Ross Petras

Kathy Petras

From famous craniums to prominent breasts, ancient spleens and bound feet, this book will bring history to life in a whole new way. With their inimitable wit and probing intelligence, authors Kathy and Ross Petras look at the role the human body has played throughout history as each individual part becomes a jumping-off point for a wider look at the times. In far-ranging, quirky-yet-interrelated stories, learn about Charles II of Spain's jaw and the repercussions of inbreeding, what Anne Boleyn's heart says about the Crusades and the trend of dispersed burials, and how the Sultans' fat reveals the politics of obesity in the Ottoman Empire. A HISTORY OF THE WORLD THROUGH BODY PARTS is packed with fascinating little-known historical facts and anecdotes that will entertain, enlighten, and delight even the most well-read history buff.

The Stories Behind the Organs, Appendages, Digits, and the Like Attached to (or Detached From) Famous Bodies

A History of the World Through Body Parts

Kathryn Petras

Timeless in their wisdom, thought-provoking in their message, surprising in their truth and memorable in their originality, the right words can give direction, inspiration, and sometimes a tangible boost onto the right path. For example, Steve Jobs once read “Stay hungry Stay foolish” on the back cover of The Whole Earth Catalog, and those four words came to guide his life. Created by Kathryn and Ross Petras, connoisseurs of quotes, whose books and calendars have over 56 million copies in print, "Dance First. Think Later." is a collection of the greatest life wisdom from an unexpected group of speakers, doers, and thinkers. There are 618 rules to live by—funny, sly, declarative, thoughtful, offhanded, clever, and always profound: “Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.” —Roald Dahl “If everything is under control, you are going too slow.” —Mario Andretti “Never make a credit decision on a beach.”—Victor J. Boschini “Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order.”—Samuel Beckett “The only time to eat diet food is while waiting for the steak to cook.” —Julia Child “What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight; build it anyway.” —Mother Teresa And: “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”—Oscar Wilde

618 Rules to Live By

"Dance First. Think Later"

Find the right words to encourage yourself and others in this collection of inspirational quotations. Pursuing a dream is hard work, but the right words delivered at the right time—by people who’ve been there and done that—can give us just the motivation we need. The right words can rekindle our enthusiasm, re-energize our efforts, dispel doubt, let us know we’re not alone, and show us that the fight is worth it—and winnable. Kathryn and Ross Petras are masters at choosing and delivering just the right words. Their books?such as “Age Doesn’t Matter Unless You’re a Cheese” and “Dance First. Think Later.”—and bestselling calendar, The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said, have over 5.2 million copies in print. Now comes a book for dreamers and doers, plus writers, entrepreneurs, graduates, artists, future movers and shakers. Collecting the hard-won, brilliantly expressed advice from pioneers who have paved the way, including everyone from Rumi to Steve Jobs, Michelangelo to Oprah to Tina Fey, “It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done” is like a rousing locker-room speech, inspiring courage, commitment, and perseverance. Featuring . . . “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan “Go for it, baby! Life ain’t no dress rehearsal.” —Tallulah Bankhead “Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.” —Neil Gaiman “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” —T. S. Eliot “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” —Nelson Mandela

Motivation for Dreamers & Doers

"It Always Seems Impossible Until It's Done."

For word nerds and grammar geeks, a witty guide to the most commonly mispronounced words, along with their correct pronunciations and pithy forays into their fascinating etymologies and histories of use and misuse. With wit and good humor, this handy little book not only saves us from sticky linguistic situations but also provides fascinating cocktail-party-ready anecdotes. Entries reveal how to pronounce boatswain like an old salt on the deck of a ship, trompe l'oeil like a bona fide art expert, and haricot vert like a foodie, while arming us with the knowledge of why certain words are correctly pronounced the "slangy" way (they came about before dictionaries), what stalks of grain have to do with pronunciation, and more. With bonus sidebars like "How to Sound like a Seasoned Traveler" and "How to Sound Cultured," readers will be able to speak about foreign foods and places, fashion, philosophy, and literature with authority.

A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--And Their Tangled Histories of Misuse

You're Saying It Wrong

From the authors of The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said comes a sidesplitting collection of inane incidents, senseless stunts, farcical feats, and utterly asinine activities from thoughout history and around the globe. A nonstop barrage of belly laughs, this comic compendium offers conclusive proof that actions speak louder--and funnier--than words.

The 176 Stupidest Things Ever Done

timeless poems by Snooki, Donald Trump, Kanye West, and other well-versed celebrities

The anthology of really important modern poetry

A Lively Guide to the 100 Terms Smart People Should Know

Awkword Moments

An entertaining and informative guide to the most common 150 words even smart people use incorrectly, along with pithy forays into their fascinating etymologies and tangled histories of use and misuse. Even the most erudite among us use words like apocryphal, facetious, ironic, meteorite, moot, redundant, and unique incorrectly every day. Don’t be one of them. Using examples of misuse from leading newspapers, prominent public figures and famous writers, among others, language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras explain how to avoid these perilous pitfalls in the English language. Each entry also includes short histories of how and why these mistake have happened, some of the (often surprisingly nasty) debates about which uses are (and are not) mistakes, and finally, how to use these words correctly … or why to not use them at all. By the end of this book, every literati will be able to confidently, casually, and correctly toss in an “a priori” or a “limns” without hesitation.

