Tim Glynne-Jones – författare

The 50 States plus Washington DC that make up the USA all play their own unique part in the history and character of the nation. This book is an educational guide that teaches young readers about America''s rich and varied history, geography and culture, and the people and places that stand out.

From zero to infinity, The Book of Numbers is a handy-sized volume which opens up a new realm of knowledge. Where else in one place could you find out how the illegal numbers racket worked, what makes some people see numbers as colours, why the standard US rail gauge exactly matches the axle width of an ancient Roman chariot, and the numerological connection between Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden?

Words have come a long way since they were invented as a nifty tool to help us communicate. We have played with them, made up rules for them, added bits to them and taken bits off. We''ve gathered them into languages, adopted and defined them. The words we use say so much about who we are, yet most of them slip from our mouths without a second thought.

The Book of Words is a brief pause for reflection in the ever-changing life of words, a snapshot of the English language and how we use it today.

. Long words

. Short words

. Old words

. New words

. Brilliant words

. Annoying words

From the historical to the grammatical, the biographical to the sociological, this is an A to Z of words about words for word lovers, from ''aardvark'' to ''zythum'' and beyond.