Search results for ""Author MANUS"

WINNER- Indie Book Awards 2015 (Best Debut Fiction Book)WINNER- The ABIA Award (Literary Fiction Book of the Year) 2015WINNER- Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists of 2015WINNER- Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award 2013'Foreign Soil will stay with you with the force of elemental truth. Clarke is the real deal' Dave EggersIn this collection of award-winning stories, Melbourne writer Maxine Beneba Clarke has given a voice to the disenfranchised, the lost, the downtrodden and the mistreated. It will challenge you, it will have you by the heartstrings. This is contemporary fiction at its finest.In Melbourne's western suburbs, in a dilapidated block of flats overhanging the rattling Footscray train lines, a young black mother is working on a collection of stories.The book is called Foreign Soil. Inside its covers, a desperate asylum seeker is pacing the hallways of Sydney's notorious Villawood detention centre, a seven-year-old Sudanese boy has found solace in a patchwork bike, an enraged black militant is on the warpath through the rebel squats of 1960s Brixton, a Mississippi housewife decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her son from small-town ignorance, a young woman leaves rural Jamaica in search of her destiny, and a Sydney schoolgirl loses her way.The young mother keeps writing, the rejection letters keep arriving . . .'A woven tapestry of the shared experience of living in a country that is not your own' Stylist

Read more less

John MacArthur's exhaustive study notes provide access to over 50 years of ministry to aid in a better understanding of God's word.Over 4 million readers around the world have had their spiritual lives enriched and their understanding of God’s Word expanded by The MacArthur Study Bible. Drawing on more than fifty years of dedicated pastoral and scholarly work, Dr. John MacArthur’s verse-by-verse study notes, book introductions, and articles display an unparalleled commitment to interpretive precision—with the goal of making God known through His Word.Trusted by readers worldwide, the MacArthur Study Bible has been recognized with the ECPA Platinum Award for selling over 4 million copies across translations.Features include: Fully redesigned second edition with updated study notes and expanded selection of maps and charts Bible book introductions provide an overview of the background and historical context of the book about to be read Nearly 25,000 verse-by-verse study notes for a better understanding of Scripture 190 in-text maps, charts, and diagrams provide a visual representation of meanings, themes, teachings, people, and places of Scripture Outline of Systematic Theology to guide you to study biblical doctrine in a logical order Over 72,000 references allow you to find related passages quickly and easily Concordance for looking up a word’s occurrences throughout the Bible Bible reading plans to guide you through reading God’s Word daily Chronology of Old Testament Patriarchs and Judges Chronology of Old Testament Kings and Prophets Chronology of the New Testament Overviews of Christ’s Life, Ministry, and Passion Week Harmony of the Gospels Introductions to each major section of Scripture Index to Key Bible Doctrines Easy-to-read 9-point NKJV Comfort Print The MacArthur Study Bible is available in the New King James Version (NKJV). Trusted by millions of believers around the world, the NKJV remains the bestselling modern “word-for-word” translation. It balances the literary beauty and familiarity of the King James tradition with an extraordinary commitment to preserving the grammar and structure of the underlying biblical languages. And while the translator’s relied on the traditional Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text used by the translators of the 1611 KJV, the comprehensive translator notes offer important insights about the latest developments in biblical manuscript studies. The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising--perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.

Read more less

This is a definitive, deeply researched biography of Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) and is the first scholarly biography to be published in any language. The book is Todes's magnum opus, which he has been working on for some twenty years. Todes makes use of a wealth of archival material to portray Pavlov's personality, life, times, and scientific work. Combining personal documents with a close reading of scientific texts, Todes fundamentally reinterprets Pavlov's famous research on conditional reflexes. Contrary to legend, Pavlov was not a behaviorist (a misimpression captured in the false iconic image of his "training a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell"); rather, he sought to explain not simply external behaviors, but the emotional and intellectual life of animals and humans. This iconic "objectivist" was actually a profoundly anthropomorphic thinker whose science was suffused with his own experiences, values, and subjective interpretations. This book is also a traditional "life and times" biography that weaves Pavlov into some 100 years of Russian history-particularly that of its intelligentsia--from the emancipation of the serfs to Stalin's time. Pavlov was born to a family of priests in provincial Ryazan before the serfs were emancipated, made his home and professional success in the glittering capital of St. Petersburg in late imperial Russia, suffered the cataclysmic destruction of his world during the Bolshevik seizure of power and civil war of 1917-1921, rebuilt his life in his 70s as a "prosperous dissident" during the Leninist 1920s, and flourished professionally as never before in 1929-1936 during the industrialization, revolution, and terror of Stalin. Todes's story of this powerful personality and extraordinary man is based upon interviews with surviving coworkers and family members (along with never-before-analyzed taped interviews from the 1960s and 1970s), examination of hundreds of scientific works by Pavlov and his coworkers, and close analysis of materials from some twenty-five archives. The documents range from the records of his student years at Ryazan Seminary to the transcripts of the Communist Party cells in his labs, and from his scientific manuscripts and notebooks to his political speeches; they include revealing love letters to his future wife and correspondence with hundreds of lay people, scholars, artists, and Communist Party leaders; and unpublished memoirs by many coworkers, his daughter, his wife, and his lover.

Read more less

After his sister Abbie's suicide, Newman rediscovers her unpublished manuscript, forgotten in his loft. Considering publication he decides to write an introduction to the novel, whose main character is Vee, a teacher. Vee was previously in love with Max, a psychiatrist, but the relationship was short-lived. Childhood nightmares about her long-dead Aunt Mary's mental illness lead Vee to create a "door" in her mind to shut her out. But Aunt Mary's door is not enough to withstand a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which ends Vee's teaching career. Some time later Vee gets a job at Squaremile, a centre for disabled people, but she soon realises that stigma is not just confined to job applications. Once, when she was a teacher, she was believed and trusted. Now, suffering from bipolar disorder, she is doubted and bullied. Vee meets Max again, but this time as his patient. Max is unable to prevent Vee's suicide, and feels intolerable guilt, in part because of his earlier relationship with her. Max hopes to find answers in Vee's novel, a copy of which she gave him at their last appointment before her suicide. Max, and his wife Helen, who works at Squaremile, are shocked to read of how Vee and some of the residents there have been treated. They investigate the allegations of bullying and neglect and prepare a report, presenting it at a meeting in the boardroom at Squaremile, attended by the chief executive officer of the centre. The atmosphere is tense, particularly as both Max and Helen have health problems, and because of attempts by Sandra, the chief bully at Squaremile, to sabotage their efforts to unmask her. However, as the story reaches its climax, it is Abbie who will have the last word.

Read more less

Illuminating the development and character of Scottish Protestantism, The Culture of Controversy proposes new ways of understanding religion and politics in early modern Scotland. The Culture of Controversy investigates arguments about religion in Scotland from the Restoration to the death of Queen Anne and outlines a new model for thinking about collective disagreement in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century societies. Rejecting teleological concepts of the 'public sphere', the book instead analyses religious debates in terms of a distinctively early modern 'culture of controversy'. This culture was less rational and less urbanised than the public sphere. Traditional means of communication such as preaching and manuscript circulation were more important than newspapers and coffeehouses. As well as verbal forms of discourse, controversial culture was characterised by actions, rituals and gestures. People from all social ranks and all regions of Scotland were involved in religious arguments, but popular participation remained of questionable legitimacy. Through its detailedand innovative examination of the arguments raging between and within Scotland's main religious groups, the presbyterians and episcopalians, over such issues as Church government, state oaths and nonconformity, The Culture ofControversy reveals hitherto unexamined debates about religious enthusiasm, worship and clerical hypocrisy. It also illustrates the changing nature of the fault line between the presbyterians and episcopalians and contextualises the emerging issues of religious toleration and articulate irreligion. Illuminating the development and character of Scottish Protestantism, The Culture of Controversy proposes new ways of understanding religion and politics in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Scotland and will be particularly valuable to all those with an interest in early modern British history. Alasdair Raffe is Lecturer in History at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Read more less

The studies collected in this volume, some of them rather difficult to access, date mostly from the last fifteen years and focus primarily on Persian book painting of the 14th to the early 16th centuries. In this period, Iran dominated the art of book painting in the Islamic world. The articles reprinted here examine various aspects of this, the golden age of Persian painting. They range from the period of Mongol rule, when the impact of Far Eastern themes and modes radically transformed the heritage bequeathed to Iran by Arab painting - a textbook case of the clash of civilisations - to the dawn of the modern era and the swansong of the classical style of Persian painting under the early Safavids. Yet other articles focus on the roots of book painting in the themes and styles developed in painted ceramics, on medieval Qur'anic calligraphy, on bookbinding and on the remarkably original variations played on the hitherto hackneyed theme of the figural frontispiece by Arab painters. Two major leitmotifs are explored in this selection of essays. One is provided by the constantly varying interpretations of the Shahnama ( The Book of Kings ), the Persian national epic, and especially the tendency of painters to interpret this familiar text in terms of contemporary politics. The other is the interplay of text and image, which highlights the tendency of painters to strike out on their own and to leave the literal text progressively further behind while they develop plots and sub-plots of their own. These enquiries are set within the context of a concerted effort to explore in detail how Persian painters achieved their most spectacular visual effects. In its combination of general surveys and closely focused analyses of individual manuscripts, this collection of articles will be of interest to specialists in book painting and in Islamic art as a whole

