Shakespeare, Love and Service

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Shakespeare, Love and Service by David Schalkwyk

Product Description
Peter Laslett's comment, in The World We Have Lost, that in the early modern period 'every relationship could be seen as a love-relationship' presents the governing idea of this book. In an analysis that includes Shakespeare's sonnets and a wide range of his plays from The Comedy of Errors to The Winter's Tale, David Schalkwyk looks at the ways in which the personal, affective relations of love are informed by the social, structural interactions of service. Showing that service is not a 'class' concept, but rather determined the fundamental conditions of identity across the whole society, the book explores the inter-penetration of structure and affect in relationships as varied as monarch and subject, aristocrat and personal servant, master and slave, husband and wife, and lover and beloved, in the light of differences of rank, gender and sexual identity.

Book Description
Covering Shakespeare's sonnets and a wide range of his plays from The Comedy of Errors to The Winter's Tale, David Schalkwyk examines the ways in which the personal, affective relations of love are informed by the social, structural interactions of service.

About the Author
David Schalkwyk is Professor in the Department of English, University of Cape Town.

Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament

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Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Bruce M. Metzger

This volume provides an insightful commentary on the Greek text of the United Bible Societies' 4th edition Greek New Testament. In producing a copy of the Greek New Testament many variant readings have to be analyzed and decided upon. Metzger has provided in this commentary an answer as to why one reading was chosen over another. In doing so he seeks to highlight the problem(s) involved with each set of alternative readings and also provides an explanation of the Bible Committee's evaluation and resolution of those problems.

A helpful introduction is provided wherein the history and basic rules of textual criticism are canvassed in order to show how the committee made their decisions. Metzger provides a brief introduction to the art and science of textual criticism. He provides an "outline of criteria" which was used by the committee. External evidence evaluates such things as the date of the textual witnesses, the geographical distribution of the manuscripts, the relationship of text families, and the understanding that witnesses should be weighed not counted. Under the internal evidence he highlights that the more difficult and shorter reading is to be preferred and that there needs to be a consideration of the context of each author and what they probably would have written.

The commentary itself follows a verse-by-verse canonical approach and provides a comment on the many textual variants found in the UBS4. About 30% (225 pages) of the commentary is on the book of Acts given the difficulty of the two differing text types in early circulation (Western and Alexandrian). Helpful discussion is also provided on such controversial passages as the ending of Mark's Gospel and 1 John 5:7.

The art and science of textual criticism is an important task for both scholars and preachers in seeking to establish the text of the New Testament. This tool will help aid that task immensely. However it should not be used as a substitute for doing the hard work first. This tool should be used as a check in confirming one's own work. Nevertheless this tool provides the "voice" of many scholars in how they decided one text over another - a gift for the student of the Greek New Testament.

Dictionary of Architecture and Construction

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Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (Dictionary of Architecture & Construction) by Cyril M. Harris

Product Description
Updated and expanded, this Fourth Edition of the most trusted reference in architecture offers the most comprehensive coverage of architectural and construction terms available. This classic dictionary now features nearly 25,000 definitions (including 2,800 new terms), 2,500 illustrations (including 200 new illustrations), and maintains its extraordinary visual appeal and easy-to-read page design. Prepared by a renowned architectural editor in association with expert contributors and incorporating the work of many standards groups, the book presents clear, concise definitions of terms in nearly 80 working areas. The Fourth Edition covers new industry terms which have emerged due to changes in engineering and building technologies, organizations, materials, and legal developments, and has been expanded to include more historic architectural styles. New terms include: Legal Architectural Barriers Act Wheelchair Accessible Materials Fibrous Concrete Latex Mortar Polymer-Based Stucco Concrete Compliance Conformity Refractory Mortar Organizations Building Research Establishment (formerly Building Research Station) of Great Britain ASTM Historic Architectural Styles Anglo-Palladianism French Victorian Isabellino Mudajar Mozarabic Neo-Rococo

From the Back Cover
2500 NEW TERMS -- 100 NEW ILLUSTRATIONS

This massive compendium by a renowned architectural editor and 50 expert contributors features over 2300 line drawings and clear, concise definitions of more than 27,000 important architecture and construction terms. The most definitive reference in the field, Cyril M. Harris's Dictionary of Architecture and Construction brings you the broadest possible coverage of the language of architecture and building construction. Special care has been taken to include the latest terms in legal areas, technologies, techniques, materials, organizations, historic architectural styles, and architectural trends.

This essential dictionary is one of the most trusted references in architecture and building technology -- cited in numerous other leading references and recommended by the faculties of many top schools. It covers drawings and specifications ... building products and materials, including their design, appearance, performance, installation, and testing ... finishes, coatings, and surfacings ... types of units, assemblies, systems, and modules ... tools, devices, machines, and construction equipment, and much more. It's the one definitive resource every architect and contractor needs to own.

Revised, updated, and expanded, this comprehensive new edition features:

• More than 27,000 definitions in clear, concise language
• Over 2300 illustrations
• Full coverage of new technologies and new building materials
• Expanded emphasis on legal, organizational, and historic architectural terms, reflecting their increased importance in the field

About the Author
Cyril M. Harris, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Charles Batchelor Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University. A professor at Columbia since 1952, he has taught in the School of Engineering and Applied Science as well as the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, where he served as chairperson of the Division of Architectural Technology for 10 years. Dr. Harris has achieved international recognition for his work in noise control and auditorium design. He received the AIA Medal of the American Institute of Architects; the Gold Medal, as well as the W. C. Sabine Medal, of the Acoustical Society of America; the Gold Medal of the Audio Engineering Society; and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute. Dr. Harris is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in physics from M.I.T.

A Dictionary of Literary Symbols

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A Dictionary of Literary Symbols
by Michael Ferber

Review
"Rich in detail...students, in particular, and other serious readers of poetry, should find the work very useful." Frank Kermode

"This book, the first of its kind and long overdue, describes used over many years by many authors. The description are impressive....this scholarly work is highly recommended for all students of American and English literature faced with writing papers where they are expected to expound upon the symbolism found in a given poem or story. This work will also be a valuable resource for literary scholars and practicing writers." Lois Gilmer, Choice

"The volume's rich content, ranging from 'absinthe' and 'adder' to 'zephyr' and 'zodiac,' will prove useful and engaging to any student of literature and to general readers." Choice

"Ranging widely in classic and modern authors for examples, Ferber packages his information in brilliant, brief essays." Providence, RI Journal

"Readers, whether novice or erudite, who consult I^Dictionary of Literary Symbols for such symbols as rose, dolphin, labyrinth, swallow, or worm will come away with their understanding enriched by the judicious, informative, and readable explanations." Literary Research Guide --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
This is the first dictionary of symbols to be based on literature, rather than 'universal' psychological archetypes or myths. It explains and illustrates the literary symbols that we all frequently encounter (such as swan, rose, moon, gold), and gives hundreds of cross-references and quotations. The dictionary concentrates on English literature, but its entries range widely from the Bible and classical authors to the twentieth century, taking in American and European literatures. For this new edition, Michael Ferber has included over twenty completely new entries (including bear, holly, sunflower and tower), and has added to many of the existing entries. Enlarged and enriched from the first edition, its informed style and rich references make this book an essential tool not only for literary and classical scholars, but for all students of literature.

