Book Description
This major reference work, first published in 1946, is a fully documented alphabetical listing of over 8,000 Scottish family and personal names and is an invaluable source of information for genealogists, historians and families interested in their Scottish ancestry.
Customer Reviews:
Another Genealogy Gem.......2000-10-25
George Fraser Black, Ph.D., compiled this listing of Scottish surnames from public and other records of Scotland throughout the centuries. An impressive and detailed bibliography lists his sources. The listing includes all the variations of spelling for each name, the date when it appeared and the location, and some insights or explanation, where appropriate. The 838 page volume includes a Glossary of Obsolete or Uncommon Scots Words. This is an invaluable reference for anyone interested in Scottish genealogy. It can quickly aid the person who is unsure whether his or her ancestry is Irish or Scottish. I highly recommend this book and am proud to have it in my library.
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The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning and Power
Carole Counihan
Manufacturer: Routledge
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Food and Culture: A Reader
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How We Eat: Appetite, Culture, and the Psychology of Food
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Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture
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Food in the USA
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The Cultural Politics of Food and Eating
ASIN: 0415921937 |
Book Description
The Anthropology of Food and Body explores the way that making, eating, and thinking about food reveal culturally determined gender-power relations in diverse societies. Carole M. Counihan takes a cross-cultural approach to ask compelling questions about eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, bodily changes in reproduction, and gender differences around food.
Using ethnographic data from her fieldwork in Europe and the U.S., the author addresses issues around food, culture and gender such as: What powers do women gain and lose through their control over food preparation and distribution? What do food images in children's fantasy stories tell us about their sense of self? How do beliefs about eating and intercourse in different cultures reflect and affect gender ideology? How does the objectification of the female body subordinate women, and how can women challenge it? And how do pregnancy and birth affect women's body image and empowerment? This book brings feminist and anthropological theories to bear on these provocative issues and will interest anyone investigating the relationship between food, the body, and cultural notions of gender.
Average customer rating:
- A Winchester Fan
- Gift from afar
- A Great Book and an Improvement Over His Prior on the OED,
- An Accessible History
- Made me want my own edition. I now am a proud possessor.
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The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
Simon Winchester
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Similar Items:
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The Professor and the Madman
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THE MAP THAT CHANGED WORLD
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The Social Life of Information
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Digital Copyright
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Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies
ASIN: 019517500X |
Book Description
From the best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa comes a truly wonderful celebration of the English language and of its unrivaled treasure house, the Oxford English Dictionary. Writing with marvelous brio, Winchester first serves up a lightning history of the English language--"so vast, so sprawling, so wonderfully unwieldy"--and pays homage to the great dictionary makers, from "the irredeemably famous" Samuel Johnson to the "short, pale, smug and boastful" schoolmaster from New Hartford, Noah Webster. He then turns his unmatched talent for story-telling to the making of this most venerable of dictionaries. In this fast-paced narrative, the reader will discover lively portraits of such key figures as the brilliant but tubercular first editor Herbert Coleridge (grandson of the poet), the colorful, boisterous Frederick Furnivall (who left the project in a shambles), and James Augustus Henry Murray, who spent a half-century bringing the project to fruition. Winchester lovingly describes the nuts-and-bolts of dictionary making--how unexpectedly tricky the dictionary entry for marzipan was, or how fraternity turned out so much longer and monkey so much more ancient than anticipated--and how bondmaid was left out completely, its slips found lurking under a pile of books long after the B-volume had gone to press. We visit the ugly corrugated iron structure that Murray grandly dubbed the Scriptorium--the Scrippy or the Shed, as locals called it--and meet some of the legion of volunteers, from Fitzedward Hall, a bitter hermit obsessively devoted to the OED, to W. C. Minor, whose story is one of dangerous madness, ineluctable sadness, and ultimate redemption. The Meaning of Everything is a scintillating account of the creation of the greatest monument ever erected to a living language. Simon Winchester's supple, vigorous prose illuminates this dauntingly ambitious project--a seventy-year odyssey to create the grandfather of all word-books, the world's unrivalled uber-dictionary.
