Search results for ""Author Maren"

"Venice: The Anthology Guide" is the sixth edition, completely updated, revised and reset, of Milton Grundy's perennially fresh classic travel guide to the city. It is unlike any other guide, for it conducts visitors round Venice using the observations and opinions of famous writers and art historians to enlighten them. Among the people it quotes are Vasari, Ruskin, Berenson, Wittkower, Dickens, Henry James, A.J.C. Hare, Otto Demus, Ernst Gombrich, Michael Levey, Cecil Gould, Hugh Honour, James Morris and Alan Bennett. It includes thirty new colour illustrations, twenty of them by Sarah Quill, the renowned photographer of Venice. The book divides Venice up into seven walks and four excursions, with eight clear maps, so that people can see the maximum number of sights they wish to in a limited time. Its coverage of Venice's rich store of paintings and sculpture is as full as that of its unique architecture. Most of the illustrations - Sarah Quill's apart - are taken from old engravings and paintings, and, like the text, provide a fascinating historical perspective on the present day versions of the scenes and buildings they represent.

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The Romanesque churches to be found in every corner of France are one of the wonders of Europe. They were built between about 1000 and 1200 and were contemporary with English Norman architecture. Their architectural style varies from region to region, as do their size, shape and layout. The period saw the first revival of the art of sculpture since Roman times, and many of the churches such as Moissac, Autun, Vezelay and Chauvigny contain outstanding sculpture. Some, like St-Savin-sur-Gartempe and Tavant, have superb frescoes, and a few like Ganagobie have fine mosaics. It was the age of pilgrimages and a number of the churches were built along the four great pilgrim routes through France to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. Many have links to Romanesque churches in Italy, England and Germany, since Romanesque was a style that was admired throughout Europe. "Romanesque Churches of France", which covers a hundred or so churches in ten geographical sections from Normandy and Burgundy in the north to Provence, Roussillon and Languedoc in the south, is the first comprehensive book to be published on the subject. This book is an ideal companion for travellers, with its many maps and its regional arrangement, and will be a stimulus for the exploration of remote and beautiful areas that are less familiar, such as Auvergne and the Pyrenees. It will also be invaluable as a reference book for all those with a general interest in the history of French architecture and sculpture.

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Dennis Barker has written a hard-hitting expose of the erosion of standards and values in the media world of newspapers, TV and radio over the past twenty years, in particular those of integrity, independence of thought and accuracy. He was prompted to start work on his book by the low standing of journalists - at the bottom near estate-agents and politicians - in recent opinion polls on the esteem in which the public holds those in different professions. He takes the reader through a whole gamut of journalistic 'tricks', which pinpoint the failings of the media, in over fifty short chapters, including 'the death of the reporter', 'prejudicial words', 'shovel it all in', 'the sub's role', 'my beautiful career', 'same old celebrities', 'money worship' and 'headlines and fib-lines'. In 'snubbing', we see how a colourfully dramatic conflict or a cauldron of ill-will can be created where possibly none exists. The general public is becoming increasingly aware of the unsatisfactory state of affairs in media journalism, which is highlighted by the periodic distortions caused by the political ambitions of chief executives and tycoons, misleading headlines, and its extraordinary obsession with celebrity culture. "Tricks Journalists Play" is essential reading for the majority of us who care about the pernicious effects of spin, misrepresentation and deception and social and international prejudice, the purveying of half-truths in relation to crucial issues that affect our future, and the failure to report fully and accurately on matters that have a bearing on freedom and democracy in this country. An experienced journalist himself, Dennis Barker has worked for the "Guardian" since the 1960s in many roles, from feature writer and media correspondent to general columnist, and at the moment is a contributor of obituaries, mainly in the media and entertainment spheres.

