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The making and remaking of Bukovina, a disputed Eastern European borderland, from the eighteenth century to the present dayBukovina, when it has existed on official maps, has always fit uneasily among its neighbors. The region is now divided between Romania and Ukraine but has long been a testing ground for successive regimes, including the Habsburg Empire, independent and later Nazi-allied Romania, and the Soviet Union, as each sought to reshape the region in its own image. In this beautifully written and wide-ranging book, Cristina Florea traces the history of Bukovina, showing how this borderland, the onetime buffer between Christendom and Islam, found itself at the forefront of modern state-building and governance projects that eventually extended throughout the rest of Europe. Encounters that play out in borderlands have proved crucial to the development of modern state ambitions and governance practices.Drawing on a wide range of archives and published sources in Russian, Ukrainian, German, Romanian, French, and Yiddish, Florea integrates stories of ethnic and linguistic groups—rural Ukrainians, Romanians, and Germans, and urban German-speaking Jews and Poles—who lived side by side in Bukovina, all of them navigating constant reconfiguration and reinvention. Challenging traditional chronologies in European history, she shows that different transformations in the region occurred at different tempos, creating a historical palimpsest and a sense among locals that they had lived many lives.A two-hundred-year history of a region shaped by the conflicting pulls of imperial legacies and national ambitions, Bukovina reveals the paradoxes of modern history found in a microcosm of Eastern Europe. Autorid: Cristina Florea

A timely new critique of capitalism’s persistent failure to value natureCapitalism is typically treated as a force for relentless commodification. Yet it consistently fails to place value on vital aspects of the nonhuman world, whether carbon emissions or entire ecosystems. In Free Gifts, Alyssa Battistoni explores capitalism’s persistent failure to value nature, arguing that the key question is not the moral issue of why some kinds of nature shouldn’t be commodified, but the economic puzzle of why they haven’t been. To understand contemporary ecological problems from biodiversity collapse to climate change, she contends, we have to understand how some things come to have value under capitalism—and how others do not. To help us do so, Battistoni recovers and reinterprets the idea of the free gift of nature used by classical economic thinkers to describe what we gratuitously obtain from the natural world, and builds on Karl Marx’s critique of political economy to show how capitalism fundamentally treats nature as free for the taking. This novel theory of capitalism’s relationship to nature not only helps us understand contemporary ecological breakdown, but also casts capitalism’s own core dynamics in a new light.Battistoni addresses four different instances of the free gift in political economic thought, each in a specific domain: natural agents in industry, pollution in the environment, reproductive labor in the household, and natural capital in the biosphere. In so doing, she offers new readings of major twentieth-century thinkers, including Friedrich Hayek, Simone de Beauvoir, Garrett Hardin, Silvia Federici, and Ronald Coase. Ultimately, she offers a novel account of freedom for our ecologically troubled present, developing a materialist existentialism to argue that capitalism limits our ability to be responsible for our relationships to the natural world, and imagining how we might live freely while valuing nature’s gifts. Autorid: Alyssa Battistoni

A kaleidoscopic and original new history of urbanizationfrom Lisbon to New York, Paris to Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires to Lagos For the past three centuries, urban dwellers and planners have imagined future cities that would be radically different from those of the past. Planners pursued progress, whether focused on flying vehicles above, sewage systems below, or daily life in between. Yet, as Bruno Carvalho shows in this original and wide-ranging history, which features some sixty illustrations, modern cities continuously defied predictions. Visionary designs and technological innovations created dramatic, unforeseen outcomes, and the ongoing urban boom is a story of continuity as well as rupture. A compelling history of imagined futures and the transformation of urban life, The Invention of the Future also suggests what we might learn from the stories of our cities as we shape them for the twenty-first century. Moving between large-scale changes and detailed examples, this captivating narrative tells the story of key moments and turning points: the rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake; the 1811 Commissioners Plan for Manhattan; Parisian reforms from 1853 to 1870; Le Corbusiers plans for South American cities in the 1920s and 1930s; the postwar victory of the car; the utopian capital of Brasília; and urban growth in Africa. In recent decades, Carvalho argues, the capacity to invent urban futures has become increasingly constrained. Social and environmental challenges loom large. But the story is not over. While cities helped create current problems, compact and transit-rich urbanization might be our best hope to combine high living standards with sustainability. Sometimes, moving forward can involve reaching back to the future. Autorid: Bruno Carvalho

A user’s guide to navigating the intricate, often contradictory relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligenceArtificial intelligence will shape our future in unforeseen ways, and it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that it could someday dictate the terms of our very existence. But the fact is, the more that AI can do, the more it underscores the irreplaceable qualities of human creativity, empathy, and moral reasoning. This is one of the eight paradoxes of AI that Virginia Dignum explores in this revelatory book. Drawing on her decades of experience in AI research and governance, Dignum cuts through the hype and sensationalism that often surround AI and reveals why the most profound questions it raises are not about technology but ourselves.The AI Paradox is a guide to seeing complexity with clarity, questioning the seemingly inevitable, and using AI in ways that prioritize our collective values. Each paradox explored in this book illuminates a particular dimension of these emerging technologies while prompting us to reevaluate our most common preconceptions about them. Can they truly replicate human decision making or do they simply magnify our blind spots and biases? Is AI the ultimate problem-solving tool or does it introduce more problems? Is justice for all achievable when it comes to AI? Who does AI serve, big tech or the common good? How do we even define AI?With thought-provoking examples and paradoxical insights, this powerful little book challenges us to reimagine the role of these technologies in our lives, advocating for a collaborative, transparent, and inclusive approach that keeps humanity at the core of AI innovation. Autorid: Virginia Dignum

