In "How to Be a Hermit," Will Cuppy presents a satirical guide that playfully explores the art of solitude and self-imposed seclusion. Through a humorous lens, Cuppy examines the idiosyncrasies of hermit life, blending witty prose with astute observations on human behavior. The work transcends traditional self-help genres by employing biting satire and ironic commentary, making it not just a guide, but a reflection on the societal pressures of modern life. Cuppy's unique literary style, ch...

How to Be a Hermit is Will Cuppy's wry account of retreating from modern society to a modest shack on Jones Island, off Long Island's South Shore. Cast as a mock manual for self-sufficient living, the book transforms domestic inconvenience, solitude, cooking, weather, and local fauna into polished comic essays. Its style is exact, deadpan, and deceptively casual, belonging to the American tradition of humorous anti-pastoral writing: a Thoreauvian withdrawal revised by urban skepticism and ...

In "How to Be a Hermit," Will Cuppy employs his signature blend of wit and satire to explore the art of solitude. Through a series of humorous essays and musings, Cuppy delves into the philosophical and practical aspects of hermit life, providing readers with a tongue-in-cheek guide to embracing isolation amidst the chaos of modern civilization. His literary style is characterized by a charmingly antiquated prose enriched with subtle irony and a disarming frankness, allowing the reader to ...

A New York Times–bestselling, comical take on world history from the beloved New Yorker humorist.So, you think you know most of what there is to know about people like Nero and Cleopatra, Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun, Lady Godiva and Miles Standish? You say there's nothing more to be written about Lucrezia Borgia? How wrong you are, for in these pages you'll find Will Cuppy footloose in the footnotes of history. He transforms these lumina...

A survey of life on earth, in all its variety and pagentry, by a very annoyed humorist.From early man, the Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, to irascible observations on mankind and the animal kingdom today (including “Birds I Could Do Without”), Will Cuppy, a perennially perturbed hermit, is your guide in these are very funny essays.For eight years, from 1921 to 1929, Will Cuppy lived alone on Jones Island, off Long Island’s South Shore. From that outpost, he gaine...

A survey of the animal kingdom in which the nocturnal and tunneling wombat is awarded the greatest praise.Will Cuppy was something like the Larry David of the mid-20th century. From his perch as a staff writer at The New Yorker, Cuppy observed the world and found a great deal that annoyed him. This collection of essays on animals includes “Birds Who Can’t Even Fly,” “Optional Insects,” “Octopuses and Those Things”, and “How to Swat a Fly,” which codifies t...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREA mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” (Chicago Tribune).“Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Stre...

A “marvelous history”* of medieval Europe, from the bubonic plague and the Papal Schism to the Hundred Years’ War, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Guns of August*Lawrence Wright, author of The End of October, in The Wall Street JournalThe fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering age of crusades, cathedrals, and chivalry; on the other, a world plunged into chao...

Illicit love, madness, betrayal--it isn’t always good to be the queenMarie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and Mary, Queen of Scots. What did they have in common? For a while they were crowned in gold, cosseted in silk, and flattered by courtiers. But in the end, they spent long nights in dark prison towers and were marched to the scaffold where they surrendered their heads to the executioner. And they are hardly alone in their undignified demises. Throughout history, royal women have had...

"Fifty Birds of Town and City" by Peter A. Anastasi and Bob Hines is an engaging exploration of urban avian life. This book serves as a guide to the diverse bird species that inhabit towns and cities, showcasing their unique adaptations to urban environments. With vivid illustrations and insightful descriptions, the authors highlight the beauty and resilience of these birds, making it an essential read for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts alike. The book encourages readers to appreciate...

From Nero's nagging mother (whom he found especially annoying after taking her as his lover) to Catherine's stable of studs (not of the equine variety), here is a wickedly delightful look at the most scandalous royal doings you never learned about in history class.Gleeful, naughty, sometimes perverted-like so many of the crowned heads themselves-A Treasury of Royal Scandals presents the best (the worst?) of royal misbehavior through the ages. From ancient Rome to E...

MY object in the following pages is merely to give a very brief account of some of those birds which are useful, or the reverse, to farmers and gardeners. It is seldom possible, of course, to give an exact estimate of their value. In many cases they are useful in some ways, but mischievous in others. But it must be remembered that while the damage which they do is generally evident enough, their services are very easily overlooked. It should also be noted that, while a gooseberry stolen o...