An investigation of Jewish identity politics and Jewish contemporary ideology using both popular culture and scholarly texts. Jewish identity is tied up with some of the most difficult and contentious issues of today. The purpose in this book is to open many of these issues up for discussion. Since Israel defines itself openly as the 'Jewish State', we should ask what the notions of 'Judaism', 'Jewishness', 'Jewish culture' and 'Jewish ideology' stand for. Gilad examines the tribal aspects embedded in Jewish secular discourse, both Zionist and anti Zionist; the 'holocaust religion'; the meaning of 'history' and 'time' within the Jewish political discourse; the anti-Gentile ideologies entangled within different forms of secular Jewish political discourse and even within the Jewish left. He questions what it is that leads Diaspora Jews to identify themselves with Israel and affiliate with its politics. The devastating state of our world affairs raises an immediate demand for a conceptual shift in our intellectual and philosophical attitude towards politics, identity politics and history.

Who could have guessed that the lowly fruit fly might hold the key for decoding heredity? Or that the mouse might one day disclose astonishing evolutionary secrets? In a book infused with wisdom, wonder, and a healthy dose of wry skepticism, Nobel Prize-winning geneticist François Jacob walks us through the surprising ways of science, particularly the science of biology, in this century. Of Flies, Mice, and Men is at once a work of history, a social study of the role of scientists in the modern world, and a cautionary tale of the bumbling and brilliance, imagination and luck, that attend scientific discovery. A book about molecules, reproduction, and evolutionary tinkering, it is also about the way biologists work, and how they contemplate beauty and truth, good and evil. Animated with anecdotes from Greek mythology, literature, episodes from the history of science, and personal experience, Of Flies, Mice, and Men tells the story of how the marvelous discoveries of molecular and developmental biology are transforming our understanding of who we are and where we came from. In particular, Jacob scrutinizes the place of the scientist in society. Alternately cast as the soothsayer Tiresias, the conscienceless inventor Daedalus, or Prometheus, conveyer of dangerous knowledge, the scientist in our day must instead adopt the role of truthteller, Jacob suggests. And the crucial truth that molecular biology teaches is the one he elaborates with great clarity and grace in this book: that all animals are made of the same building blocks, by a combinatorial system that always rearranges the same elements according to new forms.

A Globe and Mail Top Nonfiction Book Finalist, Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing In this groundbreaking investigation, Erna Paris explores the history of global justice, the politics behind America's opposition to the creation of a permanent international criminal court, and the implications for the world at large. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent tribunal of its kind. The mandate of the ICC is to challenge criminal impunity on the part of national leaders and to promote accountability in world affairs at the highest level. Independent and transnational, its indictments cannot be vetoed in the Security Council. On March 11, 2003, when the new court was inaugurated in a moving ceremony, attended by over half of the countries in the world, one country was conspicuously missing from the celebrations. The government of the United States had made it clear that the International Criminal Court was not consistent with American goals and values.

This collection of essays pays tribute to Andrew Sarris, the most influential film critic in American film history. A noted film personality, Sarris occupies a unique position, walking the line between popular journalism and more academic scholarship. He began his career in the 1950s with a passion for film and an eloquent style of prose that led him to become a prominent voice in the film world. As a writer and editor for the Village Voice at its prime, Sarris reached and educated a whole generation of readers, and became respected by academics and critics all over the world. The thirty-eight essays assembled here and arranged according to major themes demonstrate the amazing impact Sarris has had on every aspect of the film world: fellow critics, filmmakers, readers, and American popular culture. Contributors include noted critics Leonard Maltin and Molly Haskell, film scholars David Bordwell and James Naremore, and directors Martin Scorsese, Robert Benton, and John Sayles.

Fully updated for the twenty-first century, The New First Dictionary of Cultural Literacy gathers together all of the essential facts that youngsters should have at their fingertips for school success. The child education expert E. D. Hirsch, Jr., cuts through the wealth of information available today to highlight those terms that a child should be familiar with by the end of sixth grade. With nearly 3,000 concise definitions, including 250 new entries (Harry Potter, centaurs, northern lights, and World Series, to name a few), this popular sourcebook makes finding information easy. Here is everything your child needs to know to be culturally literate in 21 different subject areas, from mythology to literature to U.S. history to science and technology, and much more.

