Search results for ""unbound""
Oro Editions The Gold Lotus: Thousands of Cupid’s Arrows on the Battlefield of Love
This is an epic tale; a fantasy replete with grand romances and countless avenues leading to divine love. Venture through diverse time perspectives and complex mythologies of the gods in this multidimensional drama, inspired by ancient Asian principles. The Gold Lotus is a dance in written form; a saga with a rhythmic delivery that will transport you through intricate plots, legendary wars, unsettling separations and passionate love, unbound. Manifested in a time of darkness and war, the celestial being Kānu prepares for a journey brought on by Muniji, the minstrel saint, to face a destiny that stands between destruction and salvation. Weaving through the ways of love and power, the almighty Kānu will learn to become the saviour of his heavenly kingdom while discovering the deepest desires of the heart and defeating evil – both within and without. As the heavenly kingdom yearns for its saviour, a formidable and broken God of War comes to battle with an unpredictable foe that has bested the mightiest of warriors before him: finding the lost love capable of fulfilling the void in his heart. What (or who) he finds as the answer proves to be a riddle never before encountered by the revered warrior. Alongside Kānu and a kingdom of mystical beings that oversee the forces of existence, the celestial war for balance is far from won and the stakes grow higher with every heartbeat.
£16.95
DC Comics Arkham City - The Order of the World
The Joker's attack on Arkham Asylum left the long-standing Gotham establishment in ruin, most of the patients killed or missing, and only a handful of surviving staff-a few nurses, a gravely injured security guard, and one doctor. In the chaos of the assault, it is believed that several of the asylum's patients escaped and scurried off into the dark nooks and crannies of Gotham City. Now, these Arkhamites walk among us, and it's up to the Asylum's one remaining doctor, Jocasta Joy, to round up her former patients. Meet these Arkhamites: a woman with no face, a pyggy in search of perfection, a man who feels nothing and burns everything, a woman who must devour life to save herself, a man unfit for the waking world who looks instead for Wonderland, a body with more than one soul, a being unbound from time who lives in the present and the past, a boy who seeks the comfort of vermin, and the twisted man who sees them all for who they are. And witness the avenging angel who stalks them. This volume collects Arkham City: The Order of the World #1-6, the complete story by Dan Watters and Dani.
£13.49
F.A. Davis Company Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
Web, mobile, and print platforms-access must-have information in any setting. 75,000 terms-put the language of health care at your fingertips in class, clinical, and practice. FREE, 1-year subscription to Taber’s Online, powered by Unbound Medicine-tap into all of the knowledge in Taber’s anytime, anywhere. Full-color illustrations-make often complex concepts easier to understand, including detailed illustrations of anatomy and physiology, and photographs of diseases and disorders that focus on their distinguishing features. Tools for clinical success-integrate must-have information where you need it. Patient Care Statements-Quick-reference summaries detail assessment, treatment, and patient teaching requirements. Caution/Safety Statements-An easy-to-find icon highlights information critical to safe patient care. Disease/Disorder Entries-Concise descriptions summarize diagnosis, signs and symptoms, etiology, treatments, and prognosis. 2020-21 NANDA-I.-The complete list of nursing diagnoses makes reference quick and easy. Resources online at FADavis.com-offer a wealth of learning resources and professional tools. Over 30,000 audio pronunciations-build speaking confidence. Appendices-put must-know, rarely memorized information at your fingertips, including normal reference laboratory values and prefixes, suffices, and combining forms, as well as abbreviations, symbols, and units of measurement, documentation system definitions, and translations of common healthcare terms and phrases in English, French, and Spanish.
£49.95
Paizo Publishing, LLC Pathfinder Dark Archive Pocket Edition (P2)
From the fringes, the unknown beckons. Pathfinder Dark Archive contains secrets that any player or GM can use to reveal the paranormal lurking in their Pathfinder games! This spine-tinglingly secretive 224-page softcover rulebook presents two new character classes perfect for delving into the unexplained: Unleash the untold power of your mind as the psychic or leverage supernatural secrets and mystic implements as the thaumaturge! Beyond these new classes, eight secret case files each provide player options, GM tools, and lore into a different paranormal topic, including: • Strange cryptids glimpsed in the night, gear to track them, and the powers you might gain by surviving an encounter with one • Cults and esoteric belief, with apocryphal divine magic and the secret of becoming a living vessel for an eldritch being • Temporal anomalies, with archetypes that skim along the surface of time and a new mystery for oracles unbound from causality Each file concludes with a short adventure to immerse players in the paranormal, spanning across Golarion—play all eight to uncover the inexplicable phenomena of the Age of Lost Omens! The pocket edition presents the same contents as the standard edition in a smaller sized softcover for a lower price and better portability.
£22.49
Johns Hopkins University Press Imagination and Science in Romanticism
How did the idea of the imagination impact Romantic literature and science?2018 Winner, Jean-Pierre Barricelli Book Prize, The International Conference on RomanticismRichard C. Sha argues that scientific understandings of the imagination indelibly shaped literary Romanticism. Challenging the idea that the imagination found a home only on the side of the literary, as a mental vehicle for transcending the worldly materials of the sciences, Sha shows how imagination helped to operationalize both scientific and literary discovery. Essentially, the imagination forced writers to consider the difference between what was possible and impossible while thinking about how that difference could be known. Sha examines how the imagination functioned within physics and chemistry in Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, neurology in Blake's Vala, or The Four Zoas, physiology in Coleridge's Biographia Literaria, and obstetrics and embryology in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He also demonstrates how the imagination was called upon to do aesthetic and scientific work using primary examples taken from the work of scientists and philosophers Davy, Dalton, Faraday, Priestley, Kant, Mary Somerville, Oersted, Marcet, Smellie, Swedenborg, Blumenbach, Buffon, Erasmus Darwin, and Von Baer, among others. Sha concludes that both fields benefited from thinking about how imagination could cooperate with reason—but that this partnership was impossible unless imagination's penchant for fantasy could be contained.
£30.50
John Wiley & Sons Inc Access 2013 Bible
A comprehensive reference to the updated and new features of Access 2013 As the world's most popular database management tool, Access enables you to organize, present, analyze, and share data as well as build powerful database solutions. However, databases can be complex. That's why you need the expert guidance in this comprehensive reference. Access 2013 Bible helps you gain a solid understanding of database purpose, construction, and application so that whether you're new to Access or looking to upgrade to the 2013 version, this well-rounded resource provides you with a thorough look at everything Access can do. Explains how to create tables, manipulate datasheets, and work with multiple tables Teaches you how to apply the seven-step design method to build databases that are tailored to your needs Covers building forms with wizards, creating bound and unbound forms, and adding data validation Shows you ways to automate query parameters, create functions and subroutines, and add programmed error routines Features a bonus website with content that contains all source code from the book as well as bonus shareware, freeware, trial, demo, and evaluation programs If you are looking for a comprehensive book on all things Access, look no further than Access 2013 Bible.
£34.19
Little, Brown Book Group The Tethered Mage
***SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 GEMMELL AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT***'I couldn't put it down' Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library'I raced through this exquisite debut in three days and adored it' Fantasy Book ReviewIn the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled - taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army. Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that could threaten the entire empire.Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage. And as war looms on the horizon, a single spark could turn their city into a pyre.SET IN A RICH WORLD OF POLITICAL INTRIGUE AND DANGEROUS MAGIC, THE TETHERED MAGE IS A SPELLBINDING DEBUT FROM A MAJOR NEW TALENT.'Absolutely recommended and on my shortlist for favorite books so far in 2017'Book Smugglers'A brilliant novel' The Eloquent Page'Fantastically readable, incredibly addictive and intelligently plotted . . . I loved it' Liz Loves Books'If you like fantasy, you'll love this book' The Tattooed Book GeekBooks by Melissa Caruso:Swords and FireThe Tethered MageThe Defiant HeirThe Unbound Empire
£9.99
Emerald Publishing Limited The Corruption of Play: Mapping the Ideological Play-Space of AAA Videogames
AAA videogames often offer expansive experiences to the millions who engage with the medium, but they are vulnerable to disruption from neoliberal structures. The Corruption of Play explores how neoliberal ideology corrupts play in AAA videogames by creating conditions in which play becomes unbound from leisure, allowing play to be understood, undertaken, and assessed in economic terms, and fundamentally undermining the nature of play. Providing a cutting-edge and innovative approach to this problem, McMahon uses cognitive mapping to make neoliberalism visible in play-space, showcasing a new way of seeing and understanding how play is enabled and how the player forms an understanding of themselves by it. How does the player form their sense of self in the videogame? What level of agency does the player have? How are AAA videogames consumed and what is the extent of the corruption of play? Offering a timely level-up to the existing critical work on videogames, McMahon’s revelations that play in AAA videogames does not often occur under ideal conditions due to the influence of neoliberal ideology are a captivating read for communication and media scholars interested in videogames. Understanding that play should be a core activity, and a natural barrier to market and economic logics, McMahon sets the scene for equipping us to understand how the process of neo liberalisation can be resisted.
