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Although present-day Ukraine has only been in existence for something over two decades, its recorded history reaches much further back for more than a thousand years to Kyivan Rus'. Over that time, it has usually been under control of invaders like the Turks and Tatars, or neighbors like Russia and Poland, and indeed it was part of the Soviet Union until it gained its independence in 1991. Today it is drawn between its huge neighbor to the east and the European Union, and is still struggling to choose its own path although it remains uncertain of which way to turn. Nonetheless, as one of the largest European states, with considerable economic potential, it is not a place that can be readily overlooked.The problem is, or at least was, where to find information on this huge modern Ukraine, and since 2005 the answer has been the Historical Dictionary of Ukraine in its first edition, and now even more so with this second edition. It now boasts a dictionary section of about 725 entries, these covering the thousand years of history but particularly the recent past, and focusing on significant persons, places and events, political parties and institutions as well as more broadly international relations, the economy, society and culture. The chronology permits readers to follow this history and the introduction is there to make sense of it. It also features the most extensive and up-to-date bibliography of English-language writing on Ukraine.

Although it lies far back, running roughly from about 1600 to 1750, the Baroque period is far from forgotten and Baroque music is played widely today as well, exercising numerous musicians and attracting rather substantial audiences. It experienced the emergence of a new sort of music, increasingly secular and increasingly good listening, if you will, and also the start of opera. Some of the Baroque composers appear among the most popular of all time, such as Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. So yes, this is a book for researchers, but it is also a good book for anyone who enjoys this music.The Historical Dictionary of Baroque Music certainly fills a significant space in the whole sub-series on music, since it tells us much more not only about the music but also the age that generated it. This is done particularly well in an insightful introduction, with the flow of events traced by the chronology. The dictionary section fills in the missing details with over 400 entries on the most important composers and musicians, some of the musical works themselves, important places and institutions, and a smattering of technical terms. The bibliography directs us to further reading.

Though drug use was widespread in the nineteenth century, the negative influence of narcotics was mostly unknown. Cinema of the early twentieth century was instrumental in making viewers aware of the harmful effects of drugs. Throughout the decades, images of drugs such as marijuana, LSD, and heroin in films impactedboth negatively and positivelythe national perception of their use. In fact, the use, popularity, and opinion of certain drugs often follow their status on the big screen. In Hooked in Film, John Markert takes a close look at the correlation between social policies and the public view of drugs and their portrayals in film. In this volume, Markert examines the changing social attitudes toward illegal drugs and their cinematic depictions from as early as the 1894 film Chinese Opium Den to the present. The first section of this book focuses on the demonization of drugs between 1900 and 1959, followed by an assessment of marijuana on the big screen after 1960, when the drug was shown as part of everyday life with no serious consequences. Post-1960 depictions of heroin use, which have remained consistently negative, are also analyzed. Markert then takes a close look at the portrayals of powdered cocaine after the 1960s and the emergence of crack in the mid-1980s. Finally, Markert discusses hallucinogens, Ecstasy, and methamphetamines and their roles on the big screen. Tracking hundreds of films spanning more than a century, Hooked in Film looks at camp classics like Reefer Madness, comedies such as Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke, Dazed and Confused, and Pineapple Express, and dramas, including Panic in Needle Park and Requiem for a Dream. Scholars and students of cinema, popular culture, media studies, and sociology will find this book a valuable examination of how cinematic portrayals of drugs have changed over time, and how those images have influenced public perception of drugs and even public policy.