The 150 Most Commonly Misused Words and Their Tangled Histories

That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

Presents a collection of quotations from persons over the age of sixty about life and growing older.

Wisdom from Our Elders (Quote Book, Inspiration Book, Birthday Gift, Quotations)

"Age Doesn't Matter Unless You're a Cheese"

"Don't Forget to Sing in the Lifeboats" offers an inspiring collection of quotes from people who've graduated from the school of hard knocks, yet kept a sense of humor.

342 Other Bits of Uncommon Wisdom for Uncommon Times

Don't Forget to Sing in the Lifeboats

An entertaining anthology of some of the worst poetry ever written includes contributions from unknown writers, as well as terrible works from such acclaimed poets as Whittier and Wordsworth. Original. 40,000 first printing.

Very Bad Poetry

Offers a compilation of the worst lines ever presented on the silver screen, arranged in alphabetical categories

The 776 Dumbest Things Ever Uttered on the Silver Screen

Stupid Movie Lines

From first-time job-hunters to career changers, from entry-level to executive positions, more than 40 million jobs are discussed in this, the only job-finding guide with up-to-date analyses of trends and changes in every career, industry, and region of the country.

Jobs '93

George Petras

Jobs '98 is your ticket to today's changing job market, with up-to-date and comprehensive information on: The most exciting new opportunities, from on-line journalism to financial consulting to jobs abroad in Eastern Europe and Asia The hottest cities and regions in the country with the best job opportunities The top companies in every industry The best job-hunting tools and leads available on-line—and how to use them The real lowdown on salaries, working conditions, and outlook "Best bet" companies with strong employment prospects, unique opportunities, or great chances for advancement What the future holds—business by business, region by region, career by career Whether you're hunting for your first job out of college, turning over a new leaf and switching careers, looking to move up in your current field, or assessing the ever-evolving job market, this is the ultimate resource. In these pages you'll find all the best positions, the best salaries, and the best opportunities in every area, plus the trends to be on the lookout for. Designed to make your job search as quick, effective, and enlightening as possible, Jobs '98 puts a wealth of timely and specific job leads at your fingertips. Everything you need is here.

From Entry Level to Executive Positions Leads on More than 40 Million Jobs

Jobs 98

Wretched writing is the lowest of the low; it is a felonious assault on the English language. Exuberantly excessive, it is a sin committed often by amateurs and all-too-frequently by gifted writers having an off day. In short, it’s very bad writing. Truly bad. Appallingly bad. It’s also very funny. A celebration of the worst writing imaginable, Wretched Writing includes inadvertently filthy book titles, ridiculously overwrought passages from novels, bombastic and confusing speeches, moronic oxymorons, hyperactive hyperbole, horribly inappropriate imagery in ostensibly hot sex scenes, mangled clichés, muddled metaphors, and unintended double entendres. Sit back and enjoy these deliciously dreadful samples, and try not to cringe too much.

A Compendium of Crimes Against the English Language

Wretched Writing

Inside Jane's Guide to Dicks (and Toms and Harrys), best-selling humorists Ross and Kathyrn Petras offer tongue-in-cheek lessons to help your average Jane suss out all the Dicks (and Toms and Harrys) they encounter along the way to finding Mr. Right. Once upon a time, Jane didn't know Jack about Dick; however, after careful research, study, and observation, Jane is now an expert on boys, and she's ready to share all her special secrets to help good girls everywhere find their own Dicks (or Toms, or Harrys). Four-color art appears throughout, and each special secret offers suggestively irreverent and sassy quips such as: * Not all boys are created equal. Some of them have BIG machines. Some of them have SMALL machines. A big machine is usually BETTER! (But not TOO big!) * Just because he has balls doesn't mean he wants to shoot a basket in your--or any other girl's--hoop! * Boys who stare at your chest and forget you have a face are the REAL boobs!

Jane's Guide to Dicks (and Toms and Harrys)

Gathers anecdotes that chronicle the real-life, less-than-stellar moments and experiences of celebrities, in a volume that also features such edifying lists as stupid celebrity phobias, baby names, demands, and awards.

A Compendium of All-Star Stupidity

Unusually Stupid Celebrities

A compendium of 100 words and phrases smart people use--even if they only kinda sorta (secretly don't) know what they mean--with pithy definitions and fascinating etymologies to solidify their meanings. Your boss makes a joke about Schrodinger's cat--which is something you've heard of but you're a little vague about what exactly happened (or didn't happen) with that cat. Or you're reading a New Yorker article that explains that "Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic project." An excellent point . . . if you're sure what "solecism" means . . . or, for that matter, "solipsism." Language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras to the rescue! In the breezy and entertaining yet informative style of their New York Times bestseller You're Saying It Wrong, they give you a brief rundown on words smart people should know--from the worlds of science and the arts to philosophy, and from broader topics like quantum physics and ontology to more specific ones like Plato's cave and trompe l'oeil. They cover the Latin phrases we hear and read (prima facie, sui generis, and the like) as well as those that have entered our vocabularies from other languages (bildungsroman, sturm und drang). These are the words that, if you were asked directly, "What does this mean?" you might hem and haw and try to change the subject. After reading this book, you won't have to.

An almanac format organizes information on the history, religions, philosophies, arts, literatures, musics, politics, languages, and worldviews of all the world's cultures, with brief biographies and data-packed lists. Simultaneous. 50,000 first printing.

Ross Petras

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