三個時期（1915年至1937年）全面穩定的發展。第四個時期（1937年至1949年）萎縮與停滯，此時期發生了兩次的戰爭：抗戰爆發與國共內戰，致使言論空間遭到限縮，加上通貨膨脹問題，帶給報業極大的營運壓力，至1949年中國政局轉易，商業報紙遭到新政權軍管封閉，報界出現空前的蕭條。
本書收集史料種類多元，如上海市檔案館檔案、報人回憶、報章雜誌文章等，分為三個主題：
壹、報業概況，包含上海報業的基本特色、民初上海各大報的歷史、報業公會的運作。
貳、報館職工，可知報館各類職工的相關訊息，像是報館對印刷工學歷、工作時數、效能、薪資的要求，也收錄了當時校對員工的合約，了解報館對校對工作的要求。有關報館員工的待遇問題，可參考新聞報與申報兩報的員工待遇比較表，包括報館職工每部門的人數、工作標準與計薪方式，皆有完整記錄。
參、新聞編採，包含報館收集訊息、編輯新聞的相關規定，詳盡介紹從採訪、編輯、印刷、發行，報紙的出產環節均一一收錄。

How the Mongol invasions of the Near East reshaped the balance of world power in the Middle Ages
For centuries, the Crusades have been central to the story of the medieval Near East, but these religious wars are only part of the region’s complex history. As The Mongol Storm reveals, during the same era the Near East was utterly remade by another series of wars: the Mongol invasions.
In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and upended the region’s geopolitics. Amid the chaos of the Mongol onslaught, long-standing powers such as the Byzantines, the Seljuk Turks, and the crusaders struggled to survive, while new players such as the Ottomans arose to fight back. The Mongol conquests forever transformed the region, while forging closer ties among societies spread across Eurasia.
This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East and its enduring global consequences.

在上海徐家汇的南部，有一处曾经极其重要的地标——土山湾。在这块土地上诞生的土山湾画馆，是目前所知最早以学徒方式培养中国西洋画人才的重要场所。近百年间，有三百余名学生先后在此接受西洋画的严格训练，其培养人数之众是中国历史上前所未有的，画馆的作品遍布中国及世界各地。因此，土山湾画馆被中国现代画家徐悲鸿誉为“中国西洋画之摇篮”。
《土山湾画馆人物志》聚焦历史上曾经为土山湾画馆的创建、运营而做出突出贡献的开创者、一代又一代的继任者以及从这里走出的杰出的画家，当然还有无数默默无闻的中国画徒，通过爬梳史料、梳理人物事迹、采访土山湾画馆老人，配以珍贵的历史资料图等，全彩精印，系统地为读者全面呈现土山湾画馆的人物群像和历史发展轨迹。

「本書是有關被監視的效應，而被監視已經成為了人皆有之的經驗。我們現在全都處於監視之下，但我們大部分人對這究竟意味著什麼幾乎毫無概念。……在每天都有新監視方法誕生的今日世界，我希望本書能夠讓某些監視方法和它們的效應曝光。」——本書作者凱薩琳．韋德瑞
一九七三年，來自美國的人類學博士生凱薩琳．韋德瑞到羅馬尼亞進行田野調查。她生活在外西凡尼亞一個小村莊，漸漸和當地村民培養出家人般的感情。她以研究當地寫出的著作，更開啟西方國家東歐研究領域先河。然而，隨著九○年代羅馬尼亞共產政權垮臺，她卻從解密檔案中發現：自己曾被當成間諜，受到嚴密監控。國安局中有關她的祕密檔案，多達兩千多頁。
韋德瑞決定深入研究自己的監控檔案，藉以了解監控體制與線民文化。她回溯過去、找出線人，甚至訪問到當年負責監控她的國安局軍官。
然而揭開真相並不容易，甚至令人難堪。過程中，她曾看見自己被偷拍的影像，也曾發現過往深信不疑的人際關係，其實充滿陷阱。有人懷著目的接近她、更有朋友因她而身陷危險。而她與監控軍官的面對面，更是出乎意料之外的經歷。
韋德瑞以自身經驗為田野，發揮民族誌學者的敏銳，引領我們思考：
★ 國家安全的機器如何運作？如何吸收線人，編織陷阱？
★ 國家如何為自己製造敵人？ 被監控者如何被創造出邪惡分身？
★ 祕密監控如何與社會關係網絡交織在一起？
★ 冷戰的社會氣氛，如何孕育監控文化？
★ 「加害者」是甚麼樣的人？
★ 身為被監控者，認識真相令她備受衝擊，她如何深入反思，重拾對人的信賴，進而從檔案中剖析出整個監控文化與機制？
這是一本對監控體制極為難得的深入剖析之作。不僅曝光監控機制，也讓我們看見體制下的人性。

Science and art have in common intense seeing, the wide-eyed observing that generates visual information.
is about how seeing turns into showing, how data and evidence turn into explanation. The book identifies excellent and effective methods for showing nearly every kind of information, suggests many new designs (including sparklines), and provides analytical tools for assessing the credibility of evidence presentations (which are seen from both sides: how to produce and how to consume presentations). For alert consumers of presentations, there are chapters on diagnosing evidence corruption and PowerPoint pitches.
concludes with two chapters that leave the world of pixel and paper flatland representations - and move onto seeing and thinking in space land, the real-land of three-space and time.

