Search results for ""author alex"

One last mission, but this time it’s personal...In the Spring of 1920 the Mexican revolution was almost over. Just across the border in Texas was Martin Falconer, barely out of his teens yet already a veteran airman.He had only just escaped from the Russian Civil War with his three friends, Slingsby, ‘Puddy’ Pudhovkin and ‘Tommy’ Tucker, and they were all looking forward to a little peace. Martin had cabled his girlfriend Charley, who was in Mexico with her father, to come and meet him.But his hopes are shattered when they arrive in the border town of Camarillo to collect Charley, and the four airmen are caught in the middle of a battle. When the dust settles, they discover that the retreating Mexican bandits had taken Charley as a hostage.Martin tries to enlist official aid, but without success. It was up to them – and all they had to use against a desperate band of rebels were two battered aeroplanes, a broken down Avro and a de Havilland with broken wings. This will be his most challenging flight.The absolutely thrilling finale to the Martin Falconer thrillers, a tour de force of wartime storytelling, perfect for fans of Alastair MacLean, Alexander Fullerton and David Black.

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'An immensely readable treat!' ALEXANDER McCALL SMITHThe first book in a light-hearted historical adventure series set during the mid-twentieth century............................................................................Ernest Drabble, a Cambridge historian and mountaineer, travels to rural Devon to inspect the decapitated head of Oliver Cromwell - a macabre artefact owned by Dr Wilkinson. Drabble only tells one person of his plans - Harris, an old school friend and press reporter. On the train to Devon, Drabble narrowly avoids being murdered, only to reach his destination and find Dr Wilkinson has been killed. Gripped in Wilkinson's hand is a telegram from Winston Churchill instructing him to bring the head of Oliver Cromwell to London.Drabble has unwittingly become embroiled in a pro-Nazi conspiracy headed by a high-status Conservative member of the British government.And so, Drabble teams up with Wilkinson's secretary, Kate Honeyand, to find the head and rescue Harris who is being tortured for information..............................................................................Praise for Rule Britannia:'A rollicking good read' IAN RANKIN 'Marsh chomps the period bit between his teeth and relates his yarn with winning gusto' NEW STATESMAN'Tremendous stuff! With the arrival of Alec Marsh's first Drabble and Harris thriller, John Buchan must be stirring uneasily in his grave'STANLEY JOHNSON

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The most hated woman in Savannah, Georgia, is about to be set free. Twenty years ago, Blondell O'Henry was convicted of murdering her eldest daughter and wounding her two other children. The prosecution said that beautiful, selfish Blondell wanted to be rid of them to be with her lover.Now Blondell's son, Niall, has recanted his testimony and demolished the case. Reporter Nikki Gillette is determined to get the true story, and not just for professional reasons. Blondell's murdered daughter, Amity, was Nikki's childhood friend. The night she died, Amity begged Nikki to meet with her, insisting she had a secret to tell, but Nikki didn't go. Her guilt is compounded by other complications--Nikki's favourite uncle, Alexander, was the attorney who helped save Blondell from execution. And rumours swirl that he was one of her many lovers.Nikki's fiancé, Detective Pierce Reed, is concerned she may be compromising the case. As she digs for answers during one of the most sweltering summers in Savannah's history, he also worries for her safety. Everyone involved seems to have secrets, from Blondell's old boyfriend and his fundamentalist, snake-handling in-laws to the cop who led the original investigation.

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The International No. 1 Bestseller A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick 'Cuts to the heart of who we are' Sunday Times 'A book that begs discussion' Vanity Fair All Lina wanted was to be desired. How did she end up in a marriage with two children and a husband who wouldn’t touch her? All Maggie wanted was to be understood. How did she end up in a relationship with her teacher and then in court, a hated pariah in her small town? All Sloane wanted was to be admired. How did she end up a sexual object of men, including her husband, who liked to watch her have sex with other men and women? 'I will probably re-read it every year of my life' Caitlin Moran 'Will have millions nodding in recognition' The Times 'As gripping as the most gripping thriller' Marian Keyes 'When I picked it up, I felt I'd been waiting half my life to read it' Observer 'The kind of bold, timely, once-in-a-generation book that every house should have a copy of, and probably will before too long' New Statesman The book Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Alexa Chung, Jodie Comer, Reese Witherspoon, Harry Styles, Fearne Cotton, Caitriona Balfe, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sharon Horgan, Zoe Ball, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Davina McCall, Gemma Chan, Christine and the Queens and Gillian Anderson are all reading

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Atwood's first new fiction publication since The Testaments, this deeply personal collection includes a stunning sequence that follows a married couple as they travel the road together, the moments big and small that make up a long life of love -- and what comes afterThe stories explore the full warp and weft of experience, from two best friends disagreeing about their shared past, to the right way to stop someone from choking; from a daughter determining if her mother really is a witch, to what to do with inherited relics such as World War II parade swords.They feature beloved cats, a confused snail, Martha Gellhorn, George Orwell, philosopher-astronomer-mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria, a cabal of elderly female academics, and an alien tasked with retelling human fairy tales.The glorious range of Atwood's creativity and humanity is on full beam in these tales, which by turns delight, illuminate and quietly devastate.'Gripping... a writer in full possession of her powers' Financial Times'These reflections on marriage, mortality and many-tentacled aliens show Atwood's mastery of the short form' Guardian'She's Margaret Atwood, and she can do anything' Ann Patchett'There is no greater living writer' Daily Telegraph'The outstanding novelist of our age' Sunday Times 'A living legend' New York Times Book Review

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Step back in time to an ancient world of mythical beasts, bow down to gods and goddesses, and take a trip to the first Olympics in this illustrated guide. Become an eyewitness to the glory of ancient Greece in this picture-led reference guide that will take you on a visual tour of what classical Greece was like. Children will be mesmerized by striking photography, maps, paintings, and lots of artefacts to help understand what life was like at this time.This illustrated guide lets kids aged 9+ experience the significance ancient Greece has had in transforming our world, in this detailed introduction to one of the world's founding nations. Learn why Greek pottery is so famous, discover how children played, and take a look at what people wore.Throughout the pages of this newly-revised book on Ancient Greece, you can expect to find: - A fresh new look; new photographs, updated information, and a new “eyewitness” feature.- Amazing facts, updated diagrams, statistics, and timelines.- Brand new eyewitness accounts from experts in the field.DK Eyewitness Ancient Greece is crammed full of fascinating information, statistics and facts. Meet a fierce minotaur, wage war with Alexander the Great, look inside a temple, and learn how the people of ancient Greece lived their lives. Find out about their religions, their hobbies, and their amazing impact on the rest of our history.So, what’s new? Part of DK’s best-selling Eyewitness series, this popular title has been reinvigorated for the next generation of information-seekers and stay-at-home explorers, with a fresh new look, up to 20 percent new images, including photography and updated diagrams, updated information, and a new “eyewitness” feature with fascinating first-hand accounts from experts in the field.Explore the series!Globally, the Eyewitness series has sold more than 50 million copies over 30 years. Travel through the solar system with Eyewitness Space, discover the incredible world of creepy-crawlies in Eyewitness Insect, examine precious stones in Eyewitness Crystal & Gem or take a trip aboard the most famous ship in history with Eyewitness Titanic.

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Discover the most impactful and incredible episodes from human history, from the prehistoric era to the early twenty-first century, through fifty of the most surprising and often less well-known places in the world.From the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where remains of some of our earliest tool-using ancestors were found, to the CERN laboratory, where revolutionary technologies such as the World Wide Web were developed, each entry shows its influence on not just politics, but on the economy, culture, religion and society, as well as their links to great historical figures such as Alexander the Great, Buddha and Nelson Mandela. The size of the places ranges from small geographical features like a cave in Saudi Arabia where Islam began, to larger areas or regions, like Hollywood. Many entries are cities, such Jerusalem, Amritsar, and Rome, some others are buildings, like Anne Frank’s House in the Netherlands or the Confucius Temple in China, and there are even some that are rooms, such as the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace. No place is too big or too small to be included, as long as it has had a significant impact on history.

