A new critical biography of Leon Trotsky, a strong leader of Soviets and one of the most important figures of twentieth-century Communism. This biography delves deep into Trotsky's life and relationships to reveal and understand his complex character and actions.
In this comprehensive global history, Alan Mayne explores the evolution and meaning of the 'slum', from its origins in London early in the nineteenth century to its use to describe favela communities in the lead up to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic games in 2016.
Kiff Bamford traces the circuitous journey of Jean-Francois Lyotard life and work, unravelling the thrust of Lyotard's main philosophical arguments, his struggle with thinking and his confrontation with the task of writing and thinking philosophy differently.
Though people generally do not think of them in such terms, crows are remarkably graceful: from the tip of a crow's beak to the end of its tail is a single curve, which changes rhythmically as the crow turns its head or bends toward the ground. This book presents a survey of crows, ravens, magpies and their relatives in myth, literature and life.
Sting: From Northern Skies to Fields of Gold is the first book to examine the relationship between Sting's working-class background in Newcastle, his subsequent life and the creativity and inspiration behind his music.
Empires and Anarchies: A History of Oil in the Middle East looks not only at the great discoveries but the transformation of peoples and societies, the empires and the anarchies it has engendered.
Magnificent and mysterious, Tibet has been a source of fascination for outsiders for centuries, and its grand landscapes and vibrant culture have especially captivated photographers. But the country is both geographically and politically challenging, and access from the outside has never been easy. With this book, Clare Harris offers the first historical survey of photography in Tibet and the Himalayas, telling the intriguing stories of both Tibetans and foreigners who have attempted to document the region's wonders on film. Harris combines extensive research in museums and archives with her own fieldwork in Tibetan communities to present materials that have never been examined before--including the earliest known photograph taken in Tibet, dating to 1863. She looks at the experimental camera-work of Tibetan monks--including the thirteenth Dalai Lama--and the creations of contemporary Tibetan photographers and artists. With every image she explores the complex religious, political, and cultural climate in which it was produced. Stunningly illustrated, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the dramatic history of Tibet since the mid-nineteenth century and its unique entanglements with aesthetics and modernity.
In this eye-catching, beautifully illustrated book, bestselling author Desmond Morris tells the compelling story of cats in art, from prehistory until the present day.
Peter Davidson's The Last of the Light is a meditation on twilight in the Western arts and imagination, in thought, painting and literature.
Orwell's Nose is John Sutherland's original and imaginative account of the life and work of George Orwell, exploring the 'scent narratives' that abound in Orwell's fiction and non-fiction. Orwell covered his tracks well; this illuminating and irreverent book provides a new understanding of one of our most iconic and influential writers.
This is a new history of gypsy music, from traditional performers such as Taraf de Haidouks and the Boban Markovic Orkestar, to more experimental groups such as Gogol Bordello. Covering the 13th century to the present, and from Romania to New York, Moscow and Andalusia, Gypsy Music reveals the remarkable diversity of this exuberant art form.
In Oysters: A Global History Carolyn Tillie delves into the culinary, artistic, sexual, historical, and scientific history of the humble bivalve.
Highly regarded woodpecker expert Gerard Gorman presents a unique natural, social and cultural history of woodpeckers.
Filled with beguiling images throughout, Lizard is a unique and sometimes surprising introduction to this popular but little-understood reptile. Boria Sax describes the diversity of lizard species and traces the representation of this reptile in cultures worldwide.
This comprehensive, highly illustrated new study examines Titian's long career and varied output. Tom Nichols argues that Titian's works were self-consciously original, freely and intentionally undermining the traditional, more modest approach to painting in Venice at that time.
The Space Within explores how interior space has been integral to the development of Modern architecture from the late 1800s to today, and how generations of architects have engaged with interior space and its experience in their design processes.
A Philosophy of Loneliness explores the different kinds of loneliness, the philosophy of emotions, why some people are lonelier than others, and the psychological and social characteristics that dispose people to loneliness.
This is an absorbing account of the life and work of one of Russia's most inventive and exuberant novelists and playwrights.
This is a natural and cultural history of the hippopotamus, the well-loved, cumbersome, rotund mammal famous for lounging around semi-submerged in muddy pools.
This monograph, the first full account of Eileen Agar's complete works, including paintings, collages, photographs and objects, comes at a time when there is a major revival of interest in surrealism in the UK and worldwide.
Forests--and the trees within them--have always been a central resource for the development of technology, culture, and the expansion of humans as a species. Examining and challenging our historical and modern attitudes toward wooded environments, this engaging book explores how our understanding of forests has transformed in recent years and how it fits in our continuing anxiety about our impact on the natural world. Drawing on the most recent work of historians, ecologist geographers, botanists, and forestry professionals, Charles Watkins reveals how established ideas about trees--such as the spread of continuous dense forests across the whole of Europe after the Ice Age--have been questioned and even overturned by archaeological and historical research. He shows how concern over woodland loss in Europe is not well founded--especially while tropical forests elsewhere continue to be cleared--and he unpicks the variety of values and meanings different societies have ascribed to the arboreal. Altogether, he provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of humankind's interaction with this abused but valuable resource.
Over the last twenty years museums have proliferated, attracting new audiences and assuming new prominence in public life. The Return of Curiosity offers a fresh perspective on museums and what they may now be good for.
Drawing extensively on Tchaikovsky's uncensored letters and diaries, this biography explores the composer's life in the artistic culture of nineteenth-century Russian society, revealing how he became a figure of international renown.
Almost three tons of concrete are produced each year for every person on the planet; only water is consumed more per head of population. Now used almost universally in modern construction, concrete polarizes opinion: provoking intense loathing and fervent passion in others. Concrete and Culture
A new critical biography of Joseph Beuys, arguably the most important and controversial German artist of the late twentieth century.
Thomas Hoerber illustrates how classical economic theory as well as a qualitative method in economics can enlighten our understanding of the present day economic environment.
People collect to connect with the past, personal and historic, to exercise some small and perfect degree of control over a carefully chosen portion of the world. The Grain of the Clay is Allen S. Weiss's engaging exploration of the meaning and practice of collecting through his relationship with Japanese ceramics.
Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is often thought of as an innovative genius who single-handedly pioneered a new, 'naturalistic' style of landscape design. Illustrated with over 120 images, this beautiful book shows that Brown's style, like the organization of his business, was the product of a distinctly modern world.
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