Here is the great American ritual of supermarket shopping in all its Muzak-drenched, fluorescent-lit, coupon-clipped glory. In this fascinating expedition through the world of polished linoleum-tiled aisles, find out why peanut butter doesn't stick to the roof of your mouth anymore, discover the lost connection between graham crackers and sex, and learn what's really in the mysterious stuff they call Cool Whip. Join author Vince Staten on his humorous and revealing journey through the secret life of our favorite supermarket items, as he uncovers the hidden histories and fascinating folklore behind the foods we take for granted. The results are truly amazing and reveal the answers to such questions as: Which has more lemon in it, Lemon Pledge or Country Time Lemonade? What is Spam-- and why is it so darn popular? What happened to the vanilla in Nabisco Nilla Wafers? Who thought of putting American cheese in an aerosol can, and is it really cheese, anyway?

Savor your best tomato harvest ever! Craig LeHoullier provides everything a tomato enthusiast needs to know about growing more than 200 varieties of tomatoes, from planting to cultivating and collecting seeds at the end of the season. He also offers a comprehensive guide to various pests and tomato diseases, explaining how best to avoid them. With beautiful photographs and intriguing tomato profiles throughout, Epic Tomatoes celebrates one of the most versatile and delicious crops in your garden.

The All-American game is highlighted in a collection of offbeat baseball lore, from player's tales and statistical delights to crazy groundskeepers and famous onlookers, humorously recounted by author during a day at the ballpark with his son.

Anyone who has ever tasted just-picked, juicy tomatoes still warm from the sun combined with soft, creamy mozzarella knows without a shadow of a doubt that this is simply heaven on a fork. At last there is a cookbook that celebrates the simple sophistication of this classic combination. Perfect for year-round cooking, the 100 recipes in Tomatoes & Mozzarella come from a variety of cuisines, from the Mediterranean to the American Southwest, in full color, and go far beyond the classic insalata Caprese. They range from simple and colorful springtime essentials like Red and Yellow Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Asparagus to comforting cool-weather main courses like Winter Seafood Lasagnetti, bursting with shrimp, scallops, tangy tomatoes, and melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella. There are dishes for brunch, appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and more. Every recipe calls for fresh, canned, or sun-dried tomatoes combined with fresh or packaged mozzarella cheese. Filled with stylish and contemporary full-color photos, Tomatoes & Mozzarella provides mouthwatering inspiration to every tomato and mozzarella lover.

A leading Harvard psychiatrist reveals how our emotional lives are profoundly shaped by the seasons, and how to recognize our own seasonal patterns and milestones In two decades of psychiatry practice, John R. Sharp has worked with many people who experienced the same emotional distresses at specific times of the year—a young woman who became depressed before Thanksgiving, a middle-aged man who felt anxious about making his summer travel plans, people who made uncharacteristically extreme decisions as spring approached. In The Emotional Calendar, Sharp reveals how environmental, psychological, and cultural forces profoundly affect the way we feel, and how the enduring effects of personal anniversaries can influence our moods and behavior year after year. Sharp also illustrates a wide range of individual responses to cultural phenomena: some people feel anxious at the start of a new school year or are undone by the prospect of tax season while others are buoyed by the start of a sports season. Sharp shows us how to recognize the milestones on our own emotional calendars, providing guidance for how to break stifling patterns and remedy destructive moods. This empathetic and deeply resonant book will help readers reach an emotional balance for the years ahead.

In her book, Barbe discusses verbal irony as an interpretative notion. Verbal irony is described in its various realizations and thus placed within linguistics and pragmatics. From the point of view of an analyzing observer, Barbe provides an eclectic approach to irony in context, a study of how conversational irony works, and how it compares with other concepts in which it plays a role. In addition, by means of the analysis of irony as an integrated pervasive feature of language, Barbe questions some basic unstated, literacy and culture-dependent assumptions about language. Her study of irony complements contemporary research in the area of conversational analysis.

Tracing the cultural evolution of shopping from outdoor bazaars to suburban malls, this brazen look at the history and psychology of one of humankind's oldest pursuits considers the variety of reasons (and excuses) that drive the impulse to buy. An opulent collection of shopping places are described, including ancient markets, covered arcades of 18th-century France, gallerias of 19th-century Italy, and megamalls of 1950s America. Examples from literature and other sources explore the historically conflicted attitudes about shopping, it seems that fashionistas have always fought over the trendiest hemlines and hats. The development of buying options is detailed, from mail order catalogs and Internet stores to retail districts and massive supermarkets.