Read more less

This volume presents a kind of anticipated companion volume to the HBS edition of the Directorium Sacerdotum, a variety of ordinal or directory, which was privately compiled by Clement Maydeston, who though a priest held formally the post of "deacon" at the Brigittine Abbey of Syon, Middlesex (c. 1390-1456). Despite these origins, the compilation acquired a de facto official status. The Directorium Sacerdotum itself was published as volumes 20 and 22. The Directorium aimed in part at providing calendrical and rubrical solutions for those observing the Sarum Use. It did this by making a distinction between the practice of the Salisbury cathedral chapter andthe practice that could reasonably be required from the many others in England who followed in general the Sarum Use. Maydeston's position was that outside the Salisbury chapter it was reasonable to make modifications to meet local conditions and calendars. This was deemed unacceptable by some, who maintained that the practice observed at Salisbury itself should be followed everywhere. This line of argument ignored the fact that in any case there were contradictions between the existing manuscript drafts of the Sarum ordinal and the rubrics of the liturgical books. The edition focuses in particular on two printed texts which offer Maydeston's defence. The first is the Defensorium Directorii Sacerdotum printed in successive editions of the Directorium Sacerdotum by Wynkyn de Worde in 1495 . The second is the text Crede Michi, a longer and more considered rubrical tract compiled byMaydeston but incorporating rubrical adjudications made by the Salisbury canons c. 1440-1450, and partly based on an earlier work by one John Raynton. The text given is that printed by Wynkyn de Worde in the quarto of 1495.

Read more less

Exploring the medieval heritage of Aberdeenshire and Moray, the essays in this volume contain insights and recent work presented at the British Archaeological Association Conference of 2014, based at Aberdeen University. The opening, historical chapters establish the political, economic and administrative context of the region, looking at both the secular and religious worlds and include an examination of Elgin Cathedral and the bishops’ palaces. The discoveries at the excavations of the kirk of St Nicholas, which have revealed the early origins of religious life in Aberdeen city, are summarized and subsequent papers consider the role of patronage. Patronage is explored in terms of architecture, the dramas of the Reformation and its aftermath highlighted through essentially humble parish churches, assailed by turbulent events and personalities. The collegiate church at Cullen, particularly its tomb sculpture, provides an unusually detailed view of the spiritual and dynastic needs of its patrons. The decoration of spectacular ceilings, both carved and painted, at St Machar’s Cathedral, Provost Skene’s House and Crathes Castle, are surveyed through the eyes of their patrons and the viewers below. Saints and religious devotion feature in the last four chapters, focusing on the carved wooden panels from Fetteresso, which display both piety and a rare glimpse of Scottish medieval carnal humour, the illuminated manuscripts from Arbuthnott, the Aberdeen Breviary and Historia Gentis Scotorum.The medieval artistic culture of north-east Scotland is both battered by time and relatively little known. With discerning interpretation, this volume shows that much high-quality material still survives, while the lavish illustrations restore some glamour to this lost medieval world.

Read more less

This book provides a full-scale interpretation of Marianne Moore's poetry and prose, starting with her early experiments and exploring the range and variety of her artistic achievement. It portrays the self-discipline and the fidelity to experience that were the source of her originality. Laurence Stapleton's study of unpublished manuscripts, including notebooks, drafts of poems, and correspondence, supports her account of Marianne Moore's progress in the mastery of form. Her methods of work in the early satires, in the more openly constructed poems of the 1930s, and in the major ones of World War II, emerge in the context of her life as a professional writer. The spontaneity and inventiveness of her later books resulted from her La Fontaine translation and her response to music, to painting, and to the changing American scene. Constantly in view are Marianne Moore's literary relationships with Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams, as well as her appeal to a large circle of readers that made her become "New York's laureate." The insight that may be gained from this book should bring a better understanding of her accomplishment and of her place in American literature. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Read more less

First critical edition of articles XXV–XXVII of the Summa (Quaestiones ordinariae) of Henry of GhentDas Buch bietet die erste kritische Edition der Artikel XXV-XXVII der Summa (Quaestiones ordinariae) des Heinrich von Gent. Dabei leistet es einen Beitrag zur Geschichte der Formen und Pfade der Ideenvermittlung im Mittelalter und zur mittelalterlichen Buchkultur.Die Kollationierung der Handschriften der Artikel XXV-XXVII und die Untersuchung ihrer materiellen Überlieferung haben der Editorin erlaubt, den Prozess der Ausarbeitung, Publikation und Verbreitung einer Portion von Heinrichs Summa über einen längeren Zeitraum in großer Detailgenauigkeit zu rekonstruieren.Die hier edierten Artikel enthalten ein Kernstück von Heinrichs theologischem und metaphysischem System. In der Behandlung von Einheit, Natur und Leben Gottes entfalten sie eine rationale Darstellung des ersten Prinzips. This book offers the first critical edition of articles XXV–XXVII of the Summa (Quaestiones ordinariae) of Henry of Ghent. At the same time, it contributes to our understanding of the forms and trajectories through which ideas were transmitted throughout the Middle Ages and to medieval book culture.Collating the manuscripts of articles XXV–XXVII and studying their material tradition allowed the editor to reconstruct in great detail how a portion of Henry’s Summa was prepared, published and disseminated over a considerable number of years.The primary text presents an authoritative overview of Henry's theological and metaphysical system. In dealing with the unity, nature, and life of God, it unfolds a rational explanation of the first principle.This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Read more less

Written and illustrated in 1973 by one of South Africa's most famous artists, Gerard Sekoto, Shorty and Billy Boy is a book for children as well as art lovers and collectors. The manuscript formed part of a private collection of Sekoto's sketches, artworks, letters and memoirs repatriated to South Africa from France. The story was clearly written and illustrated as a personal exercise and possibly a sentimental souvenir of his own childhood memories, but has not been published until now. Sekoto may well have composed it as a gift for children of friends, as he was often engaged in making greeting cards with accompanying illustrations. There are other unfinished stories and musical compositions in the estate collection, but Shorty and Billy Boy is the most complete. Shorty and Billy Boy tells the tale of two troublesome dogs whose thieving ways take them to the far-away town of Porcupine Hills. Here they meet all sorts of interesting characters, but continue their mischief until Billy Boy is caught red-handed and sent to jail. Here he dreams about the kindness of others, and comes to realise that good deeds are the true measure of freedom. The Gerard Sekoto Foundation has approved a number of editorial changes made to Sekoto's original text, where the aim has been to preserve the integrity and flavour of the unpublished story, while making it more accessible to present-day readers. The South African context of the tale has been accentuated, and obsolete language and minor inconsistencies have been removed. The result is a timeless and engaging story that retains Sekoto's unique spirit and imagination.

Read more less

If you never have enough room for notes in your Bible, this is your answer.The NKJV Interleaved Bible, Journal Edition is the ultimate scripture journaling experience. Following a historic practice of placing blank pages throughout the entire Bible, it allows you to record study notes, prayers, observations from the Bible, sermon notes, and the story of your spiritual growth.Trusted by millions of believers around the world, the New King James Version (NKJV) remains a bestselling modern “word-for-word” translation. It balances the literary beauty and familiarity of the King James tradition with an extraordinary commitment to preserving the grammar and structure of the underlying biblical languages. And while the NKJV translators relied on the traditional Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text used for the 1611 KJV, the comprehensive translator notes offer important insights about the latest developments in biblical manuscript studies. The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising—perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.Features include: Presentation page allows you to personalize this special gift by recording a memory or note Traditional double column Scripture text for a clean reading experience A blank page inserted between each page of Scripture provides space to reflect, journal or create art next to your favorite verses 2 double-faced satin ribbons allow you to easily navigate and keep track of where you were reading Words of Christ in red quickly identify verses spoken by Jesus Sturdy 45gsm paper limits bleed through ideal for taking notes in your Bible Clear and readable 9-point NKJV Comfort Print

Read more less

If you never have enough room for notes in your Bible, this is your answer.The NKJV Interleaved Bible, Journal Edition is the ultimate scripture journaling experience. Following a historic practice of placing blank pages throughout the entire Bible, it allows you to record study notes, prayers, observations from the Bible, sermon notes, and the story of your spiritual growth.Trusted by millions of believers around the world, the New King James Version (NKJV) remains a bestselling modern “word-for-word” translation. It balances the literary beauty and familiarity of the King James tradition with an extraordinary commitment to preserving the grammar and structure of the underlying biblical languages. And while the NKJV translators relied on the traditional Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text used for the 1611 KJV, the comprehensive translator notes offer important insights about the latest developments in biblical manuscript studies. The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising—perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.Features include: Presentation page allows you to personalize this special gift by recording a memory or note Traditional double column Scripture text for a clean reading experience A blank page inserted between each page of Scripture provides space to reflect, journal or create art next to your favorite verses 2 double-faced satin ribbons allow you to easily navigate and keep track of where you were reading Words of Christ in red quickly identify verses spoken by Jesus Sturdy 45gsm paper limits bleed through ideal for taking notes in your Bible Clear and readable 9-point NKJV Comfort Print

