Biography Books

Biography Books

19280 products


  • On Seamus Heaney

    Princeton University Press On Seamus Heaney

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of the Financial Times' Best Books of 2020: Critics' Picks""Foster’s characteristic brio brings Heaney to life again. . . . On Seamus Heaney, with its abundant account of his life, its illuminating analysis of his work, and the generous quotations from favourite poems, should find a place on bookshelves all over Ireland and beyond."---Clíona Ní Ríordáin, Irish Times"A sparkling memorial to an utterly singular poet."---Sebastian Barry, Sydney Morning Herald"[An] excellent new study."---James Parker, The Atlantic"A compact but comprehensive guide."---Seamus Perry, London Review of Books ​​​​​​"This exploration of Heaney’s oeuvre, and the tumultuous times that inspired it, is an immensely enjoyable step towards giving Ireland’s great poet his due."---Maria Crawford, Financial Times"There will be longer, fatter biographical and critical books about Seamus Heaney, but none will be better written, more knowledgeable, more generously understanding than this one."---Anne Chisholm, The Tablet ​​​​​​​"One of the most elegant works of criticism I have ever read."---David Mason, Hudson Review"Engrossing. . . . Undeniably impressive."---Hilary A. White, Irish Independent"Foster brings long-felt passion and measured scholarship to his welcome analysis of the poetry of Seamus Heaney." * RTE *"A concise, meticulously researched account. . . . Foster couples forensic attention to detail with engaging prose."---Tara McEvoy, Times Literary Supplement"More than [in] any other writing on Heaney, you actually get a sense of Heaney’s own personality, his charisma, his friendliness, his warmth, his humour and it’s a hugely respectful biography in that way because you get the sense of Heaney’s own words about himself that have not been made public before and you’ve got the impression, at least, of being in his company and that’s one of the things I was hoping for in the book and it certainly comes across."---Peter Mackay, BBC Radio 3 "Free Thinking""As one would expect of Foster, the suavest Irish historian of his generation, the handling of Irish contexts . . . is impeccable."---David Wheatley, Literary Review"Foster's painstakingly researched and affectionately penned On Seamus Heaney offers an illuminating bite-sized refresher course on one of our greatest literary talents."---David Roy, Irish News"[A] succinct but insightful critical biography that puts the poetry of Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) firmly in the context of his life and times. . . . This reflective and incisive study works both as an academic research aid and as an accessible primer for general poetry readers." * Publishers Weekly *"[A] careful and attentive poetic biography."---Peter Craven, Sydney Morning Herald"A brief and brilliant study that weaves together the life and work of the Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet."---Sunil Khilnani, Open Magazine"The joy of this book emanates from the sense of intimacy that Foster captures in each epoch, enabling readers to get a sense of Heaney’s personality. . . . This book is an essential complement to any study of Heaney’s poetry, as it creates a more comprehensive understanding of how life informs art." * Choice *"A timely perspective on the Northern Irish troubles as experienced and responded to in Heaney’s work."---Fiona O'Connor, Morning Star"If a book on poetry can teach, Roy Foster’s new book about Ireland’s Nobel Prize poet Seamus Heaney shares it all."---Ronn Hartviksen, Chronicle Journal"It is difficult to imagine how a brief, general, fair-minded introduction to Heaney might be bettered . . . . The book is more literary criticism than biography, although it effortlessly combines the two so that it’s difficult to say where one starts and the other ends, which suits Heaney down to the ground. Foster’s trademark elegance, clarity, and skill in shaping a narrative are to the fore, and he remains a more lucid and nuanced reader of Irish poetry than many specialized critics."---Alan Gillis, Irish University Review"Writing with the restraint of the professional academic but with all the vim of a youthful enthusiast, R. F. Foster has published On Seamus Heaney, his take on the life and writings of one of Ireland’s famous poets . . . Foster has captured the young Heaney in a manner that readers can grasp fully, and the description is written in elevated language that is appropriate to the status of its subject. . . . I recommend this book very highly indeed."---Ian Lipke, Queensland Reviewers Collective"[On Seamus Heaney] adds welcome layers to our understanding of Heaney as a poet and of the kind of public intellectual who attains moral standing in the wider world. . . . I hope that others who care about our literary inheritance will use On Seamus Heaney as a standard for writing about writing. Its combination of meticulousness and soul can only enrich our understanding."---Denise Provost, Somerville Times"One of the finest books to date on Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney."---Daniel Picker, New Ulster"A very good 'short book essay' on one of my favorite poets."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution"[Foster’s] knowledge of Heaney is nothing short of encyclopedic. . . . An excellent roadmap for readers."---John Austin Gray, Fare Forward"It’s not the done thing to choose a book of which I’m the dedicatee: even so, RF Foster’s On Seamus Heaney, which is short but runs deep, was for me the richest food for the spirit in 2020."---Jan Dalley, Financial Times"R. F. Foster has herein written an altogether focused, and most vivid account of quite possibly the most important Irish poet of the postwar era."---David Marx, David Marx Book Reviews

    £12.34

  • Aristotle

    Princeton University Press Aristotle

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles Top 25 Academic Books for 2014""Gathering, distilling, and analyzing all the evidence and previous scholarship, Carlo Natali, one of the world's leading Aristotle scholars, provides a masterful synthesis that is accessible to students yet filled with evidence and original interpretations that specialists will find informative and provocative." * World Book Industry *"Natali assembles all of the relevant ancient sources for the life of Aristotle and offers judicious assessments of their reliability and significance. The result, when it comes to the life of Aristotle, is that Natali's work is now the standard biography. . . . This book both satisfies the highest standards of scholarship and is accessible to any intelligent readers. Every college and university library should have it." * Choice *"Having read this book, I now have a much better grasp of the issues involved in ancient biography as it applies to Aristotle and other Peripatetics, and of what we know and we do not know (and knowing what we do not know is a kind of knowledge."---Robert Mayhew, Institute for Research in Classical Philosophy and Science"Hutchinson retranslate[s] the ancient sources from scratch and in correspondence with Natali, develop[s] a new index of sources. This helps unveil the truth of historical sources and improves the new edition philologically."---Jason Wakefield, Avello Publishing Journal

    2 in stock

    £25.20

  • Fool

    Princeton University Press Fool

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"A History Today Book of the Year""[An] excellent new study."---Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary Supplement"A fascinating window onto Tudor life at its best, worst and most complicated."---Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph"Thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening."---Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal"Andersson profiles in this diligent study 16th-century court jester William Somer, Henry VIII’s favored ‘fool.’ . . . The result is an illuminating look into Somer’s role as a source of broad humor and stress relief in a tumultuous court ruled by a mercurial king." * Publishers Weekly *"Andersson has given us a vivid, tantalising portrait of [Will Somer] and a nuanced exploration of how he and those around him negotiated one another. . . .Will Somer’s ghost has life in it yet."---Matthew Lyons, History Today"Anyone who wants to know about this oddly central figure in Tudor life will find Andersson’s book worthwhile."---Alec Ryrie, The Conversation"A fascinating look at Will Somer, Henry VIII’s court fool. . . .A book that makes a great case for looking at history through those who are often disregarded."---Nandini Das, History Today"Even by the end of this biography, you will wonder how much you know about Will Somer, and that is all to the good. . . . [Andersson] provides a therapeutic rebuke to much of the nonsense written about Somer."---Carl Rollyson, New York Sun

    £19.80

  • Odyssey of a Wandering Mind

    The University of Alabama Press Odyssey of a Wandering Mind

    Book SynopsisEmblematic of the tensions that white southern women of the era experienced between independent creative expression and traditional familial and community expectations.Trade Review“Sara Mayfield leaves the reader unsure what is fact and what is fiction, and our experience ultimately mirrors hers in provocative ways. She peeks at us alluringly through Horne's lucid prose—as an author, an inventor, and maybe even as a government agent.”—Kathryn McKee, author of Reading Reconstruction: Sherwood Bonner and the Literature of the Post–Civil War South "Montgomery, Alabama, in the early Twentieth Century was an enigma where powerful white men defended the final redoubt of male privilege and the South's romantic past while a generation of women chiseled away the foundation on which male hegemony rested. Sara Mayfield, Tallulah Bankhead, Sara Haardt (Mencken), and Zelda Sayre ((Fitzgerald) lived near each other growing up in Montgomery, graduated to notable careers in theater or as writers who defied conservative social conventions and charted their own lives. Odyssey of a Wandering Mind is an excellent starting place in pursuit of what it meant to strong-minded Alabama women a century ago to be a woman. And the dangers to which that independence exposed them."—Wayne Flynt, author of Keeping the Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives "With Odyssey of a Wandering Mind, Jennifer Horne brings out of obscurity an Alabama talent often regarded as a supporting player to her more famous friends, Sara Haardt Mencken and Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. Sara Mayfield was so much more than a biographer of the Southern belles of her generation who chafed against being known merely as “the wife of” their literary-lion husbands. By turns a novelist, playwright, journalist, and an inventor, Mayfield was first and foremost a survivor who led a remarkable life throughout a near century of culture upheaval. Horne does a phenomenal job of humanizing a figure who for decades battled her demons to find her greatest success in her mid-sixties, long after Haardt and Sayre has passed prematurely." —Kirk Curnutt, co-editor with Sara A. Kosiba of The Romance of Regionalism in the Work of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald: The South Side of Paradise

    £26.96

  • Rainer Maria Rilke's The Book of Hours: A New

    Boydell & Brewer Ltd Rainer Maria Rilke's The Book of Hours: A New

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisA superb new (and complete) translation of Rilke's luminously lyrical early book of poems, with scholarly introduction and commentary. Rainer Maria Rilke is arguably the most important modern German-language poet. His New Poems, Duino Elegies, and Sonnets to Orpheus are pillars of 20th-century poetry. Yet his earlier verse is less known. The Bookof Hours, written in three bursts between 1899 and 1903, is Rilke's most formative work, covering a crucial period in his rapid ascent from fin-de-siècle epigone to distinctive modern voice. The poems document Rilke'stour of Russia with Lou Andreas-Salomé, his hasty marriage and fathering of a child in Worpswede, and his turn toward the urban modernity of Paris. He assumes the persona of an artist-monk undertaking the Romantics' journey into the self, speaking to God as part transcendent deity, part needy neighbor. The poems can be read simply for their luminous lyricism, captured in Susan Ranson's superb new translation, which reproduces the music of the original German with impressive fluidity. An in-depth introduction explains the context of the work and elucidates its major themes, while the poem-by-poem commentary is helpful to the student and the general reader. A translator's note treating the technical problems of rhythm, meter, and rhyme that the translator of Rilke faces completes the volume. Susan Ranson is the co-translator, with Marielle Sutherland, of Rainer Maria Rilke, Selected Poems (Oxford World's Classics, 2011). Ben Hutchinson is Reader in Modern German at the University of Kent, UK.Trade ReviewWhether we see this collection of poems as an example of personal devotional musing or read it as the 'seed of Rilke's subsequent development,' it is well worth our attention. This is a lively and insightful work of criticism, scholarship, and creative translation. * MODERN LANGUAGE REVIEW *One of the pillars of 20th-century poetry, Rilke (1875-1926) was born in Prague, spent his life in Paris, Russia, and Germany, and died and was buried in Switzerland. He merits repeated studies, interpretations, and translations, and this one of his three-volume Stundenbuch (1899, 1901, 1903) is among the finest.... In his thorough introduction, Hutchinson ... casts these poems in a new light, adding depth to them as presented in previous editions. * CHOICE *[The translator] anticipates the critical reader.and responds creatively to the huge challenge.There are fascinating reflections of the poet-translator on technical matters.as well as rhyme and rhythm.... Ben Hutchinson's introduction and detailed notes provide an academic insight and context. * BROWN BOOK *The whole collection is newly translated here in fine, faithful versions by Susan Ranson, who captures the sonorities of the verse with apparent ease and handles the difficulties of Rilke's over-fondness for rhyme very judiciously. * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *Ranson ... recognizes the ambiguity which pervades the original, and has tried to find a balance between faithfully reproducing ambituigies and 'recognizing some duty of clarity to the reader. * TRANSLATION AND LITERATURE *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Introduction by Ben Hutchinson Translator's Note by Susan Ranson Das Stunden-Buch / The Book of Hours Erstes Buch: Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben First Book: The Book of Monkish Life Zweites Buch: Das Buch von der Pilgerschaft Second Book: The Book of Pilgrimage Drittes Buch: Das Buch von der Armut und vom Tode Third Book: The Book of Poverty and Death Commentary and Notes: First Book, Second Book, Third Book Index of English First Lines Index of German First Lines

    2 in stock

    £27.99

  • Dark Room

    Bodleian Library Dark Room

    Book SynopsisGarry Fabian Miller’s Dark Room is a photography book unlike any other. At its heart is the artist’s description of a life lived making pictures between the dark and the light, a deeply personal account woven against the history of photography from the moment of its birth in the 1830s to its decline, and some would say death, in the digital age almost two hundred years later. It is a memoir that reads at times like a manifesto, at others like a confession; a last testament to the dark room as both a site for the imagination, and a physical space for the alchemy that William Henry Fox Talbot once described as ‘a little bit of magic realised’. Dark Room charts Miller’s work over five decades, shifting from a camera-based practice in early career to the abstract picture making for which he has become internationally recognised, working without a camera to experiment with the possibilities of light as both medium and subject. At its core is the relationship with nature and place that has so sustained his way of life, and specifically with his home on Dartmoor and the cycle of daily walks that have been at the core of his practice for thirty years. The book also features an essay on Miller’s work by his friend the potter and writer Edmund de Waal and technical notes by Martin Barnes, senior photography curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Trade ReviewFabian Miller’s works dwell majestically, inviting pause, tempting immersion, evading final qualification. These rare encounters remind us of quite how magical the photographic arts are. * Amateur Photographer *We see a lot of books here at Amateur Photographer, and it’s safe to say that while many of them are excellent, it’s rare for one to give such pause for thought as Dark Room...to sit down and absorb the book, front-to back, is a fantastic experience that is hard to beat. * Amateur Photographer *Table of ContentsDark Room 13 Farewell to an Idea: Edmund de Waal 226 Catalogue 242 Technical Notes: Martin Barnes 256 Further Reading 259 Biography 260 Acknowledgements 262

    £34.00

  • Things that Talk: Object Lessons from Art and

    5 in stock

    £19.00

  • All Abroad  A Memoir of Travel and Obsession

    University of Wisconsin Press All Abroad A Memoir of Travel and Obsession

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisPresents the memoir of a man hungry for the logistics of travel: getting there, staying there, and feeling at home on any continent. Woven into Geoffrey Weill’s entertaining anecdotes is an informative account of a lost era in travel.Trade Review“Like a telegram from a long-lost and infinitely more glamorous era, All Abroad evokes the thrill and mystery of travel without an ounce of nostalgia. Yes, there are the grandest of hotels, ocean liners and Swiss trains in this book, but also incidents of cruel discrimination and heartbreaking family secrets- all from one of the godfathers of the modern travel business, Geoffrey Weill. Absolutely brilliant.”- Luke Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Provence, 1970;“If like me, you adhere to the adage that it's the journey and not the destination that matters, then this utterly fascinating tale of a man's obsessive travel and obsession with every detail of traveling is the book for you! But this is so much more than just a glamorous travelogue. It's a tender memoir of an eccentric family scattered across the globe, a searing commentary on institutionalized antisemitism and a celebration of the life of a joyous nomad named Geoffrey Weill.”- Alan Cumming

    10 in stock

    £23.16

  • Norman Mailer at 100

    Louisiana State University Press Norman Mailer at 100

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisBy encouraging a reconsideration of Norman Mailer's career from its beginnings to his final books in the early twenty-first century, this volume forges a new path toward appreciating the author's achievements that underscores the extent to which his work can help us confront the challenges of today.