A lively new translation of Plutarch’s charming and timeless essay on how to be a good listener—and why listening is essential to learning and living wellListening is a skill—even an art—and it’s essential to learning and to life. Indeed, as Plutarch writes in How to Listen, “listening well is the foundation for living well.” In this volume, Jeffrey Beneker presents a vivid and accessible new translation of Plutarch’s classic essay about how to become a skilled listener, complete with an inviting introduction and the original Greek on facing pages.Plutarch is most famous as the author of Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of Greek and Roman statesmen. But he was also an expert on teaching and learning and How to Listen is arguably one of his best pedagogical works. A proponent of active listening well before its time, Plutarch explains the skills we need—and the obstacles and distractions we must overcome—to become effective listeners. Good listening requires, above all, an acknowledgement of our own ignorance in certain subjects and a commitment to gaining knowledge. We must set aside pride and envy so we can respect the expertise of others. We must also train ourselves to see through style and focus on substance, to discriminate between weak and strong arguments, and to criticize ideas fairly and accurately.Filled with shrewd insights and advice, How to Listen shows how to cultivate a skill that everyone who wants to learn and live well must master. Autorid: Jeffrey Beneker, Plutarch

An energetic new translation of the ancient Greek satirist Lucian’s humorous and enlightening dialogue on the pros—and cons—of athletics, fitness, and competitionSports and philosophy went hand in hand for the ancient Greeks and Romans, and philosophical conversation was a recognized part of gym life throughout Greco-Roman antiquity. Athens’s Lyceum was a gym—and reportedly a hangout of that philosophical gym rat Socrates—before it became the site of Aristotle’s school. Fittingly, that gym is the setting of the Greek satirist Lucian’s Anacharsis, a witty philosophical dialogue that wrestles with questions about the purpose and value of sports—questions that we are still grappling with in our own sports- and fitness-obsessed times. How to Compete presents a new translation of Lucian’s timeless classic, inviting us into a ringside debate about the point of sports.Pitting a sports skeptic, Anacharsis, against a superfan, Solon, this delightful and thought-provoking work tries to make sense of sports. Why do so many of us care so much about them? Are sports like boxing too violent? Should we take fitness so seriously? Do athletics have educational value? And, most important of all, why did the ancient Greeks exercise naked? While Anacharsis, observing a Greek sport that sounds something like mixed martial arts, asks what kind of citizens set aside serious affairs to watch young men beat each other to a pulp, Solon counters that sports have great civic benefits and that athletes are ultimately competing for the highest prize—human excellence.Featuring an inviting introduction, a handy glossary, helpful notes, and the original Greek on facing pages, How to Compete is a winning exploration of why sports are more than just a game. Autorid: Lucian, Heather L. Reid, Phillip Mitsis

How we can repair our democracy by rebuilding the mechanisms that power itWhat’s the best way to determine what most voters want when multiple candidates are running? What’s the fairest way to allocate legislative seats to different constituencies? What’s the least distorted way to draw voting districts? Not the way we do things now. Democracy is mathematical to its very foundations. Yet most of the methods in use are a historical grab bag of the shortsighted, the cynical, the innumerate, and the outright discriminatory. Making Democracy Count sheds new light on our electoral systems, revealing how a deeper understanding of their mathematics is the key to creating civic infrastructure that works for everyone.In this timely guide, Ismar Volic empowers us to use mathematical thinking as an objective, nonpartisan framework that rises above the noise and rancor of today’s divided public square. Examining our representative democracy using powerful clarifying concepts, Volic shows why our current voting system stifles political diversity, why the size of the House of Representatives contributes to its paralysis, why gerrymandering is a sinister instrument that entrenches partisanship and disenfranchisement, why the Electoral College must be rethought, and what can work better and why. Volic also discusses the legal and constitutional practicalities involved and proposes a road map for repairing the mathematical structures that undergird representative government.Making Democracy Count gives us the concrete knowledge and the confidence to advocate for a more just, equitable, and inclusive democracy. Autorid: Ismar Voli

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 288, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: GALLAGHER AUSTIN, ISBN-13: 9780691273204, Date of issue: 2026

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 632, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: Ravi Vakil, ISBN-13: 9780691268675, Date of issue: 2025

The complex and multifaceted relationship between economic factors and conflictIn this book, Stephen Brooks provides a systematic empirical and theoretical examination of how economic factors influence security affairs. Empirically, he analyzes how economic variables of all kinds affect interstate war, terrorism, and civil war; in total, sixteen pathways are examined. Brooks shows that the relationship between economic factors and conflict is complex and multifaceted; discrete economic factors—such as international trade, economic development, and globalized manufacturing, to name a few—are sometimes helpful for promoting peace and stability, but at other times are detrimental. Brooks also develops a stronger theoretical foundation for guiding future research on the economics-security interaction. Drawing on Adam Smith, he provides a more complete range of answers to the three key conceptual questions analysts must consider: how economic goals relate to security goals; what economic factors to focus on; and how economic actors influence security policies.Combining an innovative theoretical understanding with empirical rigor, Brooks’s account will reshape our understanding of the political economy of security. Autorid: Stephen G. Brooks

