Need to know which baseball player was nicknamed "The Old Professor"? Stumped over Nicholas Cage's real name? Curious which of William Faulkner's books won the Pulitzer Prize? Can't remember Jimmy Durante's theme song? Whether you are a puzzler, trivia buff, or just an information hound, the Random House Famous Name Finder can help you quickly and easily look up information on over 10,000 people from arts, sports, literature, history and other fields.

This lively, detailed history of the crossword puzzle not only gives us a few clues about how and why these puzzles became so popular, but also introduces us to the people behind the story and the surprising role crosswords have played in our world. From square one to the last word, this marvelous tribute includes: * Origins of the modern crossword puzzle, with examples of early word games * Insider tips from competition champs and prominent puzzlemakers * General solving strategies and secrets * Crossword controversies, such as "crosswordese" * Cluing and construction for the Will Wengs of tomorrow-including information on the latest computer software for the puzzle constructor * All about crossword tournaments and contests * Valuable reference section-including websites for crosswords and research websites * PLUS: A special bonus selection of challenging puzzles!

Vols. 8-10 of the 1965-1984 master cumulation constitute a title index.

A soccer-loving brother and sister, along with the Aboriginal exchange student that lives with their family, travel to Australia to find out if it is Utopia, and learn a lot along the way.

Perfect Written English is an indispensable guide to mastering grammar and improving your writing style. Written by Chris West, a professional author and writing consultant, it tells you everything you need to know about writing fluently and convincingly, from the correct way to use commas to the most persuasive structure for an argument. With helpful tips on avoiding common mistakes and practical sections on writing everything from personal webpages to corporate sales reports, Perfect Written English has all you need to make sure you get your message across elegantly and effectively. The Perfect series is a range of practical guides that give clear and straightforward advice on everything from getting your first job to choosing your baby's name. Written by experienced authors offering tried-and-tested tips, each book contains all you need to get it right first time.

This book creates a taxonomy for the major bestselling fictional genres: romance (e.g., authors Heyer, Cartland, Woodiwiss and Roberts), religious and inspirational (Corelli and Douglas), mystery and detective (Conan Doyle, Christie and Mankell), and science fiction, horror and fantasy (Wells, Tolkien, Orwell, Niven, King and Rowling). Chapters look at a genre from its roots to its most recent works. The structural patterns in the plot, characters and setting of these genres are then explained. The book also provides a critique of currently popular hyper-formulaic, hack, unliterary writings that have multiplied in recent decades. Special topics such as the publishing oligopoly and the resulting homogeneity among bestselling works and the steady movement from literary to unliterary fiction are also examined.

Whether it's Acid, Grunge, New Wave, Hip-hop, Metal, or Mariah -- it's still rock 'n' roll to the stars making the music and the mayhem -- from the high lives to the downward spirals, from the drugs and the divas, the drinking and the depression to the sex, money, fame, fast cars, and out-of-control egos. Packed full of photographs, anecdotes, and sidebars listing everything from rock's wildest couples to worst album covers to amazing moments in concert interruptus, here's the dish on rock's biggest stars and the groupies who love them, from brand names like Mick, Madonna, and Marilyn Manson to living legends like Eric Clapton, Steven Tyler, and Ozzy Osbourne. "Young Turks": what they did while waiting for their big breaks "Stage Names": the truth behind those wacky monikers and the ones that (thank God) were changed "Performing Rites": whose heartbreak inspired which songs "Hair Raising": the lion manes, mohawks, poodle perms, dreadlocks, and bleached-to-a-pulp, pineapple-shaped haystacks of heavy metaldom "Money Honey": the richest stars, the biggest houses, the fastest cars, and the really weird stuff they buy "Stairway to Heaven": a pharmaceutical cornucopia of drug addictions, rehabs, and relapses "Wild Thing": trashing backstage dressing rooms, groping the groupies, threatening flight attendants, chain-sawing motel room walls PLUS Where the "has beens" are now Groupie true confessionals -- The greatest hits of catty remarks