Vladimir de Pachmann was perhaps history's most notorious pianist. Widely regarded as the greatest player of Chopin's works, Pachmann embedded comedic elementsbe it fiddling with his piano bench or flirting with the audiencewithin his classic piano recitals to alleviate his own anxiety over performing. But this wunderkind, whose admirers included Franz Liszt and music critic James Gibbons Huneker (who cheekily nicknamed Pachmann the ';Chopinzee'), would by the turn of the century find his antics on the concert stage scorned by critics and out of fashion with listeners, burying his pianistic legacy.In Chopin's Prophet: The Life of Pianist Vladimir de Pachmann, the first biography ever of this remarkable figure, Edward Blickstein and Gregor Benko explore the private and public lives of this master pianist, surveying his achievements within the context of contemporary critical opinion and preserving his legacy as one of the last great Romantic pianists of his time. Chopin's Prophet paints a colorful portrait of classical piano performance and celebrity at the turn of the 20th century while also documenting Pachmann's attraction to men, which ultimately ended his marriage but was overlooked by his audiences. As the authors illustrate, Pachmann lived in a radically different world of music making, one in which eccentric personality and behavior fit into a much more flexible, and sometimes mysterious, musical community, one where standards were set not by certified experts with degrees but by the musicians themselves. Detailing the evolution of concert piano playing style from the era of Chopin until World War I, Chopin's Prophet tells the fantastic and true story of an artist of and after his time.

Literary fashions come and go, but some hang around longer than others, like Gothic literature which has existed ever since The Castle of Otranto in 1764. During this long while, it has spread from England, to the rest of Great Britain, and across to the continent, and off to America and Australia, filling in the gaps more recently. Most of it is in English, but hardly all, and it has adopted all styles, from romanticism, to modernism, to postmodernism and even adjusted to feminist and queer literature, and science fiction. We have all, read some Gothic tales or if not read then seen them in the cinema, since they adapt well to film treatment, and it would be hard to find anyone who has not heard of ghosts and vampires, let alone Count Dracula and Frankenstein. On the other hand, some of us are inveterate Gothic fans, reading one book or story after the other.The Historical Dictionary of Gothic Literature follows this long and winding path, first in an extensive chronology and then a useful introduction which explains the nature of Gothic and shows how it has evolved. Obviously, the dictionary section has entries on major writers, and some of the best-known works, but also on geographical variants like Irish, Scottish or Russian Gothic and Female Gothic, Queer Gothic and Science Fiction. This is provided in over 200 often substantial and always intriguing entries. More can be found in a detailed bibliography, including general works but also more specialized ones on different styles and genres, and also specific authors. This book should certainly interest the fans but also more serious researchers.

Matters of privacy have profoundly changed since electronic storage of information has become the norm. Consequently, policy-makers and legislators are trying to keep up with privacy challenges in the workplace, in healthcare, in surveillance, and on social networking sites. With Privacy: Defending an Illusion, Martin Dowding fills a very important gap in policy analysis and the teaching of privacy issues at the senior undergraduate and early graduate student level.In the first section of this book, Dowding recounts historical interpretations of privacy in a wide variety of socio-cultural circumstances. In the second section, the author addresses how information and communication technologies have changed our conceptions about privacy and redirected our focus from keeping information private to sharing it with many more people than we would have even a few years ago. Dowding also examines a variety of possible options for the future of privacy. The appendixes include seminal readings on relevant topics that should encourage debates about the nature of privacy and its problems. Overall, this book provides a solid background for defining and understanding privacy in a wide variety of contexts.

Since her first book, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, was published in 1978, Robin McKinley has enchanted young adult readers for more than thirty years. This study is the first in-depth analysis of McKinleys works, including her award-winning books The Blue Sword (Newbery Honor, 1983) and The Hero and the Crown (Newberry Medal, 1985). In Robin McKinley: Girl Reader, Woman Writer, Evelyn Perry examines McKinleys novels and short stories as grouped into three categories: those set in Damar, which introduce and develop the rich geographic, social, political, and linguistic history of McKinleys secondary world; the retellings of folk and fairy tales, which reveal not only McKinleys encyclopedic knowledge of source stories but her respectful and highly literate approach to their contemporary adaptation; and her other works, less easily categorized but generally most recent, written for more mature readers, and featuring a diverse set of influences from vampires to homeopathy. Perry also explores the feminist articulation of character and social settings that are dominant themes running through McKinleys works.Anyone interested in Robin McKinley and her work, including secondary and post-secondary students, faculty, and librarians, will find Robin McKinley: Girl Reader, Woman Writer a valuable resource.