The mental labor that keeps families afloat—and why women do most of itMothers and fathers use their time differently, with women spending roughly twice as many hours on family labor as men. But what about the gendered differences in the ways women and men think? What’s on Her Mind provides an illuminating look at the cognitive labor that families depend on and reveals why this essential aspect of family life is disproportionately handled by women—even in couples that aspire to practice equality.While most accounts of household labor center on how people use their time, Allison Daminger focuses on a less visible and less easily quantifiable aspect of family life. She introduces readers to the concept of cognitive labor—anticipating, researching, deciding, and following up—and shows how women in different-gender couples do most of this critical work. She argues that cognitive labor has less to do with personality traits—for example, she’s type A while he’s laid-back—and more to do with learned skills that men and women deploy in distinct ways. Yet not all couples fall into the personality trap. Daminger looks at different-gender couples who achieve a more balanced cognitive allocation while also exploring how queer couples carve out unique relationships to the gender binary.Drawing on original, in-depth interviews with members of different- and same-gender couples, What’s on Her Mind points to new ways of understanding the interplay between who we are as individuals and the cognitive work we do on behalf of our families. Autorid: Allison Daminger

A provocative account of what is gained and what is lost when a word that once narrowly referred to neighborhood change takes on a life all its ownSociologist Ruth Glass coined the term gentrification in the 1960s to mark the displacement of working-class residents in London neighborhoods by the professional classes. The Death and Life of Gentrification traces how the word has far outgrown Glass’s meaning, becoming a socially charged metaphor for cultural appropriation, upscaling, and the loss of authenticity.In this lively and insightful book, Japonica Brown-Saracino traces how a concept originally intended to describe the brick-and-mortar transformation of neighborhoods has come to characterize transformations that have little to do with cities. She describes how journalists, artists, filmmakers, novelists, and academics use gentrification as a symbolic device to mourn how everyday pleasures and forms of self-expression—from music to marijuana, kale, and tattoos—entered the domain of the elite. She weighs the implications of turning to gentrification as a tool to tell stories, entertain audiences, and communicate political messages. Relying on vivid examples, the book reveals how the term today expresses widespread ambivalence about rising economic inequality and unease with a variety of forms of social change. This pathbreaking book forces us to think about whether the wide-ranging way we use gentrification dilutes its meaning and stymies efforts to identify and resist urban displacement.Drawing on everything from film and television to novels and art, The Death and Life of Gentrification sheds critical light on the changing meaning of gentrification in contemporary life. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in gentrification and urban dynamics, as well as for readers curious about attitudes about growing income inequality and the evolution and circulation of ideas. Autorid: Japonica Brown-Saracino

A collection of provocative quotations from one of the most influential artists of the twentieth centuryDuchamp-isms is a selection of illuminating quotations from Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), one of the most important figures in the history of modern art. A painter, sculptor, writer, and chess player, Duchamp changed the very definition of art with his “readymades”—everyday objects such as a bicycle wheel or bottle rack that he titled, signed, and presented as art. He provoked critics and the public with works such as the Cubist-Futurist painting Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912) and Fountain (1917), a readymade composed of a men’s urinal signed “R. Mutt.” Prizing the intellectual over the aesthetic, Duchamp inspired later movements like Minimalism, Conceptualism, and Pop Art. Delightful and witty, Duchamp-isms offers rich insights into the mind of a true icon of modern art.The quotes in Duchamp-isms, drawn primarily from interviews, have been selected and introduced by Francis Naumann, a leading authority on Duchamp, and organized in eight thematic sections: philosophies of art; painting; Dada and Surrealism; the readymades; chess; literary influences; commercialism in art; and philosophies of life and death. The book also features a brief chronology of Duchamp’s life and career.“I have always had a horror of being a ‘professional’ painter. The minute you become that, you are lost.”“Humor and laughter—not necessarily derogatory derision—are my pet tools. This may come from my general philosophy of never taking the world too seriously—for fear of dying of boredom.”“Art can never be adequately defined, because the translation of an aesthetic emotion into a verbal description is as inaccurate as your description of fear when you have been actually scared.”“Art never saved the world. It cannot.” Autorid: Larry Warsh

A modern textbook on galactic dynamics that encourages hands-on learning using the latest computational methodsThis book provides an in-depth introduction to the dynamics, formation, and evolution of galaxies. Starting with the basics of galactic structure and galactic dynamics, it helps students develop a sophisticated understanding of the orbital structure of spirals, ellipticals, and other types of galaxies. The book demonstrates how observations led to the discovery that galaxies are dominated by dark matter and explores in detail how structure evolves from the primordial universe to form the halos that host galaxies when the gravitational attraction of an overdense region overcomes cosmological expansion. Dynamics and Astrophysics of Galaxies uses simple yet realistic models to illustrate the many galactic processes observed today through hierarchical merging and gas accretion, gas cooling and star formation, and internal evolution due to bars, spiral structure, and chemical enrichment.Covers topics ranging from the gravitational potentials of spherical, disk, and ellipsoidal systems to the properties of orbits in different mass distributions, equilibrium models of galaxies, chemical evolution, gravitational lensing, the growth of structure, hierarchical galaxy formation, disk (in)stability, bars, and spiralsIncludes nearly 200 exercises, enabling students to apply the concepts discussed in the book while honing their analytic and computational skillsAccompanied by an online version of the book that includes interactive visualizations and executable Python codeAn ideal textbook for graduate students and advanced undergraduates and an invaluable reference for researchers Autorid: Jo Bovy

