Böcker utgivna av Reaktion Books

Drawing on the latest archaeological and textual discoveries, a revealing look at the rich and dynamic civilization of Nubia. Nubia, the often-overlooked southern neighbor of Egypt, has been home to groups of vibrant and adaptive peoples for millennia. This book explores the Nubians' religious, social, economic, and cultural histories, from their nomadic origins during the Stone Ages to their rise to power during the Napatan and Meroitic periods, and it concludes with the recent struggles for diplomacy in North Sudan. Situated among the ancient superpowers of Egypt, Aksum, and the Greco-Roman world, Nubia's connections with these cultures shaped the region's history through colonialism and cultural entanglement. Sarah M. Schellinger presents the Nubians through their archaeological and textual remains, reminding readers that they were a rich and dynamic civilization in their own right.

Illustrated throughout, a revealing look at the life and work of surrealist artist and collector André Breton. This is the first comprehensive study in English of surrealist leader André Breton's lifelong commitment to the visual arts. As an essayist, art critic, collector, gallery director, and artist, he actively promoted many painters, from turn-of-the-century Moreau and outsider artists to fellow surrealists like Ernst and Masson. The book tracks both the development of Breton's surrealist aesthetics within the Parisian avant-garde art scene and the centrality of art to his political agenda. It also highlights Breton the collector and collagist--the works he displayed in his Paris apartment, ranging from Oceanic masks to African sculptures, paintings to pebbles, are themselves seen as an ever-changing assemblage.

"From classic Bruce Lee films to the comedies of Jackie Chan, a vibrant look at the enduring fascination with the kung fu cinema of Hong Kong. In the spring and summer of 1973, a wave of martial arts movies from Hong Kong--epitomized by Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon--smashed box-office records for foreign-language films in America and ignited a 'kung fu craze' that swept the world. Fighting without Fighting explores this dramatic phenomenon, and it argues that, more than just a cinematic fad, the West's sudden fascination with--and moral panic about--the Asian fighting arts left lasting legacies still present today. The book traces the background of the craze in the longer development of Hong Kong's martial arts cinema. It discusses the key films in detail, as well as their popular reception and the debates they ignited, where kung fu challenged Western identities and raised anxieties about violence, both on and off-screen. And it examines the proliferation of ideas and images from these films in fields as diverse as popular music, superhero franchises, children's cartoons, and contemporary art. Illuminating and accessible, Fighting without Fighting draws a vivid bridge between East and West."--

Featuring many exquisite historical photographs, a celebration of the sometimes extravagant, sometimes bizarre pastime: playing dress-up. Pierrot, Little Bo Peep, cowboy: these characters and many more form part of this colorful story of dressing up, from the accession of Queen Victoria to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. During this time, fancy dress became a regular part of people's social lives, and the craze for it spread across Britain and the Empire, reaching every level of society. Spectacular and witty costumes appeared at suburban street carnivals, victory celebrations, fire festivals, missionary bazaars, and the extravagant balls of the wealthy. From the Victorian middle classes performing "living statues" to squads of Shetland men donning traditional fancy dress and setting fire to a Viking ship at the annual Up Helly Aa celebration, this lavishly illustrated book provides a unique view into the quirky, wonderful world of fancy dress.

A crucial book for our current moment, uncovering the history of mass incarceration in the United States and engaging with the major challenges of contemporary prison and police abolition activism. Inspired by the George Floyd Rebellion, States of Incarceration examines the ongoing reconfiguration of mass incarceration as crucial for understanding how race, class, and punishment shape America today. The rise of mass incarceration has coincided with massive disinvestment in working-class communities, particularly communities of color, and a commitment to criminalize poverty, addiction, and interpersonal violence. As Jarrod Shanahan and Zhandarka Kurti argue, the present is a moment of transition and potential reform of incarceration and, by extension, the American justice system. States of Incarceration provides insights into the rise of mass incarceration and its recent history while focusing on the needs of campaigners struggling with the issues of police and prison abolition, as well as the challenges that lie ahead. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with these questions.