Book Description
This second edition contains over twenty new entries, and additions to many existing entries. It explains and illustrates literary symbols frequently encountered (such as swan, rose, tower), along with hundreds of cross-references and quotations. An essential tool not only for literary and classical scholars, but for all students of literature.

About the Author
Michael Ferber is Professor of English at the University of New Hampshire.

The Medieval City

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The Medieval City (Greenwood Guides to Historic Events of the Medieval World) by Norman Pounds

Review
“Covering the era from the decline of Rome to the end of the medieval period, historian Pounds shows how the medieval city grew as an economic entity from a place where craftspeople could gather and make use of local resources to the growth and distribution of wealth and the influence on general welfare of both. He provides biographies of leading players in urbanization, case studies of cities and a range of primary documents on street life, citizenship, sanitary conditions, urban charters, and histories of specific English cities, as well as illustrations and an annotated bibliography.”–Reference & Research Book News/Art Book News Annual

“[C]ollege-level recommended, and also a pick high school libraries can use: an excellent historical background and introduction....[w]ill find its place in many a high school library as well, joining others in the 'Greenwood Guides to Historic Events of the Medieval World' series in covering Medieval life in cities and towns. From dangers of everyday living to different aspects of religious and social life, chapters use annotated primary documents and descriptions to lend authenticity to a coverage perfect for school research projects.”–MBR Bookwatch

Product Description
After a long decline in urban life following the fall of the Roman Empire, towns became centers of trade and of liberty during the medieval period. Here, the author describes how, as Europe stabilized after centuries of strife, commerce and the commercial class grew, and urban areas became an important source of revenue into royal coffers. Towns enjoyed various levels of autonomy, and always provided goods and services unavailable in rural areas. Hazards abounded in towns, though. Disease, fire, crime and other hazards raised mortality rates in urban environs. Designed as an introduction to life of towns and cities in the medieval period, eminent historian Norman Pounds brings to life the many pleasures, rewards, and dangers city-dwellers sought and avoided. Beginning with a look at the Roman Empire's urban legacy, Pounds delves into Urban Planning or lack thereof; The Urban Way of Life; The Church in the City; City Government; Urban Crafts and Urban Trade, Health, Wealth, and Welfare; and The City in History. Annotated primary documents like Domesday Book, sketches of street life, and descriptions of fairs and markets bring the period to life, and extended "biographical" sketches of towns, regions, and city-dwellers provide readers with valuable detail. In addition, 26 maps and illustrations, an annotated bibliography, glossary, and index round out the work.

About the Author
NORMAN POUNDS is an eminent historian of the medieval period and the author of numerous works, including The Economic History of Medieval Europe, Hearth and Home: A History of Material Culture, and The Culture and History of the English People: Iron Age to the Industrial Revolution.

Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies

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Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (Encyclopedia) by Mona Baker (Editor)

From Library Journal
This ground-breaking encyclopedia explores translation studies, currently developing into a serious field of study, with its own vocabulary, theories, and research. Baker (translation studies, Univ. of Manchester Inst. of Science and Technology) has gathered an impressive group of contributors, including Umberto Eco, Theo Mermnas, Luis Kelly, and Judith Woodsworth, to create an encyclopedia that defines this new discipline. The first part, a dictionary section, explains and defines the vocabulary and concepts in signed entries ranging from two to six pages. Entries include cross references and suggestions for further reading. The second section introduces the translation traditions of 31 cultures, including African, Greek, Chinese, Russian, and French. Each of these lengthy entries includes a history of translation in the culture, theories at work, biographies, and further reading. The complexity of communication, the direction of the academic discipline, and the richness of translation activity are all clearly illustrated. A 55-page bibliography, an introductory overview, and an exhaustive index round out this essential purchase for all academic libraries.?Neal Wyatt, Chesterfield Cty. P.L., VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Ground-breaking...essential purchase for all academic libraries." -- Library Journal - Nov 1998

A great help to scholars, both for the current information provided as well as for leads to further research. Academic libraries supporting courses in translation studies and related areas will want to add this book to their collection.
–Against the Grain, April 1998

Ground-breaking...essential purchase for all academic libraries.
–Library Journal, Nov 1998

Recommended for institutions with graduate programs in translation studies and for professionals and practitioners..
–Choice , Dcember 1998

This is a landmark publication in the history of translation studies...it is impossible to do justice to this Encyclopedia's many merits....comprehensive, clearly-written, well-documented.
–Francisco Gomes de Matos, Language Today

This is a landmark publication in the history of translation studies...it is impossible to do justice to this Encyclopedias many merits....comprehensive, clearly-written, well-documented.
–Francisco Gomes de Matos, Language Today

Translation...has long deserved this sort of treatment.... Appropriate for any college or university library supporting a program in linguistics, this is vital in those institutions that train students to become translators.
–Rettig on Reference, May 1998

Product Description
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies is the ideal reference work for current and future translators. It provides a conceptual framework, with topics including drama, literary and poetry translation, machine translation, terminology and term banks. Further, it includes over thirty entries on the translation's history in major communities worldwide.

Умберто Эко Маятник Фуко

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Умберто Эко Маятник Фуко

 И тут я увидел Маятник.
   Шар, висящий на долгой нити, опущенной с вольты хора, в изохронном
величии описывал колебания.
   Я знал - но и всякий ощутил бы под чарами мерной пульсации - что период
колебаний определен отношением квадратного корня длины нити к числу p ,
которое, иррациональное для подлунных умов, пред лицом божественной Рацио
неукоснительно сопрягает окружности с диаметрами любых существующих кругов,
как и время перемещения шара от одного полюса к противоположному
представляет результат тайной соотнесенности наиболее вневременных мер:
единственности точки крепления - двойственности абстрактного измерения -
троичности числа p - скрытой четверичности квадратного корня - совершенства
круга.

Чарлз Роберт Метьюрин Мельмот скиталец

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Чарлз Роберт Метьюрин

Мельмот скиталец

     Осенью 1816 года Джон Мельмот,  студент  Дублинского  Тринити  колледжа
{2}, поехал к умирающему дяде, средоточию всех  его  надежд  на  независимое
положение в свете. Джон был сиротой,  сыном  младшего  из  братьев;  скудных
отцовских средств едва хватало, чтобы оплатить его  пребывание  в  колледже.
Дядя же был богат, холост и стар, и Джон с детства был приучен  смотреть  на
него  с  тем  противоречивым  чувством  -  притягательным  и  вместе  с  тем
отталкивающим, когда страх смешивается с желанием: так мы обычно смотрим  на
человека, который, по уверению наших нянек, слуг и родителей, держит в руках
все нити нашей жизни и  в  любую  минуту  властен  либо  продлить  их,  либо
порвать.

