This week’s giveaway is The New Atlas of World History: Global Events at a Glance by John Haywood.

When did humans first inhabit different parts of the world? What was happening in China when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire? What was the global reach of the great religions at the time of the Reformation in Europe? The New Atlas of World History is the first historical atlas to present global history in a series of uniform world maps, allowing at-a-glance comparison between different periods and regions.

This stunningly illustrated atlas features 55 specially commissioned full-color maps that cover the whole of human history, from 6 million years ago to today. Accompanying 48 of the maps are detailed illustrated timelines that list important cultures, events, and developments. Maps and timelines also come with concise introductions that summarize notable historical and cultural changes, as well as striking graphic displays that present key data such as the world’s five largest cities and total world population for the relevant year. An extensive glossary of peoples, cultures, and nations gives added depth to the maps and timelines.

This week’s featured mammal from the Mammals of North America app is the Eastern Chipmunk. As the weather gets colder, you might see chipmunks collecting food to store for the winter in their extensive underground burrows — these burrows can be up to 3.5 metres long, and often have multiple entrances.

Fun fact: a chipmunk is a kind of squirrel!

FACT: “In World War II (1939–45) more men (and women) were mobilized than in the Great War. The United States mustered 14.9 million men and women; the British Empire raised 6.2 million; the USSR 25 million; Germany 12.5 million; Japan 7.5 million. Many women entered the armed forces to fill noncombat positions. The U.S. Army Air Force had hundreds of women pilots, some of whom had such hazardous duty as flying aircraft from the United States to the war zones.”

On War and Leadership: The Words of Combat Commanders from Frederick the Great to Norman Schwarzkopf
by Owen Connelly

What can we learn about leadership and the experience of war from the best combat leaders the world has ever known? This book takes us behind the scenes and to the front lines of the major wars of the past 250 years through the words of twenty combat commanders. What they have to say—which is remarkably similar across generational, national, and ideological divides—is a fascinating take on military history by those who lived it. It is also worthwhile reading for anyone, from any walk of life, who makes executive decisions.

The leaders showcased here range from Frederick the Great to Norman Schwarzkopf. They include such diverse figures as Napoleon Bonaparte, commanders on both sides of the Civil War (William Tecumseh Sherman and Stonewall Jackson), German and American World War II generals (Rommel and Patton), a veteran of the Arab-Israeli wars (Moshe Dayan), and leaders from both sides of the Vietnam War (Vo Nguyen Giap and Harold Moore). What they have had in common is an unrivaled understanding of the art of command and a willingness to lead from the front. All earned the respect and loyalty of those they led—and moved them to risk death.

FACT: “The largest bird known to have lived: The Giant Moa (Diornis maximus) of New Zealand, a wingless ratite that stood as high as 13 feet with neck extended and weighed over 500 pounds, is the tallest known bird, while the Elephant Bird of Madagascar (Aepyornis titan), which stood a mere 9-10 feet tall but probably weighed over 950 pounds, is the heaviest known.”

The Birdwatcher’s Companion to North American Birdlife
by Christopher W. Leahy
Illustrations by Gordon Morrison

The quintessential A-Z guide, this is a book that anyone interested in birds will want to have close at hand. First published more than twenty years ago, this highly respected reference volume has been fully revised and updated. It captures the fundamental details as well as the immense fascination of North American bird life in a style that is authoritative, yet fresh, witty, and eminently readable.

Both a practical handbook for amateurs and a handy reference for seasoned birders, it provides accounts of the basic elements of birdlife, as well as a wealth of easy-to-access information on such subjects as bird physiology and anatomy, terms and jargon, name definitions and etymology, and ornithological groupings.

Readers will discover everything from the color of a dipper’s eggs (glossy, white, and unmarked) to the number of species of woodpeckers in the world (216). They will also find more than one hundred of the best-known and most colorful colloquial names for birds, alphabetized and briefly defined. Collective nouns relating to birdlife—for example, “an exaltation of larks”—are included in the “Nouns of Assemblage” section. Biographical sketches of persons responsible for describing or naming a significant number of North American species are also included, as well as handsome and accurate illustrations by Gordon Morrison. And for those who want to go beyond reading about their favorite birds and take to the great outdoors, the book offers still more useful information: descriptive entries on a selection of the best-known birdwatching spots of North America.

