Biography Books

Book Synopsis“Friend, asshole, angel, mutant,” singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt “came along and made us gross and broken people seem . . . I dunno, cooler, I guess.” A quadriplegic who could play only simple chords on his guitar, Chesnutt recorded seventeen critically acclaimed albums before his death in 2009, including About to Choke, North Star Deserter, and At the Cut. In 2006, NPR placed him in the top five of the ten best living songwriters, along with Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Paul McCartney, and Bruce Springsteen. Chesnutt’s songs have also been covered by many prominent artists, including Madonna, the Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., Sparklehorse, Fugazi, and Neutral Milk Hotel.Kristin Hersh toured with Chesnutt for nearly a decade and they became close friends, bonding over a love of songwriting and mutual struggles with mental health. In Don’t Suck, Don’t Die, she describes many seemingly small moments they shared, their Trade ReviewThe book's great sadness is matched by the skill and vitality of Hersh's writing; it will make treasured and troubled reading for fans of Chesnutt and the author alike. * Kirkus Reviews *Don't Suck, Don't Die is not only one of the best books of the year, it's one of the most beautiful rock memoirs ever written. Hersh is as stunningly talented an author as she is a musician, and her portrayal of Chesnutt is perfectly done. * NPR *A raw, poetic memoir . . . a last, wonderful example of Chesnutt at his most charismatically mischievous * The Guardian *Hersh’s language is vivid and conversational, as descriptive and elliptical as her own music. * Salon *[Hersh’s] observations . . . always ring with a harsh lyrical truth . . . an eloquent, heartbreaking testament. * Pitchfork *In under 200 little pages, it paints a more honest, insightful picture of the late singer-songwriter than any biography could . . . Beautifully, poetically told. * MOJO *A powerful and moving insight . . . A book that will move anyone who’s loved and lost, regardless of whether they’re a fan of the author of Chesnutt. * R2 *An intimate, complicated portrait of the artist as road warrior . . . a beautiful but often dark, heartbreaking read. * Atlanta Journal-Constitution *An ode, an elegy and an examination of the physics of friendship. * WABE 90.1 Atlanta *Through beautifully phrased, dark, honest prose, [Hersh] paints a poetic portrait of earnest struggle, friendship as significant savior, and learned empathy. * The Austin Chronicle *The music made by the late Vic Chesnutt was evocative, haunting and often heartbreaking. Kristin Hersh's book about the singer-songwriter shares all of these qualities . . . It's a book that gives a tremendous sense of what friendship with such a person was like, for good and for bad, and leaves the reader feeling his absence even more once the book has ended. * Rolling Stone *It’s messy and spiky and unforgiving, crushingly sad, sometimes funny, and humane . . . I couldn’t speak for a while after finishing Hersh’s book. * Inside Higher Ed *[I]n this haunting, poetic, musical road show memoir, singer/songwriter Kristin Hersh takes us inside her friendship with Chesnutt. Her experience is as insightful to a musician's life as it is to the human existence—constantly probing and reevaluating self-understanding along with her footing on the planet. . . . There are lines you'll never forget, and you can't help but love the adorable, self-sabotaging, curmudgeon Chesnutt revealed in these pages. You'll wish you'd been there to absorb his flak backstage or in the southern sun. On balance, this book stands as a testament to the sincerity of his songwriting. * The US Review of Books *[A] piercing chronicle...Hersh uses vivid, engaging prose to capture Chesnutt’s complicated nature...Don’t Suck, Don’t Die is a moving portrait of an artistic genius—and a vulnerable manual on how to navigate immense grief after the death of someone we love. * The A.V. Club, "The 15 most essential music bios (and autobiographies) so far this century" *Table of Contents Foreword by Amanda Petrusich I. Eat Candy II. Thickety Time III. Go Outside and Look at the Moon IV. First, Give V. See You in My Dreams Selected Discography

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Book SynopsisQuestions and answers from two great philosophersWhy is laughter contagious? Why do mountains exist? Why do we long for the past, even if it is scarred by suffering? Spanning a vast array of subjects that range from the philosophical to the theological, from the philological to the scientific, The Philosopher Responds is the record of a set of questions put by the litterateur Abu ?ayyan al-Taw?idi to the philosopher and historian Abu ?Ali Miskawayh. Both figures were foremost contributors to the remarkable flowering of cultural and intellectual life that took place in the Islamic world during the reign of the Buyid dynasty in the fourth/tenth century.The correspondence between al-Taw?idi and Miskawayh holds a mirror to many of the debates of the time and reflects the spirit of rationalistic inquiry that animated their era. It also provides insight into the intellectual outlooks of two thinkers who were divided as much by their distinctive temperaments as byTrade ReviewTawhidi’s questions are often epigrammatic essays; they assert the limits of human reason and dwell on man’s 'deficiencies,' while evincing a Johnsonian keenness towards observing the contradictions of the human character, the fortunes of life and the spirit of the age. . . . There was no better recorder of his distempered century than Tawhidi; but there was also no other thinker of his time whose disillusioned and restless spirit is more modern, or whose character comes across more strongly in his writings. * Times Literary Supplement *A fascinating read, particularly for the aspiring scholar of classical Arabic texts, who will benefit from a solid English translation alongside the original Arabic. * Al Jadid *...Through an elegant and fluent English translation, makes this unique work accessible to an audience of non-specialists. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies *A marvel of literary finesse, of an English style seemingly able to match the often ornate prose of the Arabic... A pleasure to read throughout. * Journal of Near Eastern Studies *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2024 Michel Déon Prize for Non-Fiction A lyrical portrait of a young Irish woman reinventing herself at the turn of the twentieth century in America Ellen O'Hara was a young immigrant from Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century who, with courage and resilience, made a life for herself in New York while financially supporting those at home. Hereafter is her story, told by Vona Groarke, her descendant, in a beautiful blend of poetry, prose, and history. In July 1882, Ellen O'Hara stepped off a ship from the West of Ireland to begin a new life in New York. What she encountered was a world of casual racial prejudice that characterized her as ignorant, dirty, and feckless, the butt of many jokes. From the slim range of jobs available to her she, like, many of her kind, found a position as a domestic servant, working long hours and living in to save on rent and keep. After an unfortunate marriage, Ellen determined to win financial security on her own, and eventually opened a boarding house where her two children were able to rejoin her. Vona Groarke builds this story from historical fact, drawing from various archives for evidence of Ellen. However, she also considers why lives such as Ellen's seem to leave such a light trace in such records and fills in the gaps with memory and empathetic projection. Ellenscrappy, skeptical, and straight-talkingis the heroine of Hereafter, whose resilience animates the story and whose voice shines through with vivid clarity. Hereafter is both a compelling account of an incredible figure and a reflection on how one woman's story can speak for more than one life.Trade Review"An Irish Times and Irish Independent book of the year" -- 2022"A groundbreaking way of investigating a traumatic period in history, not only Irish history, but American history too." -- Colm Tóibín"Hereafter would be heartbreaking if it weren't so beautiful. As it is, it lifts the heart." -- John Banville, author of The Singularities"Hereafter is a mixed-media multi-genre tour-de-force. With poetry, prose, photographs, and a treasure trove of facts and artifacts pulled from the archives, Vona Groarke conjures the spirit of a woman she never met: Ellen O’Hara Grady, her mother’s beloved grandmother, missing for half a lifetime across the Atlantic Ocean. “Story is company,” Groarke writes; her mosaic of a narrative draws readers around a metaphoric hearth that warms the soul." -- Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life and Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast"A glowingly beautiful book about absence (and about absence becoming presence), this engagement with a ‘boxy, skeptical’ woman moves from plainness to poignancy, from groundedness to grace. It’s the story of a life but also a story of storymaking, written with immense skill and a living sense of writerly tact." -- Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of the Sea"Keats wrote that ‘a man’s life of any worth is a continual allegory.’ So too a woman’s. A conjuring, a searching, a haunting, a documenting, an imagining: Hereafter is a singular work of archival poetics and sympathetic vision. Speculative yet grounded in documents and historical research, this book draws on all the poet’s prodigious gifts—her formal inventiveness, historical sensibility, ethical acuity, linguistic brio. Vivifying the lives of young Irish immigrant women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, focusing on her own great-grandmother’s elusive presence in the historical record and in family memory, Groarke has brilliantly made of this ‘an intimating life,’ full of sensory detail and surprising transnational currents. Hereafter strikingly suggests en route how the work of Irish women abroad was crucial to the formation of the Irish state; it is a tour-de-force and also points to new horizons for life-writing in/as poetry." -- Maureen N. McLane, author of My Poets"A chance discovery in the archives of the New York Public Library was the seed for this book, and for that we should be thankful, because what has taken root with Hereafter is something remarkable. Vona Groarke, among the most brilliant poets writing today, gifts to her subject, Ellen O’Hara, the power of poetry, and in their joined hands is a powerful story indeed, freeing up the sonnet form so that it not only accommodates but ignites the rich and fascinating specifics of a private and important life. There has been nothing like this from an Irish writer before; it is a thrilling and beautiful creation." -- Belinda McKeon, author of Tender"As it imagines one woman’s life, this genre-bending book probes the nature of family and belonging and the profound ways ordinary immigrant women changed history on both sides of the Atlantic. Intelligent, searching, and warmly rendered." * Kirkus Reviews *"A striking tapestry woven of research and speculation." -- Brendan Daly * Business Post *"A beautifully distinctive exercise in imaginative empathy. Groarke’s writing is intimate — and impeccably honed. Hereafter is a fitting expression of gratitude, a reclamation or rectification as well as an attempt to assemble and understand Ellen’s life." -- Joanne Hayden * Independent.ie *"In Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara, the poet Vona Groarke traces, through a blend of poetry and prose, the life of her grand-mother, who emigrated from Sligo to New York in 1882 to work as a servant. Groarke’s lyrical act of historical investigation will surely become a classic of Irish literature." -- Frances Wilson * The Spectator *"A groundbreaking blend of history, poetry, and prose, a triumph of negative capability. This is a rich, rewarding, and heartbreaking read. Groarke restores not just Ellen, but all the other women who ‘left to live in other peoples’ houses.’" -- Martina Evans * The Irish Times *"Groarke not only exquisitely explores the nature of belonging in one family but also how Irish immigrant women transformed history both at home and abroad." -- Janet Somerville * Toronto Star *"[Y]ou should grab a copy of Vona Groarke’s Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara. It is an inventive, fascinating twist on the life story of one so-called Irish 'biddy.' It is also a collage of poetry, history, and memoir. Just like George Saunders re-invented Honest Abe with his dazzling 2017 book Lincoln in the Bardo, Groarke gives us a new way to think about immigrant women, from her great-grandmother to herself." -- Tom Deignan * IrishCentral *