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Robert Ponsonby has been at the centre of the music world both in Britain and elsewhere for some sixty years, and "Musical Heroes" is a distillation of his experiences, achievements and friendships in that world. With its deft touch and its empathy, it is both captivating and inspiring, and it is often full of humour. It paints portraits in many formats of the fifty or so figures he knew best, including conductors, composers, performers and administrators: Boult, Beecham, Giulini, Pritchard, Kubelik, Boulez, Walton, Tippett, Berio, Ligeti, Henze, Menuhin, Sena Jurinac, Rostropovich, Jacqueline du Pre, John Ogdon, William Glock, John Drummond, Thomas Armstrong and Robert Mayer are some of those featured. There has been a widespread renaissance in the appreciation of classical music in the past few years, above all among talented young musicians and composers and in schools, where music is now taught systematically. "Musical Heroes" will therefore have a wide appeal not only among established lovers of classical music but also among people who have discovered it for themselves more recently. There is probably more active music-making in Britain today than there has ever been, and concerts in all parts of the country are often packed out. Dame Janet Baker: 'One of the truly great privileges is to spend one's working life among charismatic, interesting and gifted people. It has clearly been the experience of Robert Ponsonby during his many years of artistic administration and he writes about it with obvious delight...How refreshing...to read [his] collection of portraits which steer such a well-judged course between the light and darker sides of the human condition and give us a balanced picture of his subjects. He has a delightful turn of phrase and describes aspects of character which I found immediately recognizable and true. It is all done with wit, perception, kindness, honesty, affection and humour, leaving this reader wanting more'.

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A man of action and unflagging energy, with exceptional determination, imagination and compassion, John Wilson changed millions of people's lives for the better by developing systems and techniques for preventing and curing blindness. This work tale of how one remarkable man travelled the world and transformed countless lives.

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Duchess of Cork Street is the autobiography of a remarkable woman who, educated in the culturally unsophisticated milieu of South Africa, managed by charm, determination and good judgment to establish herself as a doyenne of the London art world between about 1950 and the late 1970s. Although Lillian Browse had originally had ambitions to become a ballet-dancer, she joined the staff of the well known Leger Gallery in the early 1930s, and in 1945 she set up a new art gallery called Roland, Browse and Delbanco in Cork Street in the west end of London together with two fellow art dealers, thus coming to know through her varied experiences many of the most distinguished people of her time as clients and friends. She had worked with Sir Kenneth Clark on planning exhibitions in the National Gallery during the war. Her gallery soon acquired a reputation for quality and integrity and, with her distinctive and influential taste, she pioneered the study of important French and English painters and sculptors, among them Degas, Rodin, Sickert, William Nicholson and Augustus John, and she also gave consistent support to an expanding group of living artists. She was active in the world of art-dealing for over fifty years. During that period the character of the profession changed out of all recognition. Although the spotlight has now moved from London to New York for a variety of reasons, she is by no means despairing of the future. The number of galleries is growing fast, especially away from central London. Above all, there is a much wider interest in art and appreciation of living artists in Britain than ever before. She played a significant role in helping to bring that about. Lillian Browse, who was awarded the CBE in 1998, remains a popular and revered personality in the art world. Her book has been eagerly awaited.

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Handsworth Revolution has been widely acclaimed as an important book. It charts the progress of an inner-city primary school over twenty three years, describing and analysing its evolution in the context of a local community at a time of rapid change. It is addictively readable, with a strong narrative drive which takes us on a personal, historical and philosophical journey that is enlivened by a vivid sense of the texture of real school life. It is much more than entertaining. It pauses from time to time to engage in profound and penetrating analysis of issues such as school leadership, the role of teaching and learning, the shifting political influences on education, the problems of social disadvantage, the experience of ethnic minority communities. It also celebrates the powerful impact of teachers and schools on children's lives, and has been enthusiastically received by young teachers and students in training, as well as by headteachers looking for reassurance and support on the question of the value of primary education. It is already being extensively used on teacher-education and leadership and management courses, both within and outside the world of education, sometimes as a set text. It will be of great interest in addition to sociologists, political analysts and local historians. This is a book not to miss. Its exceptionally positive reception from commentators in various fields suggests that it will come to be regarded as a classic of its kind, one of the few portraits of the actual life of teaching that has both become an important text for the academy and at the same time attracted a substantial general readership.

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“My God! Pardon me if I have dared to make sacred things serve a profane love; but it is you who have put passion into our hearts; they are not crimes—I feel this in the purity of my intentions.” —Agatha, writing to Zoé In pre-revolutionary Paris, a young woman falls for a handsome young priest. To be near him, she dresses as a man, enters his seminary, and is invited to become a fully ordained Catholic priest—a career forbidden to women then as now. Sylvain Maréchal’s epistolary novella offers a biting rebuke to religious institutions and a hypocritical society; its views on love, marriage, class, and virtue remain relevant today. The book ends in La Nouvelle France, which became part of British-run Canada during Maréchal’s lifetime. With thorough notes and introduction by Sheila Delany, this first translation of Maréchal’s novella, La femme abbé, brings a little-known but revelatory text to the attention of readers interested in French history and literature, history of the novel, women’s studies, and religious studies.