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Alexis de Tocqueville, a French aristocrat paradoxically famous for his insights into democracy and equality, is one of history’s greatest analysts of American society and politics. His contributions to political theory and sociology are of enduring significance. This book, from one of the world’s leading experts, is a clearly written and accessible introduction to Tocqueville’s social and political theories. Schleifer guides readers through his two major works, Democracy in America (1835/40) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856), as well as his working papers, correspondence, and other writings. Schleifer examines Tocqueville’s essential themes and explores the various meanings of his key terms, including equality, democracy, liberty, and revolution. He combines a skillful exposition of Tocqueville’s analysis of the beneficial and harmful consequences of democracy with a crystal clear discussion of his often overlooked economic ideas and social reform proposals. Schleifer traces both the overall unity and the significant changes in Tocqueville’s ideas, demonstrating the complexity and subtlety of his thought and the importance of his legacy. It will be essential reading for all scholars, students, and general readers interested in the history of political thought, political theory, American politics, and sociology.

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The Counterhuman Imaginary proposes that alongside the historical, social, and institutional structures of human reality that seem to be the sole subject of the literary text, an other-than-human world is everywhere in evidence. Laura Brown finds that within eighteenth-century British literature, the human cultural imaginary can be seen, equally, as a counterhuman imaginary—an alternative realm whose scope and terms exceed human understanding or order. Through close readings of works by Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, and Alexander Pope, along with lapdog lyrics, circulation narratives that give agency to inanimate objects like coins and carriages, and poetry about the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, Brown traces the ways presence and power of the nonhuman—weather, natural disasters, animals, even the concept of love—not only influence human creativity, subjectivity, and history but are inseparable from them. Traversing literary theory, animal studies, new materialism, ecocriticism, and affect theory, The Counterhuman Imaginary offers an original repudiation of the centrality of the human to advance an integrative new methodology for reading chaos, fluidity, force, and impossibility in literary culture.

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How our shifting sense of "what's normal" defines the character of democracy"A provocative examination of social constructs and those who would alternately undo or improve them."—Kirkus Reviews This sharp and engaging book by leading governmental scholar Cass R. Sunstein examines dramatically shifting understandings of what’s normal—and how those shifts account for the feminist movement, the civil rights movement, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the founding itself, political correctness, the rise of gun rights, the response to COVID-19, and changing understandings of liberty. Prevailing norms include the principle of equal dignity, the idea of not treating the press as an enemy of the people, and the social unacceptability of open expressions of racial discrimination. But norms can turn upside-down in a hurry. What people tolerate, and what they abhor, depends on what else they are seeing. Exploring Nazism, #MeToo, the work of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, constitutional amendments, pandemics, and the influence of Ayn Rand, Sunstein reveals how norms change, and ultimately determine the shape of society and government in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.

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The Corncrake's Welcome continues the story of William Hanna’s family, introduced in Voyages with my Grandfather. Spanning a hundred years, these memoirs delve into the turbulent birth of Northern Ireland, wartime Belfast, and the 1960s, when Hanna was growing up in Windsor Manse, next to the Presbyterian Church where his father was the Minister. Join the young boy, enthralled by both the orange sashes of Belfast and the green rugby jerseys of Dublin. See the teenager confronted by the Troubles, beginning to question his religious and national inheritance. Follow Hanna’s coming-of-age journey, from Ireland to Scotland, Switzerland, and France, and watch him set out on a diplomatic career in Dublin and in Brussels. Share his joy and sorrow when he returns to Ireland, after many years serving as EU Ambassador around the world; recalls his father’s historic meeting with Pope John Paul II; and makes poignant discoveries about events a century ago. Praise for Voyages with my Grandfather: ‘Beautifully written. Very moving’ Alexander McCall Smith ‘Extraordinary insight into life of Northern Ireland Presbyterians’ Gail Walker, Belfast Telegraph ‘Wonderful book. A remarkable family story very well told’ Sir Jonathan Faull

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When the possibility of wiretapping first became known to Americans they were outraged. Now, in our post 9/11 world, it’s accepted that corporations are vested with human rights, and government agencies and corporations use computers to monitor our private lives. David H. Price pulls back the curtain to reveal how the FBI and other government agencies have always functioned as the secret police of American capitalism up to today, where they luxuriate in a near-limitless NSA surveillance of all. Price looks through a roster of campaigns by law enforcement, intelligence agencies and corporations to understand how we got here. Starting with J. Edgar Hoover and the early FBI’s alignment with business, his access to 15,000 pages of never-before-seen FBI files shines a light on the surveillance of Edward Said, Andre Gunder Frank and Alexander Cockburn, Native American communists and progressive factory owners. Price uncovers patterns of FBI monitoring and harassing of activists and public figures, providing the vital means for us to understanding how these new frightening surveillance operations are weaponised by powerful governmental agencies that remain largely shrouded in secrecy.

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When English naturalist Joseph Banks (1743–1820) accompanied Captain James Cook (1728–1779) on his historic mission into the Pacific, the Endeavour voyage of 1768–71, he took with him a team of collectors and illustrators. Banks and his team returned from the voyage with unprecedented collections of artefacts and specimens of stunning birds, fish and other animals as well as thousands of plants, most seen for the first time in Europe. They produced, too, remarkable landscape and figure drawings of the peoples encountered on the voyage along with detailed journals and descriptions of the places visited, which, with the first detailed maps of these lands (Tahiti, New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia), were afterwards used to create lavishly illustrated accounts of the mission. These caused a storm of interest in Europe where plays, poems and satirical caricatures were also produced to celebrate and examine the voyage, its personnel and many ‘new’ discoveries. Along with contemporary portraits of key personalities aboard the ship, scale models and plans of the ship itself, scientific instruments taken on the voyage, commemorative medals and sketches, the objects (over 140) featured in this new book will tell the story of the Endeavour voyage and its impact ahead of the 250th anniversary in 2018 of the launch of this seminal mission. Artwork made both during and after the voyage will be seen alongside actual specimens. And by comparing the voyage originals with the often stylized engravings later produced in London for the official account, the book will investigate how knowledge gained on the mission was gathered, revised and later received in Europe. Items separated in some cases for more than two centuries will be brought together to reveal their fascinating history not only during but since that mission. Original voyage specimens will feature together with illustrations and descriptions of them, showing a rich diversity of newly discovered species and how Banks organized this material, planning but ultimately failing to publish it. In fact, many of the objects in the book have never been published before. The book will focus on the contribution of Banks’s often neglected artists Sydney Parkinson, Herman Diedrich Spöring, Alexander Buchan as well as the priest and Pacific voyager Tupaia, who joined Endeavour in the Society Islands, none of whom survived the mission. These men illustrated island scenes of bays, dwellings, canoes as well as the dress, faces and possessions of Pacific peoples. Burial ceremonies, important religious sites and historic encounters were all depicted. Of particular interest, and only recently recognised as by him, are the original artworks of Tupaia, who produced as part of this mission the first charts and illustrations on paper by any Polynesian. The surviving Endeavour voyage illustrations are the most important body of images produced since Europeans entered this region, matching the truly historic value of the plant specimens and artefacts that will be seen alongside them.

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Discover the astounding ancient architecture, the history of civilization, and the beauty of our planet in these Wonders of the World.Become an eyewitness to the fascinating architectural feats and natural treasures of the world in this picture-led reference guide that will take you on a visual tour of more than 50 wonders of the world. Children will be mesmerized by human-made landscapes such as the Statue of Liberty to record-breaking natural marvels like the River Nile. This unique, beautifully illustrated guide takes kids on an incredible journey around the world's most spectacular sights. Using striking full-color photographs and illustrations, discover the Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, the Mausoleum atHalicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria and much more!Throughout the pages of this newly-revised book on Wonders of the World, you can expect to find:- A fresh new look, new photographs, updated information, and a new “eyewitness” feature- Amazing facts, diagrams, statistics, and timelines- Brand new eyewitness accounts from experts in the fieldEyewitness Wonders of the World introduces the ultimate guide to remarkable architecture and natural wonders. Children can learn about the most incredible natural and human-made wonders, through amazing facts, diagrams, and statistics to see them as never before. This all-emcompassing wonders of the world guide is a must-have for curious children aged 9+ with a thirst for learning, as well as teachers, parents and librarians.So, what’s new?Part of DK’s best-selling Eyewitness series, this popular title has been reinvigorated for the next generation of information-seekers and stay-at-home explorers, with a fresh new look, up to 20 percent new images, including photography and updated diagrams, updated information, and a new “eyewitness” feature with fascinating first-hand accounts from experts in the field.Explore the series!Globally, the Eyewitness series has sold more than 50 million copies over 30 years. Journey down the River Amazon and explore the rainforest with Eyewitness Amazon, learn how to combat climate change with Eyewitness Climate Change or take a trip aboard the most famous ship in history with Eyewitness Titanic.