Frog in the Well is a vivid and revealing account of Watanabe Kazan, one of the most important intellectuals of the late Tokugawa period. From his impoverished upbringing to his tragic suicide in exile, Kazan's life and work reflected a turbulent period in Japan's history. He was a famous artist, a Confucian scholar, a student of Western culture, a samurai, and a critic of the shogunate who, nevertheless, felt compelled to kill himself for fear that he had caused his lord anxiety. During this period, a typical Japanese scholar or artist refused to acknowledge the outside world, much like a "frog in the well that knows nothing of the ocean," but Kazan actively sought out Western learning. He appreciated European civilization and bought every scrap of European art that was available in Japan. He became a painter to help his family out of poverty and, by employing the artistic techniques of the West, achieved great success with his realistic and stylistically advanced portraits. Although he remained a nationalist committed to the old ways, Kazan called on the shogunate to learn from the West or risk disaster. He strove to improve the agricultural and economic conditions of his province and reinforce its defenses, but his criticisms and warnings about possible coastal invasions ultimately led to his arrest and exile. Frog in the Well is the first full-length biography of Kazan in English, and, in telling his life's story, renowned scholar Donald Keene paints a fascinating portrait of the social and intellectual milieus of the late Tokugawa period. Richly illustrated with Kazan's paintings, Frog in the Well illuminates a life that is emblematic of the cultural crises affecting Japan in the years before revolution.

Throughout history the image of the non-Jew in Judaism has profoundly influenced the way in which Jews interact with non-Jews. It has also shaped the understanding that Jews have of their own identity, as it determines just what distinguishes them from the non-Jews around them. A crucial element in this is the concept of Noahide law, understood by the ancient rabbis and subsequent Jewish thinkers as incumbent upon all humankind, unlike the full 613 divine commandments of the Torah, which are incumbent on Jews alone. The approach adopted in this now classic study is to consider the history of the idea of Noahide law, and to show how the concept is relevant to practical discussions of the halakhah pertaining to non-Jews and to relations between Jews and non-Jews. The seven chapters that make up the first part of the study examine each of the Noahide laws in turn, with a view to showing their halakhic development in the rabbinic sources, in the codes, and in the responsa literature. The discussion draws primarily on classical texts by traditional commentators as they attempt to deal with living issues from the rabbinic world as equally vital concerns in their own time.The second part deals with the theory of Noahide law, concluding with a consideration of why it is an appropriate starting point for Jewish philosophy today.

The author describes his love for Vermont, sharing his thoughts on the history of the region, the reason for the state's live and let live attitude, and how Vermont's free-thinking traditions can survive in the modern world.

Founded in 1841, The Jewish Chronicle is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. A force for change, a forum for debate and a shaper of Jewish identity, it has played a central part in the development of modern Anglo-Jewry. More than just a mirror of Anglo-Jewish mores, registering waves of immigration and social change, The Jewish Chronicle has been an active player in historical events. Its editors have intervened decisively in communal history and debated with British statesmen. No historian can understand the inner life of British Jews without looking at the social reports, the sports column, the arts and cultural coverage and the advertising that the paper has carried. This book, written by a noted historian of Jewish social affairs, gives an insight into the working of a newspaper, the struggles between editors and directors, and the boardroom politics. It is the story of a publishing adventure that became an institution and helped to shape the destiny of an entire community.