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Book SynopsisPathway to the Stars takes readers on a remarkable journey spanning one hundred years of the Royal Canadian Air Force.Trade Review“[Pathway to the Stars] is a splendid new book … Over 250 pages, it is lavishly illustrated with photographs and covers the story of the RCAF from its origins to its future.” -- John Chalmers * Canadian Aviation Historical Society *Table of ContentsAbout the Authors Foreword Acknowledgements 1. The Origin Story of the RCAF: The First World War through to 1938 2. The Crucible of War: The RCAF and the Second World War, 1939–1945 3. The Cold War Deterrent Force: 1946–1991 4. Unification: Maintaining Canadian Sovereignty 5. Expeditionary Operations 6. Search and Rescue and Humanitarian Operations 7. The RCAF Today and Tomorrow 8. Reflecting on the Impact of the RCAF: Canada and the World Appendices 1. List of RCAF Commanders and Command Chiefs 2. RCAF Victoria Cross Recipients 3. List of Aircraft (Current and Historical) 4. RCAF Organization and Ceremonies 5. Timeline of the RCAF Bibliography Photo Credits Index

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Book Synopsis2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title In Life of the Indigenous MindDavid Martínez examines the early activism, life, and writings of Vine Deloria Jr. (1933–2005), the most influential Indigenous activist and writer of the twentieth century and one of the intellectual architects of the Red Power movement. An experienced activist, administrator, and political analyst, Deloria was motivated to activism and writing by his work as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, and he came to view discourse on tribal self-determination as the most important objective for making a viable future for tribes. In this work of both intellectual and activist history, Martínez assesses the early life and legacy of Deloria’s “Red Power Tetralogy,” his most powerful and polemical works: Custer Died for Your Sins (1969), We Talk, You Listen (1970), God Is Red (1973), and Behind tTrade Review"Drawing on the activist-intellectual's personal papers and less well-known writings from the period, Life of the Indigenous Mind is more than mere commentary. Moreover, the book's critical edge distinguishes it from prior scholarship that erred toward hagiography. Overall, it is a long-overdue addition to the existing literature on Vine Deloria, Jr., and on Red Power more generally."—John H. Cable, American Indian Quarterly“The most substantial and important consideration of Deloria’s work to date and deserves a place on any comprehensive American Indian studies shelf.”—Akim Reinhardt, South Dakota History"Martínez has produced a rich and rewarding book. He is balanced in his critiques of Deloria's writings and careful to contextualize Deloria's political motives for self-determination."—Gregory D. Smithers, Native American and Indigenous Studies“An affecting portrait of one of America’s most influential Indigenous rights activists.”—C. T. Vecsey, Choice"Life of the Indigenous Mind is an asset for instructors of American Indian studies. Martínez paints Deloria as a wise elder of the Red Power movement, even in his youth, a portrait that bolsters the argument that he was the intellectual leader American Indians needed at a unique moment in history."—April M. Bond, American Indian Culture and Research Journal“As David Martínez observes, the Indigenous mind is the Indigenous community’s most potent weapon against colonialism. This powerful statement triggers a challenging responsibility: to identify the types of ideas that should inform the efforts of Indigenous intellectuals. Martínez charts a framework for future intersectional analysis, providing an important contribution to the growth of American Indian intellectualism. This book offers a magnificent appraisal of Vine Deloria Jr.’s legacy and the power of critical thought.”—Rebecca Tsosie, Regents’ Professor of Law at the University of Arizona and faculty co-chair of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the James E. Rogers College of Law“David Martínez transcends hagiography in this complex analysis of four key early works by Vine Deloria Jr. This fascinating book takes a deep dive into Deloria’s thinking. Martínez does an admirable job of both placing these works in the historical context of turbulent changes in Indian affairs in the United States and illuminating Deloria’s intellectual acumen as he challenged federal bureaucrats, academia, the public at large, and, perhaps most significantly, Indian Country to rethink the place of American Indians in the United States.”—David R. M. Beck, professor of Native American Studies at the University of MontanaTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Prologue: Fanfare for the American Indian 1. Vine Deloria Jr. and the Discourse on Tribal Self-Determination: Independence beyond the Reservation System 2. Coyote Old Man Tells a Story: History, Plight, and Indian-White Relations 3. The Law of the Land: Tribes as Higher than States, Indians as Lower than Human 4. For the Good of the Indian: Termination Policy and the Pillaging of Indian Country 5. Not Your Minority: Tribalism during the Civil Rights Era 6. Here Come the Anthros!: A Tribal Critique of the Social Sciences 7. “Merciless Indian Savages”: Christianity, Churches, and the Soul of the Indian 8. The Scandal of Indian Affairs: Policy, Reservations, and the Future of Indian Freedom 9. Twentieth-Century Tribes: Nonlinear People in a Linear World 10. The Good Red Road Ahead: Self-Determination Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn the summers of the early 1970s, Morris Ardoin and his siblings helped run their family's roadside motel in a hot, buggy, bayou town in Cajun Louisiana. Theirs is a tale of suspense, awkward romance, naughty French lessons, and an insider's take on a truly remarkable, not-yet-homogenized pocket of American culture.Trade ReviewIts details impressive, Stone Motel is a layered memoir, both nostalgic and forthright in recalling family struggles." - Laura Leavitt, Foreword Reviews"One of the three best gay biography books of all