Customer Reviews:
A Winchester Fan.......2007-02-08
Having read Winchester's "The Professor and the Madman", I was primed to read this further account of the development of the Oxford English Dictionary, and I was not disappointed. The book is filled with sidebars about eccentric intellectuals, academic machinations, publishing intrigues and royal dinners, all wonderfully entertaining. The description of the Scriptorium is very interesting. I can also heartily recommend anything else Winchester writes. His book on Krakatoa was also excellent.
This book belongs in any books about books collection.
Gift from afar.......2006-09-19
I received this book from a former student who remembered that I had once aspired to be "the human OED". She correctly thought I would enjoy a book that tells the story of another book-crazy person who actually followed through on such an aspiration. I recommend this to anyone who does not break out in hivesbut rather a big grin, when they hear the word "etymology." Cheers!
A Great Book and an Improvement Over His Prior on the OED,.......2006-07-22
This book describes the story of the original Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and is not to be confused with the small conventional Oxford dictionary found at a modern bookstore. The original OED is a series of volumes that gives many quotes for each and every word to show how the word is used. Starting with the letter "A" it took a remarkable 70 years to complete the final volume that included the letter "Z". It was started from first concept in 1857 and went on until it was completed with the final tenth volume in 1928. It is thought that a modern version would be 40 volumes long. There are similar German and Swedish dictionaries that have taken over 100 years to complete and the Swedish version has yet to be completed.
The present book was written in approximately 2003, and is a bit similar but a vast improvement over the earlier book "The Professor and The Madman" also written by Simon Winchester but published in 1998 - my opinion. So Winchester now has two books on the subject of the writing of Oxford English Dictionary. But this newer book is much better than the older book. The two books approach the OED with different emphasis.
The first book 'Professor and the Madman' is somewhat like the author getting into the saga of the OED and suddenly making a left turn up the winding and unpredictable path of the life of Dr. William Minor, a mental patient that helped work on the dictionary from his cell. The rest of the OED story falls by the wayside.
Here we return to the OED story and all of its colorful characters. The first book was written in approximately 1998. The span of time has given Simon Winchester the opportunity to present a better package of ideas and it all shows. The present book gives a very detailed and balanced description. He presents some information on the English language and more information on the earlier dictionaries. He continues the story right up to the current computerized dictionary. It is a lot better that the earlier book - that reads like a novel - but is limited in scope to mainly Dr. Minor and James Murray.
One of the prime movers of that book (the OED) was a Scotsman James Murray who started at the beginning in 1878. Prior to that date, nothing of practical value was done between 1857 and 1878. He was in essence the first editor (technically the third), and he edited the dictionary up to approximately the volume ending with the letter T - the degree of the progress of the dictionary at his death in 1915. The cast of characters also included Henry Bradley who became a co-editor, Frederick Furnivall an early and very disorganized editor before Murray, and other English luminaries such as Benjamin Jowett of Balliol College. Even Churchill, Queen Victoria, and J.R.R. Tolkien have small roles.
I bought both books by Winchester but in retrospect would have skipped the first book and just bought the newer book. The newer book has one chapter on Dr. Minor and Fitzedward Hall and other people that sent in quotations by mail - which for me is enough.
I would only give the book 4 stars. The reason is that at the end of the book ' which is short just over 250 pages, one has the feeling that large chunks of the story are missing and a proper OED story would be a 500 to 1000 page book. The book seems rushed and starts to skip things towards the end. This seems to be confirmed by the other book about Dr. Minor (the Madman) that by itself is also 250 pages.
An Accessible History.......2006-06-20
Lovers of history and interesting words will adore this book, and even the most casual reader will find it easy to read. I read The Meaning of Everything over the course of three days while on vacation, and although it isn't what I would call "beach reading" it was light and fun.
Winchester seems to have a good sense of when to move on to a new idea, which is part of what makes this so painless to read. There's no belaboring any points.
