David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn't it? In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives -- a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is another unforgettable collection from one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today.

The US campaign in Germany began sooner than anticipated in mid-September 1944. With the decimation of the German army in the West in a sequence of summer encirclement battles at Falaise, the Seine river, and finally the Mons pocket in Belgium, the Wehrmacht was in headlong retreat. The US army first breached the Siefried Line, then assaulted the Roar river, fought the Battle of the Bulge, crossed the Rhine, on to the Elbe, sealed the Ruhr Pocket, and finally pushed into Bavaria.

Built by industrialists whose early businesses contributed to the escalation of the Industrial Revolution, company towns flourished in countries that embraced capitalism and open-market trading. In many instances, the company town came to symbolize the wrecking of the environment, especially in places associated with extractive industries such as mining and lumber milling. Some resident industrialists, however, took a genuine interest in the welfare of their work forces, and in a number of instances hired architects to provide a model environment. Overtaken by time, these towns were either abandoned or caught up in suburban growth. The most thorough-going and only international assessment of the company town, this collection of essays by specialists and authorities of each region offers a balanced account of architectural and social history and provides a better understanding of the architectural and urban experiences of the early industrial age.

The diesel engine has been recognized as the most promising powertrain of the foreseeable future due to its superior thermal efficiency and reliability. Modern emission standards and customer demands have increased the need for advanced design theories for diesel engines.