In 1985 Boria Sax inherited an area of forest in New York State that had been purchased by his Russian Jewish Communist grandparents as a buffer against what they felt was a hostile world. For Sax, in the years following, the woodland came to represent a link with those who lived and had lived there, including Native Americans, settlers, bears, deer, turtles, and migrating birds. In this personal and eloquent account, Sax explores the meanings and cultural history of forests from prehistory to the present, taking in Gilgamesh, Virgil, Dante, the Gawain poet, medieval alchemists, the Brothers Grimm, the Hudson River painters, Latin American folklore, contemporary African novelists and much more. Combining lyricism with contemporary scholarship, this book opens new emotional, intellectual, and environmental perspectives on the storied history of the forest.
An accessible introduction to the life of this most-venerated saint. This book is an accessible biography of Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan religious order and one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. In it, Michael F. Cusato explores how Francis and his early brothers embraced a life of poverty in solidarity with the lowest ranks of society, preaching a message of justice and dignity for all. He examines how and why Francis's vision ultimately expanded to embrace non-Christians and Muslims in particular following Francis's celebrated encounter with the Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil in 1219. Finally, Cusato considers the clash between Francis and newer members of his Order, his reception of the stigmata, and his final years defending his vision among his own brothers, all while living as an exemplar of the gospel life.
An investigation of representations and ideals of manhood in the courts of fifteenth-century Italy.
Aldus Manutius is perhaps the greatest figure in the history of the printed book: in Venice, Europe's capital of printing, he invented the italic type and issued more first editions of the classics than anyone before or since, as well as Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the most beautiful and mysterious printed book of the Italian Renaissance.0This is the first monograph in English on Aldus Manutius in over forty years. It shows how Aldus redefined the role of a book printer, from mere manual labourer to learned publisher. As a consequence Aldus participated in the same debates as contemporaries such as Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus of Rotterdam, making this book an insight into their world too.
"In a world flooded with images designed to create memories, validate perceptions and influence others, botanical illustration is about creating technically accurate depictions of plants. Reproductions of centuries-old botanical illustrations frequently adorn greetings cards, pottery and advertising, to promote heritage or generate income, yet their art is scientific: its purpose is to record, display and transmit scientific data. The Beauty of the Flower shows us how scientific botanical illustrations are collaborations among artists, scientists and publishers. It explores the evolution and interchanges of these illustrations since the mid-fifteenth century, the ways in which they have been used to communicate scientific ideas about plants and how views of botanical imagery change. Featuring unique images rarely seen outside of specialist literature this book reveals the fascinating stories behind these remarkable illustrations." --
Now in paperback, a significant new collection of concrete poetry that redefines what this unique literary movement means today. Concrete Poetry: A 21st-Century Anthology is the first overview of concrete poetry in many years. Selective yet wide-ranging, this anthology re-evaluates the movement, singling out its most distinctive and influential works. Nancy Perloff, the curator of an important Concrete Poetry exhibition at the Getty Research Institute, includes examples from the little-known Japanese concretists and the Wiener Gruppe--groups that, together with the Brazilian poet Augusto de Campos and the Scottish poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, have engaged with the most subtle possibilities of language itself--while also incorporating key poems by Eugen Gomringer, Dieter Roth, Henri Chopin, and others and including contemporary contributions by Cia Rinne and Susan Howe. Perloff's anthology presents individual poems, reproduced in their original languages, together with lively commentaries that explicate and contextualize the work, allowing readers to discover the intricacy of poems that some have dismissed as simple, even trivial, texts. This substantial new collection redefines what the concrete poetry movement means today.