time." - bookauthority.org"Morris Ardoin knew he had to escape the hostile world into which he was born before he could find himself as a gay man. He succeeded in this quest, only to discover, as this brave, complex memoir makes clear, that his past remains an inextricable part of the person he has become." - Daniel Burr, The Gay & Lesbian Review"Focusing on tradition, family, and food, Morris Ardoin’s Stone Motel will resonate with those searching for personal identity in an unaccepting time or place. Intensely personal and incredibly emotional, there is a sense of victory in his survival." - Valerie J. Andrews, School of Communication and Design, Loyola University New Orleans"Stone Motel is much more than a memoir; it is a meditation on the intersection of place and identity. Ardoin elevates the classic coming-of-age story to an art form with authenticity and wisdom, all the while never wandering too far from his Cajun roots." - Frank Perez, author of Treasures of the Vieux Carré and other books about New Orleans

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Book SynopsisIn Finding Myself Lost in Louisiana, author Keagan LeJeune brilliantly weaves the unusual folklore, landscape, and history of Louisiana along with his own family lineage that begins in 1760 to trace the trajectory of people's lives in the Bayou State.Trade ReviewKeagan LeJeune argues that despite the challenges of climate change, a troubled economy, and racial inequity, the idiosyncrasies of Louisiana’s geography, mythology, and people make it a place worth fighting for." - Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center, Northwestern State University"Combining memoir with careful research, LeJeune’s work approaches the culture and landscape of Louisiana through the lens of solastalgia, a term coined by Glenn Albrecht for the feeling of homesickness when one has not left home. Finding Myself Lost in Louisiana beautifully depicts Louisiana’s folklore and traditions through the personal journey of its narrator." - Marcia Gaudet, author of Carville: Remembering Leprosy in America

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Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of a distinguished public servant, who as US Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of State, was pivotal in steering the great powers toward the end of the Cold War. Deftly solving critical but intractable national and global problems was the leitmotif of George Pratt Shultz's life. No one at the highest levels of the United States government did it better or with greater consequence in the last half of the 20th century, often against withering resistance. His quiet, effective leadership altered the arc of history. While political, social, and cultural dynamics have changed profoundly since Shultz served at the commanding heights of American power in the 1970s and 1980s, his legacy and the lessons of his career have even greater meaning now that the Shultz brand of conservatism has been almost erased in the modern Republican Party. This book, from longtime New York Times Washington reporter Philip Taubman, restores the modest Shultz to his central place in American history. Taubman reveals Shultz's gift for forging relationships with people and then harnessing the rapport to address national and international challenges, under his motto "trust is the coin of the realm"—as well as his difficulty standing up for his principles, motivated by a powerful sense of loyalty that often trapped him in inaction. Based on exclusive access to Shultz's personal papers, housed in a sealed archive at the Hoover Institution, In the Nation's Service offers a remarkable insider account of the behind-the-scenes struggles of the statesman who played a pivotal role in unwinding the Cold War.Trade Review"This is a masterpiece. Philip Taubman, one of the great reporters and editors from The New York Times, has dug forever and found the real, authentic George Shultz, one of the true peacemakers of the 20th century. Essentially positive but not avoiding some well-documented criticisms, this biography reminds me of David McCullough's classic biographies of Presidents John Adams and Harry Truman—defining and sure-footed in every paragraph."—Bob Woodward, #1 bestselling author of Peril and Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate"The nuanced diplomacy of George Shultz at the end of the Cold War was a major reason that 45-year conflict ended with a whimper rather than the nuclear bang we had all feared. In his biography about Shultz, Philip Taubman masterfully explains the many keys to Shultz's success, including his giant intellect and understated ability to build personal relationships with his interlocutors in the Soviet Union. In the Nation's Service is a must read for those interested in the life and times of one of our nation's foremost secretaries of state."—James A. Baker, III, 61st U.S. Secretary of State"Philip Taubman has written an outstanding book about the extraordinary life and public service of Secretary Shultz. As Taubman describes in these pages, Shultz possessed the rare ability to build consensus among people with diverse and sometimes deeply opposing views, exhibiting an agile diplomacy that allowed him to aid in the peaceful end of the Cold War. Taubman's account deftly captures the character of this American icon, the halls of power in which he served the nation, and the consequential one hundred years in which he lived."—Condoleezza Rice, 66th US Secretary of State, Tad and Dianne Taube Director, Hoover Institution"Taubman makes a persuasive case that Shultz was one of the most distinguished American officials of the last half century."—H.W. Brands, author of The Last Campaign: Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America and Reagan: The Life"Philip Taubman's new biography of Shultz, In the Nation's Service, offers a more complicated assessment of the well-known government official and of the modern history of the GOP. Shultz's saga of triumph and turmoil offers a reminder that the brutal moral conditions Republican administrations impose on those who work in them were not just confined to Trump, but have been manifest all along."