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It is no accident that the weather is a perpetual topic of conversation in Britain. For its range of extreme conditions our climate is quite unusual. Winds of over 130 mph (1976), arctic conditions like those in early 1963 and snowstorms producing 6 feet of undrifted snow in 15 hours (1929), fogs in which you cannot see your own feet (1952), protracted droughts as in 1975-6 and 1995-7 and heatwaves with temperatures reaching 100 F (1868), hailstorms showering down lb hailstones (1925), ice-storms so severe that birds fell to the ground in mid flight, weighed down by coats of ice (1940), and deluges releasing 11 inches of rain in 24 hours (1955) -- Robin Stirling tells us of these and many other equally remarkable phenomena, assessing their significance in relation to average conditions both locally and nationally, and putting all the facts into perspective. A mine of information, The Weather of Britain has proved absorbing for all those with a general interest in the subject and valuable for people whose jobs and even lives depend on having a detailed and accurate knowledge of Britain's weather. It is now appearing in paperback for the first time in this second, extensively revised and completely updated edition

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East Anglia has a unique and very substantial heritage of flint-built churches and secular buildings over a wide area that range from Saxon times to the 20th century, many of them of exceptional beauty, and most in a good state of preservation. Stephen Hart considers that these buildings, in which a large number of different flintwork techniques and designs are used that are partly functional, partly dependent upon local materials and partly aesthetic in inspiration, constitute an important part of our heritage. It has only been scantily treated in previous works. His book is the first comprehensive one to be written on English flint architecture and is likely to become the definitive work on the subject. He shows that, although some of these techniques and designs are also to be found in other chalkland regions of England, including Hampshire, Sussex (e.g. Goodwood House), Kent, Wiltshire and Dorset, the greatest variety is in East Anglia. He has devised a classification system based on analysis of the materials and workmanship in flintwork which distinguishes between different types of flint, including flint combined with brick and stone. The numerous colour plates and black and white photographs convey the fascinating multiplicity of styles to be found, some of them reminiscent of the work of contemporary artists like Richard Long, and the virtuoso skills of the craftsmen who created them. There is a deeper consciousness and wider appreciation of vernacular architecture today in Britain than there has ever been, and the book could well inspire people to explore new possibilities in the use of flint architecture. Apart from its general appeal, it is a book that will strike a particular chord among architects, designers, craftsmen, local historians, artists and regional councils responsible for planning and conservation.

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This is the story of the destruction of a talented Jewish family, and of the survival against all the odds of two young sisters. It is one of the most moving stories to emerge from the Second World War. Anita and her elder sister Renate defied death at the hands of the Gestapo and the SS over a period of two and a half years when they were sucked into the whirlpool of Nazi mass extermination, being first imprisoned as 'criminals' and then being transferred, separately, to Auschwitz, and finally to Belsen when the Russians approached. They were saved by their exceptional courage, determination and ingenuity, and by several improbable strokes of luck. At Auschwitz, Anita escaped annihilation through her talents as a cellist when she was co-opted into the camp orchestra directed by Alma Rose, niece of Gustav Mahler. Her book is especially remarkable because of the many documents she has managed to preserve, most of them now lodged in the archives of the Imperial War Museum in London. In a sequence of family letters to her sister Marianne, who was marooned in England, from just before the war to 1942 when her parents were deported and liquidated, an atmosphere of happy normality gradually gives way to latent terror and foreboding. The appalling predicament of the Lasker family, and of Anita and Renate in particular when the rest of their relations had been deported and they were left totally alone in Breslau, could not be more poignantly conveyed. They were caught by the Gestapo trying to flee to Paris, and sent to prison: another piece of 'luck', as it turned out, since they were spared the worse horrors of Auschwitz for a crucial year. After the liberation of Belsen in April 1945, the correspondence with Marianne in England resumed. Anita was seconded to the British Army, and she quotes first-hand material about the early days of the occupation, including a transcript of part of the Luneburg trial in late 1945 when she gave evidence about Nazi atrocities at Auschwitz and Belsen, and was confronted in court by her tormentors. In 1946 she and Renate were both finally permitted to emigrate to England. Three years later, Anita became a founder member of the English Chamber Orchestra, in which she continued to play the cello until recently. Anita's book featured in BBC Radio 4's 'Desert Island Discs' programme on 25th August 1996. She had also told her story in a series of five BBC Radio 4 programmes in 1994; and a BBC 2 TV film about her experiences, Playing to Survive, was screened in October 1996.