Product Description Printed in England in 1982 by the venerable Webb & Bower, this award-winning, richly illustrated (black and white photographs, engravings) and deeply researched work is part walking guidebook, part history and social analysis. The full title is The Mews of London - a Guide to the Hidden Byways of London's Past. Highly readable and without technical language, it provides fascinating glimpses into one of the great cities of the world and reminds us that the architecture of a city is also a social history and a record of the thoughts of its builders and inhabitants. The authors -- one of whom later became Cultural Affairs Officer at the British Embassy in Washington DC, and the other was the inventor of the famous Zuckermann Harpsichord Kit -- impart a sense of how to read this history in geography, metal, wood and stone, and their absorption in the topic, and their love for it, is obvious. The collection of nostalgic photographs alone is well worth the time one spends with this remarkable little volume. The Mews of London won special mention for originality in the Guide Book of the Year Awards by the London Tourist Board, 1983. Review ... "mews" refers to cages where falcons were kept... "mew"...word muer (to molt) dervived from the Latin mutare... -- London Property Magazine, 1982 --London Property Magazine... authoritative on ... history... topography of those unique streets...Rosen/Zuckermann are delighted ... treasures survive... many are in conservation areas... --The London Explorer, 1982 - Tom Pocock --The London Explorer From the Inside Flap ...the first book about one of London's most remarkable features -- the vast network of former stable blocks left over from the days of the horse. There are more than 600 mews in London, many discreetly hidden behind arches, and they contain some of the prettiest and least-known houses in the city. This book leads the reader through these secluded backwaters rarely seen by tourists, in a series of walks from Bayswater to Belgravia, and Mayfair to Marylebone, each one accompanied by maps and detailed descriptions.The authors' painstaking research leads them into an absorbing historical and sociological discussion of the mews origin and survival in a changing world. The reader is taken into unexplored corners full of romantic appeal , where cobbled streets, imposing arches and quaint architectural details give him a fleeting glimpse into another era of carriages and coachmen of the bygone days of gaslit streets. Illustrated with engravings from the past and Chris Wormald's evocative photographs of present-day life in the mews, this book is a unique blend of history and guidebook, whose non-technical commentary is addressed to the Londoner and tourist, to the walker and armchair explorer and to all who love the diversity of cities. About the Author Barbara Rosen has a BA from McGill University, Montreal and an EdM from Harvard University. A former English and creative writing teacher she came to Europe in 1978 to research in England, France and Spain for a book on music. In the course of her work at the British Library she became interested in English social history and city architecture. She served as Cultural Affairs Officer at the British Embassy/British Council in Washington, DC. She now runs a company - Anima Galleries - which represents Russian, European and US artists and organizes exhibtions at major US and European venues. Wolfgang Zuckermann has a BA from Queens College, New York, and for a long time owned the famous musical instrument company, Zuckermann Harpsichords. In 1968, he published The Modern Harpsichord which sold out after two hard-cover editions. He has also written End of the Road --the world car crisis and how we can solve it as well as several children's books. He came to Europe to do further research in his field and was a resident of Exeter and London for ten years. He gave frequent seminars and lectures

Exploring globalization from a labor history perspective, Aviva Chomsky provides historically grounded analyses of migration, labor-management collaboration, and the mobility of capital. She illuminates the dynamics of these movements through case studies set mostly in New England and Colombia. Taken together, the case studies offer an intricate portrait of two regions, their industries and workers, and the myriad links between them over the long twentieth century, as well as a new way to conceptualize globalization as a long-term process. Chomsky examines labor and management at two early-twentieth-century Massachusetts factories: one that transformed the global textile industry by exporting looms around the world, and another that was the site of a model program of labor-management collaboration in the 1920s. She follows the path of the textile industry from New England, first to the U.S. South, and then to Puerto Rico, Japan, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. She considers how towns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts began to import Colombian workers as they struggled to keep their remaining textile factories going. Most of the workers eventually landed in service jobs: cleaning houses, caring for elders, washing dishes. Focusing on Colombia between the 1960s and the present, Chomsky looks at the Urabá banana export region, where violence against organized labor has been particularly acute, and, through a discussion of the AFL-CIO’s activities in Colombia, she explores the thorny question of U.S. union involvement in foreign policy. In the 1980s, two U.S. coal mining companies began to shift their operations to Colombia, where they opened two of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world. Chomsky assesses how different groups, especially labor unions in both countries, were affected. Linked Labor Histories suggests that economic integration among regions often exacerbates regional inequalities rather than ameliorating them.

From the bestselling author of Prague comes a witty, inventive, brilliantly constructed novel about an Egyptologist obsessed with finding the tomb of an apocryphal king. This darkly comic labyrinth of a story opens on the desert plains of Egypt in 1922, then winds its way from the slums of Australia to the ballrooms of Boston, by way of Oxford, the battlefields of the First World War, and a royal court in turmoil. Just as Howard Carter unveils the tomb of Tutankhamun, making the most dazzling find in the history of archaeology, Oxford-educated Egyptologist Ralph Trilipush is digging himself into trouble, having staked his professional reputation and his fiancŽe's fortune on a scrap of hieroglyphic pornography. Meanwhile, a relentless Australian detective sets off on the case of his career, spanning the globe in search of a murderer. And another murderer. And possibly another murderer. The confluence of these seemingly separate stories results in an explosive ending, at once inevitable and utterly unpredictable. Arthur Phillips leads this expedition to its unforgettable climax with all the wit and narrative bravado that made Prague one of the most critically acclaimed novels of 2002. Exploring issues of class, greed, ambition, and the very human hunger for eternal life, this staggering second novel gives a glimpse of Phillips's range and maturity, and is sure to earn him further acclaim as one of the most exciting authors of his generation.

An Incisive Account of the Bizarre, Often Bewildering Art World of Today Arthur Danto's new collection finds him, and the art world, at a point when the art world has become pluralistic, even chaotic-with one medium as good as the next-when the moment for "next things" has passed. Since 1984, when Danto-already an eminent philosopher--became "The Nation's" art critic, he has been one of the foremost theorists of contemporary art's history and evolution, and at the same time the most incisive and illuminating critic of new work. In his view, the historical development of art reached a kind of zenith in the pop period, most famously with Warhol's Brillo Boxes. Danto's five volumes of review essays (all published by FSG) form a kind of chronicle of the art world since the Brillo moment, and a running appraisal of the great variety of significant work made since then. In this new book, he shows how work that bridges the gap between art and life is now the definitive work of our time: Damien Hirst's arrays of skeletons and anatomical models, Barbara Kruger's tchotchke-ready slogans, Renee Cox's nude portrait of herself at the Last Supper. To the obvious question--is this stuff really art?--Danto replies with an enthusiastic yes, explaining, with a philosopher's clarity and an art lover's sense of delight, how these "unnatural wonders" show us who we are.

WELL, DIP ME IN HISTORY AND CALL ME A TIME TRAVELLER! It's the brand new book from the author of the award-winning and bestselling Mr Gum series! NATBOFF! is a hysterical collection of stories, all set in Mr Gum's hometown of Lamonic Bibber. Strap on your laughter goggles as you embark on a time-travelling journey through the funniest and maddest moments in history. From the Stone Age to Medieval times, from the Great Fire to the First World War, to one million years in the future, it's all here - and it's all completely crazy. Meet the town's most famous residents, including: Natboff the caveman! Princess Snowflake! A malcontent squirrel! Strange Mildred the witch! A talking grape called Plover! Cribbins, the mysterious Victorian inventor, who invented mysterious Victorian things! And plenty more besides! Packed full of stories, poems, an extremely odd history of the British monarchy, and even a 'Shakespearian' play (penned by William's less-famous brother, Terry) - and with plenty of Easter eggs for Mr Gum fans to spot along the way - this book is perfect for fans of Horrible Histories, Roald Dahl and David Walliams. Plus it's the only one that's got the word 'kingandqueeniest' in it, most likely. With hilarious illustrations by David Tazzyman. Have you collected all the well brilliant Mr Gum books? You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire Mr Gum and the Goblins Mr Gum and the Power Crystals Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear What's for Dinner, Mr Gum? Mr Gum and the Cherry Tree Mr Gum and the Secret Hideout Praise for Mr Gum: 'They are the funniest books ... I can't recommend them enough' - Stephen Mangan 'Smooky palooki! This book is well brilliant!' - Jeremy Strong 'Worryingly splendid' - Guardian Andy Stanton studied English at Oxford but they kicked him out. Before becoming a children's writer he was a film script reader, a market researcher, an NHS lackey, a part-time sparrow and a plum. Today he is best-known for the hilarious and much-loved Mr Gum books, which have sold over 3.6 million copies in the UK alone and have been translated into 32 languages. The series has won numerous awards, including the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize, the Red House Children's Book Award and two Blue Peter Book Awards.

World known Russian writer Anatoly Rybakov, the author of the Dirk, Bronze Bird, Children of Arbat, Heavy Sand and many other stories, novels, screenplays and TV serials was the founding President of the Russian PEN Centre. Harrison Salisbury says: "The epic tragedy of Stalin's Russia has never been written with such pervasive and dramatic terror as by Anatoli Rybakov in his semi-fictional novel, Fear". "Once read, it is a tale which will be engraved on the mind of the reader for life." .... The San Francisco Chronicle says: " A landmark in Soviet literary history.... Rybakov is a major talent."