    1 in stock

    £29.66

  • Our Kind of Historian: The Work and Activism of

    University of Massachusetts Press Our Kind of Historian: The Work and Activism of

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisJournalist, activist, popular historian, and public intellectual, Lerone Bennett Jr. left an indelible mark on twentieth-century American history and culture. Rooted in his role as senior editor of Ebony magazine, but stretching far beyond the boundaries of the Johnson Publishing headquarters in Chicago, Bennett's work and activism positioned him as a prominent advocate for Black America and a scholar whose writing reached an unparalleled number of African American readers.This critical biography—the first in-depth study of Bennett's life—travels with him from his childhood experiences in Jim Crow Mississippi and his time at Morehouse College in Atlanta to his later participation in a dizzying range of Black intellectual and activist endeavors. Drawing extensively on Bennett's previously inaccessible archival collections at Emory University and Chicago State, as well as interviews with close relatives, colleagues, and confidantes, Our Kind of Historian celebrates his enormous influence within and unique connection to African American communities across more than half a century of struggle.

    1 in stock

    £22.75

  • The Book of Bauer: Stories from a Forgotten Town

    University of Utah Press,U.S. The Book of Bauer: Stories from a Forgotten Town

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis Graffiti-covered industrial concrete ruins are all that remain today to remind us of the lives, adventures, and human relationships that once animated Bauer, Utah. Located just south of Tooele, across the Oquirrh Mountains west of the Salt Lake Valley, Bauer was abandoned in 1979 and declared a toxic waste site. The Book of Bauer: Stories from a Forgotten Town brings it back to life, evoking mid-twentieth century family and community in that company town as seen through the eyes of an observant adolescent boy. Presenting a dramatic snapshot of life in Bauer in narrative autobiographical form, the book recalls the fate of hundreds of derelict mining towns throughout the mountain and sagebrush West. With vivid prose and intimate observation, The Book of Bauer offers an unparalleled memoir of small-town life in Utah and the Great Basin. Trade Review "Pull up your easy chair, open The Book of Bauer: Stories from a Forgotten Town, and give yourself over to Stephen Lottridge. Soon you will fall under the soothing cadence of Lottridge’s storytelling. You will be drawn into his world, your senses will be filled, your curiosity awakened, and likely your own memories will be stirred as he relates his."—Tina Welling, author of Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature "A beautifully written, deeply felt, and profoundly moving portrait of a family during one difficult year in a desolate, desecrated western town not long after the end of the Second World War. It is a vividly detailed chronicle of their challenges and satisfactions, of their quiet joys and sorrows and strengths that, at least for a time, held them together. The Book of Bauer is a poignant American story that should not be forgotten."—Joel Lafayette Fletcher III, author of With Hawks and Angels: Episodes from a Southern Life "These stories not only conjure a town that might have otherwise disappeared, they also bring back a way of growing up with curiosity for place and an eagerness to discover. Their spare language evokes circumstances that, although arid and sparsely inhabited, provide the materials necessary for a young man to emerge into his life with a clarity of imagination and conviction that might give some guidance for how to find our way through this fragmented world. The Book of Bauer is an act of remembrance that invites us to consider what of of our own past, if lost, leaves us diminished, and how we also might revive it."—Matt Daly, author of Between Here and Home “The descriptions are vivid, often humorous and compassionate, and unusually thoughtful, even wise. To read the collection at the personal memoir level is delightful, as Stephen S. Lottridge is a confident memoirist and storyteller.”—Audrey M. Kleinsasser, University of Wyoming “Stephen S. Lottridge has produced a readable and thought-provoking account of events, relationships, and remembered impressions from residence in the long-defunct mining town of Bauer from August 1950 to August 1951.”—Edward A. Geary, Brigham Young University

    2 in stock

    £20.21

  • Man on a Mission: James Meredith and the Battle

    University of Arkansas Press Man on a Mission: James Meredith and the Battle

    Book SynopsisIn 1962, James Meredith famously desegregated the University of Mississippi (a.k.a. Ole Miss). As the first Black American admitted to the school, he demonstrated great courage amidst the subsequent political clashes and tragic violence. After President Kennedy summoned federal troops to help maintain order, the South—and America at large—would never be the same.Man on a Mission depicts Meredith’s relentless pursuit of justice, beginning with his childhood in rural Mississippi and culminating with the confrontation at Ole Miss. A blend of historical research and creative inspiration, this graphic history tells Meredith’s dramatic story in his own singular voice. From the dawn of the modern civil rights movement, Meredith has offered a unique perspective on democracy, racial equality, and the meaning of America. Man on a Mission presents his captivating saga for a new generation in the era of Black Lives Matter.

    £18.66

  • The Wilder Heart of Florida: More Writers

    University Press of Florida The Wilder Heart of Florida: More Writers

    1 in stock

    Book Synopsis Fall under the spell of Florida's natural environmentIn this captivating collection, Florida's most notable authors, poets, and environmentalists take readers on a journey through the natural wonders of the state. Continuing in the legacy of the beloved classic The Wild Heart of Florida, this book features thirty-four pieces by a new slate of well-known and emerging writers.In these pages, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Groff describes the beauty of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Environmental writer Cynthia Barnett listens to seashells on Sanibel Island. Legendary journalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas records the sights and sounds of the Everglades in the 1920s. Miccosukee elder Buffalo Tiger relates traditional stories of his community's deep relationship with the land. Presidential inaugural poet Richard Blanco muses on the shifting vista of the ocean in "Some Days the Sea."These writers and many others recount memories of how their lives have been enriched by the state's varied and brilliant landscapes. Some tell of encounters with alligators, pythons, manatees, turtles, and otters, while others marvel at the unique character of flowing springs and piney scrub. Together, they highlight the need to protect pristine ecosystems and restore ones that have been damaged due to development. The Wilder Heart of Florida will inspire readers to explore and celebrate the Florida wilderness.Table of Contents Foreword Introduction —Jack E. Davis and Leslie K. Poole Part I. Beckonings Seduction in Key West — Susan Lilley The Story under the Story — Lauren Groff Our Land — Buffalo Tiger Soldier's Creek Trail — Terry Ann Thaxton Part II. Revelations Innocence Found — Bill Maxwell The Seine — Jack E. Davis My First Audubon Trip Hasn't Ended Yet . . . — Charles Lee Florida Boy — David McCally The River That Raised Me — Gabbie Buendia The Breathers, St. Mark's Lighthouse — Rick Campbell Part III. Animals Birds and Refuge — Frederick R. Davis The Quiet Song of Sanibel Island — Cynthia Barnett The Habits of Alligators — Loren G. "Totch" Brown Gator! — Lee Irby Feast of Pythons (Homage to Harry Crews) — Isaac Eger One Manatee, Two Nations — Anmari Alvarez-Alemán Woodpeckers and Wildness: The Disney Wilderness Preserve — Leslie K. Poole Sighting by the St. Johns — Russ Kesler Part IV. Water Up the Okalawaha: A Sail into Fairy-Land — Harriet Beecher Stowe Musings — Margaret Ross Tolbert The Pulse of Paynes Prairie — Lars Andersen From Springs Heartland to Wasteland . . . and Back? — Lucinda Faulkner Merritt Wilderness from the Water — Claire Strom The Rhythms of the Lagoon — Clay Henderson Raw Water — Gianna Russo Part V. Terra Firma Excerpts from The Galley — Marjory Stoneman Douglas The Natural Aesthetic of the Naked God — Bruce Stephenson Don't Mourn the Orange — Mark Jerome Walters Seasons of Love — Erika Henderson Biscayne National Monument: Preserving Our Precious Bays — Nathaniel Pryor ReedPart VI. At the Heart Some Day the Sea — Richard Blanco From A Seminole Legend: The Life of Betty Mae Tiger Jumper — Betty Mae Tiger Jumper and Patsy West A Plea for Wider Justice — Marjory Stoneman Douglas Florida Is a Pretty Girl —Frances Susanna Nevill Acknowledgments Contributors Credits

    1 in stock

    £21.56

  • The Artist Helen Coombe (1864–1937): The Tragedy

    Paul Holberton Publishing Ltd The Artist Helen Coombe (1864–1937): The Tragedy

    Book SynopsisThis fascinating book presents the first biography of Helen Coombe, a woman admired not only for her artistic skill, but also for her intellect, personality and wit. It reveals her family background and education, her place in the Arts and Crafts Movement and her outstanding artistic output.

    £42.75

  • The Garretts of Columbia: A Black South Carolina

    University of South Carolina Press The Garretts of Columbia: A Black South Carolina

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisA writer in search of his roots discovers stories of African American struggle, sacrifice, and achievement. In The Garretts of Columbia, author David Nicholson tells a multigenerational story of Black hope and resilience. Carefully researched and beautifully written, The Garretts of Columbia engages readers with stories of a family whose members believed in the possibility of America. Nicholson relates the sacrifices, defeats, and affirming victories of a cohort of stalwart men and women who embraced education, fought for their country, and asserted their dignity in the face of a society that denied their humanity and discounted their abilities. The letters of Anna Maria "Mama" Threewitts Garrett, along with other archival sources and family stories passed down through generations, provided the framework that allowed Nicholson to trace his family's deep history, and with it a story about Black life in segregated Columbia, SC, from the years after the Civil War to World War II.

    3 in stock

    £21.56

  • Well Holy God

    Merrion Press Well Holy God

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAs the Religious Affairs Correspondent of The Irish Times from 1997, Patsy McGarry reported on some of the most troubling scandals to have rocked both Catholic and Protestant Churches in the last few decades. In Well, Holy God, he looks back not only on his time in journalism, recalling some of the most distressing stories he has had to cover, but also his own history with Catholicism and of a faith lost when the stark realities of being part of that Church became apparent to him.This book covers the gamut of his career, from the horrors of the various clerical child sex abuse cases, the vilification of Bishop Eamonn Casey and the muted reaction the Church of Ireland to the violence at Drumcree, to the role of women in the Catholic Church and the tragedies of the Mother and Baby Homes and the Magdalene laundries. Alongside accounts of such seismic events, there are lighter anecdotes, including the perils of travelling with a pope, some characters he? s met along the way and a look at the good that those with a true calling can do. Well, Holy God is a memoir brimming with personality, charting the highs and lows of a truly fascinating career.

