There's an old saying: Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. Yet for most people

A collection of articles that present information on police agencies and law-enforcement authorities in United States history.

In one convenient, user-friendly volume, The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates explores more than 1,000 years of American history and popular culture. Covering from the 10th century through the 20th, readers will discover all the details, dates and events from the first Norse explorers in 986 through the end of 1996. Organized in four parallel columns for each year, and chronologically within each column, the book enables readers to see the progression of events in any given field as well as get a picture of all the important events of any year. In addition, the book contains an extensive index that allows readers to find specific entries quickly and easily. With more than 15,000 entries, this unique reference belongs in everyone's home library.

First published in 1983, John Mariani's Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink has long been the go-to book on all things culinary. Last updated in the late 1990s, it is now back in a handsome, fully illustrated revised and expanded edition that catches readers up on more than a decade of culinary evolution and innovation: from the rise of the Food Network to the local food craze; from the DIY movement, with sausage stuffers, hard cider brewers, and pickle makers on every Brooklyn or Portland street corner; to the food truck culture that proliferates in cities across the country. Whether high or low food culture, there's no question American food has changed radically in the last fourteen years, just as the market for it has expanded exponentially. In addition to updates on food trends and other changes to American gastronomy since 1999, for the first time the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink will include biographical entries, both historical and contemporary, from Fanny Farmer and Julia Child to the Galloping Gourmet and James Beard to current high-profile players Mario Batali and Danny Meyer, among more than one hundred others. And no gastronomic encyclopedia would be complete without recipes. Mariani has included five hundred classics, from Hard Sauce to Scrapple, Baked Alaska to Blondies. An American Larousse Gastronomique, John Mariani's completely up-to-date encyclopedia will be a welcome acquisition for a new generation of food lovers.