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Becoming an Orchestral Musician takes you on a journey into the musical profession. It is the first comprehensive guide for professional musicians on how to succeed in joining an orchestra or ensemble, and how to survive as an orchestral musician. Such crucial topics as how to obtain the right tuition, music college versus university, auditioning, nerves, the secrets of ensemble playing and intonation, conductors, the mechanics of the orchestra, performing philosophies and strategies for survival are covered in separate sections. The matter of how to explore and adapt one's musical psyche, the pitfalls of a career in music and the highs and lows of performing are also discussed. The history, mythology and science of music-making and numerous anecdotes provide a vivid background. It is essential reading for all orchestral musicians, including players of every instrument, whether at college or university or during their career, whether full-time or part-time, and whether professional or amateur, and also for the parents of budding instrumentalists. There are probably more orchestras and ensembles in the length and the breadth of Britain today than ever before.With the renewed recognition in schools of the importance of music, the competition among younger musicians has become intense. Schools and colleges need to be well informed about career guidance for their students. Richard Davis's book will give the answers to many of the questions those students will be asking. It has been warmly welcomed by his colleagues in the BBC Philharmonic, and by other musicians, too. Twenty of them have been interviewed by him specially for it on their experiences and on advice they would like to give to younger musicians on many different themes. They include principals and rank and file players, soloists, academics, music critics, fixers, chamber musicians and people involved in management.

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Henry Moore's rise from Yorkshire miner's son to international acclaim as the twentieth century's greatest sculptor is one of the most remarkable stories in British art. In this revised, updated, expanded and redesigned new edition of The Life of Henry Moore, Roger Berthoud charts Moore's transition from controversial young modernist to pillar of the art-world establishment, garlanded with domestic and foreign honours. His account is enriched by the weekly interviews he did with Moore -- and his wife Irina -- before the sculptor's death in 1986, aged eighty-eight. At home and abroad Moore's sculptures aroused strong passions and were often the object of abuse, sharp criticism and even physical assault, as well as of admiration. He was attacked by younger artists, among others, who saw his growing fame as an obstacle to their advancement. He was to survive the ebb and flow in his reputation, and emerge with the status of a contemporary old master. From a mass of material, including recently discovered early letters, and interviews with Moore's friends, his former assistants and students, dealers, collectors, museum officials and leading architects with whom he worked, Roger Berthoud has built up a lively and engaging though not uncritical picture of Moore's long life and career in this definitive biography.

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The widespead and numerous Romanesque churches in the northern half of Spain rival those of France for their distinctiveness and originality and for their remarkable sculpture. They were mainly built between about 1000 and 1200 and mirror the progressive rolling back of Islamic power in the long reconquista, first of all along the north coast and in Catalonia, which was only occupied by the Muslims for about a hundred years, and then in Leon and Castile. Their architectural styles vary greatly from region to region, and some of them contain fine frescoes as well. Romanesque style introduced the first revival of the art of sculpture since Roman times, and in Spain there good examples of decorative carving as far back as the seventh century. It was the age of pilgrimages and many of the churches were founded along the pilgrim routes from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, which are popular destinations for travellers in Spain today. Romanesque Churches of Spain, which covers a hundred and twenty churches in Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country, Cantabria, Castile, Leon, Asturias and Galicia, and includes no less than twenty pre-Romanesque churches in the Visigothic, Asturian and Mozarabic styles of 600-1000, many with exotic features such as the horseshoe arch, is the first comprehensive book to be published on the subject. It is a perfect companion for travellers, with its ten maps and its regional arrangement, and will be a stimulus for the exploration of wild and remote areas that are unfamiliar to many people, especially across the Pyrenees and in the mountainous areas of Aragon, Cantabria and Asturias. It will also be invaluable as a reference book, with its 262 illustrations, for all those with a general interest in the history of Spanish architecture and sculpture, many of the churches possessing outstanding examples such as Santiago de Compostela, Jaca, Soria, Agramunt, Ripoll, Armentia, Estibaliz, Sanguesa, Santo Domingo de Silos and San Pedro de la Nave. Peter Strafford is a distinguished journalist who worked on the Times for more than three decades, including in Paris and Brussels, and was, among other things, the Times correspondent in New York for five years. His acclaimed Romanesque Churches of France has recently been reprinted.

