In 1923, a thirty-four year old Adolf Hitler was in prison after taking part in an unsuccessful putsch to overthrow the German government. Within a decade, he was the most powerful man in Europe. As Germany's leader, Hitler delivered full employment and what appeared to be a booming economy to the nation -- while Britain was suffering punishing levels of unemployment with no real welfare benefits. His popularity seemed to know no bounds; the slow deprivation of civil freedoms and rights to Jews did not initially displease all Germans, and the full extent of Nazi anti-Semitic extermination plans were incredible to many even within their own movement -- let alone to the outside world -- when they began to be put into operation during the early 1940s. Internationally, too, Hitler's triumphs were extraordinary, and soon the Rhineland, Sudetenland and Austria fell to the German army, who suffered barely a casualty. By 1940, there was no doubt that Hitler was Europe's master. But there was another story -- and in this utterly compelling short biography, acclaimed writer A.N. Wilson positions Hitler as a man who not only embodied the excesses of the Third Reich but one who also represented the mediocrity of what optimists called 'the Century of the Common Man'. For all the limitations of his personal accomplishments -- as the child of a poverty stricken family, with no great educational, military or moral qualifications for leadership -- Hitler was able, by remarkable energy, superbly choreographed rallies and electrifying rhetoric, to become a second Napoleon. In a field populated with lengthy tomes, Wilson's brief, insightful portrait offers a compelling introduction to a man who continues to fascinate and appal.

What is so distinctive about Marcelis' work? To begin with, he is a wizard with light. His positioning of light draws one inexorably through the homes he has designed. A master of colour, he often has strikingly dark walls and combines red and purple tints. Marcelis also uses a great deal of wood. The results are rooms designed in a very warm and pleasant atmosphere. They are austere and modern, but incredibly cozy. This book organises Kees Marcelis' designs by themes that shed light on every facet of his work. Cross reference numbers are included at the top, bottom and sides of the pages with photos. A photography section is included in the back of the book where all pictures appear once again, arranged by project.

Published in 1913, a best-seller in the 1930s and long out of print, Physics for Entertainment was translated from Russian into many languages and influenced science students around the world. Among them was Grigori Yakovlevich Perelman, the Russian mathematician (unrelated to the author), who solved the Poincare conjecture, and who was awarded and rejected the Fields Medal. Grigori's father, an electrical engineer, gave him Physics for Entertainment to encourage his son's interest in mathematics. In the foreword, the book's author describes the contents as "conundrums, brain-teasers, entertaining anecdotes, and unexpected comparisons," adding, "I have quoted extensively from Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Mark Twain and other writers, because, besides providing entertainment, the fantastic experiments these writers describe may well serve as instructive illustrations at physics classes." The book's topics included how to jump from a moving car, and why, "according to the law of buoyancy, we would never drown in the Dead Sea." Ideas from this book are still used by science teachers today."