Read more less

The iconic Periodic Table of the Elements is now in its most satisfyingly elegant form. This is because all the 'gaps' corresponding to missing elements in the seventh row, or period, have recently been filled and the elements named. But where do these names come from? For some, usually the most recent, the origins are quite obvious, but in others - even well-known elements such as oxygen or nitrogen - the roots are less clear. Here, Peter Wothers explores the fascinating and often surprising stories behind how the chemical elements received their names. Delving back in time to explore the history and gradual development of chemistry, he sifts through medieval manuscripts for clues to the stories surrounding the discovery of the elements, showing how they were first encountered or created, and how they were used in everyday lives. As he reveals, the oldest-known elements were often associated with astronomical bodies, and connections with the heavens influenced the naming of a number of elements. Following this, a number of elements, including hydrogen and oxygen, were named during the great reform of chemistry, set amidst the French Revolution. While some of the origins of the names were controversial (and indeed incorrect - some saying, for instance, that oxygen might be literally taken to mean 'the son of a vinegar merchant'), they have nonetheless influenced language used around the world to this very day. Throughout, Wothers delights in dusting off the original sources, and bringing to light the astonishing, the unusual, and the downright weird origins behind the names of the elements so familiar to us today.

Read more less

John Brande Trend, the first Professor of Spanish in Cambridge in 1933, arrived at his Chair by a circuitous route through a variety of disciplines, encountering a host of prominent people in pre-war political, cultural and intellectual life. It was this wider experience that made his teaching so unique and makes his story central to the period through which he lived. At Cambridge with the doomed generation who were to perish in the First World War, Trend studied Natural Sciences but fell under the spell of the musicologist Edward Dent, who became his lifelong friend. A brilliant linguist and musician, it was music that took Trend to Spain in 1919 to unearth ancient manuscripts and to write articles for London magazines. He fell in love with a country undergoing a cultural, intellectual and political transformation that culminated in the establishment of the Second Republic in 1931. He became a close friend of Manuel de Falla, whose music he introduced to the British public, as well as of the ill-fated poet, Federico García Lorca, and other luminaries of the optimistic 1920s. After the euphoria of the Republic and the subsequent Civil War, he never returned to Spain but did much to help Spanish exiles and refugees. Academically he extended his interests to Central and South America, one of the first Hispanists to do so. Trend's books on Spanish literature and music were vivid and evocative, as was his style of teaching, inspired by the philosophy of the Spanish educationalist, Francisco Giner de los Ríos. Drawing on Trend's prolific and hitherto unknown correspondence with many celebrated figures, the book depicts his extraordinary personality and achievements, and his first-hand involvement in important events of the period.

Read more less

A new and comprehensive anthology of medieval lyrics and carols, in new editions, with introduction and commentary. Lyrics and carols are two of the most important types of medieval literature. This anthology provides a generous and wide-ranging selection, beginning with the first lyrics in English to celebrate love as romantic devotion to a woman, and including all pre-Chaucerian love lyrics (other than a few brief snatches). Poems by Chaucer and his successors present the courtly game of love in its sophisticated later medieval form, while devotional lyrics portray the tenderness of the later medieval response to Christ as lover and beloved and to the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus, Mary as sorrowing mother and as Queen of Heaven. Fully represented also are lyrics on characteristically medieval moral and penitential themes, alongside miscellaneous lyrics such as drinking and dancing songs, ballads, satires, poems of wit, humour and sexual innuendo, accounts of lecherous priests, minstrels mocking their audiences, and women vividly listing their lovers' inadequacies. The texts are edited anew, accompanied with a textual apparatus detailing manuscript readings where emendations have been made to restore sense, metre and rhyme. The language of pre-Chaucerian poems has been normalised to accord with the dialect of late fourteenth-century London ("Chaucerian English"), and unfamiliar spellings in later lyrics have been regularized. Readability is further aided by line-by-line glosses. An extensive introduction offers an appraisal of the forms, themes and contexts of the lyrics and a full discussion of their language and metre, while a comprehensive commentary gives further essential information. Thomas G. Duncan is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the School of English at St Andrews University.

Read more less

These 840+ magical tables are the most complete set of tabular correspondences covering magic, astrology, divination, Tarot, I Ching, Kabbalah, gematria, angels, demons, Graeco-Egyptian magic, pagan pantheons, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist and mystical correspondences ever printed. It is over five times larger and more wide ranging than Crowleys Liber 777. New columns include the spirits from Fausts Höllenzwang and Trithemius Steganographia. Types of magic and their Greek identification headwords; the meanings of a wide range of nomina magica; planetary incenses; and the secret names for ingredients, all from the Greek magical papyri. Also the names of the gods of the hours and the months which must be used for successful evocation. The source of the data in these tables ranges over 2000 years, from the Graeco-Egyptian papyri, Byzantine Solomonike, unpublished manuscript mediaeval grimoires and Kabbalistic works, Peter de Abano, Abbott Trithemius, Albertus Magnus, Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Dr John Dee, Dr Thomas Rudd, Tycho Brahe, MacGregor Mathers (and the editors of Mathers work, Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie), to the mage of classical geometric shapes, modern theories of prime numbers and atomic weights. The sources include many key grimoires such the Sworn Book, Liber Juratus, the Lemegeton (Goetia, Theurgia-Goetia, Almadel, Pauline Art), Abramelin, and in the 20th century the grimoire of Franz Bardon. All this material has been grouped and presented in a consistent and logical way covering the whole Western Mystery tradition and some relevant parts of the Eastern tradition. This is the final update of this volume.

Read more less

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen presents the most famous Andersen stories, including classics such as “The Little Mermaid,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Princess and the Pea,” in a highly esteemed 1942 translation by Jean Hersholt. This lovingly designed book contains a sparkling and unexpected selection of beautiful artwork from the 1840s to the 1980s by such artist greats as Kay Nielsen, the beloved Arthur Rackham, the eccentric Tom Seidmann-Freud (niece of Sigmund Freud), and the groundbreaking film animator Lotte Reiniger, as well as exciting, newly discovered talents. The collection also features historic and contemporary silhouettes, which enrich the presentation of Andersen’s tales in a unique format, pairing one tale with one artist, and make this a fresh addition to children’s libraries as well as to adult art-book collections. In addition to the tales and illustrations, the collection also contains a presentation of Andersen’s legacy, brief historical introductions to each fairy tale, and extended artists’ biographies in the appendix. Meant for the whole family, this precious edition shares the eternal magic of Andersen’s tales, celebrating his tender, heartfelt stories that have entered both our collective imagination and the literary canon. Brings together the most famous Hans Christian Andersen tales in a one-of-a-kind design Includes illustrations by famous artists from Austria, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States Features the highly esteemed translation by Jean Hersholt, accessible to readers of all ages Contains dozens of all-new silhouettes specially commissioned for the book The following 23 fairy tales are featured in the book: The Princess and the Pea, The Nightingale, The Swineherd, The Old Man Is Always Right, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Darning Needle, Twelve by Mail, The Brave Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen, The Flea and the Professor, Thumbelina, The Sweethearts, Ole Shut-Eye, Five Peas in a Pod, The Ugly Duckling, Little Ida’s Flowers, The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, The Flying Trunk, The Little Match Girl, The Tinderbox, The Pen and Inkstand, and The Farmyard Cock and the Weathercock About the translator Danish-born Jean Hersholt (1886–1956) was a Hollywood actor and radio star who dedicated years of his life to translating all of Andersen’s tales from the original Danish. His English translations were first published in 1942. He was also an avid collector of Andersen books, letters, and manuscripts, amassing the largest collection of Anderseniana in the United States, and eventually donating it to the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Hersholt’s most famous acting roles were as Shirley Temple’s grandfather in the film Heidi (1937) and on the popular radio show Dr. Christian (1937–1954). The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is presented at the Oscars.

Read more less

Letters played a foundational role in facilitating the rise of print and popularizing new modes of writing in the long eighteenth century.In Writing to the World, Rachael Scarborough King examines the shift from manuscript to print media culture in the long eighteenth century. She introduces the concept of the “bridge genre,” which enables such change by transferring existing textual conventions to emerging modes of composition and circulation. She draws on this concept to reveal how four crucial genres that emerged during this time—the newspaper, the periodical, the novel, and the biography—were united by their reliance on letters to accustom readers to these new forms of print media.King explains that as newspapers, scientific journals, book reviews, and other new genres began to circulate widely, much of their form and content was borrowed from letters, allowing for easier access to these unfamiliar modes of printing and reading texts. Arguing that bridge genres encouraged people to see themselves as connected by networks of communication—as members of what they called “the world” of writing—King combines techniques of genre theory with archival research and literary interpretation, analyzing canonical works such as Addison and Steele’s Spectator, Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the Poets, and Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey alongside anonymous periodicals and the letters of middle-class housewives. This original and groundbreaking work in media and literary history offers a model for the process of genre formation. Ultimately, Writing to the World is a sophisticated look at the intersection of print and the public sphere.