Густав Майринк - Ангел западного окна

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Густав Майринк Ангел западного окна

"Ангел западного  окна" -- самое значительное произведение австрийского
писателя-эзотерика Густава Майринка.
   Автор  представляет  героев  бессмертными:  они  живут  и  действуют  в
Шекспировскую эпоху, в потустороннем мире.
   Роман оказал большое влияние на творчество М. Булгакова.

Теодор В. Адорно - СОЦИОЛОГИЯ МУЗЫКИ

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Теодор В. Адорно ИЗБРАННОЕ: СОЦИОЛОГИЯ МУЗЫКИ

Эти лекции читались во Франкфуртском университете в зимний семестр 1961/62 г.; после каждой из них устраивался семинар с обсуждением предмета.

Предистория книги, возможно, небезразлична для придания ей законченного вида. В 1958 г. автор принял предложение журнала “Schweizer Rundschau” выступить со статьей “Мысли о социологии музыки”; эта статья позже вошла в сборник “Klangfiguren”¹. В ней излагались принципы музыкально-социологического исследования, неразрывно связанные с содержательными вопросами: именно эта связь является характерной чертой настоящего метода. Названная статья по-прежнему остается программной для музыкально-социологического метода, принятого автором.

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought

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The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought (Blackwell Reference) by David Miller (Editor), Janet Coleman (Editor), William Connolly (Editor), Alan Ryan (Editor)

Review
"A particularly useful feature of the volume is the reading list which accompanies each entry ... a useful book." Sunday Times

"A reliable and scholarly work." The Good Book Guide

"Supersedes all previous reference works in the field of political thought." Australian Journal of Politics and History

"No political scientist (or theorist) who can afford it should be without it." Australian Journal of Political Science

Product Description
Encompassing the whole spectrum of the history and theory of politics from Socrates to Rawls, this is the most comprehensive and scholarly reference work available on the subject.

Synopsis
Encompassing the whole spectrum of the history and theory of politics from Socrates to Rawls, this is the most comprehensive and scholarly reference work available on its subject.The 350 entries, written by a team of 120 international specialists, are a balanced blend of full-length survey articles and shorter definitions. Key concepts in political thought are defined and analyzed, and ideologies are considered in relation both to historical context and to contemporary politics. All articles are cross-referenced and indexed.

From the Back Cover
Encompassing the whole spectrum of the history and theory of politics from Socrates to Rawls, this is the most comprehensive and scholarly reference work available on its subject.

The 350 entries, written by a team of 120 international specialists, are a balanced blend of full–length survey articles and shorter definitions. Key concepts in political thought are defined and analyzed, and ideologies are considered in relation both to historical context and to contemporary politics. All articles are cross–referenced and indexed.

About the Author
David Miller is the author of several works on political thought including Anarchism (1984) and The Nature of Political Theory (with Larry Siedentop) (1983).

Renaissance Art: A Very Short Introduction

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Renaissance Art: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Geraldine A. Johnson
Artists like Botticelli, Holbein, Leonardo, Durer, and Michelangelo and works such as the Last Supper fresco and the monumental marble statue of David, are familiar symbols of the Renaissance. But who were these artists, why did they produce such memorable images, and how would their original beholders have viewed these objects? Was the Renaissance only about great masters and masterpieces, or were women artists and patrons also involved? And what about the "minor" pieces that Renaissance men and women would have encountered in homes, churches and civic spaces? This Very Short Introduction answers such questions by considering both famous and lesser-known artists, patrons, and works of art within the cultural and historical context of Renaissance Europe. The volume provides a broad cultural and historical context for some of the Renaissance's most famous artists and works of art. It also explores forgotten aspects of Renaissance art, such as objects made for the home and women as artists and patrons. Considering Renaissance art produced in both Northern and Southern Europe, rather than focusing on just one region, the book introduces readers to a variety of approaches to the study of Renaissance art, from social history to formal analysis.

A Sociolinguistic History of Parisian French

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A Sociolinguistic History of Parisian French by R. Anthony Lodge

Review
"Lodge is well qualified to chart the development of Parisian French over the course of eight centuries...he marshals a convincing array of sources and theoretical models...this accessible study presents a broad tableau, highlighting the interaction of language, social structures, and economic trends, and combining carefully chosen sample texts with stimulating critical reflection." J.R. Iverson, Whitman College, Choice

"Neatly produced and will undoubtedly become a standard book of reference for all those interested in the history of colloquial speech and the sociological factors that have contributed to its development. On the whole...this book should be read by all scholars working in the field of historical sociolinguistics." Estudios de Sociolinguistica Begona Crespo Garcia

"...this highly informative and superbly written book will stand as a model for future research in the field." French Review Zsuzsanna Fagyal, University of Illinois

"In this richly documented book, Lodge embarks on a bold, risky, yet compelling enterprise: attempting as plausible and comprehensive a reconstruction as possible of the history of Parisian French...the pedagogical approach chosen by the author is evidenced by the presence of a summary at the end of each chapter and of each part makes the reading and the understanding of the book easier and more enjoyable." Jean-Guy Mboudjeke, Dalhousie University

Product Description
Paris became the largest city in the Western world during the thirteenth century, and has remained influential ever since. This book examines the interlinked history of Parisian speech and the Parisian population through various phases of immigration, dialect-mixing and social stratification from the Middle Ages to the present. It reveals how new urban modes of speech developed during periods of expansion, how the city's elites sought to distinguish their language from that of the masses, and how a working-class vernacular eventually emerged with its own "slang" vocabulary.

Book Description
Paris became the largest city in the western world during the thirteenth century, and has remained influential ever since. This book examines the interlinked history of Parisian speech and the Parisian population through various phases of in-migration, dialect-mixing and social stratification from the middle ages to the present. It shows how new, specifically urban modes of speech developed during periods of expansion, how the city's elites sought to distinguish their language from that of the masses, and how in recent centuries a working-class vernacular emerged with its own 'slang' vocabulary.

About the Author
R. Anthony Lodge is Professor of French Language and Linguistics at the University of St Andrews. He is the author of Le Livre des Manières d'Etienne de Fougères (1979), Le Plus Ancien Registre de comptes des Consuls de Montferrand (1985), French: From Dialect to Standard (1993), Exploring the French Language (With N. Armstrong, Y. Ellis and J. Shelton, 1997) and The Earliest Branches of the Roman de Renart (With K. Varty, 2001).