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Step back in time to an ancient world of mythical beasts, bow down to gods and goddesses, and take a trip to the first Olympics in this illustrated guide. Become an eyewitness to the glory of ancient Greece in this picture-led reference guide that will take you on a visual tour of what classical Greece was like. Children will be mesmerised by striking photography, maps, paintings, and lots of artefacts to help understand what life was like at this time.This illustrated guide lets kids aged 9+ experience the significance ancient Greece has had in transforming our world, in this detailed introduction to one of the world's founding nations. Learn why Greek pottery is so famous, discover how children played, and take a look at what people wore.Throughout the pages of this newly-revised book on Ancient Greece, you can expect to find: - A fresh new look; new photographs, updated information, and a new "eyewitness" feature.- Amazing facts, updated diagrams, statistics, and timelines.- Brand new eyewitness accounts from experts in the field.DK Eyewitness Ancient Greece is crammed full of fascinating information, statistics and facts. Meet a fierce minotaur, wage war with Alexander the Great, look inside a temple, and learn how the people of ancient Greece lived their lives. Find out about their religions, their hobbies, and their amazing impact on the rest of our history.So, what's new? Part of DK's best-selling Eyewitness series, this popular title has been reinvigorated for the next generation of information-seekers and stay-at-home explorers, with a fresh new look, up to 20 percent new images, including photography and updated diagrams, updated information, and a new "eyewitness" feature with fascinating first-hand accounts from experts in the field.Explore the series!Globally, the Eyewitness series has sold more than 50 million copies over 30 years. Travel through the solar system with Eyewitness Space, discover the incredible world of creepy-crawlies in Eyewitness Insect, examine precious stones in Eyewitness Crystal & Gem or take a trip aboard the most famous ship in history with Eyewitness Titanic.

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When the popular musical Hamilton showcased the celebrated duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, it reminded twenty-first-century Americans that some prominent, honor-bound citizens once used negotiated, formal fights as a way to settle differences. During the Civil War, two prominent Kentuckians - one a Union colonel and the other a pro-Confederate civilian—continued this legacy by dueling. At a time when thousands of soldiers were slaughtering one another on battlefields, Colonel Leonidas Metcalfe and William T. Casto transformed the bank of the Ohio River into their own personal battleground. On May 8, 1862, these two men, both of whom were steeped in southern honor culture, fought a formal duel with rifles at sixty yards. And, like the fight between Hamilton and Burr, only one man walked away.Anatomy of a Duel: Secession, Civil War, and the Evolution of Kentucky Violence examines why white male Kentuckians engaged in the "honor culture" of duels and provides fascinating narratives that trace the lives of duelists and opponents. Stuart W. Sanders explores why, during a time when Americans were killing one another in open, brutal warfare, Casto and Metcalfe engaged in the process of negotiating and fighting a duel. In deconstructing the event, Sanders details why these prominent Kentuckians found themselves on the dueling ground during the nation's bloodiest conflict, how society and the Civil War pushed them to fight, why duels continued to be fought in Kentucky even after this violent confrontation, and how Kentuckians applied violence after the Civil War. Anatomy of a Duel is a comprehensive and compelling look at how the seccession crisis sparked the Casto-Metcalfe duel - a confrontation that impacted the evolution of violence in Kentucky.

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Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin analyzes questions of nationality and religious identity in nineteenth-century Russian history as reflected in the life of Jesuit priest Ivan Gagarin. A descendent of one of Russia’s most ancient and politically powerful families, Father Ivan Gagarin, S.J. (1814–1882) dedicated his life to creating a union between the Orthodox and Catholic churches that would preserve the dogmatic and traditional beliefs of both. Traditional understandings of Russian identity have emanated from the perspective of the dominant Orthodox religion; this captivating study uses the unionist work of Gagarin to illumine Russia's national identity from the perspective of Roman Catholicism. Seeing his unionist proposals as necessary for the preservation of Russian stability, Gagarin found himself in frequent opposition to the Orthodox Church. While Gagarin believed that Church union would preserve Russia from the threats of communism and revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church believed that union would mean the sacrifice of religious truth, ecclesial independence and religious orthodoxy. Jeffrey Beshoner’s even-handed analysis reveals that the Roman Catholic Church presented its own share of barriers to attempts at church union. Ivan Sergeevich Gagarin examines Roman Catholic attitudes of superiority vis-à-vis the Orthodox Church and argues that the nineteenth-century Roman Catholic Church simply did not possess the humility or respect for Eastern beliefs that church union required. Despite the failure of his unionist activity, Gagarin exerted important influence on such contemporary and later Roman Catholic and Russian thinkers as Pope Pius IX, Alexei Khomiakov and Vladimir Solovev. As the collapse of communism has permitted Russia to again seek its national identity in Russian Orthodoxy, Gagarin's ideas and perspectives on the relationship between national and religious identity continue to prove relevant.

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Six Georgian Poets brings us the work of the most outstanding literary representatives of what has been dubbed 'the Gagarin Generation". Yuri Gagarin, the first astronaut who died tragically young, was an international celebrity and a hero of the Soviet Bloc. His space journey could be subversively interpreted not as one of the victories in the Cold War competition between two ideologically opposed superpowers, but as a daring breakout towards freedom. This generation of people born in an era of a growing resistance against the strictures of Soviet rule, a generation characterised by challenging the entrenched conformism of thought and action, is represented here by a diverse set of voices, each of which speaks out of an experience both personal and collective, giving us a rare insight into a culture and literature we need to know more about. The majority of the poems in this volume were translated in two workshops, the first of which was held in September 2014 in Tbilisi, Georgia, supported by the Georgian National Book Centre and the British Council, and the second in March 2015 in Aberystwyth, Wales, supported by Literature Across Frontiers. The workshop participants were: Alexandra Büchler, translator and director of Literature Across Frontiers; Nia Davies, poet, translator and Editor of Poetry Wales; Adham Smart, poet and translator; Stephen Watts, poet and translator; and Angela Jarman, editor at Arc Publications. The translators initially worked from literal translations supplied by the poets and others, but at both workshops they received help and advice from the playwright and translator, Davit Gabunia, whose contribution was invaluable. There are other poems included in this volume that were translated by individual translators outside the workshops. One such translator is Donald Rayfield, who was not part of either workshop; Stephen Watts and Adham Smart also completed a number of translations outside the workshop setting. Where this is the case, their names appear under the relevant translations. Poems where individual translators are not named were translated collaboratively by the workshop participants.

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The next step in the evolution of user interfaces is here. Chatbots let your users interact with your service in their own natural language. Use free and open source tools along with Ruby to build creative, useful, and unexpected interactions for users. Take advantage of the Lita framework's step-by-step implementation strategy to simplify bot development and testing. From novices to experts, chatbots are an area in which everyone can participate. Exercise your creativity by creating chatbot skills for communicating, information, and fun. Developers of all skill levels can craft user experiences that are natural, easy to use, and most of all, fun. Build chatbots using free, open source tools and launch them to popular chat platforms like Slack and Amazon's Alexa. Use the Ruby programming language and the Lita bot framework to unlock fun and powerful chat abilities such as sending text messages and emails, creating new meme images, driving a robot around the room, and talking out loud on a home speaker. Use frameworks available in Ruby and Node.js to get started quickly. Create simple chatbot skills that respond quickly to basic requests. Chain skills together for more complex interactions. Take advantage of test-driven development techniques to build your bots with confidence. Coordinate tasks with colleagues via bot. Connect with external APIs to provide users with data they need. Extract data information from web pages when an API isn't available. Expand your bot's reach with SMS and e-mail messaging. Deploy a chatbot to a host so users can interact with it on their schedule. Build a more responsive, easy-to-use interface for your users today. What You Need: You don't need much to get started with chatbots. A Mac or Linux computer with a recent version of Ruby is recommended. Windows users can keep up with a free virtual machine running Linux. You'll deploy your chatbots for free (or at least cheaply) on cloud hosting platforms like Heroku and Digital Ocean.