—Washington Monthly"Philip Taubman's In the Nation's Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz adds a surprising new dimension to the Reagan saga. Through the eyes of Shultz, the secretary of state, Taubman portrays the Reagan administration as swamped and nearly paralyzed by disorganization and infighting. Cabinet members and White House aides were constantly at each other's throats. This will come as no surprise to students of the Reagan presidency, but Taubman, a longtime reporter and editor at the New York Times, introduces a new and highly credible source. [Taubman's research] provides valuable new insight into the Reagan years, and he gives Shultz credit for holding things together."—David E. Hoffman, The Washington Post"Taubman's book is remarkable in many ways. [I]t gives Shultz the credit he deserves in guiding Reagan's foreign policy, especially in ending the Soviet empire, that had been reserved for just Reagan, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, President George H.W. Bush, and his top diplomat James Baker."—Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner"The humanity and human touch of Shultz and his biographer emerge on nearly every page."—Walter Clemens, New York Journal of Books"Taubman has written an outstanding biography of George Shultz, both comprehensive and consistently engaging. Taubman's biography excels at conveying Shultz's human characteristics—trustworthiness, solidity, fortitude, plain-spoken directness, quick intelligence, ambition—which brought him to the summit of the American political system and made him such an invaluable player in it."—Gabriel Schoenfeld, The American Purpose"Mr. Taubman has given us a distinctly American story: A young man from a middle-income family in New Jersey, refined by education at Princeton and early service in uniform, comes to help guide U.S. foreign affairs through a perilous world moment. Shultz's spirit of service and loyalty is regrettably no longer dominant in American diplomacy or bureaucracy."—Kate Bachelder Odell, Wall Street Journal"As capably captured by Philip Taubman in his official biography of the 60th secretary of state, In the Nation's Service, Shultz had a front-row view of both the Reagan administration and the end of the Cold War. Indeed, he was an active player in it, instrumental in directing Reagan's more cooperative approach to the Soviet Union and helped along by a willing partner in Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev."—Samuel Sweeney, Foreign Policy"Taubman's excellent biography deserves great praise for highlighting the enormous debt of gratitude the country owes to George Shultz, not only for his herculean efforts to bring an end to the Cold War but also his many other achievements 'In the Nation's Service.'"—Ambassador Gary Grappo, The Cipher BriefTable of Contents01. "Grow Up a Real Man" 02. No Empty Threats 03. The Real Economy 04. Pathway to Power 05. Equal Opportunity 06. Treasury Travails 07. Odd Man Out 08. A Common Foundation 09. Stumbling Start 10. Soviet Policy Standoff 11. Nancy Reagan to the Rescue 12. Shultz's Opponents Strike Back 13. A Test of Loyalty 14. Hitting Bottom 15. The Target Is Destroyed 16. Combating Terrorism 17. Reelection and Renewed Hope 18. Sea Change in the Kremlin 19. The Fireside Summit 20. Battles That Never End 21. Implosion of a Presidency 22. Back on Track 23. Encore in Moscow 24. Epilogue

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Book SynopsisFor the first time in English, a key work of critical geography Originally published in 1978 in Portuguese, For a New Geography is a milestone in the history of critical geography, and it marked the emergence of its author, Milton Santos (1926–2001), as a major interpreter of geographical thought, a prominent Afro-Brazilian public intellectual, and one of the foremost global theorists of space.Published in the midst of a crisis in geographical thought, For a New Geography functioned as a bridge between geography’s past and its future. In advancing his vision of a geography of action and liberation, Santos begins by turning to the roots of modern geography and its colonial legacies. Moving from a critique of the shortcomings of geography from the field’s foundations as a modern science to the outline of a new field of critical geography, he sets forth both an ontology of space and a methodology for geography. In so doing, he introduces novel theoretical categories to the analysis of space. It is, in short, both a critique of the Northern, Anglo-centric discipline from within and a systematic critique of its flaws and assumptions from outside.Critical geography has developed in the past four decades into a heterogenous and creative field of enquiry. Though accruing a set of theoretical touchstones in the process, it has become detached from a longer and broader history of geographical thought. For a New Geography reconciles these divergent histories. Arriving in English at a time of renewed interest in alternative geographical traditions and the history of radical geography, it takes its place in the canonical works of critical geography. Trade Review"For a New Geography presents an incisive critique of twentieth-century geography rooted in an anti-colonial, Third-Worldist perspective, and makes the case for a new geography linked to global social justice. As the perceptive translator’s introduction makes clear, this volume is an important historical text that continues to hold significant insights for today."—Ruth Craggs, King’s College London"It is great to see this commented translation of a key work by Milton Santos, one of the most iconic radical geographers from the Global South. This book anticipated several critical approaches to the philosophy and history of geography and is now available thanks to the commitment of Archie Davies, who is at the same time a great scholar and a great translator, two qualities that it is rare to see combined in today’s Anglophone scholarship."