Whether two teachers are covering the same topic in separate classes, or designing a thematic unit with the school librarian, this handy guide to nearly 800 award-winning historical fiction for Kindergarten through 8th grade will assist all parties in the selection of high quality literature.

Now in paperback. This innovative survey of large choral-orchestral works written between 1900 and 1972 and containing some English text examines eighty-nine works, from Elgar's Dream of Gerontius to Bernstein's Mass. For each work, the author provides a biography of the composer, complete instrumentation, text sources, editions, availability of performing materials, performance issues, discography, and bibliographies of the composer and the work. Based upon direct score study, each work has been evaluated in terms of potential performance problems, rehearsal issues, and level of difficulty for both choir and orchestra. When present, solo roles are described. The forty-nine composers represented include Samuel Barber, Arthur Bliss, Benjamin Britten, Henry Cowell, Frederick Delius, R. Nathaniel Dett, Gerald Finzi, Howard Hanson, Roy Harris, Paul Hindemith, Ulysses Kay, Constant Lambert, Peter Mennin, Gunther Schuller, William Schumann, Michael Tippett, Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Walton, and Healey Willan. Written as a field guide for conductors and anyone else involved in programming concerts for choir and orchestra, this text should prove a useful source of new repertoire ideas and an invaluable aid to rehearsal preparation. Cloth edition first published in 1994.

Covers approximately 250 sales of Old Masters since 1980, with an average of five listings from each sale. There are 2,700 signature examples of 1,700 artists. Three sections following the main body of this volume offer the researcher easy cross-referencing-monograms and initials, symbols, and alternate names. The appendix includes supplemental signature information on additional artists whose actual signatures were not available, but whose importance could not be omitted.

"An excellent historical resource on the American birth control movement." -POPULATION TODAY

In this book, nine librarians from across the country describe their libraries' best practices in this key area. Their contributions range from all-encompassing customer service policies and models any library can both adapt and be proud of to micro-approaches that emphasize offering excellent user-focused technology planning, picture book arrangement with patrons in mind, Web 2.0 tools to connect users with the library, establishing good service delivery chains, and making your library fantastic for homeschoolers.

Over the past several decades, mainstream films have gradually featured queer content and characters. Depicted covertly at first, these characterizations have become much more prominent in recent years, most notably in such films as Philadelphia, Boys Don't Cry, and Brokeback Mountain. In Queer Males in Contemporary Cinema: Becoming Visible, Kylo-Patrick R. Hart explores both latent and manifest representations of queer males in noteworthy cinema from the mid-20th to the early 21st century. Hart examines films pertaining to bisexual, gay, and transgender men, as well as transsexuals, transvestites, queer people with HIV/AIDS, queer teens, and others. Throughout, this book continually reminds readers that both mainstream and independent films communicate, reinforce, and perpetuate culturally pervasive notions of ';normalcy,' ';deviance,' and ';social otherness,' in ways that frequently have realand sometimes detrimentaleffects on actual people. Covering a range of films, including From Here to Eternity, The Boys in the Band, Saturday Night Fever, Cruising, Point Break, The Doom Generation, Boys Don't Cry, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Kinsey, Brokeback Mountain, Transamerica, and Shortbus, this book shows not only how much has changed since the mid-20th century, but also how much has remained the same. Queer Males in Contemporary Cinema provides perceptive insights for students and academics interested in film history, cultural studies, gender studies, media studies, popular culture, and LGBTQ studies.