    1 in stock

    £17.09

  • Frail Riffs

    Yale University Press Frail Riffs

    Book Synopsis

    £20.99

  • Clairvoyant of the Small

    Yale University Press Clairvoyant of the Small

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe first English-language biography of one of the great literary talents of the twentieth century, written by his award-winning translatorTrade Review“An accurate, independent, and well-researched English life . . . There is a delicacy in [Bernofsky’s] approach, a will-to-kindness, an openness to other, previously rejected possibilities.”—Michael Hofmann, New York Review of Books“A diligent biography . . . [Walser’s] miniatures account for some of the most sublimely joyful writing of the past century . . . Ms. Bernofsky wants to peer behind the smiling naïf to better glimpse the lonely, erratic artist.”—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal“As Susan Bernofsky's authoritative, moving biography demonstrates, Walser made of his own multiform solitudes a gift to the outside world, offering readers an existential sympathy of a kind for which only he could find the appropriate literary expression.”—Paul Binding, Times Literary Supplement“Elegant [and] perceptive . . . A surprising, brilliant look at a man who never stopped looking inward.”—Michael Schaub, National Book Critics CircleFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography “In this nuanced, astute, and revelatory biography, Susan Bernofsky gives us Walser the man—mysterious, intellectually adventuresome, humble, an artist of the first order. So, too, is Bernofsky's exceptional book: of the first order.”—Hilton Als“Susan Bernofsky's deep and decades-long involvement with Robert Walser's work has resulted in a meticulously researched, lively narrative and astute critical study of this complex and appealing writer. Clairvoyant of the Small is one of the best biographies I've read in a long time.”—Lydia Davis“Robert Walser is the perfect pathetic poet: pithy, awkward, drinks too much, sibling rivalrous, ambitious, broke, and mentally ill. Was he proto queer or trans, this red headed writer who next to Gertrude Stein might be the most influential writer of our moment? Riveting and heart-breaking, this biography kept me drunk for days.”—Eileen Myles"Written with true love, Susan Bernofsky’s meticulously investigated book is a sensitive and subtle analysis of Robert Walser’s radical life and work, casting a blazing light on this giant of literature."—Thomas Hirschhorn“A magnificent work of scholarship and among the finest literary biographies I’ve ever read—gorgeously written, immensely well researched, and addictively readable.”—Samuel Frederick, The Pennsylvania State University

    2 in stock

    £25.21

  • When the Air Hits Your Brain  Tales from

    WW Norton & Co When the Air Hits Your Brain Tales from

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe story of one man's evolution from naïve and ambitious young intern to world-class neurosurgeon.Trade Review"Dramatic, moving, and utterly fascinating." -- New York Times Book Review"By turns comic and tragic, this memoir…is a must-read for neurosurgeons but also of interest to most clinicians." -- Chris Barrett - The BMJ"Dr. Frank Vertosick provides an amusing, insightful and honest inside view of the training of the neurosurgeon. This highly readable account of daily life on the wards shows all the humility, fortitude, and humanity that genuinely underlies this sometimes not well-understood but genuinely wonderful profession." -- Dr. David W. Roberts, professor of surgery (neurosurgery), Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center"When the Air Hits Your Brain lets you feel the pain, grief and joy of practicing medicine. This book should be read by every medical student, doctor and present or potential patient. In other words, by all of us." -- Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles"Writing with humor and compassion, but without sentimentality, Vertosick shows us that neurosurgeons, those gods of the operating room, are humans, too." -- Kirkus Reviews

    1 in stock

    £12.34

  • The Arabian Nights

    WW Norton & Co The Arabian Nights

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisNow as sumptuously packaged as they are critically acclaimed—a new deluxe trade paperback edition of the beloved stories.Trade Review"The resourceful Shahrazad... has never been more entertaining than in this fresh and vigorous version of this immortal book." -- Doris Lessing - The Independent"Easily the clearest, most fluent and readable translation." -- A.S. Byatt - Sunday Times [London]"A distinguished new translation." -- Edward Said - The Nation

    1 in stock

    £13.29

  • Slow Cooked

    University of California Press Slow Cooked

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review“The great Marion Nestle, not a person who spends a lot of time talking about herself, has written a memoir. It’s a gem" * Ruth Reichl *"[A] delight . . . [Nestle’s] prodigious writings, advocacy and public speaking on food policy, political economy and food safety were quite unexpected given [her] career trajectory. But now in 20-20 hindsight, they remain indispensable." * Forbes *"Her prose exhibits the same accessibility she strives for in her academic work . . . . In Slow Cooked, she holds nothing back as she details moments of doubt — like when the Sugar Association threatened to sue her after she published Food Politics in 2002 — with both humor and suspense. A chronicle of hard work and a public health resource, Slow Cooked is also proof that it’s never too late." * New York Times *"An engrossing and beautiful memoir—personal, generous, thoughtful, and inspiring. She calls on all academics, advocates, researchers, and practitioners to help bring about food system changes to promote public health, food equity, and sustainable diets." * Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior *"A magnificent plea for social justice against all types of discrimination and for the emancipation of women. [Nestle] teaches us great lessons on how to overcome obstacles while maintaining intellectual integrity and faith in science and public health." * American Journal of Public Health *Table of ContentsContents Introduction 1 A Long, Slow Start 2 My First Academic Job 3 Second Job: A Spousal Hire 4 Back to School 5 Working for the Feds 6 Finally, NYU 7 Joining the Food World 8 Inventing Food Studies 9 Writing Food Politics 10 The Fun Begins 11 How I Do It 12 The Books Conclusion: Some Final Thoughts Acknowledgments Notes Illustration Credits Index

    15 in stock

    £22.50

  • Living Genres in Late Modernity

    University of California Press Living Genres in Late Modernity

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisLiving Genres in Late Modernityrehears the American 1970s through the workings of its musical genres. Exploring stylistic developments from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, including soul, funk, disco, pop, the nocturne, and the concerto, Charles Kronengold treats genres as unstable constellations of works, people, practices, institutions, technologies, money, conventions, forms, ideas, and multisensory experiences. What these genres share is a significant cultural moment: they arrive just after the sixties and are haunted by a sense of belatedness, loss, or doubt, even as they embrace narratives of progress or abundance. These genres give us reasonsand meansto examine our culture's self-understandings. Through close readings and large-scale mappings of cultural and stylistic patterns, the book's five linked studies reveal how genres help construct personal and cultural identities that are both partial and overlapping, that exist in tension with one another, and that we experienTable of ContentsContents List of Musical Examples Note on Musical Examples Introduction: Listening for Genres 1 1 • Unengaging Histories: The Pop Song’s “More” and Melancholy Democracy, 1968–69 2 • Space Issues: The Seventies-Soul Complex 3 • Exchange Theories: Disco, New Wave, and Album-Oriented Rock 4 • Senses: Nocturnes among the Smaller Genres 5 • Forces: The Late-Modern Concerto Afterword Acknowledgments Notes Index

    10 in stock

    £22.50

  • Letters of T S Eliot Volume 7 19341935 The

    Faber & Faber Letters of T S Eliot Volume 7 19341935 The

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisT. S. Eliot's career as a successful stage dramatist gathers pace throughout the fascinating letters of this volume. Following his early experimentation with the dark comedy Sweeney Agonistes (1932), Eliot is invited to write the words of an ambitious scenario sketched out by the producer-director E. Martin Browne (who was to direct all of Eliot's plays) for a grand pageant called The Rock (1934). The ensuing applause leads to a commission from the Bishop of Chichester to write a play for the Canterbury Festival, resulting in the quasi-liturgical masterpiece of dramatic writing, Murder in the Cathedral (1935). A huge commercial success, it remains in repertoire after eighty years.Even while absorbed in time-consuming theatre work, Eliot remains untiring in promoting the writers on Faber's ever broadening lists George Barker, Marianne Moore and Louis MacNeice among them. In addition, Eliot works hard for the Christian Church he has espous

    3 in stock

    £40.00

  • Walter Benjamin  Selected Writings V 2 Part 2

    Harvard University Press Walter Benjamin Selected Writings V 2 Part 2

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisCollected here are “Franz Kafka,” “Karl Kraus,” and “The Author as Producer,” the meditation “A Berlin Chronicle,” discussions of photography and the French writer, and previously untranslated pieces on such subjects as language and memory, theological criticism and literary history, astrology and the newspaper, Valery, Hitler, and Mickey Mouse.Trade Review[Praise for the one-volume hardcover edition]For those who know only the small selection of essays and longer texts previously translated into English, this book may be a revelation. Selected Writings: Volume 2 spanning the period from his abandonment of academia and his emergence as an important literary journalist in 1927 to his near silencing after the Nazis seized power and his exile in 1934, shows the writer at his sparkling best. -- Paul Mattick * New York Times Book Review *[Praise for the one-volume hardcover edition]The period from 1927 to 1934 spanned in this volume was for Walter Benjamin both grievous and fertile...The range of topics and perspectives is immense. It extends from considerations on kitsch and pornography to repeated encounters, personal or indirect, with Gide, Kierkegaard and surrealism. The cultural history of toys fascinates Benjamin as he records his own Berlin childhood. Insights into 'Left-Wing Melancholy' alternate with thoughts on Mickey Mouse, on Chaplin, and on graphology. -- George Steiner * The Observer *This awesome 800-page collection demonstrates that Benjamin was able to pack more thought into the years 1931–34 than most people manage in a lifetime...Altogether indispensable. -- Steven Poole * The Guardian *After the lede comes the body of the essay, where the meat is served up. When a critic as astute as German man of letters Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) writes about a subject as rich as his fellow journalist Karl Kraus (1874-1936), the cut can be rich, marbled and juicy...Topics in other pieces gathered here range from highbrow analysis ('Criticism as the Fundamental Discipline of Literary History') to pop-culture commentary ('Reflections on Radio,' 'Mickey Mouse'). -- Dennis Drabelle * Washington Post Book World *Table of ContentsThe Destructive Character, 1931 In Parallel with My Actual Diary Criticism as the Fundamental Discipline of Literary History Critique of the New Objectivity We Ought to Reexamine the Link between Teaching and Research Hofmannsthal and Aleco Dossena Left-Wing Melancholy Theological Criticism Karl Kraus Literary History and the Study of Literature German Letters May-June 1931 Unpacking My Library Franz Kafka: Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer Diary from August 7, 1931, to the Day of My Death Little History of Photography Paul Valery The Lisbon Earthquake The Destructive Character Reflections on Radio Mickey Mouse In Almost Every Example We Have of Materialist Literary History The Task of the Critic Ibizan Sequence, 1932 Experience On Ships, Mine Shafts, and Crucifixes in Bottles On the Trail of Old Letters A Family Drama in the Epic Theater The Railway Disaster at the Firth of Tay Privileged Thinking Excavation and Memory Oedipus, or Rational Myth On Proverbs Theater and Radio Ibizan Sequence A Berlin Chronicle Spain, 1932 Light from Obscurantists The Handkerchief In the Sun The Rigorous Study of Art Hashish in Marseilles The Eve of Departure On Astrology "Try to Ensure that Everything in Life Has a Consequence" Notes (IV) Thought Figures, 1933 The Lamp Doctrine of the Similar Short Shadows (II) Kierkegaard Stefan George in Retrospect Agesilaus Santander (First Version) Agesilaus Santander (Second Version) Antitheses Concerning Word and Name On the Mimetic Faculty Thought Figures Little Tricks of the Trade Experience and Poverty The Author's Producer, 1934 Once Is as Good as Never The Newspaper Venal but Unusable The Present Social Situation of the French Writer The Author as Producer Notes from Svendborg, Summer 1934 Hitler's Diminished Masculinity Franz Kafka A Note on the Texts Chronology, 1927-1934 Index

    3 in stock

    £26.06

  • Chiang Kaisheks Politics of Shame

    Harvard University Press Chiang Kaisheks Politics of Shame

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisGrace C. Huang reconsiders Chiang Kai-shek’s leadership and legacy in an intriguing new portrait of this twentieth-century leader. Comparing his response to imperialism to those of Mao, Yuan Shikai, and Mahatma Gandhi, Huang widens the implications of her findings to explore alternatives to Western expressions of nationalism and modernity.Trade ReviewBy elucidating Chiang from within a Chinese cultural frame, Huang makes a genuine contribution to studies of Chiang Kai-shek available in English…Informative and thought-provoking. It decisively moves away from the question of whether Chiang failed to stand up to Japan or in fact saved China—the question that has dominated studies of Chiang for nearly eight decades now. She is no doubt right that Chiang sustained and amplified a narrative of humiliation that faded under Mao but which Beijing once again finds useful to promote its agenda. -- Hans van de Ven * China Quarterly *

    4 in stock

    £21.56

  • The Madman in the White House

    Harvard University Press The Madman in the White House

    Book SynopsisIn 1932 Sigmund Freud and diplomat William Bullitt completed a well-informed psychobiography of Woodrow Wilson, inspired by his irrational handling of the Treaty of Versailles. Released decades later in redacted form, the book was panned by critics and immediately forgotten. Patrick Weil resurrects the original version and reassesses its insights.Trade ReviewThe American Psychoanalytic Association has said that it ‘does not consider political commentary by its individual members an ethical matter.’ Nor should it. The father of psychoanalysis himself, in an oft-ignored divagation, co-wrote an entire volume about our twenty-eighth president, whom he detested from afar. Patrick Weil…[has] ferreted out the original, unredacted manuscript. This is the hottest gossip about Freud or Wilson in decades. Long-dead celebs seldom spill the tea. -- Dan Piepenbring * Harper's *A vivid shaggy-dog story about a curio that illuminates the possibilities (and perils) of studying the psychological soundness of presidents—a discipline as relevant as ever. -- Franklin Foer * The Atlantic *The extraordinary untold story of how a disillusioned American diplomat named William C. Bullitt came to Freud’s couch in 1926, and how Freud and his patient collaborated on a psychobiography of President Woodrow Wilson. -- Dominic Green * Wall Street Journal *The Madman in the White House ostensibly is about the book Bullitt and Freud wrote about Wilson, but it is mostly a biography of Bullitt, and a good one at that…What comes through clearly is the mostly impeccable judgment Bullitt exhibited in his public life, judgment that political leaders should have listened to and followed—and had they done so, the world would have been less dangerous and perhaps millions of lives could have been spared misery and death. -- Francis P. Sempa * American Spectator *A captivating analysis of the history of the Wilson psychobiography that doubles as a biography of Bullitt. Along the way it vividly documents the shifts in American engagement with Europe from the first world war through the cold war from the standpoint of high-level diplomacy…Both as a work of scholarship and as a sweeping, almost novelistic tour of twentieth-century political affairs, it deserves a wide readership. -- Nick Haslam * Inside Story *[Weil’s] depiction of Bullitt is remarkable and compelling. -- Carl Rollyson * New York Sun *‘Dictators are easy to read,’ Weil writes. ‘Democratic leaders are more difficult to decipher. However, they can be just as unbalanced as dictators and can play a truly destructive role in our history.’ This is well put, but I think Weil’s portrait of Bullitt demonstrates something broader and more hopeful: that politics—even realpolitik—is best understood as an affair of the heart. -- Simon Ings * The Spectator *Thought-provoking…Freud was fascinated by Wilson’s behavior as a world leader and embarked on a rigorous scrutiny of his psychological makeup—the exploration that Weil resumes. -- Paul Starobin * American Affairs *The Madman in the White House has it all: political intrigue, momentous historical events, a charismatic central character who mixed with Churchill, Stalin, Hemingway and Picasso, a cameo by Sigmund Freud, an astonishing discovery in the archives and a champagne-drinking bear…The book excels as history, character study and intellectual thriller. Weil’s assertion that ‘democratic leaders can be just as unbalanced as dictators’ is more apt now than ever. -- Nick Haslam * The Conversation *Excellent…Nearly a century since Wilson’s death, Weil’s monograph is the first to offer a comprehensive historical account of Bullitt’s career-long engagement with Wilson. -- Martin Halliwell * American Literary History *An intriguing book that might be described as a biography of a biography. Deeply researched and scholarly, it tracks Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study from ideation to publication, analysing its contents and chronicling the lives of its authors and their subject…Its portrait of Bullitt is thorough and its treatment of Freudian theory rigorous. -- Theo Zenou * History Today *What is clear from Weil’s book is that history is not just a result of impersonal forces acting upon human decisions. The personalities and views of political leaders matter. -- Francis P. Sempa * New York Journal of Books *[A] thought-provoking study of a psychological profile of the president…Weil draws an intriguing profile of Bullitt and others involved in the negotiations. It’s a convincing case that ‘personality is very often at the heart of policy.’ * Publishers Weekly *This is the wildly implausible and entirely true story of how Sigmund Freud, joined with a US diplomat, wrote a whole book about the ills of the psyche of Woodrow Wilson. For the first time, Weil brings the content of the original Freud manuscript to light, as well as giving a rich study of the role of personal psychology in the shaping of the new global order after World War I. So long as so much political power is concentrated in one human mind, we are all at the mercy of the next madman in the White House. -- Gary J. Bass, author of The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten GenocideA remarkable and valuable contribution which merits applause. There is unlikely to be another account to rival it. Weil has explored with great thoroughness—and detachment—the story of the enigma surrounding Woodrow Wilson and the fascinating events of 1919 which continue to remain such. -- Antony Lentin, Wolfson College, University of CambridgePatrick Weil has given us a vivid group portrait of Sigmund Freud, William Bullitt, and Woodrow Wilson—actors in and witnesses to the great drama of the Treaty of Versailles. Based on newly unearthed archival evidence that sheds light on how Freud and Bullitt wrote a biography of the twenty-eighth president of the United States, this is an urgent reappraisal of critical events of twentieth-century history. -- Élisabeth Roudinesco, author of Freud: In His Time and OursA generation ago diplomats could be real shapers of foreign policy, and not just the president’s messengers. William C. Bullitt was among the most influential of them. He served in the American delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and he represented the United States as ambassador in Moscow and in Paris as World War II approached. He was close to both Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Along the way he met Sigmund Freud and collaborated with Freud in a controversial analysis of Wilson’s character. Patrick Weil uses Bullitt’s career to probe the significance of personality in American presidential decision-making. This unusual book enriches and completes a story that we may have thought we knew well. -- Robert O. Paxton, author of The Anatomy of Fascism