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As Chicago grew into the world-class city it is today, its civic leaders took exceptional care in their cultivation of the arts. The establishment of the Art Institute, the widespread support of wealthy patronage, and the activity of numerous organizations including the Chicago Architectural Club, the Urban League, and the Chicago Women's Club, combined to make Chicago home to many painters. Since rising from the ashes in 1873, Chicago has supported generation after generation of inspired artists who painted land and cityscapes, and honored their patrons with portraits. The full length and breadth of their amazing work can at last be appreciated in the Powell and Barbara Bridges Collection. Susan C. Larsen provides a profile of the collectors and introduces the Bridges Collection, featuring an impressive range of canvases by Charles Francis Browne, Alice Kellogg Tyler, Frank Peyraud, Alfred Juergens, and other notable painters. Formerly the private treasure of the Bridges, Chicago Painting makes all 78 paintings of their remarkable collection available, in full color, to art lovers the world over. Wendy Greenhouse offers a host of insights into the lives and work of the artists who worked prior to the turn of the last century. She surveys the "conservative" Chicago painters who resisted the avant-garde, showing that while the European avant-garde did exert an influence, excellent work continued to be done in traditional genres such as portraits and landscapes. Painters the quality of Junius Sloan, Lucie Hartrath, George Peter Alexander Healy, Louis Betts, Ralph Clarkson, and Daniel Folger Bigelow are represented here. Finally, Susan Weiniger guides us into the Modernist era Chicago painters--Gertrude Abercrombie, Frances Strain, Frederic Tellander, Rudolph Weisenborn, and others--whose works show conclusively that Chicago did more than import avant-garde painting. Chicago Painting 1895 to 1945 also includes updated biographies of 49 painters and commentary on each painting.

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Blackwell's Non-Fiction Book of the Month'A formidable achievement' Rory Stewart'Thoughtful [and] heartfelt' Observer'Profound [and] compelling' Spectator'A noble endeavour' New StatesmanWithout a permanent home, a wife or a job, and with no clear sense of where his life was going, Anthony Seldon set out on a 35-day pilgrimage from the French-Swiss border to the English Channel.The route of his 1,000 kilometre journey was inspired by a young British soldier of the First World War, Alexander Douglas Gillespie, who dreamed of creating a 'Via Sacra' that the men, women and children of Europe could walk to honour the fallen. Tragically, Gillespie was killed in action, his vision forgotten for a hundred years, until a chance discovery in the archive of one of England's oldest schools galvanised Anthony into seeing the Via Sacra permanently established.Tracing the historic route of the Western Front, he traversed some of Europe's most beautiful and evocative scenery, from the Vosges, Argonne and Champagne to the haunting trenches of Arras, the Somme and Ypres. Along the way, he wrestled heat exhaustion, dog bites and blisters as well as a deeper search for inner peace and renewed purpose. Touching on grief, loss and the legacy of war, The Path of Peace is the extraordinary story of Anthony's epic walk, an unforgettable act of remembrance and a triumphant rediscovery of what matters most in life.***A WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2022 PICK***____________________________________________'The Western Front Way, an idea that waited 100 years for its moment, is the simplest and fittest memorial yet to the agony of the Great War. Anthony Seldon's account of how he walked it, and what it means to all of us, will be an inspiration to younger generations.' Sebastian Faulks'A deeply informed meditation on the First World War, an exploration of walking's healing power, a formidable physical achievement... and above all a moving enactment of a modern pilgrimage.' Rory Stewart'A journey of self-discovery and a pilgrimage of peace... A remarkable book by a remarkable man.' Michael Morpurgo'An incredible journey that will move and inspire.' Bear Grylls

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The amazing true story of Blackbeard, Calico Jack and all the other pirates of the Caribbean and Captain Woodes Rogers, the privateer turned governor of the Bahamas, who brought them to book. ‘Both a brilliant idea and an engrossing book that tells the story of a ship of the line in Nelson's day' Bernard Cornwell, Books of the Year, Mail on Sunday ‘David Cordingly is a brilliant historian: authoritative but easy to read, with an eye for the story yet with a touch light enough to let the facts speak for themselves' Daily Telegraph Today most of us know what we know about pirates from icons like Long John Silver and Jack Sparrow. But who were the real pirates of the Caribbean, and where did they come from? And how were they tamed? David Cordingly's latest book reveals the true story to have been at least as fascinating and gripping as the legends. After the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713, there was an explosion of piracy across the Caribbean and along the eastern seaboard of North America. Hundreds of unemployed sailors roamed the seaports and many were tempted to take to piracy. Unable to attack enemy targets any longer, they replaced their national flags with the black flag and became ‘pyrates and enemies of all mankind'. Nowhere was the problem greater than in the Bahamas. So, after years of ignoring the problem, the British Government was forced to act. Three warships were despatched across the Atlantic with orders to suppress the pirates and it was agreed that a Governor of the Bahama Islands be appointed ‘to drive the pirates from their lodgement'. The man selected for the nigh impossible task was Captain Woodes Rogers, a former privateer who had made his name (he rescued Alexander Selkirk, the model for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe) and his fortune (£9m) by leading a highly successful voyage round the world. This is the story of his battle with the pirates, told in David Cordingly's inimitable style.

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Individualism and holism, the concepts embedded in the title of this book, represent two key theoretical perspectives that have for many decades steered and shaped sociological thought. For over a century these two interpretative perspectives have also divided sociological theory into two camps, accompanied by a band of scholars trying to bridge this dualism. According to American sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander, individualist theories derive their appeal and strength from their underlying assumption that humans make decisions as individual, free, autonomous, and rationally and morally consistent beings. A related belief is that they are able to express these qualities in their actions regardless of the situation in society or what economic or moral conditions prevail. Holistic, or collectivist, theories, unlike individualism, assign primacy to social entities. This perspective is important because it creates the basic precondition through which entities can become the subject of deliberate sociological analysis. However, there is a price for fulfilling this precondition. The emphasis it places on the collective, and on larger entities, logically means that the individual will and free human decision-making tends to be lost from the field of view. This book argues that these two perspectives, individualist and holistic, form the central dilemma of sociological thought. It provides an extensive review and critique of contemporary sociological approaches to this antinomy and examines attempts that have been made to overcome it and unite them. Moreover, the book proposes a new approach to solving this dilemma via the concept of 'critical reconfigurationism', arguing that the resolution of this dilemma is vital not just for sociological theory but also for empirical social research.

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Discover 100 life-changing travel experiences. Familiar faces from the world of travel, plus Lonely Planet writers, share their most remarkable, poignant and memorable experiences from the road - moments that changed them as individuals and reshaped their perspective on the world. Tales includes a Rwandan gorilla encounter, reincarnation on the Ganges, horse riding with Patagonian gauchos, witnessing Nelson Mandela's first free speech, watching a space shuttle launch, crossing the Gobi desert on foot, and a son journeying with his mother back to Alexandria, the city of her childhood. Destinations include Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Utah, Cape Town, Gir National Park in India, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the Trans-Siberian Railway, Antarctica, Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, Samye Monastery in Tibet and Madagascan forests. With each story, you'll get a powerful account of how the experience unfolded and what it was like to be there, right at that moment. A 'Build Up' and 'Take Away' complete the story, detailing how the moment made a lasting impact on the contributor's life. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, on mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more.

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A bitingly funny field guide to modern love from the woman who's dated them all. Through highly relatable anecdotes from a decade of dating, 20 Guys You Date in Your 20s dives into the joys, frustrations, and hilarity of swiping right on relationships. After a world-shattering breakup in her early twenties, comedian Gabi Conti logged thousands of hours on dating apps, conducting research and gathering intel on our behalf. Real and relatable, this dating guide is laugh-out-loud funny without being prescriptive or cynical. • Each chapter focuses on a different type of guy and offers advice on how to deal, from The Guy Who's Great on Paper to The Guy Who Texts "sup" at 2 a.m. • Includes charts, quizzes, "Boy Bingo," and a removable, foldout poster • Captures the frustrations, heartache, and hilarity of Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, and all other online dating apps For the modern, app-using woman, this hilarious dating guide profiles 20 stereotypical men, from their physical appearance and dating style to red flags, tips, and success stories. Filled with charts and quizzes, hysterical anecdotes, and helpful insight from therapists and dating coaches, these pages offer advice and humor in equal measure. • Perfect as a funny breakup gift for women or a gift for single friends • Offers sincere advice to cope with dating app horror stories • Great for fans of How to Date Men When You Hate Men by Blythe Roberson, Bye Felipe: Disses, Dick Pics, and Other Delights of Modern Dating by Alexandra Tweten and HEY, U UP? (For a Serious Relationship) by Emily Axford and Brian Murphy

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In 1957 Sputnik, the world’s first man-made satellite, dazzled people as it zipped around the planet. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, more than eight thousand satellites orbited the Earth, and satellite practices such as live transmission, direct broadcasting, remote sensing, and astronomical observation had altered how we imagined ourselves in relation to others and our planet within the cosmos. In Cultures in Orbit, Lisa Parks analyzes these satellite practices and shows how they have affected meanings of “the global” and “the televisual.” Parks suggests that the convergence of broadcast, satellite, and computer technologies necessitates an expanded definition of “television,” one that encompasses practices of military monitoring and scientific observation as well as commercial entertainment and public broadcasting.Roaming across the disciplines of media studies, geography, and science and technology studies, Parks examines uses of satellites by broadcasters, military officials, archaeologists, and astronomers. She looks at Our World, a live intercontinental television program that reached five hundred million viewers in 1967, and Imparja tv, an Aboriginal satellite tv network in Australia. Turning to satellites’ remote-sensing capabilities, she explores the U.S. military’s production of satellite images of the war in Bosnia as well as archaeologists’ use of satellites in the excavation of Cleopatra’s palace in Alexandria, Egypt. Parks’s reflections on how Western fantasies of control are implicated in the Hubble telescope’s views of outer space point to a broader concern: that while satellite uses promise a “global village,” they also cut and divide the planet in ways that extend the hegemony of the post-industrial West. In focusing on such contradictions, Parks highlights how satellites cross paths with cultural politics and social struggles.