Also, there's an abundance of interesting side information in the book. For example, J.R.R. Tolkien was once a contributor to the OED, and Winchester discusses his contributions.
A must-have for the budding English major, certainly.
Made me want my own edition. I now am a proud possessor........2006-06-10
After reading this book, I have a great respect for the work that went into this magnificent undertaking, and the men who did it. The book reads like a novel, and I bought Winchester's other book The Madman and the Professor. But my grandest book is the Compact Edition of the Oxford Dictionary. It takes a certain type to like this story. It requires an inquiring mind.
Book Description
Labyrinths and mazes are found all over the world, and have been a source of intrigue and wonder throughout history. This richly illustrated and carefully documented standard work explores the manifold aspects of labyrinths - from their architectural, astrological, and mythological significance, to their iconographical, mathematical, amd artistic fascination, while also examining their socio-historical context.
Customer Reviews:
The Definative Primer on Labyrinths.......2005-07-25
The labyrinth is one of those symbols that have been found in almost every sacred tradition, from pre-historic to Grace Cathedral San Francsco. Unfortunately the richness of this symbol is not yet realized in the current rebirth of labyrinth popularity.
This book is the masterwork that shows the depth and diversity found in the tradition of the sacred path. LThe labyrinth story is told through many photographs of labyrinths from all cultures and belief systems. Especially fascinating are the classical Roman and Greek labyrinths, litte known great cathedral labyrinths, Hebraic labyrinths, Native American labyrinths, Hindi labyrinths.... I suppose you have the idea by now. The labyrith is a part of everyone's cultural and faith heritage. Find your's in this magnificent tome.
The Labyrinth Bible.......2003-12-21
This book is known by general consent as the "Labyrinth Bible" -the ultimate tool for the knowledge of the history and meaning of such a mysterious symbol.
Written by German lawyer and art historian Hermann Kern as a catalogue for a labyrinth exhibition hold at Milan, Italy, in 1981 this encyclopedic work covers the social and cultural world panorama from pre-history to modern times; the new English version is enriched with a new chapter by North-American expert Robert Ferré on modern labyrinth revival and with addenda written by British specialist Jeff Saward.
The cyclopic knowledge Hermann Kern shows in this complex, bewildering and paradoxical subject sounds sometimes ambivalent (like the symbol itself) but the book as a whole is a very good and important resource to understand the entangled complexity of this millenary symbol; with an almost thorough black-and-white catalogue (enriched with some magnificent colored photographs) of the most historical labyrinths known up to the 20th century; in addition to this the author approaches the several questions that baffle the labyrinth study like the origin of its conceptual idea or its symbolic meaning.
Historically the book is an impressive research from classical authors until recent geographical findings all over the world. However, his rationalistic approach misses the poetical (and potential) "Weltanschauung" needed to penetrate into the enlightened knowledge which transcends space, cultural concrete applications and time; besides this particular aspect this new version would deserve a better translation.
We, scholars, artists, researchers and enthusiasts are all indebted to Hermann Kern (as well as to Robert Ferré and Jeff Saward) for this (en)cyclopic work, which opened doors leading into the exciting field of further research.
The Labyrinth Bible.......2003-12-21
This book is known by general consent as the "Labyrinth Bible" -the ultimate tool for the knowledge of the history and meaning of such a mysterious symbol.
Written by German lawyer and art historian Hermann Kern as a catalogue for a labyrinth exhibition hold at Milan, Italy, in 1981 this encyclopedic work covers the social and cultural world panorama from pre-history to modern times; the new English version is enriched with a new chapter by North-American expert Robert Ferré on modern labyrinth revival and with addenda written by British specialist Jeff Saward.
The cyclopic knowledge Hermann Kern shows in this complex, bewildering and paradoxical subject sounds sometimes ambivalent (like the symbol itself) but the book as a whole is a very good and important resource to understand the entangled complexity of this millenary symbol; with an almost thorough black-and-white catalogue (enriched with some magnificent colored photographs) of the most historical labyrinths known up to the 20th century; in addition to this the author approaches the several questions that baffle the labyrinth study like the origin of its conceptual idea or its symbolic meaning.