A History of Literary Criticism

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A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present

by M. A. R. Habib

Review
Winner of a 2006 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award

"[A] magnificently comprehensive history of literary criticism. Authoritative, formidable, generous and compassionate ... Habib's achievements are many, but two stand out. The first is the putting of theory into historical perspective and the second is to make connections between criticism and philosophy."
Times Higher Education Supplement

"This is a book to be read cover to cover, and those who undertake that happy task will be better informed. They will understand the twin pillars of Western civilization, Hellenism and the Judaic Christian ethic. They will understand the intersections of philosophy, literature, and religion. They will understand Plato, Aristotle, the Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism, and the three great thinkers who forever shifted thought at the beginning of the 20th century: Marx, Freud, and Darwin. Dividing the discussion into eight chronological sections, from ancient Greece to the 20th century, Habib (English, Rutgers Univ.) discusses each period in detail, exploring major critical figures and their works in a way that illuminates, rather than exhausts, the issues they are concerned with. His explorations entice one to read more, and that is the best kind of criticism. Summing Up: Essential. All readers; all levels."
CHOICE

"Philosophically sophisticated and full of fascinating connections and distinctions ...a monumental achievement."
Ron Bush, University of Oxford

"Rafey Habib's History of Literary Criticism, with its substantial grounding in classical texts and its excellent coverage of contemporary criticism and theory, is certain to be as highly regarded as Wimsatt and Brooks' Literary Criticism: A Short History. Habib's lucidity and wit will also make his book highly teachable."
Michael Payne, Bucknell University

"This huge undertaking offers a comprehensive, expository and lucid account - including close readings of selected formative texts - of the history of literary criticism and theory from the earliest western classics to influential contemporary movements, while also embedding these in their broader social, cultural and philosophical contexts. A major resource - as narrative or as compendium - for students at all levels."
Peter Widdowson, University of Gloucestershire

"Beginning with Plato and Aristotle, Habib traces how the study of literature evolved in the West. His strength lies in his short segments, which allow readers to absorb the major thoughts of the critics and movements without being overwhelmed. While the book runs nearly 900 pages, it is easy to maneuver. All told, Habib delivers an accessible yet scholarly survey of literary criticism."
Ron Ratliff, Kansas State University

"A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present by M. A. R. Habib is a useful introduction and quick reference ... The attention to each writer and their major works is significant and detailed, with major historical interpretive shifts noted."
Studies in English Literature 1500 - 1900

"Best single-volume introduction to Western literary theory ... .With its admirably clear explanation of concepts and terminology, [it] admirably fulfils the promise of its title."
Literary Research Guide"Habib's survey of literary theory and criticism is serious, ambitious, informative and intellectually challenging." Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Winner of a 2006 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award

“[A] magnificently comprehensive history of literary criticism. Authoritative, formidable, generous and compassionate … Habib's achievements are many, but two stand out. The first is the putting of theory into historical perspective and the second is to make connections between criticism and philosophy.”
Times Higher Education Supplement

"This is a book to be read cover to cover, and those who undertake that happy task will be better informed. They will understand the twin pillars of Western civilization, Hellenism and the Judaic Christian ethic. They will understand the intersections of philosophy, literature, and religion. They will understand Plato, Aristotle, the Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism, and the three great thinkers who forever shifted thought at the beginning of the 20th century: Marx, Freud, and Darwin. Dividing the discussion into eight chronological sections, from ancient Greece to the 20th century, Habib (English, Rutgers Univ.) discusses each period in detail, exploring major critical figures and their works in a way that illuminates, rather than exhausts, the issues they are concerned with. His explorations entice one to read more, and that is the best kind of criticism. Summing Up: Essential. All readers; all levels."
CHOICE

"Philosophically sophisticated and full of fascinating connections and distinctions ...a monumental achievement."
Ron Bush, University of Oxford

“Rafey Habib's History of Literary Criticism, with its substantial grounding in classical texts and its excellent coverage of contemporary criticism and theory, is certain to be as highly regarded as Wimsatt and Brooks' Literary Criticism: A Short History. Habib's lucidity and wit will also make his book highly teachable.”
Michael Payne, Bucknell University

"This huge undertaking offers a comprehensive, expository and lucid account - including close readings of selected formative texts - of the history of literary criticism and theory from the earliest western classics to influential contemporary movements, while also embedding these in their broader social, cultural and philosophical contexts. A major resource - as narrative or as compendium - for students at all levels."
Peter Widdowson, University of Gloucestershire

"Beginning with Plato and Aristotle, Habib traces how the study of literature evolved in the West. His strength lies in his short segments, which allow readers to absorb the major thoughts of the critics and movements without being overwhelmed. While the book runs nearly 900 pages, it is easy to maneuver. All told, Habib delivers an accessible yet scholarly survey of literary criticism."
Ron Ratliff, Kansas State University

“A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present by M. A. R. Habib is a useful introduction and quick reference … The attention to each writer and their major works is significant and detailed, with major historical interpretive shifts noted.”
Studies in English Literature 1500 - 1900

“Best single-volume introduction to Western literary theory … .With its admirably clear explanation of concepts and terminology, [it] admirably fulfils the promise of its title.”
Literary Research Guide"Habib's survey of literary theory and criticism is serious, ambitious, informative and intellectually challenging." Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Джулиан Барнс. Love etc

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Джулиан Барнс Love etc

Стюарт:  Привет.  Мы  уже  встречались.  Стюарт.  Стюарт  Хьюз.  Да,  я
совершенно  уверен. Точно. Лет десять назад. Да нет,  все в порядке,  ничего
страшного. Не спрашивайте  себя, кто  я такой. Самое главное,  что  я-то вас
помню. А я вас помню. Да и как я мог бы забыть? Десять лет с хвостиком, если
быть поточнее.
  Что ж, я изменился. А как иначе?  Взять хоть то, что совсем седой. Даже
и не скажешь больше, что с проседью, верно?
  Да, кстати, вы-то тоже  изменились. Может вы и  думаете, что каким были
тогда, таким и остались. Только это не так, уж поверьте.

Джулиан Барнс - Как все было

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Джулиан Барнс Как все было

СТЮАРТ: Меня зовут Стюарт, и  я все прекрасно помню. Стюарт --  это мое
имя. А фамилия -- Хьюз. Стюарт Хьюз, если полностью. Второго имени нет. Хьюз
-- фамилия моих родителей. Под  этой фамилией  они прожили в браке  двадцать
пять лет. А  меня  назвали Стюарт. Мне сначала это имя не особенно нравилось
-- в школе дразнили Тютя или  Тюря, или еще как-то,  --  но теперь я к  нему
привык. Научился им пользоваться. Пользоваться собственным именем, ха-ха.