The first comprehensive history of the Catholic Church's notorious Index, with resonance for ongoing debates over banned books, censorship, and free speech. For more than four hundred years, the Catholic Church's Index Librorum Prohibitorum struck terror into the hearts of authors, publishers, and booksellers around the world, while arousing ridicule and contempt from many others, especially those in Protestant and non-Christian circles. Biased, inconsistent, and frequently absurd in its attempt to ban objectionable texts of every conceivable description--with sometimes fatal consequences--the Index also reflected the deep learning and careful consideration of many hundreds of intellectual contributors over the long span of its storied evolution. This book constitutes the first full study of the Index of Prohibited Books to be published in English. It examines the reasons behind the Church's attempts to censor religious, scientific, and artistic works, and considers not only why this most sustained of campaigns failed, but what lessons can be learned for today's debates over freedom of expression and cancel culture.

"The robin is a small bird with a distinctive ruddy breast, at once a British national treasure and a bird with a global reputation. In this superbly illustrated account, Helen F. Wilson looks at many aspects of the cherished robin, from its status as a harbinger of seasonal change and, in the United Kingdom, an icon of Christmas, to its place in fairy tales, environmental campaigns, and scientific discovery. In moving between cultural and natural histories, Robin asks wide-ranging questions, such as how did the robin's name travel the world? Why is the robin so melancholy? Who was Cock Robin? And how has the history of the color red shaped the robin's ambivalent associations and unusual origin stories?"--

A highly illustrated exploration of shipwrecks over 4,000 years.

From their creation in the maw of mollusks to lustrous objects of infatuation and conflict, a revealing look at pearls' dark history. This book is a beautifully illustrated account of pearls through millennia, from fossils to contemporary jewelry. Pearls are the most human of gems, both miraculous and familiar. Uniquely organic in origin, they are as intimate as our bodies, created through the same process as we grow bones and teeth. They have long been described as an animal's sacrifice, but until recently their retrieval often entailed the sacrifices of enslaved and indentured divers and laborers. While the shimmer of the pearl has enticed Roman noblewomen, Mughal princes, Hollywood royalty, mavericks, and renegades, encoded in its surface is a history of human endeavor, abuse, and aspiration--pain locked in the layers of a gleaming gem.

From Viking fisheries to Portuguese bacalao and beyond, a delectable and informative journey through cod fact, cuisine, and lore. This is the first culinary history of a truly remarkable fish. Elisabeth Townsend follows cod around the globe, showing how its pursuit began with the Vikings, and exploring its influence on human affairs ever since. The book looks at the different ways cod has been caught, cooked, and eaten, often by the descendants of explorers, enslaved people, and traders. Cod examines the fish in the myths and legends of the North Atlantic, the West Indies, South America, West and Southeast Africa, and across the Indian Ocean to the Far East. It is a fascinating journey through cod fact and lore and features delectable historical and contemporary recipes that showcase the myriad ways cod can be consumed.

A first-hand account of life and conditions in Ukraine, since Crimea's annexation by Russia in March 2014.

A superbly illustrated, innovative history of British art, seen from the perspective of the home.

A collection of essays by Michael Fried on important French painters and writers.

The first monograph in a generation, and the first study in English in over 70 years of Renaissance master-artist Filippino Lippi.

A comprehensive, well-illustrated account of the emperor Ashoka and the Maurya Dynasty.

"From the bubonic plague to theoretical pathogens on other worlds, a sweeping look at the past, present, and future of mass infections--and how we battle them. In this panoramic and up-to-date account, we learn how the Black Death, smallpox, the 1918 influenza pandemic, and other great epidemics have not only led to enormous suffering and mass death but have also contributed to the fall of empires and changed the course of history. We also discover how new infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 emerge--and how we wage war against them. Humanity has struck back at the microbes: antibiotics and new vaccines have saved millions of lives. But the battle with these relentless, silent enemies is far from won: we face increasing threats from new and unavoidable pandemics, antibiotic resistance, and even potential extraterrestrial microbes"--Publisher's description.

Following "the seven ages of man" from infancy to death, an innovative retelling of the lives of premodern painters both famous and forgotten. Children of Mercury is a bold new account of the lives of premodern painters, viewed through the lens of "the seven ages of man," a widespread belief made famous in the "All the world's a stage" speech in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Spike Bucklow follows artists' lives from infancy through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, to maturity, old age, and death. He tracks how lives unfolded for both male and female painters, from the famous, like Michelangelo, through Artemisia Gentileschi and Mary Beale, to those who are now forgotten, like Jehan Gillemer. The book draws on historic biographies, the artists' writings, and, uniquely, the physical evidence offered by their paintings.