—Federico Ferretti, University of BolognaTable of ContentsContentsTranslator’s Introduction: The Newness of Geography Archie DaviesIntroduction: From a Critique of Geography to a Critical GeographyPart I. The Critique of Geography1. The Founders: Scientific Pretensions2. Philosophical Inheritance3. Postwar Renovation: “A New Geography”4. Quantitative Geography5. Models and Systems: The Ecosystems6. The Geography of Perception and Behavior7. The Triumph of Formalism and Ideology8. The Balance of the Crisis: Geography, Widow of SpacePart II. Geography, Society, Space9. A New Interdisciplinarity 10. An Attempt to Define Space11. Space: Reflection of Society or Social Fact?12. Space: A Factor?13. Space as Social OrderPart III. For a Critical Geography14. In Search of a Paradigm15. Total Space in Our Time16. State and Space: The Nation-State as a Geographical Unit of Study 17. The Ideas of Totality and Social Formation and the Renovation of Geography18. The Idea of Time in Geographical Studies Conclusion: Geography and the Future of Man AcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisHere, Rüdiger Safranski sets his sights on the writer considered the Shakespeare of German literature. Goethe (1749–1832) awakened a burgeoning German nation and the European continent with his electrifying novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. Safranski scoured Goethe’s oeuvre, relying on primary sources as well as his correspondence with contemporaries and their comments to one another, to produce an illuminating portrait of the avatar of the Romantic era. Set against the cultural and political turmoil of Europe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Goethe, who intersected with almost every great figure of his age, is thrillingly re-created here. As Safranski shows, Goethe’s greatest creation, even in comparison to his masterpiece Faust, was his own life.Trade Review"Safranski has written an outstanding biography, one that can be enjoyed by both scholars and general readers... he brilliantly captures Goethe’s perpetual incipience... Goethe has been lucky, on this occasion, with both his biographer and his translator." -- Literary Review"... fresh and authentic-feeling read." -- The Economist"In this expansive biography, Safranski, a philosopher and historian, mixes narrative and commentary with the great poet’s own words, from celebrated verse to obscure correspondence. Safranski’s strength lies in his ability to blend artistic analysis with swift, sharp renderings of various artists, thinkers, pietists, lovers, and plundering solders who shaped Goethe. His portrait of the prolific genius leaves the reader with lasting awe, even envy." -- The New Yorker"Enthralling…Rüdiger Safranski makes the reader fall madly in love with Goethe again." -- Ijoma Mangold - Die Zeit"Safranski is precise on the philosophical questions that dominated the life of a genius and his illustrious peers but the lessons for the many are outlined in a simple, engaging style... [his] achievement is to stir the most poignant of contrasting emotions." -- The Herald

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Book SynopsisXuanhe Catalogue of Paintings is the first complete translation of the well-known document produced at the court of Emperor Huizong (r. 1100–1125). Dated to 1120, the Catalogue is divided into ten categories of subject matter. Under Daoist and Buddhist Subjects, Figural Subjects, Architecture, Barbarian Tribes, Dragons and Fish, Landscape, Domestic and Wild Animals, Flowers and Birds, Ink Bamboo, and Vegetables and Fruit are biographies of 231 painters, ranging from famous early masters, such as Wu Daozi (ca. 685-758) and Li Cheng (919-967), to otherwise unknown artists of the Song-dynasty court, including fourteen eunuch officials and sixteen male and female members of the royal family. Titles of their pictures held in the palace collection are listed for each artist. These 6,396 paintings testify to the visual culture experienced by viewers of the twelfth century. The author's Introduction analyzes the Catalogue as a source of evidence about the formation of the Song-dynasty palace collection and argues that the majority of its pictures were already in the collection before Huizong's reign, as a result of conquest, confiscation, tribute, gift culture, collecting by earlier emperors, and the production of academy artists and regular officials at the Song court. Under Huizong's reign, around a thousand other pictures were added to the Catalogue through acquisition and reattribution. Open access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Book SynopsisHome Girls, the pioneering anthology of Black feminist thought, features writing by Black feminist and lesbian activists on topics both provocative and profound. Since its initial publication in 1983, it has become an essential text on Black women's lives and contains work by many of feminism's foremost thinkers. This edition features an updated list of contributor biographies and an all-new preface that provides Barbara Smith the opportunity to look back on forty years of the struggle, as well as the influence the work in this book has had on generations of feminists. The preface from the previous Rutgers edition remains, as well as all of the original pieces, set in a fresh new package. Contributors: Tania Abdulahad, Donna Allegra, Barbara A. Banks, Becky Birtha, Cenen, Cheryl Clarke, Michelle Cliff, Michelle T. Clinton, Willi (Willie) M. Coleman, Toi Derricotte, Alexis De Veaux, Jewelle L. Gomez, Akasha (Gloria) Hull, Patricia Spears Jones, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Raymina Y. Mays, Deidre McCalla, Chirlane McCray, Pat Parker, Linda C. Powell, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Spring Redd, Gwendolyn Rogers, Kate Rushin, Ann Allen Shockley, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, Shirley O. Steele, Luisah Teish, Jameelah Waheed, Alice Walker, and Renita J. Weems.Trade Review"The survival of these women and their joy makes Home Girls very satisfying." * Essence *“A provocative and important collection.” * Ms. *"Pungent and varied, full of questions, convictions, and insights." * The Nation *"It is fitting that Home Girls also reflects and celebrates the difference, among the [thirty-three] Black feminist writers, critics, and theorists assembled from the United States and the Caribbean, among Black women of all colors, classes, and cultures. More importantly, it reflects and celebrates our connections." * Women's Review of Books *"Home Girls is a book that has been saving lives and freeing communities for my entire lifetime. The Black Feminist revolutionary ethic and aesthetic that this book founds, documents and forwards is the best hope for survival and well-being that our species has. Read or re-read this book as if everything depends upon it. It does." -- Alexis Pauline Gumbs * author of Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals *“Groundbreaking…Though written years ago, Smith’s words are as valid today as they were then.” * Shondaland *“There is a profound need for those in communities that are taken for granted (or taken advantage of) to give voice to their joy, pain, and ambitions. Home Girls is a must-read for those who wish to understand, to grow, and to learn.” * Black Lesbian Literary Collective *“Considered by many to be the essential book on feminism, Home Girls is a selection of profound essays penned by intriguing feminists as well as lesbian activists.” * VIBE *"Home Girls is a repository of Black lesbian and feminist life, an animate archive that holds the breadth and depth of Black women’s intellectual and political acuity. Home Girls expands the episteme of Black Studies, offering a method to examine the simultaneity of oppression, a vision of freedom that eclipses captivity. Forty years later, this autopoietic text renews the life of Black Feminism, supplying us with incisive language for living." -- Briona Simone Jones * editor of Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought *"With its warm, inviting and endearing title, Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, this still classic work became foundational as it helped to develop a whole field in which generations of scholars learned the politics of coalition building, organizing, writing responsively and creatively about the Black woman’s experience in global contexts. The 'simultaneity of oppressions' logic which is its theoretical framework still provides an analytical model for assessing how these structures of power are even more clarified today but also how Black women have constantly challenged enforced locations." -- Carole Boyce Davies * author of Black Women's Rights: Leadership and the Circularities of Power *Table of Contents Preface to the 40th Anniversary Edition Preface to the first Rutgers University Press Edition Introduction Poem, Akasha (Gloria) Hull I. The Blood--Yes, the Blood For a Godchild, Regina, On the Occasion of Her First Love, Toi Derricotte The Damned, Toi Derricotte Hester's Song, Toi Derricotte The Sisters, Alexis De Veaux Debra, Michelle T. Clinton If I Could Write This in Fire, I would Write This In Fire, Michelle Cliff The Blood--Yes, The Blood: A Conversation, Cenen and Barbara Smith Something Latino Was Up With Us, Spring Redd "I Used to Think", Chirlane McCray The Black Back-Ups, Kate Rushin Home, Barbara Smith II. Artists Without Art Form "Under The Days": The buried Life and Poetry of Angelina Weld Grimké, Akasha (Gloria) Hull The Black Lesbian in American Literature: An Overview, Ann Allen Shockley Artists Without Art Form, Renita Weems I've Been Thinking of Diana Sands, Patricia Jones A Cultural Legacy Denied and Discovered: Black Lesbians in Fiction by Women, Jewelle L. Gomez What It Is I Think She's Doing Anyhow: A Reading of Toni Cade Bambara's The Salt Eaters, Akasha (Gloria) Hull III. Black Lesbians--Who Will Fight For Our Lives But Us? Tar Beach, Audre Lorde Before I Dress and Soar Again, Donna Allegra LeRoy's Birthday, Raymina Y. Mays The Wedding, Barbara Smith Maria de las Rosas, Becky Birtha Miss Esther's Land, Barbara A. Banks The Failure to Transform: Homophobia in the Black Community, Cheryl Clarke Where Will You Be? Pat Parker IV. A Home Girls' Album V. A Hell of a Place to Ferment a Revolution Among the Things That Used to Be, Willie M. Coleman From Sea to Shining Sea, June Jordan Women of Summer, Cheryl Clarke The TIred Poem: Last Letter from a Typical Unemployed Black Professional Woman, Kate Rushin Shoes Are Made for Walking, Shirley O. Steele Billy de Lye, Deirdre McCalla The Combahee River Collective Statement, Combahee River Collective Black Macho and Black Feminism, Linda C. Powell Black Lesbian/Feminist Organizing: A Conversation, Tania Abdulahad, Gwendolyn Rogers, Barbara Smith, Jameelah Waheed For Strong Women, Michelle T. Clinton The Black Goddess, Kate Rushin Women's Spirituality: A Household Act, Luisah Teish Only Justice Can Stop a Curse, Alice Walker Coalition Politics: Turning the Century, Bernice Johnson Reagon Acknowledgments Information on Contributors

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Book SynopsisThis lively and irreverent memoir explores the settings where Yiddish - a language of song, rebellion, and eternal longing - has thrived: in the cabaret and cafe, the kitchen and classroom, the literary salon and mystical commune, the partisan brigade and on pilgrimage to Poland.Trade ReviewDavid G. Roskies's passionate narrative of a brilliant family is more than a memoir of rupture and renewal-it is a history of a civilization, its languages, its lost cities, its living songs." - Cynthia Ozick, recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize"Yiddishlands' is a richly transcendent piece of writing that salvages many episodes of personal, family, and social history, not only in the Old Country but in modern Montreal and the numerous other places (hence the plural title)." - Jewish News Weekly of Northern California"David Roskies is the only one of his generation who can map the Yiddish literary world after the war with personal stories, vivid portraits of the key players, and extraordinary acumen and wit. Yiddishlands is a tour de force." - Hana Wirth-Nesher, professor of English and American studies and director of the Goldreich Family Institute for Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture at Tel Aviv University