Historically the book is an impressive research from classical authors until recent geographical findings all over the world. However, his rationalistic approach misses the poetical (and potential) Weltanschauung needed to penetrate into the enlightened knowledge which transcends space, cultural concrete applications and time; besides this particular aspect this new version would deserve a better translation.
We, scholars, artists, researchers and enthusiasts are all indebted to Hermann Kern (as well as to Robert Ferré and Jeff Saward) for this (en)cyclopic work, which opened doors leading into the exciting field of further research.
World's greatest labyrinth compendium.......2000-03-01
A museum curator, Hermann Kern spent six years researching labyrinths for an exhibition in Italy in 1980. He then expanded that information and assembled the most complete compendium of labyrinth information ever assembled, from history to the modern era. Published by Prestel, a company in Munich, Germany, that specializes in art books, this compendium was available only in German until the current English edition, which took three years to translate and update. New material has been added to cover discoveries and contemporary labyrinths of the last 20 years, making this the most complete presentation of labyrinth information anywhere. It contains hundreds of photos. Granted, Hermann Kern is quite opinionated and confident of his opinions. Nevertheless, any serious labyrinth enthusiast should own this book. I rate it four rather than five stars because, except for a color section in the beginning, all of the photos are in black and white.
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Gesture in Naples and Gesture in Classical Antiquity: A Translation of
Andrea De Jorio
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
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ASIN: 0253215064 |
Book Description
First published in Naples in 1832, Andrea de Jorio's work soon became famous for its descriptions and depictions of Neapolitan gestures, but it is only with the recent expansion of scholarly interest in gesture that its true importance has come to be recognized. It is the first book ever written to present an ethnographic study of gesture.
Book Description
For the Germans and Austrians, memorializing the Holocaust has required public recognition of their crimes; for the Jews, it has required public expression of their suffering. As James Young brilliantly demonstrates, each monument is charged with the often highly problematic struggle between collective memory and national self-image, self-interest, and the aspiration toward a future. Through the memorials and monuments, Young illuminates the process whereby the meaning of the Holocaust continues to be redefined in each new generation in Europe, Israel, and America. This richly illustrated book is a groundbreaking study of the fusion of Holocaust memory and public art in contemporary life.
Customer Reviews:
Memory as monuments.......2004-03-29
After having read this book for my historical anthropology class, I was completely taken by its broad-based approach to analyzing monuments and the histories they possess. To fully appreciate this book, the difference between 'history' and 'the past' must be understood. 'The past' is everything that has already happened. As soon as a second passes, the past has been constructed simulatenously the world over. History, on the other hand, is how people, cultures, governments, etc. choose to present sections of the past. History is a section of the past that is magnified and often made to represent the entire past despite its fragmented recounting. Young does an excellent job of showing how four different countries recall the same events (the holocaust, the Warsaw ghetto uprising, among others) with different and unique results, demonstrating how 'history' differs from 'the past'; each history is a different retelling of a country's perception of 'the past'. He analyzes these methods of remembrance through monuments and the outcome is an excellent analysis of how memory is constructed and interpreted and how personal experience shapes and influences one's perspective on the past, thus influencing their perception of history. The book is well written with many pictures and historical tidbits to place monuments in their proper context (although, after reading the book, you come to realize that monuments have no true proper context). I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the holocaust, theory of history, art history, or cultural studies. Excellent book.
Book Description
The Bayeux Tapestry is the world’s most famous textile–an exquisite 230-foot-long embroidered panorama depicting the events surrounding the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is also one of history’s most mysterious and compelling works of art. This haunting stitched account of the battle that redrew the map of medieval Europe has inspired dreams of theft, waves of nationalism, visions of limitless power, and esthetic rapture. In his fascinating new book, Yale professor R. Howard Bloch reveals the history, the hidden meaning, the deep beauty, and the enduring allure of this astonishing piece of cloth.
