Humans have had a complicated history with wine for thousands of years. It has been a banal item in the daily diet and treated as a liquid treasure. It has been venerated as a gift from the gods and cursed as threat to social order. It has been considered healthy to drink as well as hazardous to health. In 9000 Years of Wine, Rod Phillips surveys this long story and places wine in the broad sweep of history. He shows how it has been linked to big social, cultural, and economic swings, how ...

Overwhelmed when you walk into the local wine store?Just trying to find that special gift for that special occasion?Looking for the perfect pairing for tonight's dinner?Or are you just tired of the same ol' same ol'?Let Rod Phillips, Canada's trusted wine expert, show you the way. With over 500 domestic and international wines categorized by vintage, appellation, alcohol content, price range, taste description — and Phillips' authoritative quality ratings syste...

A sweeping and fascinating history of cat-human relationships.For more than 10,000 years, cats have prowled at the edges of human life. But, starting only a few decades ago, hundreds of millions of them became pets. In Cats, Rod Phillips shares a sweeping cultural and social history of felines, tracing their shifting place across societies and centuries, from ancient Egypt's revered hunters to Europe's suspected familiars of witches and from shipboard rode...

"A fascinating book that belongs on every wine lover’s bookshelf."—The Wine Economist"It’s a book to read for its unstoppable torrent of fascinating and often surprising details."—Andrew Jefford, DecanterFor centuries, wine has been associated with France more than with any other country. France remains one of the world’s leading wine producers by volume and enjoys unrivaled cultural recognition for its wine. If any wine r...

The Midwest has produced a robust literary heritage. Its authors have won half of the nation's Nobel Prizes for Literature plus a significant number of Pulitzer Prizes. This volume explores the rich racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the region. It also contains entries on 35 pivotal Midwestern literary works, literary genres, literary, cultural, historical, and social movements, state and city literatures, literary journals and magazines, as well as entries on science fiction, film...