Джулиан Барнс - История мира в 10 1/2 главах

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Джулиан Барнс
История мира в 10 1/2 главах

 Бегемотов посадили в трюм вместе с носорогами, гиппопотамами и слонами.
Это была хорошая идея -- использовать их в качестве балласта, но можете себе
представить,  какая  там стояла вонь. А убирать за ними было некому. Мужчины
едва успевали кормить, а их надушенные женщины,  от  которых  разило  бы  не
меньше, чем от нас, не будь этих шлейфов искусственных ароматов, до подобной
грязной  работы  не  снисходили.  Поэтому если кому и случалось убирать, так
только нам самим. Каждые два-три месяца с помощью лебедки  подымали  тяжелую
крышку  кормового люка и запускали туда птиц-санитаров. Правда, первую волну
смрада приходилось пережидать (даже крутить лебедку редко кто соглашался  по
доброй  воле); затем несколько самых непривередливых птиц с минуту осторожно
порхали вокруг люка, а потом уж ныряли внутрь. Не могу припомнить,  как  они
все  назывались -- между прочим, одной из тех пар больше не существует,-- но
вы знаете, о ком речь. Вы ведь видели  гиппопотамов  с  разинутой  пастью  и
смышленых  пташек, выклевывающих то, что застряло у них между зубами, словно
помешанные  на  гигиене  дантисты?  Вообразите  себе  эту  картину,   но   в
увеличенном  масштабе  и  на  фоне навозных куч. Я не из брезгливых, но даже
меня бросало в дрожь при виде того, как целой компании  подслеповатых  чудищ
наводят красоту в выгребной яме.

Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction

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Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Jonathan Culler

Review
`It is impossible to imagine a clearer treatment of the subject, or one that is, within the given limits of length, more comprehensive. Culler has always been remarkable for his expository skills, and here he has found exactly the right method and tone for his purposes.' Sir Frank Kermode

Product Description
What is literary theory? Is there a relationship between literature and culture? In fact, what is literature, and does it matter? These questions and more are addressed in Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, a book which steers a clear path through a subject which is often perceived to be complex and impenetrable.
Jonathan Culler, an extremely lucid commentator and much admired in the field of literary theory, offers discerning insights into such theories as the nature of language and meaning, and whether literature is a form of self-expression or a method of appeal to an audience. Concise yet thorough, Literary Theory also outlines the ideas behind a number of different schools: deconstruction, semiotics, postcolonial theory, and structuralism, among others.
From topics such as literature and social identity to poetry, poetics, and rhetoric, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction is a welcome guide for anyone interested in the importance of literature and the debates surrounding it.

About the Author
Jonathan Culler is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Cornell University. His many publications include Barthes and Saussure in Fontana Modern Masters, and On Deconstruction and The Pursuit of Signs.

The Idea of Europe

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The Idea of Europe: From Antiquity to the European Union (Woodrow Wilson Center Press)
by Anthony Pagden (Editor)

Review
"All of these thought-provoking essays raise critical and often unanswerable questions. Their immersion in theory means that the intellectual fruits require time to digest, but the diversity of perspectives provides a valuable testing ground to any reader who claims to understand Europe. Highly recommended for graduate students and faculty." Choice

Product Description
This book addresses the question of what it means, and has meant, to be "European," covering the period from Antiquity to the end of the twentieth century. The essays discuss questions of politics, law, religion, culture, literature, and even affectivity in a broad account of how a distinctive European identity has grown over the centuries and its place in the future evolution of the European Union. In the massive literature of European integration, no other book takes such a long historical perspective, and none other deals directly with the question of identity.

Book Description
This book addresses the question of what it means, and has meant, to be "European," covering the period from Antiquity to the end of the twentieth century. The essays discuss questions of politics, law, religion, culture, literature, and even affectivity in a broad account of how a distinctive European identity has grown over the centuries and its place in the future evolution of the European Union. In the massive literature of European integration, no other book takes such a long historical perspective, and none other deals directly with the question of identity.

Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe

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Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe (Handbook to Life) by Sandra Sider (Author)

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up–This well-organized volume concentrates on Italy's impact on the Renaissance in both northern and southern Europe 1400- c.1600, covering the major movements in government, religion, art and architecture, literature, music, science, education, warfare, commerce, exploration, and daily life. The introduction provides an excellent overview of the origins of the Renaissance and the political landscape of Europe at the time. Numerous subheadings within chapters facilitate access to information. For example, the chapter on Visual Arts covers painting, tapestries, sculpture, prints, and decorative art, with each topic further subdivided. Most chapters end with a list of major figures and a chronology; all contain a list of recommended additional resources. Line maps and average quality, black-and-white reproductions and photographs enhance the content, and the volume concludes with a detailed index. This is an excellent introduction to the Renaissance, and will be especially useful to students researching a particular aspect of the period.–Madeleine G. Wright, New Hampton School, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Daily life in various historical periods is a major paper topic in junior and senior high school, and doing research on that subject has just gotten easier with Facts On File's outstanding volume Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe. Covering the period 1400 to 1600 in the Western European countries of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and England and emphasizing the changes in society that characterized the Renaissance, the book is organized into topical chapters that include history, religion, art, architecture, literature, music, warfare, commerce, exploration, science, education, and daily life. Each chapter is further broken down into subtopics and concludes with brief biographical profiles of the major people involved and a list of recommended readings. The book also has black-and-white illustrations and maps, a glossary of terms, a chronological chart of important dates, a list of museums, a 20-page bibliography, and an index.

Each chapter covers a wide time period and a large geographic area, and no subtopic is treated in more than a page or two. Nevertheless, there is great detail under each topic. In the discussion of the Inquisition, the author covers the derivation of the word, the four separate inquisitions, the rise of anti-Semitism, the procedure used in the investigations, and a summary of recent research findings. In the chapter "Art and Visual Culture," the author brings in furniture, ceramics, glass, and needlework beside the usual painting and sculpture. Everything is written in a direct, easy style that is accessible to good junior-high students and high-school and college students. The only thing that would have made the book even better would be the use of many more illustrations.

Greenwood's Daily Life in History Series has two books that cover the Renaissance, Daily Life in Elizabethan England (Greenwood, 1995) and Daily Life in Renaissance Italy (Greenwood, 2001). Although the titles suggest that the Greenwood books and the Facts On File volume deal with similar subjects, the treatment is quite different, and there is very little overlap. The Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe is an outstanding reference book that will introduce high-school and college students to this complex topic. Merle Jacob
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
The word renaissance means "rebirth," and the most obvious example of this phenomenon was the regeneration of Europe's classical Roman roots. The Renaissance began in northern Italy in the late 14th century and culminated in England in the early 17th century. Emphasis on the dignity of man (though not of woman) and on human potential distinguished the Renaissance from the previous Middle Ages. In poetry and literature, individual thought and action were prevalent, while depictions of the human form became a touchstone of Renaissance art. In science and medicine the macrocosm and microcosm of the human condition inspired remarkable strides in research and discovery, and the Earth itself was explored, situating Europeans within a wider realm of possibilities. Organized thematically, the Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe covers all aspects of life in Renaissance Europe: History; religion; art and visual culture; architecture; literature and language; music; warfare; commerce; exploration and travel; science and medicine; education; daily life.