Read more less

Charles Darwin is often credited with discovering evolution through natural selection, but the idea was not his alone. The naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, working independently, saw the same process at work in the natural world and elaborated much the same theory. Their important scientific contributions made both men famous in their lifetimes, but Wallace slipped into obscurity after his death, while Darwin’s renown grew. Dispelling the misperceptions that continue to paint Wallace as a secondary figure, James Costa reveals the two naturalists as true equals in advancing one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.Analyzing Wallace’s “Species Notebook,” Costa shows how Wallace’s methods and thought processes paralleled Darwin’s, yet inspired insights uniquely his own. Kept during his Southeast Asian expeditions of the 1850s, the notebook is a window into Wallace’s early evolutionary ideas. It records his evidence-gathering, critiques of anti-evolutionary arguments, and plans for a book on “transmutation.” Most important, it demonstrates conclusively that natural selection was not some idea Wallace stumbled upon, as is sometimes assumed, but was the culmination of a decade-long quest to solve the mystery of the origin of species.Wallace, Darwin, and the Origin of Species also reexamines the pivotal episode in 1858 when Wallace sent Darwin a manuscript announcing his discovery of natural selection, prompting a joint public reading of the two men’s papers on the subject. Costa’s analysis of the “Species Notebook” shines a new light on these readings, further illuminating the independent nature of Wallace’s discoveries.

Read more less

This biography evokes the pervasive importance of religion to Queen Victoria's life but also that life's centrality to the religion of Victorians around the globe. The first comprehensive exploration of Victoria's religiosity, it shows how moments in her life--from her accession to her marriage and her successive bereavements--enlarged how she defined and lived her faith. It portrays a woman who had simple convictions but a complex identity that suited her multinational Kingdom: a determined Anglican who preferred Presbyterian Scotland; an ardent Protestant who revered her husband's Lutheran homeland but became sympathetic towards Roman Catholicism and Islam; a moralizing believer in the religion of the home who scorned Sabbatarianism. Drawing on a systematic reading of her journals and a rich selection of manuscripts from British and German archives, Michael Ledger-Lomas sheds new light not just on Victoria's private beliefs but also on her activity as a monarch, who wielded her powers energetically in questions of church and state. Unlike a conventional biography, this book interweaves its account of Victoria's life with a panoramic survey of what religious communities made of it. It shows how different churches and world religions expressed an emotional identification with their Queen and Empress, turning her into an embodiment of their different and often rival conceptions of what her Empire ought to be. The result is a fresh vision of a familiar life, which also explains why monarchy and religion remained close allies in the nineteenth-century British world.

Read more less

New, sparkling translations of the Letters of Two Lovers, the Tegernesee Letters, and selections from the Regensburg Songs Nine hundred years ago in Paris, a teacher and his brilliant female student fell in love and chronicled their affair in a passionate correspondence. Their 116 surviving letters, some whole and some fragmentary, are composed in eloquent, highly rhetorical Latin. Since their discovery in the late twentieth century, the Letters of Two Lovers have aroused much attention because of their extreme rarity. They constitute the longest correspondence by far between any two persons from the entire Middle Ages, and they are private rather than institutional—which means that, according to all we know about the transmission of medieval letters, they should not have survived at all. Adding to their mystery, the letters are copied anonymously in a single late fifteenth-century manuscript, although their style and range of reference place them squarely in the early twelfth century. Can this collection of correspondence be the previously lost love letters of Abelard and Heloise? And even if not, what does it tell us about the lived experience of love in the twelfth century? Barbara Newman contends that these teacher-student exchanges bear witness to a culture that linked Latin pedagogy with the practice of ennobling love and the cult of friendship during a relatively brief period when women played an active part in that world. Newman presents a new translation of these extraordinary letters, along with a full commentary and two extended essays that parse their literary and intellectual contexts and chart the course of the doomed affair. Included, too, are two other sets of twelfth-century love epistles, the Tegernsee Letters and selections from the Regensburg Songs. Taken together, they constitute a stunning contribution to the study of the history of emotions by one of our most prominent medievalists.

Read more less

Founded in 1804, the New-York Historical Society is New York City's oldest museum, with a rich history of scholarship, research, and illuminating exhibitions. The museum collection of the New-York Historical Society comprises more than 1.6 million works of art, featuring an impressive collection of Tiffany lamps, paintings by celebrated American portraitists, all the known preparatory watercolours for John James Audubon's Birds of America, and exquisite works by artists of the Hudson River School - including Thomas Cole's monumental series The Course of Empire. The Library is internationally known as a major research venue for the study of American and New York history. Its rich collections include more than five million manuscript items, 350,000 books, and several million photographs, prints, architectural renderings, and related holdings. The Library's vast holdings of printed ephemera documenting daily life, culture, commerce, and politics from the 18th through the earlier 20th centuries are unrivaled. The collections provide a continuous record of New York and American history from the founding of New Amsterdam through the tragic events of 9/11. The Library's deepest areas of original source material include the Colonial and Revolutionary eras, the Early Republic, the Civil War, and the Gilded Age, with emphases on slavery and Abolition, temperance, social welfare, urban life, and architecture. Now celebrating a groundbreaking renovation and the dedication of its Center for the Study of Women's History, the Museum and Library present highlights from their remarkable holdings, from the folk art collection of sculptor Elie Nadelman to iconic ephemera from all eras of American history, for the first time as a Tiny Folio. An ideal souvenir for the New-York Historical Society's visitors, this charming volume also features a special section of works depicting the city itself, alongside full-colour photography and short introductory texts.

Read more less

New, sparkling translations of the Letters of Two Lovers, the Tegernesee Letters, and selections from the Regensburg Songs Nine hundred years ago in Paris, a teacher and his brilliant female student fell in love and chronicled their affair in a passionate correspondence. Their 116 surviving letters, some whole and some fragmentary, are composed in eloquent, highly rhetorical Latin. Since their discovery in the late twentieth century, the Letters of Two Lovers have aroused much attention because of their extreme rarity. They constitute the longest correspondence by far between any two persons from the entire Middle Ages, and they are private rather than institutional—which means that, according to all we know about the transmission of medieval letters, they should not have survived at all. Adding to their mystery, the letters are copied anonymously in a single late fifteenth-century manuscript, although their style and range of reference place them squarely in the early twelfth century. Can this collection of correspondence be the previously lost love letters of Abelard and Heloise? And even if not, what does it tell us about the lived experience of love in the twelfth century? Barbara Newman contends that these teacher-student exchanges bear witness to a culture that linked Latin pedagogy with the practice of ennobling love and the cult of friendship during a relatively brief period when women played an active part in that world. Newman presents a new translation of these extraordinary letters, along with a full commentary and two extended essays that parse their literary and intellectual contexts and chart the course of the doomed affair. Included, too, are two other sets of twelfth-century love epistles, the Tegernsee Letters and selections from the Regensburg Songs. Taken together, they constitute a stunning contribution to the study of the history of emotions by one of our most prominent medievalists.

Read more less

Using contemporary empirical research data, this book takes the stance that purposeful self-regulation actively contributes to promoting deeper learning approaches and generally improves teaching and learning. The underlying aim is to help students become strategic, motivated, and independent learners, capable of controlling themselves by themselves. Such self-control may range over a host of variables (behavioural, psychological, emotional, etc.). This book comes at a time when connectivity has exponentially improved worldwide so that more and more individuals have real time information at their fingertips. The fundamental shift in information accessibility from tedious searching through books and manuscripts to on-demand click of a mouse has had phenomenal impacts of the way we do business. Whereas previously, self-regulation may not have been a priority for many persons, increasingly it has now assumed preeminence with the proliferation of laptop computers, tablets, smart phones and numerous other handheld devices that allow easy access to the Internet. In fact, researchers continue to develop software for helping students self-regulate as well as getting the most out of their studies. Needless to say, self-regulated learning (SRL) is mandatory not only for employability but also for lifelong learning since it enables learners to construct knowledge (constructivism) by identifying their own learning goals; self-managing their learning processes; and self-evaluating their performance against goals. Additionally, SRL is very important when often times it is observed that several individuals who have noticeably lower cognitive abilities are able to better self-regulate and consequently achieve more than they should be able to according to their cognitive ranking. Improving teaching and learning through self-regulation therefore has far reaching implications for the kind of individuals we send out to society and the nature of the contributions they make. Quotations from well known persons in the public domain serve to anchor the reader in preparation for the contents of the corresponding section. Such quotations have been found to serve as an effective form of motivation and accordingly may be successfully echoed to students when appropriate. The shareware graphics interspaced in the text not only break the possible monotony usually experienced by many readers, especially in today's online age, but serve to engage and stimulate thought and, in many instances, bring comic relief. These exhibits help to capture the attention of readers and help them to focus on the contents of the various sections at hand. Reinforcing ideas is another powerful function served by the apparent preponderance of exhibits. Hence, what may well be easily misconstrued as too many exhibits, would be much better interpreted as a unique and unusual presentation, with a variation of format, that is meant to have the reader truly appreciate the common saying, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'!