From New York Times bestselling author Cass Sunstein, a timely and powerful argument for rethinking how the U.S. Constitution is interpreted The U.S. Supreme Court has eliminated the right to abortion and is revisiting other fundamental questions todayabout voting rights, affirmative action, gun laws, and much more. Once-arcane theories of constitutional interpretation are profoundly affecting the lives of all Americans. In this brief and urgent book, Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein provides a lively introduction to competing approaches to interpreting the Constitutionand argues that the only way to choose one is to ask whether it would change American life for the better or worse. If a method of interpretation would eliminate the right of privacy, allow racial segregation, or obliterate free speech, it would be unacceptable for that reason. But some Supreme Court justices are committed to originalism, arguing that the meaning of the Constitution is settled by how it was publicly understood when it was ratified. Originalists insist that their approach is dictated by the Constitution. That, Sunstein argues, is a big mistake. The Constitution doesnt contain instructions for its own interpretation. Any approach to constitutional interpretation needs to be defended in terms of its broad effectswhat it does to our rights and our institutions. It must respect those rights and institutionsand safeguard the conditions for democracy itself. Passionate and compelling, How to Interpret the Constitution is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about how the Supreme Court is changing the rights and lives of Americans today. Autorid: Cass R. Sunstein

Widely acclaimed for her distinctive visual language, which combines drawing, performance, sculpture, and installation art, Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota (b. 1972 in Osaka, lives and works in Berlin) addresses fundamental human concerns. Creating large-scale thread installations that incorporate a variety of everyday objects and memorabilia, she forms powerful environments that evoke a sense of nostalgia, personal history, and collective memory. The catalog accompanies the exhibition The Unsettled Soul, the first presentation of the artist in the Czech Republic. In addition to extensive photographic documentation of the exhibition at Kunsthalle Praha, the publication features an essay by Jason Waite discussing Shiota's early works as well as an interview with the artist conducted by the editor, Christelle Havranek, about her key themes and the creation of the Prague exhibition.

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 496, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: Confucius, ISBN-13: 9780691276465, Date of issue: 2026

The night I catch my husband cheating is the night I stop pretending.I don't cry. I don't scream.I don't get mad-I get even.So I bring home another man.A stranger with wicked eyes and a smile sharp enough to carve me open. I let him have me in the house I share with a liar.A moment of weakness? Maybe.A moment of revenge? Definitely.But he saw me-the darkness, the hunger, the parts my husband hated-and he wanted more.I ran before I could fall deeper into his abyss.A year later, I crash one of the city's most forbidden parties...And land right back in the middle of his depraved world.Only this time, he's promised to another.And he vows he's not letting me go.

Discover the perfect fusion of Tai Chi and meditation with Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi, a Qigong practice celebrated for its flowing, graceful movements, profound health benefits, and ability to bring a deep sense of tranquility. Easier to learn than even the simplified Tai Chi forms, most people can master its movements within a week. Its gentle, meditative qualities make it accessible to all, including individuals with mild mobility challenges.Experience Qi like never before-Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi Set 1 is perhaps the simplest Qigong for beginners to actually feel Qi for the first time. This transformative experience often ignites a deep passion for continued practice, making it ideal for those seeking a deeper Qi connection. It also serves as an excellent supplementary exercise to complement inner practices like Reiki, meditation, and Tai Chi.Recognized as a national exercise in Malaysia and Indonesia, and taught in schools, hospitals, and even prisons in the UK, Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi has enhanced the lives of millions around the globe. Now, you too can embark on this journey of healing and self-discovery.Written by Sifu (Master) Wing Cheung, founder of the Tai Chi, Qigong & Feng Shui Institute, this book distills decades of international teaching experience into a practical, user-friendly guide. Featuring hundreds of photos, links to videos, and clear, step-by-step instructions, you'll find it easy to integrate these powerful exercises into your daily life.Whether you're new to Qigong or a seasoned practitioner, this book offers no confusing theories or jargon-just straightforward guidance to help you unlock the incredible health benefits and peaceful energy of Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi.

Language: English, Binding: Hardback, Number of pages: 432, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: STUART DAVID, ISBN-13: 9780691213842, Date of issue: 2026

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 352, Publishers: Princeton University Press, Author: MITCHELL KEVIN J, ISBN-13: 9780691226217, Date of issue: 2025

A landmark book—the first complete publication of Langston Hughes’s translations of thirty-three stories by eighteen Mexican and Cuban writersIn late 1934, Langston Hughes, already established as a leading voice of literary Black America, traveled to Mexico City, where he stayed for more than five months and began translating short fiction by prominent Mexican and Cuban writers. These stories, as he wrote to a friend, explore "the revolutions and uprisings, sugar cane, Negroes, Indians, corrupt generals, [and] American imperialists,” and are "mostly all left stories, because practically all the writers down here are left these days.” But when Hughes proposed publishing the stories as a book, to be titled Troubled Lands, his agent discouraged him from further pursuing the project and it remained unpublished, until now, with only a handful of the translations making their way into contemporary magazines. This volume presents Hughes’s translations of these stories together for the first time as he originally envisioned. Edited by Ricardo Wilson, the book also features an introduction and brief biographies of the included writers. Troubled Lands features thirty-three stories by eighteen writers, including Rafael Felipe Muñoz, Nellie Campobello, Lino Novás Calvo, Luis Felipe Rodríguez, Germán List Arzubide, Pablo de la Torriente-Brau, and Juan de la Cabada. The collection depicts Mexico in the wake of its revolution and Cuba in the years between the brutal regimes of Machado and Batista. Hughes was a noted translator of poetry, but his commitment to translating fiction is less well known. Troubled Lands provides a window into this important dimension of his work and illuminates his deep interest in Mexico and Cuba.