Connecting the massive landscapes of North and South America is Mexico and Central America. An area of fascination and study for geographers and other scholars from around the world, these lands and peoples have played important roles in the discoveries and distributions of civilizations, resources, and nations for millennia. These regions have stimulated a large mass of research and publications across the many sub-disciplines of geography. The Geography of Central America and Mexico: A Scholarly Guide and Bibliography by Thomas A. Rumney collects, organizes, and presents as many of these scholarly publications as possible to help and encourage efforts in the teaching, study, and continuing scholarship of the geography of this area, which covers Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, as well as the region as a whole.Beginning with the region as a whole, each chapter that follows, one per nation, is divided by specific sub-disciplines of geography: cultural geography, social geography, economic geography, historical geography, physical and environmental geography, political geography, and urban geography. Each section is then further divided into by document type: atlases, books, book chapters, articles from scholarly journals, master's theses, and doctoral dissertations. Although the majority of entries recorded focus on English-language works, selected entries written in Spanish, as well as French, German, and other languages are also included (with these entries' titles then translated into English and noted accordingly).

Environmental Science: Principles and Practices provides the scientific principles, concepts, applications, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and manmade, evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and examine alternative solutions (such as renewable energy sources) for resolving and even preventing them. Frank R. Spellman and Melissa Stoudt introduce the science of the environmental mediums of air, water, soil, and biota to undergraduate students.Interdisciplinary by nature, environmental science embraces a wide array of topics. Environmental Science: Principles and Practices brings these topics together under several major themes, includingHow energy conversions underlie all ecological processesHow the earth's environment functions as an integrated systemHow human activities alter natural systemsHow the role of culture, social, and economic factors is vital to the development of solutionsHow human survival depends on practical ideas of stewardship and sustainabilityEnvironmental Science: Principles and Practices is an ideal resource for students of science in the classroom and at home, in the library and the lab.

Beginning with the era of synchronized sound in the 1920s, music has been an integral part of motion pictures. Whether used to heighten the tension of a scene or evoke a subtle emotional response, scores have played a significantif often unrealizedrole in the viewer's enjoyment.In The Invisible Art of Film Music, Laurence MacDonald provides a comprehensive introduction for the general student, film historian, and aspiring cinematographer. Arranged chronologically from the silent era to the present day, this volume provides insight into the evolution of music in cinema and analyzes the vital contributions of scores to hundreds of films. MacDonald reviews key developments in film music and discusses many of the most important and influential scores of the last nine decades, including those from Modern Times, Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, Laura, A Streetcar Named Desire, Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfather, Jaws, Ragtime, The Mission, Titanic, Gladiator, The Lord of the Rings, Brokeback Mountain, and Slumdog Millionaire. MacDonald also provides biographical sketches of such great composers as Max Steiner, Alfred Newman, Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Maurice Jarre, John Barry, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Dave Grusin, Ennio Morricone, Randy Newman, Hans Zimmer, and Danny Elfman.Updated and expanded to include scores produced well into the twenty-first century, this new edition of The Invisible Art of Film Music will appeal not only to scholars of cinema and musicologists but also any fan of film scores.

Andre Kostelanetz On Records and On the Air is a comprehensive discography of the commercial recordings of the Russian/American conductor and radio personality, Andre Kostelanetz. James H. North has collected all his recordings, spanning the range from popular to classical. Organized chronologically by album, North provides the complete details of each recording: composer, song title, timing, date and site of the recording session, producer of that session, and matrix numbers, as well as every American issue of each recording. Several appendixes organize the information alphabetically by composer, song title, and album title, giving references back to the discography by date of recording. Available downloads from the Internet are included in the song title appendix. Two further appendixes deal with Compact Disc issues and with V-Discs, the records created by the United States Army and Navy for worldwide distribution to members of the Armed Forces during World War II.Initially a request from the Andre Kostelanetz Estate, who has generously supported this work, the discography grew to include a complete coverage of Kostelanetzs appearances on the radio, from the 1920s through 1980 (plus a few on television), as North discovered that Kostelanetzs radio career was as important as his records to music in America. More than 1,000 broadcasts are covered, including both his radio shows and his concert broadcasts with symphony orchestras, and the contents of each program are listed where known. An important extra in the book is a survey of Kostelanetzs career and an evaluation of his achievements, contributed by noted radio historian Dick OConnor. A foreword by the Archivist and Historian of the New York Philharmonic, Barbara Haws, completes this reference tool, which will be invaluable to the millions of fans who welcome the opportunity to peruse the details of one of the most beloved figures in music.