Read more less

'Sharply observed, snappily written and thoroughly researched, She Merchants provides a fabulous panorama of a largely ignored area of social history. Katie Hickman successfully challenges the stereotype of the snobbish, matron-like memsahib by deploying a riveting gallery of powerful and often eccentric women ranging from stowaways and runaways through courtesans and society beauties to Generals' feisty wives and Viceroys' waspish sisters. It is full of surprises and new material and completely engaging from beginning to end' William Dalrymple The first British women to set foot in India did so in the very early seventeenth century, two and a half centuries before the Raj. Women made their way to India for exactly the same reasons men did - to carve out a better life for themselves. In the early days, India was a place where the slates of 'blotted pedigrees' were wiped clean; bankrupts given a chance to make good; a taste for adventure satisfied - for women. They went and worked as milliners, bakers, dress-makers, actresses, portrait painters, maids, shop-keepers, governesses, teachers, boarding house proprietors, midwives, nurses, missionaries, doctors, geologists, plant-collectors, writers, travellers, and - most surprising of all - traders. As wives, courtesans and she-merchants, these tough adventuring women were every bit as intrepid as their men, the buccaneering sea captains and traders in whose wake they followed; their voyages to India were extraordinarily daring leaps into the unknown. The history of the British in India has cast a long shadow over these women; Memsahibs, once a word of respect, is now more likely to be a byword for snobbery and even racism. And it is true: prejudice of every kind - racial, social, imperial, religious - did cloud many aspects of British involvement in India. But was not invariably the case. In this landmark book, celebrated chronicler, Katie Hickman, uncovers stories, until now hidden from history: here is Charlotte Barry, who in 1783 left London a high-class courtesan and arrived in India as Mrs William Hickey, a married 'lady'; Poll Puff who sold her apple puffs for 'upwards of thirty years, growing grey in the service'; Mrs Hudson who in 1617 was refused as a trader in indigo by the East Indian Company, and instead turned a fine penny in cloth; Julia Inglis, a survivor of the siege of Lucknow; Amelia Horne, who witnessed the death of her entire family during the Cawnpore massacres of 1857; and Flora Annie Steel, novelist and a pioneer in the struggle to bring education to purdah women. For some it was painful exile, but for many it was exhilarating. Through diaries, letters and memoirs (many still in manuscript form), this exciting book reveals the extraordinary life and times of hundreds of women who made their way across the sea and changed history.

Read more less

The volume features current basic, clinical, and translational research on aspects of skeletal morphogenesis and remodeling in health and disease. Papers survey vital new insights into the mechanisms of bone development and restructuring, including cellular and mechanical triggers, receptors and signaling pathways. Also covered are the effects of other physiological systems and disease states, such as immune system inflammation, diabetes, infection, and cancer on musculoskeletal health. Recent findings are shaping therapeutic directions that focus on both anti-resorptive and anabolic therapies. Basic scientists, clinical investigators, and clinicians with interests spanning endocrinology, physiology, cell biology, pathology, genetics, molecular biology, rheumatology, oncology, and other areas that relate to bone development and homeostasis will find this a valuable resource for the most recent developments in skeletal biology and medicine. This volume presents manuscripts stemming from the 4th New York Skeletal Biology and Medicine Conference, held at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City on April 27–30, 2011. The papers included in this volume include two of the topic areas presented at the conference; the other topic areas are included in Skeletal Biology and Medicine I. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.1111/(ISSN)1749-6632. ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.

Read more less

--WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER-- The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reveals a very different love story from the one we've come to refer to as Christianity. Harvard-trained theologian Meggan Watterson leads us verse by verse through Mary's gospel to illuminate the powerful teachings it contains.A gospel, as ancient and authentic as any of the gospels that the Christian bible contains, was buried deep in the Egyptian desert after an edict was sent out in the 4th century to have all copies of it destroyed. Fortunately, some rebel monks were wise enough to refuse-and thanks to their disobedience and spiritual bravery, we have several manuscripts of the only gospel that was written in the name of a woman: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.Mary's gospel reveals a radical love that sits at the heart of the Christian story. Her gospel says that we are not sinful; we are not to feel ashamed or unworthy for being human. In fact, our purpose is to be fully human, to be a "true human being"- that is, a person who has remembered that, yes, we are a messy, limited ego, and we are also a limitless soul.And all we need to do is to turn inward (again and again); to meditate, like Mary Magdalene, in the way her gospel directs us, so that we can see past the ego of our own little lives to what's more real, and lasting, and infinite, and already here, within.With searing clarity, Watterson explains how and why Mary Magdalene came to be portrayed as the penitent prostitute and relates a more historically and theologically accurate depiction of who Mary was within the early Christ movement. And she shares how this discovery of Mary's gospel has allowed her to practice, and to experience, a love that never ends, a love that transforms everything.

Read more less

The Seven Military Classics is one of the most profound studies of warfare ever written. It presents us with an Eastern tradition of strategic thought that emphasizes outwitting one's opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of force,an approach very different from that stressed in the West, where the advantages of brute strength have overshadowed more subtle methods.Safeguarded for centuries by the ruling elites of imperial China, even in modern times these writings have been known only to a handful of Western specialists. In this volume are seven separate essays, written between 500 b.c. and a.d. 700, that preserve the essential tenets of strategy distilled from the experience of the most brilliant warriors of ancient China.Only one of these seven essays, Sun Tzu's famous Art of War, has been readily available in the West. Thanks to this faithful translation of the complete Seven Military Classics, the insights of these ancient Chinese texts are now accessible in their entirety.It's not uncommon to see a salaryman" on a crowded Tokyo subway studying one of the many popular Japanese editions of these essays. But why do so many businesspeople in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan study a 2,000-year-old military text? Because it embodies the strategic tradition of outwitting an opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of effort. These principles have been proven both on the battlefield and in the marketplace. Now they are available in the West for the first time in their entirety.The lessons found in this book were exploited by such pivotal Asian war leaders as Japan's Yamamoto, China's Mao Tse-tung, and Vietnam's Giap to inflict terrible defeats on their enemies. And in more recent times, when Japan and others have decided to win their laurels on the field of international economic competition, these principles have been a key to the achievements of many Asian corporations. Executives in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan regularly study the Seven Military Classics. Unfortunately, even those far-sighted Western business leaders who have read Sun Tzu have glimpsed only a fraction of the knowledge their best Asian competitors use to plan corporate strategy,until now.Those who appreciate Chinese literature and philosophy will also discover much that is new in these pages. Here is a substantial but previously inaccessible body of thought that stands in contrast to Confucianism, which deprecated the military sphere in favour of self-cultivation and the ethical life. The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China remedies a serious gap in Western knowledge of Asian thought. This accurate translation is based on the best available classical Chinese manuscripts, some only recently discovered by archaeologists. It is a uniquely important contribution to the world's military literature and is essential reading for anyone interested in China's rich cultural heritage or in the timeless principles of successful strategy.

Read more less

If you use a keyboard you need this book. Most of us use computers - many of us all the time - but how many of us can type properly? 'When you've learned how to touch type a 3000 word report will take you less than 1 hour to type!' With this book you can learn to 'touch type' in ten hours at a fraction of the cost of a course. It will also take you less time than the average course and, best of all, you can learn in your own home or office. Just think how much time you will save in your working day - and you will be able to concentrate on the content rather than finding the correct letters. Touch Type in Ten Hours contains easy-to-use lessons divided into manageable one hour blocks, and there are plenty of exercises to consolidate what you have learned. There is also a reference guide giving useful 'tips of the trade'. This new edition goes on to show you how to use Microsoft Word 2007 to best advantage. Most of us want to learn all the basics as quickly as possible and in no time at all you should be able to do everything from simple word processing tasks such as moving blocks of text, to more complex tasks such as mail merge, graphics and creating newspaper style columns. Spend a few hours now and reap the benefits for a lifetime, whether you are using a keyboard at work or at home.Contents: Preface; Introduction; Getting started; Part 1 - Drills, Hour 1: The Home Keys a, s, d, f, j, k, l, and; Consolidation; Hour 2: e and i, g and h; Consolidation; Hour 3: o and n, shift keys and t 20; Consolidation; Hour 4: Extra practice, full stop and y; Consolidation; Hour 5: Comma and w, r and b; Consolidation; Hour 6: m and u, p and c; Consolidation; Hour 7: v and x, q and z; Consolidation; Hour 8: Sentence drills; Hour 9: Figures; Consolidation; Hour 10: Alphabetical paragraphs; Part 2 - Additional Touch Typing Practice Material: Sentence practice; Paragraph practice; Longer practice pieces; Tasks 1-10; Part 3 - Microsoft Word Theory: AN INTRODUCTION TO WORD 2007; Running Word; The Opening Screen; Selecting Commands; Standard Toolbar; Formatting Toolbar; THE BASICS OF USING MICROSOFT WORD; Preparing, Saving and Printing a Document; Files and Folders; Getting Help; Selecting Text; Using Bold, Italic and Underline; Changing the Case of Text; Centreing Text; Moving or Copying Text; Indenting Paragraphs; Inserting Symbols; Line Spacing; Changing the Alignment of Text; Centring Text on a Page; Changing the Paper Size; Using Print Preview; Using Tabs; Page Numbering; Inserting a Page Break; Changing Margins; MORE ADVANCED FEATURES IN WORD; Tables; Mail Merge; Mail Merge to Include Labels; Graphics; Using Bullets and Numbering; Columns; Part 4 - Reference Guide: Important symbols and general rules; More general rules; Line spacing; Fonts; Margins; Paper sizes Manuscript correction signs; Abbreviations and their correct spellings; Putting together sentences and paragraphs; The business letter; Memos; Emails; Reports; Illustrations: Correct sitting position; Hand chart.