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A small, hand-sized KJV Bible designed with clear Scripture text and elegant materials to honor God’s Word. This edition is published in large KJV Comfort Print type, which was designed exclusively for Thomas Nelson to be the most readable at any size.The KJV Compact Maclaren Series Bible is the perfect size to take with you wherever you go. Whether at home or on the go, this beautiful hand-sized edition of the Bible will keep you engaged in God’s Word.Enjoy the timeless King James Version in a traditional Scripture design formatted to help you quickly navigate through the Bible. The blue contrasting color for headings and verse numbers stand out while Thomas Nelson’s exclusive KJV Comfort Print® on quality Bible paper provides a smooth, thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. Features include: Classic 2-column verse-by-verse layout starts each verse on its own line so it’s easy to navigate the text Two double-faced satin ribbons help keep track of where you were reading Blue highlighted headings and book titles add an elegant touch to the text Premium Bible paper in opaque white creates a high contrast with the black text, improving readability Line matched text for optimal clarity on the page Words of Christ in black for a reading experience that is easy on your eyes throughout Scripture Ultra-flexible sewn binding lays flat in your hand or on your desk Clear and readable 7-point KJV Comfort Print About the Maclaren Series: Named for the noted Victorian-era preacher, Alexander Maclaren, this series of elegant Bibles feature regal blue highlights and verse numbers and clear, line-matched text.

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Propaganda is thousands of years old. But it came of age in the 20th century, when the development of mass media (and later multimedia communications) offered a fertile ground for its dissemination, and the century's global conflicts provided the impetus needed for its growth. Put simply, propaganda is the dissemination of ideas intended to convince people to think and act in a particular way and for a particular persuasive purpose. But it takes many forms, is fluid and indeed is constantly developing, most fervently in our own digital era. Terms such as 'fake news', 'post-truth', 'gate-keepers' and 'asymmetrical warfare' were unknown a decade ago yet today are now commonplace, and often cynically derided, in daily media communications. In this timely and fully international book, David Welch has selected fifty images to highlight the continuities and dis-continuities of mass-communication throughout history, be they via images, events, films or by 'propaganda by deed'. Such an approach demonstrates how changing technological innovations (such as television and the internet) have continued to shape the propaganda narrative but also demonstrate how tried and trusted forms of propaganda - such as the humble leaflet - can still prove highly effective. The fifty images included are not all necessarily the most striking - rather they have been chosen because they illustrate recurring themes and devices (such as humour) and different mediums employed by propagandists - from early Egyptian coins eulogizing Alexander the Great to the psychological warfare used in the war against terrorism following the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, and the use of social media employed so widely in the current Covid pandemic.

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THE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES: Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills In this volume of the Good Audition Guides, you'll find fifty fantastic speeches for women, all written since the year 2000, by some of our most exciting dramatic voices. Playwrights featured in Contemporary Monologues for Women include Mike Bartlett, Alexi Kaye Campbell, Caryl Churchill, Helen Edmundson, debbie tucker green, Ella Hickson, Lucy Kirkwood, Rona Munro, Joanna Murray-Smith and Enda Walsh, and the plays themselves were premiered at the very best theatres across the UK including the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bush, Soho and Hampstead Theatres, Manchester Royal Exchange, the Traverse in Edinburgh, the Abbey in Dublin, and many on the stages of the Royal Court. Drawing on her experience as an actor, director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Trilby James prefaces each speech with a thorough introduction including the vital information you need to place the piece in context (the who, what, when, where and why) and suggestions about how to perform the scene to its maximum effect (including the character’s objectives and keywords). Contemporary Monologues for Women also features an introduction on the whole process of selecting and preparing your speech, and approaching the audition itself. The result is the most comprehensive and useful contemporary monologue book now available. 'Sound practical advice for anyone attending an audition… a source of inspiration for teachers and students alike' Teaching Drama Magazine on The Good Audition Guides

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For fans of THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS, THE FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST and ET.'A MOST UNUSUAL AND DELIGHTFUL BOOK' Alexander McCall SmithFunny, touching, charming, wise: a friendship novel that explores what it is to be human. Some time in the future:Ben Chambers wakes up to find an old robot - rusty and dazed- sitting underneath the willow tree in his garden. It's not a new android model, the type people now use for domestic chores around the house, but an antique one, no longer of any use. Refusing to throw it on the skip as his wife Amy advises, he brings it inside. He names it Tang. Tang turns out to be needy, he has a chronic oil leak and some inside parts don't work properly. As Ben - who has never wanted children or even a job - grows closer to his new friend, he and his wife, Amy, grow further apart.When Amy finally walks out, Ben begins to realise he has now alienated all the human beings in his life. But his new friend needs to be fixed, if he is to have a future. And so Ben decides to take Tang back to his maker, half way across the world, on a remote island in the Pacific ...Soon to be a major Warner Brothers Japan movie, starring Kazunari Ninomiya from ArashiREADERS LOVE IT TOO:There were so many funny parts in this book and i did not want it to end' 5 *****'A lovely book about friendship and discovery. Heartwarming' 4 ****'i knew nothing about this book when i started it and i could not put it down' 5 ****'Wonderful. i did not want it to stop' 5 ****'The characters are drawn with such tenderness' 5 ****

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“The American people sees itself advance across the wilderness, draining swamps, straightening rivers, peopling the solitude, and subduing nature,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville in 1835. That’s largely how we still think of nineteenth-century America today: a country expanding unstoppably, bending the continent’s natural bounty to the national will, heedless of consequence. A country of slavery and of Indian wars. There’s much truth in that vision. But if you know where to look, you can uncover a different history, one of vibrant resistance, one that’s been mostly forgotten. This Radical Land recovers that story. Daegan Miller is our guide on a beautifully written, revelatory trip across the continent during which we encounter radical thinkers, settlers, and artists who grounded their ideas of freedom, justice, and progress in the very landscapes around them, even as the runaway engine of capitalism sought to steamroll everything in its path. Here we meet Thoreau, the expert surveyor, drawing anticapitalist property maps. We visit a black antislavery community in the Adirondack wilderness of upstate New York. We discover how seemingly commercial photographs of the transcontinental railroad secretly sent subversive messages, and how a band of utopian anarchists among California’s sequoias imagined a greener, freer future. At every turn, everyday radicals looked to landscape for the language of their dissent—drawing crucial early links between the environment and social justice, links we’re still struggling to strengthen today. Working in a tradition that stretches from Thoreau to Rebecca Solnit, Miller offers nothing less than a new way of seeing the American past—and of understanding what it can offer us for the present . . . and the future.

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Was the experience of poetry--or a cultural practice we now call poetry--continuously available across the two-and-a-half millennia from the composition of the Homeric epics to the publication of Ben Jonson's Works and the death of Shakespeare in 1616? How did the pleasure afforded by the crafting of language into memorable and moving rhythmic forms play a part in the lives of hearers and readers in Ancient Greece and Rome, Europe during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and Britain during the Renaissance? In tackling these questions, this book first examines the evidence for the performance of the Iliad and the Odyssey and of Ancient Greek lyric poetry, the impact of the invention of writing on Alexandrian verse, the performances of poetry that characterized Ancient Rome, and the private and public venues for poetic experience in Late Antiquity. It moves on to deal with medieval verse, exploring the oral traditions that spread across Europe in the vernacular languages, the place of manuscript transmission, the shift from roll to codex and from papyrus to parchment, and the changing audiences for poetry. A final part investigates the experience of poetry in the English Renaissance, from the manuscript verse of Henry VIII's court to the anthologies and collections of the late Elizabethan era. Among the topics considered in this part are the importance of the printed page, the continuing significance of manuscript circulation, the performance of poetry in pageants and progresses, and the appearance of poets on the Elizabethan stage. In tracking both continuity and change across these many centuries, the book throws fresh light on the role and importance of poetry in western culture.