£70.10
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Managing Intensity and Play at Work: Transient Relationships
What does it mean to organize when the only established premise is that everything is transient? How is it possible for an organization to manage expectations based on the expectation of the unexpected?In this thought-provoking book Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen uses a unique combination of deconstruction, systems theory and discourse theory to critically discuss topics such as the management of feelings, partnerships as second order promises, and work-life balance as an immune defense against over-socialized employees. He assesses the parallels between layoffs in intimate organizations and modern professional divorce discourses, and explores the dichotomy of double-bounded management commanding both 'do as I say' and 'be autonomous'. In so doing, Professor Andersen encourages the reader to look at relationships in the workplace in new ways.This unique book will prove invaluable for academics and students of human resource management, organizational behavior and critical management studies.Contents: Introduction 1. Diagnostics of the Present and Second-Order Observation 2. Adapting to Adaptability: The Machine of Transience 3. From Membership to Self-enrolment: The Production of the Employee who Creates Herself in the Organizational Image 4. Management of Authentic Feelings: The Trembling Organization 5. Managing Interpenetration and Intensity 6. Loving Layoffs: The Intimate Strategies of the Break-up 7. Unbound Binding: From Employee Contracts to Partnerships 8. The Organization as a Nexus of Partnerships Conclusion: Transient Relationships - Towards the Intensity Machine Bibliography Index
£27.95
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Managing Intensity and Play at Work: Transient Relationships
What does it mean to organize when the only established premise is that everything is transient? How is it possible for an organization to manage expectations based on the expectation of the unexpected?In this thought-provoking book Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen uses a unique combination of deconstruction, systems theory and discourse theory to critically discuss topics such as the management of feelings, partnerships as second order promises, and work-life balance as an immune defense against over-socialized employees. He assesses the parallels between layoffs in intimate organizations and modern professional divorce discourses, and explores the dichotomy of double-bounded management commanding both 'do as I say' and 'be autonomous'. In so doing, Professor Andersen encourages the reader to look at relationships in the workplace in new ways.This unique book will prove invaluable for academics and students of human resource management, organizational behavior and critical management studies.Contents: Introduction 1. Diagnostics of the Present and Second-Order Observation 2. Adapting to Adaptability: The Machine of Transience 3. From Membership to Self-enrolment: The Production of the Employee who Creates Herself in the Organizational Image 4. Management of Authentic Feelings: The Trembling Organization 5. Managing Interpenetration and Intensity 6. Loving Layoffs: The Intimate Strategies of the Break-up 7. Unbound Binding: From Employee Contracts to Partnerships 8. The Organization as a Nexus of Partnerships Conclusion: Transient Relationships - Towards the Intensity Machine Bibliography Index
£102.00
Pan Macmillan A Restless Truth: A Magical, Locked-room Murder Mystery
Knives Out meets The Binding in this historical romp full of magic, queer romance and adventure. A Restless Truth by Freya Marske is the thrilling follow-up to A Marvellous Light.'It's the lesbian locked-room murder mystery of my dreams. Beyond delightful!' - Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of JanuaryMaud Blyth has always longed for adventure. She’d hoped for plenty of it when she agreed to help her beloved older brother unravel a magical conspiracy. She even volunteered to serve as an old lady's companion on an ocean liner. But Maud didn't expect the old lady to turn up dead on the very first day of the voyage.Now she has to deal with a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and the lovely, dangerously outrageous Violet Debenham. Violet is everything Maud has been trained to distrust, yet can’t help but desire: a magician, an actress and a magnet for scandal.Surrounded by open sea and a ship full of suspects, Maud and Violet must learn to drop the masks they’ve learned to wear. Only then might they work together to locate a magical object worth killing for – and unmask a murderer. All without becoming dead in the water themselves.Set in an alternative Edwardian England filled with magic, murder and romance, A Restless Truth is the spellbinding second book in The Last Binding trilogy by Freya Marske. Continue the series with A Power Unbound.
£9.99
Oxford University Press The Major Works
This major new edition, originally commissioned for the acclaimed Oxford Authors series under the general editorship of Frank Kermode, brings together a unique combination of Shelley's poetry and prose - the lyric poems, plays, longer poems, criticism, and essays - to give the essence of his work and thinking. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a Romantic poet of radical imaginings, living in an age of change. His tempestuous life and friendship with Byron, and his tragically early death, at times threatened to overwhelm his legacy as a poet, but today his standing as one of the foremost English authors is assured. This freshly edited anthology - the fullest one-volume selection in English - includes all but one of the longer poems, from Queen Mab onwards, in their entirety. Only Laon and Cythna is excerpted, in a generous selection. As well as works such asPrometheus Unbound, The Mask of Anarchy, and Adonais, the volume includes a wide range of Shelley's shorter poems and much of his major prose, including A Defence of Poetry and almost all of A Philosophical View of Reform. Shelley emerges from these pages as a passionate and eloquent opponent of tyranny and a champion of human possibility. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
£12.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Star and the Strange Moon
From the author of A Witch in Time comes a haunting tale of ambition, obsession, and the eternal mystery and magic of film - perfect for fans of The Night Circus and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.A vanished star. A haunted film. A mystery only love can unravel . . . 1968: Gemma Turner once dreamed of stardom. Now she's on the cusp of obscurity. When she's offered the lead in a radical new horror film, Gemma believes her luck has changed - but her dream is about to turn into a nightmare. One night, between the shadows of an alleyway, Gemma disappears on set and is never seen again. Yet she's still alive. She's been pulled into the film. And the script - and the monsters within it - are coming to life. Gemma must play her role perfectly if she hopes to survive. 2007: Gemma Turner's disappearance is one of Hollywood's greatest mysteries - one that's haunted film student Christopher Kent ever since he saw L'Étrange Lune for the first time. The screenings only happen once a decade, and each time, there is new, impossible footage of Gemma that shouldn't exist. Curiosity drives Christopher to unravel the truth. But answers to the film's mystery may leave him trapped by it forever . . . 'The Star and the Strange Moon will cast its spell on you' Paula Brackston, New York Times bestselling author'A sweeping tale of dark magic, artistic obsession, and a love unbound from the limits of time' Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain
£16.99
Princeton University Press How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime
In a series of columns and essays that renowned journalist and former presidential adviser, Sidney Blumenthal wrote in the three years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a unifying theme began to emerge: that Bush, billed by himself and by many others as a conservative, is in fact a radical - more radical than any president in American history. In "How Bush Rules", Blumenthal provides a trenchant and vivid account of the progression of Bush's radical style - from his reliance on one-party rule and his unwillingness to allow internal debate to his elevation of the power of the vice president. Taking readers through pivotal events such as the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the rise of the foreign-policy neoconservatives, Abu Ghraib, the war on science, the Jack Abramoff scandal, and the catastrophic mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, the book tracks a consistent policy that calls for the president to have complete authority over independent federal agencies and to remain unbound by congressional oversight or even the law. In an incisive and powerful introduction, Blumenthal argues that these radical actions are not haphazard, but deliberately intended to fundamentally change the presidency and the government. He shows not only the historical precedents for radical governing, but also how Bush has taken his methods to unique extremes. With its penetrating account of a critical new era in American leadership, "How Bush Rules" is a devastating appraisal of the Bush presidency.
£22.00
University of South Carolina Press Charleston Belles Abroad: The Music Collections of Harriet Lowndes, Henrietta Aiken, and Louisa Rebecca McCord
An examination of the influential role music played in the lives of elite southern women during the antebellum periodIn Charleston Belles Abroad, Candace Bailey examines the vital role music collections played in the lives of elite women of Charleston, South Carolina, in the years leading up to the Civil War.Bailey has studied a substantial archive of music held at several southern libraries, including the library in the historic Aiken-Rhett House, once owned by William Aiken Jr., a successful businessman, rice planter, and governor of South Carolina. Her skill as a musicologist enables her to examine the collections as primary sources for gaining a better understanding of musical culture, instruction, private performance, cultural tourism, and the history of the music industry during this period.The bound and unbound collections and their associated publications show that international travel and music education in Europe were common among Charleston’s elite families. While abroad, the budding musicians purchased the latest music publications and brought them back to Charleston, where they often performed them in private and at semipublic events.Through a narrow exploration of the collections of these elite women, Bailey exposes the cultural priorities within one of the South’s most influential cities and illuminates both the commonalities and discrepancies in the training of young women to enter society. A noteworthy contribution to southern and urban history, Charleston Belles Abroad provides a deep study of music in the context of transatlantic values, interpersonal relationships, and stability and tumult in the South during the nineteenth century.
