Zebra

Even some of the world’s greatest inventors have their bad days. History’s Worst Inventions introduces fifty of humanity’s most dangerous discoveries and dreadful gadgets, not to mention the occasional success that was born of failure.

Starting with Icarus’s ill-fated flight, author Eric Chaline takes you on a tour of humanity’s creativity, greed, stupidity and inventiveness. From the ancient discoveries of asbestos and tobacco, to such modern-day mistakes as the subprime mortgage, History’s Worst Inventions revisits such intriguing but luckless contraptions as the steam-powered car and the atmospheric railway.

About the author

A graduate of Cambridge University, Eric Chaline majored in Japanese History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, at the University of London. He is conducting doctoral research in sociology at London’s South Bank University.

His previous publications include: The Book of Gods and Goddesses: A Visual Directory of Ancient and Modern Deities and Traveler’s Guide to the Ancient World: Ancient Greece.

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History is a catalogue of errors, and History’s Worst Decisions shines a light on fifty of the biggest. Starting with Adam and Eve’s original blunder in eating the apple, author Stephen Weir takes you on a tour from the Trojan War to the Enron scandal, meeting such famous culprits as Cleopatra, Winston Churchill and Robert Mugabe along the way.

History’s Worst Decisions doesn’t just point the finger at individuals; the actions of governments and corporations are also placed under scrutiny. The underlying motivations – often sinister, sometimes naïve – that propelled those responsible to commit their mistakes are unveiled, as is the lasting impact that their decisions have had on the world that we live in today.

About the author

Stephen Weir is a writer and publisher who has worked with authors as diverse as the Australian novelist Patrick White – who won the Nobel Prize for Literature – the noted British military historian John Keegan and the billionaire George Soros.

Book details

• History’s Worst Inventions: And the People Who Made Them by Eric Chaline
  EAN: 9781770220904
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• History’s Worst Decisions: And the People Who Made Them by Stephen Weir
  EAN: 9781770220911
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Online auction and selling hub bidorbuy is becoming a firm favourite with South Africans. With an increasing number of consumers looking to the internet to purchase products, Your Guide to Buying and Selling on bidorbuy helps make buying and selling fast, fun and fret-free.

Here’s a feature on the bidorbuy consumer experience with hard stats to back up the website’s general reputation for smooth and clean transactions, from SA’s Ecommerce Guide:

Users have an extremely positive perception of bidorbuy. Almost 94% of the buyers find bidorbuy system “good” or “excellent. A little more than 90% say that they have had a good or excellent experience with bidorbuy sellers. The percentages among the sellers are almost identical: over 93% are happy with the way the system works, and 88% are happy with the buyers too.

Only 1.34% of buyers who participated in the survey had a “poor” or “very poor” experience of any kind with the sellers. Still, about 40% say they are apprehensive about being cheated by a fraudulent seller. That percentage is practically the same among the respondents who have never transacted on bidorbuy.

• Read the complete article

Book details

• Your Guide to Buying and Selling on BidorBuy by Andy Higgins, Lana Stevic
  EAN: 9781770220522
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Forthcoming from Zebra Press

Online shopping is experiencing a boom worldwide, and bidorbuy.co.za – South Africa’s largest online marketplace – is at the centre of this rapidly expanding industry. With over 300 000 users, bidorbuy services the increasing number of South Africans drawn to the convenience and affordability of internet shopping, and to the opportunities that the site offers for making money.

Your Guide to Buying and Selling on bidorbuy is a comprehensive, practical guide takes readers through the online trading process step by step. It shows them how to register as a user on bidorbuy, create an effective product listing, interact with other consumers and conclude a sale successfully. It also provides useful information on functional matters such as payment, tax concerns and shipping. Screenshots from the bidorbuy website accompany the text and key concepts are further illustrated by means of real-life examples and case studies.

Whether readers are new to the world of online shopping or are experienced internet traders, this book will make buying and selling on bidorbuy simple, enjoyable and financially rewarding.
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