Customs & Traditions

A festive, delightfully-illustrated compendium that features holiday traditions from around the world. From Jolabokaflod (Christmas Book Flood) in Iceland to Festa dei sette pesci (Feast of Fishes) in Italy and Christmas lanterns in the Philippines, The...

Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan is a complete, two-volume set of one of the most outstanding books on 19th century Japanese history and culture.Though Lafcadio Hearn went on to write a dozen more books on Japan, this collection of first impressions remains...

American tattoo master Sailor Jerry Collins of Hawaii is best known for his remarkable tattoo designs, blending the fluidity of Asian motifs into classic American tattoo imagery. Until now, most of Sailor Jerry's work has been controlled by a handful of...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780874779912Author Malidoma Patrice SomeFormat PaperbackPage Count 352Imprint TarcherPerigeePublisher Penguin Putnam IncWeight(grams) 1g

Is Santa Claus really a magic mushroom in disguise? Was Alice in Wonderland a thinly veiled psychedelic mushroom odyssey? Did mushroom tea kick-start ancient Greek philosophy? The 'magic mushroom' was only rediscovered fifty years ago, but has...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.AwardsWinner of National Book Awards (Nonfiction) 2022.Book InformationISBN 9780062977373Author Imani PerryFormat PaperbackPage Count 432Imprint CollinsPublisher HarperCollins...

For more than 25 years Noriko Morishita has studied and practised the intricate rules of the famous Japanese Tea Ceremony, trying to master its complexities in order to find inner peace. In this vivid account of her experience of the universal trials and...

Culture Smart guides help travellers have a more meaningful and successful time abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on values, attitudes, customs, and daily life will help you make the most of your visit, while tips on...

The Japanese Tea Ceremony is a detailed examination of the five-centuries-old tea ceremony-or Cha-no-Yu in Japanese, literally "hot water for tea"-a cornerstone of Japanese culture and a core practice of Zen Buddhism. Framed by intricately choreographed...

Written by leading cookery author Mary Contini, this delightful narrative is in the bestselling tradition of Anthony Bourdain and Annie Hawes. It tells the tale of the Di Ciacca family, tracing their journey from the barren Abruzzi mountains to the...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780679744382Author Wolfgang SchivelbuschFormat PaperbackPage Count 256Imprint Vintage BooksPublisher Random House USA IncWeight(grams) 221gDimensions(mm)...

How did our ancestors use the concept of demons to explain sleep paralysis? Is that carving in the porch of your local church really what you think it is? And what's that tapping noise on the roof of your car..? The fields of folklore have never been...

A reissue of a cult design book about Nova, the groundbreaking British magazine of the 60s and 70s, with a new introduction. Nova 1965-1975 celebrates one of the most influential magazines in history. Known as 'the thinking woman's magazine' Nova was a...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780385721363Author Wang PingFormat PaperbackPage Count 288Imprint Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing GroupPublisher Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group...

Although modern life grows increasingly casual, in many sectors, protocol still reigns supreme. An Expert's Guide to International Protocol offers an overview of its associated practices, including those found within the context of diplomatic relations...

Liza Dalby, author of The Tale of Murasaki, is the only non-Japanese woman ever to have become a geisha. This is her unique insight into the extraordinary, closed world of the geisha, a world of grace, beauty and tradition that has long fascinated and...

As a person's religious convictions, especially in times past, can be considered fundamental to their character and behaviour, the nature of King Richard III's piety has been the subject of considerable debate. Much of this controversy has focused on the...

Explore the world of Hungarian Paganism with this book's impressive collection of history, lore, and traditions from the Carpathian basin. The Hungarian people, also known as the Magyars, fused pre-Christian and Christian beliefs into their identity, and...

Featuring more than 100 spells for mojo bags, poppets, talismans, jars, and other enchanted containers, this is the spell book you've always wanted. Charity L. Bedell presents original workings rooted in Conjure and Hoodoo, European folk magic, and...

'What Japan was she owed to the samurai. They were not only the flower of the nation, but its root as well.'Inazo Nitobe's book, the most influential ever written on Bushido, or the samurai Way of the Warrior, argues that the philosophy of Bushido is the...