"From the pleasures of mending to the problems of fast fashion, an intimate look at the creativity, community, and deep meaning sewed into every stitch. Tens of millions of people sew for necessity or pleasure every day, yet the craft is surprisingly under-appreciated. The Point of the Needle redresses the balance: this is a book that argues for sewing's place in our lives. It celebrates not only sewing's recent resurgence but sewists' creativity, well-being, and community. Barbara Burman chronicles new voices of people who sew today, by hand or machine, to explore what they sew, what motivates them, what they value, and why they mend things, revealing insights into sewing's more intimate stories. In our age of superfast fashion with its environmental and social injustices, this eloquent book makes a passionate case for identity, diversity, resilience, and memory--what people create for themselves as they stitch and make"-
From two leading scholars, a thrilling and rich investigation of the life and work of Dante Alighieri. Numerous books have attempted to chronicle the life of Dante Alighieri, yet essential questions remain unanswered. How did a self-taught Florentine become the celebrated author of the Divine Comedy? Was his exile from Florence so extraordinary? How did Dante make himself the main protagonist in his works, in a literary context that advised against it? And why has his life interested so many readers? In Dante's New Lives, eminent scholars Elisa Brilli and Giuliano Milani answer these questions and many more. Their account reappraises Dante's life and work by assessing archival and literary evidence and examining the most recent scholarship. The book is a model of interdisciplinary biography, as fascinating as it is rigorous.
Once upon a time: the forgotten female fabulists whose heroines flipped the fairy tale script. People often associate fairy tales with Disney films and with the male authors from whom Disney often drew inspiration--notably Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen. In these portrayals, the princess is a passive, compliant figure. By contrast, The Lost Princess shows that classic fairy tales such as "Cinderella," "Rapunzel," and "Beauty and the Beast" have a much richer, more complex history than Disney's saccharine depictions. Anne E. Duggan recovers the voices of women writers such as Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy, Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier, and Charlotte-Rose de La Force, who penned popular tales about ogre-killing, pregnant, cross-dressing, dynamic heroines who saved the day. This new history will appeal to anyone who wants to know more about the lost, plucky heroines of historic fairy tales.
An iconoclastic celebration of canned, packaged, and preserved foods. By turns a scientific, feminist, and economic critique, this book gleefully attacks received wisdom about the dangers of processed food. Anastacia Marx de Salcedo argues that, in fact, most processed foods are relatively healthy and that their consumption is an undisputed boon to women's equality--since the burdens of cooking disproportionately fall on women. In de Salcedo's account, processed foods take too much blame for the negative effects of modern sedentary life, and alternative food systems are doomed to economic dysfunction. Ultimately, de Salcedo embraces the preserved foods in her pantry and encourages the reader to do the same.
Spanning geographies, cultures, and the ages, a moving journey into the physical facts and metaphysical mysteries of how the living care for the dead. Death is universal. It will meet us all. But it's also a practical problem--what do we do with dead bodies? Vibeke Maria and Andreas Viestad live by a cemetery and are daily spectators of its routines, and their fascination with burials has led them to dig deep to examine our relationship with the dead. Taking us on a journey around the world and into the past, the Viestads explore how the deceased are honored and cared for, cremated, and buried. From archaeological sites in Spain, Israel, and Russia to environmentally friendly burials in the United States and Ghana's fantasy coffins, and from cremations without fire to the new industry turning our dearly departed's ashes into diamonds, this empathetic and enthralling book is for anyone who knows their turn is coming, but who'd like a good book for the journey.
An intimate history of the crooner in popular music from the 1950s to the present. In this book, Alex Coles explores the history of the crooner--someone who sings close to the mic in a soft style--in popular music from the 1950s to the present. Each chapter focuses on how one song by one artist contributes to the image of the crooner in the popular imagination. The book describes the rich diversity of crooners throughout music history, including artists in disco, rock, hip-hop, and more such as Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, Barry White, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Tom Waits, Grace Jones, Ian McCulloch, Nick Cave, and Nas. Ultimately, Coles shows how the crooner continues to connect listeners with their hidden feelings.