Why engineering and computational analogies are poorly suited to the study of biological cognitionMainstream theories of the brain are often expressed through engineering concepts—computation, code, control, reverse-engineering, optimization. These theories cast the living organism as a machine and the brain as a computer. The fact that cognition is a biological phenomenon seems merely anecdotal; biology is considered just “implementation.” In The Brain, In Theory, Romain Brette argues that the brain is not a “biological computer” because living organisms are not engineered. Engineering is the use of knowledge to solve technical problems, to build an artifact with a plan. But, Brette reminds us, Darwin’s insight is precisely that evolution is not a case of engineering. Unlike engineering, evolution has no predetermined goals, plans, or knowledge.Brette reviews the main theoretical frameworks for thinking about the brain, including computation, neural representations, information, and prediction, and finds them poorly suited to the study of biological cognition. He proposes understanding the brain as a self-organized, developing community of living entities rather than an optimized assembly of machine components. With this new perspective, Brette brings life back to the study of the brain and cognition. Autorid: Romain Brette

How the ruthless contest among Julius Caesar’s heirs ignited a global war that raged far beyond the borders of RomeThe succession of civil wars that plagued the last years of the Roman Republic has often been portrayed as a settling of scores between Roman factions—Sulla against Marius, Caesar against Pompey, Octavian against Mark Antony—with foreign campaigns serving as a backdrop to the tragic spectacle. The Roman World War recasts the struggle for Rome as a global conflict that engulfed millions of non-Romans across Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa.Shedding new light on the pivotal years spanning Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE and the suicides of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 30 BCE, Giusto Traina introduces readers to lesser-known figures such as the Cilician dynast Tarcondimotus, the king of the Moors Bogud, and the Armenian king Artawazd, men who influenced Rome’s politics and who played consequential roles in battles waged far beyond the borders of the Imperium Romanum. Traina demonstrates how the violence unleashed by Caesar’s death was a direct consequence of his expansionist plans. From Spain to Mesopotamia, peoples such as Berbers, Hispanics, Gauls, Greeks, Thracians, and Armenians were drawn into a global war in which the fate of Rome was tied to their own.A global, “connected” history that transforms our understanding of the Republic’s final years, The Roman World War demonstrates how foreign nations and peoples were not merely pawns in the Roman civil wars but active protagonists in a great power struggle that shook the ancient world for fourteen intense years. Autorid: Giusto Traina, Malcolm DeBevoise

Tracing the origins of Britain’s current malaise to the abandonment of social democracyWhat has happened to Britain? As drivers on its roads can attest, it is the pothole capital of Europe. Once-beautiful towns now feature peeling paint, weeds and broken railings. Public services are no longer fit for purpose. A malaise seems to infect every aspect of British life: its economy, polity, social order, sense of well-being, domestic regional relationships and place in the world. In The Land Where Nothing Works, the distinguished historian A. G. Hopkins offers an explanation, tracing Britain’s current problems to decisions made in the 1980s that abandoned its postwar experiment in social democracy and mimicked policies of deregulation and privatisation promoted by the United States.In 1945, the new Labour government’s development programme aimed at creating a social democracy that would benefit all members of society. The counterrevolution launched by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1979, which remains in force today, promoted individualism and deregulation. The transition from one programme to another was a response to the growth of finance and services centred on the City of London, and to decolonisation, which redirected trade to Europe. The expansion of credit led to the financial crisis of 2008 and the years of austerity that followed, and fuelled the populist movement that culminated in Brexit. Hopkins argues that, instead of following the free-market policies of its mentor, the United States, Britain should draw on its own history of social democracy and borrow from its neighbours in Europe, where communitarian principles continue to be upheld. Autorid: A. G. Hopkins

A history of illustration from the beginning of popular print to the rise of mass literacy and into today’s age of digital mediaOf all the visual arts, illustration shares a unique relationship with the written word, often serving to visualize, enhance, or respond to a text. Reading Pictures presents a global history of this versatile art form, linking its emergence to modern developments such as the illustrated news, recreational reading, and ad-driven consumer culture.From the advent of the printing press in the mid-fifteenth century to the modernist artistic and cultural movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, D. B. Dowd traces the development of illustration as an integral part of the reading experience. He examines the move from ancient scrolls to pamphlets and book forms, and a return to the scroll in electronic form on smartphones and tablets. His story begins with relief prints and woodcuts in ancient China and Japan before moving to printing and platemaking in early modern Europe. Dowd discusses how book and periodical publishing rose sharply with the innovations of wood engraving and lithography, leading to a boom in cultural literacy; and how the illustrated press reached its zenith between the 1860s and 1960s, as printed entertainment and the news of the world became commonplace in every household, bringing with them advertising, propaganda, and consumer culture.Richly illustrated with more than five hundred images spanning the iconic to the unexpected, Reading Pictures reframes the story of illustration within the broader histories of race, gender, literacy, and the transmission of cultural memory. It reveals how reading and looking have become increasingly integrated, and that, as images have become ever more prevalent today with the digital revolution, what is meant by literacy has evolved. Autorid: D. B. Dowd

"A collection of quotations from the legendary contemporary artist Andy Warhol"-- A unique collection of brilliant quotations from the legendary Pop artistOne of the most influential artists of his time and ours, Andy Warhol is nearly as renowned for what he said as for what he did. Indeed, he is so quotable that things he never said are endlessly and plausibly attributed to him, including, fittingly, the most celebrated fake Warhol saying—“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Warhol-isms separates legend from fact to present a unique and comprehensive collection of authentic quotations from the Pop artist. Gathered from interviews and other primary sources, these deadpan, droll, ironic, and sincere gems—in which a superficial embrace of superficiality often disguises provocative, unconventional ideas—provide compelling insights into the life and work of an artist who has left an indelible mark on art and popular culture.Select quotations from the book:I think an artist is anybody who does something well.I went to (a psychiatrist] once, and he never called me back.They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.I’ve never met a person I couldn’t call a beauty.New things are always better than old things.I’m still a commercial artist. I was always a commercial artist. Autorid: Andy Warhol, Larry Warsh

