Jared Diamond is a master of cultural and historical bricolage. His books weave epic stories about the human condition from the disparate cultural practices of a wide range of people living in different environments. In his Pulitzer Prize–winning Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond used this eclectic empiricism to tell a story about the role of geography in human history. In Collapse, he used the same approach to stage a morality play about the dangers of disregarding those geographic conditions. In his new book, The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?, Diamond probes the differences between modern cultures and traditional societies that subsist through hunting and gathering, and he comes to several bold conclusions about their relative merits. His examples are evocative and his narration is powerful, but Diamond ultimately fails to substantiate his arguments. By the end of the book, it is impossible to tell if one has finished reading a masterpiece of rigorous analysis or a masterfully written collection of just-so stories. Continue reading at 'Slate'
[ Slate | 2013-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Katie Bond, formerly Bloomsbury director of trade marketing and publicity, has been appointed... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not all content is equal -- at least when it comes to trust.A new study conducted by Nielsen on behalf of InPowered, a technology startup, found that consumers are actually quite sophisticated in how they utilize different sources in the buying process. And they, in fact, favor third-party... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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South Carolina bookstore Fiction Addiction recently launched a program called Trust Fall which asks customers to pre-order, sight unseen, a book specially recommended by the store's owner. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pointing to strong titles, a growing backlist, and retailer optimism, Diamond Book Distributors, the trade book unit of Diamond Comics Distributors, reported that its 2013 sales rose by “double digits” over 2012 in the U.S., Canada, and international markets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lord Patten criticised by MPs for blocking publication of documents relating to corporation's failed £100m IT projectMPs have accused the BBC Trust chairman, Lord Patten, of "obstruction and secrecy" for stopping the corporation publishing key documents about a failed £100m IT project.Patten... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A BBC Trust report has criticised BBC Worldwide for "mistakes" over the purchase and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here is some good news for marketers: More consumers trust advertising compared with six years ago, according to a new report from Nielsen that polled people in 58 countries.While word-of-mouth recommendations remain a brand's best friend by far, confidence in various forms of paid advertising... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US District Judge Denise Cote found that Apple was part of a conspiracy to increase ebook retail prices. An Apple spokesperson maintained that 'we've done nothing wrong.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Submissions are now being accepted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, which is to be re-launched... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a legal motion that brings to mind Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, three independent bookstores, including tiny Posman Books in Grand Central, have filed a class action suit charging Amazon.com and the Big Six publishers with monopolizing the ebook market. The complaint asks that Amazon and the... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2013-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 2013 Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger will be awarded to Lee Child. ... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Justice Department's top antitrust official says she won't stand by quietly if companies make agreements with rivals on price, signaling a stern stance as the department conducts a high-profile probe into electronic-book publishing. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thriller-writer Frederick Forsyth has been awarded the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA)... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Christian book supplier Trust Media has begun redundancy consultations with staff after a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The number of children who do not own a book is increasing, the National Literacy Trust has said... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 01/11/2011 - 09:25 Suffolk County Council is proposing setting up a charitable trust to run its 44 libraries. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 14:31 Publishers are preparing a raft of titles ahead of the Queens diamond jubilee in 2013. Big names will be penning their take on the Queens 60-year reign, with broadcaster Andrew Marrs title The Diamond Queen (27th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Thu, 06/10/2011 - 08:45 Philip Roths tale of a polio epidemic has been shortlisted for the £25,000 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, with a six-strong shortlist that sees four novels in the running. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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