Shanghai's illustrious history and phenomenal future is celebrated in this book, which examines the evolution of the city's architecture and urban form in order to contextualise the challenges facing the city today. The physical legacies that reflect Shanghai's uniqueness historically and contemporarily are examined chronologically using specific case studies of exemplary architecture interwoven in a compelling narrative that unlocks the many mysteries surrounding this amazing metropolis. Some of the most influential colonial architecture in the world, outstanding examples of Modernism and Art Deco, and an exceptional selection of eclectic and vernacular architecture reflecting Shanghai's many adopted cultures are revealed. This is the first book ever to examine this remarkable subject in a manner that is both comprehensive and captivating in its written content and stunningly illustrated with over 300 archive and contemporary photographs and maps.

The gap between who designers and developers imagine their users are, and who those users really are can be the biggest problem with product development. "Observing the User Experience" will help you bridge that gap to understand what your users want and need from your product, and whether they'll be able to use what you've created. Filled with real-world experience and a wealth of practical information, this book presents a complete toolbox of techniques to help designers and developers see through the eyes of their users. It provides in-depth coverage of 13 user experience research techniques that will provide a basis for developing better products, whether they're Web, software or mobile based. In addition, it's written with an understanding of how software is developed in the real world, taking tight budgets, short schedules, and existing processes into account. This title: explains how to create usable products that are still original, creative, and unique; is a valuable resource for designers, developers, project managers - anyone in a position where their work comes in direct contact with the end user; provides a real-world perspective on research and provides advice about how user research can be done cheaply, quickly and how results can be presented persuasively; and, gives readers the tools and confidence to perform user research on their own designs and tune their software user experience to the unique needs of their product and its users.

"Universal Methods of Design is an immensely useful survey of research and design methods used by today's top practitioners, and will serve as a crucial reference for any designer grappling with really big problems. This book has a place on every designer's bookshelf, including yours!" —David Sherwin, Principal Designer at frog and author of Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills
"Universal Methods of Design is a landmark method book for the field of design. This tidy text compiles and summarizes 100 of the most widely applicable and effective methods of design—research, analysis, and ideation—the methods that every graduate of a design program should know, and every professional designer should employ. Methods are concisely presented, accompanied by information about the origin of the technique, key research supporting the method, and visual examples. Want to know about Card Sorting, or the Elito Method? What about Think-Aloud Protocols? This book has them all and more in readily digestible form. The authors have taken away our excuse for not using the right method for the job, and in so doing have elevated its readers and the field of design. UMOD is an essential resource for designers of all levels and specializations, and should be one of the go-to reference tools found in every designer’s toolbox." —William Lidwell, author of Universal Principles of Design, Lecturer of Industrial Design, University of Houston
This comprehensive reference provides a thorough and critical presentation of 100 research methods, synthesis/analysis techniques, and research deliverables for human centered design, delivered in a concise and accessible format perfect for designers, educators, and students. Whether research is already an integral part of a practice or curriculum, or whether it has been unfortunately avoided due to perceived limitations of time, knowledge, or resources, Universal Methods of Design serves as an invaluable compendium of methods that can be easily referenced and utilized by cross-disciplinary teams in nearly any design project.
This essential guide:
- Dismantles the myth that user research methods are complicated, expensive, and time-consuming
- Creates a shared meaning for cross-disciplinary design teams
- Illustrates methods with compelling visualizations and case studies
- Characterizes each method at a glance
- Indicates when methods are best employed to help prioritize appropriate design research strategies
Universal Methods of Design distills each method down to its most powerful essence, in a format that will help design teams select and implement the most credible research methods best suited to their design culture within the constraints of their projects.

Practical SQL is an approachable and fast-paced guide to SQL (Structured Query Language), the standard programming language for defining, organizing, and exploring data in relational databases. The book focuses on using SQL to find the story your data tells, with the popular open-source database PostgreSQL and the pgAdmin interface as its primary tools.
You’ll first cover the fundamentals of databases and the SQL language, then build skills by analyzing data from the U.S. Census and other federal and state government agencies. With exercises and real-world examples in each chapter, this book will teach even those who have never programmed before all the tools necessary to build powerful databases and access information quickly and efficiently.
You’ll learn how to:
Create databases and related tables using your own data
Define the right data types for your information
Aggregate, sort, and filter data to find patterns
Use basic math and advanced statistical functions
Identify errors in data and clean them up
Import and export data using delimited text files
Write queries for geographic information systems (GIS)
Create advanced queries and automate tasks
Learning SQL doesn’t have to be dry and complicated. Practical SQL delivers clear examples with an easy-to-follow approach to teach you the tools you need to build and manage your own databases.
This book uses PostgreSQL, but the SQL syntax is applicable to many database applications, including Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL.