14302 results for "History"

The Secrets of the Vaulted Sky: Astrology and the Art of Prediction

Berlinski, David
David Berlinski explains the power of humanity's oldest predictive system in this stunning and original new book. Astrology began at the dawn of time and over the centuries became a complex system with gifted seers often achieving results of eerie accuracy. For most of recorded history, astrologers have been found at the elbows of the rich and the powerful. However, Newton's system of the world put an end to one aspect of the astrological tradition. As a result, a method once widely used has become widely discredited, especially by scientific critics with little knowledge of astrology itself. With a genius for storytelling and penetrating analysis, Berlinski explains how astrology works and how astrological ideas, although disguised, have reappeared in modern scientific theories. .
Mariner Books 2009-04-01 320 pages

The cult of the nation in France

Bell, David A.
In a work of lucid prose and striking originality, Bell offers the first comprehensive survey of patriotism and national sentiment in early modern France, and shows how the dialectical relationship between nationalism and religion left a complex legacy that still resonates in debates over French national identity today. Table of Contents: Preface Introduction: Constructing the Nation 1. The National and the Sacred 2. The Politics of Patriotism and National Sentiment 3. English Barbarians, French Martyrs 4. National Memory and the Canon of Great Frenchmen 5. National Character and the Republican Imagination 6. National Language and the Revolutionary Crucible Conclusion: Toward the Present Day and the End of Nationalism Notes Note on Internet Appendices and Bibliography Index Reviews of this book: Bell delineates the history of nationalism in France, tracing its origins to the 17th century. He shows how in 18th-century France, political and intellectual leaders made perfect national unity a priority, allowing the construction of the nation to take precedence over other political tasks. The goal was to provide all French people with the same language, laws, customs, and values. Bell argues that while the French leaders hoped that patriotism and national sentiment would replace religion as the binding force, it was actually religion that was a major (but not exclusive) factor in helping the French see the world around them. This period of history was the beginning of the first large-scale nationalist program. Bell also shows how the relationship between nationalism and religion contributes to the French national identity debate today. Bell's comprehensive and well-documented book is written in an accessible style...Recommended for French and European history collections. --Mary Salony, Library Journal Reviews of this book: At the center of Bell's subtle and intricate argument is religion. Religion, he suggests, was changing in the 18th century. And with men less likely to see God as an interventionist presence in their daily lives and more likely to stress God's distant, inscrutable quality, space was opened up for an autonomous realm of human action, described by a series of interconnected words: society, public opinion, civilization, fatherland and nation. --Richard Vinen, New York Times Book Review Reviews of this book: David Bell has interesting things to say about the French kindred and about an important aspect of their life together. The Cult of the Nation in France is about the way a particular kind of togetherness and a novel kind of identity were implanted, grew (and may have begun to wither) in France's fertile soil. The nation, he argues, is no spontaneous growth but a political artifact: not organic like a tree but constructed like a city. --Eugen Weber, Los Angeles Times Reviews of this book: Bell argues in his excellent analysis of the 18th-century conceptual birth of French nationalism that nationalism emerged at a point when French intellectuals increasingly came to see God as distant from human affairs and sough to separate religious passions from political life...A masterful, thought-provoking [study]. --P. G. Wallace, Choice Reviews of this book: This excellent book is at once a valuable account of the development of the concept of the nation in France and an important example of the use that can be made of the culture of print...Bell argues that right-wing nationalism has belonged consistently to a minority and that there has been a basic continuity in French republican nationalism over the past two centuries, views that not all will share, but arguments that testify to the importance of this well-crafted work. --Jeremy Black, History A notable addition to the expanding literature on nationalism in general and of French nationalism in particular, The Cult of the Nation in France explores how national affiliation became part of individual identity. It demonstrates the connections between nationalism and religion, without falling into the simple trap of treating nationalism as another religion. Against the present-day challenges faced by French republican nationalism, Bell insightfully examines the paradoxical process whereby the French came to posit themselves as a union of politically and spiritually like-minded citizens. --Joan B. Landes, Pennsylvania State University A formidably intelligent and beautifully written analysis of how the French came to perceive their nation as a political construction. Its breadth, together with its highly original discussion of the role of religion, makes The Cult of the Nation in France essential reading both for students of nationalism and for anyone wanting to understand current French debates on culture, ethnicity, and identity. --Linda Colley, London School of Economics and Political Science David Bell is one of the most talented young historians working in any field. This fascinating, brilliantly argued, and beautifully written study demonstrates the multi-stranded origins of the concept of the nation in France. Bell's major contribution is to place the timing of this crucial evolution well before the Revolution of 1789. He never loses sight of the linguistic and cultural complexity of France, bringing to a conclusion the story of French nationalism in our era. --John Merriman, Yale University
Harvard University Press 2003 304 pages

The Last Flight of Poxl West

Daniel Torday
Poxl West fled the Nazis' onslaught in Czechoslovakia. He escaped their clutches again in Holland. He pulled Londoners from the Blitz's rubble. He wooed intoxicating, unconventional beauties. He rained fire on Germany from his RAF bomber. Poxl West is the epitome of manhood and something of an idol to his teenage nephew, Eli Goldstein, who reveres him as a brave, singular, Jewish war hero. Poxl fills Eli's head with electric accounts of his derring-do, adventures and romances, as he collects the best episodes from his storied life into a memoir. He publishes that memoir, Skylock, to great acclaim, and its success takes him on the road, and out of Eli's life. With his uncle gone, Eli throws himself into reading his opus and becomes fixated on all things Poxl. But as he delves deeper into Poxl's history, Eli begins to see that the life of the fearless superman he's adored has been much darker than he let on, and filled with unimaginable loss from which he may have not recovered. As the truth about Poxl emerges, it forces Eli to face irreconcilable facts about the war he's romanticized and the vision of the man he's held so dear. Daniel Torday's debut novel, "The Last Flight of Poxl West, " beautifully weaves together the two unforgettable voices of Eli Goldstein and Poxl West, exploring what it really means to be a hero, and to be a family, in the long shadow of war.
Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning 2015 421 pages

Confronting memories of World War II: European and Asian legacies

Daniel Chirot
"The legacy of the Second World War has been, like the war itself, an international phenomenon. In both Europe and Asia, common questions of criminality, guilt, and collaboration have intersected with history and politics on the local level to shape the way that wartime experience has been memorialized, reinterpreted, and used. By directly comparing European and Asian legacies, Confronting Memories of World War II, provides unique insight into the way that World War II continues to influence contemporary attitudes and politics on a global scale. The collection brings together experts from a variety of disciplines and perspectives to explore the often overlooked commonalities between European and Asian handling of memories and reflections about guilt. These commonalities suggest new understandings of the war's legacy and the continuing impact of historical trauma. Daniel Chirot is Herbert J. Ellison Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the University of Washington. Gi-Wook Shin is director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, as well as holder of the Tong Yang, Korea Foundation, and Korea Stanford Alumni Chair of Korean Studies. Daniel Sneider is associate director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Center. Contributors include Thomas Berger, Frances Gouda, Julian T. Jackson, Fania Oz-Salzbe, Gilbert Rozman, Igor Torbakov, and Roger Petersen; "A provocative, timely, superbly documented volume on urgent moral, political and historical topics. There is no trace of idealization--the book is objective, clear-minded, and historically poignant. A substantial, truly enriching addition in terms of a global comparative approach"--Vladimir Tismaneanu, University of Maryland, College Park; "This truly 'international' edited volume on the issues of war, memory, and national identity explores how memories about wartime experiences--including criminality, collaboration and reconciliation--are shaped and reshaped, connected to questions of national identity, and used for domestic and international political purposes."--Patricia L. Maclachlan, University of Texas, Austin"
University of Washington Press 2014 330 pages

Jazz people

Morgenstern, Dan
This work portrays the giants of jazz, relates what they achieved, and tells how they made their way in a world not always ready for them. The text offers a clear, informative history of the art, and the photographs present Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Charles Mingus, Benny Godman, Louis Armstrong and scores of others. These haunting photographs are supplemented with some rare vintage prints to tell the whole story of jazz from Buddy Bolden to Anthony Braxton.
Harry N. Abrams publishers 1976 300 pages