£70.71
Little, Brown Book Group The Defiant Heir
'Melissa Caruso has taken things to an ENTIRELY new level of awesome' Powder and Page'Caruso has really hit her fantasy stride with The Defiant Heir' CultureflyAcross the border, the Witch Lords are preparing for war. But before an invasion of Raverra can begin, all seventeen Witch Lords must gather to agree a course of action. Lady Amalia Cornaro knows that this conclave might be her only chance to stifle the growing flames of war. Amalia and her warlock Zaira must go behind enemy lines, using every ounce of wit and cunning they have to avert the coming conflict. If they fail, it will all come down to swords and fire.The Defiant Heir continues the spellbinding tale of courtly intrigue and dangerous magic that began with Gemmell Award shortlisted debut The Tethered Mage.Praise for the series:The Tethered Mage is an excellent debut novel that set a high bar for its follow up, but The Defiant Heir takes the series to the next level in every way . . . I can hardly contain my excitement for the third installment'Fantasy Book Cafe'I couldn't put it down' Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library I raced through this exquisite debut in three days and adored it' - Fantasy Book Review'Absolutely recommended and on my shortlist for favorite books so far in 2017' - Book Smugglers'A brilliant novel' - The Eloquent Page'Fantastically readable, incredibly addictive and intelligently plotted . . . I loved it' - Liz Loves Books'Captivating' - Vic James, author of Gilded Cage'If you like fantasy, you'll love this book' - The Tattooed Book GeekBooks by Melissa Caruso:Swords and FireThe Tethered MageThe Defiant HeirThe Unbound Empire
£9.99
Harvard University Press Shelley’s Major Verse: The Narrative and Dramatic Poetry
Shelley has long been viewed as a dreamer isolated from reality, a “beautiful and ineffectual angel,” in Arnold’s words. In contrast, Stuart Sperry’s book emphasizes the life forces originating in the poet’s childhood that impelled and shaped his career, and reasserts Shelley’s relevance to the social and cultural dilemmas of contemporary life.Concentrating on the major narrative and dramatic poems and the patterns of development they reveal, Sperry reintegrates Shelley’s poetry with his life by showing how, following the traumatic events of his early years, the poet sought to preserve and extend those life impulses by creating a network of personal relationships that provided the inspiration and model for his poems. As the circumstances of his life and his relationships to others changed and as his thought evolved, he was led to reshape his major poems. Three chapters at the center of the book, devoted to Shelley’s visionary masterpiece Prometheus Unbound, provide the finest introduction so far to its conceptions and intent as well as a powerful vindication of the poet’s enduring idealism. In defining Shelley’s true originality, Sperry defends the poet against his harshest critics by suggesting that his vision of human potential may represent a vital resource against the competitive drives and self-destructive compulsions of our own day.Sperry’s approach to the poetry through the formative events of Shelley’s early life provides an excellent biographical introduction. His reinterpretation of the major works and the career will appeal to first-time readers as well as to mature students of Shelley.
£67.46
McGill-Queen's University Press Toxic Immanence: Decolonizing Nuclear Legacies and Futures
More than a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, what we are witnessing is not a Second Nuclear Age – there is no post-atomic – but an uncanny, quiet return of the nuclear threat that so vividly animated the Cold War era. The renewed threat of nuclear proliferation, public complacency regarding weapons stockpiles, and the lack of a single functioning long-term repository after seventy years and thousands of tonnes of nuclear waste reveals the industry’s capacity for self-reinvention abetted by an ever-present capacity to forget. More than “fabulously textual,” as Jacques Derrida described it, the protean, unbound, and unending materiality of the nuclear is here to stay: resistance is crucial.Toxic Immanence introduces contemporary interdisciplinary perspectives that resist and decolonize the nuclear. Contributors highlight the prevalence and irrationality of slow violence and colonial governance as elements of the contemporary nuclear age. They propose a reappraisal of Cold War-era anti-nuclear art as well as pop culture representations of nuclear disaster, while decolonizing pedagogies advance the role of education in communicating and understanding the lethality of nuclear complexes. Collectively, the essays develop a robust critical discourse across fields of nuclear knowledge and integrate the work of the nuclear humanities with environmental justice and Indigenous rights activism. This reach across ways of knowing extends artistically: the poetry and photography included in this volume offer visions of past and present nuclear legacies.Conceived as a critical reflection on the potential of nuclear humanities, Toxic Immanence offers intellectual strategies for resisting and abolishing the global nuclear regime.
£68.00
Five Continents Editions Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: Un monde sans limites
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré (Ivory Coast, 1923-2014) was a self-taught artist and one of the most relevant international voices of the second half of the 20th century, not only for his visual creation, but also thanks to his contributions to other cultural fields, such as poetry, philosophy, and essay writing. In 1948 he experienced a “revelation”: from that moment on, he called himself “Cheik Nadro” (he who does not forget) and he not only undertook a philosophical research into African reality and the meaning of life, but he also began creating a monumental work of art entitled Connaissance du monde. With pen and coloured pencils on 10x15 cm (3.9x5.9 in) sheets of construction paper, he gave life to a sort of visual encyclopaedia that grew richer by the day. Another especially interesting work by this artist is Alphabet Bété, an alphabet made up of 448 monosyllabic pictograms intended to establish a connection between the European and African cultures and to inspire a sense of brotherhood. These two extremely relevant works, as well as other series of drawings by the artist, are the central nucleus of this volume, which complements the exhibition at the MoMA in New York, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: World Unbound. Bouabré has been featured in all the most prestigious international venues, from the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, from the Tate Modern in London to the Portikus in Frankfurt. He was also present at the 55th Biennale in Venice, at Documenta in Kassel, and at the Bienal in São Paulo. Text in French.
£24.30
Princeton University Press The Closed Book: How the Rabbis Taught the Jews (Not) to Read the Bible
A groundbreaking reinterpretation of early Judaism, during the millennium before the study of the Bible took center stageEarly Judaism is often described as the religion of the book par excellence—a movement built around the study of the Bible and steeped in a culture of sacred bookishness that evolved from an unrelenting focus on a canonical text. But in The Closed Book, Rebecca Scharbach Wollenberg argues that Jews didn’t truly embrace the biblical text until nearly a thousand years after the Bible was first canonized. She tells the story of the intervening centuries during which even rabbis seldom opened a Bible and many rabbinic authorities remained deeply ambivalent about the biblical text as a source of sacred knowledge.Wollenberg shows that, in place of the biblical text, early Jewish thinkers embraced a form of biblical revelation that has now largely disappeared from practice. Somewhere between the fixed transcripts of the biblical Written Torah and the fluid traditions of the rabbinic Oral Torah, a third category of revelation was imagined by these rabbinic thinkers. In this “third Torah,” memorized spoken formulas of the biblical tradition came to be envisioned as a distinct version of the biblical revelation. And it was believed that this living tradition of recitation passed down by human mouths, unbound by the limitations of written text, provided a fuller and more authentic witness to the scriptural revelation at Sinai. In this way, early rabbinic authorities were able to leverage the idea of biblical revelation while quarantining the biblical text itself from communal life.The result is a revealing reinterpretation of “the people of the book” before they became people of the book.
£31.50
Penguin Books Ltd The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfilment
'Helps you keep achieving - and find peace and happiness in the process' Amy EdmondsonWe are living an earned life when the choices, risks, and effort we make in each moment align with an overarching purpose in our lives, regardless of the eventual outcome.In his most personal and powerful work to date, world-renowned leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith offers a better way to approach fulfilment that goes against everything we're taught about achievement. Taking inspiration from Buddhism, Goldsmith reveals that the key to living the earned life, unbound by regret, requires connecting the habit of earning rewards to something greater than our personal successes.Goldsmith implores readers to avoid the Great Western Disease of "I'll be happy when...." He offers practical advice and exercises aimed at helping us shed the obstacles that prevent us from creating fulfilling lives. From learning to privilege your future over your present, knowing how to weigh up opportunity and risk accurately, honing your 'one-trick genius' and needing to earn credibility twice, the book is packed with transformative insights and tools that will help readers close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done-and avoid the trap of existential regret, the kind that reroutes destinies and persecutes our memories. Full of illuminating stories from Goldsmith's legendary career as a coach to some of the world's highest-achieving leaders and reflections on his own life, The Earned Life is a roadmap for ambitious people seeking a higher purpose. 'Inspiring insight from the world's top coach. Goldsmith left me tingling from the journey of reflection I'd been taken on' Bruce Daisley
£14.99
University of California Press Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas
"The maps themselves are things of beauty...a document of its time, of our time." -Sadie Stein, New York Times "One is invited to fathom the many New Yorks hidden from history's eye...thoroughly terrific." -Maria Popova, Brain Pickings Nonstop Metropolis, the culminating volume in a trilogy of atlases, conveys innumerable unbound experiences of New York City through twenty-six imaginative maps and informative essays. Bringing together the insights of dozens of experts-from linguists to music historians, ethnographers, urbanists, and environmental journalists-amplified by cartographers, artists, and photographers, it explores all five boroughs of New York City and parts of nearby New Jersey. We are invited to travel through Manhattan's playgrounds, from polyglot Queens to many-faceted Brooklyn, and from the resilient Bronx to the mystical kung fu hip-hop mecca of Staten Island. The contributors to this exquisitely designed and gorgeously illustrated volume celebrate New York City's unique vitality, its incubation of the avant-garde, and its literary history, but they also critique its racial and economic inequality, environmental impact, and erasure of its past. Nonstop Metropolis allows us to excavate New York's buried layers, to scrutinize its political heft, and to discover the unexpected in one of the most iconic cities in the world. It is both a challenge and homage to how New Yorkers think of their city, and how the world sees this capital of capitalism, culture, immigration, and more. Contributors: Sheerly Avni, Gaiutra Bahadur, Marshall Berman, Joe Boyd, Will Butler, Garnette Cadogan, Thomas J. Campanella, Daniel Aldana Cohen, Teju Cole, Joel Dinerstein, Paul La Farge, Francisco Goldman, Margo Jefferson, Lucy R. Lippard, Barry Lopez, Valeria Luiselli, Suketu Mehta, Emily Raboteau, Molly Roy, Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, Luc Sante, Heather Smith, Jonathan Tarleton, Astra Taylor, Alexandra T. Vazquez, Christina Zanfagna Interviews with: Valerie Capers, Peter Coyote, Grandmaster Caz, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Melle Mel, RZA
£37.80
Thames & Hudson Ltd Totally Wired: The Rise and Fall of the Music Press
A raucous yet reflective look back at the evolution of the music press and the passionate rock and pop journalists who defined the music of the 20th century. Totally Wired is the definitive story of the music press on both sides of the Atlantic, tracing the rise and fall of the creatively fertile media sector which grew from humble beginnings nearly 100 years ago to become a multi-billion business which tested the limits of journalistic endeavour. Covering the music press’s evolution from the 1950s to the 2000s, through rock & roll, Mod, the Summer of Love, Glam, Punk, Pop, Reggae, R&B and Hip Hop, Paul Gorman chronicles the development of individual magazines from Tin Pan Alley beginnings and the countercultural foundation of Rolling Stone, the underground press and the 70s heyday of NME, Melody Maker and Sounds. Illuminated by the author’s first hand interviews, Gorman paints a complete picture of the scene exploring the role played by such writers as Lester Bangs, Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent in the development of the careers of the likes of David Bowie, The Clash and Led Zeppelin, and tackling head on the entrenched sexism and racism faced by women and people from marginalized backgrounds by shining a spotlight on those publications and individuals whose contributions have often been unfairly overlooked. Evoking the music press’s kaleidoscopic visual identities, Totally Wired is illustrated with rare and legendary magazine artwork throughout. What emerges is a compelling narrative containing conflicting stories of unbound talent, blind ambition and sometimes bitter rivalries which make Totally Wired a rollercoaster and riveting read.
