Irving L. Finkel Ordine dei libri

Dr Irving Finkel, curator at the British Museum, explores why the belief in ghosts is what makes us human.

Board games have been played since prehistoric times, passing from person to person and country to country all over the world. This colourful and unique book explains the origins of five of the most long-lasting games, with five fold out game boards and rules so that you can play the games yourself.

A strikingly-illustrated short introduction to Babylon, a powerful and sophisticated ancient city and the home of the fabled Hanging Gardens of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the 7 Wonders of the World.

"The library is situated," said the short entry in the Guide to British Libraries A-L, "in pleasant rolling countryside not too far from Hereford, and is perhaps most readily accessible by private motor vehicle." This statement was quite accurate. Inaccessibility had always been one of the Library's most prized qualities. "The Last Resort Library was founded in 1962, and is a forward-looking institution with very much its own sense of mission," it continued. The truth was that the Guide compiler had never heard of the Library himself, but someone had mentioned it to him right at the last minute, and he was improvising while correcting proofs. "Researchers should be aware that, despite the size of the Library's holdings, there is no published catalogue of any kind." That's what he had been told, and it seemed only sensible to make a formal note of it. - Prologue

The ivory chessmen were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis, and 67 pieces now reside in the British Museum. This story tells the life and times of the chess pieces from their own viewpoint. Part of the 1995 Scottish Book Fortnight promotion.