Read more less

In 1700 the armies of the Russian Tsar Peter the Great and Charles XII of Sweden met at Narva to fight the first battle of what was to be known as the Great Northern War. Although this first engagement was to result in a humiliating defeat for Peter, it marked the start of a struggle that twenty years later would see Russia emerge as a major power and radically alter the balance of power in Europe. This work examines the changes in the balance of power in Europe in the early eighteenth century as a result of the Great Northern War and the War of the Spanish Succession through the writings and career of Charles Whitworth, the first British Ambassador to Russia, and Minister in The Hague, Berlin, Ratisbon and Cambrai. Whitworth was an acute, witty and indefatigable writer. His long and detailed dispatches and reports comment on Russian, Prussian, Austrian and Dutch domestic and foreign policy, on trading and commercial matters, on leading personalities and events, and on the diplomacy of the Great Northern War and the War of Spanish Succession. He was in Russia from 1705 to 1712 and witnessed the growing military, naval and commercial power of the state and was acutely aware of the potential threat of Russia to British interests. The period of Whitworth's diplomatic career, from 1702-1725, witnessed a dramatic shift in the balance of power in the North, and the nature, and timing, of Whitworth's postings made him uniquely qualified to chart and analyse this development. Drawing on a wide variety of manuscript sources, Dr Hartley has produced a compelling account both of Whitworth and the momentous events taking place in Europe at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Read more less

The life and times of a treasured book read by generations of Jewish families at the seder tableEvery year at Passover, Jews around the world gather for the seder, a festive meal where family and friends come together to sing, pray, and enjoy traditional food while retelling the biblical story of the Exodus. The Passover Haggadah provides the script for the meal and is a religious text unlike any other. It is the only sacred book available in so many varieties—from the Maxwell House edition of the 1930s to the countercultural Freedom Seder—and it is the rare liturgical work that allows people with limited knowledge to conduct a complex religious service. The Haggadah is also the only religious book given away for free at grocery stores as a promotion. Vanessa Ochs tells the story of this beloved book, from its emergence in antiquity as an oral practice to its vibrant proliferation today.Ochs provides a lively and incisive account of how the foundational Jewish narrative of liberation is remembered in the Haggadah. She discusses the book's origins in biblical and rabbinical literature, its flourishing in illuminated manuscripts in the medieval period, and its mass production with the advent of the printing press. She looks at Haggadot created on the kibbutz, those reflecting the Holocaust, feminist and LGBTQ-themed Haggadot, and even one featuring a popular television show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Ochs shows how this enduring work of liturgy that once served to transmit Jewish identity in Jewish settings continues to be reinterpreted and reimagined to share the message of freedom for all.

Read more less

Sorcery or Science? examines how two Sufi Muslim theologians who rose to prominence in the western Sahara Desert in the late eighteenth century, Sīdi al-Mukhtār al-Kuntī (d. 1811) and his son and successor, Sīdi Muḥammad al-Kuntī (d. 1826), decisively influenced the development of Sufi Muslim thought in West Africa.Known as the Kunta scholars, Mukhtār al-Kuntī and Muḥammad al-Kuntī were influential teachers who developed a pedagogical network of students across the Sahara. In exploring their understanding of “the realm of the unseen”—a vast, invisible world that is both surrounded and interpenetrated by the visible world—Ariela Marcus-Sells reveals how these theologians developed a set of practices that depended on knowledge of this unseen world and that allowed practitioners to manipulate the visible and invisible realms. They called these practices “the sciences of the unseen.” While they acknowledged that some Muslims—particularly self-identified “white” Muslim elites—might consider these practices to be “sorcery,” the Kunta scholars argued that these were legitimate Islamic practices. Marcus-Sells situates their ideas and beliefs within the historical and cultural context of the Sahara Desert, surveying the cosmology and metaphysics of the realm of the unseen and the history of magical discourses within the Hellenistic and Arabo-Islamic worlds. Erudite and innovative, this volume connects the Islamic sciences of the unseen with the reception of Hellenistic discourses of magic and proposes a new methodology for reading written devotional aids in historical context. It will be welcomed by scholars of magic and specialists in Africana religious studies, Islamic occultism, and Islamic manuscript culture.

Read more less

As the political, economic, and cultural center of Chosŏn Korea, eighteenth-century Seoul epitomized a society in flux: It was a bustling, worldly metropolis into which things and people from all over the country flowed. In this book, Si Nae Park examines how the culture of Chosŏn Seoul gave rise to a new vernacular narrative form that was evocative of the spoken and written Korean language of the time.The vernacular story (yadam) flourished in the nineteenth century as anonymously and unofficially circulating tales by and for Chosŏn people. The Korean Vernacular Story focuses on the formative role that the collection Repeatedly Recited Stories of the East (Tongp’ae naksong) played in shaping yadam, analyzing the collection’s language and composition and tracing its reception and circulation. Park situates its compiler, No Myŏnghŭm, in Seoul’s cultural scene, examining how he developed a sense of belonging in the course of transforming from a poor provincial scholar to an urbane literary figure. No wrote his tales to serve as stories of contemporary Chosŏn society and chose to write not in cosmopolitan Literary Sinitic but instead in a new medium in which Literary Sinitic is hybridized with the vernacular realities of Chosŏn society. Park contends that this linguistic innovation to represent tales of contemporary Chosŏn inspired readers not only to circulate No’s works but also to emulate and cannibalize his stylistic experimentation within Chosŏn’s manuscript-heavy culture of texts.The first book in English on the origins of yadam, The Korean Vernacular Story combines historical insight, textual studies, and the history of the book. By highlighting the role of negotiation with Literary Sinitic and sinographic writing, it challenges the script (han’gŭl)-focused understanding of Korean language and literature.

Read more less

An extraordinary prodigy of Mozartean abilities, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was a distinguished composer and conductor, a legendary pianist and organist, and an accomplished painter and classicist. Lionized in his lifetime, he is best remembered today for several staples of the concert hall and for such popular music as "The Wedding March" and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." Now, in the first major Mendelssohn biography to appear in decades, R. Larry Todd offers a remarkably fresh account of this musical giant, based upon painstaking research in autograph manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, and paintings. Rejecting the view of the composer as a craftsman of felicitous but sentimental, saccharine works (termed by one critic "moonlight with sugar water"), Todd reexamines the composer's entire oeuvre, including many unpublished and little known works. Here are engaging analyses of Mendelssohn's distinctive masterpieces--the zestful Octet, puckish Midsummer Night's Dream, haunting Hebrides Overtures, and elegiac Violin Concerto in E minor. Todd describes how the composer excelled in understatement and nuance, in subtle, coloristic orchestrations that lent his scores an undeniable freshness and vividness. He also explores Mendelssohn's changing awareness of his religious heritage, Wagner's virulent anti-Semitic attack on Mendelssohn's music, the composer's complex relationship with his sister Fanny Hensel, herself a child prodigy and prolific composer, his avocation as a painter and draughtsman, and his remarkable, polylingual correspondence with the cultural elite of his time. Mendelssohn: A Life offers a masterful blend of biography and musical analysis. Readers will discover many new facets of the familiar but misunderstood composer and gain new perspectives on one of the most formidable musical geniuses of all time.

Read more less

Barbara von Barghahn is Professor of Art History at George Washington University and a specialist in the art history of Portugal, Spain, and their colonial dominions, as well as Flanders (1400-1800). In 1993, she was conferred O Grão Comendador in the Portuguese Order of Prince Henry the Navigator. She has spent nearly a decade completing research about Jan van Eyck's diplomatic visits to the Iberian Peninsula. This manuscript investigates Van Eyck's patronage by the Crown of Portugal and his role as diplomat-painter of the Duchy of Burgundy following his first voyage to Lisbon in 1428-1429 when he painted two portraits of Infanta Isabella, who became the third wife of Philip the Good in 1430. New portrait identifications are provided in the Ghent Altarpiece (1432) and its iconographical prototype, the lost Fountain of Life. These altarpieces are analyzed with regard to King João I's conquest of Ceuta, achieved by his sons who were hailed as an"illustrious generation." Strong family ties between the dynastic houses of Avis and Lancaster explain Lusitania 's sustained fascination with Arthurian lore and the Grail quest. Several chapters of this book are overlaid with a chivalric veneer. A second "secret mission" to Portugal in 1437 by Jan van Eyck is postulated and this diplomatic visit is related to Prince Henrique the Navigator's expedition to Tangier and King Duarte's attempts to forge an alliance with Alfonso V of Aragon. Late Eyckian commissions are reviewed in light of this ill-fated crusade and additional new portraits are identified. The most significant artist of Renaissance Flanders appears to have been patronized as much by the House of Avis as by the Duchy of Burgundy.