£22.50
The University of Chicago Press England in 1819: The Politics of Literary Culture and the Case of Romantic Historicism
The year 1819 was the "annus mirabilis" for many British Romantic writers, and the "annus terribilis" for demonstrators protesting the state of parliamentary representation. In 1819 Keats wrote what many consider his greatest poetry. This was the year of Shelley's "Prometheus Unbound", "The Cenci", and "Ode to the West Wind." Wordsworth published his most widely reviewed work, "Peter Bell", and the craze for Walter Scott's historical novels reached its zenith. Many of these writings explicitly engaged with the politics of 1819, in particular the great movement for reform that came to a head that August with an unprovoked attack on unarmed men, women, and children in St Peter's Field, Manchester, a massacre that journalists dubbed "Peterloo". But the year of Peterloo in British history is notable for more than just the volume, value, and topicality of its literature. Writing from 1819, as the author argues, was acutely aware not only of its place in history, but also of its place "as" history - a realization of a literary "spirit of the age" that resonates strongly with the current "return to history" in literary studies. Chandler explores the ties between Romantic and contemporary historicism, such as the shared tendency to seize a single dated event as both important on its own and as a "case" testing general principles. To animate these issues, Chandler offers a series of cases of built around key texts from 1819. Like the famous sonnet by Shelley from which it takes its name, this book simultaneously creates and critiques its own place in history. It sets out to be not only a crucial study of Romanticism, but also a major contribution to an understanding of historicism.
£32.41
Penguin Books Ltd Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination
"Sharp and engaging" - The Times"The intricately-reported, elegantly-crafted story of the website that came out of nowhere, to change everything." - Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store and Amazon Unbound-----------------------------------------------------Now, for the first time ever, discover the story of YouTube: how it started, how it works, and how it came to control our culture.It has entertained us with cat videos, flash mobs, gaming streams and Charlie Bit My Finger.It has educated us with makeup tutorials, DIYs and delicious recipes.It has changed us with advertising, extremism and political propaganda.Since its foundation in 2005, YouTube has existed on a pendulum. Its emergence established a valuable space for unique and important voices to share themselves and their views, and made global stars out of everyday people such as PewDiePie, Shane Dawson and Ryan Higa. It invented the attention economy we all live in today, forever changing how people are entertained, informed and paid online.At the same time, countless extremists have found a home on YouTube, using it to spread misinformation and propaganda - sometimes with real-world life-and-death consequences. The site is massively profitable for its parent company, Google (Alphabet), which has aggressively grown it into a ruthless advertising conglomerate with little regard for its impact beyond the bottom line.In Like Comment Subscribe, Bloomberg tech journalist Mark Bergen delivers the definitive, page-turning account of YouTube. Exploring the stories of the people behind the platform, he tells the story of a technical marvel that upended traditional media, created stars of everyday people, and ultimately changed the world through untamed freedom of speech.
£14.99
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Lost Spirit of Capitalism: Disbelief and Discredit, Volume 3
Max Weber famously argued that the rise of capitalism in early modern Europe was premised on the emergence of a distinctive set of attitudes - including the pursuit of profit for its own sake - which he called ‘the spirit of capitalism’. Today, when capitalism has spread across the globe, the spirit of capitalism would appear to reign supreme. In this important book Bernard Stiegler takes a very different view: what we are witnessing today is not the triumph of the spirit of capitalism but rather its demise, as our contemporary ‘hyper-industrial’ societies become increasingly uncontrollable, profoundly irrational and incapable of inspiring hope. Disenchantment and despair have become the everyday lived experiences of countless individuals. Far from being a moment of liberation, May '68 was just the first symptom of our increasing disenchantment and 'spiritual misery'. The libidinal energy that originally underpinned capitalism has become an unbound force, unleashing drives that can no longer be contained. Is there an alternative? Stiegler argues that the development of alternatives must begin with a new industrial policy, designed to recognize that technologies are what Plato called pharmaka, meaning both poison and cure. Industrial society has a future only if we can create technologies that foster relations of care (otium) for people whose spirit has been exhausted by contemporary consumerism. We must develop an ecology not only to protect the planet but also to renew the exploited energies of human desire. This volume - the third in a trilogy that includes The Decadence of Industrial Democracies and Uncontrollable Societies of Disaffected Individuals - will consolidate Stiegler's reputation as one of the most original philosophers and cultural theorists of our time.
£15.17
Lockwood Press The Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos Volume 3: Architectural and Inscriptional Features
Building on the comprehensive photographic and epigraphic documentation of the temple presented in The Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos volumes 1 (Wall Scenes) and 2 (Pillars, Niches and Miscellanea), volume 3 (Architectural and Inscriptional Features) offers a detailed analysis of the overall architectural layout and decorative programme of the temple and its symbolism. Of all the enormous monuments throughout Egypt and Nubia that Ramesses II (the Great; ca. 1279-1212 BCE) left behind, his temple at Abydos, built early in his reign, stands as one of his most elegant, with its simple architectural layout and dramatic and graceful painted relief scenes. Though best known for its dramatic reliefs depicting the battle of Kadesh, the temple also offers a wealth of information about religious and social life in ancient Egypt. It reflects, for example, the strenuous efforts of the early Ramessides to reestablish the Osiris cult in Egypt -- and particularly at Abydos -- in the aftermath of the Amarna period. This discussion approaches the religious history of the site through its archaeology, its inscriptions-both planned and secondary (graffiti)-and its situation in the complex religious landscape of Abydos. Of particular interest are the temple's role as a staging point for the great Osiris Festival and its procession, among the most important of all ritual events in the Egyptian religious calendar during the Ramesside period; the promotion of an active, unbound form of Osiris; and the evidence for important cult activities that took place on the rooftop of the temple, the presence of which is documented today by the staircase that accessed it from Court B.
£157.50
Oxford University Press Inc We the Mediated People: Popular Constitution-Making in Contemporary South America
The “people” are the ultimate source of authority for a constitution. But who are the people? The danger is that populist leaders will define the people as one segment of the population that is unbound by law to create a new constitution that centralizes power in the leader's hands. This book retells the story of popular constitution-making in South America to develop an alternative theory of the relationship of the people to law. Braver examines how and how not to violate law to construct an inclusive people so they may realize their freedom to break with the past but still stave off the establishment of semi-authoritarian constitutions. Through the “extraordinary adaptation” of old institutions, the people and its constitutional convention may include all parties. Rather than overthrowing old institutions and opening a legal void, in extraordinary adaptation, the revolutionary party gains offices through democratic elections and then repurposes the old regime's institutions by bending, reinterpreting, and even breaking their rules. However, it never creates a legal vacuum, and this partial legal continuity facilitates the participation of old parties that continue to hold some power in the previous constitution's institutions. The adaptation must be principled: the revolutionary must first exhaust all legal channels, openly acknowledge the violation to seek popular vindication, and concede enough to the opposition so that it may begrudgingly acquiesce to the new constitution. The book develops the theories of constitution-making by examining all four instances of popular constitution-making in contemporary South America. It shows how populist leaders in Venezuela and Ecuador established semi-authoritarian constitutions through lawless constitution-making while Colombia and Bolivia managed to avoid the same fate by engaging in extraordinary adaptation.