Voices of the Lake District is the unique and fascinating result of many conversations and interviews with local people in the Lakeland community, recalling life in the area over the past century. Compiled by Ambleside Oral History Group, vivid memories...

Pre-order the brand new instalment in Frances Evesham's bestselling Ham Hill Murder Mysteries!One unexplained disappearance is strange, but two are sinister. In Lower Hembrow, an idyllic village nestled beneath Ham Hill in Somerset, the villagers are...

A collection of anonymous Hallowe'en Photographs from America, c.1875 - 1955The roots of Hallowe'en lie in the ancient pre-Christian Celtic festival of Samhain, a feast to mark the death of the old year and the birth of the new. It was believed that on...

Scan down a list of essential works in any introduction to anthropology course and you are likely to see to see Marcel Mauss's masterpiece, Essay on the Gift. With this new translation, this crucial essay is returned to its original context, published...

A Book of the Year for The Economist and the Observer Our world seems to be collapsing. The daily news cycle reports the deterioration: divisive politics across the Western world, racism, poverty, war, inequality, hunger. While politicians,...

The popularity of Italian food all over the world is ever increasing. Unhampered by any sense of superiority, and unburdened by the weight of a great classical tradition, Italians cook and eat in the ways they have known and trusted for generations,...

Cuba is a land of contradictions that is easy to enjoy but difficult for first-time visitors to decipher. The largest island in the Caribbean, it is a tropical paradise that Christopher Columbus called "the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever...

Throughout history, the nature and mystery of death has captivated artists, scientists, philosophers, physicians, and theologians. This eerie chronology ventures right to the borderlines of science and sheds light into the darkness. Here, topics as wide...

'There is more history in a bowl of pasta than in the Colosseum,' writes Andreas Viestad in Dinner in Rome. From the table of a classic Roman restaurant, Viestad takes us on a fascinating culinary exploration of the Eternal City, and global civilization...

'A sensual and intellectual pleasure from start to finish' - Deborah Levy, author of The Cost of LivingWe are all dressed. But how often do we pause to think about the place of our clothes in our lives? What unconscious thoughts do we express when we...

'A must read for all wildlife lovers' Dominic Dyer Foxes, buzzards, crows, badgers, weasels, seals, kites - Britain and Ireland's predators are impressive and diverse and they capture our collective imagination. But many consider...

A charming guide to the story of the English village, celebrating this beloved heart of the countryside.The village remains a quintessential and much-loved treasure that is often representative of England. This rural idyll has inspired generations of...

"Around the world and from coast to coast, How We Roll stays smoking." -Snoop Dogg "[A] spirited guide to finding one's high...Green and seasoned smokers alike will inhale this edgy endeavor." -Publishers Weekly From rolling techniques to...

My bed rocks on water My bed sways in the breeze. My bed’s beneath a curtain My bed’s aloft in trees . . . In the Netherlands, some beds rock on water. In Brazil they might sway in the breeze. From Canada to Japan, Afghanistan to Norway, sleep has taken...

From Georgian England and Edith Wharton's New York to the contemporary International Debutante Ball, the presentation of young women into society has persisted. In this "sharply observed" (The New Yorker) exploration of the debutante ritual, Kristen...

The West feels lost. Brexit, Trump, the coronavirus: we hurtle from one crisis to another, lacking definition, terrified that our best days are behind us. The central argument of this book is that we can only face the future with hope if we have a...

Multiculturalism appears to be in terminal crisis. It has been blamed for undermining national identity, diluting social cohesion, creating ethnic ghettos and cultural fragmentation, providing fertile ground for Islamic radicalism, encouraging perverse...

This important book provides a much-needed exploration and examination of honor abuse, violence, and killings from psychological perspectives. Written by a leading authority on the subject, the book draws on a wide range of research and theory on victims...

Based on the most recent archaeological discoveries, this volume offers a balanced interpretation of the complex relationships between Aztec cultural practices, social order, and religious myths and symbols. In addition to examining such topics as the...

One million, one hundred thousand men and women lost their lives in the service of the British Empire during the First World War; in the Second, another six hundred thousand from all parts of the Commonwealth made the same sacrifice. The First World War,...