In 1951, the American Library Association (ALA) Council approved new standards for accrediting library education programs. These standards shifted accreditation from the bachelors degree to the masters degree, making the masters degree in library science the professional credential for entry into the profession. At the time, librarians believed this change would transform the practice of librarianship, the nature of library education, and the social standing of librarianship as an occupation.In The MLS Project: An Assessment after Sixty Years, Boyd Keith Swigger examines the reasons the American Library Association enacted the change and looks at the consequences of this decision. Reviewing the last several decades, Swigger addresses a number of concerns: What were librarians and library educators arguments for changing the system of library education? What problems were they trying to solve? What were their objectives? Did the change in the structure of library education solve the problems perceived in the late 1940s? Have the objectives set then been accomplished in the half century since? What have been the intended and unintended outcomes of the change?In his review, Swigger draws general conclusions about the MLS Project, the perception of librarianship, libraries, the developments of curriculums in library schools, and how librarianship compares to the new information professions. The MLS Project is an informative and critical evaluation that every librarian should read.

Unlike traditional music, film music sources are often difficult to locate and do not follow the patterns that researchers are trained to identify. Although there have been several self-described introductions to the field and articles that summarize the problems and state of research, there is no resource that gathers together all of the basic information that is vital to film music research. In this volume, Jeannie Gayle Pool and H. Stephen Wright address the difficulties scholars encounter when conducting research on film and television music.Intended as a guide for scholars and researchers in navigating the complex world of film and television music, this book provides a detailed taxonomy of film music primary sources and explains how to find and interpret them. The authors tackle the problems of determining film score authorship and working with recordings of film music. A bibliographic essay summarizes the major works and trends in film music research and provides clear pointers to the most important resources in the field. An up-to-date guide to important collections of film music sources and other research materials is also included. Designed to clarify the nature of film music source materials and how they are generated, A Research Guide to Film and Television Music in the United States provides clear signposts for scholars and identifies opportunities for further research.

Bioethics, Law, and Human Life Issues: A Catholic Perspective on Marriage, Family, Contraception, Abortion, Reproductive Technology, and Death and Dying draws on the Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church to outline a Catholic response to a host of controversial issues related to human life. Scarnecchia lays out a Catholic moral theology based on the writings of Pope John Paul II and Thomas Aquinas, and he then applies those Christian moral principles to today's most contentious ethical issues, including reproductive technology, embryo adoption, contraception, abortion, family and same-sex marriage, and euthanasia and assisted suicide. This review of Catholic moral principles brings together an in-depth consideration of the central human life issues of our day with abundant reference to the Church's social teaching and to contrasting positions of today's leading ethicists.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Sheldon Cheney was the American theatre's zealous missionary for modernism. In 1916, Cheney founded Theatre Arts Magazine in Detroit with the intent to foster and support a 'renaissance' in America. Through this publication, Cheney gave voice to scores of 'little theatres'_groups around the country with artistic aspirations and local commitment that would become the models for the American regional theatre movement later in the century. In the first five years of Theatre Arts Magazine are the keys to understanding the progressive movement for a modern American theatre: the tension between commercial and non-commercial theatre, the yearning for more than realistic scenery, and the call for an 'authentic' American voice in playwriting. Publishing articles, photographs, and drawings by modernist stage designers, Cheney helped popularize the New Stagecraft and elevated the identity of the American scenic designer from a craftsperson to an artist. As progressives around the country read Theatre Arts Magazine, Cheney's assessment of the sins of American commercial theatre and the plan for its salvation eventually became the convictions of a generation. Sheldon Cheney's Theatre Arts Magazine: Promoting a Modern American Theatre, 1916-1921 enriches understanding of a critical period in American history and illuminates major issues of 20th century theatre and drama. Author DeAnna Toten Beard gives a brief history of the magazine, biographical information about Cheney, and an explanation of his philosophy of modernist theatre. Each chapter of the book considers a different topic relevant to Cheney's magazine, and selected articles are enhanced by full notations. This collection will help readers understand the dynamic nature of the discourse on modernism in America in the World War I era and, by extension, may even encourage fresh considerations about our contemporary stage.