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Nineteenth Century British Painting provides a succinct and informative chronological survey of a century of British painting which produced a great variety of work. It progresses from the beginnings of Romanticism in the late eighteenth century to the British adoption of Impressionism in the late nineteenth, dividing this prolific period into nine parts. In each part the work of the major figures in particular movements or genres is discussed and analysed, and each painter is presented in a biographical context. The artists are set in the framework of their historical, social and economic background. The majority of the paintings and drawings that are examined in detail are reproduced in the 323 plates, 82 of them in colour. The book is intended to be used more as an introduction, and where appropriate as a textbook, than as a work of reference, although its arrangement will enable readers to obtain fuller information about individual artists, with longer sections devoted to such major figures as Lawrence, Turner, Constable, Rossetti, Leighton and Whistler. The last decade has seen a growing interest in nineteenth century British art in this country, and also in the United States and on the Continent. During this time much has been published in the field and there has been a succession of important exhibitions. Even so, there is no up-to-date and comprehensive survey of the whole century on the market. Nineteenth Century British Painting fills the gap, meeting the need for such a book among undergraduate and graduate students, and among connoisseurs and collectors. It will also have a strong appeal for people with a general interest in the period.

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Sir John Soane (1753-1837) has come to be regarded as one of the great architects of late 18th and early 19th century Europe, and contemporary architects and designers are becoming increasingly influenced by the subtleties of the unique 'Soane style'. Dorothy Stroud's classic book, which is appearing in paperback for the first time, in an updated second edition, is the culmination of a lifetime's research. It brings together all the threads in her previous writings on Soane, combining a concise biography of the architect with a comprehensive and fully illustrated survey of his works. After studying in Italy, Soane built up a considerable private practice and a reputation that secured his appointment in 1788 as architect to the Bank of England, where over a period of forty-five years he designed a vast complex of courts and offices. With his appointment to the Office of Works in 1815, he became responsible for public buildings in Whitehall and Westminster, which entailed the designing of a Royal entrance and gallery in the House of Lords, new Law Courts, Privy Council Offices and a State Paper Office. As professor of architecture at the Royal Academy from 1806, he was to play a leading role in the improvement of architectural education in Britain; and he was active in the founding of what is now the Royal Institute of British Architects. Although much of his work was thoughtlessly destroyed towards the end of the 19th century, a substantial number of buildings and parts of buildings survive, especially outside London, as a testimony to his genius

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This anthology seeks to introduce women writers in the "global" Francophone world by investigating the place of feminist, postcolonial and cross-cultural theories in interpreting women francophone literature. The book also allows the reader to examine the extent to which women writers reflect or negate the conventional archetypes of Francophone literature, how they reinvent the political, cultural and critical discourse of their time and place, and create their own identity from objectification to subjectivity. The ambition of this anthology is to explore these themes at a time when globalization is redefining the concepts of language, identity, space and history, and transforming the rapport of each individual to the "other". While most research on the subject focus on specific countries or regions, this volume offers a new critical introduction to Francophone women authors from a broad geographical range in North and West Africa, the Near East, the Pacific, North America, the Caribbean Islands and Europe. Significantly, this study assembles a broad and representative collection of texts written by women authors that will generate a fruitful and critical reflection among students and scholars. The selected texts present critical issues that students and readers at large need to explore to further their knowledge of francophone literature and culture.