Critics, monsters, fanatics, and other literary essays

Ozick, Cynthia
"In a collection that includes new essays written explicitly for this volume, one of our sharpest and most influential critics confronts the past, present, and future of literary culture. If every outlet for book criticism suddenly disappeared -- if all we had were reviews that treated books like any other commodity -- could the novel survive? In a gauntlet-throwing essay at the start of this brilliant assemblage, Cynthia Ozick stakes the claim that, just as surely as critics require a steady supply of new fiction, novelists need great critics to build a vibrant community on the foundation of literary history. For decades, Ozick herself has been one of our great critics, as these essays so clearly display. She offers models of critical analysis of writers from the mid-twentieth century to today, from Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, and Kafka, to William Gass and Martin Amis, all assembled in provocatively named groups: Fanatics, Monsters, Figures, and others. Uncompromising and brimming with insight, these essays are essential reading for anyone facing the future of literature in the digital age"--
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2016 211 pages

Antiquities

Ozick, Cynthia
'A strange and compelling new book from one of America's greatest living authors' Times Literary Supplement 'As cunning and rich as anything Ozick's written' Wall Street Journal 'One of our era's central writers. About a man ensnared by history, Antiquities is at once a warning against the hazards of nostalgia and an invitation to take a longer view of how we got to where we are' The New Yorker 'Ozick's prose urges the breathless reader along, her love of language rolling excitedly through her sentences like an ocean wave' New York Review of Books I remember nothing. I remember everything. I believe everything. I believe nothing. In 1949, Lloyd Wilkinson Petrie returns as a Trustee to the long-defunct boarding school that he attended as a child. There he is preparing a memoir about the subtle anti-Semitism that pervaded the school, about his fascination with the Egyptian archaeological adventures of his distant cousin, about the passions of a boyhood friendship with named Ben-Zion Elefantin, a mystifying older pupil. In this novella, and the three stories published alongside it, one of our most preeminent writers weaves together myth and mania, history and illusion to capture the shifting meanings of the past.
Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2022-04-14 253 pages

Anthropology and myth: lectures 1951-1982

Lévi-Strauss, Claude
The published work of Claude Levi-Strauss over the last three and a half decades has established him as one of the world′s most innovative anthropologists. Yet throughout this period he was maintaining a full taching commitment in Paris. The pieces in Anthropology and Myth illustrate (in his own words) ′the efforts, the tentative advances and retreats and now and again the achievements of a thought process during some thirty-two years that amount to a large propotion of an individual life and the span of a generation′. Levi-Strauss used to the lecture theatre as a workshop in which to try out and develop new ideas, and many of the familiar themes of his books will be found here: analysis of myth and ritual, totemism, kinship, marriage and social structure. Offering a unique glimpse of the genesis of such subjects throughout his teaching career, this book provides a sketchbook of the themes painted elsewhere in larger, more finished form, and thus forms a document of vital importance for the history of anthropological thought.
Basil Blackwell 1987-01 232 pages

The Song of Songs: a new translation with an introduction and commentary

Ariel A. Bloch,Chana Bloch
In their lyrical new translation of the Song of Songs, Ariel Bloch and Chana Bloch restore the sensuousness of the original in language that is rich, joyous, and passionate. Scrupulously faithful to the Hebrew text, the Blochs strip away the veils of mistranslation that have obscured this great love poem to reveal it in all its magical freshness. In her Introduction, Chana Bloch reflects on the centrality of women in the Song and on the role of King Solomon. She discusses the poem's authorship and date, as well as the tortuous (and often amusing) history of misinterpretation, and suggests how such an unabashedly secular work came to be included in the canon of Holy Scripture. Ariel Bloch's Commentary offers imaginative new readings of passages that have puzzled exegetes for centuries. In his Afterword, the biblical scholar Robert Alter surveys the newly revealed sensuousness of the poem's erotic landscape.
Random House 1995 253 pages

Down-Home Sex Magic Hoodoo Spells of Bodily Love

Catherine Yronwode
In this no-holds-barred book, you will find a wealth of magical spells founded in love, grounded in history, and attested in faith. Learn how to use hoodoo spells to find and attract a new lover, easily make casual sexual hook-ups, establish a bonded relationship, celebrate and enhance a loving marriage, arouse your mate more frequently, truly please the one you love, tie a wandering lover's nature, untie your own captured nature, and use personal concerns to happily hold the one you love. Chapters include these methods of sex magic: Fascinating Fluids, Corporeal Concerns, Wonderful Words, Amorous Amulets, Copulating Candles, Darling Dolls, Erotic Energies , Magical Measures, Captivating Clothing, Herbal Aphrodisiacs, Seductive Seasonings, Make-Out Mojos, Bewitching Bottles, and Sacred Sex.
Lucky Mojo Curio Company 2021-09 96 pages