An exploration of the life and works of German artist Albrecht Dürer and his self-obsession. The Italian Renaissance birthed the modern sense of self, and no artist from the period compares with Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) in terms of the almost obsessive interest he displayed in his own life. Dürer's works are filled with personal details from his day-to-day, his dreams, and his escapades. In this brief biography, David Ekserdjian explores Dürer's life and times--his studies, travels, and influences--as well as his paintings, drawings, and prints. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Renaissance or Northern European art.
A wide-ranging meditation on belonging and citizenship through the story of two squirrel species in Britain. Squirrel Nation is a history of Britain's two species of squirrel over the past two hundred years: the much-loved, though rare, red squirrel and the less-desirable, though more populous, grey squirrel. A common resident of British gardens and parks, the grey squirrel was introduced from North America in the late nineteenth century and remains something of a foreign interloper. By examining this species' rapid spread across Britain, Peter Coates explores timely issues of belonging, nationalism, and citizenship in Britain today. Ultimately, though people are swift to draw distinctions between British squirrels and squirrels in Britain, Squirrel Nation shows that Britain's two squirrel species have much more in common than at first appears.
Beautifully illustrated with images of Dorothea Tanning's artwork and more, the first--and definitive--study of this important artist's life and creative output. Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) has for decades been known primarily as a Surrealist, but Exquisite Dreams shows how the work of this passionate, dynamic, and voraciously curious artist is impossible to categorize. Tanning's lesser-known but equally powerful sculptures, abstract paintings, and films are explored here, and her writings, biography, and art are examined in the contexts of twentieth-century developments in advertising, fashion, popular culture, and art in New York and Paris. Using new archival sources and analyses of Tanning's work in a variety of media, Amy Lyford broadens our understanding of the artist and illuminates her stunning diversity and achievement. This richly illustrated book is an important contribution to the history of women artists, gender, and sexuality studies, as well as the history of Surrealism.
A beautifully illustrated guide to the diverse traditions of stained glass art throughout history. The Illuminated Window is a unique journey through stained-glass installations across history. From the twelfth to the twenty-first centuries, we find in windows stories of conflict, commemoration, devotion, and celebration. Virginia Chieffo Raguin is our guide through the cathedrals of Chartres, Canterbury, and Cologne as well as Paris's Sainte-Chapelle, Swiss guildhalls, Iran's Pink Mosque, Harvard Memorial Hall, Tiffany's chapel for the World Exposition, Frank Lloyd Wright's houses, and more. In her telling, stained glass relies on more than a single maker but on the relationship between the physical site, the patron's aims, the work's legibility for the spectator, and the prevailing style of the era. This is a fascinating and beautifully illustrated volume for anyone interested in stained-glass works.
The story of our deep and multifaceted connections to geological matter--the very bedrock of our lives. From small beach pebbles to huge megaliths, stones have been revered, collected, enhanced, sculpted, or engraved for practical and artistic purposes throughout the ages. They have been used to delineate boundaries and to build homes and shelters and utilized for cooking, games, and competitions. This surprising and fascinating compendium of stone facts, myths, and stories reveals the impact and importance of stones in our history and culture. Cally Oldershaw introduces the science in an accessible way and covers the aesthetic appeal of stones, their practical uses, and metaphysical properties. With an eclectic mix of examples from the Stone Age to the present, Stones engagingly excavates the story of this essential matter.
Spanning countries and centuries, a "how-not-to" guide to leadership that reveals the most maladroit military commanders in history--now in paperback. For this book, fifteen distinguished historians were given a deceptively simple task: identify their choice for the worst military leader in history and then explain why theirs is the worst. From the clueless Conrad von Hötzendorf and George A. Custer to the criminal Baron Roman F. von Ungern-Sternberg and the bungling Garnet Wolseley, this book presents a rogues' gallery of military incompetents. Rather than merely rehashing biographical details, the contributors take an original and unconventional look at military leadership in a way that appeals to both specialists and general readers alike. While there are plenty of books that analyze the keys to success, The Worst Military Leaders in History offers lessons of failure to avoid. In other words, this book is a "how-not-to" guide to leadership.