Learn new words with Little Nutbrown Hare, while discovering the wonders of the world around you! A beautiful introduction to language and nature for a little loved one of any age, featuring the beloved Nutbrown Hares from Guess How Much I Love You, this is the ideal Easter gift for any little loved one. Guess How Much I Love You has sold more than 61.5 million copies and been translated into 57 languages worldwide. It has become a timeless way to express love thats simply too big to measure. Whatever the occasion or season, theres a Guess How Much I Love You book for everyone! Join Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare as they explore the world around them from the pond to the mountain, and from the meadow to forest. This large format board book has 100 new words for little readers to discover, and tabs to help them navigate between the different scenes. With stunning new artwork from Anita Jeram, and inspired by the timeless storytelling of Sam McBratney, this book takes the hares to never-before-visited settings such as the farm and the seaside. Ideal for fans of The Lost Words, this is a celebration of the natural world. Autorid: Guess How Much I Love You, Anita Jeram

The remarkable story of the global movement championing the idea that evidence, not opinions, should guide our decisionsToday, more and more people around the globe are using scientific evidence to figure out what works—in health, government and business as well as conservation, schools and parenting. This wasn’t always the case. This book tells the story of the evidence revolution—a worldwide movement that promotes evidence-based thinking—and shows how it can help us all, especially in an age of alternative facts.For many years, most medical advice was based on doctors’ opinions and conventional wisdom, not solid science. Helen Pearson describes how evidence-based medicine swept the world in the 1990s—becoming the predominant form of medicine practiced today—and how the idea that evidence should guide decisions is quietly transforming a host of other fields as well. Do police patrols reduce crime? Do performance appraisals boost job performance? Do welfare programs help the poor? Do smaller classes aid learning? Do smartphones harm teenagers? At a time when science is under attack and questionable claims run rampant, Pearson underscores the importance of evidence in all facets of our lives, empowering each of us to sift fact from falsehood and misinformation from the truth.Essential reading for the rational-minded, Beyond Belief is an engaging portrait of the mavericks, visionaries and rebels who share the simple belief that decisions based on evidence make the world a better place. Autorid: Helen Pearson

The most comprehensive compilation of the sound artist's working documents for her unrealized media-opera tour de forceWritten in the early 1980s by American sound art pioneer Maryanne Amacher (1938–2009), Intelligent Life follows the employees of Supreme Connections LLC, a music entertainment corporation navigating a future in which artificial intelligence generates music faster than composers can. Anticipating an industry-wide downturn, Supreme Connections president Aplisa Kandel seeks advanced technologies that will revolutionize the act of listening, narrating to the audience as she does so. Though the untimely deaths of the opera's would-be patrons prevented Amacher from realizing the work in its intended forms—a serialized radio broadcast and television simulcast—she continued designing "treatments" for the opera for much of her career.This publication makes the most complete presentation of these working documents—including episodic scripts, notes on the use of LaserDisc and an illustrated storyboard for the pilot—available to the public for the first time, and evinces Amacher's prescient ideas about perception, listening and composition. Autorid: Amacher, Maryanne

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Steven Nadler, a fascinating historical and philosophical narrative that unravels the mystery of whether Spinoza was an atheistIn 1656, a young Amsterdam merchant was excommunicated by his Portuguese-Jewish community in the harshest terms it had ever used. Baruch Spinoza was accused of unspecified "horrifying heresies,” but the precise reasons for his expulsion remain a mystery. When he published his Theological-Political Treatise in 1670, which was condemned as "the most atheistic book ever written,” he began to reveal to the world what his heresies may have been. Yet ever since the eighteenth century, most readers and scholars have assumed that Spinoza was a pantheist—even a "God-intoxicated man,” as the poet Novalis put it. After all, how could a person whose books are suffused with talk of God be an atheist? In Spinoza, Atheist, Steven Nadler, one of the world’s leading authorities on the philosopher, aims to settle the question and show that that’s exactly what he was. Nadler makes a powerful case that there is no real divinity for Spinoza. God is Nature, and isn’t an object of worshipful awe or religious reverence but can only be understood through philosophy and science. There is nothing supernatural—no mystery, ineffability, or sublimity. Spinoza does speak of "blessedness” and "salvation,” but these, too, are to be understood in natural and rational terms, as the peace of mind and happiness that come from understanding ourselves and the world. Whether Spinoza believed in God is a fascinating and enduring controversy. Spinoza, Atheist promises to transform our understanding of his views and to make clear just how radical a thinker he was and remains.