The mismeasure of woman

Tavris, Carol
When "man is the measure of all things," woman is forever trying to measure up. In this enlightening book, Carol Tavris unmasks the widespread but invisible custom -- pervasive in the social sciences, medicine, law, and history -- of treating men as the normal standard, women as abnormal. Tavris expands our vision of normalcy by illuminating the similarities between women and men and showing that the real differences lie not in gender, but in power, resources, and life experiences. Winner of the American Association for Applied and Preventive Psychology's Distinguished Media Contribution Award
Simon & Schuster 1993-02-26 398 pages

The pill, pygmy chimps, and Degas' horse: the autobiography of Carl Djerassi

Djerassi, Carl
Father of the birth control pill, developer of antihistamines, founder of biomedical companies, teacher of world-class chemists, best-selling novelist.... As The Scientist notes, "Few can match Carl Djerassi's juggling act for success and longevity". Here is Djerassi's remarkable autobiography. Blending vivid descriptions of the lucrative world of drug development with controversial chapters on the politics of contraception and poignant disclosures about his personal life, this book tells the story of one of the most productive and socially conscious chemists working today. The Pill, Pygmy Chimps, and Degas' Horse tells how Djerassi, while still in his twenties and leading a small team in an obscure laboratory in Mexico City, used a locally grown yam first to synthesize cortisone and then, within twelve months, to create the first steroid effective as a birth control pill. Dubbed for this latter work "the father of the pill", a title he often shares with Gregory Pincus and John Rock, who performed the biological and clinical studies to confirm the pill's efficacy in humans, Djerassi has spent a lifetime thinking and rethinking, discussing and debating, the social, economic, and biological consequences of the changed attitudes toward contraception engendered by the pill. In two riveting chapters entitled "The Pill at Twenty" and "The Pill at Forty: What Now?" Djerassi recounts the fascinating history of the pill's journey from its first days in the laboratory to widespread public use--from being hailed as an agent of the sexual revolution to condemnation as an agent of the new promiscuity, to being accused of being an expression of the scientific community's sexism (Why was there no malebirth control pill?). And then, in a powerful consideration of where the politics of contraception have taken us, he discusses why so few innovations in contraception are being investigated today, and why even fewer are making their way to the public. The Pill, Pygmy Chimps, and Degas' Horse chronicles Djerassi's many successful careers in science, business, the academy, and the arts (he is a published poet and novelist, as well as the founder of an artists' colony). His growing appreciation for the soft side of science--its human and humane aspects--have long been reflected in the courses he teaches at Stanford, in the plot of his novel, Cantor's Dilemma, and in his decision to found one of the first environmentally aware pesticide companies. In this intellectually challenging book, the reader is let into the fertile mind and psyche of one of the few Renaissance men of twentieth-century science.
Basic Books 1992-04-26 319 pages

The Modern Language of Architecture

Bruno Zevi
Frank Lloyd Wright called Bruno Zevi ?the most penetrating architectural critic of our time,? and one could ask for no better proof than Zevi?s masterpiece, The Modern Language of Architecture . In it, Zevi sets forth seven principles, or ?antirules,? to codify the new language of architecture created by Le Corbusier, Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Wright. In place of the classical language of the Beaux Art school, with its focus on abstract principles of order, proportion, and symmetry, he presents an alternative system of communication characterized by a free interpretation of contents and function, an emphasis on difference and dissonance, a dynamic of multidimensional vision, and independent interplay of elements, an organic marriage of engineering and design, a concept of living spaces that are designed for use, and an integration of buildings into their surroundings. Anticipating the innovations of postmodern architecture, Zevi argues forcefully for complexity and against unity, for decomposition dialogue between architecture and historiography, finding elements of the modern language of architecture throughout history, and discussing the process of architectural innovation. Sumptuously illustrated, and written in a clear, accessible manner, The Modern Language of Architecture will long remain one of the classics of architectural criticism and history.
Van Nostrand Reinhold 1981 241 pages