    £26.96

  • To Repair a Broken World

    Harvard University Press To Repair a Broken World

    Book SynopsisDvora Hacohen offers the authoritative biography of Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah. A global humanitarian, Szold promoted refugee assistance, immigrant education in her native Baltimore, and poverty alleviation in Palestine, inspiring generations of activists. With a foreword by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Trade Review[A] commanding account of Henrietta Szold…Renders [Szold] a full-bodied personality rather than a figurehead. -- Jenna Weissman Joselit * Jewish Review of Books *Hacohen’s biography teaches Americans about Szold’s essential contributions to the Yishuv beyond her work with Hadassah…This inspirational and sweeping story of Henrietta Szold will appeal to interested lay readers as well as scholars. -- Cyntha Francis Gensheimer * Association for Jewish Studies Review *A fascinating, wide-ranging biography of Henrietta Szold…The author deserves much praise for undertaking the task of solving the hard riddle of such an accomplished, diverse, and complex figure during so long and significant a period of Jewish history. In addition, Hacohen’s fascinating narrative style makes this a book of interest not only for historians but for much larger audiences as well. -- Mira Katzburg-Yungman * Studies in Contemporary Jewry *Hacohen beautifully captures the arc of Henrietta Szold’s life in a book that rests on deep scholarship and is exceedingly well written. This compelling work will stand as the definitive biography of one of the most important figures in modern Jewish history. -- Pamela S. Nadell, author of America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to TodayThe life and work of Henrietta Szold remain both historically significant and deeply inspiring. This first-ever scholarly biography rests upon a mountain of research, filling in many missing details concerning Szold’s life in the United States and providing an unprecedented account of her remarkable and still underappreciated work in the Land of Israel. Hacohen’s invaluable book introduces a new generation to one of American Jewry’s greatest twentieth-century women. -- Jonathan D. Sarna, author of American Judaism: A HistoryHenrietta Szold deserves to be more widely known for her enormous achievements in and impact on American Jewish intellectual life, Jewish women’s empowerment, and the history of modern Zionism. We are indebted to Hacohen for her comprehensive and gripping biography that brings together a wealth of information never before found in one volume about an extraordinary woman who has so deservedly achieved iconic status. -- Shuly Rubin Schwartz, author of The Rabbi’s Wife: The Rebbetzin in American Jewish LifeHacohen’s deeply researched and powerfully empathic biography of Henrietta Szold is a landmark study of an extraordinary leader who responded to some of the greatest challenges confronting Jews in America and pre-state Israel in the first half of the twentieth century. This highly readable book will endure as a classic in the canon of works on modern Jewish history. -- Jack Wertheimer, author of The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today

    £26.96

  • Create Dangerously

    Princeton University Press Create Dangerously

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisFocuses on art and exile, examining what it means to be an immigrant artist from a country in crisis. This title tells the stories of artists, including the author, who create despite, or because of, the horrors that drove them from their homelands and that continue to haunt them.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2013 Association of Caribbean Writers Grand Prize for Literature Winner of the 2011 Bocas Lit Fest OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature in Nonfiction Finalist for the 2010 Book of the Year Award in Biography and Autobiography, ForeWord Reviews A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice for 2010 One of Mosaic Magazine's Best Books for 2010 "Danticat is at her best when writing from inside Haiti... As [her] recollections show, her singular achievement is not to have remade the actual Haiti, but to have recreated it. She has wound the fabric of Haitian life into her work and made it accessible to a wide audience of Americans and other outsiders... Danticat's tender new book about loss and the unquenchable passion for homeland makes us remember the powerful material from which most fiction is wrought: it comes from childhood, and place. No matter her geographic and temporal distance from these, Danticat writes about them with the immediacy of love."--Amy Wilentz, New York Times Book Review "A lean collection of jaw-breaking horrors side by side with luminous insights... In Danticat's many remarkable stories and pensees from the gut, one locates the inimitable power of truth. Authorship becomes an act of subversion when one's words might be read and acted on by someone risking his or her life if only to read them."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Danticat's writing is crisp and clear, reminiscent of what the very best essay writing once aspired to be... Not just another writer's book about writing, this volume delves into the suffering that affects artists who suspend themselves from time and place to create... Her book should be read by students, historians and lovers of well-crafted writing."--Nedra Crowe-Evers, Library Journal "Danticat is a marvelous writer, blending personal anecdotes, history and larger reflections without turning the immigrant writer into a victim, misunderstood by all."--Sandip Roy, San Francisco Chronicle "[Edwidge Danticat's] mission as a writer has been to speak from the diaspora for Haiti's disfranchised and silenced... That responsibility weighs heavily in these essays, which dwell on her personal sorrows as much as those of the Haitian masses... Her unlettered Haitian relatives call her a jounalis, a journalist writing with a purpose. She doesn't let them down."--Amanda Heller, Boston Globe "Danticat's prose is spare and piercing; she doesn't waste words. Her ideas are never cloaked in layers of metaphor, yet every sentence has a lyrical, persuasive quality... Within this stirring collection, one theme struck me more strongly than any other: for artists, the drive to create triumphs over everything else. Or it should... Creating dangerously means telling the truth--working without or in spite of fear."--Jennifer Levin, Santa Fe New Mexican "Whether she is profiling a courageous Haitian photojournalist, writing about a visit to relatives in a rural village, or meditating on the career of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Danticat is always also writing about her responsibilities as a part of what is called, in Creole, the dyaspora... [T]houghtful, powerful."--Adam Kirsch, Barnes and Noble Review "Whether the topic is Haiti's war of independence, 9/11, the artist, musician and actor Jean-Michel Basquiat, the January earthquake and its aftermath, Danticat writes with a compassionate insight but without a trace of sentimentality. Her prose is energetic, her vision is clear, the tragedies seemingly speaking for themselves."--Betsy Willeford, Miami Herald "Danticat's writing is inviting, beautiful and honest."--Color Online "[Danticat] avoids grandiose claims about the insightfulness of the exile--while honouring the complexity of the immigrant artist's role, with its precariousness and its drive to make connections."--Scott McLemee, National "What is best in this collection are the vivid portraits of the author's childhood in Haiti (and then as a book-obsessed teenager visiting the library in Brooklyn), intermingled with return journeys to visit relatives, collect sacks of coffee and observe the nation changing. There are sharp thoughts on Basquiat, Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haitian earthquake."--Steven Poole, Guardian "Focused on her medium of 'word art,' though incorporating theater and visual arts, Danticat pieces together a multi-essay response to the creatives' lament ... how do, why do and should we create, in this at-best messy and at-worst dangerous world?"--Kristin Theil, Oregonian "Have you ever started reading a book which draws you in within the first few sentences and leaves you unable to put it down until the very last word and then, because it amazed and moved you more than anything you can remember, you immediately read it again? ... Create Dangerously, is one of those books... Danticat is that rare writer who can make you smile as your soul aches. Although Create Dangerously is not an easy book to read it is disturbing and particularly controversial in places it is, nonetheless, a consistently passionate, deeply thought-provoking and highly important book which should be read, reread and then passed on to new hands."--Josh Rosner, Canberra Times "Danticat's voice offers a plaintive, entreating call for recognition of the suffering of so many in the world, and of their irrepressible desire to make life more meaningful by embracing art despite it all, no matter the cost."--Kerri Shadid, Blogcritics.org "Throughout Create Dangerously, Ms. Danticat catalogs through personal narratives many of the dilemmas that immigrant writers face: readers and critics who question the 'veracity' of the stories; the accompanying guilt from the accusation of being a 'parasite,' and my personal favorite, the 'intrusion' into the lives of family and friends."--Geoffrey Philp blog "Danticat's essays and her memoir are highly finessed and subtle. She breaches the vertiginous fault lines between the real and the surreal, between writing and archeiropoietos, between lot bo dlo, and anba dlo... [Create Dangerously] asks us to consider art and literature as vehicles for authenticity and self-expression, however dangerous that might be. This achievement is effortless and utterly compelling, with not one syllable or sentiment below guapa."--Michelle Cahill, Mascara Literary Review "That Danticat engages and re-engages [the] complicated, important, and perennial questions of living and creating is one of the many reasons to read this book."--Danielle Georges, Women's Review of BooksTable of ContentsCHAPTER 1: Create Dangerously: Th e Immigrant Artist at Work 1 CHAPTER 2: Walk Straight 21 CHAPTER 3: I Am Not a Journalist 41 CHAPTER 4: Daughters of Memory 59 CHAPTER 5: I Speak Out 73 CHAPTER 6: The Other Side of the Water 87 CHAPTER 7: Bicentennial 97 CHAPTER 8: Another Country 107 CHAPTER 9: Flying Home 115 CHAPTER 10: Welcoming Ghosts 127 CHAPTER 11: Acheiropoietos 137 CHAPTER 12: Our Guernica 153 Acknowledgments 175 Notes 177 Index 183