£65.67
Stanford University Press Closet Performances: Political Exhibition and Prohibition in the Dramas of Byron and Shelley
Displaced to Italy by their politics and morals, Byron and Shelley wrote, between 1816 and 1823, a series of closet dramas that the author reveals as being deeply embedded in contemporary radical culture. Why did they write dramas in Italy that were to be published in England but not to be produced theatrically? Why do these dramas invoke and apparently oppose textual and theatrical versions of themselves? In answering these questions, this book addresses other questions about the historical invention of English literature, the relation between literature and drama, and the relation between literature and political culture. The plays are shown to acquiesce in, and yet also resist, subvert, and ironize by means of a parodic self-censorship, the political, theatrical, and ecclesiastical censorship of the post-Waterloo period. The author argues that they not only explore questions of political action in their plots but also reconstruct, by reconvening, a radical audience that had been virtually eliminated in England during the period of the counterrevolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Like the radical culture of the 1790's, Byron and Shelley's plays are informed by a "new" politics of language. Focusing on the discursive conditions of radical culture and the plays, and bringing the procedures of cultural materialism into contact with those of deconstruction, the author highlights the political and literary operation of the plays' language. In the process, he shows how the plays contributed to the recrudescence of a polite radicalism that sought to align itself with and establish control over its plebeian counterpart. Detailed discussion of individual plays—Manfred, Sardanapalus, Prometheus Unbound, Marino Faliero, Hellas, Cain, Heaven and Earth, The Two Foscari, and The Cenci—is supported by investigations into Romantic criticism of the drama, the dynamics of the reviewing journals, and the philosophical construct of the "closet" of reasoning and reading.
£76.50
University of California Press Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas
"The maps themselves are things of beauty...a document of its time, of our time." -Sadie Stein, New York Times "One is invited to fathom the many New Yorks hidden from history's eye...thoroughly terrific." -Maria Popova, Brain Pickings Nonstop Metropolis, the culminating volume in a trilogy of atlases, conveys innumerable unbound experiences of New York City through twenty-six imaginative maps and informative essays. Bringing together the insights of dozens of experts-from linguists to music historians, ethnographers, urbanists, and environmental journalists-amplified by cartographers, artists, and photographers, it explores all five boroughs of New York City and parts of nearby New Jersey. We are invited to travel through Manhattan's playgrounds, from polyglot Queens to many-faceted Brooklyn, and from the resilient Bronx to the mystical kung fu hip-hop mecca of Staten Island. The contributors to this exquisitely designed and gorgeously illustrated volume celebrate New York City's unique vitality, its incubation of the avant-garde, and its literary history, but they also critique its racial and economic inequality, environmental impact, and erasure of its past. Nonstop Metropolis allows us to excavate New York's buried layers, to scrutinize its political heft, and to discover the unexpected in one of the most iconic cities in the world. It is both a challenge and homage to how New Yorkers think of their city, and how the world sees this capital of capitalism, culture, immigration, and more. Contributors: Sheerly Avni, Gaiutra Bahadur, Marshall Berman, Joe Boyd, Will Butler, Garnette Cadogan, Thomas J. Campanella, Daniel Aldana Cohen, Teju Cole, Joel Dinerstein, Paul La Farge, Francisco Goldman, Margo Jefferson, Lucy R. Lippard, Barry Lopez, Valeria Luiselli, Suketu Mehta, Emily Raboteau, Molly Roy, Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, Luc Sante, Heather Smith, Jonathan Tarleton, Astra Taylor, Alexandra T. Vazquez, Christina Zanfagna Interviews with: Valerie Capers, Peter Coyote, Grandmaster Caz, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Melle Mel, RZA
£22.50
Rutgers University Press Transgender Cinema
2019 Choice Outstanding Academic TitleTransgender Cinema gives readers the big picture of how trans people have been depicted on screen. Beginning with a history of trans tropes in classic Hollywood cinema, from comic drag scenes in Chaplin’s The Masquerader to Garbo’s androgynous Queen Christina, and from psycho killer queers to The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s outrageous queen, it examines a plethora of trans portrayals that subsequently emerged from varied media outlets, including documentary films, television serials, and world cinema. Along the way, it analyzes milestones in trans representation, like The Crying Game, Boys Don’t Cry, Hedwig and the Angry Inch,and A Fantastic Woman. As it traces the evolution of trans people onscreen, Transgender Cinema also considers the ongoing controversies sparked by these movies and series both within LGBTQ communities and beyond. Ultimately it reveals how film and television have shaped not only how the general public sees trans people, but also how trans people see themselves. Selected Filmography: Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, All about My Mother, Anak, Austin Unbound, Becoming Chaz, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Boy I Am, Boy Meets Girl, Boys Don’t Cry, The Brandon Teena Story, A Busy Day, Call Me Malcolm, Carlotta, Change over Time, The Crying Game, Dallas Buyers Club, The Danish Gir, The Devil Is a Woman, Drunktown’s Finest, Facing Mirrors, A Fantastic Woman, 52 Tuesdays, Flesh, Girl Inside, A Girl like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I Was a Male War Bride,Kate Bornstein Is a Queer and Pleasant Danger, Kumu Hina, La Cage aux Folles, Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink) The Masquerader, Myra Breckinridge, Orlando, Paris Is Burning, Playing with Gender, Psycho, Queen Christina, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Saga of Anatahan, She’s a Boy I Knew, Silence of the Lambs, Some Like It Hot, Southern Comfort, Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen, Stonewall, The Tenant, Three Generations. Tomboy, Tootsie, Transamerica, Transparent, Trash, Whatever Suits You, A Woman.
£57.60
Headline Publishing Group Gypsy Princess: A touching memoir of a Romany childhood
The true story of a Romany childhood... Gypsy Princess is a searingly honest account of what life is really like for travelling communities, for girls in particular, and captures a way of life that is slowly fading away. If you enjoyed the memoirs of Mikey Walsh and Jess Smith, you'll be enthralled by Violet Cannon's biography. 'A fascinating and enjoyable insight into Gypsy life' - CloserA true blooded Gypsy, Violet Cannon grew up the Romany way. Life was tough at times, living in a cramped one-roomed trailer, but, unbound by strict routines, Violet spent her days learning to keep home, playing and roaming the fields with a sense of freedom long lost to the rest of modern society. Immersed in the Gypsy way of life, her childhood set her apart from other children. Bullied by classmates, and segregated from 'gorgia' kids (all non-Gypsies), Violet eventually left school at the age of nine to live a life of travel, play and learning under generations-old Gypsy rules on the fringes of society. With traditional values at the heart of her childhood, the pressure of conforming and marrying young was intense. Violet was duty-bound to find a husband, but would her marriage lead to the 'happy ever after' she grew up believing in as a Gypsy girl? What readers are saying about Gypsy Princess:'A fascinating and realistic look at what it means to be a Gypsy in today's society. A little understanding of Gypsy traditions goes a long way and I hope we see more biographies like this one''Violet is so likeable and warm, and the stories are written so vividly that you can really imagine yourself there' 'I could not put this book down - from the first paragraph I was hooked. I would love to read more about this fascinating lady and her family. By the end of the book I felt as if I knew them all'
£10.99
Rutgers University Press Transgender Cinema
2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Transgender Cinema gives readers the big picture of how trans people have been depicted on screen. Beginning with a history of trans tropes in classic Hollywood cinema, from comic drag scenes in Chaplin’s The Masquerader to Garbo’s androgynous Queen Christina, and from psycho killer queers to The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s outrageous queen, it examines a plethora of trans portrayals that subsequently emerged from varied media outlets, including documentary films, television serials, and world cinema. Along the way, it analyzes milestones in trans representation, like The Crying Game, Boys Don’t Cry, Hedwig and the Angry Inch,and A Fantastic Woman. As it traces the evolution of trans people onscreen, Transgender Cinema also considers the ongoing controversies sparked by these movies and series both within LGBTQ communities and beyond. Ultimately it reveals how film and television have shaped not only how the general public sees trans people, but also how trans people see themselves. Selected Filmography:Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, All about My Mother, Anak, Austin Unbound, Becoming Chaz, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Boy I Am, Boy Meets Girl, Boys Don’t Cry, The Brandon Teena Story, A Busy Day, Call Me Malcolm, Carlotta, Change over Time, The Crying Game, Dallas Buyers Club, The Danish Gir, The Devil Is a Woman, Drunktown’s Finest, Facing Mirrors, A Fantastic Woman, 52 Tuesdays, Flesh, Girl Inside, A Girl like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I Was a Male War Bride,Kate Bornstein Is a Queer and Pleasant Danger, Kumu Hina, La Cage aux Folles, Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink) The Masquerader, Myra Breckinridge, Orlando, Paris Is Burning, Playing with Gender, Psycho, Queen Christina, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Saga of Anatahan, She’s a Boy I Knew, Silence of the Lambs, Some Like It Hot, Southern Comfort, Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen, Stonewall, The Tenant, Three Generations. Tomboy, Tootsie, Transamerica, Transparent, Trash, Whatever Suits You, A Woman.