“A thousand-page A-to-Z guide to all things avian. Leahy clearly loves birds, and this affectionate yet scholarly work offers everything from terse definitions and simple descriptions to thoughtful and authoritative essays. . . . There is much here that will engage every level of birder.”—American Scientist

“This is a reference book for the ages that transcends mere North American use. . . . The entries are informative, easily assimilated, and also written with spirit, humor, and charm as well as authority.”—Henry T. Armistead, Bird Watcher’s Digest

Want to learn more? Be sure to check out PUP’s newest Facebook page—Princeton Birds and Natural History. We’ll be featuring all of our great books, apps, and more on the page, along with some giveaways! There’s one going on right now—2 lucky winners will be selected Monday! Click here for details: http://www.facebook.com/PrincetonUPressBirds.NaturalHistory

We have jumped into the high tech world of apps twice now. This is our first offering, based on the best-selling PUP version of The I Ching or Book of Changes. You can read more about the app here, purchase a copy here, or watch the video below to learn more about how to use the app.

Attention all birdwatchers! This week’s book giveaway is The Birdwatcher’s Companion to North American Birdlife by Christopher W. Leahy, with illustrations by Gordon Morrison. You don’t want to miss this giveaway—this wonderful book is only available in paper these days, but we’re giving away a cloth edition.

The Birdwatcher’s Companion to North American Birdlife is the quintessential A-Z guide. First published more than twenty years ago, this highly respected reference volume has been fully revised and updated. It captures the fundamental details as well as the immense fascination of North American bird life in a style that is authoritative, yet fresh, witty, and eminently readable.

Both a practical handbook for amateurs and a handy reference for seasoned birders, it provides accounts of the basic elements of birdlife, as well as a wealth of easy-to-access information on such subjects as bird physiology and anatomy, terms and jargon, name definitions and etymology, and ornithological groupings.

Readers will discover everything from the color of a dipper’s eggs (glossy, white, and unmarked) to the number of species of woodpeckers in the world (216). They will also find more than one hundred of the best-known and most colorful colloquial names for birds, alphabetized and briefly defined. Collective nouns relating to birdlife—for example, “an exaltation of larks”—are included in the “Nouns of Assemblage” section. Biographical sketches of persons responsible for describing or naming a significant number of North American species are also included, as well as handsome and accurate illustrations by Gordon Morrison. And for those who want to go beyond reading about their favorite birds and take to the great outdoors, the book offers still more useful information: descriptive entries on a selection of the best-known birdwatching spots of North America.

“A thousand-page A-to-Z guide to all things avian. Leahy clearly loves birds, and this affectionate yet scholarly work offers everything from terse definitions and simple descriptions to thoughtful and authoritative essays. . . . There is much here that will engage every level of birder.”—American Scientist

“This is a reference book for the ages that transcends mere North American use. . . . The entries are informative, easily assimilated, and also written with spirit, humor, and charm as well as authority.”—Henry T. Armistead, Bird Watcher’s Digest

The random draw for this book with be Friday 7/22 at 11 am EST. Be sure to “Like” us on Facebook if you haven’t already to be entered to win!

Got bugs? This week’s book giveaway is Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs by Whitney Cranshaw.

This popular book is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the common insects and mites affecting yard and garden plants in North America. In a manner no previous book has come close to achieving, through full-color photos and concise, clear, scientifically accurate text, it describes the vast majority of species associated with shade trees and shrubs, turfgrass, flowers and ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits–1,420 of them, including crickets, katydids, fruit flies, mealybugs, moths, maggots, borers, aphids, ants, bees, and many, many more. For particularly abundant bugs adept at damaging garden plants, management tips are also included. Covering all of the continental United States and Canada, this is the definitive one-volume resource for amateur gardeners, insect lovers, and professional entomologists alike.