A sober engagement with the diverse meanings of intermittent fasting in human culture. Fasting from food is a controversial, dangerous, and yet utterly normal human practice. In Why Fast?, Christine Baumgarthuber engages our fascination with restrictive eating in cultural history. If fasting offers few health benefits, why do people fast? Why have we always fasted? Does fasting speak to something deep and immutable within us? Why are our bodies so well adapted to intermittent fasting? And, what might this ancient, ascetic ritual offer us today? Thoughtful and considered, Why Fast? is a sober reconsideration of a contentious practice.
"H.D. (Hilda Doolittle, 1886-1961) was one of the first writers of free verse in English, best known for her sparse Imagist poems. For over forty years she wrote poetry that resurrected forgotten ancient goddesses, and autobiographical prose that explored her trauma, her desires, and the unique struggles of a twentieth-century woman writer. She was also a scholar of religion, mythology and history, a translator of ancient Greek, and worked in early avant-garde film. Dubbed the 'perfect bi-' by Sigmund Freud, she placed issues of sexuality and gender at the centre of her writings. This new biography explores the fascinating life and work of this important modernist figure, once written out of literary history but now receiving the attention she deserves."--
"Jan van Eyck was one of the most inventive and influential artists in the entire European tradition. The phenomenal realism of his paintings, now six centuries old, still astounds observers in a world accustomed to high-resolution images. But other dimensions of his work are just as original and absorbing. Unlike any earlier artist, Van Eyck infused his paintings with himself. In addition to portraying, reflecting and implying his own presence in a variety of works, he also introduced his voice, hand and mind in an array of inscriptions, signatures and even a personal motto. Incorporating a wealth of new research and recent discoveries within a fresh exploration of the paintings themselves, this book reveals how profoundly Jan van Eyck transformed the very idea of what an artist could be."--Page three of cover.
From mangosteen fruit discovered in a colonial Indonesian marketplace to caviar served on the high seas in a cruise liner's luxurious dining saloon, The Food Adventurers narrates the history of eating on the most coveted of tourist journeys: the around-the-world adventure. This book looks at what tourists ate on these adventures, as well as what they avoided, and what kinds of meals they described in diaries, photographs and postcards. Daniel E. Bender shows how circumglobal travel shaped popular fascination with world cuisines, and leads readers on a culinary tour from Tahitian roast pig in the 1840s, to the dining saloon of the luxury Cunard steamer Franconia in the 1920s, to InterContinental and Hilton hotel restaurants in the 1960s and '70s.
A biography of the provocative nineteenth-century English naturalist. Brilliant, hard-working, and immensely productive, the naturalist Richard Owen was a great ambassador for science and played an outsized role in shaping London's Natural History Museum. Still, Owen was a provocative bully, accused of plagiarism, and the only man Charles Darwin claimed to hate since Owen staunchly opposed his ideas about natural selection despite sharing similar views himself. This biography gives an account of Owen's life and work and offers some speculation about the reasons behind his controversial behavior and strained relationships.
A critical biography of the early modern Italian naturalist. The Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi was a prolific writer, polymath, and prodigious collector who amassed the largest collection of naturalia in sixteenth-century Europe, as well as hundreds of colored drawings detailing them. Many of these drawings found their way into his illustrated publications, most of which were published posthumously. This book provides a concise yet comprehensive portrait of Aldrovandi, paying particular attention to two aspects: the role that the newly discovered continent of America played in his research interests, and his study of abnormalities of physiological development in organisms. Peter Mason gives insight into Aldrovandi's fascinating life, his early work on antiquities, his natural history and other collecting activities, his network of correspondents and patrons, and the influence and legacy of his collection and publications.
A geological saga that digs deep, revealing how even the most ordinary rocks can be stepping stones to the hidden history of our planet.--
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