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As both an Olympic gold medalist and two-time world heavyweight champion, boxer Wladimir Klitschko stands apart from most athletes. But he also stands apart another way: in the attention he paid to his professional career outside the ring. Klitschko founded his own promotions and management groups during his fighting days, as well as an advanced certification program at a Swiss university to teach the basics of professional self-management. Challenge Management brings Klitschko’s insights to readers, revealing his methods and personal philosophies for tackling challenges in the arenas of business and finance. Challenge Management also provides readers with practical examples and personal anecdotes from a variety of sports managers, entrepreneurs, and friends of the author, including Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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This newly-edited collection of 72 essays provides a unique overview of Hermann Beckh's notable - and largely overlooked - writing career. Whether in the realm of theology, philosophy, the arts, astrology or esoterica, the articles gathered here, mostly previously unpublished in English, are rare signposts to a Christian initiation grounded in the Rosicrucian tradition and the path of St John's Gospel. Presented in chronological sequence over a 16 year period - from 1922 to 1938 - and supplemented with biographical notes and introductory material by Neil Franklin and Alan Stott, this volume provides firm ground for a fuller appreciation of Beckh's prolific output. --- Hermann Beckh, Ph.D., one of Europe's few authorities on Tibetan texts, became a founding member of The Christian Community and an inspiring teacher in the Stuttgart Seminary. Collected Articles is a powerful culmination to his Collected Works in English translation. This body of work is a major source of contemporary spiritual research, providing a vital accompaniment to the better-known contributions by Friedrich Rittelmeyer, Emil Bock and Rudolf Frieling, all of whom - not without some reverential awe - expressed their admiration for their esteemed colleague, 'the Professor'.

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In Berlin, science, architecture, and the city are interwoven in a unique way: what was originally a single palace in the historic centre gradually developed to become a comprehensive academic landscape, in which three large universities today shape the city. Taking multiple perspectives onboard, this architectural guide asks how the growth of Berlin as a metropolis has been linked to the development of science and how its various disciplines have been able to realise their demands for buildings to carry out research and teaching and to hold scientific collections. In five chapters, the authors guide readers through various locations in Mitte, Charlottenburg, Dahlem, Adlershof, and Buch and show how questions about the representation and functionality of buildings, their conversion, or even their relocation to the outskirts of the city were reconciled with the expansion of infrastructure and contemporary ideas about urban planning. The book's critical and detailed look at the architectures of science, the genesis of which it traces over more than two centuries, sheds new light on Berlin's university landscape. At the same time, it allows readers to rediscover the political and social zeitgeist in the buildings of science. In cooperation with Gabriele Metzler (concept) and Konrad Angermüller (design) and with additional contributions by Nils Exner and Sascha Morawe.

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The links between Napoleon and Italy are too often reduced to its dazzling campaigns of 1796 and 1800. This love story, consisting of moments of happiness, but also resentment, continued well beyond the Battle of Marengo. The story of Napoleon and Italy from 1805 to 1815 is primarily one of constant communication; there was not a single day without two, three or four letters by mail or telegraph, to Milan, Rome and Naples. This permanence in imperial thinking, illustrated the desire to make Italy a model state. Italy was seen as the little brother who should be nurtured with a stern hand, but also with a degree of tenderness. This posthumous work of Juan Carlos Camignani, one of the greatest French specialists of Napoleonic history, this time collaborating with Gilles Boue, historian of the great battles of the Empire, is a real tribute to the beauty of the Italy and the glory of the Emperor. Using more than three hundred rare images, the authors trace the history of Napoleonic Italy and Italian soldiers in the armies of Napoleon. THIS BOOK IS IN ENGLISH.

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Hermann Beckh's lectures on language - published here in English for the first time - offer a unique and penetrating discussion of the origins and evolution of speech. Based on his professional knowledge of Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pali - and complete fluency in at least six other ancient languages, not to count nine modern languages - and accompanied by a heartfelt understanding of anthroposophy, the lectures comprise an unparalleled marriage of academic and meditative insights. Further, they give a valuable introduction to the author's later works on music, the stars and the Gospels of Mark and John. The Source of Speech features Beckh's complete series of articles on the subject that were developed during the early, 'seeding' period of his life and work. These include: 'Rudolf Steiner and the East', an unprecedented study of Steiner's relationship to Sanskrit and Buddhist spirituality; 'Let There be Light', Beckh's exploration of the six Hebrew words forming Genesis 1:3; articles devoted to the origins of language, Indian philosophies and the names of the Divine in sacred texts; and essays published in Das Goetheanum which examine speech sounds, especially those of Sanskrit and Classical Hebrew. Also included are contemporaneous reviews of Beckh's articles by Albert Steffen and Eugen Kolisko and a lecture on academia, materialism and the undisciplined enthusiasm for Indian spirituality, held at the University of Berlin. Nearly one hundred years on, Beckh's perspectives and themes remain as exciting, relevant and fresh as ever.