Bloch opens with a gripping account of the event that inspired the Tapestry: the swift, bloody Battle of Hastings, in which the Norman bastard William defeated the Anglo-Saxon king, Harold, and laid claim to England under his new title, William the Conqueror. But to truly understand the connection between battle and embroidery, one must retrace the web of international intrigue and scandal that climaxed at Hastings. Bloch demonstrates how, with astonishing intimacy and immediacy, the artisans who fashioned this work of textile art brought to life a moment that changed the course of British culture and history.
Every age has cherished the Tapestry for different reasons and read new meaning into its enigmatic words and images. French nationalists in the mid-nineteenth century, fired by Tapestry’s evocation of military glory, unearthed the lost French epic “The Song of Roland,” which Norman troops sang as they marched to victory in 1066. As the Nazis tightened their grip on Europe, Hitler
sent a team to France to study the Tapestry, decode its Nordic elements, and, at the end of the war, with Paris under siege, bring the precious cloth to Berlin. The richest horde of buried Anglo-Saxon treasure, the matchless beauty of Byzantine silk, Aesop’s strange fable “The Swallow and the Linseed,” the colony that Anglo-Saxon nobles founded in the Middle East following their defeat at Hastings–all are brilliantly woven into Bloch’s riveting narrative.
Seamlessly integrating Norman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, and Byzantine elements, the Bayeux Tapestry ranks with Chartres and the Tower of London as a crowning achievement of medieval Europe. And yet, more than a work of art, the Tapestry served as the suture that bound up the wounds of 1066.
Enhanced by a stunning full-color insert that includes reproductions of the complete Tapestry, A Needle in the Right Hand of God will stand with The Professor and the Madman and How the Irish Saved Civilization as a triumph of popular history.
Customer Reviews:
Context for the Bayeux Tapestry.......2007-04-12
Of all the great historical and artistic sites in the world, the Bayeux Tapestry is perhaps second on my list of places I would like to visit (Troy comes first). Actually not a "tapestry" (it is technically an embroidery) the Bayeux Tapestry, dating from the Eleventh century pictorially tells the story of William the Conqueror's invasion of England and victorious battle at Hastings. Exactly who sponsored its creation, designed it, and embroidered it remain mysteries, as does its ultimate purpose. Bloch's new book does not seek to supply sensational answers to these continuing controversies (as did, for example, Andrew Bridgeford's "1066: The Hidden History of the Bayeux Tapestry"), nor even to solve the perplexing mystery of the identity of the woman "Aelfgyva" who appears in the Tapestry. Instead, Bloch provides a fast-reading discussion of the historical and artistic context for understanding the Tapestry. He concludes that there are many Scandinavian/Norman elements incorporated into the the design (and Scandinavian textiles are the most closely related art works known), but that Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts appear to supply the models for the style of illustration. And the author traces back important design elements to Byzantine silk weavings.
Bloch contends that the Tapestry was consciously created as a way to bring together the Anglo-Saxon and Norman peoples on both sides of the English Channel (although it seems to me that this view is suspiciously congruent with modern notions of multiculturism rather than Eleventh century realities). Regardless whether one accepts or rejects this viewpoint, the book's narrative provides an informative examination of the Norman and Anglo-Saxon worlds which gave birth to this unique artistic treasure.
Impressive! .......2007-04-03
Dr Bloch explains the tale of the Tapestry in a very clear and appealing manner. In particular, he describes the sequence of events depicted by the Tapestry itself as well as the political environment of early 11th century Europe that led to the pivotal Battle of Hastings. His insights are cogent and sound. I highly recommend this brief but thorough work.
Unusual insights, engaging writing.......2007-01-11
It's said that the Devil can quote Scripture to prove his own point - and something like that has been tried with the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman Conquest of England. The French claim it as French. The English have claimed it as Anglo-Saxon. During World War II, Hitler tried to use it as a kind of Book of Genesis for the Third Reich. William the Conqueror, 7th Duke of Normandy, was the descendant of Vikings. ("Norman" derives from the Latin for "Northmen.") The Scandinavian connection appealed to Hitler's racial, mythic notions. Among the Tapestry's 11th century images of conquering warriors, he sought ancient origins for his supposed Germanic super-race.