    7 in stock

    £15.29

  • What W. H. Auden Can Do for You

    Princeton University Press What W. H. Auden Can Do for You

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisShows how W H Auden can speak to us throughout life, suggesting how, despite difficulties and change, we can celebrate understanding, acceptance, and love for others.Trade Review"[T]he book comes alive when Smith connects his own moral and intellectual growth to his appreciation of the poet... Anyone interested in the intellectual underpinnings of Smith's warm and humane novels should read this book, which would also make a good introduction to Auden for serious younger readers."--Regina Marler, New York Times Book Review "Poets need readers who aren't poets, and it is delightful to see an established novelist answer the call."--Lachlan MacKinnon, Times Literary Supplement "[McCall Smith's] little book, part of Princeton's Writers on Writers series, is a joy, start to finish."--Philadelphia Inquirer "Mystery scribe Alexander McCall Smith explains to us What W.H. Auden Can Do For You, an appreciation of the poet that should appeal even to those only familiar with his work via 'Four Weddings and a Funeral.'"--Eugenia Williamson, Boston Globe "Alexander McCall Smith plumbs the British poet's modern resonance in this charming, quirky, slim volume, a deft weave of biography, textual analysis and memoir. It's a must-read for Auden fans--even more for those who know his work only from a British rom-com... That there's only kindness in the telling marks the moral generosity McCall Smith says the great poet has taught him. He's learned a bunch of other stuff as well. And if you read his quietly wise book, you'll learn it, too."--Anne Kingston, Maclean's "McCall Smith traces the trajectory, both of [Auden's] travels and the resultant poems ... in a pitch-perfect conversational tone... His is a gift of charm, and of clarity of image--both of which he uses to the best of his ability here, in the creation of a book that is both the perfect jumping-on point for those coming late (forty-odd years after his death) to Auden and the perfect celebration for those who, like Mr. McCall Smith and this reader, have long revered and loved this odd little man and his teeth-rattlingly good poetry... What W. H. Auden Can Do for You speaks to each of the poet's major works with equal aplomb and gives each its proper niche in the man's life, and, in doing so, presents a thumbnail for each of the Seven Ages of this man, from the Voyager to 'the mature Auden, the Auden of settled views, the religious Auden; and finally the cantankerous and complaining Auden of late middle-age,' each lovingly wrought... What W. H. Auden Can Do for You is a wonderful work, one that more than holds its own with the other authors canonized in Princeton's series, Walt Whitman, Susan Sontag, and Arthur Conan Doyle. And if it accomplishes what it sets out to do--to make the case that reading the poetry of W. H. Auden allows for the spontaneous combustion of the human intellect--then Alexander McCall Smith will have done something pretty great for us all as well."--Vinton Rafe McCabe, New York Journal of Books "This book shows us many Audens, not least the cantankerous, carpet-slippered panacea the bulk of us know and love... [B]eautifully put together. For those of us who have waded through a morass of arduous criticism on Auden, it is nice to be reminded why this poet means so much for so many. For those who have not, McCall Smith's book is a great place to start."--Neilson MacKay, NewCriterion.com "[O]f all the volumes I've read about him, and all the tributes paid, the most remarkable and in a sense the most lovable is a highly personal, 137-page book by Alexander McCall Smith, What W.H. Auden Can Do For You."--Robert Fulford, National Post "[M]aybe the name of this book is the most radical, insightful thing about it: the notion that Auden is, as McCall Smith writes, 'a healer,' and that this is healing is collective. It's not just what Auden can do for you alone, but for all of us."--Alex Nazaryan, Newsweek "[A] charming, insightful, personal look at one of the 20th century's great poets."--Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times "Not only does What W.H. Auden Can Do for You express Smith's deep admiration of Auden's poetry, but his paean to the messy maestro also makes for a charming, honest look at Auden's failings... Still, Smith's passion for the poet cannot help but inspire us... [He] wisely counsels us to turn to the poems themselves to assess how much light they shed on our lives and loves. We won't be disappointed. For as Isabel Dalhousie knows so well, reading poetry may put us on the right track, after all."--Arlice Davenport, Wichita Eagle "Novelist Alexander McCall Smith has written a short, personal book about another abiding poet: Wystan Hugh Auden, dead these 40 years... McCall Smith feels enormous gratitude to Auden, and he is a keen proselytiser for poetry: its unique force and moral necessity... With poems like Lullaby and Muse'e des Beaux Arts, Auden transcended his obscure vocabulary and arcane interests to become that rarest of creatures, a necessary poet--the creator of works that people chant to themselves on beaches and read to the bereaved or the newly married. Again and again we return to this strange, weathered scholar poet because he helps us to live."--Peter Rose, Sydney Morning Herald "For some people The Art of War is a touchstone. A guide to living and to life. For others it is Tao Te Ching or even The Tao of Pooh. In his latest book, number one detective Alexander McCall Smith has an admission to make: his own personal touchstone is Anglo-American poet W.H. Auden... If you are a fan of Auden's work, this is a must-read."--Jones Atwater, January Magazine "McCall Smith makes an excellent case for a young generation to get acquainted with the life trajectory of Auden as poet and as struggling human."--Barbara Berman, TheRumpus.net "[C]harming, and easily told... [B]eautifully produced."--Fiona Sampson, New Humanist "[A] thoughtful and generous guide to more than the selected poems of W.H. Auden. An uplifting, pocket-sized vade mecum it made me rethink how I read, why poetry can be relevant both to everyday life and great events and it was refreshingly illuminating on the ways we age."--Caroline Jackson, Tablet "Any interested in literature and poetry will find this a memorable, insightful analysis!"--James A. Cox, California Bookwatch "McCall Smith restores the link between poetry and life, a link that encourages us to linger and reflect on every line or couplet. He demonstrates that Auden was capable of compressing a great deal of thought allusively into a few words, and suggests a technique that we can then apply ourselves... The main point about this little book is that it will attract readers to Auden, and furthermore suggest what is now almost a subversive idea, at least among intellectuals, that literature is not primarily the fodder for unreadable treatises and suety theories, but a way of finding or deepening the meaning of our lives."--Anthony Daniels, New Criterion "Sheer delight in the written and spoken word beams forth from Alexander McCall Smith's overview of the life of the one of the greatest 20th century poets, the Anglo-American poet, W. H. Auden, and his work in What W.H. Auden Can Do for You. The fluency and vigor of McCall Smith's writing gives a strength and momentum to the text that encourages one to read the whole book through without pause. The accessible way in which the author introduces even some of the most complex topics that are covered in Auden's poetry makes this a gem for non-academics and scholars alike."--Lois Henderson, Bookpleasures.com "What W. H. Auden Can Do for You is a graceful and personal response of gratitude for Auden, celebrating the resonance, reverence, and rebellion of the man who believed 'truth is catholic, but the search for it is protestant.'"--Mark Oakley, Church Times "The main point about this little book is that it will attract readers to Auden, and furthermore suggest what is now almost a subversive idea, at least among intellectuals, that literature is not primarily the fodder for unreadable treatises and suety theories, but a way of finding or deepening the meaning of our lives."--Anthony Daniels, New Criterion "[A] charming little book."--Robert Fulford, National Post "Entertainingly dense yet poetically informative, I found What W.H. Auden Can Do For You a more than inspiring read, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone remotely interested in poetics and the sometimes shameful ways of the world."--David MarxTable of ContentsAuthor's Note vii 1. Love Illuminates Again ... 1 2. Who Was He? 7 3. A Discovery of Auden 19 4. Choice and Quest 33 5. The Poet as Voyager 39 6. Politics and Sex 45 7. If I Could Tell You I Would Let You Know 55 8. What Freud Meant 65 9. A Vision of Agape 75 10. That We May Have Dreams and Visions 91 11. And Then There Is Nature 99 12. Auden as a Guide to the Living of One's Life 123

    1 in stock

    £18.00

  • Wollstonecraft

    Princeton University Press Wollstonecraft

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"Tomaselli’s book moves dexterously between [Wollstonecraft’s] feelings and reasonings, producing a portrait that is both fresh and compelling."---Barbara Taylor, The Guardian"Tomaselli gives us an intimate portrait of the passionate, life-loving woman behind the public moralist. . . . [A] clever and humane book."---Ruth Scurr, The Spectator"As an intellectual biography, Tomaselli’s account is both forensic and fascinating."---Rebecca Abrams, Financial Times"Fortitude is a quality that Tomaselli brings to the fore in her study of Mary Wollstonecraft, sensitively created from an informed overview of her subject’s writings."---Miranda Seymour, New York Review of Books"Rigorously researched and beautifully crafted" * New Humanist *"Sylvana Tomaselli invites us to immerse ourselves into Mary Wollstonecraft’s world, looking at how she regarded family life, politics, current affairs and the roles of men and women in society." * Family Tree Magazine *"Tomaselli has herself written a book which is both inspiring and thought-provoking. In a word, Wollstonecraft: Philosophy, Passion, and Politics should be compulsory reading for all teachers and students of Wollstonecraft and eighteenth-century political thought."---Max Skjönsberg, Intellectual History Review"This book thoughtfully and thematically walks the reader through Wollstonecraft’s work, developing a coherent philosophy from which we still have much to learn. Wollstonecraft: Philosophy, Passion, and Politics is brilliant in its combination of ease of reading, academic rigour and captivating writing. Whether the reader is an undergraduate student, seeking to place Wollstonecraft in greater context, an intrigued member of the public or a seasoned professor of political theory, Tomaselli’s work is accessible to all and has something new to reveal to all of us about a remarkable woman that history is just beginning to remember fully."---Isobel Clare, LSE Review of Books"A very engaging and lively study of a remarkable woman."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer"A pleasure to read."---Jennifer Thorn, Eighteenth-Century Studies Review"A readable, meticulously researched, intellectual biography and introduction to Wollstonecraft’s work that underscores her unwavering desire to create a better, more just world for all humans, not just women."---Ashley Cross, European Romantic Review"Luminous"---Stephen Marston, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books"Tomaselli succeeds in a masterly exposition of every facet of Wollstonecraft’s views. She draws out the complexities, contradictions and changes over time in Wollstonecraft’s thought."---Sheila McGregor, Socialist Review"Tomaselli is a good writer and her research is excellent. This is a thoroughly fascinating book, full of enhancing detail."---Alan Dent, Northern Review of Books

    20 in stock

    £31.50

  • Walker Evans

    Princeton University Press Walker Evans

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"Alpers’s interest in the ‘unique’ work of Walker Evans is an interest in the ‘making’ of the photographs rather than in their interpretation: her approach is slow, patient, fastidious, detail-oriented, appreciative and illuminating. . . . It is really Starting from Scratch that is a ‘unique’ work: a close reading of classic photographs by a discerning eye (Alpers’s) that conjoins the instructional with the intimate, the scholarship of the historian with the candour of the memoirist. . . . A brilliant and, indeed, thrilling final chapter . . . considers the phenomenon of ‘late style’ as it relates to artists other than Walker Evans"---Joyce Carol Oates, Times Literary Supplement"Warm and sympathetic . . . really a wonderful biography."---Joyce Carol Oates, Times Literary Supplement Podcast"[A] superb book."---Richard Meyer, Artforum"Starting From Scratch is well researched, and Alpers’s heavily quotational approach provides the reader a wealth of material from Evans’s letters, lectures, published texts, and personal writings."---Rahel Aima, The Nation"Svetlana Alpers’s biography takes a chronological approach to the life of an artist. . . . But before the text explores Walker’s aspirations, tastes, travels, career highs and love of the written word, the reader is presented with an uninterrupted 143 full-page reproductions of Evans’s photographs—an invitation to appraise the work before engaging with the man." * Christie's *"[A] brilliant scholar of Dutch painting’s take on an artist whose work has moved and inspired me for years."---Ayad Akhtar, Elle.com"A fresh consideration of Evans’s pictures. . . . Engaging."---Brian Sholis, Aperture"A fresh, scholarly look—complete with more than 200 images—at the seminal American photographer, this time through the lens of fine art and literature. In a lavishly illustrated narrative bolstered by impassioned research, art historian Alpers reintroduces readers to Walker Evans (1903-1975), one of America’s great artistic observers . . . Alpers convincingly presents him as a new kind of poet. . . . Great American photography in a welcome new frame." * Kirkus Reviews *"A comprehensive study. . . . Alpers shows how Evans’s approach differed both from that of other photographers and from conventional assumptions about photography. . . . Intriguing interpretations of Evans’s photos and work process, for both specialists and general readers." * Library Journal *"An entire semester in one volume. . . . [Alpers's] analysis of Evans’ artistic life will not disappoint. . . . This biography affectionately reads like a lecture series, with professor Alpers nudging students to close-read the 143 black/white Evans photos conveniently placed at the book’s beginning."---Jean Bundy, Anchorage Press"In Walker Evans: Starting from Scratch, art historian Svetlana Alpers explores the prominent 20th century documentary photographer’s work and creative process. Though one might usually consider photography to be a graphic art like painting, Alpers examines Evans’ love of text and the relationship between his images and works by writers including Flaubert, Baudelaire, and Faulkner, making the compelling case that literature is at the heart of his work. The book features 170 of Evans’s photos, but the main reason to get Starting from Scratch is to learn more about the artist’s way of seeing the world and rediscover his work with fresh eyes." * Photo Life Magazine *"[Alpers] takes a vivid, fresh look at the remarkable photographer whose well-known work on cities and on American rural poverty resonates today. But there is much more to see, and say. Many of the 143 plates will not be familiar, and Alpers interprets them in the context of international literature and art, inviting 'those who don’t know Evans [to] discover his greatness,' and ranking photographic achievement with literature and painting of the highest quality." * Harvard Magazine *"[Walker Evans] is finely tuned and thoroughly researched, carving out a unique space by focusing on Evans's lifelong emphasis on the art of seeing. . . . Highlighting groundbreaking cultural events, artists, and historical moments, including both world wars, the 1960s, and multiple cultural renaissances throughout Europe and the US, Alpers energetically writes about the people, places, and events that were continuous sources of influence and inspiration for Evans. . . . Highly recommended." * Choice *"This 213-page book provides depth and breadth about Evans’ work. Readers . . . who are curious about what drove Walker Evans to create, and to learn about what influenced him and what distinguishes him from other 20th Century photographers as it evolved will no doubt enjoy Walker Evans: Starting from Scratch. "---Caryn Hoffman, Picture this Post"In this extensive and detailed biography . . . the reader is presented with a new perspective on Walker Evans’s work, rendering the presumed familiar unfamiliar in a decidedly nuanced and enjoyable way." * ARLIS/NA Reviews *"[A] learned, suggestive, and handsome work. Alpers studies Evans’s work employing the techniques used to critique paintings: by assessing how he framed his scenes, in the light of his printed statements and off-the-cuff remarks. Her most illuminating is the theme of detail. She focuses on what Evans focused on."---Allen D. Boyer, Key Reporter"Insightful."---Stuart Mitchner, Town Topics"Alpers’ book on Walker Evans begins, after a half title page, with reproductions of 143 of Evans’ photographs . . . a silently eloquent way to say: the pictures come first. . . . Alpers focuses on [Evans’s] profound connection to French culture, literary in the first place . . . and then photographic . . . to show how 'Evans always viewed his country as if from the outside and often with an ironic eye.'"---Barry Schwabsky, Tourniquereview.com"This is a rich and thoughtful study of Evans’s life and his “furtive, passionate looking”. . . . A wonderfully insightful discussion of Evans’s key role in the creation of a distinctively American photography and the way great photographs can change how we see the world."---PD Smith, The Guardian

    1 in stock

    £29.75

  • Insomniac Dreams

    Princeton University Press Insomniac Dreams

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisFirst publication of an index-card diary in which Nabokov recorded sixty-four dreams and subsequent daytime episodes, allowing the reader a glimpse of his innermost life.Trade Review"One of The Guardian’s Best Books of 2017"