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In the early part of the last century, Professor Hermann Beckh began a search to discover the truth about the Mystery wisdom of antiquity. As a recognized authority on Buddhist texts, he knew that complete knowledge of such Mysteries was not to be found within the limitations of waking consciousness, sense perception and logic. Beckh was already aware that Gautama Buddha had indicated the stages of higher knowledge. Furthermore, his studies of Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophical teachings revealed that such knowledge could be experienced directly, given disciplined meditation. Clairvoyant cognition included the conscious penetration of sleep consciousness, the dream state and an experience of pre-natal consciousness. Both the Mysteries and Rudolf Steiner’s major books, he concluded, were founded on the same perceptions. Beckh – a worldwide expert on Tibetan, Sanskrit, Pali and Avestan texts – quickly became disenchanted with Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophy, as it displayed little precise academic knowledge of primary records. At the same time, university departments showed scant trace of understanding the texts they analysed through philology and sociology. Thus, based on comprehensive studies and personal experience, he resolved to present his own perceptions and vision to the public. The results are to be found in this invaluable book, bringing together for the first time in English three groundbreaking publications: Our Origin in the Light (Genesis 1-9) (1924); Zarathustra (1927) and From the World of the Mysteries

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Hermann Beckh (1875-1937) was one of the co-founders of The Christian Community. A remarkable linguist and universal scholar, he mastered six European and six Oriental languages and published more than twenty works on the humanities, dealing with Christology, Cosmology and Musicology. Having first studied Law, he later channeled his extensive research of Hinduism and Buddhism into a renewal of sacramental Christianity. 'Without the Professor', wrote his colleague Rudolf Meyer, the beginnings of the new religious movement were 'unthinkable'. Gundhild Kacer-Bock - daughter of Beckh's priest-colleague and fellow author Emil Bock - creates a lively picture of a unique personality. Beginning with his birth in Nuremberg and education in Munich, she reviews Beckh's manifold studies and writings, his meeting with Rudolf Steiner in 1911, the founding of the Movement for Religious Renewal in Stuttgart in 1922, and the seminal Christmas Conference in Dornach in 1923. Having known Beckh personally, she builds on her own memories as well as Beckh's recorded memoirs, and utilizes newly-discovered letters and documents. This new edition contains Beckh's fairy-tale 'The Story of the Little Squirrel, the Moonlight Princess and the Little Rose' (with colour illustrations by Tatjana Schellhase), with additional appreciations of the author and an illustrative plate section. --- 'A University Professor, who had been a Judge and Orientalist, now became a priest with us. He actively took part in carrying the birth of the new ritual words; he was an expert in the mysteries of language... An abundance of books came into existence whose significance perhaps will only be properly appreciated in the future.' - Emil Bock (1959)

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For many of us, the term 'medieval philosophy' conjures up the figure of Thomas Aquinas, and is closely intertwined with religion. In this Very Short Introduction John Marenbon shows how medieval philosophy had a far broader reach than the thirteenth and fourteenth-century universities of Christian Europe, and is instead one of the most exciting and diversified periods in the history of thought. Introducing the coexisting strands of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish philosophy, Marenbon shows how these traditions all go back to the Platonic schools of late antiquity and explains the complex ways in which they are interlinked. Providing an overview of some of the main thinkers, such as Boethius, Abelard, al-Fârâbî, Avicenna, Maimonides, and Gersonides, and the topics, institutions and literary forms of medieval philosophy, he discusses in detail some of the key issues in medieval thought: universals; mind, body and mortality; foreknowledge and freedom; society and the best life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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The two contradicting genealogies of Jesus in the Gospels have long puzzled biblical scholars. Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research led him to the controversial theological conclusion that historically there existed two Jesus boys, born of two holy families. These two boys, he said, were necessary as part of the spiritual preparation of forming a suitable human body for the incarnation of Christ into the earthly realm. Both apocryphal texts and the writings of the Essenes - as discovered at Qumran by the Dead Sea - now appear to support this conception, with references to Messianic figures from both royal and priestly lines. Various authors have developed Rudolf Steiner's observations - first presented in the early twentieth century - although much of this literature has lacked the rigour of accurate and broad scholarship. The Two Jesus Boys is not simply a derivative rehash of these previous publications. Rather, it offers a fresh investigation of primary sources, coupled with an objective determination to allow the facts to speak for themselves. Christoph Rau thus comes to the unavoidable conclusion that Steiner's presentation of the chronology of the two births needs revision; furthermore, the most recent discoveries and interpretations of Essene scrolls reveal that the Jewish sect expected not one but three Messiahs. Rau quotes from and analyses numerous documents from the landscape of early Christianity and Judaism. His findings provide a secure foundation for the historical existence of two Jesus boys in the prelude to Christ's incarnation on earth, as well as a revelation of the Essenes' long expectation of three Messiahs.