£21.99
Thames & Hudson Ltd Totally Wired: The Rise and Fall of the Music Press
A raucous yet reflective look back at the evolution of the music press and the passionate rock and pop journalists who defined the music of the 20th century. Totally Wired is the definitive story of the music press on both sides of the Atlantic, tracing its rise and fall from humble beginnings nearly 100 years ago. Along the way, this potent creative breeding ground for scores of writers, publishers, photographers, designers and music-makers tested the very limits of journalistic endeavour and influenced the wider worlds of film, media and pop. Focusing on developments from the 1950s to the 2000s, a period that witnessed rock ’n’ roll, mod, the Summer of Love, glam, punk, pop, reggae, dance music, R&B and hip-hop, Paul Gorman chronicles the stories of individual magazines from their Tin Pan Alley beginnings and the countercultural foundation of Rolling Stone and the underground press. He explores the 1970s heyday of NME, Melody Maker and Sounds plus such punk-rock publications as Sniffin’ Glue and Temporary Hoarding; tracks the emergence of dedicated monthlies Q, The Face and Mojo as well as dance-culture independents like Boy’s Own and Jockey Slut; and spotlights feminist and Riot Grrrl ’zines Ben Is Dead and Girlfrenzy along with the rise of media by and for people of colour, from Black Music and Black Echoes in the 1970s to The Source, Vibe and XXL in the 1990s. Evoking the music press’s kaleidoscopic visual identities, Totally Wired is illustrated with rare and legendary magazine artwork throughout. Painting a complete picture of the scene, Gorman discusses the role played by such writers as Lester Bangs, Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent in the development of the careers of, among others, David Bowie, the Clash and Led Zeppelin. He also tackles the entrenched sexism and racism faced by women and those from marginalized communities by highlighting publications and individuals whose contributions have been unfairly overlooked. The resulting narrative, containing stories of unbound talent, blind ambition and sometimes bitter rivalry, makes Totally Wired a riveting and roller-coaster read.
£14.99
Penguin Books Ltd Madhouse: The naked truth about my chaotic childhood, losing my mind and finding a place to call home
'An absolutely brilliant read' Patrick Kielty, Late Late Show, RTÉ‘Blisteringly honest . . . hilarious, traumatic, joyful and terrifying. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy read!’ Liz Nugent'Gloriously unabashed . . . vibrant, poignant and surprisingly hopeful' Irish Times I grew up in a psychiatric experiment crossed with an alcoholic experiment. . . . a place run by two people who were extraordinarily drunk and guarded by a potentially vicious dog with a brain tumour.PJ Gallagher spent much of his childhood knocking back Lucozade with the local alcoholics in his parents' northside pub. But the chaos that reigned for his first ten years was nothing compared to what happened when - having lost the pub - his mum took in six psychiatric patients from the local hospital to give them 'care in the community'.Worst. Idea. Ever.Madhouse is PJ's riotous life story. Covering everything from dogs, motorbikes and the art of small talk, to the lessons of mental breakdown and finally figuring out love, this is PJ unbound. Most surprising - to PJ more than anyone - is the prospect of becoming a dad in his late forties, when he always thought of 'family' as a trap.Madhouse is the funny, insightful and moving story of someone just trying to keep his head above water - and how he is making sense of it all at last!'Terrifically honest, as well as a being funny and sad' Matt Cooper, The Last Word, Today FM 'Delivered in Gallagher’s brilliantly blunt northside brogue, evoking a shade of Roddy Doyle' Irish Independent 'Tells his story with humour and insight making it feel as though you are chatting with an old friend' Irish Examiner'Bold, anarchic . . . relates wild antics and traumas from his tumultuous life with both humour and perceptive clarity' Business Post'So open . . . amazing for understanding and trying to destroy the stigma [of mental health struggles] . . . a great read' Elaine Crowley, Ireland AM, Virgin Media
£17.99
Merrell Publishers Ltd An Alphabet of Architectural Models
For thousands of years, architects have used models to invent, experiment and communicate. A world in miniature, such models are even more varied in their purposes and materials than their full-scale counterparts. This beautifully designed book explores the uniquely fascinating nature of the architectural model through 26 illustrated essays, one for each letter of the alphabet - from A for 'Ancient' (on the world's oldest models) to Z for 'Zoom' (on the photography of models). Unbound by the practicalities of life-size construction, models allow architects the flexibility and freedom to think in three dimensions. Whether made for purely speculative exercises or to solve a specific problem, they are aids to the imagination. Equally, they can be used as detailed and accurate representations of particular places (either built or as yet unrealized) in order to convey information to patrons or the public. Models can be made in a wide variety of media, from paper, cork and wood to such ephemeral materials as sugar and jelly. Most recently, the advent of digital technologies has transformed possibilities for prototyping, which in turn has greatly influenced architectural design. Models also have a vibrant life beyond the design process. Souvenir models collected on the Grand Tour, 1:1 scale plaster models of architectural fragments displayed in museums, and architectural toys that have delighted children and adults alike are just some of their manifestations outside the architect's office. Written by architects, model-makers, curators, conservators and scholars, the texts in this absorbing Alphabet explore such varied but fundamental issues as modelling materials and techniques, scale, and the role of the model in the design process. They also go beyond conventional accounts to look at models under the X-ray machine, their use in film, and edible models. The result is a wide-ranging, insightful and original account of the multiple lives of the architectural model. AUTHORS: Dr Teresa Fankhanel is a Curator at the Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universitat, Munich. Olivia Horsfall Turner is Senior Curator of Designs at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, and the V&A's Lead Curator for the V&A+RIBA Architecture Partnership. Dr Simona Valeriani is Senior Tutor on the V&A/Royal College of Art History of Design MA. Dr Matthew Wells is a Lecturer at the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (GTA), ETH Zurich. 40 illustrations
£22.50
Big Finish Productions Ltd The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: Ruler of the Universe: Volume 4
Bernice Summerfield is still trapped in a dying universe with the wrong Doctor. Things have taken a turn for the worse - the Doctor has become President Of The Universe and, it turns out, he's a controversial choice for the job. While Bernice works to unearth the mythical Apocalypse Clock, the Doctor's immersed in the murky world of politics and the dark forces that are working against him. As battlefleets fight and terrible deals are done, the peoples of the universe wonder if they've made a terrible decision. Is the Doctor up to ruling the universe? Watching from the sidelines, the Master is quick to reassure everyone that he has no ambitions in that direction. And, meanwhile, the stars are going out. 1)The City And The Clock by Guy Adams. Bernice is on an archaeological dig for the mythical Apocalypse Clock. Can it really be the key to saving the universe? The ghosts of the planet have other ideas.2) Asking For A Friend by James Goss. Vast wars are raging across the stars, planets are dying, and the Doctor is sat on a psychiatrist's couch. What's it like to be the Doctor's therapist? 3) Truant by Guy Adams. The President of the Universe has run away. Bernice has to hunt him down, but he's too busy having fun. Evil warlords! Impossible escapes! Sinister plans! The Doctor's on an adventure. 4) The True Saviour Of The Universe by James Goss. Bernice finds that time has run out for the Doctor and the universe. Is this really the end of everything? Help is on hand from an unlikely quarter...Professor Bernice Summerfield was a character created as a companion to the Seventh Doctor by writer Paul Cornell for the popular 1990s Doctor Who novelisations. Since then she's found a whole new audio life through plays for Big Finish. Bernice (Benny) is played by Lisa Bowerman, an actor and director from TV and stage, including the last ever Classic Doctor Who story, Survival. British acting hero David Warner reprises his "unbound" Doctor, a character created in a series of "what if..." Doctor Who dramas from Big Finish. The Master is played by Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock, Doctor Who, and many, many more). CAST: Lisa Bowerman (Professor Bernice Summerfield), David Warner(The Doctor), Sam Kisgar t(The Master), Samantha Beárt (Chamu), Ben Arogundade (Joto), Stephen Critchlow(Leonard), Ben Crystal (Hood), Guy Adams (Host), Annette Badland (Guilana), Wilf Scolding (Radio / Mogron), Catrin Stewart (Killian), Jonathan Bailey (Lakis), Rhys Jennings (Slaygar), Oliver Mason (Sordo), Rowena Cooper (Mother Superior), and Hattie Hayridge (Ebbis / Morlick).