The most detailed and best-illustrated photographic field guide to all the insect orders of Britain and EuropeFeaturing more than 3,000 species and 5,500 colour photographs, Insects of Britain and Europe is the most detailed and exquisitely illustrated photographic field guide to cover all the insect orders of Europe. Easy to navigate, clear, accessible and authoritative, the guide focuses on the species most likely to be encountered and the easiest to identify. It pairs more than 300 state-of-the-art colour plates with concise information on diagnostic features, habitat, distribution and flight periods, helping lead any reader toward identification. It also offers insights into the amazing life history of the different insect groups. The result is a go-to guide for everyone interested in Europe’s insects, from garden insect watchers and entomologists of all experience levels to field naturalists and wildlife photographers. Features more than 5,500 clear colour photographs illustrating 3,000 speciesAids species identification with photo annotations and clear, concise descriptionsNotes the habitat where each species is likely to be foundIncludes up-to-date distribution maps and flight-time graphics

An investigation of what it means to have children—morally, philosophically and emotionally"Do you want to have children?” is a question we routinely ask each other. But what does it mean to create a child? Is this decision always justified? Does anyone really have the moral right to create another person? In Begetting, Mara van der Lugt attempts to fill in the moral background of procreation. Drawing on both philosophy and popular culture, van der Lugt does not provide a definitive answer on the morality of having a child; instead, she helps us find the right questions to ask.Most of the time, when we talk about whether to have children, what we are really talking about is whether we want to have children. Van der Lugt shows why this is not enough. To consider having children, she argues, is to interrogate our own responsibility and commitments, morally and philosophically and also personally. What does it mean to bring a new creature into the world, to decide to perform an act of creation? What does it mean to make the decision that life is worth living on behalf of a person who cannot be consulted? These questions are part of a conversation we should have started long ago. Van der Lugt does not ignore the problematic aspects of procreation—ethical, environmental and otherwise. But she also acknowledges the depth and complexity of the intensely human desire to have a child of our own blood and our own making.

A leading neuroscientist describes the long evolutionary process that led to the human brainOur human brain is both unique and similar to that of other species. The only way we can trace its evolution is by comparing it to the brains of animals alive today. In this book, leading neuroscientist Rogier Mars offers an engaging account of the evolution of the brain by exploring the brains and cognitive capacities of animals from the humble sea squirt to the socially minded fox and the tiny shrew.By examining the challenges that different animals and their ancestors faced, Mars shows that we can understand what drove the evolution of their brains. Early vertebrates became predators of the sea; mammals evolved a complex neocortex to deal with foraging for high-energy food; and social primates adapted to contend with a fast-changing environment in which groups of individuals team up to get food. Over the course of a long evolutionary road, the ancestors of present-day animals and their descendants continually adapted to challenges, modifying their brains again and again. For us humans, this process gradually led to a brain that is capable of so much, from inventing language to traveling into space.Mars leads readers across eras and species, showing us how we resemble our animal cousins, how we differ from them, and how animals in one branch of the evolutionary tree did the hard evolutionary work of becoming human. Autorid: Rogier B. Mars

An inviting new translation of essential selections from Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, one of the most popular and profound works of ancient StoicismHow do you keep calm when the world seems to be falling apart around you? When Marcus Aurelius was emperor, the Roman Empire was at the height of its power and prosperity, but it also suffered flood, famine, plague, and endless wars. He was frequently away from the capitol leading his legions in battle, and he died in an army camp. To cope with the enormous pressures he faced, Marcus turned to the philosophy of Stoicism, writing brief passages to reflect on its ideas and strategies for putting challenges in perspective. The result was the Meditations, a profound and moving work about the human condition. Elegant, spiritual, and by turns serious and humorous, this masterpiece of Stoicism still resonates powerfully today. How to Be Stoic offers a fresh, fluid, and engaging translation of its most stirring and important passages.Gretchen Reydams-Schils, a leading authority on Roman Stoicism, has carefully chosen and skillfully translated passages that exemplify the key themes of the Meditations, from everyday irritations such as encountering difficult people to existential worries such as the fear of death. How to Be Stoic also features a substantial and authoritative introduction and the original Greek text on facing pages. The result is perhaps the most accessible edition of the Meditations available. Autorid: Marcus Aurelius, Gretchen Reydams-Schils

A collection of evocative quotations from the pioneering artist that offer insights into her ideas about art and the natural worldGeorgia O’Keeffe was one of the most important and influential artists of the twentieth century. Bridging representation and abstraction, she depicted plants, flowers, cityscapes, and landscapes in iconic paintings whose unique style has become an indelible part of our visual culture. Drawn from her published writings, letters, interviews, and other sources, the quotes in O’Keeffe-isms provide insights into her artistic philosophy, creative process, and profound connection to the desert landscapes of New Mexico and the American Southwest. Poetic, fearless, and introspective, O’Keeffe-isms provides a vivid window into the mind of a beloved modernist artist who forged her own path.“I have wanted to paint the desert and I haven’t known how. I always think that I cannot stay with it long enough. So I brought home the bleached bones as my symbols of the desert. To me they are as beautiful as anything I know.”“I do not like the idea of happiness—it is too momentary—I would say that I was always busy and interested in something—interest has more meaning to me than the idea of happiness.”“The men decided they didn’t want me to paint New York. They wouldn’t let me. They told me to ‘leave New York to the men.’ I was furious!”“I’ll tell you how I happened to make the blown-up flowers. In the twenties, huge buildings sometimes seemed to be going up overnight in New York. At that time I saw a painting by Fantin-Latour, a still-life with flowers I found very beautiful, but I realized that were I to paint the same flowers so small, no one would look at them because I was unknown. So I thought I’ll make them big like the huge buildings going up. People will be startled; they’ll have to look at them—and they did.”“You decide on the kind of person you want to be, and then you get at it. It’s like a habit of neatness.” Autorid: Georgia O'Keeffe, Larry Warsh