Journalism is the discipline of gathering, writing, and reporting news, and it includes the process of editing and presenting news articles. Journalism applies to various media, including but not limited to newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the internet. The word 'journalist' started to become common in the early 18th century to designate a new kind of writer, about a century before 'journalism' made its appearance to describe what those writers produced. Though varying in form from one age and society to another, it gradually distinguished itself from other forms of writing through its focus on the present, its eye-witness perspective, and its reliance on everyday language. The A to Z of Journalism relates how journalism has evolved over the centuries. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on the different styles of journalism, the different types of media, and important writers and editors.

American organist David Craighead's influence in the United States and abroad is widespread and extensive: 37 years as professor of organ at the Eastman School of Music, 48 years as church organist at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Rochester, New York, and 64 years performing in over 275 cities as a concert organist. His name has become synonymous with excellence in organ pedagogy and performance in the 20th century. In David Craighead: Portrait of an American Organist, Tandy Reussner presents the full story of the artist's life, told with quotes and anecdotes from Craighead himself as well as from his fellow colleagues and former students. Reussner references historical events in the framework of Craighead's life, from changes in pipe organ construction to the riots of the 1960s, to provide the full context of a musician in 20th-century America. The book also contains facsimiles of musical examples, personal memorabilia, letters, and recital programs. Additional reference information includes a complete listing of his recitals from 1942 to 1998, a comprehensive list of his repertoire, a full discography, and a unique compilation of photos.

In Radical Reads, Joni Richards Bodart identified 101 young adult books that featured gritty, complex plots, focused on multidimensional characters, and tackled such difficult subjects as teenage pregnancy, dysfunctional families, gangs, prejudice, violence, drugs, or other provocative issues. Teen readers were drawn to such books because they could identify with both the characters and the situations depicted in these raw and edgy works of fiction. In Radical Reads 2: Working with the Newest Edgy Titles for Teens, Bodart continues where the first book left off, examining more than a hundred titles published since the previous edition. The books featured here are engaging and tough, yet well written and accessible to readers. For each novel, Bodart lists the main characters, major themes and subject areas, and offers a brief summary. Along with providing book report ideas, she cites the strengths of each work, excerpts important reviews, and lists any awards the book has received. Indexed by author, title, subject, curriculum area, reading level, interest level, and genre, Radical Reads 2 is an indispensable tool for librarians, teachers, and parents alike, and will appeal especially to teens looking for relevant and topical fiction.

The Italian cinema is regarded as one of the great pillars of world cinema. Films like Ladri di biciclette (1948), La dolce vita (1960), and Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988) attracted unprecedented international acclaim and a reputation, which only continue to grow. Italian cinema has produced such acting legends as Sophia Loren and Roberto Benigni, as well as world-renowned filmmakers like Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Lina WertmYller, the first woman to ever be nominated for the Best Director award. The A to Z of Italian Cinema provides a better understanding of the role Italian cinema has played in film history through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, appendixes, black-&-white photos, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on actors, actresses, movies, producers, organizations, awards, film credits, and terminology.