“Know thine enemy,’ a time-worn caveat lifted from Sun-tzu’s treatise, The Art of War, is sage advice for the organic gardener hoping to emerge victorious in the battle of the bugs. Acquiring such knowledge has just become easier with the release of Garden Insects of North America. . . . [Cranshaw] has packed his book with concise, organized information on all the common and not-so-common insect pests of turf, orchards and gardens in North America. The overwhelming emphasis is on recognizing and categorizing the insects themselves, using appearance, type of destructive damage encountered and target food hosts as clues. . . . With detailed, high-quality photographic plates conveniently adjacent to the standardized insect descriptions, identification of suspected insect enemies is straightforward.”–Jack Aldridge, San Francisco Chronicle

To be a part of this week’s draw and/or all our weekly Princeton Facebook book giveaways, LIKE US on Facebook. When you LIKE US you are automatically entered in each Friday’s random draw.

Take note, from now until September the draw time on Fridays has changed to 11 a.m. EST–the Summer Hours Random Draw time.

Happy Gardening.

Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs by Whitney Cranshaw

FACT: Syrphid flies may look similar to bees or yellowjacket wasps, but they are harmless to humans. The adults usually can be seen feeding at flowers. Syrphid flies are particularly important in controlling aphid infestations early in the season and are capable of entering the tightly curled leaves some aphids produce.

Garden Insects of North America:
The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs
By Whitney Cranshaw

Garden Insects of North America is the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the common insects and mites affecting yard and garden plants in North America. In a manner no previous book has come close to achieving, through full-color photos and concise, clear, scientifically accurate text, it describes the vast majority of species associated with shade trees and shrubs, turfgrass, flowers and ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruits–1,420 of them, including crickets, katydids, fruit flies, mealybugs, moths, maggots, borers, aphids, ants, bees, and many, many more. For particularly abundant bugs adept at damaging garden plants, management tips are also included. Covering all of the continental United States and Canada, this is the definitive one-volume resource for amateur gardeners, insect lovers, and professional entomologists alike.

We invite you to check out more samples from the book at:
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7713.html

Available in paperback.

In a tribute to Albert Einstein’s birthday, this week’s Facebook book giveaway is The Ultimate Quotable Einstein (collected and edited by Alice Calaprice).

In The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, readers will also find quotes by others about Einstein along with quotes attributed to him. Every quotation in this informative and entertaining collection is fully documented, and Calaprice has carefully selected new photographs and cartoons to introduce each section.

• Features 400 additional quotations
• Contains roughly 1,600 quotations in all
• Includes new sections on children, race and prejudice, and Einstein’s poetry
• Provides new commentary
• Beautifully illustrated
• The most comprehensive collection of Einstein quotes ever published

Can’t wait for the book, and need your Einstein quote of the day? Then, here it is:

“I believe that a simple and unassuming life is best for the body and mind.”–1930, p. 13.

Need more? Then check out this facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ultimate-Quotable-Einstein/131377483560655

While you’re celebrating Albert Einstein’s birthday today, remember it’s Pi Day as well. Why celebrate Pi Day on March 14th, you ask? Because 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant figures of pi, of course. Today is also Canberra Day in Australia and Commonwealth Day in the United Kingdom.

Here’s an Einstein quote to A. Chapple, Australia, February 23, 1954: “I consider the Society of Friends the religious community that has the highest moral standards. As far as I know, they have never made evil compromises and are always guided by their conscience. In international life, especially, their influence seems to me very beneficial and effective.–Quoted in Nathan and Norden, Einstein on Peace, 511. Einstein Archives, 59-405.

And here’s a quote for the Brits celebrating Commonwealth Day today, “The wonderful experiences in England are still fresh in my mind and like a dream. The impression that this land and its wonderful intellectual and political traditions has made on me was even deeper, longer lasting, and greater than I had anticipated.”– To Lord Richard B. S. Haldane, June 21, 1921. CPAE, Vol. 12, Doc. 155

Each week’s book giveaway winner is chosen from the list of people who have LIKED us on Facebook. Haven’t LIKED us yet? Then go to the top of our Facebook page and click on the LIKE button. Be part of the drawing, it takes place this Friday.

The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, collected and edited by Alice Calaprice.