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Book SynopsisPaints the Old West in all its terrible glory, where desperadoes tangle with crooked detectives, bloodthirsty posses, and sultry seductresses. Throughout it all, the protagonist keeps up a breakneck speed, committing hundreds of crimes before his love for a treacherous woman and his own violent nature lead him to a fitting climax.Trade ReviewEnthralling and intriguing. . . . Readers interested in crime drama and the history of the American West will find the book appealing."—Jerry D. Thompson, author of Wrecked Lives and Lost Souls: Joe Lynch Davis and the Last of the Oklahoma OutlawsTable of Contents Maps Acknowledgments Prologue. Shadow ManPart One. Sowing the Wind Chapter 1. The Mortimer Gang in Virginia City Chapter 2. Mortimer at Large Chapter 3. The Wiggin Affair Chapter 4. Highwayman Chapter 5. Gilchrist's Scheme Chapter 6. Lovestruck Chapter 7. The Santa Cruz Treasury Job Chapter 8. Ringers IllustrationsPart Two. Reaping the Whirlwind Chapter 9. The Murder of Caroline Prenel Chapter 10. The Fall Guy Chapter 11. The Murder of Mary Gibson Chapter 12. Red-Handed Chapter 13. Captain Lees's Secret Plan Chapter 14. The Ides of March Chapter 15. Scalawag Chapter 16. The Far West Chapter 17. Thicker Than Water Chapter 18. Hanging Charley Flinn Epilogue. "Rather Have a Rattlesnake"Glossary of Criminal Slang Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIt not only highlights the development and transformation of postcolonial literary study but also, by mapping out new directions of study, considers its continual significance and expansion.Trade Review"The single best anthology for studying postcolonialism and literature." (Susan Strehle, Binghamton University)"Table of ContentsAcknowledgments The First Thirty Years of Postcolonial Literary Scholarship: The Continuing Importance of a DisciplinePart I: ParadigmsChapter 1. The Margin at the Center: On Testimonio (Testimonial Narrative)Chapter 2. Writing in the Shit: Beckett, Nationalism, and the Colonial SubjectChapter 3. Imperial Triangles: Mark Twain's Foreign AffairsChapter 4. Fiction and the Law: Recent Inscriptions of Gayness in South AfricaChapter 5. Decolonizing Culture: Toward a Theory for Postcolonial Women's TextsChapter 6. Re-Membering Hispaniola: Edwidge Danticat's The Farming of BonesChapter 7. Redefining Paris: Trans-Modernity and Francophone African Migritude FictionPart II: Postcolonial AfricaChapter 8. Smoke of the Savannah: Traveling Modernity in Sembène Ousmane's God's Bits of WoodChapter 9. Mourning the Postapartheid State Already? The Poetics of Loss in Zakes Mda's Ways of DyingChapter 10. Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Postnation: The Cultural Geographies of Colonial, Neocolonial, and Postnational SpaceChapter 11. Truth, Telling, Questioning: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Antjie Krog's Country of My Skull, and Literature after ApartheidChapter 12. The Pastoral Promise and the Political Imperative: The Plaasroman Tradition in an Era of Land ReformPart III: Postcolonial IndiaChapter 13. Leading History by the Nose: The Turn to the Eighteenth Century in Midnight's ChildrenChapter 14. The Feminist Plot and the Nationalist Allegory: Home and World in Two Indian Women's Novels in EnglishChapter 15. Memory, Identity, Patriarchy: Projecting a Past in the Memoirs of Sara Suleri and Michael OndaatjeChapter 16. Figures of Colonial ResistancePart IV: New DirectionsChapter 17. Introduction: Worldly EnglishChapter 18. Narrative in Prison: Stories from the Palestinian IntifadaChapter 19. Globalization, Postcoloniality, and the Problem of Literary Studies in The Satanic VersesChapter 20. National Narratives, Postnational NarrationChapter 21. Comic Visions and Revisions in the Work of Lynda Barry and Marjane SatrapiChapter 22. Tenderness: A Mediator of Identity and Gender Construction in PoliticsList of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisOn his second tour to Vietnam, Nick Brokhausen served in Recon Team Habu, CCN. This unit was part of MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group), or Studies and Observations Group as it was innocuously called. The small recon companies that were the center of its activities conducted some of the most dangerous missions of the war, infiltrating areas controlled by the North Vietnamese in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The companies never exceeded more than 30 Americans, yet they were the best source for the enemy's disposition and were key to the US military being able to take the war to the enemy. This was accomplished by utilizing both new and innovative technology, and tactics dating back to the French and Indian Wars.This small unit racked up one of the most impressive records of awards for valor of any unit in the history of the United States Army. It came at a terrible price, however; the number of wounded and killed in action was incredibly high. Those missions today seem suicidal. In 1970 they seemed equally so, yet these men went out day after day with their indigenous allies - Montagnard tribesmen, Vietnamese, and Chinese Nungs - and faced the challenges with courage and resolve.This riveting memoir details the actions and experiences of a small group of Americans and their allies who were the backbone of ground reconnaissance in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It became a cult classic among the Special Forces community when first published over a decade ago.

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Book SynopsisPresents a collection of poems, essays, and writing prompts that celebrates motherhood and creates a space, as poet Molly Spencer has written, to ""tell an unlovely truth about family life and not have to take it back.

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Book SynopsisBaruch Spinoza (16321677) was one of the most important philosophers of all time; he was also one of the most radical and controversial. The story of Spinoza''s life takes the reader into the heart of Jewish Amsterdam in the seventeenth century and, with Spinoza''s exile from Judaism, into the midst of the tumultuous political, social, intellectual, and religious world of the young Dutch Republic. This new edition of Steven Nadler''s biography, winner of the Koret Jewish Book Award for biography and translated into a dozen languages, is enhanced by exciting new archival discoveries about his family background, his youth, and the various philosophical, political, and religious contexts of his life and works. There is more detail about his family''s business and communal activities, about his relationships with friends and correspondents, and about the development of his writings, which were so scandalous to his contemporaries.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Preface; 1. Settlement; 2. Abraham and Michael; 3. Bento/Baruch; 4. Talmud Torah; 5. A merchant of Amsterdam; 6. Cherem; 7. Benedictus; 8. A philosopher in Rijnsburg; 9. 'The Jew of Voorburg'; 10. Homo politicus; 11. Calm and turmoil in The Hague; 12. 'A free man thinks least of all of death'; A note on sources.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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