The history of clothing begins with the origin of man, and fashionable dress can be traced as far back as 25,000 years ago. Recent scientific explorations have uncovered graves in northern Russia with skeletons covered in beads made of mammoth ivory that once adorned clothing made of animal skin. The Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans each made major contributions to fashion's legacy from their textile innovations, unique clothing designs and their early use of accessories, cosmetics, and jewelry. During the Middle Ages, 'fashion trends' emerged as trade and commerce thrived allowing the merchant class to afford to emulate the fashions worn by royals. However, it is widely believed that fashion didn't became an industry until the industrial and commercial revolution during the latter part of the 18th century. Since then, the industry has grown exponentially. Today, fashion is one of the biggest businesses in the world, with hundreds of billions of dollars in turnover and employing tens of millions of workers. It is both a profession, an industry, and in the eyes of many, an art. The A to Z of the Fashion Industry examines the origins and history of this billion-dollar industry. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced entries on designers, models, couture houses, significant articles of apparel and fabrics, trade unions, and the international trade organizations.

The Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China started in 1966 and lasted about a decade. This revolutionary upsurge of Chinese students and workers, led by Mao Zedong, wreaked havoc in the world's most populous country, often turning things upside down and undermining the party, government, and army while simultaneously weakening the economy, society, and culture. Tens of millions of people were killed, injured, or imprisoned during this period and relatively few benefited, aside from Mao Zedong and the Gang of Four, the group that would eventually receive the blame for the events of the Cultural Revolution. Given the turbulence and confusion, it is hard to know just what happened. The A to Z of the Chinese Cultural Revolution tackles this task. First, in an extensive chronology, which traces the events from year to year and month to month, then in an introduction puts these events in context and helps to explain them. But most importantly, the bulk of the information is provided in a dictionary section with numerous cross-referenced entries on important persons, places, institutions, and movements. A bibliography points to further sources of information and a glossary will help those researching in Chinese.

Art Song Composers of Spain: An Encyclopedia describes the wealth of vocal repertoire composed by 19th- and 20th-century Spanish song composers. More than 90 composers are discussed in detail with complete biographies, descriptions, and examples of the song literature, as well as comprehensive listings of stage works, books, recordings, compositions in non-vocal genres, and vocal repertoire. Opening with a thorough history of Spain and its political scene, author Suzanne Rhodes Draayer examines its relation to song composition and the impact on composers such as Fernando Sor, Sebasti_n de Iradier, Federico Garc'a Lorca, Manuel de Falla, and many others. Draayer discusses Spanish art song and its various types, its folksong influences, and the major and minor composers of each period. Beginning with Manuel Garc'a (b. 1775) and ending with Carmen Santiago de Meras (b. 1917), Draayer provides biographies of the composers, a discussion and analysis of songs available in print in the US, and a complete list of solo songs for each. Musical examples are given for 175 songs, demonstrating a variety of compositional techniques and lyrical text settings, and illustrating characteristics of orientalism (Moorish) and cante jondo (gypsy) elements, as well as influences such as the German lied and French mZlodie. The final chapter lists contemporary composers and considers the difficulties in researching music by women composers. Complete with a foreword by Nico Castel, a bibliography, and additional indexes, Art Song Composers of Spain proves the importance of the Spanish song as an essential part of vocal training and concert repertoire.

The Republic of the Sudan was long the largest country in Africa and, according to the general consensus, also one of the least successful in many ways. This was not entirely its fault since it lay along the fault line between Muslim and Christian Africa and between the Nile Valley civilizations and African Sudanic cultures. This partly explains the long and bloody warfare waged by the Southerners to achieve independence, which they did in July 2011. So this hefty book actually covers not one but two states.This fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Sudan does so, first, through a lengthy and detailed chronology tracing its relatively few successes and numerous failures. The introductory essay does an admirable job of putting it all in perspective. But the most informative part is the dictionary, with now over 700 entries for this fourth edition. They deal with important personalities, politics, the economy, society, culture, religion and inevitably the civil war. There are also appendixes and an extensive bibliography.