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In an alternate 15th century where magic still is part of life, the Holy Roman Empire rules Europe. Constantinople is under siege by the Venetians and their allies. Hekate, Goddess of Crossroads, presides over the conflict and carnage as alternate visions of civilization collide. And since Constantinople is the crossroad city of east and west, and it is here that Italian captain Benito Valdosta must deal with the powerful magical manifestation of the Weeping Woman, a disguised Hekate, in order to save his daughter and to destroy the fleets of the Chernobog assembling in the Black Sea before they can cut into the soft underbelly of Europe. With land battle, naval action, cunning assassinations, and heartbreak aplenty — not to mention the ongoing conflict between Lord of the Dead Aidonus and Benito for the love of a woman, civilization is at the crossroads and choices must be made that will bring victory and freedom for centuries to come — or a new Dark Age! Burdens of the Dead is the sequel to Much Fall of Blood, Book 4 in the Heirs of Alexandria series.

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In World War I, Major General Pershing proposed the idea of establishing a historical office within the AEF headquarters. The War Department reorganised the General Staff to include a Historical Branch. Evidence shows that soldiers acting as historians went "down range," albeit not into combat. By World War II, the situation had changed – whether S.L.A. Marshall's popping out of a billet in Sibret as a shells exploded on the road; Forrest Pogue's typing "on a little camp desk under an apple tree;" Chester Starr's terrain reconnaissance in the Mediterranean theater, or Ken Hechler's command of a four-man historical team interviewing soldiers at the Remagen Bridge and searching through secret documents – the World War II combat historians were there behind and on the front lines with a notebook in one hand and their carbine in the other hand, ever ready to collect battlefield information.Eight historical service detachments were deployed to Korea. The youngest commander, 1st Lieutenant Bevin Alexander, noted "We were on the front lines the whole time… We would interview the people afterwards and create a battle study." After the Korean War, the duties of the combat historian further evolved as what became the Center of Military History published doctrine about military history detachments (MHDs). As America’s immersion in Vietnam escalated, there was concern regarding historical coverage. Chief of Military History Brigadier General Hal Pattison established a network of historical teams to collect information on the U.S Army in the war. A major development in the history program and in deploying MHDs came with the establishment of Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV) under General William C. Westmoreland’s command. In 1965, the history office was organised at Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV). MHDs were deployed across Vietnam, conducting combat after action interviews, and collecting documents. This study focuses on U.S. Army historical programs during combat operations from World War I to the Vietnam War with particular attention on the combat historians, those individuals deployed to a theater of war with the mission of documenting the actions of that theater for current and future historical use.

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Alexander Romanovich Luria, one of the most influential psychologists of the twentieth century, is best known for his pioneering work on the development of language and thought, mental retardation, and the cortical organization of higher mental processes. Virtually unnoticed has been his major contribution to the understanding of cultural differences in thinking.In the early 1930s young Luria set out with a group of Russian psychologists for the steppes of central Asia. Their mission: to study the impact of the socialist revolution on an ancient Islamic cotton-growing culture and, no less, to establish guidelines for a viable Marxist psychology. Lev Vygotsky, Luria's great teacher and friend, was convinced that variations in the mental development of children must be understood as a process including historically determined cultural factors. Guided by this conviction, Luria and his colleagues studied perception, abstraction, reasoning, and imagination among several remote groups of Uzbeks and Kirghiz—from cloistered illiterate women to slightly educated new friends of the central government.The original hypothesis was abundantly supported by the data: the very structure of the human cognitive process differs according to the ways in which social groups live out their various realities. People whose lives are dominated by concrete, practical activities have a different method of thinking from people whose lives require abstract, verbal, and theoretical approaches to reality.For Luria the legitimacy of treating human consciousness as a product of social history legitimized the Marxian dialectic of social development. For psychology in general, the research in Uzbekistan, its rich collection of data and the penetrating observations Luria drew from it, have cast new light on the workings of cognitive activity. The parallels between individual and social development are still being explored by researchers today. Beyond its historical and theoretical significance, this book represents a revolution in method. Much as Piaget introduced the clinical method into the study of children's mental activities, Luria pioneered his own version of the clinical technique for use in cross-cultural work. Had this text been available, the recent history of cognitive psychology and of anthropological study might well have been very different. As it is, we are only now catching up with Luria's procedures.

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The elegant Bible you'll keep coming back to because it's so easy to read and use. This edition is published in large KJV Comfort Print type, which was designed exclusively for Thomas Nelson to be the most readable at any size.Enjoy the classic King James Version in a traditional Scripture design optimized to help you quickly navigate through the Bible. The 2-column, large print text is easy to read, and the blue headings and verse numbers stand out while providing a restful, thoroughly enjoyable Scripture-reading experience. With over 72,000 cross references, this Bible gives you the tools you'll need to dive deeply into God's Word for yourself.Features include: Verse-style Scripture format starts each verse on its own line so it’s easy to navigate the text Premium Bible paper in opaque white creates a high contrast with the black text, improving readability Words of Christ in black for a reading experience that is easy on your eyes throughout Scripture Ultra-flexible sewn binding lays flat in your hand or on your desk End of page cross references allow you to find related passages quickly and easily Wide double-faced satin ribbons help keep track of where you were reading Full color maps show a visual representation of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Clear and readable 10.5-point KJV Comfort Print More than 400 years since its initial publication, the bestselling King James Version Bible continues to inspire, encourage, and strengthen people from all walks of life. The KJV is considered one of the most influential and beautiful works of literature in the English language and continues to be the favorite translation for millions of Christians.About the Maclaren Series: Named for noted Victorian-era preacher Alexander Maclaren, this series of elegant Bibles features regal blue highlights and verse numbers and clear, line-matched text.

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The Margarita. It's the drink that puts the "happy" in happy hour. A beguiling elixir of tequila, citrus, and sweetness that's guaranteed to go down easy-and put a smile on your face. The Classic Margarita-perhaps named after Margarita Sames, or maybe Margarete, a descendent of Ponce de Leon, but do we really care?-is a delectable blend of tequila, simple syrup, Cointreau, and lime and lemon juices. But as cocktail designer extraordinaire Kim Haasarud proves in this fantastic little guide, the Classic is just the starting point for margarita bliss. Open the book, and you'll discover 101 heavenly margarita recipes-one for every season, every mood, and every occasion. All your favorite margarita variations are here. You can chill out with a frozen Strawberry Margarita. Get romantic with an exotic Passionfruit Margarita. Or "berry" yourself in the fruity delights of a delicious Raspberry Margarita. But Haasarud also gives you lots of new and exciting margarita choices. You can take a cocktail party to new heights with the sophisticated Sake Margarita. Tame fiery foods with the refreshing Sweet Ginger Margarita. Or finish off a meal with a divine Hazelnut Margarita or an espresso-infused Margarita du Cafe. So invite some friends, get out your shaker, and ready the glasses. With a little help from this book, you'll be in Margaritaville in no time. Kim Haasarud bartended her way through college and in 2002 founded Liquid Architecture, a firm that creates signature drinks and bar concepts. Her clients have included Fox Searchlight, Warner Brothers, HBO, Comedy Central, Maxim, the Tribeca Film Festival, Absolut Vodka, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and the Cheesecake Factory. She also writes the "West Coast Cocktails" column for Slammed magazine, a restaurant trade journal. Her Web site is liquid-architecture.com. Alexandra Grablewski is a well-known food and beverage photographer whose work has appeared in Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, Better Homes and Gardens, and Wine Spectator as well as in many books.