About the Author

Sandra Sider holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature, specializing in Renaissance studies, in addition to an M.A. in art history. She has taught Renaissance art history at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York City. Her publications include several books and numerous articles pertaining to Renaissance history and visual culture including Bibliography of Emblematic Manuscripts (with Barbara Obrist) published by McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992, Maps, Charts, Globes: Five Centuries of Exploration published by the Hispanic Society of America, and "Getting past 1492: the Renaissance in recent Portuguese and Spanish publications," An article Renaissance Quarterly online.

Encyclopedia of Buddhism

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Encyclopedia of Buddhism by Robert E. Buswell (Editor)

Buddhism, according to the editor in chief of this encyclopedia, "is one of the three major world religions, along with Christianity and Islam." Unlike the other two, however, Buddhism lacks substantial reference works in Western languages. The majority are single-volume works, defining terms, concepts, deities, etc. The Encyclopedia of Buddhism, on the other hand, "seeks to document the range and depth of the Buddhist tradition in its many manifestations."

The nearly 500 entries are alphabetically arranged, signed by their authors, and conclude with see references and supplemental bibliographies. Article length ranges from 50 to 4,000 words. There are illustrations throughout, including three maps on the diffusion of Buddhism in Asia as well as an eight-page insert of color plates in each volume. The set ends with several time lines of Buddhist history and a good index. Given the long history Buddhism has enjoyed and the many different cultural regions and national traditions in which it has developed, two volumes are not enough to do the subject justice. Consequently, the entries tend to be thematic and inclusive in nature, with specific mention of, say, an individual or place being made within a broader survey article. While the cosmological, doctrinal, and ritual aspects of Buddhism are covered extensively, entries also treat the cultural, social, and political contexts that have shaped and been shaped by Buddhist thought (e.g., Economics, Education, Law). Entries for geographic locations provide nice historical surveys of the development of Buddhism to the present day and include the U.S and Europe. Buddhism's interaction with other world religions and philosophies (e.g., Christianity and Buddhism, Communism and Buddhism, Jainism and Buddhism) is treated. Finally, recognizing that Buddhism is a force in the world today, the editor has included entries that provide Buddhist perspectives on issues of contemporary concern (e.g., Abortion, Gender, Modernity and Buddhism).

The editor is correct to point out that covering Buddhism in its entirety is impossible in so short a work. Nevertheless, the Encyclopedia of Buddhism is a welcome addition to the reference literature for the tradition itself and, more broadly, Buddhist and Asian studies. Public and academic libraries serving readers with interest in these areas would do well to acquire it. RBB

The Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture

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The Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture (Blackwell Companions to Religion) by John F. A. Sawyer

Review
"Perusing this well-edited, fully indexed Companion is an exhilarating experience that is likely to lead readers to offer a sincere, if breathless, thanks to all involved in its creation." Choice

“A sweeping and magnanimous overview … admirably achieves its goal with wit, aplomb, and a disciplinary breadth that is all too rare in biblical studies today … A welcome addition to the growing corpus of literature on the important relationship(s) between the Bible and culture.” Review of Biblical Literature

"An intriguing and highly engaging set of articles which demonstrate clearly how much of the world’s culture has been, and is, permeated with biblical imagery, ideas and influences."
Journal for the Study of the New Testament

"Concentrating vast bodies of knowledge in richly and vividly informative articles, this volume is a major contribution to religion and culture studies. It includes the three religions that use the Bible - Judaism, Islam, and Christianity - on topics as varied as film, Australasia, postmodernism, and the body. All scholars and students of religion and culture can learn from both the content and the method of this highly readable book." Margaret R. Miles, The Graduate Theological Union

"It is clear that the Bible in Western culture is recognized not only as 'a source of revelation' but as a generative force in the propulsion of culture. Professor Sawyer knows as much as anyone about 'Reader Response' and the ways in which the Bible has been read over time - misread or strongly read - to impact and shape culture. In this volume he has gathered a first-rate group of scholarly interpreters who lead us into heretofore unexplored areas along the interface of culture and Bible. This book is a venturesome and welcome pioneer not only in new learnings, but also in new methods that will continue to evoke new interpretations. The volume signals a fresh direction in Scripture study." Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Nowhere has the mutual interdependence between the Bible and culture been as thoroughly analysed as in the thirty contributions to this Companion. The rich variety of contents and perspectives of these imaginatively selected, densely packed chapters is overwhelming. A truly interdisciplinary work created by a group of internationally known scholars, this collection shows how the various aesthetic, political and religious aspects of culture inform and are still informed by biblical texts. They reveal how much our cultural imagination and practices are imbued with biblical images, themes and residues, but also how much present ways of thinking have moved far away from the Bible. The contributors discuss rabbinic, patristic, medieval, modern and postmodern approaches to the Bible, its global appropriations as also its reception and usage in Judaism, Islam and in contemporary ecological debates. These challenging essays invite much reflection and debate, making this Companion attractive to a wide range of readers." Ursula King, University of Bristol and London

"A unique manual that demonstrates that biblical studies are no longer done exclusively in departments of theology ... For all reference libraries."
International Review of Biblical Studies

"Perusing this well-edited, fully indexed Companion is an exhilarating experience that is likely to lead readers to offer a sincere, if breathless, thanks to all involved in its creation." Choice

"A sweeping and magnanimous overview ... admirably achieves its goal with wit, aplomb, and a disciplinary breadth that is all too rare in biblical studies today ... A welcome addition to the growing corpus of literature on the important relationship(s) between the Bible and culture." Review of Biblical Literature

"An intriguing and highly engaging set of articles which demonstrate clearly how much of the world's culture has been, and is, permeated with biblical imagery, ideas and influences."
Journal for the Study of the New Testament

"Concentrating vast bodies of knowledge in richly and vividly informative articles, this volume is a major contribution to religion and culture studies. It includes the three religions that use the Bible - Judaism, Islam, and Christianity - on topics as varied as film, Australasia, postmodernism, and the body. All scholars and students of religion and culture can learn from both the content and the method of this highly readable book." Margaret R. Miles, The Graduate Theological Union

"It is clear that the Bible in Western culture is recognized not only as 'a source of revelation' but as a generative force in the propulsion of culture. Professor Sawyer knows as much as anyone about 'Reader Response' and the ways in which the Bible has been read over time - misread or strongly read - to impact and shape culture. In this volume he has gathered a first-rate group of scholarly interpreters who lead us into heretofore unexplored areas along the interface of culture and Bible. This book is a venturesome and welcome pioneer not only in new learnings, but also in new methods that will continue to evoke new interpretations. The volume signals a fresh direction in Scripture study." Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Nowhere has the mutual interdependence between the Bible and culture been as thoroughly analysed as in the thirty contributions to this Companion. The rich variety of contents and perspectives of these imaginatively selected, densely packed chapters is overwhelming. A truly interdisciplinary work created by a group of internationally known scholars, this collection shows how the various aesthetic, political and religious aspects of culture inform and are still informed by biblical texts. They reveal how much our cultural imagination and practices are imbued with biblical images, themes and residues, but also how much present ways of thinking have moved far away from the Bible. The contributors discuss rabbinic, patristic, medieval, modern and postmodern approaches to the Bible, its global appropriations as also its reception and usage in Judaism, Islam and in contemporary ecological debates. These challenging essays invite much reflection and debate, making this Companion attractive to a wide range of readers." Ursula King, University of Bristol and London