Read more less

Originally published in 1995. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was paralyzed from the waist down, but he concealed the extent of his disability from a public that was never permitted to see him in a wheelchair. FDR's Secretary of State was old and frail, debilitated by a highly contagious and usually fatal disease that was as closely guarded a state secret as his wife's Jewish ancestry. The undersecretary was a pompous and aloof man who married three times but, when intoxicated, preferred sex with railroad porters, shoeshine boys, and cabdrivers. These three legendary figures—Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull, and Sumner Welles—not only concealed such secrets for more than a decade but did so while directing United States foreign policy during some of the most perilous events in the nation's history. Irwin Gellman brings to light startling new information about the intrigues, deceptions, and behind-the-scenes power struggles that influenced America's role in World War II and left their mark on world events, for good or ill, in the half-century that followed. Gellman had unprecedented access to previously unavailable documents, including Hull's confidential medical records, unpublished manuscripts of Drew Pearson and R. Walton Moore, and Sumner Welles's FBI file. Gellman concludes that while Roosevelt, Hull, and Welles usually agreed on foreign policy matters, the events that molded each man's character remained a mystery to the others. Their failure to cope with their secret affairs—to subordinate their personal concerns to the higher good of the nation—eventually destroyed much of what they hoped would be their legacy. Roosevelt never explained his objectives to his vice president, Harry Truman, or to anyone else. Hull never groomed a successor, and Welles kept his foreign assignations as classified as his sexual orientation. Gellman tells the dramatic story of how three Americans—despite private demons and bitter animosities—could work together to lead their nation to victory against fascism.—William T. Walker, Presidential Studies Quarterly

Read more less

Originally published in 1979. American diplomacy during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency has received much attention, with one notable exception—the United States' relations with Latin America. Irwin Gellman's book corrects this past neglect through a perceptive analysis of FDR's "Good Neighbor" efforts in Latin America. Based on a fresh examination of State Department records and extensive manuscript sources (including an unprecedented use of Nelson Rockefeller's oral history archives), the book points out the complexities of Good Neighbor diplomacy and its intimate relationship to Roosevelt's global strategies. As background to his discussions of FDR's policies, Gellman looks first at how Latin American affairs were handled during the administrations of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, the three Republicans who preceded Roosevelt in office. Good Neighbor diplomacy, Gellman shows, was not a carryover from these administrations; it bore the distinctive mark of FDR's own making. He then describes how Roosevelt's policy of nonintervention worked, particularly how military force was superseded by more subtle diplomatic maneuverings. Turning to a discussion of economic relations with Latin America, Gellman focuses on how the United States' own situation—cut off from international trade by the Depression—encouraged regional expansion. And, finally, he looks at how Roosevelt parlayed the threat of war in Europe and the specter of Nazi penetration in the Americas to further solidify a hemispheric stand. Gellman's account vividly demonstrates that Good Neighbor diplomacy was as much the product of personality as it was of policy. In particular, it emerged out of the rivalries and alliances among three men: Roosevelt; his Secretary of State, Cordell Hull; and Assistant Secretary of State, Sumner Welles. Gellman (the first to have access to FBI files on Welles) characterizes FDR as an astute politician who saw an opportunity to use pan-Americanism to restore America to world prominence—yet could not handle the personality conflicts among those in his own ranks. Gellman shows how tenuous a government policy can be when so much of it depends on personal control and influence.

Read more less

A Bible with large print in an easy-to-carry format that is ideal to take with you wherever you want to enjoy God's Word.Exploring God’s Word on the go just got easier. This edition not only includes the full text of the trustworthy New King James Version in an easy-to-read large print, but it is also small enough for everyday use and easy navigation with thousands of cross-references conveniently located at the ends of verses.Trusted by millions of believers around the world, the NKJV remains the bestselling modern “word-for-word” translation. It balances the literary beauty and familiarity of the King James tradition with an extraordinary commitment to preserving the grammar and structure of the underlying biblical languages. And while the translators relied on the traditional Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text used by the translators of the 1611 KJV, the comprehensive translator notes offer important insights about the latest developments in biblical manuscript studies. The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising—perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.Features include: Line-matched for improved clarity when reading Verse-style Scripture format starts each verse on its own line so it’s easy to navigate the text Verse-by-verse cross-references help you to find related passages quickly and easily Words of Christ in red help you quickly identify Jesus’ teachings and statements Portable personal-size format allows this Bible to be a perfect travel companion wherever you go Durable and flexible Smyth-sewn binding allows the Bible to lay flat wherever you are reading Concordance for looking up a word’s occurrences throughout the Bible Full color maps show the layout of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Ribbon markers make it easy to navigate and keep track of where you were reading Easy-to-read extra-large 10.5-point NKJV Comfort Print

Read more less

A Bible with large print in an easy-to-carry format that is ideal to take with you wherever you want to enjoy God's Word.Exploring God’s Word on the go just got easier. This edition not only includes the full text of the trustworthy New King James Version in an easy-to-read large print, but it is also small enough for everyday use and easy navigation with thousands of cross-references conveniently located at the end of verses.Trusted by millions of believers around the world, the NKJV remains the bestselling modern “word-for-word” translation. It balances the literary beauty and familiarity of the King James tradition with an extraordinary commitment to preserving the grammar and structure of the underlying biblical languages. And while the translators relied on the traditional Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text used by the translators of the 1611 KJV, the comprehensive translator notes offer important insights about the latest developments in biblical manuscript studies. The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising—perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.Features include: Line-matched for improved clarity when reading Verse-style Scripture format starts each verse on its own line so it’s easy to navigate the text Verse-by-verse cross-references give you to find related passages quickly and easily Words of Christ in red help you quickly identify Jesus’ teachings and statements Portable personal-size format allow this Bible to be a perfect travel companion wherever you go Durable and flexible Smyth-sewn binding allows the Bible to lay flat wherever you are reading Concordance for looking up a word’s occurrences throughout the Bible Full color maps show the layout of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Ribbon markers make it easy navigate and keep track of where you were reading Easy-to-read extra-large 10.5-point NKJV Comfort Print

Read more less

Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec (1781-1826) is best known for his invention of the stethoscope, one of medicine's most powerful symbols. Histories, novels, and films have cloaked his life in hagiography and legend. Jacalyn Duffin's fascinating new biography relies on a vastly expanded foundation of primary source material, including thousands of pages of handwritten patient records, lecture notes, unpublished essays, and letters. She situates Laennec, the scientist and teacher, within the broader social and intellectual currents of post-Revolutionary France. Her work uncovers a complex character who participated actively in the dramatic changes of his time. Laennec's famous Treatise on Mediate Auscultation was his only published book, but two lesser known works were left in manuscript: an early treatise on pathological anatomy and a later set of lectures on disease. The three parts of Duffin's biography correspond to these books. First, she examines Laennec's student research on the emerging science of pathological anatomy, the background for his major achievement. Second, she uses his clinical records to trace the discovery and development of "mediate auscultation" (listening through an instrument, or mediator, to sounds within the human body). The stethoscope allowed clinicians to "see" the organic alterations inside their living patients' bodies. Finally, she explores the impact of auscultation on diagnostic practice and on concepts of disease. Analyzed here for the first time in their entirety, Laennec's College de France lectures reveal his criticism of over-enthusiastic extrapolations of his own method at the expense of the patient's story. Originally published in 1998. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Read more less

Making history from the moment of her birth, England's Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was a legend within her own lifetime. To her supporters, Elizabeth I was Gloriana, the Faerie Queene, a dignified and powerful woman who ruled with cunning and skill for forty-four years. To her detractors she was the ruthless supporter of a false religion; the murderer of her cousin Mary Queen of Scots; a wanton woman, herself illegitimate, who sullied the crown with her licentious behavior. The legends that have grown up around Elizabeth are fascinating, but as this book shows, the truth is just as remarkable. In Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend, Clark Hulse brings Elizabeth to life, combining text and images to tell her story through the objects handed down by history. Commemorating the four hundredth anniversary of Elizabeth's death, this handsome volume contains over one hundred photographs of books, manuscripts, maps, letters, paintings, clothing, furniture, and many more artifacts dating from her reign. Each of these objects tells a story, and Hulse uses them as a starting point for a broad and thorough examination of Elizabeth and the society in which she lived. Beginning with an analysis of the political events surrounding her birth, the book describes Elizabeth's relationship with her father, Henry VIII, and the maneuvering that led to her eventual coronation upon the death of her half-sister Mary Tudor in 1558. As queen, Elizabeth oversaw a period of breathtaking cultural achievement. She kept England from being torn apart by the religious wars raging across Europe, and she withstood both an assassination plot and the massive military threat of the Spanish Armada. This book addresses all these major events, as well as a whole host of lesser-known aspects of Elizabeth's reign. Hulse includes discussions of topics such as the education of Tudor women; markers of identity; portraits of Elizabeth; the queen's speaking style; her interest in America; music at the Tudor court; and literary depictions of Elizabeth by Shakespeare, Spenser, and other poets.