£27.00
Orion Publishing Co The Hand of the Sun King: The British Fantasy Award-nominated fantasy epic
Emperor Tenet intends to pull all people into the Sienese Empire. Wen Alder must play a dangerous game if he wants to protect his people, as he enters the service of the empire to learn all its magical secrets.'The closest I've ever come to finding something comparable to The Name of the Wind ' The ChroniclerMy name is Wen Alder. My name is Foolish Cur.All my life, I have been torn between two legacies: my father's, whose family trace their roots back to the right hand of the Emperor. My mother's, whose family want to bring the Empire to its knees.I can choose between them - between the safety of empire or the freedom of rebellion - or I can seek out a better path . . . one filled with magic and secrets, unbound by suffocating legacy, but one which could shake my world to its very foundation.For my quest will bring me face to face with the gods themselves. And they have been watching. Waiting to make their move . . .The first book in the Pact and Pattern series. Fans of Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War will love the magic running through every page.Read what everyone is saying about The Hand of the Sun King:'A debut of incredible quality' Richard Swan, Sunday Times bestselling author'Brilliantly told and immediately engrossing' Andrea Stewart, critically acclaimed author of The Bone Shard Emperor'Seriously, this book has everything . . . a beautiful and breathtaking fantasy work' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'A captivating epic of conflicted loyalties and dangerous ambition' Anthony Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of The Pariah'I cannot praise this book highly enough, it's just brilliant' Fantasy Book Nerd'Greathouse's writing flows like silk . . . a complex magic system, a coming of age story, a morally conflicted protagonist, ancient and mysterious gods and a massive world-spanning empire . . . full of magic, intricate detail and richly imagined fantasy elements' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'The magic system is complex and fascinating . . . also, J.T. Greathouse's prose is beautiful and poetic . . . It has an intricate plot. political manoeuvring, and tragic events that Robin Hobb's fans would love' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'I felt fear and excitement and never being able to predict what was to come next aided in my helpless immersion into this story' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Alder is a phenomenal main character . . . As close to a perfect debut as any fantasy fan could ask for' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'An exciting new voice in epic fantasy' SFX
£10.30
John Wiley & Sons Inc Value Creation Principles: The Pragmatic Theory of the Firm Begins with Purpose and Ends with Sustainable Capitalism
PRAISE FOR VALUE CREATION PRINCIPLES "In Value Creation Principles, Madden introduces the Pragmatic Theory of the Firm that positions the firm as a system fueled by human capital, innovation, and, at a deeper level, imagination. He challenges us to understand how we know what we think we know in order to better discover faulty assumptions that often are camouflaged by language. His knowledge building loop offers guideposts to design experiments and organize feedback to facilitate early adaptation to a changed environment and to avoid being mired in ways of thinking rooted in 'knowledge' of what worked well in the pasta context far different from the context of today. His book explains a way of being that enables those who work for, or invest in, business firms to see beyond accounting silos and short-term quarterly earnings and to focus on capabilities instrumental for creating long-term future and sustainable value for the firm's stakeholders. I can't recommend this astounding book enough especially given its deep and timely insights for our world today." John Seely Brown, former Chief Scientist for Xerox Corp and Director of its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC); co-author with Ann Pendleton-Jullian of Design Unbound: Designing for Emergence in a White Water World "In contrast to existing abstract theories of the firm, Madden's pragmatic theory of the firm connects management's decisions in a practical way to a firm's life cycle and market valuation. The book promotes a firm's knowledge building proficiency, relative to competitors, as the fundamental driver of a firm's long-term performance, which leads to insights about organizational capabilities, intangible assets, and excess shareholder returns. Value Creation Principles is ideally suited to facilitate progress in the New Economy by opening up the process by which firms build knowledge and create value, which is a needed step in revising how neoclassical economics treats the firm." Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics, George Mason University; co-author of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution "Bartley Madden rightfully points out that both textbook and more advanced economic theories of the firm fail to address the concerns of top management and boards of directors. He offers a tantalizing pragmatic alternative that directly connects to quantitative changes in the firm's market value. His framework gives recognition to the importance of intangible assets, and his pragmatic approach is quite complementary to the Dynamic Capabilities framework that strategic managers implicitly and sometimes explicitly employ." David J. Teece, Thomas W. Tusher Professor in Global Business, Faculty Director, Tusher Center for the Management of Intellectual Capital, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
£20.69
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd International Aid and Private Schools for the Poor: Smiles, Miracles and Markets
Pauline Dixon has intellectual rigour and an openness to new ideas, together with compassion and practicality. A great and unusual combination which I admire enormously.'- Dame Sally Morgan, Adviser to the Board, Absolute Return for Kids and former chief advisor to Tony Blair, UK'This fine book has a powerful message for policymakers and donors: the quality of schools matters even in poor countries; hence, the poor are abandoning failed state schools and enrolling their kids in low cost private schools. Instead of trying to close them down, the state and donors would do well to invest in children (through vouchers and cash transfers) and give parents a choice rather than create more atrocious, monopolistic state schools where teachers are absent and unaccountable.'- Gurcharan Das, commentator and author, India Unbound and former CEO of Proctor and Gamble, Asia'This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the plight of poor children, particularly for those readers concerned with learning about culturally sensitive and proven ways to reach out and help less fortunate children in developing countries. I was fascinated and outraged by the compelling stories and actual data that Dixon shares in this gem of an exposé. Most readers will similarly be shaken and incensed by the failure of billions of dollars spent on state schooling in Africa and India. Dixon makes a compelling case for the value and contributions of low cost private schools in slums and low income areas in developing countries. After reading this book, I am now a believer!'- Steven I. Pfeiffer, Professor, Florida State University, USThis fascinating volume challenges the widely held belief that the state should supply, finance and regulate schooling in developing countries. Using India as an example, Dr. Pauline Dixon examines the ways in which private, for-profit schools might serve as a successful alternative to state-run systems of education in impoverished communities around the world.The book begins with a thorough history of India's government-run schools - based on the traditional British model - which are currently characterized by high levels of waste, inefficiency and subpar student performance. The author goes on to present comprehensive survey and census data, along with analyses of different school management types and their effect on student achievement, teacher attendance and quality of facilities. The book also tackles the problem of inefficient allocation and use of international aid, and offers recommendations on the development of new mechanisms for utilizing aid resources in support of low-cost private schools.This meticulously researched volume will appeal to students and professors of development studies, political economy and international studies. Policymakers and other officials with an interest in educational innovation will also find much of interest in this book.Contents: Preface - A Vignette from Hyderabad Introduction - Never Assume 1. Jumping onto the Galloping Horses - Even in India 2. Hostages to a Fortune? - Schooling and International Aid 3. The Parting of the Veil - Low-Cost Private Schools - The Evidence 4. The Anteroom of Eternity? Gaining Attention from Aid Agencies 5. Only the Closed Mind is Certain Bibliography Index
£29.95
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd International Aid and Private Schools for the Poor: Smiles, Miracles and Markets
Pauline Dixon has intellectual rigour and an openness to new ideas, together with compassion and practicality. A great and unusual combination which I admire enormously.'- Dame Sally Morgan, Adviser to the Board, Absolute Return for Kids and former chief advisor to Tony Blair, UK'This fine book has a powerful message for policymakers and donors: the quality of schools matters even in poor countries; hence, the poor are abandoning failed state schools and enrolling their kids in low cost private schools. Instead of trying to close them down, the state and donors would do well to invest in children (through vouchers and cash transfers) and give parents a choice rather than create more atrocious, monopolistic state schools where teachers are absent and unaccountable.'- Gurcharan Das, commentator and author, India Unbound and former CEO of Proctor and Gamble, Asia'This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the plight of poor children, particularly for those readers concerned with learning about culturally sensitive and proven ways to reach out and help less fortunate children in developing countries. I was fascinated and outraged by the compelling stories and actual data that Dixon shares in this gem of an exposé. Most readers will similarly be shaken and incensed by the failure of billions of dollars spent on state schooling in Africa and India. Dixon makes a compelling case for the value and contributions of low cost private schools in slums and low income areas in developing countries. After reading this book, I am now a believer!'- Steven I. Pfeiffer, Professor, Florida State University, USThis fascinating volume challenges the widely held belief that the state should supply, finance and regulate schooling in developing countries. Using India as an example, Dr. Pauline Dixon examines the ways in which private, for-profit schools might serve as a successful alternative to state-run systems of education in impoverished communities around the world.The book begins with a thorough history of India's government-run schools - based on the traditional British model - which are currently characterized by high levels of waste, inefficiency and subpar student performance. The author goes on to present comprehensive survey and census data, along with analyses of different school management types and their effect on student achievement, teacher attendance and quality of facilities. The book also tackles the problem of inefficient allocation and use of international aid, and offers recommendations on the development of new mechanisms for utilizing aid resources in support of low-cost private schools.This meticulously researched volume will appeal to students and professors of development studies, political economy and international studies. Policymakers and other officials with an interest in educational innovation will also find much of interest in this book.Contents: Preface - A Vignette from Hyderabad Introduction - Never Assume 1. Jumping onto the Galloping Horses - Even in India 2. Hostages to a Fortune? - Schooling and International Aid 3. The Parting of the Veil - Low-Cost Private Schools - The Evidence 4. The Anteroom of Eternity? Gaining Attention from Aid Agencies 5. Only the Closed Mind is Certain Bibliography Index
£94.00
Hodder & Stoughton Influence Empire: The Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition: Shortlisted for the FT Business Book of 2022
