Once considered the largest and most extensive source of biographies in the English language, The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology contains information on nearly every historical figure, notable name, and important subject of mythology from throughout the world prior to the 20th century. Spanning all fields of human effort-from literature and the arts to philosophy and science-and touching on topics from multiple areas of mythological study, including Norse, Greek, and Roman, this extraordinary reference guide continues to be one of the most thorough and accurate collections of biographical data ever created. Combining mythological and biographical entries into a single, comprehensive list, and incorporating a unique system of indicating pronunciation and orthography, The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology offers readers an unparalleled record of historically significant identities, from the obscure and forgotten newsmakers of yesteryear to the highly celebrated shapers of history that remain influential today. Volume I (A-CLU) of this exquisite four-volume set includes information on such names as John Quincy Adams, Achilles, sop, Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, and Cleopatra, as well as a detailed introduction to the entire body of this work. JOSEPH THOMAS (1811-1891) also wrote A Comprehensive Medical Dictionary, various pronouncing vocabularies of biographical and geographical names, and a system of pronunciation for Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World.

Essay by Magdalena Dabrowski. Foreword by Richard E. Oldenburg.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them." —The Wall Street Journal One of our greatest scientists—and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for On Human Nature and The Ants—gives us a work of visionary importance that may be the crowning achievement of his career. In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.