Read more less

In 1981 the suspended walkways—or “skywalks”—in Kansas City’s Hyatt Regency hotel fell and killed 114 people. It was the deadliest building collapse in the United States until the fall of New York’s Twin Towers on 9/11. In Skywalks R. Eli Paul follows the actions of attorney Robert Gordon, an insider to the bitter litigation that followed. Representing the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against those who designed, built, inspected, owned, and managed the hotel, Gordon was tenacious in uncovering damaging facts. He wanted his findings presented before a jury, where his legal team would assign blame from underlings to corporate higher-ups, while securing a massive judgment in his clients’ favor. But when the case was settled out from under Gordon, he turned to another medium to get the truth out: a quixotic book project that consumed the rest of his life. For a decade the irascible attorney-turned-writer churned through a succession of high-powered literary agents, talented ghost writers, and New York trade publishers. Gordon’s resistance to collaboration and compromise resulted in a controversial but unpublishable manuscript, “House of Cards,” finished long after the public’s interest had waned. His conclusions, still explosive but never receiving their proper attention, laid the blame for the disaster largely at the feet of the hotel’s owner and Kansas City’s most visible and powerful corporation, Hallmark Cards Inc. Gordon gave up his lucrative law practice and lived the rest of his life as a virtual recluse in his mansion in Mission Hills, Kansas. David had fought Goliath, and to his despair, Goliath had won. Gordon died in 2008 without ever seeing his book published or the full truth told. Skywalks is a long-overdue corrective, built on a foundation of untapped historical materials Gordon compiled, as well as his own unpublished writings.

Read more less

Tells the history of the precious balsam of Matarea: a substance traded for its weight in gold Uses archaeological and textual sources to trace the cultivation of balsam trees from the 4th century BCE to the 17th century CE Surveys the evidence for the symbolic value and practical applications of balsam in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe Establishes the many uses of balsam in pre-modern medicine, religious ritual and royal ceremonies Correlates modern botanical studies with historical sources in the identification of the trees that once grew in the plantation of Matarea in Egypt Explores the complex socio-cultural factors that contributed to the sense of value accorded to rare commodities Richly illustrated with over 50 line drawings, engravings, watercolours and photographs, drawn from sources ranging across time from medieval manuscripts to 20th-century photographs, depicting balsam trees, balsam resin receptacles, the compound of Matarea, maps and more Using written sources, visual data and archaeological material, Marcus Milwright reconstructs the fascinating cultural history of the balsam tree from Jericho and En-Gedi to Egypt, and from ancient times to the 17th century. Miwright addresses the symbolic associations of balsam and the site of Matarea (where the last balsam tree died in 1615), the distribution of products from the tree through trade and diplomacy, and the applications of these products in medicine, ritual and the domestic environment. He also establishes links with resin-producing trees from the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. The balsam of Matarea was a substance famous as a panacea among physicians in the Middle East and Europe during the Antique and Medieval periods. It was used in many aspects of medieval life and is associated with figures such as the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba and Cleopatra.

Read more less

Mucking around in the messy terrain of American trash, Jani Scandura tells the story of the United States during the Great Depression through evocative and photo-rich portraits of four locales: Reno, Key West, Harlem, and Hollywood. In investigating these Depression-era “dumps,” places that she claims contained and reclaimed the cultural, ideological, and material refuse of modern America, Scandura introduces the concept of “depressive modernity,” an enduring affective component of American culture that exposes itself at those moments when the foundational myths of America and progressive modernity—capitalism, democracy, individualism, secularism, utopian aspiration—are thrown into question. Depressive modernity is modernity at a standstill. Such a modernity is not stagnant or fixed, nor immobile, but is constituted by an instantaneous unstaging of desire, territory, language, and memory that reveals itself in the shimmering of place. An interpretive bricolage that draws on an unlikely archive of 1930s detritus—office memos, scribbled manuscripts, scrapbooks, ruined photographs, newspaper clippings, glass eyes, incinerated stage sets, pulp novels, and junk washed ashore—Down in the Dumps escorts its readers through Reno’s divorce factory of the 1930s, where couples from across the United States came to quickly dissolve matrimonial bonds; Key West’s multilingual salvage economy and its status as the island that became the center of an ideological tug-of-war between the American New Deal government and a politically fraught Caribbean; post-Renaissance Harlem, in the process of memorializing, remembering, grieving, and rewriting a modernity that had already passed; and Studio-era Hollywood, Nathanael West’s “dump of dreams,” in which the introduction of sound in film and shifts in art direction began to transform how Americans understood place-making and even being itself. A coda on Alcatraz and the Pentagon brings the book into the present, exploring how American Depression comes to bear on post-9/11 America.

Read more less

Working with the technologies of pen and paper, scissors and glue, naturalists in early modern England, Scotland, and Wales wrote, revised, and recombined their words, sometimes over a period of many years, before fixing them in printed form. They built up their stocks of papers by sharing these materials through postal and less formal carrier services. They exchanged letters, loose notes, drawings and plans, commonplace books, as well as lengthy treatises, ever-expanding repositories for new knowledge about nature and history as it accumulated through reading, observation, correspondence, and conversation. These textual collections grew alongside cabinets of natural specimens, antiquarian objects, and other curiosities—insects pinned in boxes, leaves and flowers pressed in books, rocks and fossils, ancient coins and amulets, and drafts of stone monuments and inscriptions. The goal of all this collecting and sharing, Elizabeth Yale claims, was to create channels through which naturalists and antiquaries could pool their fragmented knowledge of the hyperlocal and curious into an understanding and representation of Britain as a unified historical and geographical space. Sociable Knowledge pays careful attention to the concrete and the particular: the manuscript almost lost off the back of the mail carrier's cart, the proper ways to package live plants for transport, the kin relationships through which research questionnaires were distributed. The book shows how naturalists used print instruments to garner financing and content from correspondents and how they relied upon research travel—going out into the field—to make and refresh social connections. By moving beyond an easy distinction between print and scribal cultures, Yale reconstructs not just the collaborations of seventeenth-century practitioners who were dispersed across city and country, but also the ways in which the totality of their exchange practices structured early modern scientific knowledge.

Read more less

This volume chronicles the proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Contact Angle, Wettability and Adhesion held in Providence, Rhode Island, May 20–23, 2002. This symposium was held to provide a forum to update and consolidate the research activity on this topic. The world of wettability is very wide as it plays an extremely important role in a legion of technological areas.This volume contains a total of 25 papers covering myriad aspects of contact angle and wettability. All manuscripts were rigorously peer-reviewed and all were revised and properly edited before inclusion in this volume. This book is divided into three parts: General Papers; Contact Angle Measurements/Determination and Solid Surface Free Energy; and Wetting and Spreading: Fundamental and Applied Aspects. The topics covered include: fundamental aspects of contact line region; effect of adsorbed vapor on liquid–solid adhesion; molecular origin of contact angles; various factors influencing contact angle measurements; different kinds of contact angles; various ways to measure contact angles; contact angle hysteresis; determination of solid surface free energies via contact angles; contact angle measurements on various materials (smooth, rough, porous, heterogeneous); factors influencing/dictating wetting and spreading phenomena; ultrahydrophobic polymer surfaces; switchable wettability; reactive wetting; wetting by nanocrystallites; dewetting; wetting of self-assembled monolayers; reversible wetting of structured surfaces; wetting in granular and porous media; relationship between wetting and adhesion; relevance/importance of wetting and surface energetics in technological applications, including food industry.This volume and its predecessors containing bountiful information will be of great interest and value to everyone interested in the contemporary R&D activity in the fascinating world of contact angles and wettability. The information garnered in these volumes will hopefull

Read more less

In Collecting Shakespeare, Stephen H. Grant recounts the American success story of Henry and Emily Folger of Brooklyn, a couple who were devoted to each other, in love with Shakespeare, and bitten by the collecting bug. Shortly after marrying in 1885, the Folgers started buying, cataloging, and storing all manner of items about Shakespeare and his era. Emily earned a master's degree in Shakespeare studies. The frugal couple worked passionately as a tight-knit team during the Gilded Age, financing their hobby with the fortune Henry earned as president of Standard Oil Company of New York, where he was a trusted associate of John D. Rockefeller Sr. While a number of American universities offered to house the collection, the Folgers wanted to give it to the American people. Afraid the price of antiquarian books would soar if their names were revealed, they secretly acquired prime real estate on Capitol Hill near the Library of Congress. They commissioned the design and construction of an elegant building with a reading room, public exhibition hall, and the Elizabethan Theatre. The Folger Shakespeare Library was dedicated on the Bard's birthday, April 23, 1932. The library houses 82 First Folios, 275,000 books, and 60,000 manuscripts. It welcomes more than 100,000 visitors a year and provides professors, scholars, graduate students, and researchers from around the world with access to the collections. It is also a vibrant center in Washington, D.C., for cultural programs, including theater, concerts, lectures, and poetry readings. The library provided Grant with unprecedented access to the primary sources within the Folger vault. He draws on interviews with surviving Folger relatives and visits to 35 related archives in the United States and in Britain to create a portrait of the remarkable couple who ensured that Shakespeare would have a beautiful home in America.

Read more less