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK 2022**A TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEARS 2022**A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK 2022**A FORBES ESPANA TOP TEN BOOK 2022**A PROJECT SYNDICATE 2022 BEST READ*'A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government' - Guardian'Vital . . . More than a corporate hagiography, Ms. Chen's book offers insight into the company via executive interviews and exclusive details.' New York Times'Influence Empire by Lulu Yilun Chen is so much more than the long-awaited story of Tencent and its vital everything app, WeChat, the messaging tool used by 1.3 billion people. It's also the sobering account of an entire generation of high-flying Chinese tech entrepreneurs, whose wings were clipped by the omnipotent hand of their own government.' -- Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything StoreORDER NOW: the first definitive look at Tencent, one of the world's largest tech companies. __________In 2017, a company known as Tencent overtook Facebook to become the world's fifth largest company. It was a watershed moment, a wake-up call for those in the West accustomed to regarding the global tech industry through the prism of Silicon Valley: Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft.Yet to many of the two billion-plus people who live just across the Pacific Ocean, it came as no surprise at all.Founded by the enigmatic billionaire Pony Ma, the firm that began life as a simple text-message operator invested in and created some of China's most iconic games en route to dreaming up WeChat - the Swiss Army knife super-app that combines messaging, shopping and entertainment. Through billions of dollars of global investments in marquee names from Fortnite to Tesla and a horde of start-ups, Ma's company went on to build a near-unparalleled empire of influence.In this fascinating narrative - crammed with insider interviews and exclusive details - Lulu Chen tells the story of how Tencent created the golden era of Chinese technology, and delves into key battles involving Didi, Meituan and Alibaba. It's a chronicle of critical junctures and asks just what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in China.__________'There's so much fascinating detail here.' -- The Times'Lulu Yilun Chen has written a sharply informed, smart and compelling account of the rise of some of the most powerful companies in China, which also stand among the biggest and richest tech giants in the world. Despite their enormous size and power, few outside of China know of or understand these companies. Now, thanks to Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition, that will finally change.' -- Howard French, former NY Times Shanghai bureau chief and author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power'A book that tells Tencent's story has been long overdue, and Lulu Chen's account is not only comprehensive, but also a gripping business narrative. The globally influential company finally has the account it deserves.' -- David Barboza, The Wire
£15.29
Hodder & Stoughton Influence Empire: The Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition: Shortlisted for the FT Business Book of 2022
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK 2022**A TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEARS 2022**A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK 2022**A FORBES ESPANA TOP TEN BOOK 2022**A PROJECT SYNDICATE 2022 BEST READ*'A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government' - Guardian'Vital . . . More than a corporate hagiography, Ms. Chen's book offers insight into the company via executive interviews and exclusive details.' New York Times'Influence Empire by Lulu Yilun Chen is so much more than the long-awaited story of Tencent and its vital everything app, WeChat, the messaging tool used by 1.3 billion people. It's also the sobering account of an entire generation of high-flying Chinese tech entrepreneurs, whose wings were clipped by the omnipotent hand of their own government.' -- Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything StoreORDER NOW: the first definitive look at Tencent, one of the world's largest tech companies. __________In 2017, a company known as Tencent overtook Facebook to become the world's fifth largest company. It was a watershed moment, a wake-up call for those in the West accustomed to regarding the global tech industry through the prism of Silicon Valley: Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft.Yet to many of the two billion-plus people who live just across the Pacific Ocean, it came as no surprise at all.Founded by the enigmatic billionaire Pony Ma, the firm that began life as a simple text-message operator invested in and created some of China's most iconic games en route to dreaming up WeChat - the Swiss Army knife super-app that combines messaging, shopping and entertainment. Through billions of dollars of global investments in marquee names from Fortnite to Tesla and a horde of start-ups, Ma's company went on to build a near-unparalleled empire of influence.In this fascinating narrative - crammed with insider interviews and exclusive details - Lulu Chen tells the story of how Tencent created the golden era of Chinese technology, and delves into key battles involving Didi, Meituan and Alibaba. It's a chronicle of critical junctures and asks just what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in China.__________'There's so much fascinating detail here.' -- The Times'Lulu Yilun Chen has written a sharply informed, smart and compelling account of the rise of some of the most powerful companies in China, which also stand among the biggest and richest tech giants in the world. Despite their enormous size and power, few outside of China know of or understand these companies. Now, thanks to Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition, that will finally change.' -- Howard French, former NY Times Shanghai bureau chief and author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power'A book that tells Tencent's story has been long overdue, and Lulu Chen's account is not only comprehensive, but also a gripping business narrative. The globally influential company finally has the account it deserves.' -- David Barboza, The Wire
£22.50
Taylor & Francis Ltd Handbook of Nuclear Proliferation
There was an expectation that the end of the Cold War would herald a new era of peace and stability in which the importance of nuclear weapons was marginalized. Instead, we have been left with a fractious, inter-dependent international community rife with ethnic and religious tension and unbound by super-power competition. The challenges of climate change, demographic shifts and resource competition have further altered the security environment. As if this were not enough, nuclear proliferation is once again at the top of the international agenda. In the last decade the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has been challenged from within by Iraq, Iran and Libya while India’s, Pakistan’s and North Korea's nuclear weapon capabilities are threatening the non-proliferation norm from without. The new proliferators are predominantly, but not exclusively, aggressive, unstable and authoritarian regimes, considered by many in the international community to be outside the constraints of international normative behaviour. Some have even been labelled `outlaw’, or `rogue’ states. Although inter-continental nuclear war is not presently considered a danger, the increased number of nuclear weapons states combined with the nature of those states and the strategic environment in which they exist makes the possibility of a lesser nuclear exchange potentially much greater. In parallel, the 9/11 atrocities raised fears of the prospect of apocalyptic terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons. Indications that the NPT is failing to rise to the challenge have resulted in policy decisions that have arguably reversed both the disarmament and non-proliferation norms.This volume delves deep into the changing global nuclear landscape. The chapters document the increasing complexity of the global nuclear proliferation dynamic and the inability of the international community to come to terms with a rapidly changing strategic milieu. The future, in all likelihood, will be very different from the past, and the chapters in this volume develop a framework that may helps gain a better understanding of the forces that will shape the nuclear proliferation debate in the years to come.Part I examines the major thematic issues underlying the contemporary discourse on nuclear proliferation.Part II gives an overview of the evolving nuclear policies of the five established nuclear powers: the USA, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and the People's Republic of China. Part III looks at the three de facto nuclear states: India, Pakistan and Israel. Part IV examines two `problem states' in the proliferation matrix today: Iran and North Korea. Part V sheds light on an important issue often ignored during discussions of nuclear proliferation – cases where states have made a deliberate policy choice of either renouncing their nuclear weapons programme, or have decided to remain a threshold state. The cases of South Africa, Egypt and Japan will be the focus of this section.The final section, Part VI, will examine the present state of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, which most observers agree is currently facing a crisis of credibility. The three pillars of this regime – the NPT, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty – will be analyzed.
£230.00
Hodder & Stoughton Influence Empire: The Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition: Shortlisted for the FT Business Book of 2022
*REVISED AND UPDATED**SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK 2022**A TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEARS 2022**A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK 2022*'A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government' - Guardian'Vital . . . More than a corporate hagiography, Ms. Chen's book offers insight into the company via executive interviews and exclusive details.' -- New York Times'Influence Empire by Lulu Yilun Chen is so much more than the long-awaited story of Tencent and its vital everything app, WeChat, the messaging tool used by 1.3 billion people. It's also the sobering account of an entire generation of high-flying Chinese tech entrepreneurs, whose wings were clipped by the omnipotent hand of their own government.' -- Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything StorePRE-ORDER NOW: the definitive look at Tencent, one of the world's largest tech companies.__________In 2017, a company known as Tencent overtook Facebook to become the world's fifth largest company. It was a watershed moment, a wake-up call for those in the West accustomed to regarding the global tech industry through the prism of Silicon Valley: Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft.Yet to many of the two billion-plus people who live just across the Pacific Ocean, it came as no surprise at all.Founded by the enigmatic billionaire Pony Ma, the firm that began life as a simple text-message operator invested in and created some of China's most iconic games en route to dreaming up WeChat - the Swiss Army knife super-app that combines messaging, shopping and entertainment. Through billions of dollars of global investments in marquee names from Fortnite to Tesla and a horde of start-ups, Ma's company went on to build a near-unparalleled empire of influence.In this fascinating narrative - crammed with insider interviews and exclusive details - Lulu Chen tells the story of how Tencent created the golden era of Chinese technology, and delves into key battles involving Didi, Meituan and Alibaba. It's a chronicle of critical junctures and asks just what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in China.__________'There's so much fascinating detail here.' -- The Times'Lulu Yilun Chen has written a sharply informed, smart and compelling account of the rise of some of the most powerful companies in China, which also stand among the biggest and richest tech giants in the world. Despite their enormous size and power, few outside of China know of or understand these companies. Now, thanks to Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition, that will finally change.' -- Howard French, former NY Times Shanghai bureau chief and author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power'A book that tells Tencent's story has been long overdue, and Lulu Chen's account is not only comprehensive, but also a gripping business narrative. The globally influential company finally has the account it deserves.' -- David Barboza, The Wire*A Forbes Espana Top Ten Book 2022**A Project Syndicate 2022 Best Read*
£10.99