"A unique manual that demonstrates that biblical studies are no longer done exclusively in departments of theology ... For all reference libraries."
International Review of Biblical Studies

Review
"Perusing this well-edited, fully indexed Companion is an exhilarating experience that is likely to lead readers to offer a sincere, if breathless, thanks to all involved in its creation." Choice

“A sweeping and magnanimous overview … admirably achieves its goal with wit, aplomb, and a disciplinary breadth that is all too rare in biblical studies today … A welcome addition to the growing corpus of literature on the important relationship(s) between the Bible and culture.” Review of Biblical Literature

"An intriguing and highly engaging set of articles which demonstrate clearly how much of the world’s culture has been, and is, permeated with biblical imagery, ideas and influences."
Journal for the Study of the New Testament

"Concentrating vast bodies of knowledge in richly and vividly informative articles, this volume is a major contribution to religion and culture studies. It includes the three religions that use the Bible - Judaism, Islam, and Christianity - on topics as varied as film, Australasia, postmodernism, and the body. All scholars and students of religion and culture can learn from both the content and the method of this highly readable book." Margaret R. Miles, The Graduate Theological Union

"It is clear that the Bible in Western culture is recognized not only as 'a source of revelation' but as a generative force in the propulsion of culture. Professor Sawyer knows as much as anyone about 'Reader Response' and the ways in which the Bible has been read over time - misread or strongly read - to impact and shape culture. In this volume he has gathered a first-rate group of scholarly interpreters who lead us into heretofore unexplored areas along the interface of culture and Bible. This book is a venturesome and welcome pioneer not only in new learnings, but also in new methods that will continue to evoke new interpretations. The volume signals a fresh direction in Scripture study." Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Nowhere has the mutual interdependence between the Bible and culture been as thoroughly analysed as in the thirty contributions to this Companion. The rich variety of contents and perspectives of these imaginatively selected, densely packed chapters is overwhelming. A truly interdisciplinary work created by a group of internationally known scholars, this collection shows how the various aesthetic, political and religious aspects of culture inform and are still informed by biblical texts. They reveal how much our cultural imagination and practices are imbued with biblical images, themes and residues, but also how much present ways of thinking have moved far away from the Bible. The contributors discuss rabbinic, patristic, medieval, modern and postmodern approaches to the Bible, its global appropriations as also its reception and usage in Judaism, Islam and in contemporary ecological debates. These challenging essays invite much reflection and debate, making this Companion attractive to a wide range of readers." Ursula King, University of Bristol and London

"A unique manual that demonstrates that biblical studies are no longer done exclusively in departments of theology ... For all reference libraries."
International Review of Biblical Studies

The Romantic Poets: A Guide to Criticism

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The Romantic Poets: A Guide to Criticism (Blackwell to Criticism) by Uttara Natarajan

Product Description
This welcome addition to the Blackwell Guides to Criticism series provides students with an invaluable survey of the critical reception of the Romantic poets.

* Guides readers through the wealth of critical material available on the Romantic poets and directs them to the most influential readings

* Presents key critical texts on each of the major Romantic poets - Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats - as well as on poets of more marginal canonical standing

* Cross-referencing between the different sections highlights continuities and counterpoints

Book Description
This welcome addition to the Blackwell Guides to Criticism series provides students with an invaluable survey of the critical reception of the Romantic poets. It steers readers through the plethora of critical material in this subject area, from contemporary responses through to modern-day readings, and directs them to the most influential work on particular poets. The editor presents key critical texts on each of the six major Romantic poets - Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats - as well as on the changing canon.

From the Back Cover
This welcome addition to the Blackwell Guides to Criticism series provides students with an invaluable survey of the critical reception of the Romantic poets. It steers readers through the plethora of critical material in the field, from contemporary responses through to modern-day readings, and directs them to the most influential work on particular poets.

The editor presents key critical texts on each of the six major Romantic poets – Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats – as well as on the changing canon.

About the Author
Uttara Natarajan is Senior Lecturer in English at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Her previous publications include Hazlitt and the Reach of Sense (1998) and, with Tom Paulin and Duncan Wu, Metaphysical Hazlitt (2005).

Kierkegaard's Upbuilding Discourses

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Kierkegaard's Upbuilding Discourses: Philosophy, Literature and Theology (Routledge Studies in Nineteenth Century Philosophy) by George Pattison

Product Description
George Pattison provides a bold and innovative reassessment of Kierkegaard's neglected Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses and reading of his work as a whole. The first full length assessment of the discourses in English, this volume will be essential reading for philosophers and theologians, and anyone interested in Kierkegaard and the history of philosophy.

About the Author
George Pattinson is Lecturer in the Faculty of Theology in Århus University. He has published numerous books including the Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to the Later Heidegger (Routledge, 2000), A Short Course in the Philosophy of Religion (2001), Anxious Angels: A Retrospective View of Religious Existentialism (1999) and Kierkegaard and the Crisis of Faith (1997).

Хeйзинга Йохан - Осень Средневековья

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Хeйзинга Йохан
Осень Средневековья
Книга нидерландского историка культуры  Йохана  Хейзинги, впервые вышедшая в
свет  в  1919 г., выдержала на родине уже более  двух десятков изданий, была
переведена на многие языки и стала выдающимся культурным явлением ХХ века. В
России выходит третьим, исправленным изданием с подробным научным аппаратом.
   "Осень   Средневековья"   рассматривает  социокультурный   феномен  позднего
Средневековья  с  подробной  характеристикой   придворного,   рыцарского   и
церковного  обихода,  жизни  всех  слоев  общества.  Источниками   послужили
литературные  и художественные  произведения бургундских авторов XIV-XV вв.,
религиозные трактаты, фольклор и документы эпохи.