    2 in stock

    £14.24

  • The Only Woman in the Room

    Princeton University Press The Only Woman in the Room

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Prime Minister Golda Meir Prize, Golda Meir Institute for Leadership""A thoughtful portrait of a complex world leader." * Kirkus Reviews *"Ground-breaking." * Jewish News Life Magazine *"[Lahav’s] book is an important addition to our knowledge of one of the most significant leaders of the last century."---Matthew D’Ancona, Tortoise Media"An intriguing portrait of this most unlikely of influential twentieth-century leaders."---Abe Silberstein, Times Literary Supplement"A witty, engaging approach to a much-studied subject. . . .Lahav provides a nuanced understanding of Meir’s life, which throws new light on a great woman often unfairly critiqued by journalists and historians alike."---Julia Neuberger, Jewish Renaissance Magazine"This feminist biography of the only woman to become prime minister of Israel is a book which will appeal to the general reader interested in America and Israel."---Colin Schindler, Jerusalem Post

    4 in stock

    £28.50

  • Stalin

    Princeton University Press Stalin

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"Honorable Mention for the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize, ASEEES""Winner of the Deutscher Memorial Prize, Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn trust""The book’s strength lies . . . in its excavation of important episodes of the early years. . . . What I took from Passage to Revolution — and I agree with the idea — is that young Stalin was an angry optimist. . . . His hefty, demanding tome emphasizes the effects of changing circumstances that pivoted both Stalin and Russia into a vortex of revolution and civil war."---Robert Service, Washington Post"Joseph Stalin has been the subject of many biographical studies. . . . Ronald Grigor Suny's ‘Stalin: Passage to Revolution’ is a worthy contribution to this continuing enterprise. . . . In highly readable prose Mr. Suny . . . tells the story of the young Stalin's rise."---Joshua Rubenstein, Wall Street Journal"A Georgianist as well as a Russianist, equally comfortable with social, cultural and political history, Suny outclasses previous biographers of the young Stalin . . . It is a monumental work of history and its treatment and evocation of the young Stalin will never be bettered."---Geoffrey Roberts, Literary Review"A comprehensive, deeply researched study of one of the world’s most brutal dictators as he took the paths that would lead him to power."---Starred Review, Kirkus"This impressively researched biography provides remarkable and reliable details on the first part of Stalin’s life, along with the many fissures among the Left Communists. An important accomplishment. " * Library Journal, starred review *"Suny, using an abundance of newly available archival material, though there was no secret diary or introspective documents, provides an extraordinary telling, a detailed account, well written and engrossing, of the obscure and multiple layers of experience in Stalin's early life: church school, seminary, outlaw, exile, prison, attraction to Marxism."---Michael Curtis, American Thinker"He [Suny] is a lucid writer and a perspicacious scholar."---Stephen Lovell, Times Literary Supplement"The overriding merit of this book is that it takes Stalin seriously. It explains his life and development without feeling the need to impose a value judgement on the reader on every page."---Andrew Murray, Morning Star"Ronald Grigor Suny has written a massive, extensively researched biography of Josef Stalin’s early years—from his childhood days in Gori, Georgia, to the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917."---Francis P. Sempa, New York Journal of Books"Ronald Grigor Suny has created a detailed and unbiased biography of the first half of Joseph Stalin’s life. . . . one of the best on its subject."---Maria Timofeeva, International Journal of Military History and Historiography IJMH"This is Suny’s magnum opus, the product of decades of scholarly research."---Duncan Bowie, Chartist

    £22.50

  • Dweller in Shadows

    Princeton University Press Dweller in Shadows

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"Shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards""The most comprehensive [biography] to date. . . . Dweller in Shadows has many virtues. . . . The deepest impress of [the] book, however, is that it grows into the portrait of a hero."---Anthony Lane, New Yorker"Kate Kennedy finally does justice to the neglected poet, whose musician’s ear for the sounds of the war captures the reality of trench life like no other . . . . Enthralling, meticulously researched and deeply sympathetic."---Andrew Motion, The Spectator"[A] poignant biography of Gurney. . . . [Kennedy] captures not only her subject’s melancholy and angst but also his unique artistic accomplishments. For this Ms. Kennedy is particularly well-suited. . . . Her longtime interest in the intersection of words and music is evident in her sensitive analysis of Gurney’s songs and her careful, probing readings of his verse."---David Yezzi, Wall Street Journal"This substantial and, for the most part, unusually readable biography gives us a rich picture of the world and terrible existence of an astonishing, multitalented artist whose true time is long overdue."---Lachlan Mackinnon, Times Literary Supplement"Compelling and extraordinary."---Sean Rafferty, BBC Radio 3 ‘In Tune’"[A] fine, well-researched and intelligent biography. . . . This painstaking biography will do much to enhance [Gurney's] reputation."---Simon Heffer, Literary Review ​​​​​​​"[An] admirably detailed and perceptive biography. . . . [Kennedy] examines in some detail the extraordinary depth and talent of Gurney’s creative genius—she is particularly illuminating in talking about his poetry—while being candid about his erratic behaviour and impractical approach to adult life."---Daniel Jaffé, BBC Music Magazine ​​​​​​​"A particularly rich and detailed account. . . . This will certainly prove to be a valuable reference tool."---Jeremy Dibble, Gramophone"This is an impeccably and thoroughly researched biography, carefully analytical and elegantly presented. Kate Kennedy has left no stone unturned in her endeavours. It certainly makes for rewarding reading. Although Gurney has long dwelt on the shadowy periphery of musical life, this outstanding biography does much to redress the balance. It has to be one of the most heart-rending books I’ve ever read."---Stephen Greenbank, MusicWeb International"Written with enormous empathy, Kennedy’s account is heart-wrenching in places. A compelling work"---Elizabeth Fitzherbert, The Lady"Gurney deserved much better treatment. He deserved a much better society. His work began to give expression to his incipient sense of the need for social change. It’s to be hoped this thorough, sympathetic book will bring him the attention he was denied while he lived, and perhaps also prevent today’s or tomorrow’s Gurney suffering a similar fate."---Alan Dent, Penniless Press"This is a wonderful book that is an affectionate tribute to a truly great man."---Candia McKormack, Cotswold Life"The book deftly sheds light on how Gurney produced his much respected work." * Library Journal *"Kate Kennedy’s comprehensive biography of the early-20th-century British poet and composer Ivor Gurney, Dweller in Shadows, is an enormous feat of meticulously detailed scholarship. No stone has been left unturned and no aspect of his life has been left untouched (or at least not speculated upon) by Kennedy.. . . . In Dweller in Shadows Kennedy has created a fully realized portrayal of a complex historical figure’s life and reclaimed it for the good of historians and laypeople alike."---Walter Holland, Rain Taxi Review of Books"A stunning contribution to the fields of psychiatric historiography, musicology, literary studies, psychoanalytical scholarship, and many more disciplines, I learned a great deal from this beautifully constructed text, and I hope that Dr. Kennedy will continue to produce other such gripping biographies in years to come."---Brett Kahr, Confer"Authoritative and exhaustively researched"---Roger Ebbatson, Journal of the Friends of the Dymock Poets

    £29.75

  • Lives of Houses

    Princeton University Press Lives of Houses

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"Some of the best writing about the home that I’ve ever had the pleasure to read—and, crucially, loads of black-and-white photographs and illustrations. . . . Kennedy and Lee pleasingly assert the freedom to consider not only houses, but also house-related themes."---Kate Bolick, New York Review of Books"The joy of the book lies in the sheer variety of its subjects’ domestic routines. . . . Life-writing of this kind has the power to animate its subjects in ways that Sunday afternoon tours cannot."---Helen Barrett, Financial Times"A rich and eclectic collection of essays about the role houses play in people’s lives and our fascination with the homes of our creative heroes."---P. D. Smith, The Guardian"Crammed with picturesque detail."---Lindsay Duguid, Times Literary Supplement"An enjoyable and at times outstanding gathering of idiosyncratic voices."---Kevin Jackson, Literary Review"[A] thoughtful, meticulously edited collection of essays."---Lara Feigel, The Spectator"A series of interesting essays about the houses of famous writers, composers and politicians."---Martin Chilton, The Independent"Accessible, though with an obvious intellectual bent, Lives of Houses does not try to really answer the question of what houses mean to the people who live in them, but rather, calls readers to consider more broadly why these structures have such a hold—both physically and in how they frame the concept of home."---Michelle Anya Anjirbag, Shelf Awareness"Pilgrimages to the houses of late artists and writers are often destined to disappoint. Many of us go with grand hopes of finding something revelatory—we’re not sure what—that will make us feel closer to the person, perhaps lead us to discover something hidden about their work. Lives of Houses . . . is a collection of essays largely centered on such pilgrimages and what we unexpectedly find."---Elisa Wouk Almino, Literary Hub"An anthology with a concept both interesting in itself and unintentionally topical."---Carol Rumens, The Guardian"Lives of Houses is a collection of 20 or so essays, and several poems, on the houses of an eclectic selection of people—some of them famous, some obscure, ranging in time from the Roman Empire to the present day."---Constance Craig Smith, Daily Mail"The real object of study in Lives of Houses . . . is not the fascination with celebrity relics or the gossip over the scale and provenance of literary real estate, but the actual nature, tone and temperament of our attachment to place and home as dream-habitat and creative source."---Gregory Day, The Australian"Lives of Houses centres human stories first and foremost. . . . Each morsel of information provides a jolt of recognition as we see that many of the common activities of life have not altered."---Charles Pidgeon, Oxford Review of Books"A delight for bibliophiles."---David Luhrssen, ShepardExpress.com"[An] immensely satisfying collection."---Hephzibah Anderson, Observer"[A] favorite book about home and place."---Frances Mayes, Garden & Gun

    £14.24

  • The War for Gaul

    Princeton University Press The War for Gaul

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    2 in stock

    £13.29

  • Blake and Antiquity

    Princeton University Press Blake and Antiquity

    Book SynopsisTrade Review"For Kathleen Raine, Blake was an eighteenth-century herald of a change in thinking that only now is coming to fruition. . . . Blake and Antiquity is the work of a scholar who serves the lovers of literature." * MANAS *

    £27.00

  • The Point is to Change the World

    Pluto Press The Point is to Change the World

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisAn inspiring collection from one of the Caribbean's most vital political figures.Trade Review'Andaiye was the most important Caribbean woman intellectual-activist of the generation of Walter Rodney. Her subtle, river-clear, loving and angry intelligence is rescued here, and with it the memory of the political struggles of the 1970s and 80s in which a critical feminism emerged from the ruins of the Black Power moment' -- Richard Drayton, Rhodes Professor of Imperial History at King's College London'It is not an exaggeration to say that this volume will occupy a vaunted place alongside the writings of C. L. R. James, Frantz Fanon, Aime Cesaire, Sylvia Wynter, Edouard Glissant, George Lamming, Kamau Brathwaite, Stuart Hall, and certainly Walter Rodney. And like her distinguished predecessors, Andaiye and her brilliant collaborator, Alissa Trotz, did not put this book together in order to gather dust in a library. The title says it all: The Point is to Change the World' -- Robin D.G. Kelley, author of 'Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination''This collection is a benchmark for the study of the Caribbean radical imagination' -- Clem Seecharan, Emeritus Professor of History at London Metropolitan University and author of 'Sweetening "Bitter Sugar": Jock Campbell, the Booker Reformer in British Guiana, 1934-66''A comprehensive assessment of Andaiye's journey of personal, political and professional growth. Notwithstanding her privileged position, she was a resolute advocate for working-class women. Her legacy as a Caribbean activist and strategist is formidable' -- Patricia Rodney, Chair of the Walter Rodney FoundationTable of ContentsFOREWORDS Andaiye’s Radical Imagination—with Special Reference to Hern Engagement with the Working People’s Alliance - Clem Seecharan Between Home and Street: Andaiye’s Revolutionary Vision - Robin D. G. Kelley The Principle of Justice as a Labor of Caring - Honor Ford-Smith Editor’s Note: On the Politics of Precision Preface and Acknowledgements Abbreviations PART ONE - LEARNING LESSONS FROM PAST ORGANIZING Section I - The Good and Bad of Some Earlier Feminist and Left Organizing in the Region 1. The Angle You Look from Determines What You See: Towards a Critique of Feminist Politics and Organizing in the Caribbean [2002] 2. The Historic Centrality of Mr. Slime: George Lamming’s Pursuit of Class Betrayal in Novels and Speeches [2003] 3. The Grenada Revolution, the Caribbean Left, and the Regional Women’s Movement: Preliminary Notes on One Journey [2010] 4. Conversations about Organizing: Revised Excerpts from an Interview with Andaiye by David Scott [2004] Section II - Notes on the Guyana Indian/African Race Divide, and on Organizing within and against it 5. 1964: The Rupture of Neighborliness and its Legacy for Indian/African Relations [2008; 2018] (with D. Alissa Trotz) 6. Organizing within and against Race Divides: Lessons from Guyana’s African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa, Indian Political Revolutionary Associates, and the Early Working People’s Alliance [2008, 2017/2018] 7. Three Letters against Race Violence [2004, 2008] PART TWO - A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE: STARTING WITH THE UNWAGED CARING WORK OF MAINLY WOMEN WE REACH ALL SECTORS Section I - Why and How to Count Unwaged Work 8. Valuing Unwaged Work: A Preparatory Brief for CARICOM Ministers Responsible for Women’s Affairs Attending the 4th World Conference on Women [1994] 9. Grassroots Women Learning to Count their Unwaged Work: Summary Report on a 2001–2002 Trial [2009] 10. Looking at the Legalization of Abortion from the Perspective of Women as Unwaged Carers [1993] Section II - Breaking the Frontier between Home and Street, Unwaged and Waged 11. Strike for a Millennium which Values all Women’s Work and all Women’s Lives: A Call to Action [2000] 12. The Impact of the IMF Structural Adjustment Programme on Women’s Unwaged Work and How We Can Resist It [c.mid-1980s] 13. Housewives and Other Carers in the Guyanese Resistance of the Late 1970s and Early 1980s: Looking Back [2010] 134 14. Four Letters in Defense of Workers, Unwaged and Waged, and their Families [2011, 2012, 2018] PART THREE - THE POLITICAL IN THE PERSONAL Section I - My Breast and Yours, and the Inequalities of Power 15. The War on Cancer as Seen by an Embattled Survivor [2017/2018] 16. Sister Survivor: For Audre Lorde [1992] Section II - Women and Depression: Auto/biographies 17. Asylum: Diary of the Last Seven Days in a Women’s Psychiatric Ward [c.1973] 18. M: A Daughter’s Tale [c.1982] Section III - Undomesticating Violence 19. Against the Beating of Children: Submission to a Parliamentary Sub-committee on the Corporal Punishment of Children [2013] 20. Three Letters against Sexual Violence against Children [2010] 21. Knife Edge: Living with Domestic and Economic Violence [2013] 22. Women as Collateral Damage in Race Violence [2002] 23. Sexual Violence is a Question of Whose Honor? [2000] 24. Sexual Abuse and the Uses of Power [2018] 25. Letter to the Police Complaints Authority on an Allegation of Rape against a Police Commissioner [2012] PART FOUR - TOWARDS STRENGTHENING THE MOVEMENT 26. Gender, Race, and Class: A Perspective on the Contemporary Caribbean Struggle [2009] Last Word 27. Walter Rodney’s Last Writing on and for the Guyanese Working People [2010] Afterword: Andaiye and the Caribbean Radical Organizing Tradition - Anthony Bogues Index