In fact, maintains R. Howard Bloch, these competing claims are only possible because the Tapestry itself hardly takes sides between the conquered Anglo-Saxons and the conquering Normans, and seeks to reconcile those whom it portrays. Its point of view is neither clearly Norman nor Anglo-Saxon. Without dwelling on fixing blame, it shows both armies fighting bravely. ("French and English fall together," it says of the battle at Hastings.) All may go on to become King William's peaceful subjects. Bloch finds in the Tapestry's well-recognized ambiguities an intention by its designer to tell the story without maligning either Normans or Anglo-Saxons.
Sterling Professor of French and the Director of the Humanities Division at Yale, as well as author of several books about the Middle Ages, Bloch brings an unusual array of qualifications to this subject. His mother, formally trained as a textile engineer, was a craftswoman who covered the walls of their home with creative needlework; his father an expert in the manufacture of finished cloth. In considering the Tapestry, its purposes and the influences it reflects, especially those found in other woven, painted or embroidered fabrics, Bloch speaks the language of textiles as one born to it.
He points out from the beginning, as all writers on the Bayeux Tapestry must, that it isn't strictly a tapestry at all, but an embroidery, on a long (about 230 feet) linen strip; and that we have no other record like it. Despite the crude medieval drawing, the Tapestry vividly brings alive the sweep of events. The most photorealistic horses, for example, could not pulse with more vitality, or fall in battle more convincingly, than they do in these images. In the Tapestry's unfolding story, we see the Anglo-Saxon Harold Godwineson swear his oath of loyalty to Duke William. It doesn't tell us whether he had a choice, or was tricked. Is King Edward the Confessor of England, on his deathbed, revoking his promise of the crown to his kinsman, Duke William of Normandy? Promising it to Harold? There sits Harold in majesty, crowned -- if it was with indecent haste, the Tapestry doesn't say so -- the day after Edward's death. Duke William "is told of Harold," the Tapestry tells us neutrally, and he prepares to invade. There is the mysterious woman, Aelfgyva. With generations of scholars we wonder who she is, and why she is here. Is that cleric merely touching her head, or slapping her so that she'll never forget something she's witnessing? The images quicken their pace, reaching the bloody clash at Hastings and the Norman victory. Something is missing at the end of the Tapestry; perhaps the lost portion showed King William in majesty, matching the earlier crowned and enthroned Harold.
Professor Bloch understands the Tapestry with an appreciation of what may be called the southern angle: that the Normans who had campaigned in or been to the Italian peninsula, Sicily, the Holy Land, Constantinople, brought back with them both novel combat tactics and a network of cultural threads that linked their northern homeland with Byzantium and with the whole Mediterranean world. He points out not only the famly Scandinavian links of style and motif with the Tapestry, but those found in sumptuous Byzantine silks, proposing lights for what have been obscure corners of Tapestry interpretation. In so doing, he gives greater attention to the enigmatic borders of the Tapestry -- those often-cryptic passages above and below the main narrative -- than do some other commentators.
He argues that the Tapestry deliberately leaves crucial questions unanswered. It means to withhold one-sided judgments. The Tapestry does NOT tell us whether Harold swore fealty to William willingly, or whether he knew he was holding his hands outstretched over sacred relics, making the oath a much more serious matter. It leaves unstated, not alone what King Edward intended at the last, but what it was in his power to do. Though the evidence suggests that English hands made the Tapestry, it is NOT clear whose voice, so to speak, tells the story. The Tapestry, Bloch maintains, is not a work of partisan propaganda. King William, he says, wanted Anglo-Saxons and Normans reconciled under his unifying rule -- and wanted the wider world to acquiesce in his dreams of even wider empire. Without knowing for sure when or where the Tapestry was made, or by whom ordered, or where it was designed to be displayed, Bloch says, we can find all this on its face. It's an argument that anyone interested in the Norman Conquest, the events surrounding it and those that flowed from it, should want to consider; and it is engagingly written. I couldn't put it down. Its story is, of course, still relevant -- to, among much else, the fact that Prince William of England will someday be King William V because he'll be counting from King William I, the Conqueror.