Like Birds? Like books? Then you’ll LIKE our first book giveaway for the New Year: The Princeton Encyclopedia of Birds edited by Christopher Perrins.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Birds is the definitive one-volume reference–an essential guide for amateur bird enthusiasts and professional ornithologists alike.

• Covers all the bird families of the world
• Describes form and function, distribution, diet, social behavior, breeding biology, and conservation and status
• Features more than 1,000 spectacular color photos and illustrations
• Includes “Factfile” panels with color distribution maps and scale drawings for at-a-glance reference
• Explores special topics in depth
• Written by leading biologists and conservationists

“Packed with photos, illustrations, and lively text that comfortably bridges the gap between a child’s reference tool and a doctoral thesis.”–Scott Kirkwood, National Parks Magazine

Anyone who LIKES us on Facebook is automatically entered in each of our weekly book giveaways. Not a PUP follower yet, then click the “Like” button located after our name, Princeton University Press, at the top of PUP’s Facebook page. Once you LIKE us, you are automatically entered in our FB weekly book giveaways.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Birds edited by Christopher Perrins

From a Swedish hotel made of ice to the enigma of UFOs, from a tragedy on Lake Minnetonka to the gold mine of cyberpornography, The Princeton Reader brings together more than 90 favorite essays by 75 distinguished writers. This collection of nonfiction pieces by journalists who have held the Ferris/McGraw/Robbins professorships at Princeton University offers a feast of ideas, emotions, and experiences–political and personal, light-hearted and comic, serious and controversial–for anyone to dip into, contemplate, and enjoy.

The volume includes a plethora of topics from the environment, terrorism, education, sports, politics, and music to profiles of memorable figures and riveting stories of survival. These important essays reflect the high-quality work found in today’s major newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, and websites.

The book’s contributors include such outstanding writers as:

• Ken Armstrong of the Seattle Times
• Jill Abramson, Jim Dwyer, and Walt Bogdanich of the New York Times
• Evan Thomas of Newsweek
• Joel Achenbach and Marc Fisher of the Washington Post
• Nancy Gibbs of Time
• Jane Mayer, John McPhee, Alex Ross and John Seabrook of the New Yorker
• Alexander Wolff, senior writer at Sports Illustrated
• Michael Dobbs, formerly of Washington Post, now a Cold War historian and author
• Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times‘ Beijing Bureau Chief
• James V. Grimaldi, Washington Post, Pulitzer prize-winner
• Roberta Oster Sachs, formerly ABC, CBS, and NBC news and Emmy Award winner, now University of Richmond School of Law
• Joel Stein, columnist and a regular contributor to Time
• Claudia Roth Pierpont, staff writer at New Yorker
• Greil Marcus, music and culture critic, author, has been a columnist for the New York Times, The Believer

For a complete listing, visit:
http://press.princeton.edu/TOCs/c9322.html

The perfect collection for anyone who enjoys compelling narratives, The Princeton Reader contains a depth and breadth of nonfiction that will inspire, provoke, and endure.

John McPhee’s many books include Annals of the Former World, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Carol Rigolot is executive director of the Humanities Council at Princeton University.

We invite you to read chapter one online:
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9322.pdf

The Princeton Reader:
Contemporary Essays by Writers and Journalists at Princeton University
Edited by John McPhee & Carol Rigolot

Here is the definitive new edition of the hugely popular collection of Einstein quotations that has sold tens of thousands of copies worldwide and been translated into twenty-five languages.

The Ultimate Quotable Einstein features 400 additional quotes, bringing the total to roughly 1,600 in all. This ultimate edition includes new sections–”On and to Children,” “On Race and Prejudice,” and “Einstein’s Verses: A Small Selection”–as well as a chronology of Einstein’s life and accomplishments, Freeman Dyson’s authoritative foreword, and new commentary by Alice Calaprice.

In The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, readers will also find quotes by others about Einstein along with quotes attributed to him. Every quotation in this informative and entertaining collection is fully documented, and Calaprice has carefully selected new photographs and cartoons to introduce each section.

We invite you to take a look at chapter one online:
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9268.pdf