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For almost two decades, Napoleon Bonaparte was the most feared, and revered, man in Europe. At the height of his power, the land under his control stretched from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, and encompassed most of Western Europe. The story of how a young Corsican, who spoke French with a strange accent, became Emperor of the French at the age of just thirty-three is a remarkable one. The many fascinating objects brought together in this book detail not only Napoleon's meteoric rise to power, but also his art of war and that magnificent fighting force, the Imperial Guard, which grew from a small personal bodyguard to the size of a small army. Some of his great battles, such as Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena and Wagram, are also explored, as is Napoleon's great Oriental adventure, which saw him conquer Egypt. He took with him artists and scientists, which led to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the deciphering of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Napoleon, however, took a step too far when he marched into Russia. The vast distances and the weather wrecked his army and he was never able to recover - and, eventually, his enemies proved too strong. France was invaded and he was compelled to abdicate. Napoleon was not finished, though, and he returned from exile to lead France into war one more time, only for his army to be beaten beyond all hope of recovery in the muddy Flanders fields at Waterloo. In this engaging and hugely informative book, the author takes us on a journey across Napoleonic Europe to discover the places, people and objects that tell the story of one man's life. It is a story of one of the most turbulent eras in history, one that, to this day, still bears Bonaparte's name. But his legacy lives on in the French legal and social systems and he remains as enigmatic a figure today as he did 200 years ago.

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The dramatic acceleration of digital technologies and their integration into physical products is transforming everyday objects. Our domestic appliances, furniture, clothing, are growing in intelligence. Smart objects are increasingly capable of interacting with humans in a purposeful manner with intentionality. This collection of essays, descriptions of empirical work, and design case studies brings together perspectives from interaction design, the humanities, science and technology studies, and engineering, to map, explore and interrogate ways in which our relationships with everyday smart objects might expand and be re-imagined. By offering a critical assessment on the growing place of smart technology in everyday environments, this book outlines a transdisciplinary research agenda for the future of ‘smartness’ to help define, envision, and inspire future collaborative design practices. These essays propose an understanding and design of smart objects that embrace their hybrid nature as shifting and blending tools, agents, machines, or even ‘creatures’. Authors argue that smart objects have the potential to enter into multiple kinds of relationships with humans, and form complex human-nonhuman ecologies that are both meaningful and empowering in the context of everyday life. This book also shines a light on the hidden infrastructures behind the functioning of smart objects with stirring debates tackling questions of technology, human values, and economic and ecological impact. Whether you are a design scholar, design practitioner or design activist this book will inspire through offering theoretical insights, design concepts and practical ways on how to engage in this research agenda for future smartness.

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In sixteenth-century Italy, Rome ranked second only to Venice as an important center for music book production. Throughout the century, printers in the Eternal City experimented more readily and more consistently with the materiality of the book than their Venetian counterparts, who, by standardizing their printing methods, came to dominate the international marketplace. The Romans' ingenuity and willingness to meet individual clients' needs resulted in music editions in a broader array of shapes and sizes, employing a wider range of printing techniques. They became "boutique" printers, eschewing the run-of-the-mill in favor of tailoring production to varied market demands. Accommodating the diverse requirements of their clientele, they supplied customized volumes, which Venetian presses either could not--or would not--produce. In Printing Music in Renaissance Rome, author Jane A. Bernstein offers a panoramic view of the cultures of music and the book in Rome from the beginning of printing in 1476 through the early seventeenth century. Emphasizing the exceptionalism of Roman music publishing, she highlights the innovative printing technologies and book forms devised by Roman bookmen. She also analyzes the Church's predominant influence on the book industry and, in turn, the Roman press's impact on such important composers as Palestrina, Marenzio, Victoria, and Cavalieri. Drawing on innovative publications, Bernstein reveals a synergistic relationship between music repertories and the materiality of the book. In particular, she focuses on the post-Tridentine period, when musical idioms, both new and old, challenged printers to employ alternative printing methods and modes of book presentation in the creation of their music editions. Of interest to musicologists, art historians, and book historians alike, this book builds on Bernstein's previous work as she continues to chart the course of music and the book in Renaissance Italy.

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