Book Description
n March 24, 1944, Nazi occupation forces in Rome killed 335 unarmed civilians in retaliation for a partisan attack the day before. Alessandro Portelli has crafted an eloquent, multi-voiced oral history of the massacre, of its background and its aftermath. The moving stories of the victims, the women and children who survived and carried on, the partisans who fought the Nazis, and the common people who lived through the tragedies of the war together paint a many-hued portrait of one of the world's most richly historical cities. The Order Has Been Carried Out powerfully relates the struggles for freedom under fascism and Nazism, the battles for memory in postwar democracy, and the meanings of death and grief in modern society.
Customer Reviews:
innovative research.......2006-02-01
This path-breaking book written by a well know oral historian shows again the masterly skills of the italian historian Portelli. The book is an essay in oral history and a piece on how societies deal with a traumatized past. In a sense it is a book on the creation of historical consciousness that is constructed by the individual and by collective agencies. I recommend it to all interested in (social) memory, narratives of the past, and the cultural transformation of memory. Besides its academic skill the book is also well written and reads like a novel. The voices of survivors and witnesses become audible.
Selma Leydesdorff
professor of oral history and culture
University of Amsterdam
editor of Memory and Narratives
A Masterpiece of Scholarship, a Masterpiece of Literature.......2004-02-11
This oral history, justly awarded Italy's prestigious Premio Viareggio, is one of the finest books ever written on this subject. Whoever desires something more than a skin-deep understanding of contemporary Rome, should read Professor Portelli's landmark study of the impact of the Ardeatine Caves massacre on three generations of Romans of every social class and consequently on the very character of the Eternal City.
Average customer rating:
- With an especial emphasis on his artistic style
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Picasso: Style and Meaning
Elizabeth Cowling
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0714829501 |
Book Description
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is notorious for various forms of excess -excess in his love life, an excessive output, an excessively inconsistent style. In this groundbreaking book Elizabeth Cowling draws on her exceptional knowledge as an authority on Picasso to argue that he came to equate stylistic consistency with sterility. Abandoning the traditional use of subject matter to achieve variety and meaning, Picasso gradually reduced his to a handful of standardized motifs, and used a vast array of different styles as the principal means of communicating ideas and feelings. In short, style is meaning in Picasso's art; his notoriously mercurial nature found expression in stylistic variety and experimentation.With rare intelligence and clarity, the author has woven biography and analysis into a compelling narrative. The 600 illustrations include all of Picasso's major works up to the beginning of World War II, and these are juxtaposed with their sources - Old Masters, contemporary artists, found objects, and Picasso's own drawings and sketches - to make a visually telling counterpoint to the arguments of the text. Scholars familiar with Picasso's work will find Cowling's fresh insights a revelation and readers new to Picasso will come away with a profound understanding of both Picasso and his art.
Customer Reviews:
With an especial emphasis on his artistic style.......2004-05-05
In Picasso: Style And Meaning, author Elizabeth Cowling (lecturer in Art History at the University of Edinburgh and curator of the "Picasso: Sculptor/Painter" exhibition held at the Tate Gallery, London, in 1994) brings her considerable expertise to a major, 704-page, illustrated (507 color, 119 b&w), in-depth examination and history of the work of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) with an especial emphasis on his artistic style. Picasso: Style And Meaning combines biography with analysis into a comprehensive and seminal work that will be of interest and benefit to scholars and enthusiasts of Picasso's seminal and ground breaking artwork for generations yet to come. No personal, professional, or academic Art History collection can be considered neither comprehensive nor complete without the seminal inclusion of Elizabeth Cowling's Picasso: Style And Meaning.
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