What made the West western ? And has Western civilisation found modernity but lost itself? This provocative and stimulating polemic argues that western culture and civilisation have been destroyed not only in, but indeed by, modernity. How the West Was Lost argues that all modern upheavals the Reformation, the English, American, French and Russian Revolutions, the Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War, both World Wars can only be understood if seen as resulting in an assault on the core values of the West. At its heart lies the belief that the central conflict of our time is cultural and that traditional culture and civilised society have been under attack ever since the Enlightenment. The author traces the development of Western civilisation from its origins paradoxically in the East and examines what he sees as its inexorable decline in all forms of art and all walks of life. He asks uncomfortable questions about politics, philosophy, psychology and religion and suggests answers which are provocative and unorthodox. This book is a bold and challenging attempt to present a new concept of modern history for our complacent times. The results are often unexpected but always original and invigorating."

"A theory of feelings examines the problem of human feelings, widely understood, from phenomenological, analytic, and historical perspectives. It begins with an analysis of drives and affects, and pursues the nature of "feeling" itself, in all of its variability, through a close study of the distinctive categories of emotions, emotional dispositions, orientive feelings, and the passions. As such, the starting point of the analysis entails an examination of the characteristics of human involvement, or our ways of being in the world. Building upon this assessment of the conditions of human involvement, the philosophical history and emotional economy characteristic of modern relationships is treated, and the nature of expression, social division, suffering, and responsibility is evaluated in light of the theory of feeling presented here."--BOOK JACKET

Volumes have been dedicated to madness, but sanity is rarely mentioned. We can define the mad, but how do we classify the sane? In Going Sane, psychoanalyst and writer Adam Phillips delves deep into history, philosophy, literature and his own experiences to address questions that we rarely ask about ourselves, taking us on an engrossing journey in which we learn many things - including some of what it takes to be happy in the modern world.

The New York Times hailed John B. Judis's The Emerging Democratic Majority as "indispensable." Now this brilliant political writer compares the failure of American imperialism a century ago with the potential failure of the current administration's imperialistic policies. One hundred years ago, Theodore Roosevelt believed that the only way the United States could achieve peace, prosperity, and national greatness was by joining Europe in a struggle to add colonies. But Roosevelt became disillusioned with this imperialist strategy after a long war in the Philippines. Woodrow Wilson, shocked by nationalist backlash to American intervention in Mexico and by the outbreak of World War I, began to see imperialism not as an instrument of peace and democracy, but of war and tyranny. Wilson advocated that the United States lead the nations of the world in eliminating colonialism and by creating a "community of power" to replace the unstable "balance of power." Wilson's efforts were frustrated, but decades later they led to the creation of the United Nations, NATO, the IMF, and the World Bank. The prosperity and relative peace in the United States of the past fifty years confirmed the wisdom of Wilson's approach. Despite the proven success of Wilson's strategy, George W. Bush has repudiated it. He has revived the narrow nationalism of the Republicans who rejected the League of Nations in the 1920s. And at the urging of his neoconservative supporters, he has revived the old, discredited imperialist strategy of attempting to unilaterally overthrow regimes deemed unfriendly by his administration. Bush rejects the role of international institutions and agreements in curbing terrorists, slowing global pollution, and containing potential threats. In The Folly of Empire, John B. Judis convincingly pits Wilson's arguments against those of George W. Bush and the neoconservatives. Judis draws sharp contrasts between the Bush administration's policies, especially with regard to Iraq, and those of every administration from Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman through George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The result is a concise, thought-provoking look at America's position in the world -- then and now -- and how it has been formed, that will spark debate and controversy in Washington and beyond. The Folly of Empire raises crucial questions about why the Bush administration has embarked on a foreign policy that has been proven unsuccessful and presents damning evidence that its failure is already imminent. The final message is a sobering one: Leaders ignore history's lessons at their peril.

"The best scholarly description of European Fascism available."-- American Historical Review "Professor Carsten surveys the major and minor European fascist groups which flourished between the world wars, including such movements as were active in Romania, Austria, Hungary, Finland, Britain, and Belgium. In doing so, he has produced a useful, if brief, addition to the growing number of studies on this subject."-- The Historian "A short, responsible survey of how fascism came to power in Italy and Germany, with some valuable comparative data on fascist movements in other European countries."-- Foreign Affairs "The core of this factual, but extremely readable book consists of an account of Italian fascism up to 1929 and Nazism up to 1934."-- International Review of Social History "To date, this is the best study on the origins of fascism . . . . "-- Library Journal