    Out of stock

    £24.29

  • Clara Schumann

    Cornell University Press Clara Schumann

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis absorbing and award-winning biography tells the story of the tragedies and triumphs of Clara Wieck Schumann (1819–1896)—at once artist, composer, editor, teacher, wife, and mother of eight children.Trade ReviewClara Schumann was one of the remarkable women of the nineteenth century, and she deserves this well-documented biography.... This is the best modern study of Clara Schumann available in English. * New York Times Book Review *Foremost among the strengths of this book is the delineation of Schumann's character. While pointing out the overwhelming challenges and devastating losses that dogged her entire life, Reich makes no attempt to paint her as a saint or hero.... The first edition of this book has gained acceptance as a standard resource on Clara Schumann. This revised edition preserves the strengths of the first edition while adding additional information and a fine-tuning of the presentation, assuring that Reich's work will remain central to the subject for the foreseeable future. * Notes: Journal of the Music Library Association *In addition to telling us the story of Clara Schumann's life, Nancy B. Reich... includes chapters on Clara Schumann's children, her work as editor, performing artist, and teacher, and her relationships with Brahms, Joachim, Liszt, and other major figures of the era.... There is also a list and analysis of Clara Schumann's compositions.... Reich has written an eminently readable, well-researched, and thoughtful book that gives historical and psychological insights into one of the major artists of the nineteenth century. * Classical Music Guide Forums *Reich's first edition contributed to the increase in interest in Clara Schumann and in the performances and recordings of her music. The publication of this revised edition will continue to stir interest with the availability of new documents, letters and the extensive list of newly published music; further, this new edition offers a much more detailed look at Clara Schumann's life and music. * Journal of the International Association of Women in Music *The marvelous originality of Reich's book lies in the way she places the marriage and the celebrated friendship with Brahms in perspective among other critical factors in Clara's life. Reich's painstaking, scholarly detail and feminist insight recover not merely the events in the life, dramatic as they were, but its major themes, movements and connecting threads. * Women's Review of Books *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface to the Revised Edition Preface to the First Edition Acknowledgments to the Revised Edition Acknowledgments to the First EditionPart I. The Life of Clara Schumann 1. Prelude: The Wiecks of Leipzig 2. Career Begins 3. Robert Schumann and the Wiecks 4. The Break with Wieck 5. Marriage 6. The Dresden Years 7. Düsseldorf and the Death of Robert Schumann 8. The Later YearsPart II. Themes from the Life of Clara Schumann 9. Schumann and Johannes Brahms 10. Friends and Contemporaries 11. Clara Schumann as Composer and Editor 12. The Concert Artist 13. Clara Schumann as Student and TeacherCatalogue of WorksNotes Bibliography Index

    10 in stock

    £18.99

  • Oliver Heaviside

    Johns Hopkins University Press Oliver Heaviside

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisNow available in paperback with a new preface by the author, this acclaimed biography will appeal to historians of technology and science, as well as to scientists and engineers who wish to learn more about this remarkable man.Trade ReviewHow was it that a man who had no formal education after the age of sixteen could apply operational calculus to technological problems in a way that other eminent mathematical physicists had not? Why was a charged layer of the ionosphere named after him? The best way to gain an insight into the life and work of this eccentric genius will be to delve into this delightful book. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Educators A good book by a careful, historically minded engineer... A lively, informative narrative of Heaviside's life and work. Nahin has exhaustively resurveyed archives and contemporary sources and is very much at home in historical discussions of Victorian physics. IsisTable of ContentsContents: Preface to the Johns Hopkins Edition Preface to the Original Edition A Note of Mathematics A Note of References A Note on Money Acknowledgements 1 The Origins of Heaviside ( A Description of mid-19th century Victorian England.) The Man The Nature of His Work The Grim World of Heaviside's Youth Notes and References 2 The Early Years (The young Heaviside, his family circumstances, and his education.) The Beginning A Lucky Marriage First (and Last) Job A Lifetime Decision Tech Note: Where Is the Fault? Notes and References 3 The First Theory of the Electric Telegraph (Historical discussion of Professor William Thomson's 1854 diffusion theory, the starting point of Heaviside's work.) Thomson and Stokes The Law of Squares The Atlantic Cable The Speed of the Current Phase Distortion Tech Note: How Thomson Thought Electricity "Soaks" into an Infinitely Long Cable Notes and References 4 Heaviside's Early Telegraphy Work (An account of the introduction effects into cable analysis, and the nature of Heaviside's mode of working.) A Full-Time Student The Telegraph Papers The Problem of Signal Rate Assymmetry A "Mathematical Monster" Arithmatic Drudgery Tech Note: Why a Cable Is Slower in One Direction than in the Other Notes and References 5 The Scienticulist (An introduction to William Henry Preece, Engineer-in-Chief of the British Post Offics and Heaviside's great nemesis.) Heaviside's Nemesis Subdividing the Electric Light The Age of the "Practical Man" A Public Debate Why Preece Prevailed (for a While) A Clash of Personalities Preece's Ability The Telephone Affair Heavisides Refuses to Be Shackled Tech Note: Preece's Analysis of the Electric Light Notes and References 6 Maxwell's Electricity (The state of knowledge at Maxwell's death om 1879.) Introduction The Men before Maxwell Action-at-a-Distance The Luminiferous Ether Faraday and Lines of Force William Thomson Maxwell The Displacement Current Post-script: Just What Is Electricity, Anyway? Tech Note 1: A Technically Nice, Often Taught, but Historically False "Explanantion" of the Displacement Current Tech Note 2: Action-at-a-Distance, Fields, and Faraday's Electronic State Notes and References 7 Heaviside's Electrodynamics (How Heaviside formulated the field equations and what he did with them.) The Conversion of a Skeptic The Electrician The Importance of Mr. Biggs Getting Off to a Bad Start Reformulating Maxwell's Equations A Friend in Germany More Germans: Foppl, Boltzmann, and Planck Energy and Its Flux Moving Charges A Friend at Cambridge Faster-than-Light Dr. Heaviside, F.R.S. Tech Note 1: The Duplex Equations Tech Note 2: The Localization of Electromagnetic Field Energy Tech Note 3: Heaviside's Derivation of hte Electromagnetic Energy Flow Vector in Space Tech Note 4: Poynting;s Physics (and Oliver's Objection) Notes and References 8 The Battle With Preece (The story of the " KR-Law" and Preece's efforts to suppress Heaviside's influence.) High-Tech Hardware, Low-Tech Theory Early Mathematical Analysis The Peculiar Experiments of David Hughes Preece's " KR-Law" and Heaviside's Attack Oliver Lodge's Oscillating Leyden Jar "Experience" versus "Theory" Heaviside's Vindication A Change of Scene-and Fame Back in Print-in Style! His Friends Try to Help More Battles Tech Note1: The Skin Effect Tech Note 2: The " KR-Law" Tech Note 3: Preece and Lodge on Lightning Tech Note 4: Heaviside and S. P. Thompson on the Distortionless Circuit Notes and References 9 The Great Quarterionic War (The development of vectors by Heaviside and by Gibbs, and the debate with Tait.) More Debates Peter Tait, the Warrior of Victorian Science William Hamilton and Quarterions Before 1890-The Calm Before the Storm The Vector Analysis of Josiah Willard Gibbs Tait Throws Down the Gauntlet The Battle The Aftermath Off to War-Again Tech Note 1: Numbers and Vecotrs-Real, Complex and Hypercomplex Tech Note 2: Hamilton's Insight at the Brougham Bridge Tech Note 3: Quarterions Are Complex! Notes and References Strange Mathematics (Operational calculus.) "Rigorous Mathematics In Narrow, Physical Mathematics Bold and Broad" The Operator Concept Heaviside's Operators The Expansion Theorem The Royal Society Affair The Aftermath of the Rejection A New Friend at Cambridge Tech Note 1: Heaviside's Resistance Operators Tech Note 2: The Problem with the p and 1/ p Operators Tech Note 3: The Meaning of Heaviside's Fractional Operator, and Impulses Tech Note 4: Heaviside and Divergent Series Notes and References 11 The Age-of-the-Earth Controversy (The debate between Perry and Kelvin, and Heaviside's support of Perry via his operational methods.) Historical Origin of the Debate The Problem of Fossils Kelvin's Theory perry's Rebuttal of Kelvin's Theory Perry's Theory of Discontinuous Diffusivity Kelvin's Defense and Perry's Reply The End of the Debate An Assessment of the Debate A Final Word Tech Note 1: Heaviside's Operator Solution of Kelvin's Original One-Dimensional Problem Tech Note 2: Heaviside's Operator Solution of Perry's Problem of Discontinuous Diffusivity Notes and References 12 The Final Years of the Hermit (The Personal life of Heaviside after 1900, when essentially all his scientific work was done.) A "Gentleman" with a Pension Life in the Country Another Change at The Electrician The Passing of the Century-and of a Friend and a Foe The Catches up t Heaviside-and Leaves Him Behind Oliver Puts His Name on the Atmosphere Increasing Trouble with Life Life at Homefield Death Takes and Past-and the Present The End of the Hermit A Last Look Notes and References 13 Epilogue (An evaluation of Heaviside's impact since his death.) The Legend Grows Heaviside Profiled in TimeMagazine! Formulas Under the Floor Last Words Notes and References Index Credits

    7 in stock

    £31.95

  • My Indian Boyhood

    University of Nebraska Press My Indian Boyhood

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisA memoir of life, experience, and education of a Lakota child in the late 1800s. The author describes the home life and education of Indian children. Like other boys, he played with toy bows and arrows in the tipi before learning to make and use them and became schooled in the ways of animals and in the properties of plants and herbs.Trade Review"The book is replete with information. Standing Bear details many native beliefs and interpretations, as well as the symbolism, of the things of nature that guided the very lives of the Lakota, and makes lucid many conceptions that white people have usually regarded as mere superstition because not understood."—Saturday Review of Literature

    1 in stock

    £12.34

  • The Complete Essays of Montaigne

    Stanford University Press The Complete Essays of Montaigne

    Book Synopsis

    £31.50

  • The Tale of the Heike

    Stanford University Press The Tale of the Heike

    Book SynopsisOffers the masterworks of Japanese literature, ranking with The Tal of Genji in quality and prestige.Trade Review"This version of the Heike is superb and indeed reveals to English-language readers for the first time the full scope, grandeur, and literary richness of the work as a masterpiece of medieval writing."—Journal of Asian StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction; The tale of the Heike; Translator's note; Principal characters; Contents; text; Maps; Appendices; Glossary.

    £25.19

  • Voiles Cultural Memory in the Present

    Stanford University Press Voiles Cultural Memory in the Present

    Book SynopsisThis book combines loosely "autobiographical" texts by two of the most influential French intellectuals of our time. "Savoir," by Helene Cixous is an account of her experience of recovered sight after a lifetime of severe myopia; Jacques Derrida's "A Silkworm of One's Own" muses on a host of motifs, including his varied responses to "Savoir."Trade Review“This book is a significant event in contemporary French letters. Although Cixous and Derrida have often signaled publicly their solidarity with each other, this book conjoins their writing at an altogether new level of intensity. It is a stunningly original and moving work.”—Peggy Kamuf, University of Southern California“...a pleasure to read, showcasing the creative friendship of two of the world’s most influential writers and thinkers.”—Philosophy in ReviewTable of ContentsSavoir Helene Cixous; A Silkworm of One's Own Jacques Derrida; Notes.