The trouble with reality: a rumination on moral panic in our time

Gladstone, Brooke
Every week on the public radio show On the Media , the award-winning journalist Brooke Gladstone analyzes the media and how it shapes our perceptions of the world. Now, from her front-row perch on the day’s events, Gladstone brings her genius for making insightful, unexpected connections to help us understand what she calls—and what so many of us can acknowledge having—“trouble with reality.” Reality, as she shows us, was never what we thought it was—there is always a bubble, people are always subjective and prey to stereotypes. And that makes reality actually more vulnerable than we ever thought. Enter Donald J. Trump and his team of advisors. For them, as she writes, lying is the point . The more blatant the lie, the easier it is to hijack reality and assert power over the truth. Drawing on writers as diverse as Hannah Arendt, Walter Lippmann, Philip K. Dick, and Jonathan Swift, she dissects this strategy, straight out of the authoritarian playbook, and shows how the Trump team mastered it, down to the five types of tweets that Trump uses to distort our notions of what’s real and what’s not. And she offers hope. There is meaningful action, a time-tested treatment for moral panic. And there is also the inevitable reckoning. History tells us we can count on it. Brief and bracing, The Trouble with Reality shows exactly why so many of us didn’t see it coming, and how we can recover both our belief in reality—and our sanity.
Workman Publishing 2017-05-16 92 pages

Forging queer leaders: how the LGBTQIA+ community creates impact from adversity

Fram, Bree,Cavallaro, Liz
"LGBTQ+ individuals disproportionately encounter bias, adversity, stigma, and marginalization throughout their lives. It's an enormous obstacle - but also prepares them for leadership in a fast-moving, volatile, uncertain, complex, and adaptive working world. The book explores the unique and inspiring developmental experiences of LGBTQ+ leaders, the amazing capabilities they bring to teams, and what that means for everyone pursuing positive and inclusive organizational strategy. With stories from the armed forces, lawyers, entrepreneurs, authors, academics, thought-leaders, medical professionals - you name it - this shows how queer folk everywhere are harnessing their hard-won power and resilience to excel. With a history of excellence in queer leadership, the contextual underpinning of adversity and resilience theory, and uplifting stories and soundbites from queer game-changers in every field - this is an essential resource for LGBTQ+ individuals, allies, advocates, business professionals and leaders of all kinds."--Publisher.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2024 272 pages

The Cabala

Bernhard Pick
Kabbalah is a mystical and esoteric system of Jewish thought and spirituality, which dates back to ancient times and has continued to evolve throughout history. It involves the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible and the quest for understanding the hidden meanings and secrets of the universe. In "The Cabala," Bernhard Pick explores the origins, history, and development of Kabbalah within Judaism. He also examines how Kabbalistic ideas and concepts have influenced Christian mysticism and esotericism over the centuries. The book delves into various aspects of Kabbalah, including its teachings on the nature of God, the Sephirot (emanations or attributes of the divine), the concept of Ein Sof (the infinite and unknowable divine essence), and the use of mystical symbols and diagrams. Bernhard Pick's work on the Cabala is considered significant in the study of Jewish mysticism and the transmission of Kabbalistic ideas beyond Jewish circles into Christian thought.
Zinc Read 2023-07-31 66 pages

Living with the dragon: how the American public views the rise of China

Page, Benjamin I.
It is widely believed that most Americans not only distrust but also despise China. Considering the country's violent political history, unprecedented economic rise, and growing military capabilities, China has become America's strongest market competitor and arguably the most challenging global threat to the United States.Nevertheless, a full consideration of American opinion proves the opposite to be true. Carefully analyzing all available polls and surveys, Benjamin I. Page and Tao Xie find most Americans favor peaceful engagement with China. The public view has been surprisingly coherent and consistent, changing only in response to major events and new information.While a majority of Americans are not happy that China's economy is projected to become as large as that of the United States, they are prepared to live with it. "Unfair" Chinese trade practices and their impact on American jobs and wages are a concern, along with the quality and safety of Chinese-made goods. However, Americans favor free trade with China, provided it is tempered with environmental and workplace protections. They also believe that the United States should "balance" Chinese power through alliances with neighboring countries, such as Japan. Yet they oppose military action to defend Taiwan. Page and Xie examine these opinions in relation to facts about China and in light of current U.S. debates on diplomacy and policy
Columbia University Press 2010 212 pages