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Microgrids are the most innovative area in the electric power industry today. Future microgrids could exist as energy-balanced cells within existing power distribution grids or stand-alone power networks within small communities. A definitive presentation on all aspects of microgrids, this text examines the operation of microgrids – their control concepts and advanced architectures including multi-microgrids. It takes a logical approach to overview the purpose and the technical aspects of microgrids, discussing the social, economic and environmental benefits to power system operation. The book also presents microgrid design and control issues, including protection and explaining how to implement centralized and decentralized control strategies. Key features: original, state-of-the-art research material written by internationally respected contributors unique case studies demonstrating success stories from real-world pilot sites from Europe, the Americas, Japan and China examines market and regulatory settings for microgrids, and provides evaluation results under standard test conditions a look to the future – technical solutions to maximize the value of distributed energy along with the principles and criteria for developing commercial and regulatory frameworks for microgrids Offering broad yet balanced coverage, this volume is an entry point to this very topical area of power delivery for electric power engineers familiar with medium and low voltage distribution systems, utility operators in microgrids, power systems researchers and academics. It is also a useful reference for system planners and operators, manufacturers and network operators, government regulators, and postgraduate power systems students. CONTRIBUTORS Thomas Degner Aris Dimeas Alfred Engler Nuno Gil Asier Gil de Muro Guillermo Jiménez-Estévez George Kariniotakis George Korres André Madureira Meiqin Mao Chris Marnay Jose Miguel Yarza Satoshi Morozumi Alexander Oudalov Frank van Overbeeke Rodrigo Palma Behnke Joao Abel Pecas Lopes Fernanda Resende John Romankiewicz Christine Schwaegerl Nikos Soultanis Liang Tao Antonis Tsikalakis

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On April 4, 1866, just as Alexander II stepped out of Saint Petersburg's Summer Garden and onto the boulevard, a young man named Dmitry Karakozov pulled out a pistol and shot at the tsar. He missed, but his "unheard-of act" changed the course of Russian history—and gave birth to the revolutionary political violence known as terrorism. Based on clues pulled out of the pockets of Karakozov's peasant disguise, investigators concluded that there had been a conspiracy so extensive as to have sprawled across the entirety of the Russian empire and the European continent. Karakozov was said to have been a member of "The Organization," a socialist network at the center of which sat a secret cell of suicide-assassins: "Hell." It is still unclear how much of this "conspiracy" theory was actually true, but of the thirty-six defendants who stood accused during what was Russia's first modern political trial, all but a few were exiled to Siberia, and Karakozov himself was publicly hanged on September 3, 1866. Because Karakozov was decidedly strange, sick, and suicidal, his failed act of political violence has long been relegated to a footnote of Russian history. In The Odd Man Karakozov, however, Claudia Verhoeven argues that it is precisely this neglected, exceptional case that sheds a new light on the origins of terrorism. The book not only demonstrates how the idea of terrorism first emerged from the reception of Karakozov's attack, but also, importantly, what was really at stake in this novel form of political violence, namely, the birth of a new, modern political subject. Along the way, in characterizing Karakozov's as an essentially modernist crime, Verhoeven traces how his act profoundly impacted Russian culture, including such touchstones as Repin's art and Dostoevsky's literature. By looking at the history that produced Karakozov and, in turn, the history that Karakozov produced, Verhoeven shows terrorism as a phenomenon inextricably linked to the foundations of the modern world: capitalism, enlightened law and scientific reason, ideology, technology, new media, and above all, people's participation in politics and in the making of history.

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The elegant Bible you'll keep coming back to because it's so easy to read and use. This edition is published in large KJV Comfort Print type, which was designed exclusively for Thomas Nelson to be the most readable at any size.Enjoy the classic King James Version in a traditional Scripture design optimized to help you quickly navigate through the Bible. The 2-column, large print text is easy to read, and the blue headings and verse numbers stand out while providing a restful, thoroughly enjoyable Scripture-reading experience. With over 72,000 cross references, this Bible gives you the tools you'll need to dive deeply into God's Word for yourself.Features include: Verse-style Scripture format starts each verse on its own line so it’s easy to navigate the text Premium Bible paper in opaque white creates a high contrast with the black text, improving readability Words of Christ in black for a reading experience that is easy on your eyes throughout Scripture Ultra-flexible sewn binding lays flat in your hand or on your desk End of page cross references allow you to find related passages quickly and easily Wide double-faced satin ribbons help keep track of where you were reading Full color maps show a visual representation of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Clear and readable 10.5-point KJV Comfort Print More than 400 years since its initial publication, the bestselling King James Version Bible continues to inspire, encourage, and strengthen people from all walks of life. The KJV is considered one of the most influential and beautiful works of literature in the English language and continues to be the favorite translation for millions of Christians.About the Maclaren Series: Named for noted Victorian-era preacher Alexander Maclaren, this series of elegant Bibles features regal blue highlights and verse numbers and clear, line-matched text.

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'Uniquely twisted...cracking gags...' - The Guardian (UK)'Wacky humor bubbles through the polished narrative... Holt doesn't skimp on the flashes of brilliance.' - SFXMaurice has just killed a dragon with a breadknife. And had his destiny foretold . . . and had his true love spirited away. That's precisely the sort of stuff that'd bring out the latent heroism in anyone. Unfortunately, Maurice is pretty sure he hasn't got any latent heroism. Meanwhile, a man wakes up in a jar in a different kind of pickle (figuratively speaking). He can't get out, of course, but neither can he remember his name, or what gravity is, or what those things on the ends on his legs are called . . . and every time he starts working it all out, someone makes him forget again. Forget everything. Only one thing might help him. The answer to the most baffling question of all. WHEN IS A DOOR NOT A DOOR?An absurdly witty novel of alternate universes and very unlikely heroes from one of Britain's best-loved comic writers - perfect for fans of Douglas Adams and Terry PratchettBooks by Tom Holt: Walled Orchard Series Goatsong The Walled Orchard J.W. Wells & Co. Series The Portable Door In Your Dreams Earth, Air, Fire and Custard You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps The Better Mousetrap May Contain Traces of Magic Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages YouSpace Series Doughnut When It's A Jar The Outsorcerer's Apprentice The Good, the Bad and the Smug Novels Expecting Someone Taller Who's Afraid of Beowulf Flying Dutch Ye Gods! Overtime Here Comes the Sun Grailblazers Faust Among Equals Odds and Gods Djinn Rummy My Hero Paint your Dragon Open Sesame Wish you Were Here Alexander at World's End Only Human Snow White and the Seven Samurai Olympiad Valhalla Nothing But Blue Skies Falling SidewaysLittle PeopleSong for NeroMeadowlandBarkingBlonde BombshellThe Management Style of the Supreme BeingsAn Orc on the Wild Side

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Telling the story of a man who stood against the overwhelming power of the mighty Roman empire, Hannibal is the biography of a man who, against all odds, dared to change the course of history. Over two thousand years ago one of the greatest military leaders in history almost destroyed Rome. Hannibal, a daring African general from the city of Carthage, led an army of warriors and battle elephants over the snowy Alps to invade the very heart of Rome's growing empire. But what kind of person would dare to face the most relentless imperial power of the ancient world? How could Hannibal, consistently outnumbered and always deep in enemy territory, win battle after battle until he held the very fate of Rome within his grasp? Hannibal appeals to many as the ultimate underdog—a Carthaginian David against the Goliath of Rome—but it wasn't just his genius on the battlefield that set him apart. As a boy and then a man, his self-discipline and determination were legendary. As a military leader, like Alexander the Great before him and Julius Caesar after, he understood the hearts of men and had an uncanny ability to read the unseen weaknesses of his enemy. As a commander in war, Hannibal has few equals in history and has long been held as a model of strategic and tactical genius. But Hannibal was much more than just a great general. He was a practiced statesman, a skilled diplomat, and a man deeply devoted to his family and country. Roman historians—on whom we rely for almost all our information on Hannibal—portray him as a cruel barbarian, but how does the story change if we look at Hannibal from the Carthaginian point of view? Can we search beneath the accounts of Roman writers who were eager to portray Hannibal as a monster and find a more human figure? Can we use the life of Hannibal to look at the Romans themselves in an unfamiliar way— not as the noble and benign defenders of civilization but as ruthless conquerors motivated by greed and conquest?

