Battle plans suitable for any conquest, first etched out 2,400 years ago in China by a chief military strategist for the state of Wu. Popular today with corporate America, and here’s why—it’s the New World Order in a nutshell. “Once this overlord’s forces invade a large country, its legions will be incapable of assembly; when his omnipotence engulfs the enemies, their alliances will be incapable of forming. By competing for worldwide alliances and developing worldwide influence, an overlord will thereby give rein to his ambitions, and his omnipotence can engulf his enemies: thus, their city may be occupied and their country toppled.” Based on manuscripts recently discovered in Linyi, China, that predate all previous texts by 1,000 years. GR

Publisher: Morrow
Paperback: 299 pages

“As a captain in the U.S. Third Cavalry and an amateur ethnologist, Bourke spent a decade of his life researching the scatological rites, customs, and folklore of all nations. First published in 1891 as Scatological Rites of All Nations, this forgotten classic included “The Use of Bladders in Making Excrement Sausages,” and “Tolls of Flatulence Exacted of Prostitutes in France,” to name a few chapters. This present compendium has selected excerpts, with over 500 pages, filled with the strangest and most wonderful Bourkean anecdotes and oddities.”

Publisher: Morrow
Hardback: 191 pages
Illustrated

Gilbert is one of the most prolific writers on the Holocaust, having written Auschwitz and the Allies, among other titles. His Atlas of the Holocaust is packed with maps and photographs on every page. This current title took over seven years to research, and should be a welcome addition to any library devoted to the study of the Holocaust. The book is not without controversy, however, as many critics question the sources of the facts and figures it quotes. Regardless of one’s opinions, the book is fastidiously detailed and even relates previously unavailable facts and figures concerning the Jewish Partisan Movement. JB

Publisher: Morrow
Hardback: 283 pages
Illustrated

Are there really secret background messages in rock music? What goes on at Freemason initiations? What are the 11 secret herbs and spices in Kentucky Fried Chicken? Is Walt Disney’s body frozen beneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland? Find out the answers to these questions, how to beat a lie detector, what your answers to the Rorschach test really mean, and more.

Publisher: Morrow
Paperback: 256 pages
Illustrated

Corporate secrets, free for the taking. What’s in chorizo, the Mexican “mystery meat” (“Pig salivary glands, lymph nodes, cheeks and tongues, plus an otherwise unspecified thing called ‘pork’”); what’s the formula for Play-doh (“Wheat flour, water, kerosene”); and how do they put ships in bottles (“The mast is collapsible”). Plus—STOP READING NOW if you like being tricked by muscular German illusionists—how Siegfried and Roy make their white tigers disappear! GR

Publisher: Morrow
Hardback: 272 pages
Illustrated