Henry Kissinger - Diplomacy

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Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger (DjVu File)

From Publishers Weekly
Former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Kissinger discusses the art of diplomacy and the American approach to foreign affairs.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
After nearly a dozen books and service as secretary of state for presidents Nixon and Ford, Kissinger has established himself as a major thinker, writer, and actor on the world's diplomatic stage. His newest work is a remarkable survey of the craft of international relations from the early 17th century to the present era. Beginning with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, Kissinger summarizes three centuries of Western diplomacy, giving special attenton to the influence of Wilsonian idealism on 20th-century American foreign policy. He is not shy about describing his own contributions to Nixon's foreign gambits, nor is he reticient about offering his own advice to the current administration on how to handle Russia, China, or the rest of the world. From Kissinger we learn that there is really little new about the New World Order. This is an important contribution to the theoretical literature on foreign affairs and will also serve quite ably as a one-volume synthesis of modern diplomatic history. All libraries should have this impressive book. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/93.
- Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Neither time nor the strong reactions his person and Nixon-era actions evoke has dampened Kissinger's talent for cogent distillation of international complexity. If anything, this closely argued work, spaciously peppered with anecdotes and personal observations, is his best yet. It is not, be mindful, a diplomatic history per se, but instead a reminder of the geopolitical constraints on America's endeavor--the third this century--to fashion a new world order. Naturally, Kissinger's approach is historical, beginning with Cardinal Richelieu's policy in the Thirty Years' War, but his arguments are conceptual dissections of the principles on which the statesman of the moment operated. Whether discussing the Cardinal's raison d'{‚}etat, Metternich's (and then Palmerston's) balance-of-power, Bismarck's naked Realpolitik, Wilson's rejection of the above in favor of a vaporous collective security, the aggressive ideologies of expansion that issued from World War I, or the more solid collective security embodied in NATO, Kissinger is implicitly showing America's present (and near future) administrators the analogous choices on their post-Cold War menu. Referring often to John Quincy Adams' famed 1821 admonition that "America should not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy," Kissinger cautions against the exceptional American temptation, regardless of party, to compel a democratic transformation of the world. He would prefer the revival of a balance-of-power outlook, which America has never practiced, but through which, among other outcomes, Russia becomes reconciled to its reduced, though still vast, territory. Authorial fame and powerful prose will secure Kissinger's new book a slot atop the sales lists. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews
The Nobel laureate and former national security advisor and secretary of state (Years of Upheaval, 1982, etc.) presents an engrossing and monumental (in every sense) historical survey of diplomacy from the 17th century to the present. Kissinger begins his narrative after the Peace of Westphalia (1648), when militarily ascendant France strove for dominance on the continent, preventing the fragmented German states from coalescing into a major power. Thereafter Britain, its own internal turbulence quelled and its monarchy restored, sought to check France by creating alliances of weaker European states. Kissinger shows how wily statesmen like Richelieu, Britain's William III, Metternich, and Bismarck frankly pursued their own nation-state's interests without regard for the idealistic concepts of collective security that have motivated American policy since the Wilson administration: only Britain, because of its unique geographical position, actively pursued a policy of promoting equilibrium on the continent. Kissinger extensively discusses the unraveling of the post-Napoleonic arrangements in the decades leading up to WW I, Soviet and German consolidation and French and British demoralization in the years after the Versailles treaty, and the dominance of the Soviet-American rivalry in world politics after World War II. Kissinger draws fascinatingly on his own experiences as President Nixon's chief diplomat to illustrate his arguments about diplomacy. Finally, he argues that the ideal of collective security that American policy has promoted since Wilson's presidency and throughout the Cold War, while sometimes effective, is often weak because it is not strongly grounded in national interests. Buttressing his argument with a sweeping historical survey, Kissinger persuasively contends that leaders of the western democracies, particularly the US, should leaven their idealism in the turbulent post-Cold War era with the realistic pursuit of concrete national interests. Profound and important. (Book-of-the- Month main selection for April; History Book Club main selection) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Йохан Хейзинга - Homo Ludens

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Йохан Хейзинга
Homo Ludens

СТАТЬИ ПО ИСТОРИИ КУЛЬТУРЫ

Поль Валери - Об искусстве

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Поль Валери
Об искусстве
I
  ВВЕДЕНИЕ В СИСТЕМУ ЛЕОНАРДО ДА ВИНЧИ. Перевод В. Козового
  ПРИМЕЧАНИЯ. Перевод В. Козового
  ЗАМЕТКА И ОТСТУПЛЕНИЕ. Перевод С. Ромова
  ПРИМЕЧАНИЯ. Перевод В. Козового
  ВЕЧЕР С ГОСПОДИНОМ ТЭСТОМ. Перевод С. Ромова
  КРИЗИС ДУХА. Перевод А. Эфроса
  "ЭСТЕТИЧЕСКАЯ БЕСКОНЕЧНОСТЬ". Перевод В. Козового
  ВСЕОБЩЕЕ ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕ ИСКУССТВА. Перевод В. Ко­зового
  ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОЕ ТВОРЧЕСТВО. Перевод В. Козового
  ИЗ "ТЕТРАДЕЙ". Перевод В. Козового
  СМЕСЬ. Перевод В. Козового
  II
  ЭВПАЛИНОС, ИЛИ АРХИТЕКТОР. Перевод В. Козового
  ДУША И ТАНЕЦ. Перевод В. Козового
  ПРОБЛЕМА МУЗЕЕВ. Перевод А. Эфроса
  ФРЕСКИ ПАОЛО ВЕРОНЕЗЕ. Перевод В. Козового
  ВОКРУГ КОРО. Перевод В. Козового
  ТРИУМФ МАНЕ. Перевод А. Эфроса
  БЕРТА МОРИЗО. Перевод В. Козового
  ДЕГА, ТАНЕЦ, РИСУНОК. Перевод В. Козового
  СЛОВО К ХУДОЖНИКАМ-ГРАВЕРАМ. Перевод В. Козового
  МОИ ТЕАТРЫ. Перевод В. Козового
  ВЗГЛЯД НА МОРЕ. Перевод В. Козового
  III
  ЛЮБИТЕЛЬ ПОЭЗИИ. Перевод В. Козового
  ПИСЬМО О МИФАХ. Перевод В. Козового
  ПРЕДУВЕДОМЛЕНИЕ К "ПОЗНАНИЮ БОГИНИ". Перевод В. Козового
  ЧИСТАЯ ПОЭЗИЯ. Перевод В. Козового
  ВОПРОСЫ ПОЭЗИИ. Перевод В. Козового
  ПОЭЗИЯ И АБСТРАКТНАЯ МЫСЛЬ. Перевод В. Козового
  ПОЛОЖЕНИЕ БОДЛЕРА. Перевод А. Эфроса
  ПИСЬМО О МАЛЛАРМЕ. Перевод А. Эфроса
  Я ГОВОРИЛ ПОРОЙ СТЕФАНУ МАЛЛАРМЕ... Перевод В. Козового
  ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ К "ПЕРСИДСКИМ ПИСЬМАМ". Перевод В. Козового
  ИСКУШЕНИЕ (СВЯТОГО) ФЛОБЕРА. Перевод В. Козового
  КОММЕНТАРИИ. В. Козовой
  ПОЛЬ ВАЛЕРИ. (Хронологический очерк жизни и творчест­ва). В. Козовой
  БИБЛИОГРАФИЯ. Составил В. Козовой