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'Tom Holt's comic fantasy is a great, uplifting read, fit to grace any reader's book collection' - Waterstones Books Quarterly'Holt's quirky characters and whimsical voice successfully infuse life into this entertaining romantic comedy' - Publishers WeeklyIt touches all our lives; our triumphs and tragedies, our proudest achievements, our most traumatic disasters. Alloyed of love and fear, death and fire and the inscrutable acts of the gods, insurance is indeed the force that binds the universe together.Hardly surprising, therefore, that Frank Carpenter, one of the foremost magical practitioners of our age, felt himself irresistibly drawn to it. Until, that is, he met Jane, a high-flying corporate heroine with an annoying habit of falling out of trees and getting killed. Repeatedly.It's not long before Frank and Jane find themselves face to face with the greatest enigma of our times: When is a door not a door? When it's a mousetrap.A madcap comic fantasy from one of Britain's funniest writers.Books by Tom Holt: Walled Orchard Series Goatsong The Walled Orchard J.W. Wells & Co. Series The Portable Door In Your Dreams Earth, Air, Fire and Custard You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps The Better Mousetrap May Contain Traces of Magic Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages YouSpace Series Doughnut When It's A Jar The Outsorcerer's Apprentice The Good, the Bad and the Smug Novels Expecting Someone Taller Who's Afraid of Beowulf Flying Dutch Ye Gods! Overtime Here Comes the Sun Grailblazers Faust Among Equals Odds and Gods Djinn Rummy My Hero Paint your Dragon Open Sesame Wish you Were Here Alexander at World's End Only Human Snow White and the Seven Samurai Olympiad Valhalla Nothing But Blue Skies Falling SidewaysLittle PeopleSong for NeroMeadowlandBarkingBlonde BombshellThe Management Style of the Supreme BeingsAn Orc on the Wild Side

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This collection of short stories, both poignant and skillfully crafted, bring to life the tragic demise of traditional Nubian life and culture. If the earlier dams that were built across the Nile during the first half of the twentieth century caused increasing numbers of the men-folk to migrate north to Cairo and Alexandria to work as servants, waiters, and doormen, the completion of the High Dam in 1964 sounded the death knell. While the temples of Abu Simbel were meticulously relocated at great expense, the drowning of the ancient heartland of the Nubian people along the banks of the Nile went largely unnoticed. Haggag Oddoul’s work, as well as documenting the personal tragedy of individuals caught up in massive social transformation, also casts a nostalgic light on the heritage and way of life of the Nubians: their rhythmic dancing, their beautiful women, the lively humor of their elders, and the enormous centrality of their traditions and the spirits with which they shared the environment. Two stories in this collection, ‘’Zeinab Uburty’’ and ‘’Nights of Musk,’’ offer a bucolic and dream-like insight into the world that has disappeared for ever under the water behind the dam. Meanwhile, two other stories, ‘’Adila, Grandmother’’ and ‘’The River People,’’ document the departure of the men, while the women are left behind to go fallow, and the second and third generations born in the cities of the north have only their grandmother’s tales and her pigeon Arabic to remind them of their heritage.

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"Just as philosophy begins with doubt, so also a life that may be called human begins with irony" so wrote Kierkegaard. While we commonly think of irony as a figure of speech where someone says one thing and means the opposite, the concept of irony has long played a more fundamental role in the tradition of philosophy, a role that goes back to Socrates Ð the originator and exemplar of the urbane ironic life. But what precisely is Socratic irony and what relevance, if any, does it have for us today? Bernstein begins his inquiry with a critical examination of the work of two contemporary philosophers for whom irony is vital: Jonathan Lear and Richard Rorty. Despite their sharp differences, Bernstein argues that they complement one other, each exploring different aspects of ironic life. In the background of Lear’s and Rorty’s accounts stand the two great ironists: Socrates and Kierkegaard. Focusing on the competing interpretations of Socratic irony by Gregory Vlastos and Alexander Nehamas, Bernstein shows how they further develop our understanding of irony as a form of life and as an art of living. Bernstein also develops a distinctive interpretation of Kierkegaard’s famous claim that a life that may be called human begins with irony. Bernstein weaves together the insights of these thinkers to show how each contributes to a richer understanding of ironic life. He also argues that the emphasis on irony helps to restore the balance between two different philosophical traditions philosophy as a theoretical discipline concerned with getting things right and philosophy as a practical discipline that shapes how we ought to live our lives.

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Michael Higgins broadens our understanding of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by bringing science, engineering, and technology together with ancient documentation and archaeological findings. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (Pyramids of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria) have been a source of fascination for more than two thousand years. Even though six of the Wonders are now gone, historians and archaeologists have attempted to explain how and why these ancient monuments were created. However, never before have these attempts been synthesized with the contributions of science, engineering, and technology. In The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Michael Higgins combines scientific research together with ancient documentation and archaeological findings to present a rich, multi-layered portrait of each monument. To build a Wonder took advanced social organization and wealth generated by agriculture and trade, both of which depended on regional geography and climate. It also took natural resources, as well as an understanding of the environment where the Wonder would stand. Even the natural processes often responsible for a Wonder's destruction sometimes contributed to the preservation of its ruins. These and other topics are accessibly explored in this book. After using science, engineering, and technology to answer key questions about the Wonders, Higgins speculates on how we could recreate these ancient monuments and make new wonders that could withstand environmental changes and natural disasters for the next two thousand years.

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Thirty-four essays that take a serious look at the state of modern cinema Almost half a century ago, Jean-Luc Godard famously remarked, "I await the end of cinema with optimism." Lots of us have been waiting forand wondering aboutthis prophecy ever since. The way films are made and exhibited has changed significantly. Films, some of which are not exactly "films" anymore, can now be projected in a wide variety of wayson screens in revamped high tech theaters, on big, high-resolution TVs, on little screens in minivans and laptops. But with all this new gear, all these new ways of viewing films, are we necessarily getting different, better movies? The thirty-four brief essays in The End of Cinema as We Know It attend a variety of topics, from film censorship and preservation to the changing structure and status of independent cinemafrom the continued importance of celebrity and stardom to the sudden importance of alternative video. While many of the contributors explore in detail the pictures that captured the attention of the nineties film audience, such as Jurassic Park, Eyes Wide Shut, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, The Wedding Banquet, The Matrix, Independence Day, Gods and Monsters, The Nutty Professor, and Kids, several essays consider works that fall outside the category of film as it is conventionally definedthe home "movie" of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's honeymoon and the amateur video of the LAPD beating of Rodney King. Examining key films and filmmakers, the corporate players and industry trends, film styles and audio-visual technologies, the contributors to this volume spell out the end of cinema in terms of irony, cynicism and exhaustion, religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, and the decline of what we once used to call film culture. Contributors include: Paul Arthur, Wheeler Winston Dixon, Thomas Doherty, Thomas Elsaesser, Krin Gabbard, Henry Giroux, Heather Hendershot, Jan-Christopher Hook, Alexandra Juhasz, Charles Keil, Chuck Klienhans, Jon Lewis, Eric S. Mallin, Laura U. Marks, Kathleen McHugh, Pat Mellencamp, Jerry Mosher, Hamid Naficy, Chon Noriega, Dana Polan, Murray Pomerance, Hillary Radner, Ralph E. Rodriguez, R.L. Rutsky, James Schamus, Christopher Sharrett, David Shumway, Robert Sklar, Murray Smith, Marita Sturken, Imre Szeman, Frank P. Tomasulo, Maureen Turim, Justin Wyatt, and Elizabeth Young.

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Hailed by some as the Eighth Wonder of the World when it opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved icons. For over one hundred years it has excited and fascinated with stories of ingenuity and heroism, and it has been endorsed as a flawless symbol of municipal improvement and a prime emblem of American technological progress. Despite its impressive physical presence, however, Brooklyn’s grand old bridge is much more than a testament of engineering and architectural achievement. As Richard Haw shows in this first of its kind cultural history, the Brooklyn Bridge owes as much to the imagination of the public as it does to the historical events and technical prowess that were integral to its construction. Bringing together more than sixty images of the bridge that, over the years, have graced postcards, magazine covers, and book jackets and appeared in advertisements, cartoons, films, and photographs, Haw traces the diverse and sometimes jarring ways in which this majestic structure has been received, adopted, and interpreted as an American idea. Haw’s account is not a history of how the bridge was made, but rather of what people have made of the Brooklyn Bridge—in film, music, literature, art, and politics—from its opening ceremonies to the blackout of 2003. Classic accounts from such writers and artists as H. G. Wells, Charles Reznikoff, Hart Crane, Lewis Mumford, Joseph Pennell, Walker Evans, and Georgia O’Keeffe, among many others, present the bridge as a deserted, purely aestheticized romantic ideal, while others, including Henry James, Joseph Stella, Yun Gee, Ernest Poole, Alfred Kazin, Paul Auster, and Don DeLillo, offer a counter-narrative as they question not only the role of the bridge in American society, but its function as a profoundly public, communal place. Also included are never-before-published photographs by William Gedney and a discussion of Alexis Rockman’s provocative new mural Manifest Destiny. Drawing on hundreds of cultural artifacts, from the poignant, to the intellectual, to the downright quirky, The Brooklyn Bridge sheds new light on topics such as ethnic and foreign responses to America, nationalism, memory, parade culture, commemoration, popular culture, and post-9/11 America icons. In the end, we realize that this impressive span is as culturally remarkable today as it was technologically and physically astounding in the nineteenth century.

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