    £17.99

  • The Complete Old English Poems

    University of Pennsylvania Press The Complete Old English Poems

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisNow for the first time, the entire Old English poetic corpus is rendered into modern strong-stress, alliterative verse in a masterful translation by Craig Williamson. The Complete Old English Poems also features his essay on translation and noted medievalist Tom Shippey's introduction on the literary scope and vision of these timeless poems.Trade Review"Here a whole poetic culture is laid out in all its richness and variety. . . . The translations are not literal, nor are they intended to be, but they convey with flair the meanings and rhetorical intricacy of the originals. . . . This is an immense book, not just in size but also in achievement: it attests both to the sizeable extant corpus of Old English poetry and to the impressive energy and creativeness of Williamson as translator." * Times Literary Supplement *"What Williamson does is useful as well as beautiful . . . No more hunting about in volumes here and there, and what we have is attractively printed and presented. As literary entities, the translations are excellent. They are fresh, sensitive, and vigorous, avoiding the dead archaisms of many translators, yet still giving an impression of their ancient originals . . . What [Williamson] has done deserves a very warm welcome, as does Tom Shippey's Introduction, with stimulating paragraphs on poetry as the vehicle for eulogy or wisdom. Together, they open windows to let in sunshine and air. They show how, beyond the grim and stuffy classroom of philology, delightful gardens and wild moorlands await discovery." * Modern Language Review *"{A] rich and abundant resource. Craig Williamson has produced 'alliterative, strong stress' translations of the surviving corpus of Old English poetry, from the 3,182 lines of Beowulf to the single runic line inscribed on the Overchurch Memorial. The well-worn clichés of Anglo-Saxon Studies are applicable here: Williamson's task was monstrous; his labour was noble; his success is heroic. The Complete Old English Poems is the work of a lifetime." * Translation and Literature *"Craig Williamson's collection of Old English poems in verse translation is a treasure trove of wisdom, heroism, heartache, beauty and humour. The Complete Old English Poems contains recitations that are at once surprisingly familiar and provocatively strange for the modern reader . . . [W]ith its emphasis on artistry, musicality and entertainment, this collection should prove appealing to both the scholar and the student of Old English poetry, and anyone curious about the history of written, spoken and sung verse." * Anglia *"A magnificent contribution that overwhelms the reader with its beauty and its depth, The Complete Old English Poems is much-needed medicine for the soul." * Benjamin Bagby, performer of Beowulf and director of the medieval music ensemble Sequentia *"Craig Williamson's monumental volume takes us 'across the bridge of language that lifts / Over the river of years,' as his dedicatory poem promises. A brilliant poet himself, his translations seamlessly weave together modern and Old English language patterns, and his learned, helpful introductions allow the sophistication and beauty of each poem to be grasped anew. The volume is a gift to generations of medievalists, poetry lovers, and seekers-out of elusive mysteries." * Peggy A. Knapp, Carnegie Mellon University *"It is cause for celebration to have at last a translation of the entire Old English poetic corpus, moreover a rendering that is discerning, nuanced, and poetically crafted. The earliest English verse has never been such a delight to read." * R. D. Fulk, author of An Introductory Grammar of Old English, with an Anthology of Readings *"Craig Williamson's ambitious undertaking-translating the entire corpus of Old English poetry, in all its variety, ambiguity, and alterity-succeeds in providing both an unprecedented resource for scholars and a compelling point of entry into the Anglo-Saxon world for beginners. His introductory remarks to the collection as a whole and to each of the poems take us even further, into a subtle and timely manifesto for the value of the humanities and the work of 'hard listening' that can connect and engage people across profound differences. Like the audiences imagined by the Old English poems themselves, many readers now and in the future will be inspired by Williamson's learned, loving new articulation of old voices." * Elaine Tuttle Hansen, author of Reading Wisdom in Old English Poetry *Table of ContentsIntroduction, by Tom Shippey Note on the Texts, Titles, and Organization of the Poems List of Abbreviations On Translating Old English Poetry The Junius Manuscript —Introduction —Genesis (A and B) —Exodus —Daniel —Christ and Satan The Vercelli Book —Introduction —Andreas: Andrew in the Country of the Cannibals —The Fates of the Apostles —Soul and Body I —Homiletic Fragment I: On Human Deceit —The Dream of the Rood —Elene: Helena's Discovery of the True Cross The Exeter Book —Introduction —Christ I: Advent Lyrics —Christ II: The Ascension —Christ III: Judgment —Guthlac A —Guthlac B —Azarias: The Suffering and Songs of the Three Youths —The Phoenix —Juliana —The Wanderer —The Gifts of Men —Precepts: A Father's Instruction —The Seafarer —Vainglory —Widsith —The Fortunes of Men —Maxims I: Exeter Maxims (A, B, and C) —The Order of the World —The Rhyming Poem —Physiologus I: The Panther —Physiologus II: The Whale —Physiologus III: Partridge or Phoenix —Homiletic Fragment III: God's Bright Welcome —Soul and Body II —Deor —Wulf and Eadwacer —Riddles 1-57 —The Wife's Lament —Judgment Day I —Resignation A: The Penitent's Prayer —Resignation B: The Exile's Lament —The Descent into Hell —Almsgiving —Pharaoh —The Lord's Prayer I —Homiletic Fragment II: Turn Toward the Light —Riddles 28b and 58 —The Husband's Message —The Ruin —Riddles 59-91 Beowulf and Judith —Introduction —Beowulf —Judith The Metrical Psalms of the Paris Psalter and the Meters of Boethius —Introduction —The Metrical Psalms of the Paris Psalter —The Meters of Boethius The Minor Poems —Introduction —The Fight at Finnsburg —Waldere —The Battle of Maldon —The Poems of The Anglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Battle of Brunanburg (937)The Capture of the Five Boroughs (942)The Coronation of Edgar (973)The Death of Edgar (975)The Death of Alfred (1036)The Death of Edward (1065) —Durham —The Rune Poem —Solomon and Saturn I —Solomon and Saturn II —The Menologium: A Calendar Poem —Maxims II: Cotton Maxims —A Proverb from Winfrid's Time —Judgment Day II —The Rewards of Piety —The Lord's Prayer II —The Gloria I —The Lord's Prayer III —The Creed —Fragments of Psalms —The Kentish Hymn —Psalm 50 —The Gloria II —A Prayer —Thureth —The Book's Prologue to Aldhelm's De virginitate —The Seasons for Fasting —Cædmon's Hymn —Bede's Death Song —The Leiden Riddle —Latin-English Proverbs —The Metrical Preface to The Pastoral Care —The Metrical Epilogue to The Pastoral Care —The Metrical Preface to Gregory's Dialogues —Colophon to Bede's Ecclesiastical History —The Ruthwell Cross —The Brussels Cross —The Franks Casket —The Metrical CharmsCharm for Unfruitful LandNine Herbs CharmCharm Against a DwarfCharm for a Sudden StitchCharm for Loss of Property or CattleCharm for a Difficult or Delayed BirthCharm for the Water-Elf-DiseaseCharm for a Swarm of BeesCharm for a Theft of CattleCharm for Loss of Property or CattleJourney CharmCharm Against Wens (or Tumors) Additional Poems —Introduction —Additional Poems of The Anglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Accession of Edgar (959)Prince Edward's Return (1057)Malcolm and Margaret (1067)The Wedding Conspiracy Against King William (1075)The Rhyme of King William (1086)The Suffering Under King Henry (1104) —Captions for Drawings —Cnut's Song —Distich: Psalm 17:51 —Distich on Kenelm —Distich on the Sons of Lothebrok—Five Memorial Stone InscriptionsDewsbury Memorial (or Stone Cross)Falstone Hogback MemorialGreat Urswick MemorialOverchurch MemorialThornhill III Memorial —Genealogical Verse —Godric's Hymns —The Grave —Honington Clip —Instructions for Christians —Lament for the English Church (From the Worcester Fragments) —Lancashire Gold Ring —Metrical Psalms 90:15-95:2 —The Soul's Address to the Body (From the Worcester Fragments) —Sutton Disc Brooch —Two Marginalic Lines —Verse in a Charter —Verse in a Homily: The Judgment of the Damned —Verse Paraphrase of Matthew 25:41 —Verse Proverb in a Junius Homily —Verses in Vercelli Homily XXI Appendix of Possible Riddle Solutions Bibliography Index of Poem Titles Acknowledgments

    3 in stock

    £105.40

  • We Flew over the Bridge

    Duke University Press We Flew over the Bridge

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisAfrican American artist Faith Ringgold narrates the events of her life from her childhood in 1930s Harlem to her stellar careers as both a best-selling children's writer and well-respected artist whose "story quilts" are displayed in museums worldwide.Trade Review“Bridging is the major motif of Ringgold’s life. . . . She is a bridge between the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights era. She is a bridge between her mother’s applied art of fashion design and her own fine art of painting and story quilts. She is a bridge between the black power movement and the women’s movement. And she is a bridge between the abstract art that dominated the ‘60s and the issue-oriented art that connected with viewers’ hearts—and lives.”—Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer“Faith Ringgold has already won my heart as an artist, as a woman, as an African American, and now with her entry into the world of autobiography (where I dwell), she has taken my heart again. She writes so beautifully.”—Maya Angelou“Faith Ringgold has created a rich and highly informative work not only of her own life as an American in general but as an African American in particular. These memoirs are a part of American history—of what it means to be an artist, a writer, and a philosopher in our society.”—Jacob Lawrence“Faith Ringgold’s exuberant and original art has made her one of America’s more important artists and a feminist heroine. Now her wonderfully honest memoirs will resonate with all political and creative women who are still fighting the battles Ringgold has won.”—Lucy Lippard, author of The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Essays on Feminist Art“In words that are as direct, honest, full of color and life as her paintings, Ringgold gives each reader the greatest gift of all—courage to be one’s own unique and universal self.”—Gloria Steinem“The story of Ringgold’s triumph—achieved through sheer determination, savvy, and self-conviction—is both accessible and inspiring.”—Lowery Stokes Sims, executive director, the Studio Museum in Harlem“Ringgold provides juicy autobiographical stories, supplemented with personal photographs as well as ample illustrations and descriptions of her work. It is a memoir every artist should read. . . . The book is informative, forthright, and fun, and is a great teaching tool for both emerging and established artists.” -- Joyce Owens Anderson * Journal of African American History *Table of ContentsPreface xi Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Harlem Born and Bred 1. From the Cradle to the Classroom in the 1930s 3 2. Growing Up on Sugar Hill in the 1940s 25 Part II: Men, Marriage, and Motherhood 3. Men and Marriage in the 1950s and 1960s 39 4. My Mother Was Perfect, or So She Said 67 5. Parental Politics: My Daughters and Me 81 Color Plates 97 Part III: Making Art, Making Waves, and Making Money 6. A European Trip Ends with a Death in the Family 131 7. The 1960s: Is There a Black Art? 143 8. The End of the 1960s: Out of the Studio and into the Streets 165 9. The 1970s: Is There a Women's Art? 173 10. Teaching Art: Those Who Can Should 217 11. We Flew over the Bridge: Performance Art, Story Quilts, and Tar Beach 237 Appendix: Matisse's Chapel 273 Faith Ringgold Chronology 275 Public and Private Collections 283 Index 285

    1 in stock

    £21.84

  • Abraham Lincoln

    Johns Hopkins University Press Abraham Lincoln

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction and Acknowledgments1. "I Have Seen a Good Deal of the Back Side of This World": Childhood in Kentucky (1809-1816)2. "I Used to be a Slave": Boyhood and Adolescence in Indiana (1816-1830)3. "Separated from His Father, He Studied English Grammar": New Salem (1831-1834)4. "A Napoleon of Astuteness and Political Finesse": Frontier Legislator (1834-1837)5. "We Must Fight the Devil With Fire": Slasher-Gaff Politico in Springfield (1837-1841)6. "It Would Just Kill Me to Marry Mary Todd": Courtship and Marriage (1840-1842)7. "I Have Got the Preacher by the Balls": Pursuing a Seat in Congress (1843-1847)8. "A Strong but Judicious Enemy to Slavery": Congressman Lincoln (1847-1849)9. "I Was Losing Interest in Politics and Went to the Practice of Law with Greater Earnestness Than Ever Before": Mid-Life Crisis (1849-1854)10. "Aroused As He Had Never Been Before": Reentering Politics (1854-1855)11. "Unite with Us, and Help Us to Triumph": Building the Illinois Republican Party (1855-1857)12. "A House Divided": Lincoln vs. Douglas (1857-1858)13. "A David Greater than the Democratic Goliath": The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)14. That Presidential Grub Gnaws Deep: Pursuing the Republican Nomination (1859-1860)15. "The Most Available Presidential Candidate for Unadulterated Republicans": The Chicago Convention (May 1860)16. "I Have Been Elected Mainly on the Cry 'Honest Old Abe'": The Presidential Campaign (May-November 1860)17. "I Will Suffer Death Before I Will Consent to Any Concession or Compromise": President-elect in Springfield (1860-1861)18. "What If I Appoint Cameron, Whose Very Name Stinks in the Nostrils of the People for His Corruption?": Cabinet-Making in Springfield (1860-1861)19. "The Man Does Not Live Who Is More Devoted to Peace Than I Am, But It May Be Necessary to Put the Foot Down Firmly": From Springfield to Washington (February 11-22, 1861)20. "I Am Now Going To Be Master": Inauguration (February 23-March 4, 1861)21. "A Man So Busy Letting Rooms in One End of His House, That He Can't Stop to Put Out the Fire that is Burning in the Other": Distributing Patronage (March-April 1861)22. "You Can Have No Conflict Without Being Yourselves the Aggressors": The Fort Sumter Crisis (March-April 1861)23. "I Intend to Give Blows": The Hundred Days (April-July 1861)24. Sitzkrieg: The Phony War (August 1861-January 1862)25. "This Damned Old House": The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion26. "I Expect to Maintain This Contest Until Successful, or Till I Die, or Am Conquered, or My Term Expires, or Congress or the Country Forsakes Me": From the Slough of Despond to the Gates of Richmond (January-July, 1862)27. "The Hour Comes for Dealing with Slavery": Playing the Last Trump Card (January-July 1862)28. "Would You Prosecute the War with Elder-Stalk Squirts, Charged with Rose Water?": The Soft War Turns Hard (July-September 1862)29. "I Am Not a Bold Man, But I Have the Knack of Sticking to My Promises!": The Emancipation Proclamation (September-December 1862)30. "Go Forward, and Give Us Victories": From the Mud March to Gettysburg (January-July 1863)31. "The Signs Look Better": Victory at the Polls and in the Field (July-November 1863)32. "I Hope to Stand Firm Enough to Not Go Backward, and Yet Not Go Forward Fast Enough to Wreck the Country's Cause": Reconstruction and Renomination (November 1863-June 1864)33. "Hold On with a Bulldog Grip and Chew and Choke as Much as Possible": The Grand Offensive (May-August 1864)34. "The Wisest Radical of All": Reelection (September-November 1864)35. "Let the Thing Be Pressed": Victory at Last (November 1864-April 8, 1865)36. "This War Is Eating My Life Out; I Have a Strong Impression That I Shall Not Live to See the End": (April 9-15, 1865)NotesIndex

    4 in stock

    £26.10

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