The wisdom of Ancient Egypt has rarely been presented from so many perspectives. Here through over 500 pages and 200 photographs, comes the view needed to help unlock the wisdom secrets of the past. Using Hermeticism, Alchemy, Shamanism, Zen, Advaita, Taoism and sever other traditions- what the temples, tombs and texts of Egypt were pointing at might now be a bit closer to understanding. The Power of Then-Revealing Egypt's Lost Wisdom, looks not just at Ancient Egypt, but uses sites and mythology from all over the world to look into the wisdom of the ancients. The Maya and Toltec of Mexico show Egyptian similarity, from sites from Teotihuacan to Palenque. European stone circles provide a link to Native Indian Medicine Wheels and even Chinese acupuncture. Hawaii's myths reveal Egyptian-like sameness. Howdie Mickoski spent over 10 years studying texts, reliefs and ancient sites to present this book, less a set of answers but what might be described as a book attempting to locate better questions. Then showing other examples in other civilizations and teachings that have answers for such questions- then see what might be applied to the ancient world. Fully revised and updated in 2018, the book now examines if ancient Pyramid fields were really built in the time suggested- or if the dates of almost all of them must be pushed back by thousands of years. He unravels the Pyramid Texts, Book of the Dead and Book of What is in the Duat- to show their pointers to what today can be called Awakening and the nature of Absolute Reality.

An entrancing new telling of ancient Greek myths“This book is a triumph! . . . [A] magnificent retelling of the Greek myths.”—Alexander McCall Smith, author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series“Move over, Edith Hamilton! Sarah Iles Johnston has hit the magical refresh button on Greek myths.”—Maria Tatar, author of The Heroine with 1001 FacesGripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. Little wonder that they continue to fascinate readers thousands of years after they were first told. Gods and Mortals is a major new telling of ancient Greek myths by one of the world’s preeminent experts. In a fresh, vibrant, and compelling style that draws readers into the lives of the characters, Sarah Iles Johnston offers new narrations of all the best-known tales as well as others that are seldom told, taking readers on an enthralling journey from the origin of the cosmos to the aftermath of the Trojan War.Some of the mortals in these stories are cursed by the gods, while luckier ones are blessed with resourcefulness and resilience. Gods transform themselves into animals, humans, and shimmering gold to visit the earth in disguise—where they sometimes transform offending mortals into new forms, too: a wolf, a spider, a craggy rock. Other mortals—both women and men—use their wits and strength to conquer the monsters created by the gods—gorgons, dragons, harpies, fire-breathing bulls.Featuring captivating original illustrations by Tristan Johnston, Gods and Mortals highlights the rich connections between the different characters and stories, draws attention to the often-overlooked perspectives of female characters, and stays true both to the tales and to the world in which ancient people lived. The result is an engaging and entertaining new take on the Greek myths.

The definitive biography of Charles Darwin—now in one abridged and fully updated volumeBased on the two-volume National Book Critics Circle Award–winning biography hailed as “the definitive Darwin biography” (Newsday) • “a wonderful and well-rounded portrait” (The Washington Post) • and “magnificent” and “irresistible” (The Sunday Times)Janet Browne’s award-winning, two-volume biography of Charles Darwin has been described by many reviewers as the definitive biography of the father of evolution. Now, Browne has skillfully distilled and fully revised the work into a concise yet comprehensive one-volume biography that offers significant new interpretations of Darwin and the scientific and political legacy of his discoveries.Few men shook the Victorian world like Darwin did, and his story is in many ways that of the nineteenth century. His theory of evolution was born in the age of empire and had its greatest effect in the age of capitalism. It was to change the course of science, culture, and history, and deeply influence literature, art, philosophy, religion, politics, and economics. This magisterial biography follows Darwin from his early life and adventures on HMS Beagle to the tumult of becoming one of the first scientific celebrities with the publication of the Origin of Species. Through personal letters and archives, Browne describes the processes that brought the idea of evolution by natural selection into British society and beyond, especially Darwin’s relationship with Alfred Russel Wallace, who simultaneously proposed the same theory, and with the many people who helped and supported Darwin, including his wife Emma Wedgwood. Combining the best elements of social and intellectual biography, Browne places Darwin in cultural context and integrates his ideas with his private life.Vivid, revealing, and compellingly readable, Darwin is the indispensable biography of a gentleman naturalist who would become one of the most important, influential, and controversial scientists of all time.

A revealing account of how agents have shaped book publishing and the literary canon from the 1950s to todayMiddlemen rewrites literary history from the perspective of one of its most important but least visible figures: the literary agent. Chronicling the story of agents in the United States from the 1950s to today, Laura McGrath uncovers their critical role in the making of American literature. From the famed three-martini lunch to the Frankfurt Book Fair, Middlemen takes readers behind the scenes to show how agents influence what we read. Along the way, it explains why many debut novelists never publish another book, why agents champion short story collections even though they sell poorly, how agents advocate for writers of color in a system that values whiteness, and why there are so many New York novels.Weaving together original archival research, data analysis, and interviews with scores of agents and other publishing professionals, Middlemen demonstrates that agents—eighty percent of whom are in fact women—are much more than “middlemen.” As intermediaries between author and publisher, agents act as advocates, matchmakers, negotiators, and tastemakers, and they must balance artistic values with the commercial imperatives of publishing conglomerates. The book describes the decisive role agents have played in celebrated novels—from Jack Kerouac’s On the Road to Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist—but also in the creation of entire literary categories like the debut novel, the story collection, postmodernism, multiethnic fiction, and world literature.Featuring profiles of agents past and present such as Sterling Lord, Lynn Nesbit, Candida Donadio, Marie Brown, and Andrew Wylie, along with perspectives from agents at all stages of their careers, Middlemen is an entertaining and eye-opening account of how literary fiction—and the literary canon—is made.